These last few months have been host to a rapidly-changing metagame. First, the release of Gadgets and the Forbidding of Cyber-Stein shook the absolute power of Monarchs and brought many other decks to the forefront. Then, the release of Destiny Hero - Malicious and Elemental Hero - Stratos created an archetype entirely new to the North American tournament scene in Diamond Dude Turbo. Finally, the Forbidden and Limited list was modified, and with it came a loss in the power of Apprentice Magician-based decks.

By all accounts, Monarchs should be finished. Gadgets absolutely destroy a Spicer-style build, and Monarchs are much too slow to deal with either the OTK side of DDT or the devastating Dimension Fusion/Dark Magician of Chaos loop. The expected metagame at Shonen Jump Championship Houston were the two top decks that weren’t damaged by the Forbidden list, namely Gadgets and Return decks. Spicer builds were almost completely written off, and with the release of D.D. Crow, most players assumed Monarchs wouldn’t be seen except in small numbers. However, we saw that two Monarch builds made the Top 8, and even more made the Top 16 (including a 12-Monarch deck from Brad Poth). We took a look at the first Top 8 build that Adam Corn used, now let’s take a look at what could very easily become the next standard Monarch deck:

Monsters: 21

2 Mobius the Frost Monarch

2 Gravekeeper’s Spy

3 Cyber Dragon

2 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch

1 Twin-Headed Behemoth

2 Mystic Tomato

2 Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch

1 Treeborn Frog

1 Legendary Jujitsu Master

1 Sangan

1 Spirit Reaper

3 Hydrogeddon

Spells: 14

2 Brain Control

1 Scapegoat

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Snatch Steal

1 Premature Burial

1 Book of Moon

1 Heavy Storm

1 Enemy Controller

1 Pot of Avarice

2 Smashing Ground

1 Soul Exchange

1 Nobleman of Crossout

Traps: 6

1 Torrential Tribute

3 Sakuretsu Armor

1 Mirror Force

1 Ring of Destruction

Like the Spicer build before it, this deck plays six Monarchs. Two copies each of Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, and Mobius the Frost Monarch give the deck a lot of versatility for the unpredictable new format. Mobius was picked up here in favor of the third Zaborg and third Thestalos to help combat the Gadget deck, as well as the possibility of a Royal Decree/Hydrogeddon deck.

The worry on most players’ minds was whether or not they could stabilize their field often enough to ensure that Monarchs wouldn’t be dead cards in the hand. Before the Forbidden list changed, Apprentice Magician did this perfectly, setting up great Old Vindictive Magician/Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch or Magician of Faith/Zaborg the Thunder Monarch plays. However, now that Magician of Faith is gone, and Old Vindictive Magician has yet another enemy in Card Trooper, the Apprentice-engine route doesn’t sound very promising.

Arias escaped this problem with some creative monster selection. Gravekeeper’s Spy, for instance, produces an extra tribute and boasts 2000 DEF points. Twin-Headed Behemoth can do the same thing if you’re able to force the opponent to destroy it with a spell or trap card. Finally, Legendary Jujitsu Master’s 1800 DEF will likely keep it on the field to be tributed next turn, as well as locking up the opponent’s next draw.

Mystic Tomato hasn’t been removed from the deck, and for good reason. Tomato’s search targets are very versatile, and it makes a great defender or attacker. It can also set up Sangan to be tributed for one of the Monarchs. Sangan can then do his thing, and find the most optimal target to go along with the Monarch and the rest of your hand.

The last unusual monster choice for a Monarch deck is Hydrogeddon—an insanely good card that just never seemed to fit with the stop-and-go performance of the Spicer build. However, Hydrogeddon does make an excellent replacement for Apprentice Magician. When its attacks connect and multiple copies of the card are brought out, the opponent is going to be under a lot of pressure to act quickly. As such, he or she will probably give up multiple cards to take them down. Then your Brain Control/Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch combos are that much more effective, eliminating the final cards from the opponent’s hand and forcing the simplification of the game.

If the opponent is unable to deal with Hydrogeddon aggressively, he or she must sit back and watch Arias either tear his or her life points apart, or conserve Brain Control for lethal attacks later by tributing a Hydrogeddon. The most brilliant part about Hydrogeddon (and the rest of the monster line-up as well) is how it bests both Gadgets and Return decks. Large amounts of defense and quick field multiplication give both of these archetypes some trouble, and adding Monarchs to the mix is never what they’d like to see.

The spell and trap builds are consistent with the Spicer idea. Sakuretsu Armor and other defenses allow you to push through damage and prevent your monsters from being destroyed in battle. No Bottomless Trap Hole cards is a little scary, but with Breaker the Magical Warrior gone, the need for that card has decreased dramatically. The spells are also very linear. Two copies of Brain Control beef up the potential of an OTK while adding to Monarch tributes. Soul Exchange, although neglected recently in favor of the damage-inducing Brain Control, was a great metagame call for Arias. Gravekeeper’s Spy and Legendary Jujitsu Master won’t be flipped face up until they’ve already activated their effects and caused some amount of trouble. Those two cards were in quite a lot of decks at Houston, and Soul Exchange doubtless proved invaluable in reducing their threat.

So long as the game revolves around both players’ fields, Monarchs will never fully disappear. Steven Arias has debuted what could very well be the next big Monarch build, so keep your eyes peeled and your side decks ready for this deck at the upcoming Shonen Jump tournaments.