How does one resist fixing a Magnet Warrior deck? It might not win too reliably, but is there any better feeling in all of Yu-Gi-Oh! than summoning one of those insane, garishly colored, more-effort-than-it’s-worth monsters? There’s just something irresistible about watching a Valkyrion the Magna Warrior smack a Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning upside the head.

I actually played against someone at a Mall Tour stop who pulled out Valkyrion on turn 1. It was crazy. Granted, I opened with Mystic Tomato, and I drew into some monster removal two turns later. Still, the first-turn summoning of Valkyrion the Magna Warrior was glorious. Winning with Valkyrion is like winning with Sonic Duck or Huge Revolution—it’s fantastically entertaining.

So, when Joe N. sent me his Advanced format Magnet Warrior deck, I had to give it a fix! Here’s what Joe had to say.

This is Joe N. from Taylor, MI. [I got the idea for this deck] when I found out about the Advanced format. I started to think crazy, and I thought I should use the Magnet Warrior set. To make matters even worse, I decided that I’d only use Earth monsters.

I was laughed at when I played with this deck, and people told me that it wouldn't work. They were right. Please help me out!

Thanks in advance. Love your columns!
 
Joe N., Taylor, MI

No problem! Earth monsters are actually pretty strong and have been for quite a while. Joe’s dedication to a single attribute might actually be what makes this deck playable. Let’s take a look at his build.

Joe’s Valkyrion Deck

Monsters
3 Alpha the Magnet Warrior
3 Beta the Magnet Warrior
3 Gamma the Magnet Warrior
2 Valkyrion the Magna Warrior
1 Injection Fairy Lily
3 Berserk Gorilla
1 Goblin Attack Force
1 Gemini Elf
2 Bazoo the Soul-Eater
 
Spells
1 Butterfly Dagger Elma
2 Axe of Despair
1 Malevolent Nuzzler
1 Mage Power
1 Change of Heart
1 Pot of Greed
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Premature Burial
1 Heavy Storm
1 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Scapegoat
1 Giant Trunade
 
Traps
1 Magic Jammer
2 Waboku
2 Blast with Chain
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Spell Shield Type-8
1 Ring of Destruction
1 Magic Cylinder

In my mind, the deck looks all right, but I see some issues that are holding it back. The first is that there isn’t enough thinning and searching to reliably get to the Magnet Warrior pieces and Valkyrion. There are lots of ways to fix that, though.

In addition, though this is an all-Earth deck, there’s nothing here that takes advantage of that! Remember that if you commit to one attribute or monster type, you need to do so for distinct reasons. Nearly every attribute and monster type has at least a few special cards that benefit that particular group. Earth has a few that fit right into this deck, and those are entwined with . . .

 . . .The third issue, and that’s all those equip spells. I’m not a total anti-equip player. Equip spells can be great when used carefully, despite the fact that they sometimes result in card disadvantage. The deck is probably running so many to compensate for the relatively low stats of Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. That makes sense, because giving those monsters a jump-start will keep them around longer and make the Valkyrion easier to summon. However, there are better, easier, and higher-utility ways of going about this.

Finally, I think a few of the trap choices could be changed to take advantage of what this deck has to offer. There were no glaring omissions, but I have some additions that I think will give this deck an edge.

The first thing we need to do is drop some cards. Alpha the Magnet Warrior and Gamma the Magnet Warrior are searchable, whereas Beta the Magnet Warrior and Valkyrion the Magna Warrior are not. We’re going to be adding cards that let us search for Alpha and Gamma, so we can afford to drop one of each of those for deck space.

I’m also going to drop two Bazoo the Soul-Eater, the Goblin Attack Force, and the Gemini Elf. Berserk Gorilla and Injection Fairy Lily give the deck a lot of raw power, and I’m going to be adding monsters that provide thinning, opening moves, and continuous field presence more effectively than the current group. I hate to see the Bazoos go—they’re one of my all-time favorite cards—but they won’t quite fit after I make my changes.

I’m going to remove the five equip spells to free up room for my alternate attack-boosting plan. I’m also going to remove Scapegoat. While Scapegoat is a great card, having four tokens on the field could actually slow this deck down in some dangerous ways. In addition, more and more decks are running cards like Airknight Parshath and Spear Dragon to counter the rising use of Scapegoat.

I’m going to remove the two copies of Blast with Chain. They don’t serve any specialized function in this deck, especially now that Harpie’s Feather Duster is gone from the environment. I’m also dropping the one copy of Spell Shield Type-8 for a second copy of Magic Jammer. I’m doing that because there are times when you’ll have extra monsters in hand, like Valkyrions or Magnet Warrior pieces that you don’t need. Magic Jammer makes them useful in a way that Spell Shield Type-8 can’t, since the errata on Spell Shield states that you must discard a spell card.

