Many decks benefit from the new aspects of Master Rule 5. Players will have plenty of options for fun decks to pick up. And with the most recent banlist, competitive players will be looking for new decks to shape the meta. With these factors in mind, here are five more decks to look forward to this coming April.
Number 5: Tellarknights
The shining Xyz Warriors of the early ARC-V era took a backseat as time went on. To be fair, every deck did during the Pepe and Zoodiac formats. But when the Link format arrived, Tellars were dealt a crucial blow by the limitation to one Extra Monster Zone. Their signature play was the Triverr Loop: setting up a bunch of floodgates before summoning Stellarknight Triverr every turn. This way, they could constantly disrupt the opponent's field with Triverr's bounce effect while controlling their play with floodgates. When Konami limited Xyz summons to the Extra Monster and Linked Zones, this popular strategy was no longer viable. But with those restrictions revised, fans of the archetype can once again use their ace monster to the best of its ability.
Number 4: Resonator/Red Dragon Archfiend
In my last article, I wrote about how Synchros were shafted in the Link era, and how Junk/Synchron - Yusei Fudo's deck - would be coming back with a vengeance. As it turns out, the same could be said of Jack Atlas's deck. It uses the Resonator Fiend monsters to summon powerful variants of Red Dragon Archfiend. With the Link rules revised, players can Synchro summon more freely. They can even bring out multiple boss dragons to overwhelm the opponent, such as Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss. Furthermore, Jack enthusiasts have new support to look forward to in the Eternity Code booster. In particular, Crimson Resonator can summon both itself and two other Resonators to the field.
Number 3: Invoked
The popular Fusion techs that could fuse from both graveyards also suffered from the Extra Monster Zone restriction. The most popular of these was Invoked Mechaba, a powerful negate that was easy to summon. As the effect is a soft once-per-turn, multiple Mechabas were a popular board pre-Links. With the Main Monster Zones welcoming the Extra Deck once more, players can make these boards without relying on Link Monsters. Invoked has already seen use with the rogue Mekk-Knights; their new freedom can allow the deck to become even more versatile and explosive. On top of that, they will also receive a new member. Invoked Augoeides's monster effect provides handy disruption. Its Fusion condition is more viable thanks to the new ease of Fusion summoning.
Number 2: Shaddoll
Another popular Fusion archetype, these ominous dolls focus on sending their Main Deck monsters to the graveyard. They gain advantage from their mill effects while controlling the board with their floodgate Fusions, like El Shadoll Winda. El Shaddoll Construct was particularly popular. It could gain advantage, mill key Light monsters, and out opponent's boss monsters. While they did get an archetypal Link monster, they still couldn't flood the field with Fusions the way they used to. Not only will they benefit from the Master Rule revision, but they will also enjoy new support from their new Structure Deck. The new Main Deck monsters bring out allies from the deck and inflate their stats. And the new Fusion El Shaddoll Apkallone can negate opponents' cards and dump your own into the graveyard.
Number 1: Plunder Patroll
It's clear that Konami had Master Rule 5 in mind from the start when designing their newest archetype. Each of the two Main Deck monsters summons the archetype's Extra Deck monsters for free. And with a Link 2, as well as a Level 8 Synchro and Rank 4 Xyz, the archetype makes great use of the new Master Rule. The monsters disrupt the opponent's field and graveyard, while the spells and traps manage resources. This long-awaited pirate archetype has an interesting and fun new gimmick. While it may not be competitive right away, it still has plenty of room to grow into a bigger threat.
