May 2007
Six Samurai Deck Swarm!

 

Hello, fellow duelists! As we all know, this era of Yu-Gi-Oh is being dominated by some of the biggest and baddest holographic brawlers we've ever seen in the game so far. Chimeratech, Monarchs, Diamond Dude Turbo, etc. I for one respect these decks, but I mean, come on. Is it really that great when everyone is running it? Where's the sense of individuality? So when searching for a deck different from the norm, I came to the Strike of Neos Sneak Preview, and came across a new decktype that I recognized as a new force to be reckoned with: The Six Samurai. thus I grabbed a bunch of copies of each, and luckily I managed to get three copies of The Grandmaster. I built a deck that would get the Samurai out fast and furious(ly), and this deck does just that. So, without further ado, I present-

Six Samurai Swarm
Monsters- 22

Grandmaster of the Six Samurai x3
Great Shogun Shien x2
The Six Samurai- Zanji x2
The Six Samurai- Irou x2
The Six Samurai- Kamon x2
The Six Samurai- Nisashi x2
The Six Samurai- Yaichi x2
The Six Samurai- Yariza x2
Marauding Captain x2
Command Knight
Neo-Spacian Grand Mole
Spirit Reaper

Spells- 13

Shrink x2
United We Stand
The A. Forces x2
Snatch Steal
Premature burial
Swords of Revealing Light
Reinforcement of the Army x2
Mystical Space Typhoon
Heavy Storm
Lightning Vortex

Traps- 5

Call of the Haunted
Ultimate Offering
Torrential Tribute
Ring of Destruction
Royal Decree

Okay, now to "justify" what's in there. Three Grandmasters is almost automatic, because of his special summoning capability and how he can trigger other samurai effects. The Great Shogun can easily be summoned in this deck, and with his spell and trap lockdown, he can stop certain machine decks easily. Two of each samurai is because they are like a duelist's Swiss Army Knife. Each one has a decktype it can slash and crash its way through. Zanji can (if you can spare the lifepoints) take down Monarchs and Chimeratech, or destroy annoying Spirit Reapers. Irou can instantly kill face-down monsters much like Mystic Sword Lv.2, but he has 1700 ATK, so he can survive on his own. Kamon destroys several kinds of spell and trap support, such as Swords of Revealing Light, Wave-Motion Cannon, Future Fusion, Macro Cosmos, Dimensional Fissure, etc. Nisashi punches his way through weenie decks, or delivers an extra punch when you attack someone who's wide open. Yaichi has one of the most useful effects: destroying nasty face-down traps; 'Nuff said on him. Yariza seems to many like the odd choice, but he has uses. He's small enough to slip under Level Limit- Area B and Gravity Bind, and better yet, if a Samurai is on your field he can run past all their spell and traps (or Spirit Reapers) and whack them for a grand.

Whew! Now for the non-samurai. Marauding Captain is almost self-explanatory in this deck. He provides warrior protection, plus enhances the swarm factor. Command Knight is powerful in this deck, as she shields herself when around a bunch of warriors (hint, hint) plus gives them an extra boost in attack. Spirit Reaper is just for defense, in case the field runs out of Samurai. Grand Mole is there to serve in Zanji and Irou's lieu. He'll bounce giant threats out of the way, like Zaborg or nasty fusions, or simply eliminate face-down threats.

Standard spells like Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, etc. are automatic for a competitive deck. Reinforcements let you grab just the right Samurai for any situation, that being one of the reasons every samurai is included. The A. Forces works gold with the swarm factor. The more Samuria you dish out, the more they can. just having two on the field turns Zanji into a monster that can run over Cyber Dragon, and three makes him a match for the fearsome Monarchs. United We Stand is there for pure power. This deck usually fills up its field pretty quickly, and United We Stand adds enough attack to a monster to let it hopefully overpower anything the opponent has left. Shrink is great for the samurai, as on their own they aren't much of a match for burly giants like Zaborg or Cyber Dragon.

There isn't much to say about traps here. Torrential Tribute, Ring of Destruction, Call of the Haunted, and Royal Decree could be seen in many competitive decks. Ultimate Offering, however, is key to the swarm strategy. It allows you to fill up your field in a few, if not a single turn.

Well, thanks for reading my (most likely) long article! Questions, praise, rants, advice, nachos can be given at TonyEWorld@AOL.com