Introduction
We are no longer strangers to Ritual Summoning in Yugioh. Over time, the concept underwent constant exploration, discovery, and improvement. As Ritual continues to expand, so does the cult of Ritual devotees, eagerly expecting additional tributes to satisfy their Ritual cravings. Therefore, as the current representative of Ritual Summoning, Megaliths are poised to take over the meta (and hearts) of many duelists.
The inspiration for Megaliths stems from the Olympian Spirits of the Renaissance era, in the form of Rock-type EARTH Ritual monsters. Each one of them embodies an effect to perform a Ritual-Summon without needing Ritual Spells. This unique characteristic serves to discount the costs associated with Ritual-Summoning.
Coupled with Ritual support and the constant innovation by religious Ritual fanatics, Megaliths fit snugly into its Ritual predecessor's shoes as a hyper-combo deck. Along with desirable Attributes, Types, and lack of OPT searching effects, Megaliths could solidify themselves as a strong contender in the meta.
Today, I will decipher the several definitions of this archetype, and hopefully polish any impressions of it you have.
Meet the Megalith Crew
Playmakers
- 3 Ophiel (searches Monsters)
- 3 Hagith (searches Spell/Traps)
- 0-1 Och (Drop and draw)
- 3 Phul (Retrieves from GY, Summons from deck)
Ophiel and Hagith are your primary play-makers. Ideally, you would summon both Ophiel with Hagith then Ophiel to Hagith, and Ophiel into- you get the idea. Ophiel will generate monsters to fuel your Ritual Summons, while Hagith tutors all your copies of Megalith Uniformed. This process will extend into Phul, arguably the strongest member of the archetype, to produce an extra Megalith body. While cycling the effects among these three members, you will find a path to Gallant Granite. Add Block Dragon to your hand, and then trigger Block Dragon's search to replenish your hand even further. Megalith Och and Phul differ as they can Ritual Summon on the opponent's turn, giving interruptions.
Playmakers, but bigger
- 2-3 Aratron
- 1-2 Bethor
- 0-1 Phaleg
These are the "Ritual Spells" for Megaliths. Aside from cosplaying as a Ritual Spell, they come with secondary effects that we can normally ignore. Aratron differs by packing a quick-effect on the opponent's turn to Ritual Summon, serving as an interruption from the hand to summon Bethor, the only big Megalith with a secondary effect to wipe your opponent's boards. This technique is used by players fearing Dark Ruler no More!
The Support for Seven
Why should you play Megaliths? Your answer comes in the form of the numerous gifts bestowed upon Rituals over the years.
Manju, Senju, Preparation of Rites, and Extra-Foolish Burial are the tip of the iceberg of Ritual's hyper-consistency. With half your deck dedicated to adding specific cards, ritualists can confidently rely on commencing the duel with desirable cards in hand. Diviner of the Herald is also a Tuner Monster, opening up Crystron Halqifibrax shenanigans. Impcantations are an archetype dedicated to enriching the value of ritual summons, but you will notice later on we always play the bare minimum ratio.
As Megaliths are Rock-type EARTH monsters, we can easily incorporate Gallant Granite and Block Dragon to further reinforce our resources. Block Dragon has proven itself as a powerful extender in many EARTH decks. But in Megalith, its role is mainly to tutor Adamancipator Researcher. Researcher summons herself for free and adds an additional Synchro component to this combo-heavy deck for even more interruptions!
How to Play Megaliths?
By now you may be wondering, how do I play this deck despite having such high consistency? Fret not, this section will guide you through the lines of plays you should follow as you navigate your combos to victory.
Cobbling Your Pieces Together
Generally with Megaliths, you abuse the not-OPT searching effects of both Ophiel and Hagith. Aim to summon them first, then continuously summon them through Megalith effects. You should retrieve either relevant Megalith Monsters or all your copies of Megalith Unformed.
Somewhere along this, you can attempt to summon Megalith Phul, which can summon another Megalith Monster to the field.
