TCG Meta Deck Representation & Breakdown

Deck Breakdown:
(Data is taken from the Top 8s of events we were able to gather, not all Tournaments in References are displayed)

• 9 Phantom Knights (8 Destiny HERO Phantom Knights Adventurer)
• 6 Tenyi Swordsoul Halqifibrax
• 5 Prank-Kids Adventurer (2 Destiny HERO Prank-Kids Adventurer)
• 5 Eldlich (3 Destiny HERO Eldlich, 2 Pure Eldlich)
• 5 Tri-Brigade (2 Destiny HERO Tri-Brigade, 2 Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade, 1 Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade Adventurer)
• 3 Virtual World Adventurer
• 2 Floowandereeze
• 2 Destiny HERO Invoked Dogmatika
• 2 Mekk-Knight Invoked
• 2 Tenyi Adventurer Good Stuff(Toolbox)

New Products

January 28th, 2022 - The Grand Creators

February 11th, 2022 - Battle of Chaos

Deck Highlights

Phantom Knight Adventure

Gabriel Molina finished 1st place at the PPG Florida Regionals playing Phantom Knight Adventure. This deck may be the most anticipated way to utilize the new Adventure cards and definitely performed at this event. 

Phantom Knights has always been an archetype that suffered from big chokepoints in the early-mid stages of their combos. Since the early boards are so fragile, it's not uncommon for a well-timed hand-trap to leave the deck moderately impaired. However, due to the introduction of the Adventure engine, this issue is lessened thanks to Wandering Gryphon Rider. With Gryphon providing an extra omni-negate, an opponent would need an additional disruption to try to stop the deck. Additionally, it also helps that Water Enchantress of the Temple is a Level 3. Since the deck focuses on summoning Cherubini, Ebon Angel of the Burning Abyss and Rank 3 XYZs, Enchantress fits in quite well.

Gabriel also chose to play the Destiny HERO Enforcer package alongside Artifact Dagda and Artifact Scythe. The Destiny HERO package has almost completely replaced the former Dragoon package due to its better flexibility and synergy with the deck. Enforcer also works well with Scythe as it can be destroyed during the opponent's turn to lock them out of the Extra Deck. Furthermore, Enforcer also enables the deck to resolve Scythe twice by destroying both Dagda and Scythe. This can be useful if the 1st Scythe is negated by Forbidden Droplet or Forbidden Chalice.

Tenyi Swordsoul (Halqifibrax)

Charley Futch placed Top 4 at the PPG Florida Regionals playing Tenyi Swordsoul ft. Crystron Halqifibrax. This variant of Swordsoul recently grew in popularity due to new Ban List and subsequent releases of The Grand Creators & Battle of Chaos.

Due to the popularity of the Adventure engine, Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit makes a return after a long-time away from the meta. Ghost Ogre provides a way to counter Fateful Adventure and prevent the summon of Wandering Gryphon Rider. It's also strong against meta decks such as Floowandereeze (where it could disrupt their Field Spell) or other decks where it can get rid of a pivotal monster. Additionally, Ghost Ogre is also a Tuner, making it easier to summon Crystron Halqifibrax. This increases the utility of Emergency Teleport as it can be both a disruption and an extender.

The Crystron Halqifibrax package is also present as a way to end on a stronger board and play through disruption. By using the synergy between Deskbot 001 and Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon, Swordsoul can add an additional Synchro to their ending board. Furthermore, this package also makes it easier to play through Nibiru, the Primal Being. Since the Nibiru Token is a non-effect monster, it's usually pretty easy to summon a Tuner afterwards. Then you can Link into Halqifibrax and eventually Synchro into Baronne de Fleur to get rid of the Nibiru and still end on a negate.

Eldlich

Matthew Mills placed Top 8 at the Battlefield Cardiff WCQ Regional playing Eldlich. Eldlich is a deck that has always been a popular control option but has recently become even more popular with the return of Skill Drain to 3.

