HEY WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE LAST TWO MONTHS ALL MY POSTS ARE
GONE
Yeah nah, I’ve been somewhat preoccupied and haven’t felt
like updating in a while. Been starting to play IRL again, and as a result the
majority of my attention is going to decks I can actually use there. My locals
is tough as nails as well, some of the best in the UK attend there, so some of
my fun builds just do not cut it.
With that in mind, I’ve been working on something for a
while now. My Sacred Crane deck from a while ago has been developed into a Stun
version, and it has been my main deck on here for a few weeks. So, here we have
my current version.
Monsters: 17
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
1 Cyber Dragon
3 Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo
3 Sacred Crane
2 Mist
Valley
3 Tour Guide From the Underworld
1 Sangan
1 Spirit Reaper
2 Effect Veiler
Spells: 12
3 Pot of Duality
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Armor Ninjitsu Art of Alchemy
1 Book of Moon
Traps: 12
2 Ninjitsu Art of Transformation
2 Call of the Haunted
2 Icarus Attack
2 Torrential Tribute
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
Extra:
1 Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Ally of Justice – Catastor
1 Armory Arm
1 Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon
1 Number C39: Utopia Ray
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Number 20: Giga-Brilliant
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn
1 Muzurhythm the String Djinn
Quick thing to mention before I get into how it works, Number
30: Acid Golem of Destruction is not legal in the UK
The deck is fairly basic to play. The optimal opening move
is to use Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo to search for Ninjitsu Art of Transformation,
and then use that to special summon Sacred Crane on one of the upcoming turns
in order to gain plusses. This combo is very underestimated, and I think a lot
of people don’t understand why it is powerful, since you’re not going into a
big beater with Transformation.
The reason it is so central is that it is allowing you to
thin your deck by two cards, draw one card, and set up a light and a dark in
the grave. This power all comes from drawing one Hanzo, and I consider it far
superior to summoning a big beater like Apex Avian or Dark Simorgh.
That said, the deck also includes two Mist Valley Falcons.
These have always been a favourite of mine, though I’ve not really seen much
use for them for a long while. That has since changed with this; they can
endlessly recycle the Call of the Haunteds, are 2000 point beaters, and targets
for the Hanzo combo as well if it is ever needed (although I haven’t done it even
once so far).
With such an easy way of ditching light and dark monsters,
running Black Luster Soldier is self explanatory. It is a 3000 beater that banishes
opponents cards and can win games on its own. Not running this would be an
absurd choice on my part.
The Tour Guide + Sangan engine is needed in nearly
everything. Even with the heavy stun and triple Duality, this deck is not an
exception. It makes for extremely powerful plays, especially with Leviair,
which I seem to make more than anything else in order to make use of any cards
of mine that the opponent banishes. Using it to fetch Crane and getting another
plus is so powerful. The only problem I have with it is that Sangan isn’t that
great in this deck on its own. It can search Effect Veiler, Spirit Reaper, Tour
Guide, and that’s it. They’re not bad searches by any means, but they feel
rather lacklustre when it comes to power.
Effect Veiler is needed at at least two in most decks due to
the current metagame. I’ve considered Fiendish Chain in its place, since I run
Mist Valley Falcon at two, but that’s weak to MST and doesn’t give me a Light
in grave for my BLS play. Veiler is too good.
Spirit Reaper and Cyber Dragon are techs. Reaper can stall
very well, is a dark, and can make the opponent panic if he catches them with
no monsters out. I ran it at two originally, but testing it at one has proven
better, as it can force me on the defensive when I draw it at the wrong moment.
Cyber Dragon is unexpected game one, and I find it very
effective in the Dino-Rabbit and Wind-Up match-ups. Very often the opponent
will go into Zenmaines and I’ll be able to wipe it for free, while again
getting a light in grave and a dark on the field.
Worth noting that the current monster count is low for the
current metagame, so despite all the methods of dropping lights and darks in
the grave, I am not running any copies of Chaos Sorcerer. Though I suppose it
could be a tech at 1, I feel it would be dead too often for it to be worth it.