Your eventual goal as you repeat these actions is to be able to summon Gallant Granite and any Level 4 Megalith. You could summon Magician of Black Chaos MAX somewhere to shut possible handtraps down as well.
As you perform these actions, here is a quick guide on using the Impcantation Engine to fuel your plays even further:
1. Add Impcantation Chalislime to hand through your numerous search options.
2. Chalislime discards any card but itself to summon Impcantation Candoll
3. Candoll picks up Impcantation Inception
4. Activate Impcantation Inception to Summon a level 4 Megalith from your hand.
5. Impcantation Inception, now in the GY, now triggers by sending Chalislime to summon Impcantation Talismandra from your deck.
Feel free to add either Magician of Black Chaos MAX or any other Ritual Monster at this point.
With this engine, you can easily generate field and hand advantage for you to continue your combos.
Taking for Granite
When you finally summon Gallant Granite, you should always add Block Dragon to hand. At this point, you should have enough EARTH monsters for Block Dragon, or you can link off Gallant Granite. Link off Block Dragon into a Link-2, and add Adamancipator Researcher along with any other Rocks you want.
Most combos branch off from here because of how the presence of Researcher can enhance the boards, but the general path towards this goal is usually the same.
Unfortunately, during production of this article I was unable to find any video detailing the basic plays of this deck. But I hope the following videos provided with the decklists may help show the deck's typical starting plays.
Decklists
Board-Building Monstrosity
This is the most basic and mild variant of Megaliths I could obtain. This deck burns through several copies of Ophiel and Hagith to fuel the summon of Block Dragon. Through Halqifibrax and Linkross, you can summon Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon and Borreload Savage Dragon. Oh, and a Phul/Och to Ritual summon Bethor on your opponent's turn too.
Your Opponent Cannot.
Your opponent literally just can't.
This variant incorporates Magician of Black Chaos MAX and Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity. Both monsters stop the opponent from ever playing, reminiscent of the now-banned Outer Entity Azathot. Why would you even let them? Megalith Och or Impcantation Inception summon Chaos MAX on your turn to completely turn off Monsters. (This can be done on your opponent's turn too!) King Calamity is summoned from tuning Formula Synchron, Borreload Savage, and a level 2 Tuner during the opponent's turn.
Megalith Enthusiast Lundrity piloted this deck to a 8-1 Swiss record in MKohl40's Verz Cup, where the organizer was quick to pick up on the archetype's strengths. You may watch a sample video of the combo here.
Megalith Gishki Handloop
This list is from the OCG.
If you thought locking your opponent out of the game just isn't enough, this variant further locks them out by stripping their hand bare. Like its namesake, the Megalith engine promotes and fuels the constant usage of Evigishki Gustkraken until the opponent is left hand-less. This variant is inconsistent and fragile to achieve, but I personally love when I get to help my opponents pack up their cards as they concedes.
Here is a sample video of the combo you should seek to achieve with this deck, courtesy of Twitter user @kagamine0228
Shaleboard and Answers
As per the norm with all Ritual decks in the past, present, and future, this deck passes on Droll & Lock Bird. I believe this deck to be more resilient to typical handtraps, but a timely Nibiru may cause the Megalith player to pass. Megaliths could easily fold to Dark Ruler no More, but players should beware of a possible Aratron from the hand to summon Bethor.
If you are having trouble against Megalith, I believe it is the player's responsibility to recognize the following choke-points: Uniformed and Phul's Ritual Summon from the deck, Gallant Granite or Block Dragon resolving, and the summon of Crystron Halqifibrax.
My Rocks and Conclusion
I have to admit, I'm not exactly the biggest Ritual fanatic around. While adopting this deck, I was surprised by the deck's flexibility to develop huge boards and combos. This may not have been the best guide to Megaliths, but I hope this article inspires my fellow Ritual apologists to give Megaliths a chance, and indulge in the sheer power of these rolling stones.
