Here's to hoping the official TCG translation does not remove these puns. Hey, have you guys heard of Flundereeze? Flundereeze what?

Introduction

Burst of Destiny has debuted in the OCG and the new themes are worming their way into the Metagame! The most anticipated archetype of the set, Flundereeze, has proven themselves soaring towards the peak of representation. As usual, it will be my pleasure to take the readers under my wings, and introduce the flashy Flundereeze.

The Burst of Birdies

This flock of birds are based on the various exotic birds located around the world. Flundereeze heavily focuses on Normal Summoning continuously while slowly generating advantage. In return, the very idea of Special Summoning is strongly discouraged. Eventually, with a successful chains of Normal Summons, the player will be able to tribute away several Flundereezes to summon a larger Winged-Beast. The archetype currently consists of LV1 Flundereeze to serve as consistency and fodder, and LV10 Flundereeze "boss" monsters to conclude on.

The Flundereeze Fledglings

The Flundereeze fledglings will share almost identical effects, with the third mentioned effect as the only variable (highlighted in italics):

• If this face-up card leaves the field, banish it.
• You can only use each of the following effects of "Flundereeze Monster" once per turn, also you cannot Special Summon the turn you activate either of those effects.
• If this card is Normal Summoned: You can perform x action, then, immediately after this effect resolves, you can Normal Summon 1 Winged Beast monster.
• If a Winged Beast monster is Normal Summoned to your field while this card is banished: You can add this card to your hand.

The ideal start is to open with one of these minors, and Normal Summon. You will trigger the third effect and resolve it, then instantly normal summoning one more Winged Beast, ideally another Flundereeze. If you do summon another, you can continue Normal Summoning, until you have enough Monsters on board to Tribute Summon. You can then release Flundereezes to Tribute Summon a gigantic Winged Beast, while the smaller Flundereezes will banish themselves when tributed. Immediately right after, the banished and tributed Flundereeze will trigger the fourth effect, and return themselves back to hand. To sum it up, you have effectively summoned a strong Winged Beast, while your tribute fodder remains in hand, ready for a strong follow-up!

Flundereeze Robina is your forefront fowl, which will retrieve any of the other Flundereezes. Flundereeze X Eaglen will be the secondary scant, which will search out any Winged Beast over level 7. Before we get into the comprehensive list of winged beasts, I will introduce the first two larger members.

The Flundereeze Fatalities

Flundereeze x Empen is the Antarctic representation of negation. As one of the bigger birds, Empen will also share the additional summon effect, and to tutor a Spell/Trap. Empen also wields a continuous effect to deny any monster effects from your opponent's field, and will also confidently hold itself against any other monster in battle, as it can halve the opposing attacking monster's stats as well! The typical Flundereeze board will end on a singular Empen, as it alone can prove problematic enough to any other decks.

Flundereeze x Snowl will be the weaker Artic representation. Snowl can grant the player three more unrestricted Normal Summons every turn! Snowl can also flip opposing monsters down whenever, and granting your field piercing damage as well, serving as favorable aggressive disruption. However, the current Flundereeze playstyle does not necessarily need the inclusion of Snowl, as it is not strong enough. Interestingly enough, Flundereeze x Snowl does not introduce the restriction of Special Summoning, so it may find its place in a more unique scenario.

Eaglen Eyed Electives

Eaglen's tutor effect is not limited to the mentioned two individuals. Raiza the Mega Monarch is the strongest Winged Beasts in the game if allowed to resolve, and it is perfect in this deck. Raiza can fulfill all of its conditions, and serves as this deck's spot removal. It can also return cards from the GY to the deck. So with some clever maneuvering, you can potentially lock your opponent out of drawing, or continuously retrieve a specific card from your side!

Mist Valley Apex Avian is the next best Winged Beast ever printed, only set back by its abominable level. Apex Avian can negate anything your opponent does. And with Mysterious Map, it can do it twice a turn! As a strong generic negation, this monster will ensure your advantage will keep snowballing to victory.

Dark Simorgh is this deck's answer to backrow decks. Or unlikely Flip Decks. This black bird has a wonderful synergy with Anti-Spell Fragrance, effectively locking your opponent out of Spells. Dark Simorgh can also be special summoned by banishing a Flundereeze and Linkuriboh.

And as always, I make sure to introduce at least one unrealistic opinion to this list. Now you readers can consider double the choice, with Earthbound Immortal Aslla Piscu and Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca! Aslla Piscu is the star of many FTK combos, but you may use it as a simple board wipe. And Wiraqocha Rasca can remove three cards from your opponent's hand! At the mere cost of three cards from your side. These effects are unrealistic due to needing a Field Spell, and the backlash from activating these ancient deities is hard to recoup instantly. But resolving these effects should, and always feel extremely satisfying.

