Doomkaiser Dragon
Card# CSOC-EN043

Doomkaiser Dragon's effect isn't just for Zombie World duelists: remember that its effect can swipe copies of Plaguespreader Zombie, too!
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The Apotheosis: Armageddon of Doom

Jason Grabher-Meyer

March 28, 2006

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Over the past few weeks, we’ve established that Shadow of Infinity has more going for it than just Treeborn Frog and the Sacred Beasts. Disciple of the Forbidden Spell has seen some successful play, Demise, King of Armageddon has proven to be the best Ritual monster of all time, and Insects have become a viable deck theme. While some first regarded Shadow of Infinity as a one-trick pony, it’s proving to actually have five or six successful themes, each of which is worthy of its own deck.

However, what if we started combining those themes into a single deck? That’s just what today’s submitter has done, mixing two of Shadow of Infinity’s biggest cards together to create a unique strategy! I’ll let him describe his creation.

Dear Jason,

Here's something I cooked up after reading Metagame.com articles. The whole Metagame.com staff is hard at work trying to think up great strategies, and that’s inspired me to create the deck that I call “Armageddon of Doom.” The metagame at Skyline College is pretty much still Nobleman of Extermination hitting the traps in threes, so diverse trap line-ups are a must. Tournament-style players have Warrior Toolboxes. Everyone has one to two copies of Mobius, Jinzo, or Royal Decree, and Don Zaloog or Spirit Reaper will dominate the field. Tsukuyomi is almost a constant sight.

I think this deck needs some fixing, but I’m not certain what to cut. The Nightmare’s Steelcages are there to stall until I get Manju and the Ritual parts out. The Doom Dozer adds power. Imagine that Armageddon is summoned, calls priority, and nukes the field. Two Doom Dozers are summoned, and you look at your opponent and say “nice game!” 2800, 2800, and 2400 is 8000 exactly. That's why Pinch Hopper and Howling Insect are there—to fill the graveyard. Skull-Mark Ladybug will help you gain life. Insect Knight can be normal summoned as a beatstick, or it can be special summoned through Demise destroying Pinch Hopper. The deck has a 5-to-1 win-loss ratio so far in its experimental phase. My question is, can you think what to cut from this deck to reduce it to 40 cards or so? It’s way too huge for my liking, but I can't seem to cut it down.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Ryan L., San Bruno, California

By blending Insects and the power of Armageddon, this deck can produce some massive swings in momentum. Here’s the decklist that Ryan sent me.

Armageddon of Doom

50 Cards

Monsters: 24

2 Demise, King of Armageddon

3 Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands

Spells: 20

2 Level Limit - Area B

1 Lightning Vortex

2 Messenger of Peace

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

3 Nightmare’s Steelcage

1 Nobleman of Crossout

1 Pot of Avarice

1 Premature Burial

1 Snatch Steal

1 Swords of Revealing Light

Traps: 6

1 Call of the Haunted

Ryan has already recognized the main problem with this deck—this thing is fat. At fifty cards, it just can’t be regarded as a reliable deck, especially with those key cards that we need to be able to find consistently. Demise, King of Armageddon, End of the World, and Doom Dozer are all essential to see on a game-by-game basis, and running ten cards more than necessary is what’s hurting Ryan’s chances for success.

We’ll start with some layoffs in the monster department. Right off the bat, Pinch Hopper and Skull-Mark Ladybug need to go. Both of their effects are too conditional, and each is a poor topdeck in the late game when both players are running low on cards. We do need to pack in a lot of Insects to fuel the summoning requirement of Doom Dozer, but there are other cards we can use to achieve this goal. In fact, I’m even going to drop one of the copies of Howling Insect. These forlorn little bugs have better replacements on the way.

Next, I’m going to remove Morphing Jar from the deck. My final deck count for the fixed version of Ryan’s build is going to be a lot leaner, so the ability to rifle through the deck with Morphing Jar won’t be as necessary. In addition, now that many duelists are using Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World in the main deck, Morphing Jar can become a dangerous liability.

Finally, the last monster I want to get rid of is Tsukuyomi. It’s obviously a great card, but it needs the proper support to be used effectively. This deck isn’t running any of the flip effect monsters that play so nicely with Tsukuyomi’s effect; not even Magical Merchant, which is a tempting card for an Insect deck. I really need to make some drops, and Tsukuyomi is an unnatural fit for what Ryan wants to accomplish.

Moving on to the spells, the first card I want to get rid of is Card Destruction. Again, once there are fewer cards in the deck, it’s going to be a lot easier to draw into the things we need, so the cycling power of Card Destruction won’t be necessary. It does let us discard Insects for use with Doom Dozer, but because we could draw a Dozer at any time and then be forced to discard it with Card Destruction, this isn’t the best plan. In addition, Card Destruction costs you a card to use, and there are better ways to spend the deck’s resources.

