Friday 9 May 2014

Simple Side-Deck-Building for Simple Duelists

Alright Boys and Girls, after a long break due to medical issues, I am back with my side-Decking Tutorial. I also have pre-release articles for both the Theros MTG and tomorrow's Yugioh Primal Origin Pre-release.

Thanks to Troy, Max and Aaron for covering for me for the last 5 weeks, and I will have to do a bumper month draw for next month.

Anyway, I'll get through the backlog, but first-off the promised;


Part 7 - Side-Decking

It's a week after you needed it for Nationals, but as the case may be, luck of the draw.

I was also disappointed because I rang ahead and the organizers told me that the wheelchair wouldn't fit with their seating plans at the venue... I wrote a very strongly worded letter by hand and via email expressing my disappointment.

Oh, where was I? That sounds Right; For your side-deck, you want to add cards that will foil your opponents, but not you (too much).

Let's go through the 2 hardest Decks I have faced with my Blue-Eyes Deck (while my Hazy Flames sat on the Shelf), why they managed to make my experience hard, and what options I can add to the side-deck to stop it from slowing this cripple down!

 Kaiden's  Spellbook Prophecy - His decks have 3 x advantages: Spellbooks are a fast toolbox deck (using spells to search and recycle their deck),  they can lock down your ability to use spells unless you have a spellcaster on the field, and thirdly, The Priestess of Prophesy can target-remove anything on the field using her effects that discard spells.

For this, I'd need to counter spell lock-down by adding some side-able spellcasters, cards that counter deck searching, and traps/monster effects that counter his monster effects.

I believe Effect Veiler would work to stop 1 and 3, helping as a spellcaster and tuner like Maiden with Eyes of Blue as well as being a great hand-trap. Deck Lock-down would also buy me up to 3 turns each of Kaiden not searching his deck, (provided he hasn't locked down my ability to play spell cards). Last day of Witch and Breakthrough Strike are also alternatives that can help break the lock-down and stop priestess' effects respectively.

Totally Wish Tribe-Infecting Virus wasn't banned...

Fallon's Exodia Deck - I created that monster of a deck, and week after week she reminds me of the monster I created.

Exodia Decks rely on drawing the 5 pieces, or cards to help them get all 5 pieces like Card-car D. They can negate damage, and often use cards like Winged Kuriboh, Kuriboh, Kuribon, Waboku, Scapegoat and Marshmallon to stall me like nothing else. I would side Morphing Jar, but that's banned.

I need discard ability, to try and force her to discard a piece of Exodia from her hand, a means to negate card effects in the Graveyard. I already have the means to negate/destroy many of her draw cards, with the dark bribe for spells, and MST for any traps she may have set. Azure eyes also makes my dragons immune for a turn to trap effects, so that's another boon.


Breakthrough Strike can stop monster effects in the grave, like Card-car D's draw ability, Kuriboh's and Winged Kuriboh's damage nullifying effects. Effect Veiler would work against Marshmallon and as bonus protection from her counter-traps, I will chuck in a 3rd Dodger Dragon into the side deck.


What Will be side-decked?

3x Breakthrough Strike
3x Deck Lockdown
1x Dodger Dragon
3x Effect Veiler


Of course, as you face more opponents that trouble you, the side deck may eventually hit the maximum of 15, which means tough choices as to what to cull for more diversity, vs targeted counters for your opponent's deck. Finding the balance isn't easy, but it could mean the difference between 2nd and 9th or lower. (I am planning on the Top any time I want it. Mwahahahahahah!)

I'll see you all when I see you!

Chad.


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