Chain, chain, CHAIN! =D

[Alter Ego]

Chain Energy, that is. What, were you expecting Chain Strike or something? XD

Monsters (14)
2x A Cat of Ill Omen
1x Exiled Force
1x Marshmallon
1x Mask of Darkness
1x Sangan
1x Spirit Reaper
3x Stealth Bird
2x Swarm of Locusts
2x Swarm of Scarabs

Spells (10)
3x Chain Energy
1x Level Limit - Area B
1x Mystical Space Typhoon
1x Scapegoat
2x Toll
2x Wave-Motion Cannon

Traps (16)
1x Ceasefire
1x Crush Card Virus
1x Gravity Bind
1x Magic Cylinder
3x Nightmare Wheel
2x Reckless Greed
1x Ring of Destruction
2x Secret Barrel
3x Solemn Judgment
1x Torrential Tribute


So yosh, this is my currently reactive burn deck from Spirit Caller (the reason ring is there). The idea is to use Stealth Bird and pals to pressure my opponent into committing cards and then using Chain Energy, Toll and restrictive traps to punish them for it. Cat and Mask help me to manage my traps and keep the right ones coming, Sangan is there because he can search out any other monster from my lineup, and Exiled is an anti-Jinzo/other troublesome beater method. Reckless is really only there to bait early-game S/T removal and to provide a way for turning my cats or mask into draw power in case I run out of in-hand options. Ceasfire and the barrels are there for burn finishes or to drop my opponent down beneath critical LP thresholds as necessary.


So yosh, C & C, please. SC-friendly fixes are appreciated, but ideas for how this would be best modernized for the current format would also be interesting, so go wild with it. :3

And no, SC does not have Dark Bribe. ;;

 

[Forci Stikane]

Interesting, as I was just recently playing around with Chain Energy on WC08. :D I noticed a couple of things about it:

1. Cards that destroy or bounce en-masse that you would never consider normally are divine here. You already have Torrential, but Mirror Force and Giant Trunade (ESPECIALLY Trunade) are terrific with it. I would almost suggest dropping Gravity Bind for Trunade, since you're already playing defense with Nightmare Wheel, Solemn, Torrential, Toll, Ring, and of course Chain.

2. The more you force the opponent to play, the better. This is obvious, but if you can pressure your opponent into playing more cards for defense, that means more damage from Chain Energy. This means more cards to pressure your opponent (a third Wave-Motion Cannon, for instance) and less that get rid of cards before the opponent can play them (Crush Card).

Of course, this is just what I found when I was playing around with it. My build was different, so this might not all apply to you.





Add Lava Golem

 

[Alter Ego]

Well, first off: dropping Gravity Bind is a big no-no. It is the only cat-searchable card in my deck that can lock down a whole group of opposing monsters, so it's a lifesaver should my backrow fail me. Giant Trunade is definitely included, however, and has worked very well for me thus far, especially since I also decided to swap out my lackluster barrels for a pair of Des Koala cards. Move the typhoon into my side-deck to make room.

And yeah, I did consider Lava Golem also, but the deckspace is a problem, so I haven't found a way to fit it in yet for tests. :\ Also debating whether Mirror Force would be preferable to Torential, as I do tend to keep those monsters on my field quite a bit. :x

Current setup, after some quick testing and such:

-1 Crush Card Virus (sided)
-1 Mystical Space Typhoon (sided)
-2 Secret Barrel

+2 Des Koala
+2 Giant Trunade

So, in overview:

Monsters (16)
2x A Cat of Ill Omen
2x Des Koala
1x Exiled Force
1x Marshmallon
1x Mask of Darkness
1x Sangan
1x Spirit Reaper
3x Stealth Bird
2x Swarm of Locusts
2x Swarm of Scarabs

Spells (11)
3x Chain Energy
2x Giant Trunade
1x Level Limit - Area B
1x Scapegoat
2x Toll
2x Wave-Motion Cannon

