I love Inferno Reckless Summon.

While the Jaden Duelist Packs have a ton of cool new cards for collectors and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX fans, I like to regard Chazz’s set as the Duelist Pack of choice for hardcore players. The Grave of Enkindling, Magical Mallet—each of the new cards in Chazz’s Duelist Pack are worthy of attention and play. None of them scream “broken” at first glance, but each card is challenging and potentially rewarding. For those who are willing to put the time into exploring each of these new entries into the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, there are some impressive rewards.

Today’s deck is a perfect example of one of them! The deck’s submitter, Matt T., decided to set his sights on Inferno Swarm, and he came up with a surprisingly simple method of reliably triggering its effect. Check it out!

Hey Jason,

My name is Matt, and I’m from Jacksonville, Florida. I read all the articles from Metagame.com every day and have wanted to send in an original deck for a while, but mostly I’ve just stuck with my Soul Control deck. However, this deck is pretty different from anything I've ever built. It’s based around the new card from the Chazz Duelist Pack called Inferno Reckless Summon. The idea of this deck is simple: use one of my three copies of Marauding Captain to special summon another monster, then play Inferno Reckless Summon to get the other copies. Most of the monsters are Warriors, but I’ve thrown in a personal favorite of mine—Battery Man AA—which I’ve been waiting to make a deck around for a while, but just lacked the support.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Cheers,

Matthew T., Jacksonville, Florida

Pretty cool stuff! Normally I’d be a bit wary of what is essentially a three-card combo, but with Reinforcement of the Army, you’re basically running five copies of Marauding Captain. The other two cards needed for the combo are Inferno Reckless Summon and just one of any twelve monsters that the deck runs in triplicate, so the combo isn’t hard to set up. Here’s the decklist that Matt sent me.

Inferno Swarm

40 Cards

Monsters: 19

3 Don Zaloog

3 Mataza the Zapper

3 Marauding Captain

1 Sangan

3 Hero Kid

3 Spirit Reaper

3 Batteryman AA

Spells: 16

1 Battery Charger

1 Dark Hole

1 Heavy Storm

3 Inferno Reckless Summon

1 Lightning Vortex

1 Mage Power

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Nobleman of Crossout

1 Premature Burial

2 Reinforcement of the Army

1 The A. Forces

1 The Warrior Returning Alive

1 United We Stand

Traps: 5

1 Bottomless Trap Hole

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Ceasefire

1 The Grave of Enkindling

1 Torrential Tribute

Overall, I like what Matt’s done with his deck! There are a lot of cool things to do with Inferno Reckless Summon, not the least of which is the Proto-Cyber Dragon combo that lets you special summon three copies of the real Cyber Dragon from your deck. But instead of going for the big fireworks, Matt’s decided to use a more reliable and consistent strategy that’s going to be much easier to pull off.

The main advantage to his approach? Reliability. If we were to build this deck around Proto-Cyber Dragon, we could easily wind up with a hand full of low-ATK Machine monsters that can’t do anything on their own. What’s nice about most of Matt’s decisions is that there aren’t any truly dead cards in his decklist. Sure, an Inferno Reckless Summon might sit in his hand for a while, but virtually all of the monsters he’s chosen to work with are useful on their own. At its best, this deck will pull out three copies of Don Zaloog or three Spirit Reapers in one turn and just lay waste to the opponent’s hand. At its worst, it’ll be a kind of flighty stick-and-jab Warrior deck. We can deal with that, and unlike most combo decks, it’ll never be fall-on-its-face bad.

At least, it won’t be after a few tweaks!

First, the Batteryman thing doesn’t really excite me. Sure, Batteryman AA can be really large, but one Sakuretsu Armor or Widespread Ruin later and it starts taking a major toll. I think they’re really poor topdecks on their own, and I think that presents a risk. This deck has plenty of ways to smite the opponent with Marauding Captain and Inferno Reckless Summon, so I think we could spend a few monster slots in a better way here. I’m going to drop all three copies of Batteryman AA, as well as the single copy of Battery Charger. That’ll free up some room for some more defensive, flexible cards that will help us out in topdecking situations.

