This week, we’ll be straying from budget building to introduce an original, metagame-breaking deck, which (for the sake of appeasing my ego) will be dubbed "Murphy Control." All jokes aside, if you’ve been looking for a fun, innovative control deck to bring to a tournament with serious competition, you might want to consider this one.

The strategy is inspired by a single card, one which has garnered little notice thus far: Demise of the Land. This, coupled with Terraforming, allows you to splash multiple field-spell cards for conditional responses to almost any problem. We’ll be running a wide range of field spells, because we’re running seven copies of each in theory (one copy of the actual card, and six cards to search it). This deck operates on a similar level as Toolbox Control, but without the slow reliance on summoning monsters.

You’ll notice that the deck has an innate weakness to Thunder King Rai-Oh. Unfortunately, this is a weakness that will have to be dealt with using the side deck. Since you’ll be side decking out multiple field-spell cards after the first game (having identified which ones work best against your opponent), you’ll be able to fit cards like Smashing Ground and other monster removal cards to deal with the threat.

The Monsters

The monster line-up seems rather spread, and only makes sense when viewed in terms of the spell line-up.

There are basically three groups of monsters being used here: Gravekeepers, Heroes, and Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi. The Gravekeeper monsters are both Gravekeepers (which work with Necrovalley) and Spellcasters (which work with Secret Village of the Spellcasters). The Hero monsters allow you to set up a drawing engine, using the classic Destiny Draw and Allure of Darkness cards, but they also allow you to take advantage of their field spell cards as well.

The truly ridiculous addition to this deck is Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi. The combo between him and Mausoleum of the Emperor has its own deck, but its presence here takes only four slots and it performs just as reliably as it would in a deck based solely around it. Dealing damage with this monster basically ends the game, and it isn’t too hard a feat to accomplish. After you do that, you’ll be able to control your opponent while beating him or her down with your Hero monsters.

The uses for Mausoleum of the Emperor are obvious, but you’ll find some interesting plays elsewhere. If your opponent special summons Dark Armed Dragon, you can chain a copy of Demise of the Land to search your deck for Necrovalley and null Dark Armed’s effect! Array of Revealing Light will stop any huge swing that your opponent attempts, and can completely shut down Gladiator Beast decks. Skyscraper 2 - Hero City will allow you to recycle your single copy of Elemental Hero Stratos, which is another combo that claimed its own archetype.

Dark City will allow your Destiny Hero monsters to overcome almost any problem. If you start the game with a copy of Gravekeeper’s Spy, you can search your deck for a copy of Secret Village of the Spellcasters to shut down a wide range of decks on the first turn! And finally, a single copy of Zombie World grants you access to instant Monarch-shutdown.

Other than that, we have three copies of Demise of the Land and Terraforming to make our draws extremely precise. The deck even has the resiliency of the drawing power of TeleDAD decks.

The level of control this deck harnesses is extraordinary. This is a control strategy with the speed of TeleDAD, an anti-meta deck that spans far beyond the normal anti-meta range, and an all-around powerhouse. Whether you open with a card that absolutely shuts your opponent’s deck down (you’re running seven copies of a card that does that to almost every deck being played competitively), or quickly deal damage with Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, you’ll be displaying dominance all over the competition.

Against Gladiator Beasts, you’ll really enjoy the Gravekeepers. Your opponent will often attack a Spy with Gladiator Beast Laquari, and be forced to tag out for Gladiator Beast Murmillo, which you can destroy the following turn or let sit for a while. Often, the speed you take from a Gladiator Beast deck with a Spy will either force a poorly timed Gladiator Beast Gyzarus or win you the game: either way, it’s a major benefit. You’ll want to search your deck for a copy of Array of Revealing Light as quickly as possible, as it will stop your opponent from attacking (making it difficult for the opponent to fully use his or her deck). Try to save your Solemn Judgment for Gyzarus, since stopping that will probably win you the game. It is this matchup in which your Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi combo will be least effective, since Gladiator Beasts have a pesky ability to recuperate from major card loss. However, by getting free copies of Destiny Draw-type cards with Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude, you’ll also be able to respond to large hits in card presence. The matchup is heavily in your favor, but not your favorite. You’ll want to keep some room in the side deck for at least three copies of Royal Oppression, which will make it incredibly difficult for a Gladiator Beast deck to beat you.

Playing against a TeleDAD deck should be cake. You have the same advantages of the drawing engine, but your deck can throw Necrovalley on the field at a moment’s notice. Get Necrovalley and protect it, and you definitely shouldn’t lose the match. If you can land a hit with Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, there’s almost no way for a TeleDAD deck to fight back.

Against Monarchs, you should clap your hands in glee and ask your opponent if he or she’d like to forfeit and get lunch instead of wasting time! If you land a hit with Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, you almost undoubtedly win. If you can protect your Zombie World, your opponent’s Monarchs are useless. You also have the benefit of a much stronger drawing engine, and even Royal Oppression shouldn’t get in your way. This deck can special summon monsters with ease, but it doesn’t have to do that to win. The flexibility you have is your greatest strength, and you’ll really abuse that in this matchup.

If you get paired against a remove-from-play deck or a Little City build, you’ll be a favorite to win in a rather strange match. By abusing your Destiny Hero monsters with Dark City, you’ll be able to run over most of your opponent’s beatsticks. Your opponent’s deck will do almost nothing to stop you, but you have very few responses to his or her plays. The best you can hope for is a quick Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi to end the game, while the worst you can expect is to be slowly overrun by weaklings in the first game. Make sure you have some spell and trap destruction in your side deck, which will allow you to remove your anti-meta field spells in favor of ways to actually respond to your opponent.

If you get unluckily paired against a beatdown deck featuring Thunder King Rai-Oh, or a Gadget deck with him, you’ll have to rely heavily on your side deck. Make sure to remove about half of your field-spell cards in favor of monster removal. This deck sides well into Monarchs, because it already has the backbone for a Necrovalley-Monarch deck. Monarchs are the worst enemy of these beatdown and Gadget decks, so that’s what you’ll want to be playing. If you’re side decking Crush Card Virus and more tributes for it, you’ll benefit greatly for adding them against a beatdown.

Good luck, and remember that seemingly underpowered cards can generate serious control with just a little innovation. Keep thinking, and enjoy this Metagame.com-debuted deck!

—Ryan Murphy