Today, Brian Hayward is taking a page out of Rex Goodwin’s playbook and running one of the coolest Decks to debut in Absolute Powerforce! “Sun Dragon Inti” and “Moon Dragon Quilla” unite to create a never-ending cycle of hurt for the opponent, and today, Hayward is betting his life in this tournament on this beguiling new strategy. Here’s what his Deck looks like:

Hayward’s Deck has just one goal: Synchro Summon “Sun Dragon Inti” and “Moon Dragon Quilla” as fast as possible. On their own, each of these monsters have game-winning Attack Points and great effects: the Level 8 “Sun Dragon Inti” is nearly unstoppable with 3000 ATK, and when it does get destroyed in battle it’ll destroy the monster it fought. Then the opponent pays even more for their attack, as Inti deals damage equal to half the ATK of the monster it rumbled with.

The Level 6 “Moon Dragon Quilla” is no slouch either. Clocking in at 2500 ATK, Quilla also discourages your opponent from attacking, giving its controller Life Points equal to half the ATK of any monster that attacks it. Unlike Inti, Quilla doesn’t have to be destroyed for that effect to trigger. Once the life-gaining effect resolves, you can stop the attack with “Book of Moon” or “Enemy Controller,” and you’ll still gain the Life Points.

Together, the Sun and Moon Dragons are even better. When “Moon Dragon Quilla” is destroyed, Hayward can immediately Special Summon “Sun Dragon Inti” from his Graveyard. And when Inti is destroyed, Hayward gets to Special Summon Quilla from his Graveyard in his next Standby Phase. It’s a tremendous set of effects that creates a huge set-up – one that’s really tough to break through once it gets going. The trick lies in making those 2 Synchro Summons quick enough to lock down the opponent, and Hayward has optimized his Deck to do that.

Inti and Quilla each require a specific Tuner monster to be Synchro Summoned: Quilla requires “Supay,” while Inti requires “Fire Ant Ascator.” Both monsters can use “Oracle of the Sun” as their 5 Levels of non-Tuner Synchro Materials, and the Oracle can be Special Summoned when Hayward doesn’t control another monster and his opponent does. It’s a lot like “Cyber Dragon,” a card that Hayward also plays. With Oracle or “Cyber Dragon” in hand, Hayward can Special Summon a Level 5 monster, Normal Summon “Supay” or Ascator, and then immediately Tune for “Sun Dragon Inti” or “Moon Dragon Quilla.”

Because of “Cyber Dragon’s” and Oracle’s Special Summon abilities, getting that first Synchro Summon in the bag usually isn’t difficult. Where it gets complicated, though, is when Hayward has to bring out the second Dragon, and that’s where he’s gotten creative. Because “Cyber Dragon” and Oracle can’t be Special Summoned when Hayward already controls one of the Synchro Monsters, he needs to either wait for his first Synchro to be destroyed, or figure out an alternate plan for Synchro Summoning. That’s where “Chaos-End Master” comes in.

If “Chaos-End Master” attacks and destroys one of his opponent’s monsters, Hayward can Special Summon “Oracle of the Sun” from his hand. He can immediately Tune it to End Master for a Level 8 Synchro Summon, but if he can hold off and Summon “Supay” or “Fire Ant Ascator,” he’ll be able to get his second Synchro Monster.

There are a lot of other ways to get that Level 5 Synchro Material Monster, too. Hayward plays “Tragoedia” to defend his Life Points and protect him in situations where he draws mismatched cards; but with “Cyber Dragon” or “Oracle of the Sun” in the Graveyard, he can also use “Tragoedia’s” effect to turn it into a Level 5 monster. That means all he has to do is take Battle Damage and have the right Tuner to Summon whichever of the Dragons he needs. “Supay” and “Fire Ant Ascator” each pack effects that can temporarily Special Summon “Oracle of the Sun,” too – “Supay” can pluck an Oracle from the Deck, while Fire Ant lets Hayward reuse an Oracle from his Graveyard. Each monster only lets Oracle remain on the field until the End Phase, but as long as the effect is triggered on Hayward’s turn that’s usually long enough for a Synchro Summon.

There are a lot of approaches you can take when you build this Deck yourself. For instance, Hayward sides into “Skill Drain,” which is also a viable Main Deck strategy for this theme. Playing “Skill Drain” costs the Deck very few effects, and it doesn’t stop the Dragons from bringing each other back from the Graveyard when they’re destroyed. But Hayward’s choice to run an effect-driven build is smart, because it’s faster and makes better use of Inti and Quilla’s full range of abilities. This Deck gains some potential next week with the arrival of the new Forbidden & Limited list, because this Deck gets a second copy of “Cyber Dragon” to make Synchro Summoning easier. It’s turning heads here in Nashville, and come March 1st it’s going to get even better.