Other than that drop, I won’t be touching Matt’s monster spread. I think it’s well-conceived, with Spirit Reaper and Don Zaloog smashing the opponent’s hand, Mataza the Zapper wrecking life points under proper conditions, and multiple Hero Kids not even needing the Reckless Summon to do their tricks. My main concern now lies in controlling the field. Most of the monsters we’re working with are relatively weak in the ATK department, especially if they have to go toe-to-toe with big beaters like Cyber Dragon or D. D. Survivor. At one point, I’d actually dropped more monster cards in favor of Newdoria, but I just can’t resist the allure of rushing the opponent with Hero Kids. Because I can’t bring myself to pull the trigger on those cute little fellas, I’ll have to rely on changing Matt’s spell and trap spread to give him the openings he needs.

To achieve that goal, I’m going to drop Lightning Vortex. Sure, it can control the field, but only in the Toolbox or general Aggro matchup. The environment at Shonen Jump Championship Durham was rich in copies of Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive and Magical Merchant, and I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more set monsters at the local level over the coming weeks. That makes Lightning Vortex a risky card to play, and its requirement of a discarded card was already a major downside. I’m going to have to exchange it for some different forms of field control.

I’m also going to remove The A. Forces. Sure, I’d love to bump up the ATK value of Don Zaloog, but that’s really all that I’m going to be caring about. The pump from A. Forces won’t be enough to get Mataza the Zapper or Hero Kids over the big monsters that are worrying me. The A. Forces doesn’t do what I want, and when it is working, it’s still vulnerable to Dust Tornado and Mystical Space Typhoon, two cards that continue to see increased play. It’s an obvious drop.

The Warrior Returning Alive is just way too slow for this deck. It’s a mid- and late-game card, and its only function in this deck would be the timely retrieval of Don Zaloog or Marauding Captain. Other than that it’s probably going to be useless, and it’s especially hard to use effectively in an environment that is quickly filling up with Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer. Heck, I don’t even like Premature Burial for this deck. Though you can have some fun using Premature Burial as the trigger condition for Inferno Reckless Summon, that’s a conditional little cherry on top of a missing ice cream sundae. Most of the time, Premature Burial is just going to bring back a single Hero Kid or Mataza, and that’s just not worthwhile. Both Premature Burial and The Warrior Returning Alive will be ejected from the deck.

While I appreciate the desire to increase the ATK of Mataza the Zapper, I don’t feel like Mage Power is the best way to do it. This deck is already going to be over-committed to the field on many an occasion, and over-committing to the spell and trap zone is a dangerous game to play because of that fact. We’re already running United We Stand, and frankly, I feel there’s a better option than Mage Power for pumping up Mataza. Not to mention the rest of your monsters that could use some more muscle.

Finally, I’m also going to take out The Grave of Enkindling. Grave is neat, especially when you use it with cards like Total Defense Shogun, but I don’t see a use for it here. At best, it’s going to find you an emergency wall in the form of a reused Spirit Reaper. You’ll sometimes be able to use it as the trigger condition for Inferno Reckless Summon, but I already didn’t like that concept with Premature Burial, which is in reality a far more stable form of the potential combo. There are some fantastic ways to use Grave of Enkindling, but I don’t think this deck is running any. Again, this one’s a super-easy drop to make.

Okay, so I’ve got ten card slots cleared out and a handful of very distinct goals. First, I want to be able to control the field a lot better than in the original version of the deck. When I’m staring down a big beatstick, I need to know that I have the resources to wipe away that Cyber Dragon or D. D. Assailant. Otherwise my Spirit Reapers, Don Zaloogs, Matazas, and Hero Kids are useless. I don’t even want to think about what this deck does when it faces an opponent’s Spirit Reaper. What, try to give it Mage Power? I refuse to accept that as the best option.

