Cyber-Stein is one of the most influential cards in the game right now. It can end duels extremely early: way before most duelists are used to worrying about their life points. There was a time where saving cards like Sakuretsu Armor and Mirror Force for the opportune moment separated the winners from the losers in tournament play. During that time, though, you had multiple copies of Scapegoat to rely on if your opponent drew into some spell or trap removal. Now, you simply can't afford to wait. Taking too much damage in the early game while trying to conserve your defensive cards will mean you're that much closer to being finished off by Cyber-Stein.
I've devoted a lot of my recent articles to Cyber-Stein-related builds. My hope is that people will fully understand how this card works and why it still exists in the game right now. The reason is simple: it balances out the ridiculously conservative Monarch builds that would be nearly unstoppable if they were allowed to play in a non-aggressive manner. Players have to get opposing life points below 5000 as soon as possible now, and it keeps the game aggressive, which in turn leads to fresh and inventive ideas.
Wins that end with unstoppable Cyber-Stein hands—like Heavy Storm, Cyber Dragon, Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, and Last Will—seemingly aren't respected by anyone. Even wins where players use Cyber-Stein effectively, such as the final matches at Shonen Jump Championship Philadelphia where Kyle Duncan controlled his opponents with Gatling Dragon, are not regarded as skillful wins. The only time players seem to respect the Cyber-Stein deck is when it's an entirely devoted deck. It takes incredible skill to create a devoted Cyber-Stein deck that can win 8 out of its 9 rounds at a major tournament. Igor Kharin did it with an extremely unique deck. Since then, many players have taken Cyber-Stein OTK's into the Top 8, but few have done it with original builds. This unique build from SJC Austin is what gave Kevin Donnelly a hard-earned spot in The Champions:
Monsters: 15
1 Morphing Jar
1 Magician of Faith
3 Cyber-Stein
1 Sangan
1 Spirit Reaper
3 Des Koala
3 Nimble Momonga
2 Des Lacooda
Spells: 18
1 Heavy Storm
1 Limiter Removal
1 Swords of Revealing Light
1 Graceful Charity
1 Level Limit - Area B
1 Scapegoat
2 Messenger of Peace
2 Giant Trunade
3 Megamorph
2 Nightmare’s Steelcage
2 Poison of the Old Man
1 Emergency Provisions
Traps: 7
1 Mirror Force
1 Ceasefire
1 Magic Cylinder
1 Torrential Tribute
3 Secret Barrel
What I absolutely love about this build is how it can control the game in the sense that your opponent may never get an attack off. It packs a ton of stall cards. Level Limit - Area B, Messenger of Peace, Nightmare's Steelcage, and Swords of Revealing Light all prevent opponents from getting attacks through. Every turn your opponent doesn't draw a spell or trap removal card is one more turn that Donnelly can draw an extra card to set up his combo.
Des Lacooda also happens to work perfectly with all of those cards. It makes every turn a whopping two-card draw, giving Donnelly double the chance to draw his OTK combo. That's exactly what this deck is about: maximizing the chance of drawing the OTK. Magician of Faith adds to the deck by grabbing back any one of these stall spells, either after they've been destroyed by opposing spell removal or after they've worn off (as in the case of Nightmare's Steelcage or Swords of Revealing Light). Morphing Jar gives Donnelly more cards to work with, usually either fetching more stall cards or a handful of combo pieces.
The problem with many Cyber-Stein OTK builds is the tendency to fall behind too fast. If you don't draw the combo pieces within the first few turns, you'll be in a great deal of trouble. While all the stall spells that Donnelly packs help solve this problem, there's also the issue of your opponent getting too many monsters on the field. If he or she does, you can no longer use Cyber Twin Dragon or Cyber End Dragon to finish off games, even with the aid of Megamorph or Limiter Removal. There are rare exceptions, of course. Having both Megamorph and Limiter Removal pump up a Cyber End Dragon will pretty much guarantee a win against any monster in the game. Likewise, Torrential Tribute can clear all opposing monsters off the field before the combo has to take place.
However, the more effective way to guarantee a win is to reduce the opponent to below 7000 life points. Accomplishing this means that Cyber End Dragon can punch through most defense-position monsters with a Megamorph or Limiter Removal. This is the reason that Magic Cylinder, Secret Barrel, and Des Koala are in the deck. In fact, each of these cards can usually force through enough damage that your 8000 ATK Cyber End Dragon will be able to press the final damage through against an opposing attack-position monster. Magic Cylinder is especially effective, and if you can get it off, Cyber-Stein + Giant Trunade + Megamorph = game over.
Cylinder also doubles up as a safety net for early Stein plays. Sometimes Donnelly would have to make his move early, using Cyber Twin Dragon and Cyber-Stein to take advantage of an empty field. Doing so meant that the opponent was at extremely low life points, but not finished. This would leave both players at very low life, and Donnelly could be threatened by an opposing Cyber Dragon or Brain Control. Magic Cylinder reverses the threat, spelling out certain doom for opponents who couldn't dispose of the trap card before making their move.
Poison of the Old Man is another card with extremely high utility. It can also force through the final damage, especially when combined with other burn cards. It also doubles up as a means to increase Donnelly's own life points. Alone, this could mean the difference between the 5000 life point barrier that Donnelly needs to activate his win condition. Combined with the effects of Emergency Provisions or another Poison of the Old Man, Donnelly could boost his own life points above the 10000 or 11000 mark. Getting above 10000 means that Donnelly can call forth two Fusions. This would be especially effective against a field of monsters, where a pair of Cyber End Dragon cards being powered up by Limiter Removal can force through game-winning damage.
The 11000 mark is also important though. That's the point where Donnelly can safely make a move without the use of Giant Trunade. If the opponent has very few spell or trap cards down, Donnelly can pay 5000 for Ryu Senshi, then make his move with Cyber End Dragon and Megamorph, confident that the opponent can't activate a trap card to defend with. Nimble Momonga helps with the life point situation, and can get Donnelly right up to 11000, where one Provisions or Poison can put him past that 11000 mark.
The deck also has some potential to control a game rather than go for the straight OTK. While the OTK is always better if the opportunity presents itself, there will be times where Donnelly wouldn't feel comfortable investing an entire game in the probability that one attack will go through. At these times, Donnelly will want to call on Gatling Dragon or Dark Balter the Terrible to diminish the opponent's options and gain a new foothold on the game.
This version of Cyber-Stein OTK is frighteningly consistent. This deck has more ways to end a game than even Kharin's Stein build. Unfortunately for Donnelly, his rampage was cut short by some devastating draws in the Top 8. However, the fact that this deck was able to take eight out of ten matches shows just how consistent the build is, and how unprepared for OTK Stein decks the rest of the format is. I expect to see a good chunk of OTK builds in the future, and you'd better get used to seeing this deck, because it's definitely not down for the count.