Four months ago, Frazier Smith broke new grounds with Gravekeepers, winning YCS Atlanta! Now he’s back, and once again taking up a new strategy to get an edge on the competition: Dragunities.  Smith’s playing a minimalistic build that’s all about big, easy Synchro Summons with Dragunity Dux, and heavy control with Dragunity Legionnaire and a deep Trap lineup.  If you’re not familiar with the Dragunity strategy, take a minute to check out the Official Strategy Site for a quick recap.  Decks like this one could prove to be a big part of the top table field this weekend: here’s how YCS Atlanta winnger Frazier Smith has built his version…

Frazier Smith’s Dragunities – 40 Cards

Monsters: 13

3 Dragunity Dux

3 Dragunity Legionnaire

3 Dragunity Phalanx

2 Dragunity Aklys

2 Effect Veiler

Spells: 16

3 Dragon Ravine

3 Terraforming

2 Cards of Consonance

1 Pot of Avarice

1 Pot of Duality

2 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Dark Hole

1 Monster Reborn

1 Book of Moon

1 Giant Trunade

Traps: 11

2 Solemn Warning

2 Dimensional Prison

2 Seven Tools of the Bandit

1 Solemn Judgment

1 Royal Oppression

1 Mirror Force

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Trap Dustshoot

“Essentially it Summons a Level 8 Synchro Monster every turn, until the opponent is overwhelmed,” explained Smith.  “It does so very consistently.”  His key play is to use Dragunity Dux to equip Dragunity Phalanx from his Graveyard; Special Summon Phalanx with its effect; Tune it to Dux to Special Summon Dragunity Knight – Vajrayana; and then use Vajrayana’s effect to equip and Special Summon Phalanx again.  That means he can unleash Level 8 Synchro Monsters with a single card from his hand (Dux).  Combined with the search power of Dragon Ravine and triple Terraforming, he’ll consistently combo off as early as his first turn.   “I can also make Level 6’s and 5’s,” commented Smith, “but most of them are unnecessary except the occasional Brionac.”  A turn 1 Stardust Dragon protects Dragon Ravine and lets Smith make full use of the cards he Sets to his Spell and Trap Card Zone, and that momentum leads to more Synchro Summons on successive turns.

Smith’s Deck is packed with disruption: he’s kept his monster count as low as possible to give himself room for lots of Spells, Traps, and a couple monsters that act like Spells and Traps. Dragunity Legionnaire gives him access to Synchro Monsters like Ally of Justice Catastor, but its destruction effect also helps to soften up opposing fields; Legionnaire can equip and then pitch Dragunity Phalanx to destroy a single face-up monster, or it can be played with Dragunity Aklys instead to destroy 2 cards total.  The remaining Legionnaire can then make small attacks itself; or bait out opposing monsters for a followup attack on Smith’s next turn.

That control theme extends beyond simple Spells and Traps, and even beyond Legionnaire: like many smart competitors this weekend, Smith’s playing two copies of Effect Veiler in his Main Deck.  That helps him stop the few cards that could cause him trouble once he’s set-up  – stuff like Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier; XX-Saber Hyunlei; and Gladiator Beast Gyzarus.  It also helps him fend off strong early game moves like Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki + Kagemusha of the Six Samurai for Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En, eliminating the Kageki effect that makes that play possible.  Veiler has nice synergy here, patching up some of the Deck’s weak points while also working well with some of the cards Dragunity already wanted to play.  If Smith doesn’t need Veiler at any given time, it can be used as discard fodder for the activation cost of Dragon Ravine.  And since Veiler goes to the Graveyard when its effect is used, it helps feed Pot of Avarice.

Avarice is another card worth discussing.  The Dragunity Dux; Phalanx; Vajrayana; Phalanx; Level 8 Synchro play lands alot of cards in the Graveyard – up to 4 if you include the Level 8 Synchro Monster.  While you’d rather not send Dragunity Phalanx back to the Deck (it’s best in the Graveyard, where it can be reused later with Dux and Legionnaire), it’s really beneficial to recycle Dux and Vajrayana, ensuring that Smith can keep churning out those Synchro Summons.  Once Dux is sent back to the Deck for Avarice’s effect, he can search it out immediately with Dragon Ravine.  Avarice is extremely easy to use, and it gets Smith 2 free draws while ensuring that he never runs out of his best combos.  Combined with the Graveyard-filling power of Cards of Consonance, Dragon Ravine, and Veiler, it’s often possible to activate Avarice as early as turn 2.

Dragunities may prove to be a big part of this weekend’s tournament, and while there are lots of different ways to play the strategy, Smith’s simplistic, reliable version is definitely one of the best.  In the hands of a Championship-winning Duelist, it could go all the way!  We’ll take a look at some different Dragunity builds as the weekend progresses, but for now, this build is a great place to start.