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From: Brad Mathews [mailto:Brad.Mathews@woodlandfurniture.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 1:22 PM

Subject: Phoenix OTK Idea + New card-what worked, and what didn't -Brad Mathews



Phoenix OTK Idea + New cards-what worked, and what didn’t



This might sound silly, but…this is the longest titled piece I have ever written (and trust me, I have written a lot.) What I will be discussing here is the deck I run, which has evolved and changed over time…with the metagame.



What is now my Phoenix deck started out as a soul control deck with Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End. I just didn’t know that’s what it was. I believe I named it something ridiculous like CED and Friends. After heavy play testing against other decks I have run successfully, I realized that the strategy was flawed and often didn’t work. Where I thought Phoenix could come back when CED went off, I was mistaken. I made a (minor) interpretation error when looking over CED’s effect and realized that it didn’t destroy anything. After a week or two, the failed CED came out in favor of BLS. This was still a Phoenix/Chaos deck that did surprisingly well. I eventually phased out the Soul Control stuff, such as Zaborg and Soul Exchange in favor of sturdier cards.



By now, the deck has changed entirely. I added in a little bit of OTK flavor when I realized that many people in the local shop that I play in have few answers for the Phoenix itself. The idea is that Phoenix will eventually die via a card effect, and when it comes back, it can morph into that…Cyber…TWIN…Dragon thing. I didn’t know this would work, but anything that is experimental in nature has the certain potential of backfiring. Then Cyber Twin is free to attack on an open field. Recently I OTK’d someone and he never knew what hit him. It is the end of his turn, and he ends. I MST my Premature Burial’d Phoenix, and then voila, it comes back, I morph for Cyber Twin, Monster Reborn the Phoenix and attack on an open field for 8000. Keep in mind, of course, that Monster Reborn is banned in the advanced format, but then again, we play the old *gasp* traditional style at the shop.



Nevertheless, over the long time I have been running this deck, I have made the necessary changes. I will now attempt to keep a record of what cards worked and what did not.



--Airknight Parshath. This was a good choice, but it was fragile, believe it or not. I still found it hard to get rid of, but the strategy was aging and opponents were getting used to dealing with it.



--Cyber Dragon. I know what many of you are thinking. So CC! As a matter of fact, I started by tech-ing in a single copy of it, and it translated to early field advantage, where it had been lacking in the first place. Yes, I think I’ll keep this one.



--Different Dimension Capsule. In the absence of spell and trap removal this is a free card from your deck of your choice. A downside is that the deck has to be shuffled afterward, and if DDC is destroyed, the card stays removed from play. It started as a quick way to get the next card, but it came out in favor of a more control-oriented option.



--Hand of Nephthys. If you think that Hand is not playable, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Hand cannot be Bottomlessed, and you can use it as a tribute to get the Phoenix from your hand OR deck. It is searchable by all means, including the previously abused Apprentice Magician, and then it is a free drop and a quick summon of the bird.



--Apprentice Magician. This searches out Hand of Nephthys. If you don’t need a Hand (no pun intended), then you can always bolt for Magician of Faith. I’ll keep one teched.



--Wave-Motion Cannon. Believe it or not, its intended use was to bait out the spell and trap removal, but in my local metagame, it did not work out as intended. It was going for 3000 and 4000 damage at times, and then later the Dust Tornadoes would bruise me. So I shelved that idea.



--Spirit Reaper. This was a close choice not to use, and for a long time, I didn’t. I also didn’t understand how this could almost always be used as tribute-fodder that could survive a turn or two just in case the Hand wasn’t in hand (again, no pun intended). This also serves to speed up the deck (give it a chance!) by controlling your opponent’s strategy into slowing down.



--Dekoichi, the Battlechanted Locomotive. Since I found the last card on this list to be useful, I couldn’t avoid dropping a Dekoichi in. It is a flip effect for a free card, and its ATK and DEF are much better than its cousin, Des Lacooda. This deck cannot possibly have enough speed. This will stay.



--Goldd and Sillva. Against the right decks, these can be brutal. Against the wrong decks, they’re a nuisance, unless you have Graceful Charity handy (traditional strategy there, but it works). These will side in and out for Mobius the Frost Monarch and Jinzo.



--Tsukuyomi. This card can be just pure evil. Do you have a spell you’re afraid to activate because your opponent has Horus LV8 on the field? Flip it, and activate that spell. Tsuky also single-handedly kills Spirit Reaper. It was as if Dekoichi and Magician of Faith weren’t getting enough abuse. This little fella is staying.



I will not provide a deck-list in this space, because I have the suspicion that the majority of this page’s readers are looking for Advanced Format-flavored tips. I’ll try to work it into an Advanced Format deck and then post it for your viewing pleasure.



Well, I hope you all enjoyed the article. Maybe I’ll do an originality article soon. Until then, Happy Dueling!



Want to drop me a line? Think I’m an idiot for considering such cards useful? Think I’m a nOOb simply because I am talking about tried and true strategies? Too bad. This was to be an article about the OTK potential of Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. I’d love to hear some feedback. I do not accept unsolicited hate mail. brad@bradlandusa.com



Ciao.