Lots of this weekend’s Duelists are using what’s popular. Twilight, Agents, Plants, and Infernities are all strong picks to win this tournament, and consequently, many of the competing players are using these Decks. But Michael McTavish took a different approach. Instead of running a Deck that’s popular because it’s strong, he decided to run a Deck that beats those Decks. Michael McTavish’s Banishment Deck uses Dimensional Fissure and Macro Cosmos to counter the most popular Decks of the weekend.

Monsters: 15
3 D.D. Survivor
3 Reborn Tengu
2 Cyber Valley
2 Spirit Reaper
2 Card Guard
1 Summoner Monk
1 Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind
1 Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts

Spells: 12
3 Dimensional Fissure
2 Pot of Duality
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
1 Mind Control
1 Book of Moon
1 Enemy Controller

Traps: 13
2 Macro Cosmos
2 Solemn Warning
2 Starlight Road
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Compulsory Evacuation Device
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Trap Dustshoot
1 Mind Crush
1 Return from the Different Dimension
1 Mirror Force

With 5 copies total of Dimensional Fissure and Macro Cosmos, McTavish can be confident that he’ll draw them often. And when he does, he’s tough to beat. Not only do Dimensional Fissure and Macro Cosmos prevent big monsters like Judgment Dragon, Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, and Dark Armed Dragon from hitting the field, they also assure McTavish that his D.D. Survivors are banished when they’re destroyed, instead of being sent to the Graveyard. This way, they can return to the field in the End Phase.

“The best part of this deck is that it doesn’t NEED Dimensional Fissure or Macro Cosmos to function,” McTavish said. “I’ve won many games without ever seeing either one! The icing on the cake however, is that you do see them often, and when you do, the deck is nigh unstoppable.”

McTavish also uses 2 copies of Cyber Valley to keep up his resources. “I can use Cyber Valley alongside Reborn Tengu or D.D. Survivor to draw 2 cards for the price of one,” he said. When McTavish uses Cyber Valley’s effect to banish Reborn Tengu or D.D. Survivor, he draws 2 cards, plus the Tengu and Survivor replace themselves.

“One of my favorite opening plays is to activate Dimensional Fissure and Summon Card Guard to the field. Then I place his Guard Counter on the Dimensional Fissure, and my opponent has to waste at least two resources just to get rid of my one Dimensional Fissure.” Even if McTavish’s opponent does manage to get rid of his Dimensional Fissure, he’ll usually have another Dimensional Fissure or Macro Cosmos ready to be activated. McTavish can even use Summoner Monk to Special Summon Card Guard from his Deck, giving him a Guard Counter to distribute. Since Card Guard and Summoner Monk are both Level 4 monsters, McTavish can subsequently mix them together in order to Xyz Summon a Rank 4 Number 39: Utopia or Steelswarm Roach. “Card Guard really is an underrated card,” McTavish said. “And in this format with Heavy Storm AND three Mystical Space Typhoons to deal with, it, along with Starlight Road, are absolutely invaluable in this deck.”

McTavish is also using Spirit Reaper in his Deck to stall opponents when he’s in trouble. “A lot of people only have 4 to 5 cards that can deal with the Reaper,” McTavish told me. That enables McTavish to hide behind his Reaper when he’s behind, until he can catch up. “It’s happened a couple times where Reaper just stays on that field for a few turns, and I suddenly blast forth with a Return from the Different Dimension or some other huge play and steal the game right out from under the opponent.” Return from the Different Dimension is extremely potent in McTavish’s Deck, since his monsters are constantly being banished, and Return from the Different Dimension Special Summons all of his banished monsters at once.

While he didn’t make it to the Top 32, McTavish and his Banishment Deck gave Graveyard-reliant Duelists fits all weekend. With the Gates of the Underworld Structure Deck on the horizon, Duelists should pay attention to this strategy to see which parts can be adapted to take on the new lords of Dark World.