Finally, I’m going to remove the two copies of Waboku. The deck is going to get a similarly defensive card that is more fun and performs better.

Now we have lots of space for additions. I’m going to start by adding a third copy of Valkyrion the Magna Warrior. As I said earlier, you can’t search for this card, so running three copies is important. It can hurt if you get multiple copies in hand, but you can always pitch them to Magic Jammer.

Next, I’m going to add our searching and thinning monsters. Three Giant Rat and three Nimble Momonga make the list. Giant Rat can search out Alpha the Magnet Warrior and Gamma the Magnet Warrior, as well as more copies of itself, Nimble Momonga, and Injection Fairy Lily. Giant Rat is an invaluable addition to the deck and a prime opening move. This is what I meant when I mentioned that the original build didn’t take advantage of playing all Earth monsters. By adding Giant Rat, we can search out almost anything.

We’ll add some attack power in the form of three Gaia Power, along with two Terraforming to search them out. Field spell cards have gained a lot of power with the reduction of spell and trap removal in the Advanced format. With Gaia Power in play, your Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Magnet Warriors all come up to snuff attack-wise, and even Giant Rat becomes a 1900 attack powerhouse. The Terraformings ensure that you’ll be able to get to your first Gaia Power reliably, and also that you’ll be able to replace it if it’s destroyed. The Terraforming also thins the deck, helping you get to your Alphas and Valkyrions as quickly as possible.

Magic Jammer pulls double duty in this deck, protecting your key monsters and your Gaia Powers. I opted to replace the single Spell Shield with another Jammer because Magic Jammer is a bit more consistent than Spell Shield Type-8. Jammer is also a nice way to pitch your extra copies of Gaia Power when you don’t need them.

Raigeki Break serves the same function, so I’m adding a single copy. It gives you something else to do with extra copies of Valkyrion and Gaia Power, and is itself a high-utility card that works well in many situations. I considered adding a single Tribute to the Doomed instead, but the utility of Raigeki Break overshadowed my Jinzo-related concerns. Still, Offerings to the Doomed or Tribute to the Doomed can make a surprisingly good side deck option, so keep them in mind.

Finally, I ditched the two Wabokus for a card I felt would fit better—Staunch Defender. I adore that card, especially in this deck. When you’re on the defensive, you can target Nimble Momonga or Giant Rat with its effect. Then, when the opponent destroys it, they don’t get to attack for the rest of the turn because Staunch Defender’s target (the only one that can be attacked) is gone. On the offensive, you can use Staunch Defender, forcing your opponent to attack into your first Nimble Momonga if it’s face up, then get two more and thin your deck.

Or, you can plunk down Valkyrion and force your opponent to attack it with everything he or she has face up, racking up tons of life point damage. It’s an awesome card that plays just as well as (if not better than) Waboku when you’re on the defensive, because this deck maintains board presence so well. It is a little tricky to use compared to Waboku, especially since it isn’t chainable, but in my opinion, the benefits outweigh the cost.

The total changes are:

-1 Alpha the Magnet Warrior
-1 Gamma the Magnet Warrior
-2 Bazoo the Soul-Eater
-1 Goblin Attack Force
-1 Gemini Elf
-1 Butterfly Dagger Elma
-2 Axe of Despair
-1 Malevolent Nuzzler
-1 Mage Power
-1 Scapegoat
-2 Blast with Chain
-1 Spell Shield Type-8
-2 Waboku


+1 Valkyrion the Magna Warrior
+3 Giant Rat
+3 Nimble Momonga
+3 Gaia Power
+2 Terraforming
+1 Magic Jammer
+1 Raigeki Break
+2 Staunch Defender

The final deck looks like this:

Joe’s Valkyrion Deck
Jason’s Fix
40 cards

Monsters
2 Alpha the Magnet Warrior
3 Beta the Magnet Warrior
2 Gamma the Magnet Warrior
3 Valkyrion the Magna Warrior
1 Injection Fairy Lily
3 Berserk Gorilla
3 Giant Rat
3 Nimble Momonga

Spells
3 Gaia Power
2 Terraforming
1 Change of Heart
1 Pot of Greed
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Premature Burial
1 Heavy Storm
1 Nobleman of Crossout

1 Giant Trunade

Traps

2 Magic Jammer

2 Staunch Defender

1 Raigeki Break

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Ring of Destruction

1 Magic Cylinder