- *Judgment Dragon* wrote:
- Well that seems like a very lengthy and intimate analysis! Thank you for your input. Maybe you should think about writing some articles in that section? It would be cool to read what you have to say.
A little while back, we were talking about the new list and it's impact on the meta. During such, this statement was made by our lovely head tester, *Judgment Dragon*. Whether it was sarcasm, or not, I decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to do such. So with that, welcome to a little series I am going to do, called New Meta Analysis. This series will go over and discuss various decks, old and new. How they impact the meta, what can be done to stop them, how they can be built, ect. Keep in mind, the meta is ever changing. None of these
deck lists are here to be set in stone, so updates can and will be made to them, as we see things develop. The
deck builds featured will be ones I have come up with, based on my play style and what I believe seems best, as far as competitive play. Any and all input would be great, as this is also meant to help share ideas for the decks in question, depending on the article itself. (This means no posting about say, Kozmo builds, in the Shaddoll topic. Save it for the Kozmo article, Ladies and Gents.)
So let's get started with the first
deck, Shaddolls. Now many believe that this
deck has lost a huge spot in the meta. I for one, agree with the statement, however it does not mean the
deck is completely unplayable. This is what I have been meddling with and seemingly hitting the best results.
Now, this build focus' on a more "old school" play-style to Shaddolls. When the
deck first came out, it was a lot slower, focusing on strong turn one plays, netting a lot of card advantage with Mathematician and shadow games. This
deck build follows that, while scaling into mid to late game, with the use of disruptive traps, Winda to slow down and limit plays, and Norden/Dionaea plays, to make surprise Xyzs, to push your opponent back.
Engines:
Standard Shaddoll, mixing a ratio of gen 1, with gen 5, while trying to keep space for enough supportive cards to make up for the lack of power play and boss monsters.
Traptrix are used to search those nice trap cards. With the meta moving into the Pendulum era, cards like bottomless and time space are game changing, not to mention void being really solid at taking away that Xyz or boss monster play and better protect your Winda. The Dionaea is a solid one of, to re-use that Myrmeleo, for a free mst pop, into an Xyz, or a situation re-set of a powerful trap hole card you used.
Support cards:
Armageddon Knight:
With the ever loved Mathematician at one, it is easy to say that Armageddon Knight takes the spotlight. Even with El Shaddoll Fusion at one, he still makes your plays progress to a point, where it is worth running him. Not to mention, he has a huge benefit, which we saw a lot when Soul Charge was at 3; he's a level 4. The one big down side to him, is seeing him late game. Being this, I have left him at 2, though I still am tempted to go to 3 at times. More testing will be needed, to see if that turn one open with him is deserving of space.
Instant Fusion:
Well, this card is a no brainer. Plenty of us know how powerful Norden is at this point. Not only does this card grant access to an easy Xyz and big Dweller play, it also can net us the materials needed to make fusions. There is also the nice benefit of being able to special summon a Winda at times, to fetch a Shaddoll spell, or trap, from grave. Super strong power plays are very possible, with this, especially mid game, where the
deck performs best.
Call of the Haunted:
Now some of you may be wondering why this is even labeled as a support card? Simple, based on the other cards featured in this build, this card adds a TON of utility. You can bring back a dead Armageddon Knight, for an additional send, and use as material, for fusion, or Xyz. Myrmeleo becomes a free mst when you revive it with this card, break those scales, pop that newly set back row, or floodgate. The options are there make use of. Not to mention, you can bring back fusions off of it, shaddoll pieces, to make use of extra dragon effects, or summon a falco for a synchro play. One again, options are there.
Siding:
Right now, we know various decks that will be in the meta. Kozmo, Majespecter, Infernoid, Tellars, BA and plenty of others. One of Shaddoll's big advantages with dealing with these decks, is being able to side cards that completely stop them in their tracks, while not preventing us from making plays. We have imperial for Kozmo and Infernoid. Light Mirror for Stellars and Kozmo, Mistake for Stellars and Majespecter. Space for other floodgates and scales for pendulums. These, combined with the cards we have in the main
deck, it is easy to see where we can stand, as far as disruption goes.
Now you may have noticed, I didn't mention anything side wise about BA. Well with Maxx "C" in the main
deck, and Winda being a huge pain for them in general, it is easier for us to play them in general, plus we have the powerful Yazi play and super Dweller. Then there is the ever powerful Shaddoll Fusion. BA can't win a game without having an extra
deck monster. This screams free card advantage for you and with the limit to their annoying, powerful floaters, Cir and Graff, it is much harder for them to get back on their toes and OTK.
Extra
Deck:
The Extra
deck needs a little work, as some of you may have guessed, seeing Dark Law in odd spots for this profile, but space is problematic. Winda is an easy 3 of, you will find yourself going into her a lot. Shek is also a powerful card, holding her own against things like Stellars, and having the traptrix in the
deck makes her very easy to go into. Anoyatyllis is there, since Norden is a thing. Nekroz might not be completely dead this format, plus she is a pretty powerful stat wise. Aside from that, she finds more situational play, then anything and opens the ability to make a finishing play off of Norden more powerful.
