I will begin today’s lecture with a confession. Those of you who attend my classes regularly (the shining and scarce few of you who are not dismal slackers) are already well-versed in my adoration for Amazoness monsters. In fact, if one were to equate an affinity for a particular group or genre with a negative attribute, one might even say that I have a “weak spot” for them deep in the cockles of my heart. Others would instead allege (perhaps rightly so) that both my heart and its cockles blackened and withered years ago, but the point remains! I possess a certain partiality for Amazonesses.
And yet, as much as I identify with the Amazonesses and their flashy habits of dress, I much prefer Harpie monsters. Feathers, spikes, and spandex? I readily admit that I can only begin to aspire to such gloriously bold fashion statements.
Such courage translates well into dueling, though, a field where I have more than enough confidence and daring to adopt the Harpie lifestyle. Our intrepid reader Michael has mustered the same degree of bravery, and submitted to me an impressively dedicated Harpie deck that borders admirably on the temerarious! Here is the plea for aid he addressed to me . . .
Dr. Vowler,
You may recall this submission from a little over a month ago. The reply I had received requested that I submit it again closer to the FOTB preview. Well Dr. Vowler, that time has certainly arrived! First off, an explanation as to what the deck attempts to accomplish and how.
The first goal is to place as many Harpie Lady 1 and Harpie Queen cards as possible into the graveyard. This is achieved through Card Trooper, Morphing Jar, and Card Destruction. Harpie Queen enters the graveyard merely by using its own effect to search for Harpies’ Hunting Ground. Now for the reason why this deck was created! Hysteric Party in conjunction with Harpies’ Hunting Ground becomes a chainable Harpie’s Feather Duster, not to mention a potential one-turn knockout.
Even if this deck is unable to perform its OTK early on, it should be able to hold its own until it is able to. So without further ado, I present the deck list to you.
Thank you for your time and for reading this Dr. Vowler.
—Michael S.
The power of Hysteric Party truly cannot be understated now that it has six easy targets instead of just three. While you may decry my statement as one indicating slackerdom, there’s simply no comparison between Harpie Lady Sisters and its Force of the Breaker better, Harpie Queen, in regards to each card’s potential with Hysteric Party. The introduction of Harpie Queen and her ability to count as Harpie Lady in the graveyard makes Hysteric Party infinitely better than it was before, and that shift in power in turn makes this deck possible. Let’s look at what Michael submitted.
The Queen’s Swarm—40 Cards
Monsters: 18
3 Cyber Dragon
3 Card Trooper
3 Harpie Lady 1
3 Harpie Queen
3 Magical Merchant
1 Sangan
1 Morphing Jar
1 Spirit Reaper
Spells: 15
3 Harpies’ Hunting Ground
3 Shrink
2 Smashing Ground
2 Rush Recklessly
1 Card Destruction
1 Snatch Steal
1 Confiscation
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
Traps: 7
3 Threatening Roar
3 Hysteric Party
1 Mirror Force
As much as it pains me to admit it, Michael’s build isn’t bad, is it? He clearly has a viable set of support cards to help him pull off his one-turn KO, and the focus his build demonstrates is admirable. He runs all of his important cards in multiples so as to not leave anything to chance, plays a variety of accelerating effects in order to create his win scenario as quickly as possible, and plays spell and trap cards that have been carefully selected for his rather unique monster set.
However, I have two slight reservations regarding the resiliency of Michael’s plan. First, he is investing a great deal of time and effort into what becomes nothing more than a singular payoff: an OTK through Hysteric Party. While one could argue that Harpies’ Hunting Ground is also a unique benefit for Michael’s efforts, I think we can all agree that he could be getting more out of the deck regardless. Focus is one thing, but ignoring possibilities is a problem in and of itself. In addition, I’m also concerned that Michael is perhaps focusing a bit too much, sending too many cards to the graveyard and playing too defensively for his strategy to be effective. So fixing those two problems is my goal.
First, I will remove all three copies of Magical Merchant. While the Merchant and Card Trooper combination has worked very well in many Bazoo/Trooper builds this format, we simply need more space to fit other monster cards. We will be adding several more elements to the mix that will help get Harpies out of the deck, so Magical Merchant’s passive effect simply won’t be needed.
Next, one Harpies’ Hunting Ground will be removed, as well as one Mystical Space Typhoon. With three Harpie Queen cards to search out the Hunting Ground, we just won’t need three copies, and too many Hunting Grounds will create a risk of dead draws. The Mystical Space Typhoon is arguably unnecessary with such easy access to Hunting Ground, but its obsolescence will become even more obvious once one of my additions is in place.
Card Destruction is a conditional option in this deck, and will frequently be an undesirable card to play. Again, I’ll be adding more cards that help bring the Harpies out from Michael’s deck, so using Card Destruction to get at them just won’t be necessary.
While Threatening Roar can be an excellent call in slower decks, or a great card for the side deck when faced with Demise OTK, it is in no way main deck worthy here. If we wanted to run main decked tech, I daresay three Pulling the Rug cards would be better, but neither is necessary.
Finally, the two Rush Recklessly cards and one copy of Shrink will be removed. Face-up monsters can never be relied on to stay on the field, and investing so much of our defense in the hope that our opponent won’t play Smashing Ground is utterly foolish. I’ll be diversifying this deck’s monster removal options to a substantial degree, and it will perform with heightened reliability as a result.
