Machina Control by The Perplexed Duelist

Effect Monster (24)
1 Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo
1 Card Trooper
2 Green Gadget
2 Machiner Force
2 Machina Fortress
3 Machina Gearframe
2 Machina Peacekeeper
1 Oilman
1 Quick-Span Knight
1 Quillbot Hedgehog
2 Red Gadget
1 Scrap Recycler
2 Shreddder
1 Tragoedia
2 Yellow Gadget

Spells (11)
1 Brain Control
3 Creature Swap
1 Heavy Storm
1 Lightning Vortex
1 Limiter Removal
3 Machina Armored Unit
1 Mystical Space Typhoon

Trap (5)
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Royal Oppression
1 Solemn Judgment

Extra Deck (15)
1 Ally of Justice - Catastor
1 Ally of Justice - Decisive Arms
1 Ancient Fairy Dragon
1 Blackwing Armor Master
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Goyo Guardian
1 Magical Android
1 Naturia Balkion
1 Naturia Beast
1 Naturia Landoise
1 Red Dragon Archfiend
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Thought Ruler Archfiend
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

Yesterday, I posted an article regarding how amazing the new Structure Deck would be. With a couple of hours play testing in the new Nintendo DS game "Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2010: Reverse of Arcadia", I was able to tweak and adjust certain techs in the deck that makes it a lot more effective than what I had conjured yesterday.


The first card that needs explaining in this build is "Machina Force". Basically a dead draw early game, its purpose is just to become a discard fodder to Special Summon "Machina Fortress". The card is perfect for searching with using "Machina Gearframe", when you already have one "Machina Fortress" in your Graveyard. This might sound like a lame tech, but Special Summoning "Machina Fortress" by just discarding just one card is a force to be reckoned with.


"Machina Peacekeeper"'s count in the deck is reduced because it ends up becoming dead draw when drawn together in the open. The card is perfect at two for the right balance of being "Creature Swap" fodder and "Machina Gearframe" target. "Machina Sniper" and "Machina Soldier" were removed to make room for the better search candidate in "Machina Force". Be careful with timing issues faced in the deck with multiple search effects activating all at the same time-this will be discussed later in this article.


I personally wanted a Synchro Mechanic in the deck, so I teched a "Quick-Span Knight", the best EARTH Machine tuner in the whole game. He is a good search target for "Machina Armored Unit" after all. Coupled with it is "Quillbot Hedgehog", which can be sent from the Graveyard from the deck via "Scrap Recycler" as well as a "Machina Armored Unit" target, it also serve as boost for "Quick-Span Knight" for emergency Syncho-ing. With nearly every monster in the deck being EARTH attribute, "Naturia" Synchros are very easy to make. Since the TCG does not have "Quick-Span Knight" yet in their cardpool, they can opt to use "Iron-Chain Coil" as replacement instead. Hey, it runs over "Sangan". These sets of tech can be truncated if you wish, as I sometimes encounter it clashing with my face up "Royal Oppression".


With an a very large hand size all the time thanks to easy +1s, "Tragoedia" is a no brainer and is definitely a great addition to the deck. Those Gadgets can help feed "Tragoedia"'s effect to steal your opponent's level 4 monsters for free. He also stops OTKs as well. Three copies is definitely great in the deck, but with March 1's list, I left it at 1.

Since most of the deck's cards effects to search each other out are not mandatory effects, they might clash each other with timing, often one card missing the timing. A way to play around this is by choosing which effect you want to activate, and purposely missing the others. Please be careful on what effect you wish to activate. Also, "Machina Armored Unit" can only activate its effect once per turn. This is also worth noting to avoid making certain misplays.

