I was sitting around yesterday mucking about with some decks, figuring out what I liked about current Machine builds and trying to break Marauding Captain (the latter being a favorite pastime of mine). Before heading to bed, I had the idea to combine Big Bang Shot with D.D. Survivor, creating a 2200 ATK behemoth that dealt pierce damage and would make Magician of Faith and countless Sheep tokens all quiver in unison. I thought of some of the cards that I would run, but fell asleep before putting together a complete decklist.

Much to my surprise, I awoke to find a deck submission in my inbox. Of course, this is a common occurrence, but this one made use of the exact combo that had intrigued me the night before. JC from Boston has created a D. D.-themed deck that abuses the synergy between Big Bang Shot and D.D. Survivor, as well as some other tricks. This decklist doesn't only showcase a carefully-constructed little masterpiece worthy of consideration, it also saves me from having to build a deck from scratch!

Here’s what JC had to say about the deck he put together.

In my metagame, Sheep tokens are running rampant, along with Thousand-Eyes Restrict, Tsukuyomi and Phoenix/Zombie decks. It really bugs me. I got the idea for this after reading an article on Metagame.com and decided to try my hand at it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

JC, Boston, Massachusetts

The following is the decklist that JC submitted.

D.D.’s Revenge

40 cards

Monsters: 16

2 Mobius the Frost Monarch

3 D.D. Assailant

3 D.D. Survivor

2 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Asura Priest

1 D.D. Warrior Lady

1 Sangan

1 Tsukuyomi

1 Sinister Serpent

Spells: 15

3 Book of Moon

3 Giant Trunade

2 Nobleman of Crossout

2 Big Bang Shot

1 Premature Burial

1 Pot of Greed

1 Graceful Charity

1 Swords of Revealing Light

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

Traps: 9

3 Dust Tornado

2 Bottomless Trap Hole

2 Royal Oppression

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Chain Destruction

This deck looks good—abusing three copies of Book of Moon to not only promote pierce damage, but also to combo with Nobleman of Crossout. Tsukuyomi accomplishes the same goal, and because of this, it may be worthwhile to put Royal Command in the side deck.

JC’s deck plays a lot like a traditional Beatdown deck, but it has some tricks up its sleeve thanks to its variety of remove-from-play options. D. D. Assailant and D. D. Warrior Lady make it difficult for the opponent to attack, and Big Bang Shot can work with Dust Tornado or Giant Trunade to remove the opponent’s monsters from play. A single D.D. Survivor equipped with Big Bang Shot is deadly, and Asura Priest packing Big Bang Shot can win games all on its own.

The strength of using Big Bang Shot in this deck is, of course, the fact that D.D. Survivor is virtually immune to its effect. If a Survivor’s Big Bang Shot is removed, that Survivor will return to play, so you can afford to make what would otherwise be a risky move (giving it a Big Bang Shot). With 1800 ATK, D.D. Survivor is already a pretty good beatstick, and will help control the field with or without Big Bang Shot’s bonus.

That said, JC complained about the presence of Thousand-Eyes Restrict and Scapegoat in his metagame, and I think we can do more to counteract that problem. I also think the deck needs to open with a bit more stability, so I’ll be adding in one of my favorite monsters to accomplish that. First, though, we need to make room by dropping some cards.

Two Mobius the Frost Monarch in a main deck is overkill in any metagame. While it’s fine to keep one, I’m definitely going to bump the second to the side deck. There’s nothing here that will force the opponent to set multiple cards to his or her spell and trap zone, and we’re already packing a ton of spell and trap removal. As such, we don’t need to risk topdecking Mobius in the early game.

The two copies of Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer will be removed, strictly because I’m putting in another battle-oriented monster. Again, these can be sent to the side deck for use in matchups where they’re needed, but I honestly can’t imagine when I'd need to rotate them in. This deck has six cards that can remove Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning from play in a variety of situations, so I don’t think Kycoo is as important here as it may be in other decks.

Chain Destruction is gone as well. Most duelists just aren’t running multiple copies of a single monster, and if they are, then you’re getting rid of a single Magician of Faith or D. D. Assailant, at best. Chain Destruction is pure card disadvantage, and I really don’t see its worth in any of this deck’s matchups. The possible exception is Thousand-Eyes Restrict, but we’re going to have a better way of dealing with Thousand-Eyes Restrict by the time I’m finished.

Next, the two Bottomless Trap Hole and one of the Royal Oppressions will also be removed. While these are excellent side deck cards for Chaos matchups, I don’t think they need to be in the main deck, especially when other main deck staples like Mirror Force are not currently present. If you don’t have Mirror Force, then Bottomless Trap Hole is fine as a placeholder—but every serious duelist should own at least one Mirror Force. Give a good deal in trade if you have to. You won’t regret it.

Now, for the additions! Sliding in right over Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer is a pair of Zombyra the Dark. Not only is Zombyra a great opening monster, and searchable with Reinforcement of the Army (should you decide to side deck a pair of those), it also works really well with Big Bang Shot! A single Bang Shot makes it big enough to take down an attack position Jinzo, and it can compensate for the ATK that it loses as it becomes active in battle. It’s a synergy that should not be underestimated, and because Zombyra can only attack monsters anyway, it’s a natural fit for pierce damage capabilities. It’s a liability if inhaled by Thousand-Eyes Restrict, but this deck has plenty of answers for it.

However, this does make Big Bang Shot even more important to the deck, and running three is a good idea. While seeing two in your opening hand can be cringe-worthy, this deck can afford to take risks on that level. It’s only running a single tribute monster, so it won’t ever see two unplayable monsters in its opening hand. At the same time, most of the cards in the deck have a very high level of utility. This deck will fare far better with a third Big Bang Shot.

A pair of Chain Disappearance will solve this deck’s issues with Scapegoat and Thousand-Eyes Restrict. While normally I’d be tempted to run Possessed Dark Soul over Chain Disappearance, this deck plays very aggressively and would do better to preserve its ability to pump out attacker after attacker. Side decking a third Chain Disappearance is recommended, but two in the main deck should be able to take care of most duelists. Remember that with a third copy of Big Bang Shot in the deck, Sheep tokens may end up being your friend. Asura Priest can wipe out all four and pierce through enough damage to win the game, while D.D. Survivor or Zombyra will take a huge chunk out of your opponent’s life points. Try and hold Chain Disappearance back for Thousand-Eyes Restrict, unless using one on in response to Scapegoat will cause an immediate win.

Finally, I’m going to recommend adding Ring of Destruction and Mirror Force. They can be a bit harder to obtain than the Bottomless Trap Hole that I removed, but they’re far more effective in a general sense. The use of Ring of Destruction is also going to give you the option of stacking multiple copies of Big Bang Shot on a single monster to build up a big ATK and then use Ring of Destruction to take out large sums of life points. That’s highly valuable to a fast deck like this one, which will often create a large disparity between your life point total and your opponent’s in the early game.

Here’s the list of changes I made to JC’s deck.

-1 Mobius the Frost Monarch

-2 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer

-1 Chain Destruction

-2 Bottomless Trap Hole

-1 Royal Oppression

+2 Zombyra the Dark

+1 Big Bang Shot

+1 Ring of Destruction

+2 Chain Disappearance

+1 Mirror Force

Here’s what the final deck looks like!

D.D.’s Revenge: Jason’s Fix

40 Cards

Monsters: 15

1 Mobius the Frost Monarch

1 Tsukuyomi

1 Sinister Serpent

Spells: 16

3 Book of Moon

3 Giant Trunade

2 Nobleman of Crossout

3 Big Bang Shot

1 Premature Burial

1 Pot of Greed

1 Graceful Charity

1 Swords of Revealing Light

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

Traps: 9

3 Dust Tornado

1 Royal Oppression

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Ring of Destruction

2 Chain Disappearance

1 Mirror Force

The deck still plays like an aggressive Beatdown deck, but it now has better ways to find its key tricks and a stronger opening game. While D. D. Assailant and D. D. Warrior Lady are decent face down opening plays, Zombyra the Dark is simply better. This deck thrives on making an opponent put things in defense position, and nothing does that like a 2100 ATK behemoth! Rest assured, a Big Bang Shot attack from Zombyra followed by a direct attack from any of your other monsters can easily bring an opponent down to 4000 life points in a single turn. That’s the kind of power that Beatdown decks haven’t had for a long time.

There isn’t a lot of finesse to the heart of the deck. Your main concern is conserving a few of your tricks until the right time. Book of Moon doesn’t always need to be used to defend a monster, especially if that monster is D. D. Warrior Lady or D. D. Assailant. Let them do what they do best and remove monsters through their own effects. Save Book of Moon for when it can best be used aggressively.

By the same token, don’t hesitate to hang on to Asura Priest. I can’t emphasize enough just how easily this card can win you the game, so keep it in your hand unless you know it’s going to be a safe play. Don’t risk losing it to a random Sakuretsu Armor or Ring of Destruction, unless you’re doing so with a shot at winning the game.

D.D. Survivor is on everybody’s “hot this summer” list, but few duelists have come up with intriguing ways to use it. If you’ve been looking for a creative (but effective) idea, go ahead and try this deck. If you’re an old-school duelist like me, you can rest assured that the fast-paced days of Yu-Gi-Oh! will return to any table where you bring this deck!

Thanks for sending it in, JC!

—Jason Grabher-Meyer

Interested in seeing your deck fixed up and featured in The Apotheosis? Send it to me with your name, city and state of residence, and a bit of information describing the deck—it might be featured in a future article! You can get in touch with me at Jason@metagame.com.