Subject: Poor Man's Deck and Strategies - Asylum

This is my first tip so bear with me.

Poor Man's Deck and Strategies
-Asylum-
aschumacher@sio.midco.net

The reason I'm calling this the "Poor Man's Deck and Strategies" is because I am one who doesn't really believe in (nor do I have the financial
abilities) buying or biding for the expensive and rare cards you see for sale on the internet. I rely upon good old fashioned luck of the draw and buy the occasional booster pack or started deck. Here is my deck right now and where they came from.

(KEY=: SDK = Starter Deck Kaiba SDJ = Starter Deck Joey
MRL & MRD = Metal Raiders Booster PSV = Pharoah's Servant Booster)

Level 5+:
----------
Blue Eyes White Dragon - SDK
Red Eyes Black Dragon - SDJ
Wingweaver - PSV
Labyrinth Wall - MRL
====================
TOTAL: 4

Level 4:
-----------
Jirai Gumo - MRD
Mysterious Puppeteer - SDK
La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp - SDK
Gearfried the Iron Knight - SDJ
Maha Vailo - SDJ
Harpies Brother - SDJ
Harpies Brother - PSV
Island Turtle - SDJ
Spirit of the Harp - SDJ
7 Colored Fish - SDJ
Guardian of the Throne Room - MRL
=====================
TOTAL: 11

< Level 4:
------------
Sangan - SDJ
Penguin Soldier - SDJ
Hane Hane - SDK
Magician of Faith - SDJ
======================
TOTAL: 4

Magic Cards:
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Dark Hole - SDK
Monster Reborn - SDJ
Change of Heart - SDJ
Eternal Rest - SDJ
Giant Trunade - SDJ
The Reliable Guardian - SDJ
Monster Recovery - PSV
Shield and Sword - SDJ
Block Attack - SDJ
Fissure (x2) - SDK & SDJ
Scapegoat - SDJ
Dian Keto the Cure Master - SDJ
Horn of the Unicorn - MRL
Paralyzing Potion - MRD
Sword of the Deep-Seated -MRD
Remove Trap (x2) - SDK & SDJ
De-Spell (x2) - SDK & SDJ
========================
TOTAL: 20

Trap Cards:
--------------
Trap Hole (x2) - SDK & SDJ
Reinforcements (x2) - SDK & SDJ
Snake Fang - MRL
Castle Walls - SDK
Just Desserts - SDJ
Waboku - SDJ
Ultimate Offering - SDJ
========================
TOTAL: 9

DECK TOTAL: 48

As you can see, I've only purchased the Started Deck for Kaiba and Joey and a few (less than 8) booster packs. This is definitely a budget deck. Less than $25. Now, since the formalities are out of the way, on to the strategy...which is anything BUT budget....

DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
I often find myself playing against a beatdown deck. On a budget deck like this...your best defense is time. The more time you give yourself the better. That is why Scapegoat is a great card for a defensive strategy. Those 4 little tokens can buy you some precious time. Now, there aren't any direct-destroy cards like Reigeki in here but Hane Hane and Peguin Soldier do just as well. Again, these cards will buy you only time. But time enough to pull off some "cheap" but effective combos.

DON'T BE GREEDY WITH EQUIP CARDS
Paralyzing potion can be a lifesaver. Slap that down on a Blue Eyes and you can almost feel the frustration in the air. Also...Eternal Rest is a great card...especially when you equip your opponents Blue Eyes with one of your own equip cards. Nothing is stopping you from putting that Sword of the Deep-Seated on there and then playing Eternal Rest. A simple yet frustrating combo.

PRECIOUS TIME = PRECIOUS LIFE POINTS
Cards like the Mysterious Puppeteer may draw a few raised eyebrows but you wouldn't think so if you ended a game with over 11,000 life points! However, it will also draw immediate attention so Castle Walls and Waboku will delay its destruction and can further add to your life points. Dian Keto can also add life points in a pinch and more never hurts.

OTHER MISC. STRATEGIES:
Jirai Gumo...played in Attack mode! Being only a level 4 monster, it serves to buy time...but not much. REMEMBER! Jirai only really works if you have LESS THAN 4400 life points left. That way, if you fail the coin toss, you'll still do more damage to your opponent than you will to yourself. I once slowly knocked myself down to 50 life points will doing 6600 damage to my opponents life points over 3 rounds. With any equip cards..you can do some hefty damage and can pull your game out of the ruins.

Magician of Faith AFTER Monster Reborn...Pull that precious card back from your graveyard and use it to bring back your opponents precious Summoned Skull!

Sangan => Labyrinth Wall
Labyrinth wall has an attack of 0...perfect for Sangan. Send Sangan to the graveyard...get your Wall from the deck...tribute for your wall...and you're in business for a few rounds. Especially if you have Castle Walls still at you disposal. Even Blue Eyes can't touch it. Then, if your opponent tries to up Blue Eyes ATK with an equip to get rid of it...hit him with Eternal Rest and watch his face turn that lovely shade of red.

Well, there you have it! A budget deck with some not-so budget strategies. It takes a while to get really comfortable with your cards to not panic when faced with a powerful beatdown deck. With a budget deck you have to rely on your wits and use your few powerful cards to their absolute best. With practice you can really frustrate all those players who spend the big bucks on special rare cards and then, with your starter decks and a few boosters, show them that money aint everything!

Thanks.

Til next time.

-Asylum
aschumacher@sio.midco.net