If you’ve been following today’s Feature Match action, you saw the drama and the triumph of Sorosh Saberian’s Tengu Fabled Deck that played out in Round 3. Saberian is a veteran Duelist who’s repeatedly made the playoff rounds of Championship-level competitions, usually with highly explosive combo Decks. Today he’s stayed true to his style, piloting an incredibly explosive Fabled build. You’ve already seen it in action, but here’s how the Deck works:

(Check back later for the full Deck list.)

“Snipe Hunter is the best card in the Deck,” said Saberian. “People always over-commit to the field… Like, Samurai always has to play Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En plus a monster and three back row cards, and Snipe Hunter lets you take care of that.” The Samurai Trap Card Musakani Magatama is powerless to stop Snipe Hunter’s effect, since Snipe’s ability isn’t guaranteed to destroy anything. “Nothing really negates it,” continued Saberian, “unless you hit it with Solemn Warning on the spot. If they don’t negate Snipe Hunter’s Summon, I know there’s no Warning and I can make all my plays.” Saberian uses Snipe to both start some of his biggest combos by discarding Fabled monsters to claim their effects, and to feel out his opponent’s defenses.

When Saberian is confident that the coast is clear, he can go off with a number of simple combos that result multiple Synchro Summons. Reborn Tengu is often the lynchpin, feeding Saberian plenty of Non-Tuner Synchro Material while his Fabled monsters supply him with Tuners. “Reborn Tengu with The Fabled Cerburrel and The Fabled Chawa allows you to make Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier,” explained Saberian. He can Normal Summon Tengu, discard Cerburrel to Special Summon Chawa, then Special Summon Cerburrel with its own effect, since it was discarded. That lets him Tune Cerburrel to Tengu, bringing out Brionac and another Tengu from his Deck. He can discard to clear his hand (and the opponent’s field) with Brionac’s effect, and then – with a second Tengu and Chawa in play – he can Synchro Summon Fabled Ragin. Ragin will let Saberian draw 2 more cards if his hand is empty, and he’ll Special Summon his third Tengu.

The combos can continue depending on what Ragin lets Saberian draw. “Drawing Krus in that scenario means that you can bring back the Chawa and make another Ragin, too.” If Saberian draws Krus (or a Grimro to search out Krus from the Deck), he can discard it for Brionac’s effect, bounce another card away, Special Summon back Chawa with Krus, and make a second Ragin. “That’s the ideal play,” commented Saberian. “If I can get Chawa, Tengu, and Cerburrel, I can win almost any game. And with the search power and Deck thinning in this build, it’s pretty easy.” Saberian plays Reckless Greed, Sangan, and Card Destruction to help him get to those kinds of hands.

When Reborn Tengu isn’t on-hand, Saberian can supplement the missing non-Tuner Synchro Materials with The Tricky and Instant Fusion. Discarding a Cerburrel, Ganashia, or Krus to Special Summon The Tricky can trigger those Fabled monsters’ effects, often creating powerful combos all on their own. As for Instant Fusion, Saberian plays a full complement of Fusion Monsters to use with Instant Fusion: Flame Ghost at Level 3, Darkfire Dragon at Level 4, and Musician King at Level 5. Playing a spread of Fusion Monsters at different Levels takes alot of space from Saberian’s Extra Deck, but it’s totally worth it, giving him the range of options he needs to outplay difficult situations and find wins by any means possible.

Saberian was undefeated when we checked in with him in Round 6, which may be the most successful YCS showing we’ve seen yet from a Fabled Duelist. The Fabled are a perfect match for Saberian’s unique playstyle, and this might finally be the weekend where we see Fabled make the Top 32.