Jon Moore has won two back-to-back feature matches here this morning with an innovative Zombie build that presents some really great ideas for the archetype as it moves forward. He asked me this morning what I thought of his build, which runs two copies of D.D. Crow, two Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter cards, and most importantly three Caius the Shadow Monarch cards main decked—I told him flat-out I didn’t really like it. I thought it was fat at 42 cards, diluted with so many non-Zombie monsters, and had a number of other concerns with Moore’s decisions. I did, however, state that I’d be really happy to be proven wrong—I always want to see a risky new deck pay off.

Two feature matches later, I couldn’t be happier or more wrong! Jon Moore is undefeated, and seems to be on a direct course to Day 2. Here’s what he’s running.

2 Goblin Zombie

2 Pyramid Turtle

2 Zombie Master

1 Card Trooper

1 Ryu Kokki

2 Dark Armed Dragon

Spells: 12

3 Card of Safe Return

2 Allure of Darkness

1 Premature Burial

1 Monster Reborn

1 Brain Control

1 Book of Life

1 Burial from a Different Dimension

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Heavy Storm

Traps: 9

1 Trap Dustshoot

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Crush Card Virus

1 Mirror Force

2 Bottomless Trap Hole

“Ryan Spicer helped a lot with this deck,” explained Moore, always quick to give credit where credit is due. “We played off in the Regional last night, and he wasn’t too happy. I think he thought I was going to give him the win.” Moore’s signature grin spelled out pretty quickly how that matchup went.

Moore’s decisions are actually highly indicative of a lot of the Zombie trends we’re seeing here today. In the quest to fit more cards into the deck, many duelists are dropping copies of Book of Life, finding that their most important special summons are coming from monsters instead of spell cards. Minimizing the count on Book of Life makes having a Zombie in the graveyard less of an early game must, which frees up Moore to make a wider range of early game plays. It also lets him diversify his monster lineup, playing fewer Zombies than some of his contemporaries.

It’s a choice that pays off huge: ten of Moore’s 21 monsters are non-Zombies, and most of the off-theme picks were made to address Zombies’ number-one challenge—destroying big monsters. Flooding the field with 1800 and 1700 ATK monsters is only so good: if there’s a big blocker in the way that you can’t attack over, removal becomes a tremendous priority. Without it, victory is impossible to achieve. Towards that end Moore is running three Caius cards, two copies of Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, and two copies of Dark Armed Dragon.

The Dark Armed Dragon cards are a particularly interesting choice. While the offensive swarm ability of Zombies is often the focus of duelists discussing the deck, Goblin Zombie and Mezuki make for a tremendous defensive potential too. The ability to set Goblin Zombie, absorb a shot, then get another and set that one as well means that not only can this deck stave off attackers, it can quickly load the graveyard with Goblins. Because they’re Dark monsters, it’s extremely easy for Moore to get out Dark Armed Dragon. Since Mezuki and Zombie Master can get Dark monsters back out of the graveyard, it’s easy to pare a bulky graveyard down to just three Dark monsters from a higher number as well.

Moore plays three Solemn Judgment cards and two Bottomless Trap Hole cards, which is a rare choice for a modern Zombie deck. Most Zombie players aren’t running either card here today, relying on Torrential Tribute, two copies of Phoenix Wing Wind Blast or Raigeki Break, and maybe Mirror Force to protect themselves—a rather scant lineup. Moore’s deck is much better at keeping monsters on the field before his draw engine kicks in with Card of Safe Return, an important strategic point that keeps Caius the Shadow Monarch a live card in the early game.

I think the most ambitious part of this deck, and perhaps its biggest success, is its confidence in the Zombie search engine. Playing Zombies myself, I know how easy it is to get to Mezuki or Zombie Master when they’re needed, but most duelists are still playing three copies of all of their low-level Zombie cards (save Pyramid Turtle). Moore is playing a thinner lineup instead, again bolstered by his decision to run only one Book of Life, and he really seems to be getting away with it. It’s too early to state whether or not this is genius or inconsistency, but we’ll find out as the day progresses and Moore continues working his way through seven more rounds.

If he can win six more, he’ll lock in his seat in Day 2, throwing off the shackles of those who would pigeonhole him as nothing but a Samurai player, while also taking Zombies to their first Top 16 in months. He’s just one of several Zombie competitors here today, and hopefully by the end of the night we’ll see at least one successful variant on the theme. Everybody’s taking different approaches and right now it’s a tough call, but Moore’s deck seems like one of the stronger Zombie decks in the Day 1 field.