While Santiago, Levitin, and Ogarro tear opponents apart with their Slate Warrior-driven Return from the Different Dimension build, Scurry is handing out defeat after defeat with a different Return variant. Using Chaos Sorcerer as the primary method of loading the out of play area, it packs a ton of cool Light monster tech—some new, and some from days gone by.

The Light monsters in this deck are where our examination really needs to begin. Skelengel provides diversity and an extra Light monster, making the deck less vulnerable to Nobleman of Crossout than if it was just running two copies of Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. Airknight Parshath has rebounded past the point that it can be fairly called “tech,” but its appearance here is definitely notable. Asura Priest returns from a six-month absence in the format to take out Sheep tokens and well, just about anything else that it can lay its many, many hands on. Tons of players are committing themselves heavily to the field due to the lack of threat from Dark Hole, and that means that a single Asura Priest can often wipe away two or three monsters with ease. The swing in momentum and card presence that it can generate is insane.

Protecting the Priest is Mirage Dragon, which can ensure that Asura Priest isn’t hit by Mirror Force or Sakuretsu Armor when it goes for a big hit. The Dragon was on my list of top tech cards for this event – Leonard Hamilton demonstrated its power at Shonen Jump Orlando weeks ago, and I figured duelists would take note. Scurry did, and combined with the Jinzo he’s also playing in the main deck, he can attack with impunity quite frequently.

On the Dark side there’s some interesting stuff, too. Night Assailant works with Graceful Charity just like it always has, and it’s become a solid pick over Old Vindictive Magician as a result. It’s a choice that’s been echoed by other duelists over the course of the day. Similarly, Confiscation has also seen a huge upswing in popularity, and it’s a great pick for Return. It acts as pre-negation for some of the cards the deck hates to see, like Solemn Judgment and Jinzo.

The primary advantage of using Chaos Sorcerer as one’s removal agent is well, Chaos Sorcerer. With more and more face up attack position monsters in the format, the Sorcerer has more opportunities to use its effect with priority to snatch a card off the opponent’s field. That also means that once the Sorcerer comes into play, the opponent is going to have a more difficult time playing face down monsters, because more of their monsters will be oriented for face up play. Setting something like Kycoo is never a good move, but it’s the kind of situation that this deck can create.

The use of two Return compensates for the fact that this deck won’t want to see one nearly as early as a Bazoo or Phoenix Blade variant. Chaos Sorcerer only removes two monsters, and often, those monsters removed will be tiny ones like Skelengel and Magician of Faith, so a Return off of a single Sorcerer is frequently a waste. The interesting flipside of the coin is that because the deck only uses two Return, it has a lower chance of topdecking one early on in the game when it doesn’t want to see one, making the deck slightly more reliable in aggressive matchups.

The ability to hose Kycoo is fun, too. It’s a Chaos deck, so the opponent will want to Kycoo away your monsters. But at the same time, it’s a Return deck, so Kycoo just loads the remove from play area for a big attack. It’s quite a useful paradox, and I’m sure it wasn’t created by coincidence.

The trap list is of note for its lack of monster removal. While most duelists are using a pair of Sakuretsu Armor and two Bottomless Trap Hole / Trap Hole, this deck is only running one of each, which is a potentially dangerous decision. Night Assailant and Sorcerer seem to compensate for that missing element, and the Reasoning behind the decision is clear. While Dust Tornado is a useful card in every deck, it’s especially important here, where Mirror Force and Torrential can shut down a push with Return that would otherwise win the game. In addition, Dust Tornado can be used to set a Return in the opponent’s end phase, in order to launch a big attack on the following turn. It’s a nice move that keeps Return safe from Heavy Storm and Mobius.

Now with a 5-0 record, Scurry is making a break towards a Day 2 finish. Santiago and Levitin, each 4-1, can hardly believe it, and are really happy for Scurry’s success. After supporting his teammates in every way possible for ages, it might finally be his chance to step into the spotlight.