Oscar Armeria Zavala shocked the Dueling world when he won YCS Guadalajara with a Deck nobody saw coming – Six Samurai!  Prepared for a field of Wind-Ups, Inzektors, and Dino Rabbit Decks, Zavala created a strategy that mixed explosive Special Summoning and big, simple attackers backed by a clever defense.  Side with the Six Samurai yourself, and you’ll find a bunch of unique strengths at your fingertips:

-Give yourself an incredibly strong chance to win by quickly Summoning monsters like Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En and Naturia Beast.

-Strike with all your might thanks to Spell Cards like Asceticism of the Six Samurai and Shien’s Dojo, plus the Special Summon effects of your monsters.

-Eliminate Synchro and Xyz Monsters for good with Legendary Six Samurai – Enishi.

Zavala played a fast, measured strategy that knocked his opponents off balance and never let them recover.  Here’s what he ran…

Oscar Armeria Zavala’s Samurais – Champion, YCS Guadalajara

Monsters: 18

1 Effect Veiler

2 Elder of the Six Samurai

2 Grandmaster of the Six Samurai

1 Hand of the Six Samurai

3 Kagemusha of the Six Samurai

1 Legendary Six Samurai – Enishi

2 Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki

3 Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan

3 Maxx “C”

Spells: 15

3 Asceticism of the Six Samurai

1 Book of Moon

1 Gateway of the Six

1 Heavy Storm

1 Monster Reborn

1 Reinforcement of the Army

3 Shien’s Dojo

1 Shien’s Smoke Signal

3 Six Samurai United

Traps: 7

1 Double-Edged Sword Technique

2 Fiendish Chain

1 Solemn Judgment

2 Solemn Warning

1 Trap Dustshoot

Extra Deck:

1 Ally of Justice Catastor

1 Ally of Justice Decisive Armor

1 Black Rose Dragon

1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

1 Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

1 Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En

1 Leviair the Sea Dragon

1 Naturia Barkion

1 Naturia Beast

1 Naturia Landoise

1 Number 39: Utopia

1 Orient Dragon

1 Steelswarm Roach

1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

1 Wind-Up Zenmaines

Side Deck: 15

2 Bottomless Trap Hole

2 Cyber Dragon

2 Dimensional Prison

2 Mystical Space Typhoon

2 Puppet Plant

3 Rivalry of Warlords

2 Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror

Zavala could play his Deck in one of two ways.  If he had a good hand with lots of combos, he could Synchro Summon Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En, Naturia Beast, or Naturia Barkion early to make life tough on his opponent.  If he didn’t have a big play, or if he had a strong defensive card like Maxx “C” or Effect Veiler to keep himself safe, he could bide his time and let the combos stack up, seeing what his opponent would do before committing.  How did he do it?  Zavala’s success relied on a ton of strong Spell Cards.

Ascetic Assault!

The first was Asceticism of the Six Samurai, a Quick-Play that lets you pick a “Six Samurai” you control, then Special Summon another Samurai from your Deck with matching ATK.  The catch?  Whatever you Special Summon has to have a different name.  For Zavala, that meant three matches:

–Kagemusha of the Six Samurai and Elder of the Six Samurai: if you control one, Asceticism will get you the other.  Tune them together for Shi En or Naturia Beast.

-If Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan is boosted to 2100 ATK by its effect, Asceticism can Summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai.

-If Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki has 1700 ATK, Asceticism lets you search Legendary Six Samurai – Enishi.

In the past, many Samurai Duelists have played either Asceticism or Shien’s Dojo, one or the other.  Every time a “Six Samurai” is Normal or Special Summoned, the Dojo gets a Bushido Counter; send the Dojo to the Graveyard, and you can Special Summon a “Six Samurai” or “Shien” monster from your Deck with a Level equal to or less than the number of Bushido Counters.  Since Asceticism Special Summons, Zavala combined it with three Dojo to get more Bushido Counters, and make bigger plays.

Enishi the Invincible

With the search power of Asceticism and Dojo, Zavala had nine cards that gave him easy access to just one copy of Legendary Six Samurai – Enishi.  Enishi is awesome, because once a turn its effect lets you banish two Samurai to bounce a face-up monster to its owner’s hand during either player’s turn.  That can get a big effect monster out of your way, but it can also send a Synchro or Xyz Monster back to the Extra Deck.  Enishi is a great answer to tanks like Wind-Up Zenmaines and Evolzar Laggia, and since you can activate Enishi’s effect on your opponent’s turn as well as yours, you can demolish key combos in Inzektor, Wind-Up, and Dino Rabbit Decks.  Enishi was one of the biggest reasons that Zavala won Guadalajara.

Looking Forward

Six Samurai Decks are even stronger now in the new Advanced Format, since you can now play two copies of Shien’s Smoke Signal.  That makes Zavala’s strategy even more reliable.  Drop Trap Dustshoot for Smoke Signal, find a replacement for Trishula (Blade Armor Ninja and Mist Wurm are good ones), and you’re ready to go!