Traps (13)
1x Ceasefire
1x Gravity Bind
1x Magic Cylinder
3x Nightmare Wheel
2x Reckless Greed
1x Ring of Destruction
3x Solemn Judgment
1x Torrential Tribute


In addition to mourning the lack of Lava Golem, I've also been trying to fit in Morphing Jar and a third Wave-Motion, but attempts have been unsuccessful in that regard thus far. Suggestions? :x

 

[Forci Stikane]

Well, first off: dropping Gravity Bind is a big no-no. It is the only cat-searchable card in my deck that can lock down a whole group of opposing monsters, so it's a lifesaver should my backrow fail me. Giant Trunade is definitely included, however, and has worked very well for me thus far, especially since I also decided to swap out my lackluster barrels for a pair of Des Koala cards. Move the typhoon into my side-deck to make room.

And yeah, I did consider Lava Golem also, but the deckspace is a problem, so I haven't found a way to fit it in yet for tests. :\ Also debating whether Mirror Force would be preferable to Torential, as I do tend to keep those monsters on my field quite a bit. :x

Current setup, after some quick testing and such:

-1 Crush Card Virus (sided)
-1 Mystical Space Typhoon (sided)
-2 Secret Barrel

+2 Des Koala
+2 Giant Trunade

So, in overview:

Monsters (16)
2x A Cat of Ill Omen
2x Des Koala
1x Exiled Force
1x Marshmallon
1x Mask of Darkness
1x Sangan
1x Spirit Reaper
3x Stealth Bird
2x Swarm of Locusts
2x Swarm of Scarabs

Spells (11)
3x Chain Energy
2x Giant Trunade
1x Level Limit - Area B
1x Scapegoat
2x Toll
2x Wave-Motion Cannon

Traps (13)
1x Ceasefire
1x Gravity Bind
1x Magic Cylinder
3x Nightmare Wheel
2x Reckless Greed
1x Ring of Destruction
3x Solemn Judgment
1x Torrential Tribute


In addition to mourning the lack of Lava Golem, I've also been trying to fit in Morphing Jar and a third Wave-Motion, but attempts have been unsuccessful in that regard thus far. Suggestions? :x

Hence the "almost" suggestion.

Honestly, I would look to swapping out Toll for them. I already pointed out all the attack blockers you have in here, which make that free 500 payment even more situational. In a deck like this, you'll want to deal the most damage you can with as many options as you can, so Morphing Jar and Wave-Motion (or even Lava Golem) would be better choices. ...And yes, I realize that it also acts as an attack blocker once your opponent's LP is below 500, but Chain Energy does a similar job, only better.

 

[Alter Ego]

Weeell, I think we've confirmed a phoenix weak. Gawd what a pesky little critter. This is precisely the sort of thing I wanted to have Lava Golem for. ><

Fuu...aside from the kind of non-thematic Bottomless, any handy ways to counteract that? Like, maybe Prohibition or something? x.O It would also help against those triple-Stratos beatdown decks I sometimes run into.

As for Toll...I'm not very fond of dropping it, really. I know it looks like just very situational lockdown, but those 500s actually stack up surprisingly fast, and it's not a card that opponents like to waste S/T removal on while it's alone out there, so it has the habit of shaving off a good chunk of LP that my opponent won't be missing until it's too late. It's also a major asset when I'm pushed into just dropping meatwalls to keep opponent attacks out.

 

[Forci Stikane]

Weeell, I think we've confirmed a phoenix weak. Gawd what a pesky little critter. This is precisely the sort of thing I wanted to have Lava Golem for. ><

Fuu...aside from the kind of non-thematic Bottomless, any handy ways to counteract that? Like, maybe Prohibition or something? x.O It would also help against those triple-Stratos beatdown decks I sometimes run into.

