Card Game
Card of the Day
TCG Fan Tips
Top 10 Lists
Banned/Restricted List
Yu-Gi-Oh News
Tourney Reports
Duelist Interviews

Featured Writers
Baneful's Column
Anteaus on YGO
General Zorpa
Dark Paladin's Dimension
Retired Writers

Releases + Spoilers
Booster Sets (Original Series)
LOB | MRD | MRL | PSV
LON | LOD | PGD | MFC
DCR | IOC | AST | SOD
RDS | FET
Booster Sets (GX Series)
TLM | CRV | EEN | SOI
EOJ | POTD | CDIP | STON
FOTB | TAEV | GLAS | PTDN
LODT
Booster Sets (5D Series)
TDGS | CSOC | CRMS | RBGT
ANPR | SOVR | ABPF | TSHD
STBL | STOR | EXVC
Booster Sets (Zexal Series)
GENF | PHSW | ORCS | GAOV
REDU | ABYR | CBLZ | LTGY
NUMH | JOTL | SHSP | LVAL
PRIO

Starter Decks
Yugi | Kaiba
Joey | Pegasus
Yugi 2004 | Kaiba 2004
GX: 2006 | Jaden | Syrus
5D: 1 | 2 | Toolbox
Zexal: 2011 | 2012 | 2013
Yugi 2013 | Kaiba 2013

Structure Decks
Dragons Roar &
Zombie Madness
Blaze of Destruction &
Fury from the Deep
Warrior's Triumph
Spellcaster's Judgment
Lord of the Storm
Invincible Fortress
Dinosaurs Rage
Machine Revolt
Rise of Dragon Lords
Dark Emperor
Zombie World
Spellcaster Command
Warrior Strike
Machina Mayhem
Marik
Dragunity Legion
Lost Sanctuary
Underworld Gates
Samurai Warlord
Sea Emperor
Fire Kings
Saga of Blue-Eyes
Cyber Dragon

Promo Cards:
Promos Spoiler
Coll. Tins Spoiler
MP1 Spoiler
EP1 Spoiler

Tournament Packs:
TP1 / TP2 / TP3 / TP4
TP5 / TP6 / TP7 / TP8
Duelist Packs
Jaden | Chazz
Jaden #2 | Zane
Aster | Jaden #3
Jesse | Yusei
Yugi | Yusei #2
Kaiba | Yusei #3
Crow

Reprint Sets
Dark Beginnings
1 | 2
Dark Revelations
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Gold Series
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Dark Legends
DLG1
Retro Pack
1 | 2
Champion Pack
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Turbo Pack
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
5 | 6 | 7

Hidden Arsenal:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
5 | 6 | 7

Checklists
Brawlermatrix 08
Evan T 08
X-Ref List
X-Ref List w/ Passcodes

Welcome back to my next installment of my Karakuri series. I'm sure you were counting the minutes until it would appear on your screen. This time, it's about the Boss Synchros.

Being able to Synchro Summon a boss monster adds all kinds of versatility to a deck, including the option to not have to deal with the boss. Except that's what you do with crappy boss monsters, and not good ones like Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei" and Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X "Bureido".

Having a level 7 Synchro option right away gives Karakuri an advantage over other decks... which probably don't have a good level 7 that isn't Black Rose Dragon. 2600 ATK and a position-changing effect on Shogun 00 "Burei" means he can tear down any Synchro monster, and just about any other boss monster, even if you don't have the Showdown Castle. Alternatively, he can stop your other Karakuris from attacking. Steel Shogun boasts 2800 ATK and draws one card per turn when a Karakuri switches. That's more like one card every turn.

If you still have a leftover Karakuri on the field when you summon one Shogun, you can use the instant summoning effect to pull out the other one! Then, when you use Shogun's changing effect with Steel Shogun's draw power, that's another free draw, right there. That's turning nearly any 3 Karakuris into two huge Shoguns, any Karakuri, and a free draw.

These Synchro chains are a big part of the Karakuri rush. Even when you don't have the resources to summon one of the Shoguns, just one automatically summons Karakuri Ninja "Kuik", which is capable of summoning the other ones. Using two Karakuri Watchdog "Saizan" means you're more likely to have one waiting in the deck and another in the grave.

Additionally, if you use three Strategists (level 3 Tuner) or the Salvo engine, you can run Machine Duplication for extra Synchro power.

Karakuris survive off of this strength, and even one Shogun can change the game around. Even if you're afraid of Black Rose Dragon, tossing Karakuri Showdown Castle onto the field means you can beat anything in battle (and use Kuik to get a Stardust), or if the field is nuked (or you have extra Castles in-hand!) you get a Karakuri back.

By knocking down stronger monsters, pulling any Karakuri out of the deck, and maintaining presence on the field, Karakuris can dominate the battlefield. Try experimenting with the Karakuri Shoguns to see how much devastation they can really bring out.