So, this ruling...just how badly can we break the game with it?

[Alter Ego]

So, I was reading up on stuff concerning Imperial Iron Wall when I came upon this funny little ruling that caught my eye. Namely, that Iron Wall covers cards that would be removed from play when they leave the field, such as Quillbolt Hedgehog, pitching them back to the graveyard. Seeing as how my favorite broken tuner monster belong to this category and how Quillbolt can special summon itself when a tuner is around and about, an exploitation deck immediately came to mind. Theoretical speculation only, obviously, but C & C is appreciated. :x

Monsters (16)
3x Armageddon Knight
1x Breaker the Magical Warrior
2x Exiled Force
1x Mask of Darkness
1x Morphing Jar
3x Plaguespreader Zombie
3x Quillbolt Hedgehog
1x Rose, Warrior of Revenge
1x Sangan

Spells (14)
2x Allure of Darkness
1x Brain Control
2x Card of Safe Return
2x Foolish Burial
1x Giant Trunade
2x Hand Destruction
1x Mind Control
1x Monster Reborn
2x Reinforcement of the Army

Traps (10)
3x Imperial Iron Wall
1x Mirror Force
2x Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
3x Solemn Judgment
1x Torrential Tribute

Extra (15)
2x Colossal Fighter
3x Gaia Knight, Force of the Earth
3x Goyo Guardian
2x Red Dragon Archfiend
3x Stardust Dragon
2x Thought-Ruler Archfiend


So yeah, the idea here is to load the graveyard up with Quillbolts and Plaguespreaders as quickly as possible and then secure it with Iron Wall to guarantee a constant stream of even-starred synchros, preferably with Stardust Dragon to shield the all-important backrow cards. Plaguspreader and two Quillbolts make six stars, Plaguespreader and three make eight, and with Card of Safe Return around, each time this process repeats actually yields bonus cards (Plaguespreader covers its summon cost; each Quillbolt is pure CA) creating a summon and draw loop that's only limited by deck and field size. Armageddon Knight is another quick access to Goyo or Gaia, as it can dump Plaguespreader to bring the synchro online immediately the rest is basically just my attempt at piecing together the combo as quickly as possible and keeping it in place as well as creating general openings for attacks or quick synchros prior to setting up the main loop. This is far from an ideal build, I know, biggest stumbling blocks being getting Iron Wall and Safe Return online early enough, but I think the concept itself has the potential to rival and exceed Tele-DaD in explosive potential and I do like how it shuts down the aforementioned deck's favored synchro outlet while tampering with their graveyard management antics while it's at it.

Soo...thoughts? :3

 

[Cybermew]

Doesn't Allure clash with IIW?

I thought if you had IIW up and someone used Allure, their hand was discarded.

I may be wrong, sorry if I am.

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Actually, I think Cybermew's right. Allure's text doesn't make drawing the cards themselves contingent on RFGing your dark, it specifically says that if you don't then your entire hand goes bye-bye after you draw. Sorry I didn't call you out on that. 0.o

So yeah, as good a draw engine helper as it is -2 Allure. You've only got one monster that you'll want to remove from play on a regular basis anyway, so... yeah.

I'd suggest that you drop Gaia Knight from your extra deck in favor of Black Rose Dragon, since you're already running two copies of a level-seven Synchro. Field clears are sometimes necessary to win the game, after all, and you really don't need that many level six Synchros, right?

Aside from that, my biggest gripe is your choice of filler monster to complement your Plaguespreader/Quillbolt Synchro engine. I'd suggest cutting Exiled Force, Breaker, a copy of Armageddon Knight, and one copy of Plaguespreader from the deck. (He's Sangan-searchable anyway, and you only need one on hand to get the party started). I think that this deck could stand a Destiny Hero/D-Draw backbone to complement its already powerful Synchro engine, and in addition it'll help by giving the deck a reason to play Crush-Card Virus. There isn't a deck out there that is able to run Crush Card that hasn't benefited by doing so, so don't worry about it. XD

And where, pray tell, is the random vanilla? Don't tell me you built a deck without a random vanilla!

