For personal reasons that Team Savage does not yet wish to publicly disclose, Adame was not in attendance at today’s competition. By his wish though, Jae Kim is playing his friend’s favorite deck: “I figured if I played his deck he could sort of be here in spirit.”

And that’s why Jae Kim is playing . . . wait for it . . . a Dark Magician deck.

Now, the deck isn’t jam-packed with Dark Magician tricks: it’s really more of a coup-de-grace deck than an out-and-out theme deck, per se. But still, odds are good that somebody is going to be taken out by a Dark Magician today, and that, combined with the continuing drama of Team Savage, is just too interesting to not give a nod too.

While Adame didn’t go overboard with Dark Magician-dependent synergies, he did accomplish something really cool. The synergy between Dark Magician and Skilled Dark Magician allows the deck’s coup-de-grace finisher (the theme monster you’re trying to get into play, usually just because it makes a duel more fun) gives the deck an edge over other “finishing move” strategies. Because the deck doesn’t need to tribute to bring Dark Magician to the field, you’ve actually got a viable way to bring out a very high-powered monster without a tribute. Adame’s succeeded in turning a “fun deck” concept, that of ending a duel with a monster you randomly happen to like, into a deck that’s viable in a competitive format.

The rest of the deck is a flavorful Chaos variant. The Dark attribute of Dark Magician and his Skilled pals allows them to slip into a Chaos build with relative ease. Cards like Airknight Parshath and D. D. Assailant are standard powerhouses for the current Advanced format, and the deck keeps its options open with a single copy of Tsukuyomi and two Scapegoats in order to abuse the Thousand-Eyes Restrict Lockdown concept. Other monsters, such as Mystic Swordsman LV2 and Magical Merchant, are single-card tech that you can often find in Team Savage decks. Though Mystic Swordsman LV2 is run by many other teams and individuals, too, it’s a top pick for Team Savage in particular, while Magical Merchant has been run as a form of pseudo-search in conjunction with Call of the Haunted and Premature Burial by the team since Shonen Jump Championship Los Angeles back in the first week of April.

Also a popular pick among more standard powerhouses Adame ran is My Body As A Shield (MBAAS). A debated pick for the Tribe-Infecting Virus and Lightning Vortex–dominated environment, MBAAS has seen play in decks Kim has been running for months. Though it’s received lukewarm results in his decks and the decks of other duelists, it’s especially good here. The reason? While all decks enjoy maintaining board presence and benefit from doing so, this one takes that concept even further. Dark Magician is a big investment once it hits the field, and spell counters can sometimes take a while to stack up on Skilled Dark Magician. My Body As A Shield gives Adame, and thus Kim, another way to ensure that those investments and effects stay on the table for long periods of time and thus increases their efficiency.

The traps are fascinating, and are based around the same theory: Call of the Haunted and Ring of Destruction are obviously beneficial, but Royal Decree is the real star. Again, it keeps the deck’s board presence protected from Sakuretsu Armor and Mirror Force, helping Kim do what he needs to do today by protecting Dark Magician and Skilled Dark Magician. The reason that Adame didn’t run Mirror Force? Well, look at the two non-Decree traps he did run—both Ring and Call of the Haunted can be set and, in most situations, immediately activated next turn. That means they can be used when drawn instead of cluttering up the field once Royal Decree hits. Mirror Force is slightly more conditional, and could potentially just sit around locked in face-down position. Not using Mirror Force prevents this situation from ever occurring.

Overall, this deck is a great example of how one can incorporate creativity and raw fun into a competitive strategy. Some praise of Adame and Kim is definitely due just for trying something fun in a field that is often downright business-like in its level of seriousness, and it’s pretty incredible that an intense player like Jae Kim would take a step back from his usual must-win role to pay tribute to his friend.

Here’s hoping for Dark Magician in the Top 8!

Monsters: 17

1 Dark Magician

1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning

1 Airknight Parshath

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

2 Skilled Dark Magician

1 Sangan

1 Sinister Serpent

3 Magician of Faith

1 D. D. Warrior Lady

1 D. D. Assailant

1 Tsukuyomi

1 Exiled Force

1 Mystic Swordsman LV2

1 Magical Merchant

Spells: 20

1 Pot of Greed

1 Graceful Charity

1 Delinquent Duo

1 Premature Burial

1 Snatch Steal

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Heavy Storm

2 Nobleman of Crossout

1 My Body As A Shield

2 Book of Moon

1 Lightning Vortex

1 Smashing Ground

1 Reinforcement of the Army

1 Swords of Revealing Light

2 Scapegoat

2 Metamorphosis

Traps: 4

2 Royal Decree

1 Ring of Destruction

1 Call of the Haunted

Side:

2 Neko Mane King

1 Reinforcement of the Army

1 Mystic Swordsman LV2

1 D. D. Assailant

1 Bottomless Trap Hole

1 Ceasefire

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Tribe-Infecting Virus

2 Mobius the Frost Monarch

2 Waboku

2 Chain Disappearance

Fusion:

3 Thousand-Eyes Restrict

1 Dark Paladin

2 Reaper on the Nightmare

1 Darkfire Dragon

1 Giltia the D. Knight

1 Musician King

1 Ojama King

1 Dragoness the Wicked Knight

1 Charubin the Fire Knight

3 Dark Blade the Dragon Knight

2 King Dragun

3 Ryu Senshi

3 Dark Balter the Terrible

2 Fiend Skull Dragon

1 Gatling Dragon

1 Dark Flare Knight