For this event, Matthew chose to play an Eldlich Deck featuring only 4 monsters and 30 Trap cards. One of the monsters is Lord of the Heavenly Prison; one of the most anticipated cards from BODE. Prison is a powerful card that helps protect your backrow from threats like Lightning Storm and Harpie's Feather Duster. It also has strong stats and an effect to fetch a Spell or Trap from the deck if you summon it through its own effect. This synergizes with the Eldlich strategy as it helps pressure the field while gathering resources by setting cards such as Pot of Extravagance. Furthermore, Prison is also a Level 10, making it easy to XYZ into the Rank 10 Train package (giving some more firepower to a solid control deck). 

Matthew also took full advantage of Skill Drain's return to unlimited status. Having almost no conflicts with Skill Drain, Eldlich is one of the best users of this powerful floodgate. With a meta plagued by an abundance of monster effects, it's more than obvious why Skill Drain is so powerful. Alongside it, he also chose to play Gozen Match and There Can Be Only One. Both of these are strong against all of the top meta decks as it prevents them advancing their play. This makes Eldlich a troublesome opponent if you don't have an immediate answer to their oppressive floodgates. 

Floowandereeze

Cesar Coscia placed Top 4 at the Industrial Illusions WCQ Regional playing Floowandereeze.

For this event, Cesar chose to play a Floowandereeze deck featuring their new support card from BACH. Floowandereeze and the Advent of Adventure is a Quick-Play spell that gives the archetype a way to play through disruption while also increasing their consistency. This card makes it easier for the archetype to play through effect negation such as Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence. This makes it harder to stop Floowandereeze from generating advantage without Droll & Lock Bird.

Cesar also chose to play a mix of disruptions and going 2nd cards in his Main Deck. Amongst these options, Dimension Shifter stands out as one of the stronger hand traps this meta. With the abundance of Tenyi Swordsoul and Phantom Knight variants in the meta, Shifter offers a good way to delay their play. Harpie's Feather Duster and Evenly Matched are also present as ways to deal with backrow decks. Evenly Matched is especially good against Eldlich; where it can banish their resources so they cannot recur.

Additionally, Floowandereeze is also one of the only meta decks that can still play Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds and Mist Valley Apex Avian. Stormwinds is a powerful floodgate that can be searched using Floowandereeze & Robina and is great against non-Wind decks. Avian on the other hand is a solid body that also provides an omni-negate. This makes it good for cementing your board and supporting your other cards.

Conclusion

The arrival of the Adventure cards has propelled many decks that don't heavily rely on their normal summon into the meta. Phantom Knights is the most prominent deck to take advantage of this but Prank-Kids and Virtual World can also utilize the engine quite well.

Tri-Brigade variants have also dropped in representation after losing Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty. This results in the deck losing out on both Mist Valley Apex Avian and Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds.

Swordsoul variants have also adjusted their decks to combat the rising number of Adventure decks. Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit has made its way back into the meta as a counter to Fateful Adventure. Ghost Ogre also has application against most meta decks where it can usually trade for a card.

Backrow removal is also more present in both Main and Side Decks as a counter to Trap-based decks. Cosmic Cyclone is the most popular option as it can remove problematic spells and traps through Lord of the Heavenly Prison. It can also be used to banish Fateful Adventure or meta traps such as Swordsoul Blackout and Phantom Knights' Fog Blade.

References

Weeks of January 30th - February 13th, 2022

Tournaments:

January 30th, 2022

• PPG Florida Regional Qualifiers 

February 5th, 2022

• Greensborough WCQ Regionals
• Core TCG Remote Duel Regionals
• Epik Cards & Games Remote Duel Regionals

February 6th, 2022

• Alien Games Remote Duel Regionals
• The Side Deck Remote Duel Regionals

February 12th, 2022

• The Battlefield Cardiff WCQ Regionals

February 13th, 2022

• Industrial Illusions WCQ Regionals
• Incom Gaming WCQ Regionals