Subject: DarkMarth - The 20 Sub-Types




       I got a lot of positive response from my last article, so I decided to 
work on another one. This one is about the 20 sub-types. Many beginners use a 
beatdown deck, but most don't realize that F/S Beatdown isn't the only way to 
go. This article details the 20 sub-types, and which ones work together in a 
deck.
    Well, to start off let's list the 20 sub-types. They are Fiend, 
Spellcaster, Zombie, Dragon, Sea Serpent, Aqua, Thunder, Fish, Beast, 
Beast-Warrior, Winged Beast, Reptile, Rock, Pyro, Fairy, Insect, Dinosaur, 
Machine, Warrior, and Plant. Now this'll start getting interesting. Basically 
what we need to do next is split our 20 types into types with a lot of power, 
which we'll call Major Types, and types with not as many strong cards, which 
we'll call Minor Types. Here's our list:
Major Types
·   Fiend
·   Spellcaster
·   Dragon
·   Beast
·   Warrior
·   Beast-Warrior
Now we'll do the Minor Types, which are basically the rest of them. And they 
are…
Minor Types
·   Zombie
·   Sea Serpent
·   Aqua
·   Thunder
·   Fish
·   Winged Beast
·   Reptile
·   Rock
·   Pyro
·   Fairy
·   Insect
·   Dinosaur
·   Machine
·   Plant
       OK, so now we've split up our 20 sub-types. But why does this matter? 
It matters because a Major Type almost always must be complemented with a 
Minor Type. A Major Type usually shouldn't be in a deck with another Major 
Type because you usually end up getting two conflicting types. The exceptions 
to these rules are Fiend/Spellcaster decks (both powered up by Yami) and 
Dragon decks (so many good dragons that you don't need another type in there. 
There can be another type in there, though, as you'll see soon.) The other 
not-so-obvious exception is a Warrior/Beast-Warrior deck, because Sogen 
powers both of them up.
    Now, not all Minor Types complement every Major Type. For example, a 
Fiend/Fairy deck wouldn't work well at all, and neither would a 
Dragon/Reptile deck. You've got to look carefully at what works with what. 
Here are some examples:
·   Mechanical Zombie: As you'll notice, some decks work for absolutely no 
reason. This is one of those decks. Shadow Ghoul and Barrel Dragon seem to be 
big here. Note: Yes, I know that these are two Minor Types. This is the only 
deck where two Minor Types work, mostly because they're the two strongest 
Minor Types.
·   Graveyard Fiends: This deck works pretty well. Castle of Dark Illusions 
is a Fiend, and it powers up the other type in the deck, Zombie, so it 
naturally works well. Again, Shadow Ghoul comes up big here, along with 
Pumpking and Summoned Skull. La Jinn is in here, too.
·   Mountain Bash: This deck uses the Mountain field card with Dragons and 
one of two other types: Winged Beasts or Thunder. You'll see most everything 
that's in a Dragons deck, but less Remove Traps, because another type is 
backing up the Dragons. You'll also see Harpie Lady/Harpie Lady Sisters if 
Winged Beast is the Minor Type, or Sanga of the Thunder if the deck has 
Thunder type.
·   Mechanical Zombies: Again, this is a deck that works for some unknown 
reason. You'll see Launcher Spider, Barrel Dragon, and Shadow Ghoul (yet 
again) here. As you've noticed, Shadow Ghoul can be very useful.
·   Prehistoric Dragons: This deck mostly uses Dragons, but there are a few 
Dinosaurs in here, too. This is basically a dragons deck with a few more 
non-tribute monsters. The only dinosaurs you'll find in here are Uraby and 
maybe Mammoth Graveyard. Also, if I could prove that it exists, I'd say that 
Two-Headed King Rex would be in here. Note: please email me if you know what 
set I can find Two-Headed King Rex in.
       Well, those are all the other unseen forms of beatdown. You may have 
noticed that some Minor Types were not included. This is because they are 
overall very weak, and it would be pointless to add them into a beatdown 
deck. I also didn't list Aqua, Sea Serpent, and Fish. This is because those 3 
types can possibly be used to create an Umi Beatdown, using Suijin as the 
main power card. Email me if you have an Umi Beatdown, as I'd like to see 
your deck list. Until my next article, and yes, there will be another 
article, later!

-DarkMarth