Second, I’ve got some monster slots to work with, and I want to give the deck some more reliability and stall power. I’m going to address that need first by adding two copies of Mystic Tomato. The Tomatoes are going to maintain field presence when this deck comes under fire, and they’re also going to give us another great way to access Don Zaloog and Spirit Reaper. They can even fetch Sangan, which can in turn get Marauding Captain or any of his little buddies for use with Infernal Reckless Summon. Heck, you could summon Marauding Captain, drop Mystic Tomato from your hand with the Captain’s effect, and then Reckless Summon out another Tomato. Slam the Tomatoes into an opponent’s attack-position monster and you can hedge your bets between Spirit Reaper and Don Zaloog quite nicely. A rare move? Sure. But it’s one of many extras sprinkled on top of what is already a great deal. Tomatoes will give this deck more consistency, more staying power, and more flexibility in the face of a variety of threats. The deck thinning is nice, too, letting you get to those Infernal Reckless Summons a little bit faster!

From there, I’ll move on to the spell and trap lists. With so many small monsters in this deck, we need some protection, so two copies of Sakuretsu Armor are a must. Normally I’d recommend three, but because this deck is looking to win through proactive negotiation of the field combined with large, unexpected attacks, reactive forms of monster removal are going to take a back seat to proactive ones. Smashing Ground is going to be far more desirable for Matt’s intentions, so I’m going to run three of those and two Sakuretsu Armors instead of the more common three Sakuretsu Armors and two Smashing Grounds.

Snatch Steal is going to have a similar effect. This thing is so powerful and so feared in the current format that I’d consider it to be a staple of any competitive battle-oriented strategy. It’ll remove big monsters that would otherwise stand in the way, and it’ll also make that turn in which Matt uses Inferno Reckless Summon and attacks a little bit more deadly.

Finally, I’m going to make up for that Mage Power that I removed by adding in two copies of Rush Recklessly. I’ve been giving this card some attention recently, and it saw a bit of play and success at Shonen Jump Durham. Every single element that can contribute to its success happens to be present in the deck.

Do we need more ways to clear out the opponent’s Spirit Reapers? Yes. We need to know that we can get rid of Spirit Reaper during the battle phase in order for our large attacks to be successful and end the game. Rush Recklessly’s spell speed of two allows for us to keep attacking in situations where Smashing Ground would not.

Do we have Don Zaloog kicking around? Would we like to make it a 2100 ATK monster when it gets attacked? Yes, sir. In fact, we have three of them that would love to surprise an unsuspecting D. D. Survivor or Breaker the Magical Warrior. Do we have Mataza the Zapper, to make each 700 ATK boost cost the opponent 1400 life points? We sure do. I can’t think of a better place to use Rush Recklessly, so I’m going to use two here.

That’s my last change to the deck, and the final list of drops and additions are as follows.

-3 Batteryman AA

-1 Battery Charger

-1 The A. Forces

-1 The Warrior Returning Alive

-1 Lightning Vortex

-1 Premature Burial

-1 Mage Power

-1 The Grave of Enkindling

+2 Mystic Tomato

+3 Smashing Ground

+2 Rush Recklessly

+1 Snatch Steal

+2 Sakuretsu Armor

The final deck looks like this.

Inferno Swarm: Jason’s Fix

40 Cards

Monsters: 18

3 Don Zaloog

3 Mataza the Zapper

3 Hero Kid

3 Marauding Captain

1 Sangan

3 Spirit Reaper

2 Mystic Tomato

Spells: 16

1 Dark Hole

1 Heavy Storm

3 Inferno Reckless Summon

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Nobleman of Crossout

2 Reinforcement of the Army

1 United We Stand

3 Smashing Ground

2 Rush Recklessly

1 Snatch Steal

Traps: 6

1 Bottomless Trap Hole

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Ceasefire

1 Torrential Tribute

2 Sakuretsu Armor

This is a new twist on the classic theme of Marauding Captain Rush, and it needs to be played as such. Here’s how I’d do it.

The deck actually opens pretty weakly, with its ideal opening moves being a set Mystic Tomato or Spirit Reaper. While a Warrior Toolbox or Flip-Flop Control deck is going to have as many as eight or nine great opening monsters, this one only has five, so you’ll need to play carefully. If you have Marauding Captain and Hero Kid on turn one, you might actually want to consider dropping them in face-up attack position. This move leaves you open to attack next turn, and you’ll probably lose the Marauding Captain. But remember, you’ve got answers, and a set Sakuretsu Armor, Bottomless Trap Hole, or Rush Recklessly will be enough to address most problems. If you do lose a monster on your opponent’s first turn, remember that Hero Kids gave you two cards of advantage straight off the bat anyway. You can easily afford to take a hit from anything that isn’t Don Zaloog.

