Everyone likes to take a risk now and then. We’re all here because we enjoy a card game, after all. But sometimes just the randomness of a deck of cards isn’t enough. Sometimes you need that extra thrill of a coin flip or a die roll and then . . . soon, you need more. And when it all gets out of control, you end up with a deck like this one!
Dear Jason,
Before anything, I have to say that I absolutely love your work, especially your “Apotheosis” articles. I created this deck after seeing a certain episode in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, because it looked like something that hasn't been done. The idea of the deck primarily focuses on gambling, by using coin-based cards such as Sand Gambler and Sasuke Samurai #4 for their risky, yet rewarding effects. Besides gambling, I decided to throw in some monsters which provide benefits through damage—this can be combined with Fairy Box and Mirror Wall. Finally, to wrap it all up, I added a single Emergency Provisions and Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, as a "safety-net" from too much life point payment or an unlucky gamble.
I’ve had about ten games with it so far, and I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out. I decided I'd like to show it to you.
—Tashan Bunbury, Milton, London
Here’s the deck list that Tashan submitted.
Fate of a Gambler
40 Cards
Monsters: 18
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
2 Blowback Dragon
3 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
2 Helping Robo For Combat
1 Reflect Bounder
2 Don Zaloog
3 Sand Gambler
2 Sasuke Samurai #4
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Sangan
Spells: 15
2 Second Coin Toss
1 Pot of Greed
1 Graceful Charity
1 Delinquent Duo
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
2 Giant Trunade
1 Snatch Steal
1 Premature Burial
1 Emergency Provisions
1 Swords of Revealing Light
2 Nobleman of Crossout
Traps: 7
3 Fairy Box
2 Mirror Wall
1 Mirror Force
1 Call of the Haunted
The deck looks fun! However, I think we can accomplish two things with it. First, we can make this deck more effective and a bit better for competitive play. Second, let’s add some more coin flips!
While the deck certainly looks well-built, some old-school cards can really give it an edge. As always, I’ll start things off by making some room.
First, I’m going to remove the three copies of Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer. While they feed Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, I don’t feel that they’re the most potent monsters for battle, and I think this deck is stretching just to fit in that Black Luster Soldier. I think Helping Robo For Combat is also a big reach to try and fill the deck’s need for Light monsters, and I don’t think that it contributes much to the overall theme. I’m going to remove all of those as well.
The problem? Now Black Luster Soldier doesn’t have much support to ensure that it can be summoned when it’s drawn. I’m fine with that, because I don’t think that it’s necessary for this deck. That’s right—I’m actually cutting Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. Now doesn’t it feel like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders? Maybe you don’t feel it, but I’m already breathing the sweet, fresh air of freedom. I’m no longer obligated to limit this deck to only Light and Dark monsters, and that means I can do all sorts of crazy things with it!
Don Zaloog is gone. While it’s a great way of capitalizing on an open field, we’re going to be doing that with raw power instead of tricky hand disruption. It’s a poor opening draw, and while it can be very good under the proper conditions, I just don’t feel like it’s a must-play card in the deck now that Black Luster Soldier has hit the road.
I’m also going to drop all three copies of Sand Gambler. “But, Jason,” you cry. “Not the coin flips! Those are the point of the deck!” You’re correct—they are the point of the deck. But we’ve got a far better alternative than Sand Gambler waiting in the wings, and you’ll soon see what that is.
Finally, I’m going to be adding in a tribute monster later on, so I need to cut one from Tashan’s build. The deck will drop down to one Blowback Dragon instead of two. Rest assured, we’re going to add in a lot more coin flip effects than we’re taking out.
I’m going to remove the one copy of Emergency Provisions and the pair of Giant Trunade, bouncing all three cards to the side deck. I just don’t feel that they’re needed for most matchups, but since they can come in handy, we’ll keep the ability to use them when we really want to do so. Finally, I’m going to be replacing Mirror Wall with a similar trap that I feel is far more playable. It will preserve the deck’s surprise factor while really leaving the opponent reeling!
We’ve dropped a whopping seventeen cards from this deck! That leaves us a lot of room, and I’m going to put it to good use.
