Ha-HA! Someone finally did it! Jeff Baumgartner managed to take the Six Samurai all the way to the Top 8 of a Shonen Jump Championship. He’s almost as brilliant as me!

After a series of rather dubious hit-or-miss appearances at Shonen Jump Championship Houston, the Six Samurai have quickly scaled to the top of the competitive heap. Many duelists tried control builds and beatdown variants, as well as twists on previous Warrior toolbox decks and OTKs, but in the end, the solution lay in an all-new stratagem. Baumgartner succeeded where others failed because he employed not just one toolbox, but two.

Permit me to explain. The average Warrior duelist is a beast to be reckoned with because he or she can use Reinforcement of the Army to search the deck for just the right monster at just the right time. While Exiled Force, Mystic Swordsman LV2, or Don Zaloog may not be much on their own, Reinforcement unites them into a versatile spread of options that are easily called upon at the proper moment. That level of precision makes Warriors deadly, helping them overcome relatively low ATK and DEF points with the perfect effect for every situation.

Baumgartner took that theory one step further, using not just his deck as a toolbox, but his graveyard as well. Through the employment of three Card Trooper cards, he could quickly send Warriors to the graveyard, and then bring them to his hand when needed through The Warrior Returning Alive. Not only could he have more search cards at his disposal, he could also recur monsters that would be impossible to seek out with Reinforcement—monsters like Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and Great Shogun Shien. It also allowed him to run fewer copies of certain Samurai, though in the end, that may not have been in his favor.

All this discussion brings us to today’s contributor, Joseph, who has all the will to win with the Samurai but sadly not Baumgartner’s way. We’ll fix that problem in the blink of a Samur-eye, and he’ll be right on track to tearing through ignorant Slifer Reds!

Dear Vowler,

You are cool and awesome and some other complimentary adjectives . . .

Any-hoo, since I am obviously insuperior(or however you spell it) I need your help with my Six Samurai build. I know it's a new build and a great one at that, but I'm having some difficulties deciding what to run. I figured if anyone could make some great decisions on what to run, you could.

OK, so here's the way I look at things. The idea of any Six Samurai deck should be to swarm and attack, correct? The faster you can get more Six Samurai on the field, the better off you'll be, so that explains the need for Reinforcement of the Army and Ultimate Offering. I chose my three favorite of the Six Samurai to run in threes—Zanji, Irou, and Grandmaster. Alongside them are two Kamon and two Yaichi. They just have the greatest effects and their field-sweeping power is amazing, but even they don’t stay on the field long, so I run three Legendary Ebon Steed cards. I have the Exiled Force for extra monster destruction, and Marauding Captain just to get a little more power a little faster from The A. Forces. So, work as you will and know that I trust you completely.

—Joseph G.

First, let me say that though I am quite certain that “insuperior” isn’t a word, I like it enough to ignore that fact and add it to my vocabulary anyway. What a marvelous linguistic creation, Joseph. “Insuperior.” The mere sound of it rolls off my tongue and tastes like delicious candy! Here is the decklist Joseph submitted . . .

Six Samurai Strike—40 Cards

Monsters: 20

3 Grandmaster of the Six Samurai

3 The Six Samurai - Irou

3 The Six Samurai - Zanji

2 The Six Samurai - Kamon

2 The Six Samurai - Yaichi

1 Great Shogun Shien

2 Marauding Captain

2 Exiled Force

1 Sangan

1 Spirit Reaper

Spell: 13

3 The A. Forces

3 Legendary Ebon Steed

2 Reinforcement of the Army

1 The Warrior Returning Alive

1 Premature Burial

1 Snatch Steal

1 Heavy Storm

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

Traps: 7

2 Waboku

1 Ultimate Offering

1 Ring of Destruction

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Return of the Six Samurai

1 Torrential Tribute

I have two goals in assisting Joseph. First, I wish to mimic and build upon Baumgartner’s double toolbox strategy. Next, I’d like to convert Joseph’s focus on preserving his monsters with Legendary Ebon Steed into something a bit more versatile. If you’ve played the Steed yourself, or perhaps even tried My Body as a Shield, you know that the low utility of either option can leave much to be desired . . . and leave you with useless cards that cost you the duel.

So to begin with, we’ll need to make some cuts. With Dimensional Fissure off the map in Columbus, Kamon seems like more of a side deck card than a main deck card. Both will be dropped in favor of one more Yaichi.

Next, both Marauding Captain and Exiled Force will be removed from the deck to make space. Despite Baumgartner’s success with Exiled Force, we’ll be using a different set of answers to threatening monsters, and will thus be able to commit more deck space to Samurai. That will help us fulfill Joseph’s goal of blazing speed, so it’s a good fit. Sangan and Spirit Reaper will also be removed. By the time we’re finished, the deck just won’t need them, and since neither contributes to either of our toolboxes, they’re surprisingly insuperior to comparable options.

The Legendary Ebon Steed cards will all be dropped in favor of something that’s a bit easier to use. The problem with Black Beauty here is twofold. To begin with, if you do not control a Samurai and you draw Ebon Steed, you may as well have drawn a blank card. In addition, it lacks the surprise factor of other cards that can keep your Samurai on the table. You’ll see what I have in store shortly.

While The A. Forces is clearly a starring-role card in Joseph’s build, it’s also another example of an effect that’s relatively useless on its own. One copy can remain, but unfortunately, in order to make the deck more reliable, we need to drop the other two. The same goes for Ultimate Offering and Return of the Six Samurai. If the deck works as it should, we’ll have enough special summon power to flood the field without relying on additional effects.

Finally, while Waboku can be effective in Six Samurai builds it’s just not how I want to use the card slots I allocate for traps. I’d suggest keeping it in the side deck, to be brought out against Demise OTK and Diamond Dude Turbo decks.

