Before I got on the plane to Denver, I made a list of things that I hoped to see here at today’s event. Round 1 hasn’t even begun, and I’ve already found one of them. William Bardsley has traveled all the way from Great Falls, Montana to be at the event today, and he’s banking on Macro Cosmos to take him all the way to the Top 8. Many top players have shied away from Macro Cosmos, due to its reliance on keeping a specific card on the field, but William has taken special efforts to make sure his deck keeps on operating at peak efficiency.

2 Mobius the Frost Monarch

2 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch

2 Spirit Reaper

1 Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch

1 Tsukuyomi

1 Exiled Force

1 Helios – The Primordial Sun

1 D. D. Asailant

1 D. D. Warrior Lady

1 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer

1 A Cat of Ill Omen

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

Spells: 12

2 Nobleman of Crossout

2 Dimensional Fissure

2 Reinforcement of the Army

1 Soul Exchange

1 Heavy Storm

1 Snatch Steal

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Grand Convergence

1 Graceful Charity

Traps: 10

3 Macro Cosmos

2 Solemn Judgment

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Sakuretsu Armor

1 Return from the Different Dimension

1 Widespread Ruin

1 Mirror Force

It may seem like 42 cards is a lot for this type of deck, but with two copies of Reinforcement of the Army, and the search ability of Macro Cosmos, William is able to do a little deck thinning while fetching out the key cards he needs. Speaking of fetching key cards, William has opted to use a single copy of A Cat of Ill Omen to try and increase his chances of getting Macro Cosmos quickly enough for it to be relevant. Difficulty in getting to Macro Cosmos has been cited as a major reason not to play Macro Cosmos or its support card Grand Convergence, but the Cat helps add an extra layer of consistency that the deck traditionally lacks.

Grand Convergence is a card that has sparked lots of debate between players looking to build a Macro Cosmos deck. Some feel that if you aren’t playing three copies of a quick-play equivalent to Dark Hole, you’re crazy, while the opposing camp feels that if you’re playing a card that specifically requires another card on the field to use, you’re crazy. William has opted to take a middle-of-the-road approach to Grand Convergence using a single copy to give him access to the powerful effect without cluttering his deck with 3 copies of a situational card. The other problem that Cosmos players face is deciding how much removed-from-game support they want to include in their decks. Some people like to have a full compliment of both Macro Cosmos and Dimensional Fissure to ensure that their D.D. Survivors and D. D. Scout Planes will always make a return at the end of turn. William has opted to only run two copies of Dimensional Fissure, and he’s used the spot that would normally be taken by the third to play a copy of Return from the Different Dimension.

William’s basic strategy is to get a copy of Macro Cosmos or Dimensional Fissure into play as quickly a possible and then exploit their synergy with D.D. Survivor and D. D. Scout Plane to create an infinite supply of monsters that serve both offensive and defensive purposes. They even come back during the end phase, so William never has to end his turn facing the prospect of a likely direct attack. This build of Macro Cosmos uses the basic concepts of Monarch Control decks to try and create a stranglehold over the opponent, including a single copy of Soul Exchange to help out when he just can’t the engine going. This is not a deck that thrives well in the early game. It needs a couple of turns to get set up before it takes off, but once it does it’s extremely difficult to stop. Will Macro Cosmos finally make its Top 8 debut here in Denver? It’s going to be tough, but William feels he’s up to the challenge. You can check his progress round by round right here on Metagame.com!