Wednesday 13 July 2016

Learn your ABCs: FAQ #1

Gathering the common questions regarding this new & hyped deck, mainly for our readers from the west...
 

 1) Bobster Chen

Read ur abc dragon and tellarknight article my question to u is can tellar deal with abc turn 1 board with new support and for abc is galaxy soldier and transmodify mandatory for tcg player in ur opinion im looking into ur cyber dragon build cause repair plant seems strong

My response:

a) Can Tellar deal with ABC's Turn 1 board with the new support:

ABC's standard setup is Cyber Infinity & ABC Dragon Buster. With Tellarknights' normal arsenal or cards, it would be hard for them to go against ABC but it is certainly not impossible. 
Reviewing their latest support cards, they now have a 2-card new xyz monster & a backrow destruction quick-play spell.

A quick trivia about Genesis Tellarknight, taking from the Yugioh.wikia page:


"El Shaddoll Construct", "Tellarknight Ptolemaeus", "Infernoid Decatron" and the core of "Apoqliphort Towers" appear in this card's artwork.

Back to the question:
Apart from the standard tech cards, (which I, as an OCG player would suggest Swords of Concealing Lights & Book of Eclipse and even Forbidden Chalice), Tellarknight can bait out the effects of the two monsters & possibly avoid them with the help of Skybridge. Summon Deneb, activate eff, Infinity will attempt to negate, then you can chain Skybridge. Of course, Dragon Buster would probably banish Deneb.
But not before you can bait both their effects out. But you sacrifice Deneb's search. (It still gets negated. But you still get a special summon.) The best you can follow up is a special summon of Unuk. Or if you have a Tellar in hand, feel free to summon Vega and proceed with a Rank4 xyz summon.
Currently, Skybridge has the best effect to offer in an ABC matchup.


The new support is more relevant for Tellar's turn 1. Tellar now has a better first turn setup against ABCs with their new Vatlamyus. As mentioned in the article, it makes several cards in their deck into dead cards. 

b) For ABC, is Soldier and Transmodify Mandatory: 

This is a famous question for TCG players wanting to play ABC. 

The main reason I ran cyber engine is because Repair Plant gives me an edge over other normal & mainstream ABC builds which players pilot. To me, it is like a tech choice, a tech engine. I can search out ABC parts & Galaxy Soldier - the former other players have to rely on Union Hanger and the latter, they can't only call him out via Transmodify. (Read more here)

Let me just state that: Soldier is NOT mandatory. 

You can opt not to include Soldier and Transmodify, but first let's understand the rationale behind this engine of the deck. I will explain more below, but for now, allow me to say this:

Infinity sets up a lockdown. You can choose not to play Infinity, but will lose out on a better first turn as Dragon Buster on its own won't be much of a threat as it can't negate cards. There are Japan players which opted not to play Infinity dropped Transmodify & Soldier completely, instead maxing out Gadgets and Cockadoodledoo. Making the most of their extra deck space by filling it with more Synchros and Rank 4 xyz.
Recently, Infinity is also dropped in favour of synchro builds, featuring Pseudo Space & Torque Gear. Link below at the end of the second question.

2) Brandon Gabbin: 

Would it be bad to assume you could play this deck without the Galaxy Soldiers? Or are they too good not to play?
(Similar question)
To me, I think it is too good not to play. It gives u the added advantage of summoning Cyber Dragon Infinity. In a card game where card advantage and card economics is key to victory, negation offers you board control, and force your opponent to sacrifice cards to bait your negation effect. If they do not have enough resources to bait your effect, they will have to delay their plans until they draw into 'outs'.



As an OCG player, I am not sure how common pure Kaiju decks are in the TCG, but I am confident they are popular side deck choices. Indeed, the existence of Kaiju may undermine the effectiveness of Infinity, but this Rank 6 pseudo-Quasar is merely a plus point, something additional, a bonus.



The most important thing about Soldier & Transmodify is it that it makes full use of your ABC parts. You would rather banish them in grave than on the field, even though you can do both. Let's not forget this spell card can trigger the ABC parts' effects since they will be sent from field to grave. By sending those LIGHT machines to grave for Transmodify's cost, you make the most out of your resources. Moreover, Transmodify shares synergy with the Gadgets, Gold & Silver, the two which are usually played for easier access to R4NK toolbox. And Soldier can dump ABC parts from the hand into the graveyard to speed up the summon of Dragon Buster.

Opening with Union Hanger & Transmodify gives you a field of Infinity + ABC Dragon Buster. How? Figure it out for now. An article on combo plays are coming up soon!

In short, Infinity's existence gives you a good first turn.
In my humble opinion, for competitive play. don't leave Soldier out.

Of course , there are players who focus solely on the R4NK toolbox, even in the OCG. No Soldier, just Gadgets. This gives them a larger extra deck space to play 2 copies of Dire Wolf & Castel. Two useful Rank4s to clear field threats, be it monsters or backrow.
Sample decklist:
Source


On a related note, due to the emergence of a new trend, players are hoping onto the hype train and abandoning Cyber Infinity for the sake of placing Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon instead, with the help of Pseudo Space & the newly debuted Torque Gear. Source


3) General Question:

WHY IS COCKADOODLEDOO A GOOD CARD? I HAVE BETTER OPTIONS FOR SYNCHRO~!
 

The million dollar question:
TCG players really do underestimate the effectiveness of Yugioh's chicken little.
Cockadoodledoo is mainly for Ancient Fairy. You can search out Union Hanger without Terraforming. Just pop Chicken Game or your opponent's field. 

