Whenever Chris Moosman is at a big tournament, I can usually rely on him for two things: a cool deck, and new hair. Sadly, this time around he’s opted to go for a wacky hat instead of a new hairstyle. However, he did deliver on the deck.

A lot of players here this weekend are banking on aggressive strategies focused on high damage to bring them victory. In a format where Cyber Phoenix has suddenly become a deciding factor in so many games, Hydrogeddon seems poised to reclaim its throne yet again, and it’s forming the basis for a new breed of no-tribute beatdown decks. Chris Moosman has arguably the most interesting build here at today’s event. Check it out:

There are a ton of aggressively-minded cards here. Hydrogeddon, Elemental Hero Stratos, and Elemental Hero Wildheart all allow Moosman easy access to extra attackers. Hydrogeddon rewards an aggressive attitude, while Wildheart enables it even further. These three cards are relatively typical picks for this type of strategy and they’re proven to be successful.

. . . But it wouldn’t be Chris Moosman if things were ordinary. Added to the suite of aggressive monsters is Winged Rhynos, a big beatstick that takes advantage of Moosman’s wide array of traps (many of which are chainable). Rhynos is invaluable in topdecking situations, and Moosman’s deck creates those on a very purposeful basis thanks to all of his effects that create card-for-card exchanges. This deck runs more spell and trap removal than we’ve seen from almost anything in this format, and Rynos takes advantage of all of that simplification. It’s just one more card that makes it easier for Moosman to attack, and his opponents today have had a very hard time dealing with it. Since it doesn’t see much play yet Rynos can create confusion that Moosman capitalizes on.

Moving on, the three Banisher of the Radiance are really no surprise. The past several weeks have shown the main decked Banisher strategy to be highly effective, and in a deck that works so hard to control the field they’re a perfect fit. Moosman is packing three Trap Dustshoot, and they allow him some dangerous input into what he goes up against in battle. Through the precise use of Dustshoot he can guide the opponent toward summoning or setting monsters that are vulnerable to Banisher, capitalizing on its effect. Three Exiled Force make the three Banisher even better; Moosman’s wielding unparalleled spot removal against face down monsters, something that’s really lacking from the top decks in this format. The fact that he can search for that removal with Reinforcement of the Army makes it even better. While other decks would have to withhold Exiled for fear of Destiny Hero – Disk Commander and Treeborn Frog, Banisher allows Moosman to be reckless and press whenever he likes.

Three copies of Smashing Ground take care of big problems like Gravekeeper’s Spy, while also permitting more direct attacks than would otherwise be possible. Three Shrink accomplish a similar goal (minus the performance against Spy), and also have great synergy with Hydrogeddon. They act as an equalizer to help balance out this deck’s lack of big tributes; Monarchs and Jinzo are easily cut down to a size Moosman can manage.

Widespread Ruin is a card that warrants discussion. Again, like Hydrogeddon, its popularity has increased dramatically due to the rise of Cyber Phoenix. Though the Phoenix can shut down Sakuretsu Armor because Sakuretsu targets, Widespread does not, making it a superior alternative that’s easy to implement. Any duelist who knows what he or she is doing here today is playing Widespread Ruin over Sakuretsu.

The three Dust Tornado are the last pieces of Moosman’s expertly-assembled puzzle, allowing him to make important attacks that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Against an open field Tornado can enable damage, but against a protected monster it can open that monster up to destruction through Hydrogeddon. That creates more than just simplification; it creates additional field presence and a snowball effect that speeds up the game, a factor that plays entirely into Moosman’s favor. Dust Tornado chains to Premature Burial or Call of the Haunted to cut off Destiny Hero – Disk Commander plays too, another layer of icing on the “Beating T-Hero” cake.

This deck uses Banisher of the Radiance better than anything else in the format, and plays several cards that work against dominant trends in the North American metagame. As I write this Chris Moosman just took his first loss of the day, but with six more rounds ahead of us I have no doubt that his deck puts him in a good position to win out through the rest of the Swiss rounds. This is the cutting edge of the day’s metagame, and if Moosman, or someone running a similar build, can make it to Day 2, we can expect it to set a big trend for the rest of this format.