Heading into the weekend there were four big defined strategies that were expected to be heavily represented in the field. Burning Abyss had won the last two North American YCS, so it had a huge target on its head. Monarchs in various forms have been popular since their release, with Extra Deck Monarch pulling ahead by a substantial margin recently over its Domain counterpart. Two different variants of Pendulum had shined a bit more than the rest, one utilizing powerful Performapal combos while the other used the consistent Odd-Eyes Magician engine to Pendulum Summon huge threats like Majespecter Unicorn – Kirin and Mist Valley Apex Avian. Finally, Card of Demise has given life to a ton of different trap strategies as Duelists tried to find the best shell for it. What ended up being the most successful?
Read more…
While not a theme or an archetype, Card of Demise has basically become a strategy on its own. Whether it’s reviving an old Deck or giving fire to a new one, it has completely reshaped how Trap-based strategies are being played. Right now, reactive strategies are a huge disadvantage. Burning Abyss and Monarchs are both so good at being proactive, generating a ton of free cards while just following their normal game plan. If you’re trying to disrupt them, you usually end up at a deficit because your Trap Cards can only answer so much.
Read more…
Burning Abyss has been in contention as the Deck to beat since its release. It has gone through so many different evolutions, and the fact that it topped the 2015 North American WCQ says a lot. The key to its success has always been consistency. Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, and Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss are all very good at making sure you get to whatever Burning Abyss you want. Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss also only takes two Malebranches to summon, so you can almost guarantee that it’ll hit the Field every game. In addition to that, Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss is the kind of card that can snowball out of control. Sending three cards to the Graveyard every turn is great, and if it’s sent to the Graveyard you also get to add back a Burning Abyss card. Since then the strategy has taken a couple hits, but the release of Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal has shot it back into the spotlight.
Read more…
Pendulums are a very interesting strategy to talk about, simply because the mechanic is what defines the Deck. Because of this, Pendulum strategies tend to have a lot of different themes in them. Mixing archetypes isn’t always the best idea, but with the inherent synergies of the Pendulum mechanic it is clear why it is considered one of the top dogs. Its card pool is just naturally bigger than most other Decks because there are so many different Pendulum archetypes, and ultimately this causes each list to look very different from the other.
Read more…
Out of the most dominant strategies represented at the North American World Championship Qualifier this weekend, Monarchs are definitely the most powerful. Such strength comes at a hefty cost: while having the highest ceiling in terms of what the Deck can do, it is also the least consistent. Monarchs are a high-risk, high-reward strategy and nothing can really fight toe-to-toe with it once it manages to get going.
Read more…
