Like any typical format, this one gives rise to a few powerful decks that dominate. Eventually, the format tends to balance itself out, unless the circumstances prove that one or two decks/strategies/combos are too powerful to be countered. This hasn’t happened often in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and even though it may seem like that’s what’s going on right now, I’m going to offer an idea that may spark solutions from the community.
Looking back at what we already know, the Dark Armed Dragon deck is a highly efficient aggro strategy with a hint of combo. By far, it is one of the fastest and most effective decks ever conceived with the aid of Allure of Darkness. The current Six Samurai builds have nearly the same potency, but they aren’t as reliable as Dark Armed Return. The format is quite obviously a speed fest. Anything slower than the current aggro, Magical Explosion, and Diamond Dude Turbo decks is regarded as "too slow."
Despite all the facts, there is a strong possibility that a control deck can make a metagame-changing impact. The current Gladiator Beast build, popularized by Jake McNeely and Evan Vargas, shows promise as a control deck capable of stopping Dark Armed Return in its tracks. Control decks can balance an aggressive format with tight control over the tempo of the game and by thwarting the aggro deck’s win conditions. Knowing this, my good friend Josh Graham and I thought it would be a perfect time for a burn deck to hit the metagame. Let’s take a look:
The Monsters and Spells
Credit for this build goes to Josh and the style of this deck is control. The methodology behind the monster line-up is simple: the copies of Gemini Summoner, Marshmallon, and Spirit Reaper serve as defensive walls to slow aggressive plays made by the opponent. Mask of Darkness is a natural fit to retrieve the twenty traps that I will explain later. Stealth Bird is another natural fit in this burn variant due to its 1000 life points per turn effect and its Dark attribute. It’s a perfect target for Crush Card Virus like Mask of Darkness and Sangan. Crystal Seer was, in my opinion, a clever pick for this deck. She’s unique in her ability to let you pick and choose from the draw she offers you.
The spells include the standard trio of Wave-Motion Cannon to win the game and two stall cards. Level Limit and Swords are included for obvious reasons. A spell-based monster removal card like Smashing Ground or Hammer Shot could be fit in here as well.
The Traps
While the monster and spell line-ups may not seem all that impressive, the true synergy is in the trap spread. I’m a big fan of Dark Bribe and Solemn Judgment as reliable negation cards against the speed of Dark Armed Return. These negation cards also provide a solid defense against any attempts at clearing your spell and trap zone or destroying your monsters. Royal Oppression is another essential element to this deck that gives its wielder the time to build counters for Wave-Motion or rack up damage with the trustworthy Stealth Bird. Blocking special summons is essential to keeping Dark Armed Dragon out of your hair or anything that might appear from Return from the Different Dimension.
The next highlight is the trio of Spiritual Water Art - Aoi and the Trap Dustshoot/Mind Crush combo. These cards are not what you find in your average burn deck, but the metagame has called for some drastic measures. Personally, I think hand disruption is a key element in dismantling most of the currently popular strategies. Aoi is virtually a Confiscation at the cost of a Water monster instead of your own life points, and the possibilities are very promising for a card like this. If you suspect that your opponent is about to drop his or her Dark Armed Dragon, then you can activate your Aoi to tribute your recently flipped Crystal Seer to take it out of the opponent’s hand during the draw phase. The same concept applies with Trap Dustshoot and Mind Crush.
With this kind of line-up, you are presenting your opponent with multiple threats at the same time. When your opponent attempts to make a move to counter your burn cards, then you can punish him or her with negation or cut off the opponent’s options by manipulating that player’s hand. To add insult to injury, Crush Card Virus is in the deck to pave the way for an easy game.
The Strategy
This deck’s game plan against Dark Armed Return is to slow the deck down. You accomplish this via Dark Bribe and Solemn Judgment to stop its draw engine, while the defensive capabilities of Stealth Bird, Marshmallon, Gemini Summoner, and Spirit Reaper prevent battle damage. If Dark Armed Return can draw multiple cards before you get a chance to do anything about it, then you can take solace in the fact that you have answers to Dark Armed Dragon, Return from the Different Dimension, and Escape. With that safety net in place, you can concentrate on drawing into or protecting the cards you rely on to win. For good measure, you can keep your opponent on his or her toes with Magic Cylinder and Ceasefire.
Approaching this as a control deck puts you in a position where you have to pay attention to all of the little details during the game. Builds like these aren’t very forgiving when it comes to missed timing or other mistakes. The build can recover from misplays with adequate stalling, trap recycling, deck manipulation, and alternate burn conditions, but you really don’t want to place yourself in difficult situations.
This deck can also be built in many different ways. If you decide that flip-effect monsters aren’t your thing, then you can opt for a build with Skill Drain. You may lose the miscellaneous burn cards, but you gain significant control of the field. If you want to draw into your cards faster, you can play monsters that aren’t affected by Drain like Dark Mimic LV3. You can also opt for the recruiter approach to maintain field presence while you wait for Wave-Motion to do its job. Keeping with the Spiritual Water Art - Aoi theme, you can use Mother Grizzly to hold down the fort with Cloudian - Sheep Cloud.
Final Thoughts
I understand that nobody wants a burn deck to appear in the metagame, but it’s an affordable alternative to Dark Armed Return that can really be successful. The myriad ways that burn variants can be built is refreshing, too. Fortunately, an archetype like burn is friendly toward transformational side decks, something you can really use to your advantage. Feel free to copy this deck and modify it as you see fit. I’m interested to see what the community may come up with by the time the next Shonen Jump Championship rolls around. This format needs something that can stop Dark Armed Return, Explosion, and DDT in their tracks, and I think a good control strategy can do just that.
—Bryan Camareno