As for Toll...I'm not very fond of dropping it, really. I know it looks like just very situational lockdown, but those 500s actually stack up surprisingly fast, and it's not a card that opponents like to waste S/T removal on while it's alone out there, so it has the habit of shaving off a good chunk of LP that my opponent won't be missing until it's too late. It's also a major asset when I'm pushed into just dropping meatwalls to keep opponent attacks out.

Well, at least with Bottomless you still get that payment from Chain Energy, but I agree that Lava Golem would be more thematic in the deck and still work on some of these problems, Phoenix included. As far as Stratos goes, the only options that come to mind are ones that would counteract the Chain Energy pressure theme (Crush Card, maybe Chain Destruction if you want to go crazy-anti).

Think about those test duels, though: how often did Toll come up, or would have helped?* The problem with it is that the payment is so small, even if you play multiples of it, that the damage you take from actual battles can quickly overcome it. Take Phoenix or Monarch for example: is it really worth it to make the opponent pay 500 Life Points per attacks when you're taking 2400 a shot? And that's to say nothing of how clogged you're making your backrow when you have two different Continuous Spells that you can't toss at a moment's notice, like with Wave-Motion Cannon.


*I mean aside from the constant Phoenix nuking.

 

[Alter Ego]

Think back at that duel indeed. I barely even drew into Toll so you can hardly judge its worth one way or the other based on that. :\

Also, you're assuming that I'd be playing Toll and nothing else, but the thing I do with is let my opponent call attacks and then respond with Nightmare Wheel, Magic Cylinder, Gravity Bind, Scapegoat, etc. or use set monsters as meat walls. It's in this context that Toll gets dangerous, especially in two copies, as by the time my opponent has a clear field they usually don't have enough LP to finish me off with Toll around. :O

 

[Forci Stikane]

Think back at that duel indeed. I barely even drew into Toll so you can hardly judge its worth one way or the other based on that. :\

Also, you're assuming that I'd be playing Toll and nothing else, but the thing I do with is let my opponent call attacks and then respond with Nightmare Wheel, Magic Cylinder, Gravity Bind, Scapegoat, etc. or use set monsters as meat walls. It's in this context that Toll gets dangerous, especially in two copies, as by the time my opponent has a clear field they usually don't have enough LP to finish me off with Toll around. :O

But, seriously, how often would it have been a useful draw, on the turns when Phoenix wasn't about to come back? Chain Energy already served the purpose of draining Life Points very well, and when I was locked, it was because of that. Having to pay Life Points to attack is rather pointless when you can't attack with anything out and can't toss out anything new. Toll may be useful in some cases, but looking over the deck, it really is the card with the most situational use...and cards with more general usefulness (such as Morphing Jar) should take precedent. You still have space in the side deck, right? Just try it out.

Actually, I was assuming that you would be playing Toll with at least one Chain Energy out, clogging up your S/T zone and keeping you from playing cards that you might need more. ...And wasn't part of your argument for keeping Toll that the opponent wouldn't want to bother destroying it when there's nothing else out?


So what I'm saying here is...if you're going to remove something for Morphing Jar or Lava Golem, Toll would be the card to remove that would hurt you the least.

 

[Alter Ego]

Hmm...true enough, I suppose. I'll give it a whirl, even though I'm not liking the fat monster count in this deck. :x

Soo...current configuration.

Monsters (18)
2x A Cat of Ill Omen
2x Des Koala
2x Lava Golem
1x Marshmallon
1x Mask of Darkness
1x Morphing Jar
1x Sangan
1x Spirit Reaper
3x Stealth Bird
2x Swarm of Locusts
2x Swarm of Scarabs

Spells (9)
3x Chain Energy
2x Giant Trunade
1x Level Limit - Area B
1x Scapegoat
2x Wave-Motion Cannon

Traps (13)
1x Ceasefire
1x Gravity Bind
1x Magic Cylinder
1x Mirror Force
3x Nightmare Wheel
2x Reckless Greed
1x Ring of Destruction
3x Solemn Judgment