Lastly, I forgot to mention Flundereeze x Robina actually adds any LV4 and below Winged Beasts, but the list for such requirements has been lackluster. There is one monster worth adding, and that is Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds. Serving as the cheapest lock, Barrier Statue currently has no protection against any other threats. Nevertheless, it will always serve as an option for Robina.

Feathering the Nest with the Best

The Flundereeze also has multiple Spell/Traps to suppliment its Normal Summon strategy.

Mysterious Map grants an additional summon while banishing another Flundereeze, allowing you to extend your plays and tutor any mini Flundereeze from your deck! The field also grants an additional summon during the opponent's turn, which will escalate to any of the bigger birds for more disruption. This spell is essential to every aspect of the deck. It extends, improves consistency and possibly disrupts all together! Unknown Wind is another spot removal while fueling tributes, but the great part would be swapping Flundereezes for other cards. As Unknown Wind does not shuffle the deck, this pairs perfectly with Mega Raiza's deck manipulation.

City of Dreams is an extender for the deck, but its true value comes from its GY effect. Aside from summoning a disruptive Winged Beast on your opponent's turn, you get to flip their monsters down! And while it is banished, Toccan can retrieve it to hand to reuse. Scary Sea is this deck's single Counter Trap. This searchable negate will nullify a potential Pankratops or similar in exchange for three normal summons. It may seem like an unbalanced trade, but the additional summons will not amount to anything, as special summoning is denied for the whole turn! Coupled with Mysterious Map to produce another disruption, your opponent's goose will most definitely be cooked.

The Flundereeze has zero reliance on the Extra Deck, which opens it to many strong generic consistency spells. Ideally you would include Pot of Duality, Prosperity, and Extravagance. Your choice of cards are only limited by your deck choices, especially if Unknown Wind's mulligan is central to your strategy.
It is important to play strong traps as well, as Flundereeze lacks the ability to negate and remove cards.

Like a Duck to Decklist

Currently there is only one effective playstyle for a prosperous game: summon your way to a Big Bird, and stun your opponent to oblivion. This style is referred to as "floodgate." The deck should be as consistent as possible to supplement this game plan. I have gathered a few lists for reference.

Pure Flundereeze

You should notice that as previously mentioned, the Extra Deck is completely irrelevant. Feel free to wing it.

The most common ratio that has been succeeding is in this list, as Unknown Winds can easily shuffle back excess Flundereeze. One bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, as they say. The rest of the deck contains heavy disruption like Dimension Shifter and Macro Cosmos. Half of the non-archetypical cards are easily interchangeable for any current Metagame.

Because of the strict restrictions this deck has on Special Summoning, it is difficult to merge this with other existing archetypes for better results. It can be said that the most optimal way should be Pure.

Dogmatika Flundereeze

Well I might have implied the deck may be xenophobic, but I never said it was impossible! There is barely any synergy in this variant, save for Empen's effect to Normal Summon any monster, which includes Ecclesia. However, both Nadir Servant and Dogmatika Punishment are key cards in cheating advantage, which can help for going second. Trading resources tit for tat will eventually wear your opponent down to an easier victory. Personally I would use this build in a Flundereeze Metagame, but this is only one option out of many.

Beating the Early Bird to the Worm

As the migratory menace begins threatens the Metagame, it is always important to learn the counters.

The key point of Flundereeze is normal summoning during the opposing turn. You should always play around Mysterious Map and set backrows. It is always important to prioritize clearing the backrow first. Empen may be a giant floodgate by itself, but its text specifically states our opponent cannot activate the effects of Special Summoned monsters in Attack Position they control. You can simply special summon in Defense Position the entire way, until you can summon a strong counter card like AA-Zeus or Coral Dragon. Without opposing Normal Summons, Flundereeze cannot capitalize.

Droll & Lock Bird completely shuts out this deck, as you must resolve the effect of the mini Flundereezes in order to continue the chain of summoning. You can use Ash Blossom or Infinite Impermanence in the same manner to stop their first summon. This deck is also likely to normal summon over 5 times, so feel free to toss in Nibiru!

Artifact Lancea is also a good counter, as it prevents the mini Flundereezes from looping, preventing a good follow-up next turn. It also blocks off many consistency cards like Gold Sarcaphogus and Pot of Prosperity.

There are many cards to shut the Flundereeze journey, but one should be aware of the multiple chain links they can create. Ideally, you should just stop the first summon from resolving, or Eaglen from adding anything strong.

My Thoughts and Cuckoo

If you have read my past few articles, it is basically me whining about the OCG Metagame. No more! I am very happy there is a fresh new Metagame as of Burst of Destiny. In fact, last week I had four Flundereeze mirror matches - we probably forgot whose turn it was. This deck is simple, yet requires skill. Mirror matches are complex, and planning chain links are relevant. It was only through constant testing that I found various counters to the deck myself.

Please expect this deck to make an appearance when it debuts in the TCG, as it has been performing extremely well in the OCG. I hope this article has given you a bird's eye view of the deck. Let me know what you think in the comments!