Machiners for March 1, 2010

Effect Monster (23)
1 Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo
1 Card Trooper
2 Green Gadget
2 Machina Fortress
3 Machina Gearframe
3 Machina Peacekeeper
2 Machina Sniper
1 Machina Soldier
1 Oilman
2 Red Gadget
2 Scrap Recycler
1 Shreddder
2 Yellow Gadget

Spells (11)
1 Brain Control
3 Creature Swap
1 Gold Sarcophagus
1 Heavy Storm
1 Limiter Removal
3 Machina Armored Unit
1 Mystical Space Typhoon

Trap (6)
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Royal Oppression
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Starlight Road

With the new March 2010 list annihilating "Lightsworn" dominance, seats for the next top meta decks are again for the taking. In a slower format compared to the last two, this format gives ample room for Gadgets to rise from the grave. With "Structure Deck 18: Machina Mayhem" being available pretty soon, EARTH Machine type monsters get a tremendous boost far beyond what is expected of it.


First things first. Machina utilize their own version of "Elemental Hero Stratos", "Machina Gearframe". This baby comes in a 1800 attack body that searches any "Machina" Monster from your Deck to your hand. This alone warrants the deck huge amounts of +1 for feeding to the archetype's new boss: "Machina Fortress"


And you thought Structure Deck boss cards suck. This boss revolutionizes the Ultra Rare from Structure Decks and puts the others to shame. This boss is easily Special Summoned by discarding itself and a, say, Gadget(which you conveniently got from another Gadget to begin with). The card is almost a guaranteed one for one. Destroying it by battle results in a card in your opponent's side of the field gone, and destruction via effect means a card in his hand is discarded.

Machines get their own version of "Black Whirlwind" in "Machina Armored Unit". This card allows your monsters that hits the Grave via destruction through battle be a ticket to be able to Special Summon from the deck any EARTH Machine type monster with less attack than it. Never again will "Creature Swap" become +0 with this card. In fact, after destroying your own swapped creature, you can still search a Monster from your deck since the monster destroyed will hit your grave. And if the monster is "Machina Peacekeeper", its effect activates and you get a Machine monster from your deck, with a "Card Trooper" or "Oilman" Special Summoned free of charge. The deck generates +1s like crazy, its not even funny.

"Shreddder" serves as an accurate "Snipe Hunter" when needed, with the flipside that it cannot destroy cards in the back row. "Oilman" is a good "Machina Armored Unit" target, which helps the cards flowing to your hand and protecting your monsters all at the same time. As usual, "Royal Oppression" wrecks "Gladiator Beast" and other match ups that rely too much on Special Summoning.

Last but not the least, this deck is a budget deck player's best friend. The deck just needs three of those Structure decks to almost complete with a little added tech here and there. That's definitely one thing to look forward to.

Feel free to change and add or remove personal techs that you might think are useful. Here are some quick suggestions: "Shrink" helps your gadgets plow through high attack monsters. "Dark Bribe" protects your significant back row from harm. "Starlight Road" might be essential and helps contribute to the theme, which is to generate as much card advantage as possible. "Smashing Ground", coupled with "Fissure" would turn the deck around to traditional gadgets. A myriad of possible card choices are available for this theme. The rest is up to you to figure out.

3-01-2010

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/physc...5868817_184.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/physc..._3002146966.jpg

Pictures.

Restricted
Chaos Sorcerer
Tragoedia
Necro Guardna
Necroface
Mezuki
Lightlord Summoner - Lumina
Burial from a Different Dimension
Foolish Burial
Destiny Draw
Charge of the Light Brigade
Allure of Darkness
Mind Crush
Magical Explosion

Semi Restricted
Honest
Cyber Dragon
Demise - King of Armageddon
Dandelion
Treeborn Frog
Black Whirlwind
United We Stand
Royal Decree
Royal Oppression
Skill Drain

Unrestricted
Mask of Darkness
Smashing Ground

List.

The end of Lightlords.

*Credits are due to whoever took pictures*

Sideboard Superstar: "The Shining Darkness"

The usual trend on how Konami handles their Spell and Trap card creations is that they are totally unplayable unless they give draw power simply because of the fact that they are totally outclassed by the usual staples and that there aren't a lot of space that can be offered for them. "The Shining Darkness" might break that trend by introducing Spell and Trap cards that are Side Deck worthy. But are these Side Deck worthy cards really meta breaking?

