Introduction
It’s hard to find diversity in Yu-Gi-Oh playstyles. For the past few years, every format has featured one of two different deck types: an incredibly synergistic control deck that can whip up advantage out of nothing and a super-powerful feast-or-famine board building strategy that aims to win the game on its first turn. There isn’t a suitable deck for GOAT-era veterans who prefer a “death by 1000 cuts” style of gameplay. There's nothing for players who appreciate games playing out differently every match. Worst of all, there aren't options for anime fans who want to practice their mid-turn banter.
But don’t worry. I’m here to advocate a deck that has something for all the playstyles left behind by power creep: Krawlers.
As a disclaimer, Krawler isn't particularly good. It has no competitive results aside from a 12th place finish in the OCE Dragon Duel tournament. Lists aren’t particularly flexible, but despite their congruent builds games play out differently every duel. Games last a LONG time, rewarding a patient style of control play and quick thinking when it comes to concessions. Finally, they’re dirt cheap, so budget players can rejoice by turning their paycheck into 400 copies of Krawler Axon instead of an Infinite Impermanence and a half.
Today, we’ll explore the options deckbuilders have when playing with these Kreepy Krawlies. Hopefully, we can provide the Weevils of the world with a guide to beating decks that are, admittedly, much better than theirs.
The Krawlers
What would a tribal deck be without its associated monsters?
The Krawlers are pitiful monsters that excel against players who refuse to read until the end of the card. Each of them has a flip effect which is reminiscent of another famous flip monster. Each one also has an extremely-strong secondary effect. If they are destroyed by a card effect while face-up, you can summon two more Krawlers in face-down defense position from your deck. The idea is to force your opponent into a lose-lose situation: either they’re attacking your monsters and triggering your flip effects, or they’re destroying them with card effects and allowing them to multiply.
That said, not all Krawlers are created equal.
The Good
3 Krawler Spine
3 Krawler Receptor
These are the Kream of the Krop. Krawler Spine’s flip effect is comparable to Man-Eater Bug’s, and boasts an impressive 2100 defense, meaning it’s very likely it survives to trigger its second effect. Krawler Receptor is an in-archetype searcher, and I hear those are pretty powerful.
The Bad
2-3 Krawler Axon
2-3 Krawler Glial
They're still playable, but these Krawler are definitely underwhelming. These two do as much as they need to and nothing more. Krawler Axon’s ability to destroy spells and traps is formidable, and it’s got a defensive stat that resists Trickstar Candina and Gouki Suprex. Unfortunately, since most spells and traps you’ll be destroying will have already netted advantage (Trickstar Lightstage, Personal Spoofing, etc.), it’s not as high-impact as Krawler Spine. Krawler Glial helps loop resources from the GY, but since it’s only good in situations where you’re already at parity, it’s often a bit of a bust.
The Krawley
0-2 Krawler Dendrite
0-2 Krawler Ranvier
Like a BA player in 2015 sighing as she sides a Draghig into a sleeve, we’re playing these two mostly because we need the names. Krawler Dendrite is defensible and often played at two. It sets up Krawler Glial plays and has a reasonable attack stat. Krawler Ranvier is occasionally a +1, but in practice usually shows up too early, fails to add two, and is generally too slow to consider at more than one.
The Support
Now that you’re sufficiently underwhelmed, it’s time to reveal the true reason to consider these insectile aberrations: their support. Konami has gifted Krawler players with the most absolutely bonkers set of tools imaginable. Here’s what we’ve been afforded.
On-Theme All-Stars
3 World Legacy Survivors
2-3 World Legacy Pawns
0-3 World Legacy's Mind Meld
World Legacy Survivors is a current top contender for best in-archetype support ever printed. It all but searches a Krawler from deck, but can also incidentally hit World Legacy cards. Sometimes it’s 2 or 3 Foolish Burials stapled to a searcher and sometimes it's Reinforcement of the Army with extra steps. Either way, it’s always good.
World Legacy Pawns is an interesting card. When you’re setting your monsters as a result of your other monsters’ effects or with the Krawlers' field spell, their effects are public information. It turns out spicy and varied flip effects become a lot less powerful when you’re telegraphing them. World Legacy Pawns allows you to flip up your Krawler monsters on your own terms, and back down to recycle Krawlers in your GY. What’s more, flipping in response to a removal spell targeting your face-down Krawler is one of the biggest blowouts the deck can produce.
World Legacy's Mind Meld is a little more contentious. I love it, but it’s comparable to a conditional Solemn Strike, which doesn’t exactly scream “broken.” Having said that, when it’s good, it’s GOOD. Effect negation is at an all-time premium, and artificially triggering your Krawlers feels amazing. It’s also searchable off of World Legacy Survivors, if that sweetens the pot for you.
The Field Spell
2-3 World Legacy In Shadow
0-3 Metaverse
Now we’re getting into the weeds of Krawler support. World Legacy in Shadow is a field spell that turns all your Krawlers into removal spells and allows you to double up on your summons. As good as that sounds, it’s got a quality none of the other Krawler cards do: it’s vulnerable to destruction. Add to that the fact that the most explosive thing it enables is link summoning X-Krawler Qualiark and praying, and you’ve suddenly got a meaningful decision on your hands.
In my opinion, it’s not worth dedicating more than 3 slots to this card. Playing Terraforming is an easy way to end up with 3 field spells in your hand and not a lot else. I prefer a 2/1 split with Metaverse in the slot usually dedicated to Terraforming. This way, you can wield it as a makeshift removal spell in a pinch while still playing enough copies that you frequently see it with World Legacy Survivors.
The Payoff
While the above options are reasonable reasons to Konsider Krawler, the following cards constitute a core of extremely powerful cards that the archetype incidentally gets to use. Take advantage of every tool you’re given - you’ll need them.
Link Summoning Tools
3 Worm Bait
3 Scapegoat
THAT’S RIGHT, WE GET TO PLAY WORM BAIT! Once the signature card of idiots with too much money and a fetish for bad spells, Worm Bait is now as accessible as it is playable. Often times, Worm Bait will enable a X-Krawler Qualiark turn one with several Krawler in the GY and X-Krawler Synaphysis at a link point, or Knightmare plays turn two. Scapegoat deserves very little discussion: it's obviously strong, and clearly good in a deck whose main gameplan is to "set one, pass."
The Format Tax
3 Gozen Match
6-12 Handtraps
We’re playing a mediocre deck at best, and these are the cards that allow us to compete against better ones. While we have the ability to play with Rivalry of Warlords, too, the density of cards in our deck that win us the game is so low that it’s hard to justify playing 6 cards that frequently do nothing.
Example Lists
This is what I’m playing in paper. I’ve taken it to a fair amount of locals with a surprising amount of success, but keep in mind that any success is surprising for Krawler. When going first, I aim to sit on a Krawler with either a Gozen Match or a World Legacy's Mind Meld. Once my opponent has committed resources to the board, I'll pop off with Worm Bait or Subterror Behemoth Fiendess. When going second I try to leverage handtraps against my opponent’s linear strategy, then chew through the remaining board with World Legacy in Shadow or Knightmares.
| Krawler | |
|---|---|
| Monsters | Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring x2 Droll & Lock Bird x2 Krawler Spine x3 Krawler Receptor x3 Krawler Glial x2 Krawler Axon x2 Krawler Dendrite x1 Krawler Ranvier x1 |
| Spells | World Legacy Survivors x3 World Legacy in Shadow x2 Worm Bait x3 Scapegoat x3 |
| Traps | Infinite Impermanence x3 World Legacy's Mind Meld x3 World Legacy Pawns x3 Gozen Match x3 Metaverse x1 |
| Extra | Topologic Bomber Dragon x1 Borreload Dragon x1 Topologic Trisbaena x1 Knightmare Unicorn x1 Subterror Behemoth Fiendess x1 X-Krawler Qualiark x1 SPYRAL Double Helix x1 Knightmare Phoenix x1 X-Krawler Synaphysis x1 Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights x1 Knightmare Cerberus x1 Missus Radiant x1 Sky Striker Ace - Kagari x1 Link Spider x1 Linkuriboh x1 |
This second deck is what I’d play on a budget. This deck sports a price tag around $75 - though most of that is tied up in Topologic Bomber Dragon, Topologic Trisbaena, and Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit. Unfortunately, as payoff for their 6 link summoning tools, the deck does need a powerful Link 4 option. Topologics fit the bill nicely, but may leave a dent in your wallet.
| Budget Krawler | |
|---|---|
| Monsters | Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring x2 Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit x3 Effect Veiler x3 Krawler Spine x3 Krawler Receptor x3 Krawler Glial x2 Krawler Axon x2 Krawler Dendrite x2 Krawler Ranvier x1 |
| Spells | World Legacy Survivors x3 World Legacy in Shadow x2 Worm Bait x3 Scapegoat x3 |
| Traps | World Legacy's Mind Meld x3 World Legacy Pawns x3 Gozen Match x3 Metaverse x1 |
| Extra | Topologic Bomber Dragon x1 Topologic Trisbaena x1 Decode Talker x1 X-Krawler Qualiark x1 Subterror Behemoth Fiendess x1 Knightmare Phoenix x1 X-Krawler Synaphysis x1 X-Krawler Neurogos x1 Knightmare Cerberus x1 Missus Radiant x1 Inzektor Picofalena x1 Proxy Dragon x1 Knightmare Mermaid x1 Link Spider x1 Linkuriboh x1 |
Kards to Konsider
There are a few cards that are tantalizingly close to playable in Krawler. If you're feeling extra spicy, try out one of these techs.
1 Glow-Up Bulb
1 Naturia Beast
Naturia Beast is game-over versus a significant amount of decks in the format, and Krawler can technically make it. Setup tools like Krawler Dendrite make this line particularly alluring, until you realize you need to flip a Krawler Dendrite, summon two Krawlers in one turn (usually by way of World Legacy in Shadow), and then pray they survive. In my opinion, the 5% of the time Naturia Beast will make it onto the field isn't worth the risk.
3 Heat Wave
Theoretically, you're going to spend a couple of turns setting one monster, so Heat Wave sounds like an easy fit. Unfortunately, this deck establishes no pressure at all, so without value from your flip effects or Knightmares, you have no way to pull ahead. If someone finds a hot Krawler OTK, this will immediately become a staple. If not, you'll most likely want to relegate it to the sideboard.
Rank 2 XYZ monsters
Don't fall into the trap of including XYZ just because you can. None of the R2NK options available are more powerful than the Krawler-specific links going first or the Knightmares going second. Inclusions like the The Phantom Knights of Cursed Javelinor Sky Cavalry Centaurea won't accomplish more than a raised eyebrow for an opponent and a silent "thank you" for turning on their removal spells.
Beating Krawler
You’ll always want to be on the lookout for Light of Intervention.
Seriously, though, one of the benefits of playing a rogue strategy is that it’s hard to sideboard against. Krawler operates on such a different axis than top decks that it’s unlikely your opponent will have meaningful sideboarding tools.
The deck's major weakness is its inability to deal with established boards. Practiced players will eschew boarding in mediocre answers to your threats for more linear playmakers. The harder their turn one play is to beat, the worse off you are.
Outside of that, Twin Twisters should likely be your biggest fear. Popping a World Legacy Pawns and a set World Legacy's Mind Meld is devastating, and removing World Legacy in Shadow makes it easy for them to attack into monsters you’ve left face-up.
Conclusions
Novel, interesting, and with extremely varied lines of play, Krawler is a fantastic choice for anyone sick of Yu-Gi-Oh. It also doubles as a fantastic entry point for new players. All your investment is located in the extra deck or handtraps, so Krawler is a great base for future deckbuilding. Even if you’re spooked at the thought of going 0-4 in tournament (which very well may happen), try it out! You might be surprised at just how Katastrophic Krawlers can be for your opponent.