 

[Alter Ego]

Actually, I think Cybermew's right. Allure's text doesn't make drawing the cards themselves contingent on RFGing your dark, it specifically says that if you don't then your entire hand goes bye-bye after you draw. Sorry I didn't call you out on that. 0.o

That...still remains to be seen, actually. Technically, the only thing that Allure says is that if you don't have any darks in your hand you discard. Depending on ruling, it may wind up in a scenario similar to having Ectoplasmer out with Horus LV6 as your only on-field monster, in which case Ectoplasmer forces the tribute but Horus negates it with its effect. But yeah, those were originally intended for draw power prior to when the combo gets down and discard fodder for when it's there. I was very iffy about them to begin with, though, so I agree with the cut. Also, Sangan, Breaker, and Armageddon Knight are all viable targets for the removal depending on situation, though I note that you seem intent on cutting down on viable targets anyway. XD

As for Dark Rose > Gaia...not really. There is precisely one monster in this deck that can form uneven level combinations, and that's Sangan. Granted, I could steal one, but given the nature of the deck I don't see particular merit in hinging my success on that and I do want to exploit the main combo as far as possible. Dark Rose's field wipe is also icky because it kills the hard-to-search pieces of the combo, Iron Wall and Safe Return, effectively making the synchro swarming impossible. Just...do NOT want. :x Gaia Knight is not just muscle either; I can also use it as a stepping stone to the bigger synchros. Say I have Plaguespreader and one Quillbolt in the yard and Rose on the Field. At face value, this would only amount to a Goyo, but if I first synch Rose and Quillbolt and then bring back Plaguespreader and synch it to Gaia, I can get a far more appealing eigh-star monster (most likely Stardust) instead. Two quillbolts and one Plaguespreader also makes for an easier combo to secure than the full three quillbolts, so I want the deck to be able to make as much of it as possible. Also...just what are these seven-stars I'm supposedly using? Colossal, Thought Ruler, Stardust, and Red Dragon are all eight stars and Goyo and Gaia are both six. All my synchros are even-starred, kthx. :x

Excess Plaguespreaders are something I want to have in case I'm backed into a corner or have to pull a non-iron walled synchro summon (say, the one with the Armageddon Knight dump) for whatever reason. I'd rather have excess of my win condition at times than not enough of it at others, you know?

As for Destiny Draw, just...what precisely am I expected to run with that? Malicious? Erm...nope, iron walled. Diamond Dude? With only fourteen spells I'd rather not. Dasher? Not exactly rolling in big in-hand special summons and not wanting to draw into that, really. Novelty Doom Lord? Iron walled again. Defender? Dunker? Departed? Captain Tenacious?

Uuuuh...I'd rather just pass on those, thank you very much. This deck just doesn't accommodate D-hero at all. Trust me, I've considered them. :x

Exiled is there because it's searchable monster removal, allowing me to dispose of stuff like Jinzos (which shut down my iron wall), Heraklinos, and pals, Breaker adds more S/T removal which this deck is otherwise lacking in. I'd be reluctant to drop either without good reason, really, unless...hurr, that might just work. One Armageddon Knight can painlessly be traded for one Reinforcement, though. Actually, it's silly that I didn't do that to begin with. XD

Also...yeah, Crush Card is a pretty obvious pick considering the main engine. Knew I was missing at least one obvious thing. Hurr...so how's about...

-2 Allure of Darkness
-1 Armageddon Knight
-1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

+1 Crush Card Virus
+1 Reinforcement of the Army
+2 Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter

Self-mill ftw? At its worst, it dumps Safe Return or Iron Wall, which is not a good thing, but it's card removal that can help get Quillbolts and Plaguespreaders where they need to be while it's at it.

This look better? :3

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Wait, Thought Ruler Archfiend is level eight?

Well daaanngg.... for some reason I thought it was level seven. I blame lack of sleep and no coffee.

