It’s a new year of progress and innovation: the movement of time doesn’t fail to bring changes to even the most immovable of traditions. This year, we’ll be exploring the growing fluidity of the Traditional format in an attempt to better understand the format we compete in. Within the Advanced format, we don’t have as many open options or decisions to make during gameplay, and with a radical viewing of what effects newer cards have on the Traditional format, we’ll be able to spotlight the emerging tech that can be seen in the evolving game.

This week, I’ll herald the new year with a Water-based hand control deck that has the ability to lock an opponent down with a dead hand, eliminating the few powerful cards he or she has. While this form of control was dominant for years in the game, I attribute its decline to Emon Ghaneian’s victory at Shonen Jump Championship Columbus in 2006. This was the beginning of the Chaos Return deck, which preferred maintaining control over the field to direct hand control. At Shonen Jump Seattle in 2005, this concept was considered by Jae Kim and his Zombie deck, which used an aggressive play style to eliminate cards from his opponent. He noticed that instead of concentrating directly on the hand, he could maintain an advantage through control over the field. Emon’s Chaos Return victory disregarded the popular use of Spirit Reaper direct hand disruption strategies and preferred to use Zaborg the Thunder Monarch and Chaos Sorcerer to clear his opponent’s field without cost. This backs an opponent into a position in which he or she is forced to eliminate large monsters that have already “paid” for themselves by stripping the opponent of a card.

Even within the format in which Emon’s Chaos Return deck became the most popular, the rise of one-turn KO decks took over. Cyber-Stein replaced Return from the Different Dimension or was played next to it to allow players trump cards that could retrieve a game from dire positions. Years passed, and Card Trooper next to Machine Duplication became popular. Aggressive decks have nearly taken over the game, yet this format has brought a new power to control players. Light and Darkness Dragon decks, while not based on direct hand disruption (unless the wielder owns a copy of Crush Card Virus) force duelists to play more conservative decks. Without consistency, Raiza the Storm Monarch and Phoenix Wing Wind Blast will quickly end a duel.

The years have passed and left us at a turning point in the game, a point which may define the way it is played and approached for a while to come. Hand disruption is being directly linked with field control, turning enormous monsters (which would otherwise have to be destroyed with monster removal) into dead draws for an opponent. This format is forcing players to be more consistent with their choices, because putting forth too much effort to play a card can almost make it unplayable.

These decks operate on a fundamental theory which many players come to realize when dealing with cards such as Phoenix Wing Wind Blast and Solemn Judgment: while these cards are most powerful in the late stages of a game (and when you’re ahead), if one opening move is disrupted it could turn a great hand into a terrible one. This was the power of cards like Confiscation and The Forceful Sentry (which are rightly Forbidden): the player who opens with such cards will give his or her opponent a dead hand more often than not.

This week, we’ll be exploring a control deck which operates on that theory. Using Spiritual Water Art - Aoi to complement normal control cards, the deck quickly destroys an opponent’s hand and renders the opponent incapable of competing with a stable deck. Of course, many times the hand disruption will have to aim at Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity, or Delinquent Duo, but a six-card hand in Traditional can often be even more inconsistent than in Advanced. The purpose of this deck is to realize this concept: the importance of choosing every card in your deck for consistency and the need to acknowledge what cards are important in an opponent’s hand.

The Monsters

I’m sure the first critique of this monster lineup is its general subtlety with the Monarchs, but remember that this is Traditional. You’ll be drawing a lot more cards, much faster than normal, so you should be able to sift to them quickly. While there are only a total of three Water monsters in the deck, two can be used repetitively with Aoi, so there shouldn’t be any problem attempting to activate it. With Sangan, Witch of the Black Forest, and Painful Choice to quickly search them out, you should have one by turn 2 most games.

Monsters: 19

2 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch

2 Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch

3 Raiza the Storm Monarch

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Tribe-Infecting Virus

1 Tsukuyomi

1 Witch of the Black Forest

1 Sangan

1 Yata-Garasu

1 Treeborn Frog

1 Sinister Serpent

1 Magician of Faith

1 Old Vindictive Magician

1 Crystal Seer

1 Apprentice Magician

The lineup is also fairly strict, barring a few monsters that would normally be seen in such a deck. The build is extremely focused and will force you to make the right decisions when discarding a card from an opponent’s hand. There isn’t much room for misplay, so it makes for an incredible chance to hone skills for tournament competition.

The Spells

The spells are also very tight. The idea is to hit the opponent’s hand hard and fast, crippling him or her and allowing you to control the rest of the game with ease. There is no room for cards that won’t either directly hinder your opponent’s hand or have wide-sweeping effects over the game. Happily, great cards realize a greater potential in this build. Painful Choice and Graceful Charity benefit from running both Sinister Serpent and Treeborn Frog in the same deck. Delinquent Duo, Confiscation, and The Forceful Sentry maintain the general theme of the deck, allowing for a cohesive and consistent control over what you allow your opponent to do. Snatch Steal and Change of Heart were always amazing cards, but in a Monarch deck they are almost too good to be printed on cardboard.

Spells: 12

1 Pot of Greed

1 Graceful Charity

1 Painful Choice

1 Delinquent Duo

1 The Forceful Sentry

1 Confiscation

1 Heavy Storm

1 Harpie’s Feather Duster

1 Raigeki

1 Dark Hole

1 Snatch Steal

1 Change of Heart

The Traps

Finally, the trap lineup is one of the most extensive my Traditional decks have seen. One important note is the incredible power of Mind Crush in this deck. You’ll almost always have a peek at your opponent’s hand and you’ll be far in the lead quickly if he or she has drawn two copies of the same card.

Traps: 9

1 Mirror Force

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Ring of Destruction

1 Imperial Order

1 Trap Dustshoot

1 Mind Crush

3 Spiritual Water Art - Aoi

Playing this deck is, I must admit, difficult at first. The most important thing to learn is what to discard when you have the chance. Just the other day, I was hit with an Aoi while holding two copies of Banisher of the Radiance and one Red Gadget: my opponent discarded one of the Banishers. This kind of misplay can cost you the game (and it did for my opponent). While most situations and choices will be more subtle, you’ll have to expect to lose a game if you choose wrong. Often, you’ll be able to force an opponent into an un-winnable situation. Remember, not only are you limiting the opponent’s options, but you also receive free knowledge of his or her hand. You can plan your moves as far as four or five turns in advance when playing one of these cards, dictating the exact motion the game will take. This is the power of a hand control deck, and it’s one of the most undervalued and misunderstood powers a control deck can claim. Hindering your opponent is a fine move, but putting him or her into a fixed game of chess is a great one.