I’ve got a bit of extra time here in Round 4, so I want to take a look at another creative deck that’s as-of-yet undefeated. I was sitting around last week late at night and wondering how good Chain Energy could be if it hit on turn 1 in this format. After all, Zombies play a ton of cards, and Comic Odyssey burn could drop 3000 life points easily just setting the things it needs to set. Apparently I wasn’t the only one having such thoughts, because Josh Cohen is undefeated with a Chain Energy deck this afternoon. Check it out:

Where does one find inspiration for such a beast? That was the first question on my mind as I sat down to chat with Cohen, and he was more than happy to explain the deck’s genesis. “I always liked Chain Energy, but I never really could figure out a way for it to work like I wanted it to. I came up with this deck inspired by Comic Odyssey burn, but I wanted to make their deck more aggro.” It was a noble goal, and it was one that sent Cohen diving into his common pile in a Tundo-like fit of creativity. “I was actually looking through some of my commons and saw Chain Energy.” From there his path was clear, and he created a deck with favorable matchups against all three top decks in this format.

“I didn’t think [the deck] would be amazing,” confessed Cohen. “I thought it might be a flop, but it’s almost an auto-win against Zombies.” Between Chain Energy costing a Zombie player 500 life points for every card he or she plays, and three Banisher of the Radiance creating graveyard disruption, Cohen’s got a very good matchup against the undead terror of Card of Safe Return Zombies. “My last two matches were Perfect Circle and it’s done great against that too thanks to the Banishers. It’s like suicide rush. I’m taking damage off Chain Energy too, but I just push as much damage as possible.”

That’s where Cohen’s monster removal comes in handy. He’s running the ubiquitous Smashing Ground, but he’s also using Hammer Shot and Fissure. Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, Snipe Hunter, D. D. Assailant, and D. D. Warrior Lady provide a ton of monster-based removal as well. Cohen isn’t running the maximum number of Hammer Shot, so I asked why he decided to play Fissure instead. Conventional wisdom would say that Scapegoat makes it an inferior card, since the opponent just chains it and draws Fissure to a Token instead of a real monster.

“I like Fissure better,” he explained. “A lot of the time my monsters are really big, so Hammer Shot would work against me. Plus Crush Card Virus is ridiculous against me, and I hate Spirit Reaper. God knows Zombie decks are going to bring that back to the field over and over, so Fissure can take care of it.” It’s a bold decision that requires Cohen to be a bit more careful with his removal, but, with so many big beatsticks, it really does make sense.

The playset of Reflect Bounder is another one of the very unique things about this deck. It can slow down the pace of play against a conservative player and give Cohen more time to draw into burn damage, while generating a ton of damage itself against more aggressive players. It lets Cohen dictate the tempo and momentum of the duel in a very threatening way, and that’s something he’s been using to his advantage. Then again, when players just disregard that fact and try to fight through it, Bounder works even better. This deck makes mincemeat out of anyone who thinks raw aggression is the best approach, forcing such players into a different playstyle than Comic Odyssey burn demands. That throws his opponents off. The fact that Bounder is a beatstick itself is incredibly valuable, and the deck’s strong tech against Zombies means that Bounder’s inability to attack over Zombie Master is a mitigated problem.

And it’s fun. The deck’s made some spectacular plays so far today and it just looks impressive. For instance, in round 2, Cohen managed to get his opponent under 1000 life points. Then he dropped a second Chain Energy, so if his opponent ever played a card again in that duel it would be suicide. Cool stuff.

“It’s kind of a tribute to my friend Justin Womack’s deck,” said Cohen with a proud, but humble smile. Indeed, this deck looks very different from the deck that took Womack to his spectacular finish at this summer’s American National Championship, but the end result and end goals are similar. The deck aims to beguile the opponent, punish aggression, and play aggressively, just like Womack’s deck did. That strategy makes it a unique presence in the field today, and makes Josh Cohen a potential pick for a Day 2 qualification.