Inspired by similar decks run last format in Japan, many duelists are banking on Dimension Fusion to bring them victory here today. Providing all the offensive potential of Return from the Different Dimension, it can do so earlier in a duel for fewer life points. The main advantage though? Dimension Fusion leaves the monsters it special summons on the field at the end of the turn. It’s more than just a one-shot wonder.

The main concern that kept Dimension Fusion down in the last format was its one drawback: the fact that it also special summons monsters for your opponent, from their removed from game pile. Now, with very few duelists running cards that remove their own monsters from play, Dimension Fusion can offer its controller huge advantages without giving many to the average opponent. If you can dump multiple monsters into your removed from game pile before the opponent can, then Dimension Fusion becomes a game-breaking card exceptionally early.

If you remember BluMoos, you’ll be able to see a good portion of this deck’s lineage. Magical Merchant fuels Bazoo the Soul-Eater, tossing monsters into the graveyard to be removed from the game for Dimension Fusion. While BluMoos ran only two Merchants, this deck runs three, as Merchant searches out the all-important Fusions.

Also borrowed from BluMoos is the unique implementation of Lady Assailant of Flames. Her effect cuts swathes of cards off the top of her controller’s deck in order to deal 800 burn damage to the opponent. Though the removal of cards is intended as a costing drawback, here it’s an advantage, giving the deck three more ways to remove monsters from the game.

While several Dimension Fusion variants in competition here today use Sacred Crane to try and draw extra cards, this one foregoes them. “I dropped them,” explained Schumann. The relatively low ATK of the Cranes was a drawback, especially since D. D. Assailant is one of the few cards that still has a good chance of being returned to play when Dimension Fusion is activated. In fact, since Dimension Fusion has such a good chance of bring back smaller monsters, Schumann uses them as tribute fodder for a pair of Blowback Dragon. They make special summoned Magical Merchants and such into useful tribute bait, while at the same time solving the problem of a returned D. D. Assailant or Spirit Reaper. It’s Schumann’s own contribution to what is otherwise an assimilation of two other ideas, and it’s a very strong one.

Even better in the “using tribute fodder” department is Dark Magician of Chaos, which usually hits immediately after Dimension Fusion. Smashing Ground, Brain Control, and Enemy Controller can be returned to the hand to ensure a game shot series of attacks that turn, while Dimension Fusion itself can always be recycled if Schumann finds himself committed to the duel for the long haul. It’s another way this deck solves the few problems that its own Dimension Fusions can create, while staying aggressive and kicking out stunning ATK numbers.

Drillroid also bats cleanup, picking off defensive cards like Gravekeeper’s Spy or Spirit Reaper that might slow this deck down. Schumann isn’t the only duelist running it here today, so watch for it to be a hot piece of tech as the rounds proceed.

Since this deck can generate huge amounts of field presence for relatively little cost, Smashing Ground and Sakuretsu Armor are invaluable. They generate card-for-card trades that simplify the duel, reducing the number of cards on the field. That forces the game into a faster tempo that keeps the path to the opponent’s life points relatively clear of obstructions, priming the duel for a big push thanks to Dimension Fusion. It’s a pretty textbook strategy — you might remember that the exact same manipulation of tempo drove the former Team Scoop to success with their Return from the Different Dimension build at 2005’s Shonen Jump Championship Los Angeles.