Deck Profile: Einherjar Jeff Jones’ Double Aesir Nordic Deck
A lot of competitors are playing cool new strategies here today, and 2-time YCS winner Jeff Jones is no exception! While other Duelists are exploring Dragunities, Miracle Geminis, or other up-and-coming Deck types, Jones is striking out on a path less traveled. His goal? To demonstrate, and capitalize on, the tremendous power of the Nordics! With Odin, Father of the Aesir and Thor, Lord of the Aesir at his command, Jones is set to shake things up here in Day 1! Here’s how he’s going to do it…
Jeff Jones’ Double Aesir Nordics – 41 Cards
Monsters: 17
3 Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant
3 Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts
3 Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts
3 Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts
3 Super-Nimble Mega Hamster
2 Effect Veiler
Spells: 11
3 Pot of Duality
2 Pot of Avarice
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Book of Moon
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Giant Trunade
Traps: 13
3 Gleipnir, the Fetters of Fenrir
1 Trap Dustshoot
2 Trap Stun
1 Solemn Judgment
2 Solemn Warning
2 Dimensional Prison
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Royal Oppression
The Aesir Deck is all about fast, efficient Synchro Summoning. Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts Special Summons 2 Level 3 Nordic Beast Tokens; Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts Special Summons Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts (a Level 4 Tuner) or Tanngrisnir straight from the Deck; and Super-Nimble Mega Hamster brings out Tanngrisnir or Tanngnjostr while functioning as a Synchro Material itself. Tanngnjostr Special Summoning Guldfaxe makes for an instant Level 7 Synchro Summon for a single card, while a number of 2-card combos starting with Tanngrisnir or Tanngnjostr make the proper Synchro Materials for Thor and Odin. This Deck makes Black Rose Dragon even faster than the current Debris Dragon Decks, and Jones protects his attempts at Synchro Summoning with Mystical Space Typhoon and Trap Stun. He won’t always need them: with so many ways to make big Synchros he also has the option of simply powering through cards like Solemn Warning. If 1 Synchro Summon fails, another can take its place. Often, Jones will be able to threaten his opponent with Black Rose Dragon; force out opposing Summon negation; and then follow up with an even bigger Synchro.
That means Odin, and if Odin looked good for the past several weeks, it looks even better now! More and more competitors are gravitating away from Bottomless Trap Hole today, and it’s 1 of the few cards that can stop Odin in the face of his effect. Instead, Duelists are running Dimensional Prison – a card that Odin’s immune to. With 4000 Attack Points and an effect that protects it from Mirror Force, Prison, Book of Moon, and more, a lot of Decks are going to have a really tough time getting past Jones’ trump card. With plenty of monster removal plus Effect Veiler to ward off threats like Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, alot of Jones’ Duels may simply come down to Synchro Summoning Odin and keeping it on the field. Jones is maxed out on the Nordic monsters he needs to consistently unleash the Father of the Aesir – including 3 Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant.
Along with Odin, Jones runs an arsenal of Synchro Monsters other Decks just can’t play. Since his Nordic Beasts are all Beast-Type monsters, he can play Voltic Bicorn: that helps him fill his Graveyard for Pot of Avarice, which in turn recycles those Nordic Beasts so Jones can keep Synchro Summoning. And since Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts is a LIGHT Tuner, he can also play Ancient Sacred Wyvern. If his opponent plays an early Solemn Warning or Solemn Judgment to stop a Synchro Summon, they’ll lower their Life Points and turn Wyvern into a deadly attacker: when Jones’ Life Points are higher than his opponent’s, Wyvern gains ATK equal to the difference. It’s a great strategy, because Nordics can play a heavy defense in the early game that helps to ensure that Jones’ Life Points are higher than the opposition’s’. Thor, Lord of the Aesir rounds out the lineup of exclusive Synchro Monsters Jones wields: Thor’s ATK is almost as high as Odin’s, and Jones can Synchro Summon him with either Vanadis, or Guldfaxe. Its ability can shut down opposing monster effects like those of XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En, and Spirit Reaper, so it’s a great problem-solver. It’ll also just randomly end Duels off strong Guldfaxe plays – if an opponent doesn’t play aggressively enough, a planned Level 7 Synchro Summon can easily become a Thor instead.
This Deck packs a lot of little tricks. Vanadis’ ability to kick monsters to the Graveyard to adjust its level can be played even if Jones is sending another Level 4 monster (which won’t actually change Vanadis’ level), filling the Graveyard for Pot of Avarice. Switching Vanadis to Level 3 by sending Tanngrisnir or Tanngnjostr allows Jones to Tune it to a Nordic Beast and make Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, too: a play that’s bound to surprise some of his opponents.
With 3 copies each of his most important cards, plus triple Gleipnir, The Fetters of Fenrir to search them all out, Jones has built his Deck for consistency. A strong showing here today would kick off big things for the Nordic Deck, and smart play could take Jones to Day 2! Nobody is ready for this matchup.
