Meta Snapshot

The year is 2019. Trickstars have now been meta viable for nearly eighteen months and – remarkably – very little has changed. Since the last time we took a peek at our Fairy friends, builds have cut cheesy win conditions like Chain Summoning for more consistent game-enders like Cyber Dragon and Dinowrestler Pankratops. The deck boasts an impeccable rogue matchup alongside hyper-specific maindeck answers to meta decks. If you’re looking for a deck with staying power, Trickstar remains a viable option.

Heralded as the second coming of Zoodiac, Sky Striker is a strategy that rewards careful, intelligent play. With only one maindeck monster, Sky Striker makes up for its lack of beatdown options with a suite of the most powerful, searchable, and recyclable spell cards the game has ever seen. While the September banlist has diminished the splashability of the engine, Sky Striker still has a home in tier one.

After a breakout performance at YCS Secaucus, Sky Striker Trickstar is poised to take the metagame by storm. Sky Striker Trickstar improves upon the Trickstar core by playing startup spells instead of trap cards. Electing to begin turns with Sky Striker Mecha – Hornet Drones and Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage!, this deck is horrifyingly consistent and incredibly powerful.

Invoked Mekk-Knight is the logical conclusion of decks going second. Engineered from the ground-up to lose the die roll, this handtrap-heavy strategy rewards efficient, cautious gameplay. By taking advantage of the Invoked fusions’ flexible material, the deck can turn a poorly-placed Ghost Ogre or a mismatched Master Peace into material for Mechabah. The Mekk-Knights, a suite of powerful beaters, add OTK potential to this otherwise reactive strategy.

What can possibly be said about Gem-Knight FTK other than a long, deep sigh and a reluctant “game 2?”

While first-turn-kill strategies are usually incredibly fragile, die-roll reliant, and lack a competent backup plan, Gem-Knight FTK is different. It is redundant, has reliable “plan B’s,” and has comparable win-rates going first or second.