The synchros are a pain in the extra, but extremely useful. The one I have the hardest time with, myself, is Arcanite. Without Construct, there is no lie, this card has tanked as far as making plays goes. However, he can break scales and pop problematic cards very well. I was using blackrose before, but often found it not as useful for breaking scales. Either way, the final product of one over the other is in testing still. Yazi, well, a big can't be targeted beat stick, that can single handily win games. There is a reason Kozmo Forerunner and now Destroyer are such issues. Armades. He is probably the best level 5 we can make use of. He is super powerful for a variety of cards as well. Hands, Certain hand traps, flip monsters, ect. Just found this guy ever so useful, for weird problems. If Kozmo becomes enough of a problem though, Catastor might fill this spot for a bit. It is hard to say.
The Xyz choices of this
deck seem pretty standard. They deal with problems like spot removal, or graveyard effects, which there are still plenty of in this meta. I was trying a few others, but tried switching a few things around, in order to test some things. Space is tight, so it is hard to meet every situation.
Other Honorable Mentions:
Mask Change 2 and Dark Law are cards that would help this
deck a lot, the issue, finding room and still have it work. We also don't get the full benefit of sending a shaddoll monster for this card, so it card place you in a bad spot. I need to test this a lot more, before I can decided completely.
Vanity's Emptiness is a card I would really like to play in this
deck, just due to how powerful it can be by itself. It is also pretty easy to turn off for us. The only issue is space. For testing purposes, I decided to leave it out, but come the first big event, you better believe it'll be featured in the
deck. hell, I'll go to 41 if I need to.
Mirror Force was a card I considered for this
deck, many times. It deals with a lot of issues, but one in particular, boss monsters. We have a lost our boss monster, construct, so our ability to deal with them in return has become much, much harder. Board whips and spot removal is out best bet, for now. Space is tight though, so it is hard to say what comes out for it, plus it isn't reactive and as we know, reactive traps are the best traps next to floodgates.
Book of Moon is another card I really wanted to play in this
deck. It is a very powerful card, that can even be used to provide a bit of extra utility for us. However, with BA not as powerful and Winda limiting a lot of plays, it is hard to pick and choose what to exactly take out for it. I'll figure it out a bit more come testing some following ideas.
Engine Changes:
Now there is one big thing I have considered changing about this
deck. The traptrix engine. By maxing out on Armageddon Knight, or just setting an fitting shaddoll monster, our turn one plays are not bad, by any means. With the removal of these cards, it would be easier to take out some of the other trap hole cards, and make room for cards like Vanity's, Book of Moon, Mask Change, Mirror Force, ect. I have not gotten around to testing this for sure, but with the coming of the new pendulums, as well as Rafflesia, the disruption they bring is just game changing. Straight forward utility is very safe, and can help open up some very aggressive plays and nice flow. What Shaddolls have now, with no further support coming out for them; the need for something to solve problems we cannot is a must. A lot of testing will be needed to tell. If need be, maybe another engine will be favored.
Other Engine Ideas:
Lightsworn/Clowns: One, the other, both, space will tell. Limited to Raiden mostly, maybe a Lyla. Two Trick Clown, two Damage Juggler, maybe Tricker. Possible new support, hard to say. Would bring Soul Charge into the
deck, if used.
Star Seraphs: Stick Chair is pretty powerful, but I don't think they are as useful without Construct, case and point. You do get the option of Kristia though. Testing will be needed to see how well it flows.
Prediction Princesses: With the lack of construct, this
deck has become even more inconsistent then before. The engine is very slow and it just doesn't flow as nicely. Your power plays are decently weak and easy to stop, with a little effect negation and your boss monster you get out of it, need to remain alive to be worth it, even if you use shaddoll monsters as the tributes. Over all, the
deck seems a bit limited. Possible to be good, just don't see it being better than other variants in this meta.
Chaos: Well if you want OTK, you can still get it with this version. With construct gone and el fusion at one, makes it extremely hard, but possible. The baby chaos dragons grant easy rank 4 access, with resource control, chaos sorcerer and bls are powerful cards. Light Pulsar, eclipse, DaD, all other tools to be used in it. The issue I find is consistency and start up speed. With construct gone, lights are harder to get into the grave and you need time to make plays, or run questionable cards, to fit your needs. You'll be able to hit hard, once you can, but it may be too late by that point. You'll most likely end up over extending, then being unable to come back after a board whip. Lightsworn could help benefit the speed issue, but then you count more on luck, for your plays to make an impact, which still might not meet your needs.
Heros: The Hero build is still possible. however, it still lacks a lot of the fast paced power of El Shaddoll Fusion and Construct. Hands can be a bit inconsistent at times, but you have some nice, gimmicky plays in the
deck. A friend of mine went to San Jose with the
deck. I'll be able to see how well he performed after the weekend and play around with that knowledge. I'll also be able to best play with the other ideas of what is needed, based on how much of the new meta that might show up there. Time will tell.
