Ever since my Power of the Duelist Preview on Supercharge, I can’t help but have a soft spot for the card. Any effect that mirrors the now-departed Pot of Greed, however conditional, should not be underestimated.
This week I want to create a themed deck based around the solid Vehicroid monsters and try to exploit the strength of Supercharge. Because Machines can generally force the tempo and create huge swings in life points through cards like Jinzo, Cyber-Stein, Cannon Soldier, and Limiter Removal, I thought it would be fun to try a different approach.
Since I’ve seen so many great duelists experiment with this card in casual games, this isn’t really a profile of one specific player’s deck. Rather, I wanted to take all of the different ideas I’ve seen (including my own) and make a fun, competitive build.
Creating Advantage through the Supercharge Concept
Any situation where a Vehicroid can create some sort of even trade with your opponent—for instance, by destroying his or her Cyber Dragon with Steamroid, or hitting the opponent’s Apprentice Magician with Drillroid—produces a ripe moment for the Supercharge trap card. Supercharge can only be activated when your opponent declares an attack into a field that has only Machine-Type “roid” monsters on your side. You can draw two cards.
Now, if your opponent declares an attack, he or she usually expects to destroy your monster. Oftentimes the very activation of Supercharge means that your “roid” monster will go into the graveyard after the attack resolves. This is not ideal. It’s not the best idea to switch all of your monsters on the field for extra in-hand options, so picking the right “roid” monsters to have out will help you avoid this kind of situation.
The best-case scenario is a trade of your “roid” monster and Supercharge for two freshly drawn cards and a monster that your Vehicroid happened to destroy. If this deck can consistently create that outcome, it’s well along on the path to victory.
Build: Supercharge!
General Synergies and Goals
1) Support your Vehicroid monsters to create field presence for 2).
2) Use Supercharge in conjunction with Vehicroids to generate more options.
Pivotal Cards
1) Supercharge
2) Cards that can search for Supercharge.
Constructing the Monster Lineup for Supercharge!
We can split this list into those monsters that end in “roid” and those that do not. The Vehicroid group needs to be big enough to let us use our Supercharge cards consistently.
Vehicroids:
2 Steamroid
2 Drillroid
3 Gyroid
2 UFOroid
All of those monsters are solid in their own right. Steamroid can get over most of the monsters in the current environment except for the Monarchs. It will destroy cards like Breaker the Magical Warrior and Cyber Dragon while also blocking numerous attacks with its beefy 1800 DEF.
Drillroid works against all of the different recruiter engines popularly employed. It will take out cards like Mystic Tomato and Apprentice Magician quite easily. It also packs solid ATK and DEF values.
Gyroid will force overextensions from your opponent, since it can block the first attack no matter what the situation. It’s very good for establishing field presence in a deck that has little to none of it. The deck is also helped by the two copies of . . .
UFOroid. You have to be very careful with this card, because it’s a tribute monster. You’ll need to fetch it with Last Will or Shining Angel. Otherwise it will probably not be worth the tribute summon.
Vehicroid Support:
2 Cyber Dragon
1 Sangan
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
3 Magical Merchant
3 Shining Angel
1 D. D. Warrior Lady
1 Freed the Brave Wanderer
1 Cyber-Stein
1 Magician of Faith
1 Treeborn Frog
The monsters on this list all do their part to support your Vehicroid army. First, the triple Shining Angel and triple Magical Merchant cards help augment your deck’s strategy. The Angels will thin the deck of monsters, eventually leading into the two copies of UFOroid that can also be searched. Merchant will also thin your deck while searching for those critical copies of Supercharge. Supercharge is the heart of the deck’s strategy, so you want to find it as quickly as possible.
Other supporters like UFOroid can lead into the explosive Cyber-Stein or the very solid Gyroid. Either way, you’ll constantly have a field full of Vehicroid monsters to use. When the game hits the later turns and you have a mountain of cards in hand with no plan, who’s your man? Why it’s Freed the Brave Wanderer. Used to stunning efficiency by Bryce Thompson at SJC Boston, Freed is a hot card that many players have considered using. This deck, with its abundance of Light monsters, lends itself well to that strategy. However, we’ll only be playing one because we still want to use Pot of Avarice! With three Merchant cards, three Shining Angel cards, and two UFOroid cards, there’s nothing wrong with such a strategy.
The Spell and Trap Support for Supercharge!
Let’s start with the six spell cards we know and love.
Graceful Charity
Nobleman of Crossout
Confiscation
Mystical Space Typhoon
Heavy Storm
Of the original six, you can see that we’ve cut Premature Burial, due to a lack of solid monsters to use with its effect. Next let’s lead into the themed spell support.
Themed Spell Support:
1 Pot of Avarice: With all of the different effects that send monsters to the graveyard, it would be foolish not to include this powerful tool.
3 Smashing Ground: With 24 monsters, there will be many situations where we’re stuck with a lot of cards in hand that can’t impact the field. Using three copies of Smashing Ground should ensure a nice safety valve.
2 Enemy Controller: Using Enemy Controller in conjunction with cards like Treeborn Frog and Drillroid is generally a good idea. It also offers solid quick-play defense.
1 Limiter Removal: Any time you run more than five Machines, you should consider this card. We’re running more than ten, so it becomes a no-brainer.
Traps Selected:
Ring of Destruction
Mirror Force
Again, we’re going to cut a few popular traps from our list. There’s no need for Call of the Haunted or Torrential Tribute. The deck is about field presence without huge tribute monsters, so we don’t need either of those cards. Instead, we’re going to play Ring of Destruction, Mirror Force, and a few pieces of themed trap support.
Themed Trap Support:
3 Jar of Greed: This card is essential to protect your Supercharge. It allows you to over-extend your backfield and helps you see more options in your deck. Both of these abilities are prized in a deck focusing on a combo.
3 Supercharge: The key to the entire deck. We’ll be running three copies.
You can see that the deck weighs in at a hefty 44 cards. However, if you actually count the amount of deck-thinning presented by Magical Merchant and Shining Angel—mixed with the draw power of Supercharge and Jar of Greed—you’ll likely agree that the deck is actually far smaller than 44 cards in essence. Using a 40-card deck with this type of strategy is actually very risky, since you can deck out or draw multiple copies of UFOroid or the other ‘roid monsters. 44 cards is a good number for the amount of draw manipulation present here. Still, seeing as how this is the first competitive deck I’ve ever personally created with over 42 cards, I almost shudder.
Expected Matchups with the Best Decks in the Format
Now that the new format has begun to define itself, I think I can say with confidence that this deck has what it takes to compete. The spell and trap choices allow us to convert all of the extra cards in hand into general field presence, which should be the aim of any deck. As long as the ’roid monsters are used skillfully and have a chance to impact the field, the general conditions required for the deck to succeed are present.
A typical turn might involve something like setting Shining Angel, Jar of Greed, and a piece of defense. Over the next five turns, you might literally thin out two more Angels, then a UFOroid that leads into Gyroid or Cyber-Stein. This rapid filling of the graveyard will make cards like Freed and Avarice that much more powerful.
New Grounds Verdict: Solid Supercharge!