October 2008

Deck Fix: Warriors - ForteDS

It's been a while since I've written an article for Pojo, but as luck would have it, I have just received my first deck fix request to take me out of this slump.

This deck, composed by a duelist named Russ, brings Yu-Gi-Oh! back to its core - when Warriors ruled. And what better of a time to revive Warriors than a season where you can run 3 Reinforcement of the Army? Hopefully, with the help of this fix, Russ will be able to beat down those Gladiators once and for all with the most versatile Monster type in Yu-Gi-Oh! Here's the original deck list that Russ sent me:

Monsters: 21
2x Command Knight
1x Blade Knight
2x Marauding Captain
2x Don Zaloog
2x Gearfried the Iron Knight
1x. D.D. Warrior Lady
3x Goblin Attack Force
2x Mataza the Zapper
2x Exiled Force
3x D.D. Assailant
1x D.D. Warrior

Spells: 15
1x Mage Power
2x Axe of Despair
1x Fusion Sword Murasame Blade
1x Double Summon
1x Fissure
1x Smashing Ground
1x Monster Reborn
1x Mystical Space Typhoon
1x Brain Control
1x Heavy Storm
2x The Warrior Returning Alive
2x Reinforcement of the Army

Traps: 5
1x Karma Cut
1x Trap Hole
1x Seven Tools of the Bandit
2x Bottomless Trap Hole

Side Deck:
2x Dark Imprisoning Mirror
2x Light Imprisioning Mirror
3x Royal Oppresion
2x Prohibition
2x The A. Forces
3x Elemental Hero Neos Alius
1x Kinetic Soldier

Immediately seeing this list, you'd notice that Russ is only running 2 Reinforcement of the Army. Unless your opponent is using Inferno Tempest or something, RotA is generally never a dead card, meaning that it's as safe to run 3 of it as it is to run 3 GAF. So, without further ado....

+ 1 Reinforcement of the Army

With that out of the way, the Monster lineup is pretty solid for Warriors, and while you'd expect me to go and throw in some Tuners in there for the sake of keeping up with the times, I'm not. Instead, I'll add 2 Lightwave Tuning; while the only two LIGHT 4-star Monsters here are DDWL and Blade Knight, I'll be adding some more of those, too. But for now, just in case Russ needs a quick glance at what he'll need:

+ 2 Lightwave Tuning

Now for the extra LIGHT Warriors. Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke is the closest thing we can get to Mystic Swordsman without crossing the LIGHT line. With that in mind, we'll have 4 LIGHTs now, so Freed seems worthy for this deck as well (plus, Neos Alius is already in the Side Deck, so that would bring it to a maximum of 7).

+ 2 Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke
+ 2 Freed the Brave Wanderer

Okay, now the Monsters are set. As for the Spells, since we're missing face-down destruction, let's add a Nobleman, too.

+ 1 Nobleman of Crossout

Lastly, the Traps. Pardon if I'm missing something here, but isn't Mirror Force still popular? Granted, it's rare, but I suppose Russ could pick one up at the tourney he is apparently attending. If money is no issue, then Solemn Judgment would work better than Seven Tools here. But if he can't get them, Sakuretsu Armor and even a straight-out Royal Decree approach work fine, too.

+ 1 Mirror Force
+ 2 Solemn Judgment

Okay, that's that for the additions. Now I need to cut 11 cards if I want to even out the deck. Let's start with the Monsters. With no Smoke Grenade in sight, Gearfried seems unneeded.

- 2 Gearfried the Iron Knight

Despite the loss of this beatstick, I will have to drop the Goblins, too. With NGS, Freed, and DDA, I think this deck has enough direct power.

- 3 Goblin Attack Force

The rest of the Monsters are okay, so now we're on to the Spells. Considering there's no Ben Kei here, I guess we won't need so many equips; Fusion Sword is good enough.

- 2 Axe of Despair
- 1 Mage Power

Lastly, there are some Traps here that are good sleeper choices, but I know that Russ is aiming high, so Karma Cut, Trap Hole, and Seven Tools will have to go.

- 1 Karma Cut
- 1 Trap Hole
- 1 Seven Tools of the Bandit

And there you have it! All it needs is a couple of Synchros, which I assume Russ has. Here's the final build, in a more organized fashion.

Monsters: 20
2x Command Knight
2x Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke
2x Freed the Brave Wanderer
1x Blade Knight
2x Marauding Captain
2x Don Zaloog
1x. D.D. Warrior Lady
2x Mataza the Zapper
2x Exiled Force
3x D.D. Assailant
1x D.D. Warrior

Spells: 16
1x Fusion Sword Murasame Blade
1x Double Summon
1x Fissure
1x Smashing Ground
1x Monster Reborn
1x Mystical Space Typhoon
1x Brain Control
1x Heavy Storm
1x Nobleman of Crossout
2x Lightwave Tuning
2x The Warrior Returning Alive
3x Reinforcement of the Army

Traps: 5
1x Mirror Force
2x Solemn Judgment
2x Bottomless Trap Hole

Side Deck:
2x Dark Imprisoning Mirror
2x Light Imprisioning Mirror
3x Royal Oppresion
2x Prohibition
2x The A. Forces
3x Elemental Hero Neos Alius
1x Kinetic Soldier

Extra Deck:
(Whatever Russ might have; anything goes in terms of Synchros)

So, in closing, I wish Russ good luck at his upcoming tournament, and may Warriors triumph! As always, if you need a deck fix, my e-mail address is [ajDOTfortedsDOTdigiovanniATgmailDOTcom]. Replace DOTs with "." and ATs with "@", and exclude the brackets. Good day, duelists!

ForteDS