Before the U.S. National Championships in Columbus began less than a month ago, Monarchs were widely considered to be a failing archetype. The explosive strength of T-Hero and Perfect Circle seemed to outdo a Lazaro-style build at every turn. Monarchs appeared to be trapped in the familiar lose-lose scenario against these decks. Play too aggressively and the opponent will explode with Brain Control or Ring of Destruction. Play too conservatively and one Torrential Tribute or Snipe Hunter can tear down an entire wall of defenses in one turn.

However, two of the four competitors who will be representing the United States at Worlds achieved their Top 4 standing using Monarchs without the aid of Destiny Hero - Malicious. Adam Corn ran the tested-and-true build of Lazaro Monarchs, with a pair of Trap Dustshoot cards to help simplify the game and hamper the attacks and combos of both T-Hero and Perfect Circle. He managed to pull off a win that day with his conservative deck, and took home a whole lot of loot in the process.

At the same time, one of the biggest stories at the tournament was the deck that came in second. Bryan Rockenbach made it all the way to the final match by packing fourteen tribute monsters into his build, and that’s if you exclude his Cyber Dragon cards! While some players have attempted such a feat in the past, no one has ever gone so deep into a high-level tournament. And no one has ever entered such a tournament with a build as daring as Rockenbach’s. Here’s what he took to a second place finish:

Monsters—22

3 Raiza the Storm Monarch

3 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch

3 Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch

3 Mobius the Frost Monarch

1 Granmarg the Rock Monarch

2 Cyber Dragon

2 Gravekeeper’s Spy

1 Sangan

1 Spirit Reaper

1 Treeborn Frog

1 Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive

1 Jinzo

Spells—13

3 Brain Control

2 Soul Exchange

1 Snatch Steal

1 Nobleman of Crossout

1 Confiscation

1 Heavy Storm

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Pot of Avarice

1 Premature Burial

1 Book of Moon

Traps—6

3 Sakuretsu Armor

1 Mirror Force

1 Ring of Destruction

1 Torrential Tribute

Yes, this is the actual deck Rockenbach played, and no, it did not run Mother Grizzly. Rockenbach plays fourteen monsters that require tribute to be summoned from his hand. If you’ve looked over the decklist closely, you’ll see there are only eight other monsters in the deck. On top of them, Rockenbach has three copies of Brain Control, a pair of Soul Exchange cards, Snatch Steal, and Premature Burial to acquire potential tribute fodder. That means he has an almost 2:1 ratio of tribute monsters to direct tribute material.

Gravekeeper’s Spy, Spirit Reaper, Cyber Dragon, and Treeborn Frog make six very reliable forms of tribute fodder. Cyber Dragon cards usually aren’t destroyed as soon as they hit the field, allowing Rockenbach to play his Monarchs or Jinzo by using the Dragons as tribute right after special summoning them. Gravekeeper’s Spy and Spirit Reaper usually stick around until next turn, and Treeborn Frog will likely make an appearance during Rockenbach’s next standby phase.

The final two non-tribute monsters are Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive and Sangan. While these two make for excellent tributes, the chances of the pair surviving through the next turn aren’t very good. Since these monsters will probably be dealt with, Rockenbach only plays thirteen reliable pieces of tribute material—a very risky strategy when you’re sporting thirteen Monarchs as well as a Jinzo.

The reason he’s not playing Mother Grizzly is twofold. First, it does absolutely nothing after searching out Treeborn Frog except search for another Grizzly . . . at which point there’s no more targets left to find, so the final two Grizzlies are practically dead draws. Opening up with two or three of these usually means a game loss because of their insignificance when drawn together.

Additionally, finding Treeborn Frog isn’t as vital as most players think it is. My experiences with big Monarch decks in Shonen Jumps is quite limited, but I did discover that once Treeborn Frog was found, it was used for protection almost as much as for tributing a monster. Often, I’d want to use cards like Soul Exchange and Brain Control to get rid of opposing monsters and bring out my tributes with the same action. Rockenbach has clearly spent time testing with his deck, and found similar results. So long as he’s able to draw similar amounts of tribute-makers as tribute monsters, he won’t be stuck with an abundance of dead cards.

One of the most surprising things about this deck was its success in a format packed full of Cyber Phoenix and Trap Dustshoot cards. Trap Dustshoot can really be a thorn in the side of this strategy. When Rockenbach does draw one of the few non-tribute monsters he plays, Dustshoot is there to clear it out. This means he can be left with a lot of dead cards and very few turns to turn them into live ones. In addition, if Rockenbach is somehow suffering from a drought of tribute monsters, Dustshoot only amplifies the situation by sending them back to the deck.

Cyber Phoenix poses a much bigger problem. Should Rockenbach not draw his Treeborn Frog or Gravekeeper’s Spy, he’s hard-pressed to deal with multiple copies of Cyber Phoenix from the opponent. Assuming his opponent has some sort of defense or monster removal, Rockenbach won’t be able to destroy the Phoenixes without a Cyber Dragon or Premature Burial plus Zaborg the Thunder Monarch combo. Many thought this deck could never have made it as far as it did because so many people ran Cyber Phoenix.

The key to success for Rockenbach, however, was Soul Exchange. Players of aggressive Machine decks usually drop their Cyber Phoenix first, and then flop a Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive face down next turn. Generally, this is a rock-solid strategy. Brain Control and Snatch Steal can’t take face-down monsters, and Nobleman of Crossout is a simplifying trade Machine players are happy to make. However, what they aren’t betting on is Soul Exchange, which not only sends the set monster packing, but also forces Cyber Phoenix to accompany it to the graveyard.

Soul Exchange is also a very strong card against Monarchs or T-Hero. Both of these decks generally rely on Card Trooper to either get in for big damage or replace itself with a draw. Either way, their opponents are going to be forced to put something on the field to let them activate Brain Control. While Soul Exchange will put a Brain Control target on the table, it will also tribute off Card Trooper without allowing the T-Hero or Monarch player draw a card. The best news? You can target face-down monsters. No more Gravekeeper’s Spy or Mystic Tomato hiding face down. Soul Exchange is a turn faster than Brain Control, and that can make all the difference.

Of course, Rockenbach capitalizes on the strengths of Brain Control as well. The card allows him to get in some direct damage and tribute his opponent’s monster for a Monarch in the same turn. This means that the opponent is going to be hurting and forced to make bad trades. The biggest thing a Monarch deck can do is steal a Card Trooper, Cyber Dragon, or Monarch with Brain Control, attack directly, and tribute for another Monarch. Rockenbach does this every game—two or three times in some duels.

Bryan Rockenbach has opened up a new possibility for Monarch decks. Whether or not a risky deck like this one can stay on top remains to be seen, but for Rockenbach, the gamble will take him to Worlds in San Diego. I think he’ll tell you it was worth it.