I mentioned at the beginning of the day that one of the decks to look out for during the event was The Six Samurai. As it turns out, we do have a Samurai player doing very well in today’s event. You met Jonathon Moore last round in his win over Kevin Hendrix, and as I write this he’s 5-0, trying to make 6-0. Probably the biggest thing that the Samurai have going for them is their incredible ability to swarm and force damage through as seen in game 3 of round four’s feature match. You can’t see it if you’re reading it live, but Jonathon’s deck is spec’d out to maximize the amount of damage he can pump out every turn while minimizing dead draws. Check this out:
1 Neo-Spacian Grand Mole
1 Jinzo
1 Sangan
1 D. D. Warrior Lady
1 The Six Samurai — Kamon
3 The Six Samurai — Yaichi
3 The Six Samurai — Irou
3 The Six Samurai — Zanji
3 Grandmaster of the Six Samurai
3 Cyber Dragon
1 Premature Burial
1 Snatch Steal
1 Heavy Storm
1 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Smashing Ground
2 Reinforcement of the Army
2 My Body as a Shield
1 Mirror Force
1 Ring of Destruction
2 Sakuretsu Armor
1 Call of the Haunted
1 Torrential Tribute
So, the first thing to think about when you decide to play Samurai is how many of each of the smaller Samurai you’re planning on playing. Jonathon is playing all my favorites, with 3 each of The Six Samurai — Yaichi, The Six Samurai — Zanji, and The Six Samurai — Irou along with a single copy of The Six Samurai — Kamon. The first 3 are fairly obvious in their application, but Kamon is one inclusion that many people tend to question. It’s really quite simple why you would want to maindeck at least one Kamon: Snatch Steal. Snatch Steal is really good, but you already knew that. Getting rid of it is even better, and Kamon lets you do that for free as long as you can manage another Samurai. I recommend Grandmaster. In addition to Snatch Steal, Call of the Haunted, Premature Burial, and Royal Decree are all valid and excellent targets.
The primary concern with the Samurai is making sure that you always have monsters available. In fact, that’s a general statement that can be applied to any of the major decks that have appeared so far in this event. If you can play monsters and keep them alive, it’s likely that you’re going to win. Jonathon’s Samurai deck, in addition to having a heavy swarm aspect, also runs a pair of My Body as a Shield cards to provide insurance against field wiping effects such as Lightning Vortex, Torrential Tribute, and Mirror Force. Even if his Samurai are destroyed, 3 copies of Grandmaster, with Call of the Haunted and Premature Burial ensure his Samurai just aren’t going anywhere, anytime soon.
The Six Samurai are fast, blazingly fast, and they’ve forced players everywhere today to dedicate a portion of their side deck to stop them. They haven’t stopped Jonathan, however, as he continues his campaign towards a perfect day 1!