Let’s be honest—virtually all the top players in the game agreed that Dark World was good, but not quite good enough. Though the newest monster family on the block packs a ton of impressive effects, no one was able to juice a Championship-quality deck out of it yet . . .

Even though Pace is only running a handful of Dark World monsters (six total), his aggressive play style ensures that he’ll frequently resolve Dark Deal and discard a Dark World monster. In his Round 4 match against Emon, Pace ended both games with no cards in his hand. I’d make a joke about his blindingly fast “pace” of play, but, well . . . okay, I guess I just did. Pace was fast to tout the power of Dark Deal, the Dark World card that takes the most skill to use effectively: “Dark Deal stops so many things. It’s great in the Soul Control matchup, which is basically an auto-win for me. Card Destruction and Morphing Jar discard their Monarchs, so they can’t use them for card advantage. The two Skill Drains crack apart Spirit Reaper walls, and Dark Deal stops the stuff that takes my monsters to tribute. Everything they play, I have a counter to. The only thing you worry about is the three Gravekeeper’s Spy and one Gravekeeper’s Guard—Spirit Reaper is just a 300 DEF monster for me. Once you get Skill Drain on the field, it’s game.”

The deck is incredibly well-teched, and the main decked Kinetic Soldier sticks out the moment you look at the decklist. More impressive is the use of Pole Position, a card I myself only took note of a few days ago. It’s killer in this format, and it’s perfect for Pace’s deck because of all of his life point costs. “I pay 4000 life for four cards in my deck. I needed Emergency Provisions in there, and I wanted My Body as a Shield, but I couldn’t afford it. So I used Pole instead. It’s great against Mobius, which people are using instead of Jinzo, thankfully.” If Pole Position is the only card on the field when Mobius is summoned it’s an instant two-for-one, costing the opponent both the Mobius and their tribute monster. Even if Mobius destroys two spells or traps, as long as Pole takes it down, it’s still an even two-for-two.

I asked Pace to describe his matchup with Return from the Different Dimension. “It’s pretty much in my favor,” he said confidently. “They can’t get my field cleared, and Dark Deal is a great threat against Heavy Storm. I haven’t played the matchup all that much, but from what I’ve played so far, it’s pretty good. Pole Position ruins their Smashing Grounds. The more spells in your deck, the better for me!”

Pace has only played in three Regionals in his dueling career, but his performances were less than sparkling in two of them. “I went 4-4 twice with crap decks: Back to Square One, and a Soul Control with Jinzo and Spell Canceller. I went 7-1 in last week’s regional with this deck though.”

If you’ve been looking for a Dark World deck that can hang with the best of them in the current format, this is what you’ve been looking for. Mixing some of the format’s most underrated tech with Dark World’s tricks and raw power, it could be a shoo-in for the Top 8 if Pace can maintain his stamina and not falter for another five rounds.