If you read our Round 5 Constructed Feature Match, you’re already familiar with Kento Toshikawa!  Traveling here this weekend all the way from Osaka, Toshikawa made the Top 32 of the YCS main event with Prophecy, pulling out moves and combos we’ve never seen in a YCS Feature Match before.  There’s alot of hype surrounding the new Prophecy cards in Lord of the Tachyon Galaxy, but even without the new stuff, Prophecy are still hugely competitive.

Now that the tournament’s over, we can show you the Prophecy build Toshikawa played.  Check it out!

Monsters: 17

3 Spellbook Magician of Prophecy

2 Maxx “C”

3 Madolche Magileine

2 Tragoedia

3 Effect Veiler

2 High Priestess of Prophecy

1 Justice of Prophecy

1 Temperance of Prophecy

Spells: 21

2 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Dark Hole

3 Spellbook of Secrets

1 Spellbook of Wisdom

2 Spellbook of the Master

3 Spellbook of Power

2 Spellbook of Fate

2 Spellbook of Eternity

1 Spellbook of Life

1 Heavy Storm

2 Pot of Duality

1 The Grand Spellbook Tower

Traps: 2

2 Torrential Tribute

Extra Deck: 15

1 Daigusto Phoenix

1 Gachi Gachi Gantetsu

1 Shining Elf

1 Wind-Up Zenmaines

1 Diamond Dire Wolf

1 Number 16: Shock Master

1 Gagaga Cowboy

1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn

1 Number 11: Big Eye

1 Abyss Dweller

1 Scrap Dragon

1 Arcanite Magician

1 Tempest Magician

1 Ally of Justice Catastor

1 T.G. Hyper Librarian

Side Deck: 15

3 Soul Drain

1 Maxx “C”

1 Temperance of Prophecy

1 High Priestess of Prophecy

2 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

3 Overworked

1 Dust Tornado

2 Compulsory Evacuation Device

We’ve seen Prophecy Decks before, but Toshikawa made some creative choices here that are really uncommon.  The last time we saw a YCS competitor make the Top 32 with Prophecy, it was Emiliano Passoni at YCS Santiago.  This was Passoni’s monster lineup:

2 Breaker the Magical Warrior

2 Effect Veiler

3 High Priestess of Prophecy

3 Spellbook Magician of Prophecy

2 Temperance of Prophecy

2 Tragoedia

1 Tsukuyomi

While Passoni ran two Effect Veiler, Toshikawa played three, and he ran two Maxx “C”.  The addition of Maxx “C” helped him out against Mermails, and let him make better use of Tragoedia.  Toshikawa only Main Decked two copies of High Priestess of Prophecy, too– a really rare choice.  Instead of the popular Breaker the Magical Warrior and the tech pick Tsukuyomi, Toshikawa played three Madolche Magileine.

Why play a Madolche monster in a Prophecy Deck?  One of the running themes in Toshikawa’s build is the use of certain fairly obscure Spellcasters that let him make the most of his themed cards.  While Madolche Magileine is usually seen in Madolche Decks, it’s also a 1400 ATK Spellcaster-Type that, when Normal or Flip Summoned, can search another copy of itself.  As a Level 4 it can be used for Xyz Summons; its 1400 ATK can add up to a win with enough direct attacks; and it can be boosted to 2400 ATK with Spellbook of Power.  It also works with The Grand Spellbook Tower by turning on its draw effect, and it’s a risk-free requisite for Spellbook of the Master.  It thins the Deck too, helping Toshikawa draw towards his most powerful cards; at the same time, destroyed copies can be recycled back into the Deck for an endless stream of on-theme Normal Summons.

Toshikawa’s Spells are fairly straightforward, but he prioritizes Spell and Trap removal by playing two Mystical Space Typhoons.  It’s a great choice in a format where games are often won by Abyss-sphere and Fire Formation – Tenki, two cards that Typhoon can outplay if it’s activated in response on the Chain.  Extra back row hate also helps to ensure that Toshikawa’s most important Summons, like High Priestess of Prophecy and Spellbook Magician of Prophecy, aren’t disrupted by simple traps.

Alot of Prophecy Duelists have played standard defensive trap line-ups, or no traps at all save Treacherous Trap Hole.  Emiliano Passoni ran three Threatening Roar as his only Trap Cards, drawing out attackers so he could destroy them with High Priestess’ effect or attack over them with Spellbook of Power.  Toshikawa kept it simple, running just two Torrential Tribute – a card that many Duelists regard as the best Trap Card in the Advanced Format right now.  Torrential Tribute is a big problem solver here, destroying everything from massive boss monsters to smaller, effect-driven threats like Thunder King Rai-Oh and Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo.

Turning to the Extra Deck, the standout choice was Shining Elf, which we saw Toshikawa use in his Round 5 Feature Match this morning.  The Elf doesn’t see play very often – many Duelists aren’t familiar with it – but it’s invaluable here because it lets Toshikawa turn his Spellbook Magicians and even extra copies of Maxx “C” into a 1600 ATK beatstick.  More than that, it works with Toshikawa’s strategy because it’s a Spellcaster.  While 1600 ATK isn’t much on its own, the Elf vaults to 2600 Attack Points with Spellbook of Power.  And as we also saw in the Feature Match, it’s a great wall that can stop attackers like Sabersaurus, Atlantean Dragoons, and Gene-Warped Warwolf thanks to its effect; it can brickwall anything with less than 2100 ATK.

It all adds up to a fast, aggressive Deck that’s really good at getting extra cards, and really good at clearing away the opponent’s monsters for direct attacks.  Spellbook Magician of Prophecy; Justice of Prophecy; Maxx “C”; Tragoedia; Madolche Magileine; and The Grand Spellbook Tower all have effects that can either whittle down the opponent’s cards for free, or get you more cards at no cost.  At the same time, Priestess and Spellbook of Fate work together to create a steady stream of monster removal: while Toshikawa only played two Fates, he could recycle them with Spellbook of Eternity, and replicate them with Spellbook of the Master.  In his Round 5 Feature Match we saw Toshikawa use Fate’s effect a total of six times, despite short length of the Match.

New cards in Lord of the Tachyon Galaxy will make Prophecy Decks more powerful than ever before, but don’t underestimate their current strength!  Kento Toshikawa came all the way from Japan just to play his Prophecy Deck, and it got great results.  Give Prophecies a shot, and they could bring you success in your tournaments, too.