Deck Profile: Jason Larabee’s Infernity Deck
No two Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series tournaments are alike: formats are different, trends change at the drop of a dime, and in many cases, the Dueling landscape of the hosting city itself shapes the tournament. Here in Toronto we are in Kalin Kessler country: Infernities may be more popular here in Toronto than anywhere else, thanks to big Championship wins in the hands of Torontonian Duelists last year. While Infernities fell off the competitive map many months ago, the new September 1st Advanced List has opened the gates once again, and Duelists like Jason Larabee are capitalizing on one of the biggest new tournament powerhouses to take the strategy to new heights.
The secret ingredient? Leviair the Sea Dragon. Infernity Duelists empty their entire hand to get access to big effects, and their plays usually hinge on Infernity Archfiend; Infernity Mirage; and Hundred-Eyes Dragon. Hundred-Eyes banishes Infernity Mirage to reuse its effect, and with Leviair the Sea Dragon bringing Mirage back, the possibilities are almost endless. With the right cards in the Graveyard, and a single in-hand Infernity Mirage, this Deck can create a massive field that hits the opponent with multiple copies of Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier (even though it’s Limited!); searches multiple copies of Infernity Barrier; and dishes out more than 8000 damage in a single turn.
Here’s the new Infernity Deck, as run by Jason Larabee:
Jason Larabee’s Infernities – 40 Cards
(Decklist available later.)
“This deck has a lot of ways to win,” explained Larabee, “But my best combo is Infernity Mirage in hand, with Infernity Archfiend; Infernity Necromancer; and Infernity Avenger in the Graveyard.” With that field, Larabee is able to make plays like this one:
-Summon Infernity Mirage and use its effect to Special Summon Infernity Archfiend and Infernity Necromancer. Archfiend’s effect gets Infernity Launcher from the Deck.
-Activate Necromancer’s ability to Special Summon Infernity Avenger from the Graveyard. Tune Avenger to Archfiend and Necromancer to Synchro Summon Hundred Eyes Dragon.
-Banish Infernity Mirage to copy its effect with Hundred Eyes. Then Tribute Hundred Eyes to Special Summon back Necromancer and Archfiend with the copied ability. Archfiend gets you another Necromancer from your Deck.
-Discard that Necromancer with Infernity Launcher’s effect. Then Special Summon Avenger and Tune it with Archfiend for Ally of Justice Catastor.
-Send Launcher to the Graveyard to Special Summon Avenger and the second Necromancer.
-Tune Avenger and Catastor to Synchro Summon Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier.
-Special Summon Archfiend with Necromancer, getting a third Necromancer from the Deck.
-Discard that Necromancer for Brionac’s effect, bouncing Archfiend back to your hand,
-Stack the two on-field Necromancers to Xyz Summon Leviair the Sea Dragon! Detach a Necromancer to Special Summon the banished Infernity Mirage.
-Discard Infernity Archfiend to bounce Leviair back to the Extra Deck.
-Activate Mirage’s effect to Special Summon two Necromancers. The first will Special Summon Archfiend, and its effect will get you Infernity Barrier. The second Necromancer brings back Invernity Avenger.
-Synchro Summon Hundred Eyes Dragon and banish Mirage again. Tribute Hundred Eyes to Special Summon back the two Necromancers. The first Necromancer Special Summons Archfiend to get Infernity Beetle to your hand. Stack the two Necromancers again to bring out Leviair, and detach a Necromancer to bring back Mirage.
From here, the combo continues reusing Leviair, Archfiend, and Infernity Mirage, making whatever plays it needs to overcome the opponent. Larabee’s favorite is to bring out Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier; bounce it back to the Extra Deck with Brionac; and then bring it out a second time before the combo runs out of steam. That path lets him make enough searches with Infernity Archfiend to get multiple Infernity Barriers, and ends with enough monsters on the field to total 8000 ATK. And that’s just one of the many ways this combo can play out.
The threat of this tough-to-stop combo is so big, that local Duelists in the know are Side Decking D.D. Crows entirely for the Infernity matchup. This deck is scary, because it can go off at almost any time, and just when you think you have it beaten, it explodes into a long string of combos. Infernity Break and Infernity Barrier make it unpredictable and resilient, and help it deal with the big monsters and countermeasures many opponents will be relying on to stay alive.
In any other city, Infernities might not be a big factor in this tournament. But here in Toronto, Infernities are shaping the decisions of a lot of Duelists, and after the thrashing Larabee just handed down in his Feature Match, there’s no doubt that Infernity has the potential to make the Top 32.