Deck Discussion: True Dracoruler

Next Dragon Rulers?

The release of the WATER True Dracoruler, Bahrtos, signified to players that the FIRE counterpart is not alone, and True Dracoruler will indeed turn out to be an archetype in Yugioh. This created a minor hype in Singapore, as players now see a reason to keep at least a playset of these previously undervalued cards. Judging from the name of the next main booster product - Raging Tempest, guess we will witness WIND version of the True Dracoruler soon.

In preparation for these lords to enter the game, allow us, Dueling Cancer, to suggest the ideas and cards that you might want to consider keeping or scouting, should you be optimistic about this archetype's chances. Do note that up to this point, it is all speculation, and more on this archetype will only be known when the other versions are released. For this article, for the sake of discussion, we shall name this archetype [True Dracoruler] in this article.






Characteristic so far, judging from the two released True Dracorulers,

• Their stats add up to 4800.
• This is also a trait shared by the Dragon Rulers.
• Their effects contain a clause which allows them be special-summoned by destroying 2 monsters, either in hand or field, but MUST contain a monster of their ATTRIBUTE.
• Upon successful special summon, they have the ability to banish cards.
• For Bahrstos - two S/T on the field or graveyard
• For Agnimazud - 1 monster on the field or graveyard
• IF you summon them out by destroying both of the needed ATTRIBUTEs
• Upon destruction, they are capable of performing effects as well, mirroring the trigger effects of the Dragon Rulers upon being banished.
• Bahrtos can special-summon a non-WATER wyrm, while Agnimazud adds a non-FIRE wyrm to the hand.
• Lastly, you can only each effect of the True Dracorulers once per turn.
• Yup, definitely like the Dragon Rulers.

These True Dracorulers specialises in being able to destroy cards straight from the hand, an uncommon mechanic which hasn't been seen much in the game. Perhaps the closest replication would be Fire King's Island, which ironically saw more play in non-Fire King decks. It is instead used in decks like Kozmos, serving as an engine to speed up the swarming process..

Seeing how the FIRE True Dracoruler requires FIRE sacrifices to be destroyed, perhaps one would like to try adding it to Fire King Kozmos, with Guarunix fulfilling the FIRE monster condition, and your spaceships ready-to-be destroyed to trigger their effects.

But the True Dracorulers do not only destroy from the hand; they can also destroy cards on the field. The addition of the Water True Dracoruler meant that Graydle decks now have more options to take the initiative in a duel, opting to destroy themselves before waiting for their opponent to do so.

With the current two True Dracorulers being Level9, I suppose it is a safe bet to assume the remaining two, or few, would be Level9 as well. Hence, it may be wise to stock up on some Rank9s, despite the lack of options available.

While one can ignore their Wyrm status and choose not to capitalise on their final effects, staple and useful Wyrm monsters should be considered for a slot. At the very least, a spot in the Side Deck. Al-Lum'Raj and Night Dracolich have their selling points, are were relevant to the meta (mostly in Metalfoe decks) months before their big bosses were released.

Of course, with destruction right from the hand, how could we neglect the common monsters in the game which are always yearning to be destroyed?

• Kozmos
• Afore-mentioned.

• Guiding Ariadne
• Worthy of consideration, especially if Solemn Strike is still at three by then. 

 

• Ice Hand/Fire Hand
• Perhaps the most worthy mentions, seeing how they share the same ATTRIBUTES and you can thus abuse True Dracorulers' banishing abilities when the Hands are offered for destruction. You can't, however, trigger the Hands effect as they have to be destroyed by the opponent. But outside of serving as destruction sacrifices, they can still serve to perform some disruptive plays against your opponent as you wait to draw into your True Dracorulers.

• Jigabyte
• Together with Inari Fox, you might be able to form a mini-core for this deck, giving it resources to destroy and summon out the Dracorulers without going into minuses. However, it would seem that Jigabyte's self-summoning effect may be limited in use, in a Wyrm-themed deck. However, Jigabyte can call out his Spirit Charmer mates upon destruction, and thus save you from losing out on card advantage.

• Fencing Fire Ferret
• FIRE destruction fodder
• Offers minor burn damage and the destruction of an opponent's face-up monster.

• Big guns
• Anyone dare try the following big bosses which has trigger effects upon destruction?
•  Light and Darkness Dragon
• Interesting Tech, but your summoned True Dracoruler would be destroyed as well.

• Yubel-series
• Not worth trying imo. lol. But it will be an interesting fun deck idea.

• Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua
• Now this is also another interesting option. Unlike LADD, it doesn't do any special summon. But it clears your opponent's field as well.

• Kaiser Glider
• Not really a big gun per se, but it does offer a bounce effect. Pity it isn't FIRE or WATER ATTRIBUTE. Being LIGHT may mean that including it just for the bounce effect isn't worth the hassle.

• Others
• Doomsday Horror
• Has a nifty recycling effect for DARK monsters but don't see how a True Dracoruler deck user can abuse its effect. But just gonna leave it on this article for now.
• Warm Worm
• Deck Destruction isn't that useful or threatening in the current meta. But Warm Worm being FIRE means it stands out from the rest of the options. If Doomsday Horror is on the list, it should too.

•  Gusto Squirro
• With better Gusto support, this might be useful for the WIND True Dracoruler. And hey, Raging Tempest set is rumored to have Gusto support.

• Atlantean monsters
• For the WATER True Dracoruler, since Atlantean benefit from entering the grave as cost for the activation of a WATER monster effect.

•  Yang Zing
• Embrace your heritage and join the original Wyrm monster in battle.
  

Adding a little fun to the article, here are the predictions and guesses I propose for the WIND and EARTH counterparts we are awaiting:

1. WIND True Dracolord might have the ability to banish cards from the hand, seeing that the hand hasn't been a victim of the current Dracolords. EARTH's, I will speculate it to be deck-banishing. Either the top few cards of your opponent's deck, OR face-up cards in the Extra deck.
2. EARTH's stats, possibly following in Redox's footsteps, may end up being the most defensive one. I propose a 1200/3600 split.
3. WIND may be capable of recovering a non-WIND wyrm from the banished zone, while EARTH may have the effect of reviving a non-EARTH wyrm from the grave.

Just speculations and ideas...

Will they receive S/T support and emerge as a frightening archetype? I recalled how dreadful Yugioh became when the Dragon Rulers were at 3. The Top 8 decks were all Dragon Rulers. It even felt worst and more boring than the EMEm or Dracopals era. The plays were so standard and mundane. But I digress...

If, or rather... when, the new additions to the True Dracoruler family appears, I will be interested to go more in-depth to the deck's capabilities and plays. Expect to see another upcoming article regarding them. I believe this is gonna be the next big crisis in Yugioh that will change the meta on a large scale, be it good or bad.

Seeing how capable these big bosses are of abusing Performage Plushfire, guess we won't see much of Dennis' card soon, since Plushfire won't be escaping the Forbidden realm for a while. Also, with their common banishing trait, it seems likely that we will continue to see more of Imperial Iron Wall-ish side deck options.

So what do you think? Will they be as terrifying as the Dragon Rulers back then?