On its own, it is a free summon. No cost, and it doesn't waste your normal summon. 
Red Resonator is vulnerable to Veiler & your opponent can drop Maxx C to draw upon the summon. And in the OCG meta, Level7 synchros have more to offer than Level6.
Cockadoodledoo is also used to tune away Gadget monsters which would otherwise idle on the field after helping to bring the ABC parts out.

Tcg players probably don't find Cockadoodle relevant as Chicken Game isn't available in TCG.
But considering the above video, give it a thought. Don't dismiss it automatically as a bad card, unless you can find me another tuner which does an inherent special summon and can better tutor the deck.
 


4) Mario Cortijo :

If you had to mention your top 5 variants in order what would be? (from stronger and consistent to weaker and bricky) 

Interesting question!
  • 1) Gadgets along with Cockadoodledoo (Soldier included)
This is by far the most consistent build imo, in the OCG. With Cockadoodledoo to summon Fairy Dragon out, you can search out Hanger without the use of Terraforming. Chicken Game is also used to minimise deck size and increase consistency and act as a target for Ancient Fairy.
Fairy's second effect also benefits the deck, triggering Gold's & Silver's effect and also supplying targets for Transmodify.

As far as the Rank4 toolbox goes, (e.g Traptrix Rafflesia or not) player preference. This build is also responsible for Crystal Wing's existence in a ABC deck.
  • 2) For second place, many variants are tied. The split starts from how many traps to play (Strikes, Vanity's, Anti-Spell), then the number & type of hand traps (Veiler faded out of existence. Now it is mainly Cycle Reader vs D.D. Crow vs Maxx C)
This is listed as second, and separated from the 1st bulletpoint because how you build your deck determines your deck speed. 

    • Go all out and dedicate all available deck spaces to be combo pieces?
    • Choose not to ignore the pendulum threats and main-deck he double-edged sword Anti-Spell Fragrance? Choosing to accept/ignore the risk Fragrance poses?
    • Choose to include backrow threats, but risk opening with one less combo piece to build up your monster lockdown setup?
 


  • 3) Third place, I would shameless vote my Cyber Dragon engine. Repair Plant gives the deck an edge, and probably the main reason anyone would play it out in the first place. (Full explanation in blog post)
It is kind of a mid-way thing: I get to mill like the Brilliant engine, yet I don't have the fear of drawing into anything in my deck, unlike the Fusion build. 

Biggest problem is consistency - Reliance on Maxx C to prevent lockdown setups or to draw into my combo pieces, as they not searchable.
Best selling point? OTK potentials with Rampage.




Just realised Dsummon made a Cyber ABC video too. smh.

All of a sudden, my Cyber ABC idea doesn't feel so original. OTL. #lol Anyway here is the video link.




  • 4) Synchro builds with Resonators goes to 4th. It is not inconsistent, just weaker in comparison to other builds. Even with Coral Dragon, the Level6 synchro toolbox doesn't have much to offer. You are better off pushing for Fairy Dragon in OCG, but due to lack of Chicken Game, TCG players may be drawn to this deck variant. 

Leo does indeed pose a threat - being un-targetable at 3100ATK, many monsters can't get over it. Not even might Blue-Eyes. 3000ATK monsters are 100ATK short from a tie-game battle, but their would probably reach for their extra deck to get Number 95 out. (4000ATK). Worth nothing that without the use of Dark Rebellion Dragon targeting another monster, OCG PK FIRE would have trouble clearing Leo. Other decks which can access Rank4 would just rely on S39: Utopia Lightning.

I believe Resonator as an engine gives the deck offensive capabilities, but gives up board control in the process. It is up the players to determine how they would prefer the deck to perform. Worth noting that Red Resonator is best paired with Gold & Silver for the field swarming.
Dsummon also made a Resonator ABC video. Feel free to check it out. (LINK)





  • 5) Sorry to fans of the deck but I would vote Brilliant ABC to be the least consistent. Draw into your Gem-Knight monster and your engine dies, you can't even put Lazuli back to your deck. There aren't many good normal monsters to put in ABC, except Galaxy Serpent, (draw into it, and you can cry too). Assuming you still have Lazuli but you draw into Serpent. Without Lazuli to get a +1, ABC will lose resources very quickly. Because ABC is a 'devote resources to lockdown opponent' type of deck. Minus the lockdown and they find themselves vulnerable and struggling to recover. (which is why double System Down hurts. a lot.)
Double coz first one is usually negated by Infinity

And due to this deck's "Please don't let me draw into those cards" you probably have mixed feeling as a player when using Maxx C's effect. Either that or you won't be able to maximise and capitalise on the additional draws you get from its effect. It may instead hurt your plays once you draw into the "supposed-to-stay-in-deck" cards.

I won't deny Brilliant's unparalleled ability to dump cards straight from the deck. Even my engine choice - Prisma can't reenact that effect. But Brilliant Fusion is a high-risk high reward imo.



On and ending note to this question:
At my locals, Empowered engine has also shown to have brick issues and performed badly. I read about the player lament about his poor performance after piloting the deck for a day, implying consistency issues.

Also, what is a list of deck builds of machine type monsters without Dsummon's favourite archetype - Karakuri

Newly debuted Torque Gear can also play Karakuri's array of synchro monsters, and end up with a series of draws. (Video coming up soon in future articles)



Conclusion

 
That's all for the FAQ for now. Depending on the number of questions, we may have future installments to the FAQ. Thanks for following the blog and thanks for reading.
Ken Sir
 

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