With more than fifteen cards removed from Joseph’s deck, I feel that I have ample room in which to stretch my legs and get to work. We’ve already added a third copy of The Six Samurai - Yaichi, so my immediate priority is to implement the graveyard search engine. I’ll be adding three copies of The Warrior Returning Alive (one more than Baumgartner’s two), two copies of Card Trooper, and one Morphing Jar. If you should happen to be amongst the ranks of the Obelisk Blue Seniors and have access to three Card Troopers, then by all means, run a third over the Jar, but for everyone else, two Troopers and one Jar will be acceptable.

The next monsters that should be added are three Cyber Dragon cards. Joseph wishes to flood the field, and there are few monsters as easy to deploy (let alone as large) as the Dragon. Another copy of Great Shogun Shien will contribute to that initiative as well, providing increased reliability while allowing us to profit further from the graveyard toolbox technique.

A pair of Smashing Ground and Confiscation cards are the only spells I will add to the deck. Mirror Force is a must as well, and though its inclusion is in no way surprising or creative, it will increase the deck’s performance by leaps and bounds. The last addition is slightly more interesting.

As I stated earlier, I’ve found both My Body as a Shield and Legendary Ebon Steed to be inconsistent and narrow in their performance. While both cards can be incredible when they work, too often they simply fail to be useful, and both can fall victim to Heavy Storm to create unfavorable card exchanges. One card performs a similar function but with much higher utility—Solemn Judgment. Though it demands a far higher cost than other options, it also outperforms them in a variety of situations, and a single Solemn can easily put an end to any OTK strategy out there. Shutting down both the Ritual summon and the graveyard-loading effect of Advanced Ritual Art is gleefully devious. Solemn Judgment stops anything that would destroy your Samurai, and it also stops anything else that gets in your way as well. It is superb for our purpose here.

So, eyes to the front of the class as we review the changes I have made!

-2 The Six Samurai - Kamon

-2 Marauding Captain

-2 Exiled Force

-1 Sangan

-1 Spirit Reaper

-3 Legendary Ebon Steed

-2 The A. Forces

-1 Ultimate Offering

-2 Waboku

-1 Return of the Six Samurai

+1 The Six Samurai - Yaichi

+3 Cyber Dragon

+1 Great Shogun Shien

+2 Card Trooper

+1 Morphing Jar

+2 The Warrior Returning Alive

+2 Smashing Ground

+1 Confiscation

+1 Mirror Force

+3 Solemn Judgment

Here is the final deck list . . .

Six Samurai Strike—Vowler’s Far Less Insuperior Version—40 Cards

Monsters: 20

3 Grandmaster of the Six Samurai

3 The Six Samurai - Irou

3 The Six Samurai - Zanji

3 The Six Samurai - Yaichi

2 Great Shogun Shien

3 Cyber Dragon

2 Card Trooper

1 Morphing Jar

Spell: 13

1 The A. Forces

2 Reinforcement of the Army

3 The Warrior Returning Alive

1 Premature Burial

1 Snatch Steal

1 Heavy Storm

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

2 Smashing Ground

1 Confiscation

Traps: 7

1 Ring of Destruction

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Mirror Force

3 Solemn Judgment

There. Now we have an exceptionally focused, deeply committed deck that goes one step further than the one Baumgartner used in Columbus. It still accommodates the flavor calls Joseph made (like The A. Forces), but now it is oh so much more!

When you begin the game, getting monsters into your graveyard is paramount. Card Trooper and Morphing Jar should both be considered turn 1 plays as often as possible, and even if you take some damage in the process of resolving their effects, you’ll prepare for an exceptionally strong mid-game that can oust just about anything it comes across. While Morphing Jar isn’t as aggressive as Card Trooper, it does help you draw into The Warrior Returning Alive without discarding it, and that is a highly valuable asset to this strategy.

Selective restraint is key to this deck’s success. While Card Trooper and sometimes Cyber Dragon can be used with reckless abandon, a Samurai monster without a second Samurai or Grandmaster to join it is a risky proposition. Just because you can run over a weaker monster with Irou or Zanji, doesn’t mean you necessarily should. Each Samurai is the first piece to your Grandmaster/Shien play, so you really need to conserve your Samurai and play for the long term. There’s nothing worse than having Grandmaster and Shien in your hand without a basic Samurai to kick things off.

When the show does get started and you drop a fistful of cards to the table, regulate your speed and execution. Don’t drop a Samurai, Grandmaster, and Shien all in one go without giving your opponent a chance to respond. If he or she has Torrential Tribute set and you don’t have Solemn Judgment to stop it, play the Samurai, wait, then Grandmaster, and wait again. Don’t play Shien unless you are sure the coast is clear, and if you can’t protect him from Sakuretsu Armor or Mirror Force, feel free to special summon him in defense position. His ability to limit your opponent’s spell and trap usage is still valuable, and his high DEF can brick-wall most decks even when you have nothing else out. Just be careful of Snatch Steal.

The time is right for the Six Samurai to take center stage, and with the dual-toolbox strategy, they’re truly a force worthy of fear and respect. Joseph’s new build will serve him well, and if you haven’t tried the Samurai yourself yet, well, you’ve no excuse remaining!

And you’re a slacker.

—Crellian Vowler, PhD—Brilliant Supporter of Linguistic Invention

Are you a dismal slacker? Do you feel the need to seek help from someone to whom you are clearly insuperior? Don’t worry—just send your Advanced format decklist, a few paragraphs describing what the deck does, and your name and location to: VowlerIsSoAwesome@gmail.com. I may take pity on you and feature your deck in my next lecture!