Triple Duality is something I’ve been hovering on. Because
the deck special summons quite a lot, I’ve been using double for a long time,
thinking three will clog. Now I’ve tested three though, I’m not having any real
problems with it, and anything helping me get Hanzo early on is a good thing.
And getting Hanzo early is fairly easy with many of the
cards in here. I run Reinforcement of the Army in order to effectively run four
Hanzo, and an Allure of Darkness to dig another two cards. This, along with the
Dualities and the Sacred Cranes, makes drawing happen very frequently, more so
than in any other stunnish deck I know of right now.
Then we have a strange card that I’ve been running, Armor
Ninjitsu Art of Alchemy. This is generally considered inferior to Magic
Planter, a card that has a very similar effect but can be used on any continuous
trap card. Seems better, considering that I’ve only got two other Ninjitsu Art
cards.
I used to agree with this, but my testing has shown
otherwise. Alchemy has one major advantage over Planter in that it can be
searched by Hanzo. Since I only have two other targets for Hanzo to search,
this is a great use for the third Hanzo when I draw it, clearing away my
Transformation cards (which stay on the field after Sacred Crane dies) and
netting me plusses. With Transformation nearly always being left out on the
field, the fact that I can’t use it on other traps rarely seems to matter
either, and though I occasionally draw it dead, I always seem to miss it if I
ever leave it out. Great card, and very underestimated I think.
You have the staple spells, Monster Reborn, Heavy Storm,
Dark Hole, MST, although I’ve left out Mind Control from the main, siding it
instead. I won’t always have a monster due to my slightly lower monster count,
and it’s a dead card against Chaos Dragons and a few others. I side it in for
the Wind-Up and the Dino-Rabbit match-ups, but otherwise I don’t miss it at
all.
MST I run at two, though these days I normally like it at
three. However, because I run two Icarus Attack, I feel running two is easily compensated
for, as I can wreck backrow with those and just side in the third.
Speaking of Icarus Attack, I love this card. So much.
Because Sacred Crane isn’t the most useful card if you draw it, and playing
Mist Valley Falcon will often get a trap used in response, it can take
advantage and wipe out two cards unexpectedly. It’s just as live with Hanzo as
well, as Hanzo can turn into a winged beast with Transformation anyway, so
picking off cards to simplify the gamestate is very easy.
Call of the Haunted can also be used with it, turning it
into a plus with Sacred Crane’s effect. As mentioned, can be used repeatedly
with Sacred Crane, it is usually a +1 when the opponent hits it with something,
and can be used to spring game out of nowhere at times. Though I’ve wanted to
replace it with Fiendish Chain at times, I almost never find it dead so it’s
sticking around.
Torrential Tribute is needed in this sort of thing right
now, with swarming being as easy as it is. It might take out your field as
well, but on the whole it’s definitely worth it. The Solemn brigade has to be
run as well, it picks off so many threats and stops plays before they even
start. If you’re not running these in this sort of deck you’re probably doing
something wrong.
Starlight Road I’m running because of the deck’s low monster
count and heavy backrow. Going on the aggressive is often risky with Dark Hole,
Heavy Storm, and Torrential around, and drawing Starlight is like a message
saying ‘Press your advantage, they can’t trap you so easily now’. The feeling
of safety it grants makes it well worth playing, and when it goes off I’ll
usually win the game.
Extra deck, lot of standard stuff in terms of synchros and
xyzs. Stardust is run over Scrap Dragon because of the Starlight Road
Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon is for when I side in Mind
Control, in order to work with Cyber Dragon. Situational, but it’ll be missed
if its not there. Though Tiras is the more popular choice, the fact that Adreus
can pick off monsters bigger than itself without running over anything else
makes me find it the better of the two if you can only run one or the other. If
I had an Honest mained, I might change my mind, but as it is, Adreus is
preferred.
And the Djinn, well as I mentioned before Muzurhythm would
be replaced by Zenmaines if I had it. As it is, it’s a decent card for the UK
So this is about it. Got multiple versions of is as you may
notice from the deck picture, and I’ll probably create a great deal more.
Peace guys, hope you enjoyed the first update in ages.