Some of the obvious ones are "Corridor of Suffering". But take note that "Gladiator Beast Gyzarus" might still be able to destroy it quite easily. This might not warrant it to replace "Royal Oppression". Bottom line for this card is that it still might work but I am not sure about how it will fare.

Another obvious Side Deck choice is "Crack of the Different Dimension". This card obviously is able to ruin Zombies and "Necro Gardna" given "Lightsworn" is still a top deck in the newly molded meta. The thing that people might not see about this card is that it requires two cards of the same attribute, which might mean that it can't remove just 1 "Necro Gardna", but you have to wait for two for you to be able to activate it. Along with that, "Necro Gardna" can still be chained to it, rendering it useless. "Graveyard Seal" serve a similar purpose and looks good on paper, but it automatically sets you up for a -2. This might be a good card to activate to push through a game but for the steep cost of getting it as a dead draw early on.

"Chaos Hole" might ruin those surprise "Chaos Sorcerer" or anything that is based on LIGHT and DARK but its neck breaking 2000 Life Point cost is still a huge price to pay. Nonetheless, the card is worth testing with the current format totally dominated by "LIGHT" and "DARK" monsters either way. With plants getting a huge boost in this pack, I doubt that it would be main-ed into decks.

In the other totally unrelated note: "Tribe Infecting Virus" won't come back for the simple reason that "Darkness Hunter" is the obvious tweaked version of it.

The Rants of a Perplexed Duelist

Time flies really fast.

It has already been a whole format since I started going back to playing "Yu-Gi-Oh!". At first, I was unaware that the TCG is totally incompatible with the OCG. I began starting rants about the two not being interchangeable despite being the same all in all. After finally understanding that both entities cannot simply coexist in tandem, I was forced up to spend a lot of money to convert and build my deck from the OCG. This was the start of my long and tedious journey.


Next stop was to find a place where people gather and play. As I found out the local forum in which people from the Philippines who play "Yu-Gi-Oh!" flock, I signed up for an account. I was unaware of what was in store for me. I found out that Organized Play support for the Philippines was nonexistent. As I checked other forums such as Pojo, I found out all about the Konami and Upper Deck lawsuit and was convinced that it was because of that that there is zero support for Organized Play in the Philippines.

But I was wrong. Dead wrong.

It so happens that there was no support even before the lawsuit. Also, even if it was affected in any way because of that, it would not have any effect at all in the first place since the Philippines is OCG territory, meaning that Upper Deck has nothing to do with anything at all in regards to handling tournament support here. I was flustered, and started ranting in the local forum regarding them selling the products here but is not officially sanctioned by Konami.

I was then calmed down by the post of the store owner that said that the Philippines is due for tournament support soon. This made me believe that support for the Philippines will be present for this format or the next. After all, what is the use of playing competitive "Yu-Gi-Oh!" if there is nonexistent support in the first place. Might as well roll dice and see who rolls a higher number to determine the winner.

I patiently waited. Six whole months of casual unsanctioned tournaments with the local folk. As a consolation prize, most of them were cool and fun to be with so I guess everything was not so bad.

From now, in a few more weeks' time, a new format will emerge. Singapore and Malaysia's regionals were already finished. Multiple Shonen Jumps and regionals were already held at the West. But there is still no sign of official tournament support coming from the local store.

Promises are made to be broken, I guess. How much longer do I have to wait for the much awaited support? It is starting to be bothersome and I seriously do not want to partake in any more unsanctioned tournaments that are going to be held. The whole idea is pointless.

When September comes and official support is still nonexistent, it is time to abandon ship.

My Take on the Upcoming March List

Here is my hopefully unbiased take on the upcoming March Ban List. Do take note that this list is entirely my speculation and is in no way connected to the official list that will come out.