The replacement for Sand Gambler is an old friend that should make you smile with nostalgia: Time Wizard! That’s right—Time Wizard can dish out the same hurting with a single coin flip as Sand Gambler did with three coin flips, so the Wizard will be far more reliable. He can certainly backfire far more easily, but Second Coin Toss and a few changes to the deck will mitigate that. Beyond that, if Tashan really feels the need to keep Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning in the deck, he can rely on Time Wizard to provide the Light attribute fodder he needs, which is far better than Helping Robo!
To support a pair of Time Wizards, we’ll run two Apprentice Magicians to search it out as needed. This will maintain board presence, soak up attacks, and give us some course of action for when the coin flips don’t go our way. In addition, Apprentice Magician can seek out Magician of Faith and Hand of Nephthys, so we’ll use one each of both those cards.
Yup, I’ve snuck Hand of Nephthys right in there! We’ll add Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys to back it up, and the great thing about using the Phoenix is that if Time Wizard goes berserk and destroys it, the Phoenix will return. Granted, the damage incurred from the angry firebird will hurt, but it’s less than we’d take if we simply didn’t have any monsters on the field. Apprentice Magician becomes a lynchpin card for this deck, so make sure you understand all of its uses. It will hardly ever be a dead draw, because it provides so many options.
Moving on, I’m going to add some more coin flip cards. I promised we were going to go old-school, and if Time Wizard wasn’t enough, then how about Jirai Gumo?
That’s right, the big bug guy. You remember him, right?
Okay . . . maybe not. A 2200 ATK powerhouse that saw play in Yu-Gi-Oh!’s original Beatdown decks years ago, Jirai Gumo was quickly rotated out of most competitive arsenals once Goblin Attack Force hit the scene in Pharaoh’s Servant. That’s a shame, because it’s a strong card if you have the stomach to use it. Every time it attacks, you flip a coin, and if you call the coin toss wrong, you lose half your life points. Ouch.
Don’t worry, though. Between Second Coin Toss and a few other tricks, you’ll be able to make the most of Gumo, even when it gets hungry and gulps down half of your life points. It’s no big deal. And, well, if it becomes a big deal, um . . . chalk it up to a learning experience! Yes, that’s it!
The last additions I want to make to the monster lineup are a pair of Asura Priest and Sinister Serpent. A great answer to Sheep tokens, and a great equalizer for the times when Time Wizard eats your board, Asura Priest is a great way to keep pressure on your opponent. Sinister Serpent is the exact opposite. Serpent is used here as a source of renewable defense, and that can be very important for a deck that tends to randomly blow away all of its own monsters.
Another reason I used two copies of Asura Priest is my first spell addition, and that’s Big Bang Shot. Strap Big Bang Shot to Asura Priest to earn a quick game win if your opponent’s flipped Scapegoat, or just pound home some big hits against his or her defense position monsters. It’s a nice card, despite being a bit risky. The real reason I’m using it, though? Jirai Gumo. Opponents tend to go into turtle mode by setting plenty of face-down defense position monsters when cornered by anything with more than 2000 ATK. We can’t afford to waste Gumo’s attacks on monsters that won’t incur life point loss for the opponent—after all, each attack could cost us massive amounts of life points. The solution? Give Jirai Gumo the ability to kick out pierce damage and punch clean through those defense position monsters. That way, even if we lose on the coin toss and take a loss of a few thousand life points, the opponent will be taking damage as well. Cool stuff!
The second spell I want to add is a copy of Card Destruction. Card Destruction will help us get the most out of Sinister Serpent, but it will also give increased access to the important coin flip effects that we need to see in certain situations. Does Time Wizard have a chance to take out five monsters? Make sure it explodes in the right direction by searching out Second Coin Toss. Is your opponent vulnerable to a big attack? Go ahead and seek out Jirai Gumo to really dish out some pain. On defense? Dig for an Apprentice Magician to buy a turn or two of safety. This deck has answers for almost every bad situation. The trick is in finding those answers, and Card Destruction does that while disrupting the opponent’s hand.
Finally, I promised a replacement for Mirror Wall, and I intend to deliver. A single copy of Ordeal of a Traveler will be far easier to keep on the field than Mirror Wall, meaning it can deter multiple attacks. It won’t destroy monsters like Fairy Box and Mirror Wall, but it will remove them from the field and get them out of your way. I also like the flavor it adds to the deck. Your opponent usually won’t know what’s in your hand, and there’s nothing more satisfying than inviting an opponent to his or her doom by presenting your face-down hand and telling them to “pick a card, any card.” It’s so deliciously creepy.
