“Scholars have long theorized about the true face of the creature known as the ‘Masked Dragon.’ The dominant theory of our time is that the Masked Dragon has no true face, but instead will assume the face of another Dragon to suit the situation. They support their theory with the accounts of those who have engaged a Masked Dragon in battle. It is said that when you battle with a Masked Dragon, another Dragon will quickly replace it, and the battle will escalate.”
Soul of the Duelist is the smallest American Yu-Gi-Oh! set to date. The drop to only 60 different cards from the previous standard of 100+ will make an impact on the variety of cards you pull from packs.
Doubling of commons in multiple packs is certain to occur. You are also more likely to encounter cards that function only with other cards not available in Soul of the Duelist. Cards like these will take away options and leave you substituting or settling to reach the minimum deck requirement of twenty cards.
Player: Bobby
Pack 1
Hallowed Life Barrier (S)
Neo Aqua Madoor
Skull Dog Marron
Masked Dragon
Ultimate Baseball Kid
Unshaven Angler
Sanwitch
Taunt
Absolute End
Pack 2
Penumbral Soldier Lady (S)
Skull Dog Marron
Malice Doll of Demise
Element Dragon
Hade-Hane
Big Wave, Small Wave
Fusion Weapon
Ninjitsu Art of Decoy
Gorgon’s Eye
Pack 3
Master of Oz (R)
Armed Dragon LV3
Red-Eyes B. Chick
Element Soldier
Element Dragon
Two-Man Cell Battle
Big Wave Small Wave
Bobby was forced to throw out one of his three rares—Master of Oz is unplayable. Bobby’s other unplayable cards are Sanwitch, Fusion Weapon, and Ninjitsu Art of Decoy, and they’ll also be removed.
Bobby doesn’t have anything to work with in the LV game, so he has to focus on a more traditional approach.
Attack-wise, Penumbral Soldier Lady is Bobby’s best fighter. He may not get a good opportunity to use Penumbral Soldier Lady’s effect, but with 2100 ATK, she is likely to take out most of her opponents. The defensive Neo Aqua Madoor functions well for protection and Hade-Hane clears the field.
Bobby has two methods of tribute support. Masked Dragon cycles in a replacement dragon (like Element Dragon). Two-Man Cell Battle, used with Skull Dog Marron, permits an extra end phase summon. This means Bobby will have an additional monster to offer as a tribute on his next turn.
Taunt is the attack direction card. Use this to steer your opponent’s attacks away from your weaker monsters and toward your strongest one.
Hallowed Life Barrier will protect Bobby’s life points for one turn. He can even combine it with Absolute End to protect his monsters from being attacked.
Bobby’s Deck:
Neo Aqua Madoor
Skull Dog Marron x2
Penumbral Soldier Lady
Hade-Hane
Armed Dragon LV3
Masked Dragon
Element Dragon x2
Element Soldier
Unshaven Angler
Malice Doll of Demise
Big Wave, Small Wave x2
Two-Man Cell Battle
Absolute End
Player: Jiff
Jiff has two great choices for high-level monsters: Mobius the Frost Monarch and Enraged Muka Muka. Mobius the Frost Monarch is not only the stronger monster, but it’s also one of the only methods of spell and trap card destruction in the entire set. Big Wave, Small Wave, along with Unshaven Angler, make for a way to play Mobius in one turn. Neo Aqua Madoor can also be brought into play this way.
Enraged Muka Muka can grow tremendously powerful in Sealed Pack. Without many successful options for reducing an opponent’s hand size, an Enraged Muka Muka can rampage. But you need Gorgon’s Eye to keep that rampage going. Jiff is fortunate to have two of them, so the odds are in his favor that he’ll have one when it’s needed. Dark Mimic LV1 can also give Enraged Muka Muka a boost, as its effect adds a card to your hand.
Mind Wipe is mostly filler, but you may have a chance to disrupt your opponent with it when he or she has three or less cards in hand.
Absolute End is primarily used to keep a monster in play for tributing during your next turn. The low life points in the Sealed Pack format make Absolute End a dangerous card, however, if played incorrectly.
Jiff’s Deck:
Charcoal Inpachi
Neo Aqua Madoor
Mobius the Frost Monarch
Enraged Muka Muka
Hade-Hane x2
Dark Mimic LV1
Malice Doll of Demise
Element Dragon
Masked Dragon
Unshaven Angler
Hammer Shot
Dark Factory of Mass Production
Mind Wipe
Big Wave, Small Wave
Taunt
Gorgon’s Eye x2
Cemetary Bomb
Absolute End