THAT 25TH ANNIVERSARY ANIMATION FOR ALBAZ AND ECCLESIA WAS SO INCREDIBLE!!! Not gonna lie, watching Ecclessia lay her eyes on Ablaz for the first time in animated form combined with the "Passionate Duelist" music in the background put tears in my eyes. (T____T) I look forward to the day Konami truly makes the "Abyss" storyline anime. Until then, I can just play the deck and create strategy guides to play out my fusion fantasies!
Fangirling aside, I truly believe that the TCG meta right now is a favourable environment for Branded to flourish in. The most common forms of interruption center around various destruction effects (for ex. Fire Kings) or banishment (for ex. S:P Little Knight) and both are interactions that Branded can easily brush off due to how the strategy functions.
Ash Blossom, the nemesis of Branded is actually experiencing a decline in usage since its hardly effects vs. decks popular in the meta right now. Hiita can also revive Ash Blossom from grave to link climb into the ever popular Promethean Princess, adding further reason to stop using the popular handtrap. Devastating staples made common by the February 2024 meta like Droll & Lockbird, Dimension Shifter, Nibiru and Soul Release hardly affect Branded's gameplan and the deck can usually confidently still create a full board despite their use!
The strongest meta decks like Fire Kings and Diabellestarr also suffer greatly from Branded's forms of removal such as Mirrorjade's non-targeting banish and Albaz/Superpoly's use of monsters material on field. This deck also features the Shaddoll package in the side deck for going second (courtesy of Yacine656 for this package) which is additional Fire King hate! Branded also has a good match-up against the new up-and-coming meta contender, Voiceless Voice, since its interruptions hardly affect the strategy (except it's one omni-negate).
Best of all, the Branded strategy is competitive despite being relatively cheap this format, since it doesn't require the Sinful Spoils Engine, Bonfires or S:P Little Knight!
Branded has also been nearly untouched by banlists and it remains basically at full power in the TCG! Albaz and friend's time to shine in the meta spotlight has truly come back for the February 2024 metagame!
Want to see the deck in action? Scroll to the very bottom for the Youtube video!
ARCHETYPES, ENGINES AND DECKBUILDING
This core of this deck is composed of the traditional BRANDED, DESPIA and BYSTIAL cards. Due to the current meta, I've also added back the FRIGHTFUR, SUPERPOLY and NADIR SERVANT packages.
The BYSTIAL package is relatively small, since banishing light/dark monsters in the GY isn't very impactful and common in today's fire-dominated metagame. Lubellion is "searchable" from deck since Branded Fusion dumps him to the GY, and Lubellion can summon itself from the GY by tributing the on-field Albion. Lubellion can place from deck Branded Lost as extra protection/search power or Branded Regained for more advantage generation.
SUPERPOLY has been re-added back to the vulnerability of most meta decks to the card. For example, Mannadium boards can be broken by making Muddy Mudragon by fusing away Apollousa and Baronne. Fire King boards can be broken by fusing away Amblowhale and another of their fire monsters.
NADIR SERVANT is an excellent and multi-purpose extender to Branded, since it singlehandidly sets up Quem + Albaz on the field and GY. It can also dump a missing combo piece to the GY to fulfill particular goals, like dumping Rindbrumm (so Albaz can be summoned from GY during opponent's turn) or Albion (so it can set a Branded card from deck). Also, if Branded Fusion gets negated, Nadir Servant still sets up a strong gamestate by itself.
FUSION DEPLOYMENT also functions as a toolbox in this deck, since its 2 targets each serve a distinct function. Albaz can breakboards when summoned, and Albaz + Super Poly cracks most boards nowadays. If your opponent happens to field Dragon monsters, Albaz can contact fuse them away. Cartesia enables fusion summoning as a quick effect. Not only does she give access to Granguinol (which is a foolish burial), she can protect your activating monster effects on the field from targeting negates like Impermanence and Effect Veiler.
TRIPLE TACTICS THRUST is an incredible card in a Branded deck, since it can indirectly search you any normal spell/trap if your opponent dares to activate a monster effect during your turn, even Branded Fusion! Going first, this card can set Fusion Duplication, which can copy any normal/quick-play fusion spell from the GY from the GY like Branded Fusion and Super Poly! So say you get Ash'd on Branded Fusion, you can activate Triple Tactics Thrust to set Fusion Duplication from deck and full fusion combo during your opponent's Draw Phase!
50 CARDS are utilized in this deck rather than around 40ish since every important piece (esp. Branded Fusion) is highly searchable anyways. 50 cards also reduces the likelihood of drawing garnets and bricks.
The SIDEDECK is chock full of potent boardbreakers when you are forced to go second - Shaddoll Fusion (explained below), Cosmic Cyclone (to kill Fire King Island) and Evenly Matched (searchable with Thrust). The cards to sideout in this deck are the Bystial cards when you aren't facing a dedicated light/dark deck, or 1 copy of Mercourier, Cartesia, and Quem. When forced to go second, you can also side out Fusion Duplication and Branded Regained. Different Dimension Ground and Eradicator Epidemic Virus are turn ending going-first targets for Triple Tactics Thrust. Branded Etude is an excellent searchable floodgate that banishes your opponent's material for summons, hardcountering common meta strategies like Fire Kings, Sinful Spoils and Voiceless Voice.
The SHADDOLL package is in the sidedeck specifically to counter Fire King Sinful Spoils (although the . This package is especially potent going second. Shaddoll Fusion will send from deck to GY Naelshaddoll Ariel and Shaddoll Dragon to summon Shaddoll Apkallone. This will simultaneously banish 3 cards from your opponent's GY(Ariel's eff), destroy 1 spell/trap (Dragon's eff), and negate a card on the field (Apkallone's eff). 3 chainblocked interactions with 1 Shaddoll Fusion makes for a potent boardbreaker!
SUPER POLYMERIZATION is extremely effective this format. Boards are easily crackable with Super Poly's non-targeting, non-destroying removal, eviserating decks like Fire Kings, Voiceless Voice and other Branded variants. The Extra Deck has Garura and Mudragon as it's targets. The Extra Deck is tight, but Earth Golem @Ignister can be slotted in to out the usual Fire King board of I:P Masquerena and Amblowhale/Promethean Princess.
COMBOS AND GAMEPLAN
This is my "Gas" Branded is designed to play through your opponent's interruption to create gigantic fusion beatsticks and overwhelm with high ATK and massive resource generation. If given even a second of breathing space, your opponent will find that they are facing down a field full of powerful fusion monsters!
Branded Fusion is both a blessing and a curse for this strategy. The whole deck revolves around searching and resolving that card, and if it's negated, your further options are likely limited. Your obvious glaring chokepoint and weakness is Branded Fusion, so it is imperative that you can bait out the Ash Blossom or other forms of interruption before you activate this card. It is advisable to use every other card first like Branded Opening or Lubellion so that you can bait out your opponent's interruption (but be careful of Droll). Also, from experience playing the deck, I've discovered that people intentionally hold their Ash Blossom saving it for Branded Fusion - so if you don't have the card, you can bluff having it and just do all your searches/summons from deck!
End boards are very hand dependant and can vary greatly, but here are the mainline combos:
Branded Fusion + Dark Monster + Discard = Mirrorjade (banish), Bystial Lubellion + Branded Continous Spell (resources), Set Branded Card (Branded in Red, Banishment, Retribution, Opening)
- Activate Branded Fusion to summon Albion, sending Albaz + Bystial Lubellion from deck.
- Fusion summon Lubellion the Searing Dragon by fusing Albaz + Dark Monster with Albion. Ideal dark monsters to banish are Tragedy (search) and Dramaturge (free body on field).
- Lubellion (discards for cost) fusion summons Mirrorjade by shuffling back Albaz from banished pile and Lubellion the Searing Dragon on the field.
- Summon Bystial Lubellion from the GY by tributing Albion.
Activate Lubellion's card effect to activate from deck Branded Regained so it can generate resources. Alternatively, you can activate from deck Branded Lost for further searches/fusion protection. In games 2/3, you can place Branded Etude to banish your opponent's summon material.
- End phase - set your Branded card of choice from deck. Ideally, you set Branded in Red so you can fusion summon on your opponent's turn. If you already have Branded in Red, you can set Branded Opening for further searches/protection from destruction.
Cartesia + Light/Dark monster + Either Bystial Saronir/Albion the Shrouded Dragon = Search for any Branded card (Best to use if you're missing a particular Branded card, esp. Branded Fusion!)
- Activate Cartesia's effect to fusion summon Granguinol by using Cartesia + Light/Dark monster. If Saronir is in hand, you use Saronir instead.
- Granguinol sends to GY from deck Bystial Saronir. (Or Albion the Shrouded Dragon)
- Bystial Saronir/Albion the Shrouded Dragon sends to GY Branded Retribution.
- Bystial Saronir/Albion the Shrouded Dragon sends to GY your Branded spell/trap card of choice.
- Banish Branded Retribution from GY to retrieve from GY your Branded spell/trap of choice.
Nadir Servant = Albaz's "Superpoly" + Mirrorjade's banish
Activate Nadir Servant sending Titaniklad from Extra deck to GY searching from deck either Quem or Albaz.
- During the End Phase, Titaniklad summons Quem from deck.
- Quem activates her effect on-summon, sending Albaz to the GY.
- During your opponent's turn, Quem summons Albaz from GY so he can fuse your opponent's Extra Deck monster away into Mirrorjade.