Here are the total changes that I made to the deck.
-3 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
-2 Helping Robo For Combat
-3 Sand Gambler
-1 Blowback Dragon
-2 Don Zaloog
-1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
-1 Emergency Provisions
-2 Giant Trunade
-2 Mirror Wall
+2 Apprentice Magician
+1 Magician of Faith
+2 Time Wizard
+1 Hand of Nephthys
+1 Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys
+3 Jirai Gumo
+2 Asura Priest
+1 Sinister Serpent
+2 Big Bang Shot
+1 Card Destruction
+1 Ordeal of a Traveler
The final version is as follows.
Fate of a Gambler: Jason’s Fix
40 Cards
Monsters: 19
1 Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys
1 Blowback Dragon
1 Reflect Bounder
2 Sasuke Samurai #4
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Sangan
2 Apprentice Magician
1 Magician of Faith
2 Time Wizard
1 Hand of Nephthys
3 Jirai Gumo
2 Asura Priest
1 Sinister Serpent
Spells: 15
2 Second Coin Toss
1 Pot of Greed
1 Graceful Charity
1 Delinquent Duo
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
1 Snatch Steal
1 Premature Burial
1 Swords of Revealing Light
2 Nobleman of Crossout
2 Big Bang Shot
1 Card Destruction
Traps: 6
3 Fairy Box
1 Ordeal of a Traveler
1 Mirror Force
1 Call of the Haunted
We now have a perfectly wacky and perfectly tournament-worthy coin flip deck!
It’s difficult to give static advice on how to play our flippy little behemoth. It can win anywhere, be it the early, mid-, or late game, but it can also lose anywhere if fortune doesn’t favor it. The important thing is to play dynamically and to remember all of your tricks. Get out Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys whenever you can, because it’s good insurance for virtually any situation. Aside from that, remember the following tips.
Time Wizard can be a one-man comeback from any sort of losing situation. Just remember that once it destroys your opponent’s monsters he’ll probably be stuck in attack position, so make sure you can protect yourself on the following turn.
Sasuke Samurai #4 is both adorable and potentially amazing. It has a fifty percent chance of destroying anything it attacks before you even get to damage calculation, but what’s more impressive is the fact that it can be an incredible wall when it’s under fire. Every monster that attacks the Samurai has a 50 percent chance of being poked with the Samurai’s little halberd before it even gets into swinging range, so that makes Sasuke Samurai #4 a potent and threatening wall. Fairy Box or Ordeal of a Traveler can easily make it an imposing sight, and might be enough to deter attacks outright. Take advantage of Sasuke Samurai #4 whenever possible.
Jirai Gumo is also an enormous barricade. Use it for defense as needed, but don’t be too lenient with the attacks. Feel free to lead off with it on the opening turn. If an opponent uses Snatch Steal or Brain Control on it with the intent to attack, the odds are good that they can’t mitigate the risk of a 4000 life point loss nearly as well as you can.
Apprentice Magician is the deck’s main set-up card. Regardless of how many tricks you’ve already used, you’ll probably have at least one left that can turn the tide of a game. Whether you’re using Apprentice to search out Magician of Faith to reuse a spell, another copy of itself to defend your life points, Time Wizard to gain card advantage, or Hand of Nephthys to unleash the Phoenix, Apprentice Magician is a powerful card. Remember that and use it wisely.
You don’t have many side decking priorities, simply because you can take on almost anything that comes at you with the main deck alone. In addition, there isn’t a lot to rotate out of the main deck, so side decking can be difficult. That said, make sure to take along some Giant Trunades or Dust Tornados. This deck doesn’t work very well in the Lockdown Burn matchup if it flips poorly with Time Wizard, so some extra spell and trap removal can really help.
Beyond all else, have fun! Sometimes this deck may just lose. Luck won’t be on your side all the time and there’s nothing you can do about that. Still, Fate of a Gambler can be both highly competitive and highly amusing in big tournaments. If you’ve been looking for something fun to play but still want to win, go ahead and try out the fixed build of Tashan’s deck.
Thanks for sending it in, Tashan!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer