Exodia has always been a signature hallmark of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: it represents everything that lends flavor to the license. Big monsters? Exodia is the biggest. Heart of the cards? Topdeck into all five pieces in turn one and you’ll be a believer. It’s pretty much Yu-Gi-Oh! concentrated, representing both the intense strategic possibilities, and the potential for luck and fate to overcome all else.
So where’d the big guy go, anyway?
In order to be consistent, Exodia duelists have always needed killer combos to create massive draw power. In the days of Butterfly Dagger - Elma, that power was readily available to anyone willing to learn the deck. In fact, it was a little too much power, and Butterfly Dagger - Elma was locked up in the Forbidden zone of the Jank Tank™.
Duelists later turned to Manticore Exodia, a deck that used a pair of cards in order to repeatedly trigger Card of Safe Return. Just ditch one Manticore in the graveyard, drop a second to special summon it in the end phase, and you could endlessly cycle the pair of them. Each time you did, you’d trigger Card of Safe Return and draw a card. Draw them all, and Exodia will be in there somewhere.
The deck was often dependent on Painful Choice to get at the Manticores, high-ATK Beasts that can’t be searched by your average Sangan or Giant Rat. When Painful Choice was forbidden, the format change made for a double-header of hurt for Exodia: Confiscation, The Forceful Sentry, and Delinquent Duo took center stage, and they were the last nails in The Forbidden One’s coffin.
But now, that’s all changed! Delinquent Duo and The Forceful Sentry are gone, and the more diligent Exodia fans out there have discovered a more-than-adequate replacement for Painful Choice that can be run in threes. Jody T, an Exodia fan from Omaha, sent me his “Generations of Manticore” deck, and the idea was just too good to pass up. Here’s the email he sent me describing his strategy.
Hey Jason,
I'm a longtime fan of your work, both on the tournament reports and the original deck works that you've written about. You're always asking for original decks that you can profile, and I thought this might be right up your alley. It's a restoration of an old classic, with some new cards that once again make it possible.
Back in the old Traditional format (prior to any of the Forbidden lists) I used to play a Manticore of Darkness Beastdown deck that utilized Painful Choice to search out five of my Beasts (two of which were Manticore of Darkness) and then play Card of Safe Return to pull off the infinite draw combo. At the time I didn't have Exodia, I was just using it as a means to avoid getting Yata-locked while fueling my grave for my Bazoo-Return tech.
When they forbade Painful Choice, I thought I was going to have to retire Manticore forever, because the combo wouldn’t be anywhere close to reliable ever again. Since then, I've moved on to bigger and better things, but I’ve always remembered those glorious days.
That was in the past, though, and now it’s on to the future. With the release of Shadow of Infinity came a few cards that revolve around the number of cards of the same name that exist in the graveyard. With them came two trap cards: Next to be Lost and Generation Shift. I didn't think much about them at first, but soon realized that these might actually hold some alternative potential—the potential to revitalize the Manticores that have been collecting dust in my binders!
So far, this is just in the beginning stages, which is why I'm coming to you for help.
—Jody T.
Omaha, NB
Take a gander at Jody’s decklist.
Generations of Manticore: 40 cards
Monsters: 20
2 Manticore of Darkness
1 Exodia the Forbidden One
1 Left Arm of the Forbidden One
1 Left Leg of the Forbidden One
1 Right Arm of the Forbidden One
1 Right Leg of the Forbidden One
3 Dark Mimic LV1
3 Emissary of the Afterlife
3 Hyena
3 Nimble Momonga
1 Sangan
Spells: 11
3 Card of Safe Return
1 Graceful Charity
2 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Pot of Avarice
1 Premature Burial
3 The Shallow Grave
Traps: 9
1 Call of the Haunted
3 Generation Shift
2 Gravity Bind
2 Needle Ceiling
1 Torrential Tribute
Jody’s goal is pretty clear. He’s looking to have Generation Shift set and on the field, and then he wants to tribute summon Manticore of Darkness. Then he’ll activate Generation Shift to destroy the Manticore he summoned, and fetch one to his hand from the deck (there’s that elusive Manticore searchability). That sends the first Manticore to the graveyard, preparing it for special summoning in the end phase, while loading Jody with the in-hand Manticore he needs to discard in order to start the loop and trigger the first special summon. From there, it’s smooth sailing as he repeatedly cycles each Manticore between the field and graveyard to draw through his deck. Cool stuff!
The fun doesn’t end there, though. Generation Shift can also destroy Emissary of the Afterlife in order to trigger its Exodia-fetching effect. Then, Generation Shift will give it another Emissary so it can do it again. It can even force the destruction of Sangan, or trade a spent Dark Mimic LV1 to get a fresh one. Nimble Momonga and Hyena fill the field to block attacks, and The Shallow Grave can retrieve a variety of fallen support monsters.
Where do I think there’s room for improvement to this deck? Why is this in a deck fix column? In a word, the answer is “Jinzo.” While this deck doesn’t need to lock down the field or activate Generation Shift to pull off the win every single time, it does want to do those things whenever possible, and Jinzo shuts down both. With momentum so important in the current format—and with Jinzo seeing a massive return to top-level competition—we really need to diversify this deck’s dependency on trap cards. Virtually all of my fixes are based on beating Jinzo if he hits the field in the early game.
Part of my solution is monster-based, which means I need to trim some fat in the brown and yellow categories. The Manticores, Emissaries, and Sangan are all integral to our primary win condition, and we’re definitely not going to drop any of the Exodia pieces. That means all my wiggle room is tied up in the Hyenas, Momongas, and the copies of Dark Mimic LV1. Out of those three, I value the Momongas highly for their ability to swarm the field and gain life points, and I like the Mimics as a secondary source of deck thinning and for their synergy with Generation Shift. I don’t think much of the Hyenas, though, so dropping all three copies is an easy choice.
From there, I’ll drop one of the three copies of Dark Mimic LV1. This won’t really hurt the monster’s synergy with Generation Shift very much, and I’ll still get to draw some extra cards here and there. Note that Dark Mimic LV1 is being used here over Skelengel and Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. That’s because Jody is using two copies of Nobleman of Crossout, and he can count on his opponents to run Dekoichi or Skelengel long before they’d ever consider using Mimic. The use of an alternative monster ensures that he never removes his own Mimics from his deck. Though doing so would thin things down, it would also create a potential monster shortage and give him one less option with Generation Shift.
The final drop I want to make is the most obvious. Those two copies of Gravity Bind are serious liabilities under the threat of Jinzo, and they’re easily replaced with equivalent spells. My first addition to the deck is a single copy each of Messenger of Peace and Level Limit - Area B. These cards will lock down virtually all of the monsters that Gravity Bind blocked, and while Messenger of Peace will allow the odd Don Zaloog or Mystic Tomato to sneak under your defenses, it makes up for that by rejecting big low-level attackers like Injection Fairy Lily and Gren Maju Da Eiza. That latter monster is going to become increasingly important if Macro Cosmos takes off as an archetype, and will keep you from having to side deck a few more cards for what is always going to be a rough matchup (Exodia and the Manticores hate being removed from play).
Both of those cards will fend off Jinzo, but how about destroying it outright? A pair of Giant Rat cards will stand in for some of the defensive power of the lost Hyenas, while allowing the deck to reliably search out Exiled Force. Retrieving Exiled Force also gives Sangan something else to do when you don’t feel the need to grab an Exodia piece, too.
Finally, one of the challenges of running an Exodia deck back in its golden days was losing a piece to the graveyard. Des Feral Imp and Backup Soldier were the only answers, but each was awkward and possessed a low utility, making them troublesome options at best. Now we’re blessed with Pot of Avarice and Monster Reincarnation to recover lost limbs and heads, a fact that Jody has obviously noted, since he’s using the Pot in his build. I’m going to add one Monster Reincarnation too, because I like its speed and its simplicity. Unlike Pot of Avarice, you get to take the targeted monster right back into your hand, and that can make for an instant win if Reincarnation’s target is your fifth Exodia piece. Being able to reuse Exiled Force will come in handy too, and you can always trade Reincarnation and another card for Sangan or Emissary.
That’s it for my tweak! Here’s a tally of the changes I made.
–3 Hyena
–1 Dark Mimic LV1
–2 Gravity Bind
+2 Giant Rat
+1 Exiled Force
+1 Monster Reincarnation
+1 Level Limit - Area B
+1 Messenger of Peace
The final build of Jody’s deck-rifling powerhouse is as follows.
Generations of Manticore: Jason’s Fix
40 Cards
Monsters: 19
2 Manticore of Darkness
1 Exodia the Forbidden One
1 Left Arm of the Forbidden One
1 Left Leg of the Forbidden One
1 Right Arm of the Forbidden One
1 Right Leg of the Forbidden One
2 Dark Mimic LV1
3 Emissary of the Afterlife
2 Giant Rat
1 Exiled Force
3 Nimble Momonga
1 Sangan
Spells: 14
3 Card of Safe Return
1 Graceful Charity
2 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Pot of Avarice
1 Premature Burial
3 The Shallow Grave
1 Monster Reincarnation
1 Level Limit - Area B
1 Messenger of Peace
Traps: 7
1 Call of the Haunted
3 Generation Shift
2 Needle Ceiling
1 Torrential Tribute
This version is far less dependent on trap cards, and it’s more resilient to boot. The deck’s goals are pretty static regardless of what phase of the duel you’re in. Be it the early, mid, or late game, your aim is to set up your combo with a pair of Manticore and Card of Safe Return cards, ensuring that your opponent doesn’t have a set Dust Tornado or Mystical Space Typhoon to threaten your Safe Return with.
When you’re running this deck, a conservative play style is really important. While you may have the option of tributing for a Manticore and then running something over, don’t do it unless you’re sure that you can keep the Manticore in play. Its effect can let it bounce back from Sakuretsu Armor, but D. D. Warrior Lady or D. D. Assailant can lay it out for good. Losing a single Manticore can often lose you the game, so be careful when you commit one to the field.
Bottomless Trap Hole can cause big problems for the same reason. Lose a Manticore to it, and you’ll be kicking yourself for the rest of the duel. Luckily, Generation Shift can overcome any offending Holes, thanks to the virtues of chaining! If you summon Manticore of Darkness to the field and the opponent responds by activating Bottomless, you can add Generation Shift to the chain, target Manticore, and breeze on past the Hole. Manticore will be sent to the graveyard before Bottomless gets a chance to remove it from play, and by the time the chain resolves, the big ape will be safely off the field, ready to be resurrected. If you’re wondering why Generation Shift, a card that destroys some of your field presence, has been chosen over Next to be Lost (which leaves your on-field monster intact), this solution for Bottomless Trap Hole is one of the major answers.
The deck can be played in a uniform manner regardless of the matchup. Obviously a non-battle strategy, like Burn, gives you some more freedom with your summons, though it might demand a slightly faster rate of play since Burn strategies won’t be blocked by your lockdown engine (you may want to side deck for the matchup). Three Des Wombat cards will give you extra fodder for Manticore, and they’ll block effect damage. Once you get one to the field, your main concern becomes Lava Golem, but both Generation Shift and Manticore of Darkness can be used to remove it from the field. Shifting a Lava Golem in the opponent’s end phase, right after he or she summons it, is worth serious style points.
The only matchup that will require a lot of side decking is Macro Cosmos. If no one has picked up the deck in your local area yet, you’re home free. But if someone has, you need to either get your combo running before Macro Cosmos hits the field, or destroy it when it does. Seeing as most Macro Cosmos builds run Solemn Judgment to defend the precious continuous trap, you’ll need to side deck as much spell and trap removal as you can afford. Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, and three Dust Tornado cards are all musts, and you can easily side deck out The Shallow Grave, Pot of Avarice, and Monster Reincarnation to fit them in. Breaker the Magical Warrior, and even Mobius the Frost Monarch are smarter choices. Your ability to maintain field presence will compensate for Mobius’s tribute cost.
Against the average Beatdown or Chaos deck, Generations of Manticore will fare pretty well. You can throw up a wall of monsters quickly, win at unexpected times, and you’ve got lockdown cards plus Needle Ceiling to tech Return from the Different Dimension. Yes, you will win games on turn one or turn two, but you’ll also be able to hang in there and pull out those turn ten or turn fifteen wins as well. Just be careful of Chaos Sorcerer—you might want to avoid summoning Manticore until your combo is ready to go.
Thanks to Generation Shift, Exodia is back! If you’ve been a long-time Exodia user, there’s no time like the present to bust out everybody’s favorite Forbidden force of nature. Give this deck a try, tweak it to your tastes if needed, and you’ll be able to win tons of games with arguably the most enjoyable declaration of victory out there. Who doesn’t want to point at his or her opponent and say “Exodia! OBLITERATE!” It brings a tear to this old veteran’s wizened eye.
Sniffle.
Thanks for sending this in, Jody! Hopefully the fix helps, and will inspire plenty of duelists to dust off their sets of Exodia cards!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer