TCG Meta Deck Representation & Breakdown
Deck Breakdown (Top 32 - January 2022 NA Remote Duel YCS):
- 12 Swordsoul Variants (11 Tenyi, 1 Virtual World)
- 9 Tri-Brigade Variants (7 Lyrilusc, 2 Zoodiac)
- 4 Destiny HERO Sky Striker
- 3 Invoked Variants (2 Destiny HERO, 1 Shaddoll)
- 2 Destiny HERO Beetrooper
- 1 Cyberse Eldlich
- 1 Destiny HERO Drytron
Deck Highlights
Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade
Kamal Crooks won the NA Remote Duel YCS playing Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade.
For this event, Kamal chose to run a fairly standard Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade list with a few differences from the most common builds. For starters, Kamal chose to play a heavier Birds lineup with Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow at 3 instead of 2. This makes it easier for him to get onto the board and start generating advantage. He also chose to Main Deck 1 copy of D.D. Crow which is a powerful hand trap this meta. This provides counter-play against powerful cards like Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer and strong 1-Ofs like Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage!. The deck also features 3 Triple Tactics Talent as a way to fight against hand traps. Kamal mentions in his deck profile that he often uses it to draw 2 to continue play after getting interrupted by a hand trap. Alternatively, it can also help you cement and break boards using its other effects.
Kamal also chose to play 1 copy of Tri-Brigade Rugal the Silver Sheller in his Extra Deck. While Hraesvelgr, the Desperate Doom Eagle is more standard, Rugal is a more flexible option against Archnemeses Protos. Since Protos usually calls WIND, having access to Rugal lets you play with more parts of your deck. This makes it easier to climb into Accesscode Talker and Tri-Brigade Shuraig the Ominous Omen while being locked out of WIND monsters.
Tenyi Swordsoul
Walter Jule came 2nd place at the NA Remote Duel YCS playing Tenyi Swordsoul.
For this event, Walter chose to play a Tenyi Swordsoul list that is quite different from what we're used to. While most builds currently play Heavenly Dragon Circle and Tenyi Spirit - Shthana, Walter chose to play neither. Instead, his build looks rather similar to the first builds of the deck featuring 3 copies of Tenyi Spirit - Adhara and Vessel for the Dragon Cycle. In his deck profile, Walter said he felt that Circle and Shthana weren't good cards and Vessel was a better card all-around. This lineup is also strong in grindier games where you can repeatedly use Adhara to recycle your Tenyi monsters.
We also see two interesting tech choices in the Extra Deck; Gallant Granite and Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder. These are cards normally absent in most iterations of the deck. However, due to the strength of Token Collector this format, Granite provides a way to get it off the field. Additionally, Gallant can also detach Token Collector for its effect; getting Token Collector into the GY while searching Nibiru, the Primal Being in the process. This provides an extra layer of disruption to deter your opponent from building a board. Furthermore, Granite also has respectable stats with 2300 ATK points, letting it contest Swordsoul of Mo Ye and Swordsoul of Taia. Afterwards, Zeus can be summoned; turning Granite into a proactive threat after searching Nibiru and getting Token Collector into the GY.
Destiny HERO Beetrooper
Andrew Hadfield placed 4th at the NA Remote Duel YCS playing Destiny HERO Beetrooper.
Destiny HERO Beetrooper or Insect Toolbox with DPE is a deck that was popularized by Herman Hansson in the previous EU Remote Duel YCS. It's a deck that can attack from all sorts of angles and is known for its high OTK potential and resourcefulness. Most of this, is due to Resonance Insect; perhaps the most integral card of the deck. Since Resonance's effect isn't once per turn, it's not uncommon to resolve both of its effects multiple times in a single turn. This lets the deck not only recycle resources but also continuously add extenders like Doom Dozer.
The deck also has unique hand traps in the form of Beetrooper Sting Lancer and Retaliating "C". Sting Lancer provides GY disruption which is great in a meta flooded by DPE. It can also act as an extender that searches for any Beetrooper S/T if it's normal or special summoned. Retaliating "C" is also a starter that doubles as a hand trap. While it may seem like its effect is rather niche, it hits many of the popular spell cards in the format such as Fusion Destiny, Lyrilusc - Bird Call, Meteonis Drytron, and Invocation. This makes both of these cards surprisingly effective against a majority of the meta.
Lastly, perhaps the most prominent feature of the deck is its OTK potential. Due to the deck's crazy amount of follow up and ability to create threats from nothing, it's not uncommon to OTK the opponent on turn 2 or 3. This is due to the deck's ability to not only clear the board but put up 8000 damage in the same turn. For example, one combination uses Battlewasp - Pin the Bullseye's burn effect (200) to OTK with Accesscode Talker and DPE (7800).
Destiny HERO Sky Striker
Brian Chen placed Top 32 at the NA Remote Duel YCS playing Destiny HERO Sky Striker.
For this event, Brian chose to play the new variant of Sky Striker featuring Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer. DPE works well with Strikers as it's easy to summon and adds another layer of disruption to a deck that's already good at halting the opponent's development. It can also remove itself from the field at will to turn on your Striker spells. Brian also chose to play 2 Pot of Prosperity to increase the deck's consistency. He also mentions it's an easy card to side out and helps dig for your oppressive trap cards. We can also see 3 copies of There Can Be Only One as part of the 6 traps Brian opted to play. TCBOO is a powerful floodgate that is strong at suppressing many decks this meta. It's especially powerful against mono-type decks such as Swordsoul, Floowandereeze, and Beetrooper where it can be extremely oppressive.
In the Side Deck, Brian chose to play the Artifact package featuring 2 copies of Artifact Sanctum, and 1 copy of Artifact Lancea and Artifact Scythe. Lancea is a disruptive card in many matchups including Floowandereeze, Invoked and Tri-Brigade. Scythe is a powerful card in general against any decks where its effect is relevant. It also has good synergy with DPE as you can use DPE's effect to help it dodge negation like Forbidden Chalice. Brian also plays 2 copies of Dimensional Barrier as a way to draw out the game. Barrier is a useful trap against Swordsoul that can both prevent their Synchro summons and negate their effects. Since Striker is a deck that needs to get through the early game, both the Artifact package and Dimensional Barrier provides great tools for doing just that.
Conclusion
Swordsoul and Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade continue to be the most dominant decks this format taking up more than half of the spots in both Top 32 and Top 16.
Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer is also very popular, being found in almost every deck that isn't Swordsoul or Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade.
Beetrooper continues to grow in popularity now having strong showings at 2 major events. If this continues, players may need to find counter-play measures to combat this threat.
References
Week of January 10th - January 17th, 2022
Tournaments:
January 15-16th, 2022