With twelve cards now removed, I feel I have ample space in which to work. I will begin the additions with three copies of Birdface! When Birdface is destroyed in battle, you get to search your deck for a copy of Harpie Lady. In our case, his destruction will allow us to fetch a copy of Harpie Lady 1. Birdface’s 1600 ATK is formidable to begin with, but he’ll reach 1800 ATK if backed by Harpies’ Hunting Ground or 1900 with Harpie Lady 1. His status as a Winged Beast-type monster will also open up further benefits later on.
The same can be said for a certain Winged Beast that has been given a great deal of attention lately—Raiza the Storm Monarch! A pair of Raiza cards will make an excellent addition to our strategy, providing an alternative source of high-impact offense as well as giving us the disruption we need to make Hysteric Party successful. Not to be too punny, it’s actually a bit of a “chicken-egg” situation. Raiza’s effect can help Hysteric Party resolve smoothly, removing cards like Bottomless Trap Hole or Mirror Force before they become a hindrance. But at the same time, the raw special summon power Hysteric Party offers can also make it much easier to tribute for Raiza. How deliciously synergetic! Premature Burial will have a similar effect, either finding tribute fodder for a fresh Raiza or resurrecting a fallen one for more attacks.
One Elegant Egotist will give us yet another way to bring Harpie Lady 1 to the field. While it cannot special summon Harpie Queen, it can use Harpie Queen as its requisite on-field Harpie Lady in order to be activated, and it really speeds the deck along.
The deck still has the potential to gather a few dead cards, and some mass removal would be helpful. Two copies of Lightning Vortex is a major investment, but seems well-reasoned given how many attacks your opponent will be trying to make against you. If you ever draw a copy of Lightning Vortex that you don’t need, you can always pitch it to Hysteric Party or reserve it as a method of discarding that one last Harpie you need to get into the graveyard. We removed plenty of conditional cards from Michael’s build—adding in one or two more won’t have a negative impact.
Torrential Tribute is a must-play considering that this deck will be flatly out-classed in the ATK department a great portion of the time. In addition, you can always summon a Harpie, flip Torrential, wait for it to resolve and clear the field, then launch Hysteric Party against your wide-open opponent! In this aggressive format, the decision to not play Torrential Tribute should never be made lightly.
Finally, we now have a whopping eleven Winged Beasts in this deck, many of whom we often won’t mind losing! That creates the possibility for us to use Icarus Attack, allowing me to fulfill my initial goal of finding a bigger payoff for such dedication to the central theme. A pair will open up ridiculous plays with Raiza, as well as some stunning tricks with Hysteric Party.
Here are the changes my genius has decreed!
-3 Magical Merchant
-1 Harpies’ Hunting Ground
-1 Mystical Space Typhoon
-2 Rush Recklessly
-1 Shrink
-1 Card Destruction
-3 Threatening Roar
+2 Raiza the Storm Monarch
+3 Birdface
+1 Elegant Egotist
+2 Lightning Vortex
+1 Premature Burial
+2 Icarus Attack
+1 Torrential Tribute
The final version of the deck is as follows!
The Queen’s Swarm—Vowler’s Far More Feathery Version: 40 Cards
Monsters: 20
2 Raiza the Storm Monarch
3 Cyber Dragon
3 Card Trooper
3 Harpie Lady 1
3 Harpie Queen
3 Birdface
1 Sangan
1 Morphing Jar
1 Spirit Reaper
Spells: 13
2 Harpies’ Hunting Ground
2 Shrink
2 Smashing Ground
1 Snatch Steal
1 Confiscation
1 Heavy Storm
1 Elegant Egotist
2 Lightning Vortex
1 Premature Burial
Traps: 7
2 Icarus Attack
3 Hysteric Party
1 Mirror Force
1 Torrential Tribute
The scope of the deck has now been increased, without costing it any efficiency on the fronts Michael originally prioritized. Though it was initially highly dependent on Hysteric Party to muster enough attack power for a win, it now has Birdface providing more mid-level attack power and Raiza the Storm Monarch playing the venerable role of “big beatstick” (or whatever you kids are calling big monsters nowadays).
Birdface and Elegant Egotist give the deck more ways to gain access to the cards it requires, and Icarus Attack provides a bigger payoff for having those very cards. Birdface and Raiza each benefit from the deck’s five total ATK boosts, meaning that Raiza can overcome other Monarchs and Jinzo in combat, while Birdface can go so far as to defeat Cyber Dragon in battle, or better yet, match it and fetch a copy of Harpie Lady 1. My my, how tricky!
The deck’s massive special summoning power has been built upon at both ends, with added special summoning capability and more ways to make use of it. I am quite satisfied with this build, and I’m certain Michael will be too. His original ideas have come full circle thanks to the careful tending of my extra hand—a veritable green thumb of dueling—and the result is a versatile, intricate build of a deck many duelists are currently attempting.
I could not be more satisfied. Now GET OUT OF MY CLASSROOM!
—Dr. Crellian Vowler, Green Thumb Of Dueling
Are you a dismal slacker? Do you feel the need to seek help from someone clearly superior to you in every way? Don’t worry— just send me your Advanced format deck list, a few paragraphs describing what the deck does, and your name and location to: VowlerIsSoAwesome@gmail.com. I may take pity on you and feature your deck in my next lecture!