The same can be said of Lightning Vortex. While Vortex can clear a field under the right conditions, most duelists are playing a lot of face-down monsters now, and that’s going to stunt its efficiency. While its discard cost presents a clever method of getting a final Insect monster in the graveyard for use as Dozer fodder, I’m concerned about how often Lightning Vortex will be a dead card. That’s why I’m going to pull it from the fixed version of the deck.

A leaner build will enable this deck to play far more aggressively, so we won’t need to stall very long to start drawing into copies of our Ritual components and Doom Dozer. Let’s make the most of that and take a more offensive attitude towards field control. Level Limit - Area B and Messenger of Peace will inevitably get in the way. While Demise, King of Armageddon can smash these offending spells out of its sight with its effect, Doom Dozer would sit there doing nothing if one of them was on the field. With plenty of high ATK monsters and an Insect lineup that is actually going to invite the opponent to attack, lockdown cards will be counter-intuitive to what we’re trying to accomplish. Both copies of Level Limit - Area B and Messenger of Peace need to be removed from the deck.

The same can be said for Nightmare’s Steelcage. Again, this is an excellent card in a deck that doesn’t intend to do any attacking, or even a dedicated Demise deck, but that’s not our goal here. With fewer cards, all this stalling won’t be necessary. In fact, all these stall cards are exactly what’s making this deck large and unwieldy. They solve a problem that’s actually being caused by their presence—making them a must-drop as far as this strategy is concerned.

Like I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of one random copy of Pot of Avarice in the main deck. If this deck were to use Magical Merchant as part of its Insect horde, I’d be singing a different tune, but there’s nothing currently here to support the Pot. In fact, with Doom Dozer frequently removing cards from the graveyard to fulfill its summoning requirement, the primary goals of the deck make Pot of Avarice a bad choice. Is Pot an amazingly powerful card? Definitely. But it’s not a staple in every deck, and it needs certain cards to support its use. Without a few methods of reliably loading your graveyard while maintaining card presence, the Pot won’t do you any good. And what if you need those monsters for something else, like Doom Dozer? Don’t even consider running Pot of Avarice in this deck.

The final drop I want to make is the single copy of Royal Decree. Ryan is in a unique situation, thanks to all the copies of Nobleman of Extermination that see play in his area. He needs to diversify his trap selections in order to ensure that he gets to play them: otherwise, they’ll be ripped from his deck and he’ll be left without his key cards. I don’t feel this deck is equipped to capitalize on the conditions that Royal Decree establishes. The deck still has several traps, and by the time I’m finished with it, it will have a few more, so the Decree has to go.

By now I’ve dropped exactly twenty cards, which means that I can add ten more to bring the deck back to forty cards. The first is Sangan. Almost every deck needs to run this card. Not only does it allow you to search out key monsters when you need them, you can use it to defend yourself or bluff an opponent without losing a card. Sangan replaces itself when it’s destroyed, which makes it incredibly versatile. This deck is running a lot of small monsters, so it’s going to be really useful.

The next addition I want to make is a third Spirit Reaper. Combined with the field-clearing power of Demise and Doom Dozer, Spirit Reaper is a no-brainer, and it can make any of your big featured monsters all the more damaging by stripping the opponent’s hand bare. Dozer and Demise are both vulnerable to Smashing Ground once they hit the field, but Spirit Reaper can proactively chase that card (and others) out of the opponent’s list of possible plays on successive turns. It’s a defensive powerhouse that can save you from certain doom, and it’s a great opening monster if you go first in a duel. This deck wants to play aggressively but still needs to maintain a moderate tempo, so Spirit Reaper is a natural fit.

Last up for the monster category is one of my favorite additions to the deck: three copies of Flying Kamakiri #1. Basically, these little fellows perform the same function as Howling Insect. They maintain board presence, thin the deck so that we can draw into Doom Dozer and Demise earlier on, and because they’re Insects, they can fuel Doom Dozer’s summoning. The difference between Flying Kamakiri #1 and Howling Insect is that the Kamakiris have better stats, so they’ll be better if they’re ever thrust into battle. In addition, if the tide ever turns grossly in our favor, they’ll be more effective attackers. Each Kamakiri can also pluck another copy of itself from the deck. The increased count of self-replacing monsters in the deck will allow even more Dozer food to pile up in your graveyard.

The only spells I want to add are two copies of Smashing Ground. I can’t think of a good reason not to. I hate running into Cyber Dragon, D. D. Assailant, and Spirit Reaper, and Smashing Ground is the universal answer to all three of these fearsome monsters. A pair will do here, clearing the way for big attacks and allowing for unexpected shifts in momentum. You’ll often be able to summon a monster, play Smashing Ground, and then special summon a Demise or Dozer. An onslaught like that creates a shift in life points—and overall momentum—that will shock your opponent.

