The new Forbidden list has had far-reaching effects on the game. Decks that used to be tier 2 at best have been given huge power boosts due to the new changes. In particular, Zombie decks have been helped out by the addition of Vampire Lord to the Semi-Limited list, which allows duelists to run two copies per deck. Giving the Zombie deck access to another copy of Vampire Lord has greatly increased the deck’s resilience, especially against nasty cards like Lightning Vortex and Tribe-Infecting Virus. This newfound power has lured many players back to the Zombie deck, so it’s a good bet that Zombies are going to make a comeback on the tournament scene.

Let’s take a look at the Zombie deck that my testing group is using for our gauntlet.

Monsters: 18
1 Ryu Kokki
2 Vampire Lord
3 Pyramid Turtle
2 Spirit Reaper
1 Tribe-Infecting Virus
1 Sinister Serpent
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Cyber Jar
2 Magician of Faith
1 D. D. Warrior Lady
1 Sangan
1 Blade Knight
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning

Spells: 17
1 Pot of Greed
1 Graceful Charity
1 Delinquent Duo
1 Snatch Steal
1 Lightning Vortex
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
2 Book of Life
2 Scapegoat
2 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Premature Burial
1 Swords of Revealing Light
2 Creature Swap

Traps: 5
1 Mirror Force
1 Call of the Haunted
1 Torrential Tribute

1 Ring of Destruction
1 Magic Cylinder

First, I’d like to explain why we chose some of the cards in this deck. As you have probably already seen from the Los Angeles Shonen Jump coverage, Vampire Lord has been back with a vengeance since it was put onto the Semi-Limited list. What I find confusing is that neither Wilson Luc nor Eric Wu included Ryu Kokki in their decks. It’s useful to have a monster that can ram into Jinzo, Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, and Dark Magician of Chaos in addition to being a large threat on the field. Admittedly, Vampire Lord is a better card, but you can only run two copies of it, so why not play Ryu Kokki? Other than that, the monsters in this build are fairly standard for this archetype.
           
The spells are also pretty standard for a Zombie deck. The only real change that we made was to run only two copies of Book of Life to make room for one copy of Magic Cylinder. It isn’t necessary to play three copies of Book of Life, as most of the time there are at most only two points in the game when you’ll even want it. The spell can be a dead draw if your opponent has no monsters in his or her graveyard or if you have nothing worth reviving. If you do find that you need an extra copy, you could throw it in from the side deck or recur it with Magician of Faith.

On the topic of Magician of Faith, you’re going to hear me talk about it a lot in the weeks to come. It’s just that good. Using Pot of Greed three times in one game? Sign me up. Without the threat of Change of Heart or Magical Scientist lurking on top of your opponent’s deck, all you need to worry about is Nobleman of Crossout, and chances are good that the spell will hurt both players equally in the long run.

The final card to note is Magic Cylinder. The Cylinder is frequently shunned by many top players because it isn’t chainable and can’t destroy anything. While that may be the case, it can still defeat an opponent, and that’s more important than taking out an individual monster. Magic Cylinder strikes fear in the heart of anyone who would attack with a big monster, and it is an excellent card to bluff.

Operating Manual

When playing this deck, your first priority should be to get out one or both copies of Vampire Lord. From there, all you need to do is attack and play removal spells as you get them. Unless your opponent somehow removes Vampire Lord from play or defeats it in battle, you’ll keep getting it back every time your opponent destroys it. Chances are that your opponent can’t do more damage to you when the Lord is off the field than you can do to him or her when you have it and other Zombies out. To help ensure that you get Vampire Lord out, the ideal turn-1 play is to set Pyramid Turtle and a face-down card. Unless your opponent has Nobleman of Crossout or D. D. Warrior Lady, you’ll have Vampire Lord out and ready for action on turn 2. If you’re going second and your opponent summons a face-up monster, you should Creature Swap a copy of Pyramid Turtle over to him or her. After that, you know what to do. If you don’t have a copy of Vampire Lord in play, you could summon Sangan and then fetch Pyramid Turtle when the Fiend goes to the graveyard.
           
When you hit with Vampire Lord, you should take every possible opportunity to make your opponent discard a spell card. Spells are the keys to victory in most duels, and if you can make your opponent get rid of Delinquent Duo, Scapegoat, or Nobleman of Crossout early, he or she won’t have access to those spells later if Vampire Lord is eliminated. Calling for a trap is frequently acceptable, but calling for a monster is always wrong. You do not want to let your opponent get Sinister Serpent, a tribute monster, or a Light or Dark monster into the graveyard from your own card effect.

Finally, when considering a direct attack with Spirit Reaper, make absolutely sure that you do not summon any other monsters beforehand unless you’ve already summoned Vampire Lord. Many players will let a lone copy of Spirit Reaper through if they have cards that they hope to get into the graveyard. Your opponent will not let an army of monsters through, so don’t summon other monsters before you attack.

How to Beat It

As I said before, Vampire Lord is the key to this deck. Destroying and removing it with Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer is a great way to stop the Lord cold, as is hitting Pyramid Turtle with Nobleman of Crossout. Another great way to stop the Vampire menace is with Enemy Controller. If you can somehow get Vampire Lord into defense position with Enemy Controller or a similar card, the Lord will be a lot easier to destroy.

If you really want to mess up the Zombie player, try to take control of one of their big hitters. Creature Swap is the best way to do this, but you must be extremely careful in how you go about it. Making a mistake in the timing of Creature Swap is an excellent way to lose a game if your opponent sends you Pyramid Turtle or a sheep token.

Finally, the biggest advantage that other decks have over Zombie decks is that Zombie decks are highly prone to bad draws. Getting a tribute monster or two and a copy of Book of Life in the starting hand can frequently spell defeat for the Zombie player.

Final Notes

I’d like to close this second installment of Building the Gauntlet with some notes from my group’s playtesting. The names have been reduced to initials to protect the “innocent.”

JM: Vampire Lord is a beating. If an opponent gets both copies out on you at the same time—ouch!

CH: But it’s a good matchup for Burn. Unless the opponent can keep your field clear for attacking with the Reaper, Burn should have this matchup 85 to 15.

NW: What if we threw in a copy or two of Metamorphosis for the goats, Serpent, Vampire Lord, etc.? Would Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast be out of place here?

JM: Morph is good for splashing, but Fusilier is not.

CH: Whatever, it wouldn’t affect me. Thousand-Eyes Restrict might help me stall.

NW: I’m going to try it.

JM: Do we need Ryu Kokki? Those guys from Shonen didn’t play it.

AS: One copy should do nicely. I’m going to play this deck at the next Regionals.

There you have it—a look at the inner workings of a Zombie deck, and now you have a decklist that’s ready to go for your own team’s playtesting. Until next time, play hard, play fair, and most importantly, have fun!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
jcmchale@andrew.cmu.edu