Going first and uninterrupted, your opponent will likely contend with Mirrorjade's banish and a set Branded spell/trap (likely Branded in Red, Retribution or Banishment). Depending on the hand, your opponent may also be dealing with Mercourier's monster negate, bystial's GY banish, Masquerade's -600 burn, and Granguinol can summon Luluwalilith from the Extra Deck. If you're lucky, you also have a facedown Super Polymerization - a devasting turn ending card if used at the right time. Your hand will likely also be sizeable and ready with follow-up for next turn since Cartesia, Titaniklad and Albion generate resources during Branded's "main phase 3" - the End Phase.
Going second, Branded can slog through interruption, pierce through boards and beat down your opponent's monsters with big beatsticks. Branded is naturally equipped with in-engine ways to play going second. Polymerization fusing into Guardian Chimera is a nigh-unstoppable juggernaut since it's effect is often chainblocked with the fusion material used for it's fusion summon and it is untargetable since you used Polymerization. If Branded Opening is in the GY, it also can't be destroyed! Super Polymerization can fuse away many boards in today's meta, especially with Garura, only needing 2 monsters with the same type and attribute. Muddy Mudragon can fuse away your Fire King's opponent's Amblowhale + Fire Monster as well! Alot of interruption these days involve destroying and banishing (For example, Fire King and Labrynth does this alot) - Branded is very comfortable with all those interruptions and it usually shrugs them off.
While being able to play through the "Tier 1 Fire" meta, Branded can also compete easily vs. the "anti-meta" strategies that hardcounter the tier 0 fire decks. The strategies that love to lockout the GY like Kashtira, Exosister and Floowandereeze are all good matchups for Branded. Dimension Shifter, Nibiru and Droll & Lockbird are all high impact handtraps that Albaz and friends can comfortably play through with most hands!
GENERAL TIPS
- Due to the relevance of Droll & Lockbird this format, try to search for Branded Fusion first before anything else. Once they Droll you after you get this crucial playstarter, the lingering search floodgate hardly affects the Branded strategy since everything else summons or sets directly from the maindeck.
- Try to bait out Ash Blossom by your many searches/summons from deck before you use Branded Fusion. If you don't have Branded Fusion, your opponent will likely hold Ash Blossom in their hand waiting for it, so you can bluff having the card to search/summon all you want!
Branded lacks in-engine ways to remove backrow, except with Guardian Chimera. Be sure to side in the ample amounts of backrow hate in these match-ups!
- Try to have Cartesia on board before you summon monsters on the field with important effects. Cartesia's quick effect fusion summon allows you to dodge common targeting negates like Impermanence and Effect Veiler.
The best cards to side out is the Bystial and Edge Imp package, especially when the match-ups doesn't call for them. Super Polymerization can also be sided out in certain matchups where your Super Poly targets don't work out.
- If Branded Lost is active, Fusion effect's activation cannot be negated. Cards that negate the activation like Baronne De Fleur, Borreload Savage Dragon and even Solemn Judgment cannot negate your Branded Fusion! Branded Lost is a perfect way to bait a negate or to guarantee your Fusion effect when you're against these threats.
If you feel like it's a good meta call, play Dragoon in Branded! Include Dark Magician/The Light-Hex Sealed Fusion and Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon in your deck for an indestructible and untargetable powerhouse!
Some decks immediately die to Branded Etude since it's a "macro-cosmos" for Extra Deck summons. In particular, Fire King/Diabellestarr variants flop to this searchable floodgate. Many rogue decks also are crippled by Etude like Voiceless Voice, Chimera and Spright.
Instant Fusion can summon either Millenium-Eyes Restrict (self-explanatory) or Mudragon of the Swamp. Mudragon of the Swamp lowkey hardcounters Fire Kings strategies, since calling "fire" with Mudragon makes it impossible for your opponent's monsters to target themselves - rendering the deck nigh unplayable! For example, Kirin and Promethean Princess wouldn't be able to activate!
- Want to see the deck in action? Scroll to the very bottom for the Youtube video!
CONCLUDING COMMENTARY
Konami Animations debut video of the different Yugioh archetypes had me SO EXCITED!
Ecclesia watching anxiously from her balcony, Fleurdelis striking Titaniklad down, and Ecclessia meeting her Dragon boyfriend Albaz for the first time - it really brought tears to my eyes! About 4 years after the "Abyss" storyline debuted in "Rise of the Duelist," Konami actually COOKED and delivered the Branded cards as an anime. Seeing my favourite cards in animated form really re-ignited my love for certain decks, especially the Branded cards! It's been a while since I've made a proper TCG guide on Albaz and friends, so I decided it's about time to update my favourite fusion strategy with an up-to-date strategy guide.
Believe me, Branded is poised well to take the "fire meta" by storm. Ash has declined in use, destroy/banish effects dominate and current staples don't really affect the strategy. Pilot the deck to victory, fellow Branded enjoyers - I know I will! Do it in honour of the future "Abyss" anime we're getting (hopefully)!
GLHF Duelists!
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