While I appreciate Ryan’s difficult position with Nobleman of Extermination seeing so much play in his area, he’s unfortunately managed to forego a few traps that would benefit his deck. Nobleman won’t hurt you if you’re running single copies of everything, so there’s no reason to avoid playing one Sakuretsu Armor. Instead of playing a full playset of three, we can diversify the deck’s spread of traps by selecting a single copy each of both Trap Hole and Bottomless Trap Hole. This will give us a significant amount of control over the field, as well as the means to accelerate a game’s tempo through 1-for-1 card exchanges, and it does so without leaving the deck open to the much-feared Nobleman.

That’s all I want to add! At a tight 40 cards, this list looks complete, so here’s the final tally of the changes I made.

–1 Howling Insect

–1 Morphing Jar

–3 Pinch Hopper

–3 Skull-Mark Ladybug

–1 Tsukuyomi

–1 Card Destruction

–1 Lightning Vortex

–2 Level Limit - Area B

–2 Messenger of Peace

–3 Nightmare’s Steelcage

–1 Pot of Avarice

–1 Royal Decree

+1 Spirit Reaper

+3 Flying Kamakiri #1

+1 Sangan

+2 Smashing Ground

+1 Sakuretsu Armor

+1 Bottomless Trap Hole

+1 Trap Hole

Here’s the fixed version of Ryan’s deck!

Armageddon of Doom: Jason’s Fix

40 Cards

Monsters: 20

2 Demise, King of Armageddon

3 Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands

3 Spirit Reaper

1 Sangan

Spells: 12

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Nobleman of Crossout

1 Premature Burial

1 Snatch Steal

1 Swords of Revealing Light

2 Smashing Ground

Traps: 8

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Bottomless Trap Hole

1 Trap Hole

How does one play this deck? The opening is easy: any of the five self-replacing Insects or any of the three Spirit Reapers are acceptable face-down plays if you go first on turn 1. The Insects are the favorable option, since they’ll start to immediately stock your graveyard with Doom Dozer vittles.

After that, you’re looking to establish a neutral-to-slow tempo, using your multitude of face-down monsters to encourage your opponent to play conservatively. If that works, you’re set. You’ll be free to drop Demise, King of Armageddon and blow away the entire field. Of course, it’s ideal if you can get your opponent to commit more cards to the field than you, so that your 2000 life points and ritual discard for Demise’s summoning can hopefully net you a few cards of advantage (or at least allow you to break even).

If you’re faced with a more aggressive opponent who attempts to break up your carefully established tempo, focus more on your Insects and the use of Doom Dozer. If you can keep Dozer on the field for a few turns, you’ll either rack up some serious card advantage through battle, or you’ll at least bludgeon your opponent into a state of submission, forcing him or her to set cards and play to a slower tempo. Once that happens, he or she has played right into your hands.

Some cool things to remember about this deck: Doom Dozer is a level 8 monster, which is the same number of level stars as Demise, King of Armageddon. While Ryan focused on the ability to drop a pair of Dozers alongside Demise for one big attack, I think the real strength of this coupling is that a single Dozer can be tributed to fulfill the complete ritual cost of End of the World. That’s pretty cool, because while managing your card presence isn’t everything, effective card economy is always beneficial to a complete strategy. If you can take the game by ditching your hand for Demise and one or two Doom Dozers, by all means, do so. But if you won’t be clinching the duel on the turn you summon Demise, go ahead and play the numbers, tributing away Doom Dozer for Demise’s summon.

This deck loves to go up against anything that looks like Flip-Flop Control. If it sets a lot of monsters and rarely presses for a win in the early game, you can decimate it with Demise’s effect and clever manipulation of tempo. Make the opponent over-commit to the field, and then punish him or her for it with the King of Armageddon.

More difficult are aggressive matchups like Toolbox and Return from the Different Dimension. In such duels, you should be sure to really use your Insects to your advantage. You might even want to side deck a pair of 4-Starred Ladybug of Dooms to deal with things like D. D. Assailant, D.D. Survivor, and Don Zaloog. You won’t want to put as much priority on playing Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, but you do still want to have Demise available in the late game if possible. It’s especially slick in the Return matchup, where its effect can destroy a face-down Return, or force the opponent to activate it for defensive reasons when you’re the turn player. Either way, it’s bad news for your opponent.

There it is—a viable deck that combines two of Shadow of Infinity’s most successful themes into one single, synergistic strategy. Hopefully the fix helps Ryan out, and hopefully, you’ll give this deck a try in your local metagame!

—Jason Grabher-Meyer

Do you have an Advanced format deck you could use some help with, or that you just want to show off to the world? Do you want to see it appear in a future Apotheosis article? Send it to me at Jason(at)metagame(dot)com, with your name, location, and explanation of how the deck works—I might take a crack at it!

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