Side (15)
1x Breaker the Magical Warrior
1x Crush Card Virus
2x Divine Wrath
3x Dust Tornado
2x Exiled Force
1x Mystical Space Typhoon
2x Prohibition
2x Toll
1x Torrential Tribute


So yes, Toll and Torrential sitting there looking for a home. Exiled is contra-Jinzo. Breaker and Typhoon for Decree, Dust for Skill Drain, Wrath for monarchs and other troublemaking effect monsters (includes Phoenix, by the way =O) Crush Card for the big beatstick decks that just move too fast for my liking, and Prohibition as a catch-all against numerous nameable pests that I might encounter.

Suggestions for side also accepted. :x

 

[jakex]

Would this work against telidad i wonder,

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Would this work against telidad i wonder,

Current build? Nope. Tele-DAD is fast enough to blow virtually anything out of the water once it gets moving, and it has access to a wide range of destruction effects to take out spells and traps, as well as the game-breaking Synchro summons it can make. Though if you can get Chain Energy and Toll out quickly enough, those five-hundred LP costs really start adding up if your opponent can't answer in time. Still, stall decks or decks that aim to slow the game down in general have taken a huge hit from DAD, and it doesn't look like things'll be slowing down anytime soon.

That said, my personal theory is that Curse of Darkness wouldn't go amiss here- or is that available in Spirit Caller?

 

[Alter Ego]

Current build? Nope. Tele-DAD is fast enough to blow virtually anything out of the water once it gets moving, and it has access to a wide range of destruction effects to take out spells and traps, as well as the game-breaking Synchro summons it can make. Though if you can get Chain Energy and Toll out quickly enough, those five-hundred LP costs really start adding up if your opponent can't answer in time. Still, stall decks or decks that aim to slow the game down in general have taken a huge hit from DAD, and it doesn't look like things'll be slowing down anytime soon.

If I get double Chain Energy and enough to protect it with out this could stand a chance, if I could slap a Prohibition on Krebons and Dark Armed early on, maybe, but overall...yeah, this was not built with DaD in mind. I mean wut, the newest cards in this game are some very scarce picks from Strike of Neos. XD If this game's card library was up to date, I'd definitely be trying to fit Necrovalley and Royal Oppression in there, which would change the deck quite dramatically, so...yeah, :x

That said, my personal theory is that Curse of Darkness wouldn't go amiss here- or is that available in Spirit Caller?

Actually, it can, and it did. It went horribly amiss. Almost one fourth of my lineup is still spells, and even in this deck's original incarnation which barely had any of those at all (I think it was three Chain, one D.D. Borderline) it was rarely a card I liked to see. Not only is it liable to become backfield clog - and a lot moreso than Toll - but it also bites me when I need to set out Level Limit, Chain, or any of my other spells. Do not want that. :x

So yeah, no Curse for me. At least not in this deck.

 

[Poke'master W-T]

I think you should put Begone, Knave! in to get rid of opponents monsters then make them pay more to get them out again with chain energy.

also i would put something like Frostosaurus in just in case things go wrong you would have a strong-ish monster

 

[Alter Ego]

Meh...as avant garde as Begone, Knave! is I don't see it having a future here. My deck is built to prevent my opponent's attacks from connecting, which contradicts knave; besides, there's no way I could keep up in the LP race that card creates if I went down that road.

As for Frostosaurus...eww, no. This is not a battling deck. The Battle Phase is not something I intend to make use of other than for the occasional cheap shot against an open field. A normal monster would be worthless here, especially one that requires tribute. :| My aim's are to stall, pressure and burn; Frostosaurus does none of that and would be complete dead weight.

 

[jakex]

Hey my theory telidad would be fast, but would trip it up a bit with special hurricane, and shadow imprisonng mirror, if special hurricane is a quick play, if you wait for them to come out mostely everything will break down, but you would have o have macro cosmos just to remove them cause two stardust would just negate it, but hey its just aq theory.