In the early and mid-game, you’ll probably play the deck in similar ways. All you’re looking for is an opportunity to swarm, and the cards to swarm with. Control and card advantage are key—use those monster removal cards to buy yourself time and keep the field in relatively slow condition. Your primary goal is to ensure that when you draw into one of your swarm combos, you can attack directly as needed. This is actually going to be easier to do than it would have been a few months ago. Most players are wary of over-committing to the field if you don’t over-commit, fearing Dark Hole and Torrential Tribute. It’s a wise play, but it’s one that you can work in your favor. If the opponent plays only two monsters on the field at any given time, your Matazas are going to have a field day with a single copy of United We Stand or Rush Recklessly.

It’s important that you win by the mid-game. This deck doesn’t topdeck well, simply because it doesn’t have the raw muscle to overwhelm bigger monsters. While it will be able to flood the field with meat shields for a while, it will be a rare game that you win from a topdecking situation. You need to pick your spots very carefully and do a bit of math to calculate when you can reasonably expect to take a win. That said, if you can get off a Reckless Summon combo with Don Zaloogs or Spirit Reapers on one of the game’s earlier turns, it’s basically “good game” then and there. This deck wants to hit hard and fast, and you need to be able to pull the trigger and take your shot when the opportunity presents itself.

If you ever do get forced into a late game situation, remember that if you can get two copies of Marauding Captain onto the field, you’re invincible from attacks. A lone Spirit Reaper can keep you around for a while too, and you can use that time to draw into another Reckless Summon combo or just some monster removal to equalize the field. Time isn’t on your side, though. Every monster that gets sent to the graveyard is one more that you can’t Reckless Summon. In order to play out of a late game, you’ll need to defend yourself shrewdly and pool your monster removal, using it conservatively until you’re ready to make a move for victory.

Your most difficult matchup is going to be burn, since you’re just not side decked to handle it very well. If you get the Zaloog or Reaper rush going in an early turn, you’ve won, but that can be said for just about any deck you could face. You need to side deck heavily for the Lock components of the burn matchup, adding in cards like Dust Tornado and Giant Trunade over Sakuretsu Armor. Be especially careful of decks like Zachary Austin’s from Shonen Jump Durham. Decks like that can really use your own momentum against you, punishing your big field presence with cards like Just Desserts and Secret Barrel.

However, remember that it’s a two-way street. You can often finish off opponents with Ceasefire, since it can pump out tons of damage after you bring out Hero Kids or perform a Reckless Summon. Ceasefire is your best friend in both the Burn and Flip-Flop Control matchups, negating effects that can put you under the gun while at the same time dishing out large quantities of damage. In fact, going back to that poor late game that we discussed, Ceasefire is actually one of your primary win conditions when you’re in topdecking situations. Its large quantity of burn damage can allow you to swarm the field and win the game in situations where it would be impossible for you to attack.

This deck is just one example of a use for Inferno Reckless Summon, but I have to say that it’s by far one of the most impressive. Though I fix a lot of decks around here, I can honestly say that I’d give this one some serious play time. If your metagame isn’t flooded with copies of Dekoichi and Magical Merchant, give this deck a try. If it is, toss in a couple of Mystic Swordsman LV2s and let it rip anyway. This thing is seriously fun, it’s seriously fast, and it brings back memories of the good old days when duels didn’t last more than five turns.

Good times, and a great deck! Thanks for sending it in, Matt. Hopefully the fix helps!

—Jason Grabher-Meyer

Do you have an Advanced format deck you could use some help with, or that you just want to show off to the world? Do you want to see it appear in a future Apotheosis article? Send it to me at Jason(at)metagame(dot)com, with your name, location, and explanation of how the deck works—I might take a crack at it!