For quite some time now, people have been wondering if Monarchs were ever going to make a comeback. The slow-paced but completely controlling Monarch deck was quickly ousted when Dark Armed Dragon and friends came into play. It was no longer profitable for players to attempt a slow-paced control game. Even the best control was usually met by a timely Return from the Different Dimension or Dark Armed Dragon to tear it all apart. Why work to eliminate opposing cards over the course of four turns when the opponent can match that with just one card of his or her own?

Many players attempted to put Dark Armed Dragon into their own Monarch decks, but until Edgar Flores’s performance at Shonen Jump Championship St. Louis, few found success with that strategy. What gave Edgar the ability to make the Top 16 with a build such as this was an unpredictable metagame full of inconsistent decks. Edgar’s version was definitely not the strongest deck in the Top 16: that was evident when he made his early exit on Day 2. But his deck is incredible at causing problems for unprepared opponents. Here’s what he played:

Monsters: 21

3 Caius the Shadow Monarch
3 Gravekeeper’s Spy
2 Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch
2 Dark Armed Dragon
2 D.D. Crow
2 Mask of Darkness
2 Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive
1 Treeborn Frog
1 Mobius the Frost Monarch
1 Gravekeeper’s Guard
1 Raiza the Storm Monarch
1 Sangan

As you can see, the deck is very focused. There are only 22 different cards being used here, each in various quantities. Edgar plays four different Monarchs: seven cards total. Three copies of Caius the Shadow Monarch are included simply because Caius is the best for the average competitive metagame. Boasting the Dark attribute to combo up with Allure of Darkness and Dark Armed Dragon, Caius is also the only Monarch that can just choose an unrestricted target on the field and remove it for good. Not even Raiza offers such a permanent solution.

Raiza the Storm Monarch is in the deck though, and Mobius the Frost Monarch is the other one-of. These two can solve a wide variety of problems, usually screwing up the opponent’s flow of the duel. Mobius is often a back breaker when he comes down. Destroying two spell or trap cards usually means that you’re either taking out all of your opponent’s defenses or both of his or her bluffs. Either way, he or she is going to be devastated by such a loss, and if you can capitalize on a weakened opponent, you can win the game.

Luckily that’s exactly what Edgar’s deck aims to do. Caius preys on opponents attempting to go defensive with their Dark monsters, removing the obstacle and dealing an extra 1000 damage to boot. Factor in the 2400 ATK on Caius himself and your opponent’s attempt at defending him- or herself is shattered. Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch works the same way but takes his aim at the hand. Many players will play their less versatile cards first, holding the best ones for later. Thestalos picks those right out of the hand and forces your opponent to deal with a 2400 ATK monster that just took one of his or her best cards.

In order to avoid being trampled by faster Dark Armed builds or Lightsworn, Edgar had to take a defensive stance for this tournament. Three copies of Gravekeeper’s Spy and Gravekeeper’s Guard are evidence of just how much Edgar valued a strong defense. Stopping Elemental Hero Stratos, Dark Grepher, or Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior from dealing damage in the first few turns is critical. Taking even one 1800 ATK swing directly can mean losing the game to a one-turn sweep somewhere down the road. Spies prevent that from happening, and the Guard does so as well while doubling up as fodder for Crush Card Virus.

The other defensive monster of choice for Edgar was Mask of Darkness. What Edgar’s deck lacks compared to the rest of the field is speed. Destiny Heroes have Destiny Draw, Lightsworns have , and Gladiator Beasts have Test Tiger. Monarchs don’t really have anything like that, so Edgar decided to make one himself. Reckless Greed appears in three copies in Edgar’s trap line-up. Obviously Edgar wanted to minimize the number of situations where he had a copy of Soul Exchange with no Monarch, or vice versa. Reckless Greed helps accomplish that while also fishing for the two random copies of Dark Armed Dragon.

Monarchs were always supposed to win by slowly damaging the opponent while performing controlling actions. A play like Brain Control leading into an attack with the borrowed monster and a tribute for a Monarch in main phase 2 left the opponent with fewer options and a loss of 1000 to 2400 life points. These attacks would slowly reduce both the opponent’s life points and defensive capabilities, degrading his or her game position until you could finally take him or her down with a flurry of cards. Dark Armed Dragon really helps make that a reality, and ensures that so long as Edgar keeps three Darks in his graveyard, there shouldn’t be too many scenarios out of his control.

What Mask of Darkness does is offer Edgar ways to amplify his control. Reckless Greed cards can stack so that they don’t lose you any cards, multiple copies of Crush Card Virus are just nasty, and even reusing Bottomless Trap Hole over and over is going to put a huge damper on your opponent’s ability to win. Solemn Judgment is the biggest prize of the lot, since any player can tell you that having more Judgments is always better.

Three copies of Soul Exchange offer consistent monster removal and a way to drop Monarchs when necessary. These have long been a staple in Monarch decks, and Edgar’s playing three to make the most out of his Reckless Greed cards. Reckless is going to be useless if you can’t make plays for a couple of turns, so it’s necessary to have at least two Monarch plays after activating it. Three copies of Soul Exchange and one Brain Control make sure that happens.

Book of Moon was a great choice as well in my opinion. Edgar can use it as an offensive weapon or defensive tool. Offensively, Book can re-use Mask of Darkness for multiple Crush Card activations or Reckless Greed cards. Many top monsters in the game right now have low defense too, so switching them to defense mode as a battle trick is always a viable option.

Defensively, the Book works wonders. Multiple walls in the form of Gravekeeper’s Spy and Book of Moon can completely shut an opponent out of winning the game. Gravekeeper’s Guard can offer extra defensive power by bouncing your opponent’s monsters. Again, reusing Mask of Darkness for extra copies of Bottomless Trap Hole or Solemn Judgment can provide an intense defensive wall that even the best hands can’t break down.

Edgar’s deck is consistent. It will be able to make strong Monarch and Dark Armed Dragon plays, provide enough defense to last the match, and should give the wielder a way to win almost every game. Edgar was good enough to find his way into the Top 16 with this build, and only time will tell if anyone will be able to take it further.

—Matt Peddle