And, well, shoot. For some reason I completely forgot that Malicious is negated by Iron Wall, and it just now occured to me that Disc Commander finally reached his well-deserved spot on the banlist long ago. I wondered why Destiny Draw hadn't made it in, seeing as a deck running warriors already might as well be searching them out... *slaps self repeatedly with fan*

And on that note, I just realized how badly Heraklinos shuts this deck DOWN. It isn't affected by Iron Wall, it's big enough to run over every Synchro you've got except Red Dragon's Archfiend without breaking a sweat, and it'll negate any defensive traps you want to play. I don't know how quickly Gladiator Beast decks can get it out, but considering that they've got War Chariot to play with in order to block those two Ryko and Exiled that you're playing you may want to think really hard about how to speed this deck up, possibly siding Mirror Force or Torrential Tribute along with Mind Control and a copy of Reinforcement of the Army for Reckless Greed? Wait, no, that doesn't sound right, even to me. Dadgummit, I think this is where we should really be playtesting this build, because I can't make any real judgments about its comparative speed without actually seeing it play Gladiator Beast, Lightsworn, Tele-DAD, etc. Dadgummit. Alright them, you're on your own now. XD

Yeah, I think this deck really suffers from the fact that unlike Tele-DAD's two-piece combo for Synchro summoning, which goes "dump Malicious- it doesn't matter how- and then either activate Emergency Teleport for Krebons or just normal summon it", this deck has to rely on getting a bunch of cards to the graveyard- and those Quillbolts don't exactly dump themselves- and activating two very specific, unsearchable cards. In comparison, Tele-DAD has a much more reliable draw engine and it can yoink out a Synchro on any given turn. Sure, it may only Synchro summon twice in the game, but that doesn't matter if it wipes the floor with you, does it?

Still, like I said, this concept is new enough that I can't really say anything beyond "let's try it and see how it goes." Now all we have to do is track down someone who actually has these cards and pester them to death to see what they do.

Actually, if you really think that the deck concept is this good we may as well e-mail it to metagame.com and see if it shows up in their deck fix article. Just so long as they don't, y'know, rebuild it as a TOTALLY DIFFERENT DECK THAN IT WAS BEFORE.

 

[Alter Ego]

Mmm...well, I agree that Heraklinos is a troublemaker, but there is a way to weasel out from both him and Chariot. Namely, if there's at least one Plaguespreader and a piece of synchro material at hand and I have Iron Wall, I can quite painlessly synch for Gaia and then on to Collossal Fighter and ram it into Herk as I'll probably have at least one other warrior in the yard to get me enough Atk for it. Chariot can't do much to the process either, as the only monster effect in the chain is the Treeborn Frog-esque revival of Plaguespreader.

Also, this deck can pull for a quickie synchro or two too. Armageddon Knight or Reinforcement to Armageddon Knight, dump Plaguespreader, revive Plaguespreader and we have a six-star synchro, which is precisely why I wanted those excess Plaguespreaders in the first place. Rose plus Quillbolt or Brain Control/Mind Control also equals synchro. And again, the tuner is searchable. In my original plan, I used teleport (as Iron Wall circumvents its drawback effect) but when I looked at it from a deckspace perspective, I realized that either psychics or warriors had to go, and since warriors meshed with my needs for dump, monster removal and access to tuner, I went with them. Point is, quick synchro is not the only - or even the primary - win condition. I'm hoping that Iron Wall's tampering with Malicious and pals (heck, Allure too if all goes well; just imagine chaining Iron Wall to it *-*) will be enough to even the odds in the matchup, not to mention that the non-synchro portion of this deck is 99% Crush Card immunized, but yeah...it could definitely use a playtest. :x

Anyway, it's mostly a fun idea I came up with and if it's any good, the competitives will create a refined build for tournament play and I'll get to say 'it's all me' from the sidelines and feel good about myself. XD

So, build as it stands:


Monsters (16)
2x Armageddon Knight
2x Exiled Force
1x Mask of Darkness
1x Morphing Jar
3x Plaguespreader Zombie
3x Quillbolt Hedgehog
1x Rose, Warrior of Revenge
2x Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
1x Sangan

Spells (13)
1x Brain Control
2x Card of Safe Return
2x Foolish Burial
1x Giant Trunade
2x Hand Destruction
1x Mind Control
1x Monster Reborn
3x Reinforcement of the Army

Traps (11)
1x Crush Card Virus
3x Imperial Iron Wall
1x Mirror Force
2x Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
3x Solemn Judgment
1x Torrential Tribute

Extra (15)
2x Colossal Fighter
3x Gaia Knight, Force of the Earth
3x Goyo Guardian
2x Red Dragon Archfiend
3x Stardust Dragon
2x Thought-Ruler Archfiend