TCG Meta Deck Representation & Breakdown

Deck Breakdown:

• 14 Spright (3 Runick, 1 Runick Live Twin, 3 Adventurer
• 12 Tearlaments (2 Pure, 6 Spright Danger!?, 3 P.U.N.K.)
• 3 Floowandereeze
• 2 Exosister
• 1 Mathmech

Deck Highlights

Exosister

Exosister - Raymond Dai (1st Place - YCS Niagara 2022)

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Raymond Dai took 1st place and won YCS Niagara with Exosister.

For this event, Raymond chose to play a pretty standard Exosister list. Exosister is an archetype that's strong against GY reliant decks such as Tearlaments and Spright. Their main strategy involves summoning powerful XYZs with anti-GY and/or disruption effects and then controlling the board from there. These XYZs are often supported by a variety of disruptive trap cards that help cement the board. Their smaller monsters can also turn themselves into XYZs whenever the opponent touches the GY, which can be very problematic for many decks to play around. 

To further remove the GY from play, Raymond also plays 3 copies of Dimension Shifter  and 1 copy of Necrovalley. We've already talked about Shifter a lot this past year as it's one of the strongest cards against any deck that needs to use the GY. This makes it an amazing card to see in your opening hand as it will make most opponents end their turn if not answered. Necrovalley is also an interesting choice as it's another measure to stop GY usage. It also doesn't conflict with the deck as Exosister doesn't generally use the GY. 

We can also see 3 copies of Dark Ruler No More and 2 copies of Mystic Mine in the Main Deck. These are cards that are generally good for going 2nd to help break boards or stall until you can break the board. Mine can also be used going 1st to pose some problems for the opponent after setting up. 

Raymond also chose to play Number S39: Utopia the Lightning in the Extra Deck. Lightning is a good way to out Towers-like monsters such as The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister and Psychic End Punisher. These monsters are difficult for Exosisters to deal with as they usually struggle dealing with 4000+ ATK monsters that are unaffected by card effects.

Tearlaments Danger!?

Tearlaments Danger!? - Jesse Kotton (2nd Place - YCS Niagara 2022)

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Jesse Kotton got 2nd place at YCS Niagara with the Danger!? variant of Tearlaments.

For this event, Jesse chose to play a build of Tearlaments that focuses on building a board supported by a variety of disruptions. This build is similar to Bohdan Temnyk's build which got 2nd place at the Oceanic Championships just one week ago. One of the highlights of the build is Eradicator Epidemic Virus. Virus is a powerful trap card that's great when going 1st. It can be setup through Knightmare Gryphon if you mill it naturally or forcibly milled by Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion if you do not. The strongest part of Virus is that it's flexible depending on the matchup. Although it's usually used to destroy board breaking cards such as Dark Ruler No More and Lightning Storm, it can also be used to destroy traps if you're playing against a backrow deck. Furthermore, it can also be used to destroy general engine cards or staple spells such as Primeval Planet Perlereino and Pot of Prosperity This makes it a very powerful card if resolved and will usually end the game.

Jesse also chose to play 3 copies of Nibiru, the Primal Being in the Main Deck. While Nibiru has been absent for most of the format, it is still a powerful card that shouldn't be forgotten about. With the rising popularity of Tearlaments, Nibiru gains a lot of value as they don't have many ways to interact with it. This makes it great for forcing them to end on an un-optimal board which you can blast through later.

We can also see 3 copies of Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries with Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood and Agave Dragon in the Side Deck. Cherries is a good card against Tearlaments and Spright as it can hit essential engine pieces such as Tearlaments Kitkallos and Spright Elf. This can make it difficult for the opponent to proceed with their play, especially if they're unfamiliar with playing without them. Agave and Dogwood are also seen as options to play when there's only a few minutes left on the clock. With Tearlaments turns often taking a while, these cards are considerable options to gain LP when going 1st and 2nd respectively. 

Spright

Spright - Chancy Wigglestove (Top 8 - YCS Niagara 2022)

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Chancy Wigglestove got Top 8 at YCS Niagara with Pure Spright.

For this event, Chancy chose to play perhaps the most consistent deck of the format; Pure Spright. Spright is one of the most popular decks this meta and is known for their ability to consistently setup powerful boards backed with a ton of hand traps. In addition to the standard Spright and hand trap lineup, Chancy also chose to play 3 copies of D.D. Crow. Crow is a strong card against Tearlaments as well as any deck playing a Frog package. We can also see 2 copies of Spright Smashers to provide another utility to deal with backrow or Mystic Mine. This gives Chancy a way to deal with multiple Mines as most lists that do run it play multiple.

We can also see Daigusto Phoenix in the Extra Deck. Phoenix is a Rank 2 XYZ that can attack twice during the Battle Phase. It has some synergy with Spright Pixies as it lets Phoenix attack twice for heavy damage which can result in potential OTKs. This gives the deck some additional firepower which does help it close out games quicker. 

Chancy also chose to play 3 copies of Dimension Shifter in the Side Deck. While Shifter doesn't have the best synergy with Spright, it doesn't hurt it as badly as some of the other decks in the meta. With Tearlaments as arguably the most popular deck in the meta, Shifter is a great choice for helping you steal a turn. Afterwards, Spright can still secure a board with multiple disruptions under Shifter, or maybe go for game if you have the resources. Chancy's build in particular is great at this since it also sides Spright Gamma Burst. This lets his deck push for game better than other Spright decks as it can quickly rack up damage through Phoenix and Gamma Burst.  

Conclusion

YCS Niagara's Top Cut was filled with Tearlaments and Spright with Exosister taking a surprising victory. With most decks not having an answer to Dimension Shifter and Necrovalley, Raymond's Exosister deck was a great meta call for this event. 

Almost every Tearlaments deck in Top Cut played a Danger!? package in some way. Dangers have become the standard partner to Tearlaments as a way to facilitate most of their combos and link climb. Six out of the Twelve Tearlaments decks also played a small Spright package with 1 copy of Spright Jet and Spright Smashers. This helps the deck deal with problematic floodgates as well as Mystic Mine. Some Tearlaments decks are also playing a small Branded package using Branded in High Spirits and D.3.S. Frog. This package was popularized by Bohdan Temnyk and helps setup the GY for a later fusion summon.

Runick has also been gaining popularity as one of the new engines Spright can facilitate. Runick cards are great for their added utility in helping both extend and break apart boards. They also banish your opponent's resources which is good in the mirror match and against Tearlaments.

References

Week of September 9th - September 16th, 2022

Tournaments:

September 10th - 11th, 2022

• YCS Niagara 2022