Newly Banned:
BRAIN CONTROL
ELEMENTAL HERO STRATOS

Newly Limited:
BECKONING LIGHT
JUDGMENT DRAGON
BRIONAC, DRAGON OF THE ICE BARRIER
TRISHULA, DRAGON OF THE ICE BARRIER
CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
RYKO, LIGHTSWORN HUNTER
BURIAL FROM THE DIFFERENT DIMENSION
MEZUKI
TRAGOEDIA

Newly Semi-Limited:
BLACK WHIRLWIND
EMERGENCY TELEPORT
BLACK ROSE DRAGON
DEMISE, KING OF ARMAGEDDON
REINFORCEMENT OF THE ARMY
GLADIATOR PROVING GROUND
GUARDIAN EATOS
HONEST

Newly Unlimited:
GOLD SARCOPHAGUS
SMASHING GROUND
THE TRANSMIGRATION PROPHECY
LONEFIRE BLOSSOM
GOBLIN ZOMBIE
CHAIN STRIKE

Deck Analysis: Zombies

Welcome to the last and final part of the "Deck Analysis" series for this format. Now it is time to discuss about the final top tier deck that is dominating this format. I have already discussed "Lightsworn", "Blackwing" and "Gladiator Beast". The only deck type left to finally complete the set is the old but still effective type-one of my least favorite, hence it took time before I was able to post, the last but not the least among them, called Zombies.


Back from the dead in the previous format, Zombies were given a new lease in life with the Semi-Limiting of one of its key components "Mezuki". The only deck out of the top four that is not really an official theme, Zombies slowly take charge in the battlefield, accumulating +1s here and there and then finally explode from one card in the hand to a full field of Synchro Monsters is the deck's key strategy. Zombies have the inherent ability to bring something from either the Graveyard or the Deck to play or hand, hence requiring a very conservative play style. Zombies are able to maximize their potential with what "Crossroads of Chaos" has brought to the deck type. A card called "Plaguespreader Zombie".


Given its much needed support, "Plaguespreader Zombie" is a Tuner. The card allowed Zombies to tap into future game elements such as Synchro. It was then abused with the help of other Zombie members such as the ever powerful "Mezuki", which allows any zombie from the Graveyard rise to your side of the field by removing itself from your Graveyard to the game. This card is usually what makes the deck have the explosion tendency, catching your opponent in a surprise with a sudden burst of speed and power. "Burial from the Different Dimension" was used to repeat the whole process which would ultimately end up with a horde of monsters out of nowhere. Deemed too powerful, the deck was castrated to the point that it was deemed unplayable, with "Mezuki" and "Plaguespreader Zombie" taking huge hits in previous formats. Konami then decided to bring the terror back into the tables hence the reason it is one of the most formidable decks played in this format.


But what really gave Zombies the final push of power was the introduction of "Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" to the United States metagame, as it allowed Zombies to be thrown from the Hand to the Graveyard to return cards to opponent's hands while at the same time amassing insane amounts of Synchro Monsters capable of OTKing an unsuspecting player anytime. This, coupling with Zombies' natural ability to generate advantage and you have for yourself a winning deck.


At first, Popular techs were "Destiny Hero" cards that were splashed to the deck to take advantage of "Destiny Draw" for increased speed, and the ever useful "Destiny Hero - Malicious", which wonderfully works with "Plaguespreader Zombie" and other level 2 Tuners. In the end, "Deep Sea Diva" was introduced to the mix, which gave the deck its much needed Tuners to enable the explosion happen more frequently. It also allowed level 6 Synchro Monsters to go to level 8 without losing any form of advantage. "Absolute Zero" also made its way in the deck with the help of tech-ed "Miracle Fusion".


Zombies are often crippled by "Royal Oppression", due to its inherent nature to always rely on Special Summoning monsters to the field. Also, since the deck itself is played defensively, waiting for an opening to explode, it is often outrun by the faster and more formidable deck choice, also referred to as "Lightsworn". Being the second best deck this format, Zombies once again proved to the meta that they are one of the best decks to be ever played. Also, as the oldest type of deck to still exist in the meta today, it has once again proven its endurance over the test of time.

I hope that you have enjoyed this series of Deck Analysis that I have wrote as much as I enjoyed typing them out.