Altergeist (Jun. 2020)

The return of Altergeist

With the return of 3 faker, your chance of seeing faker on your first turn, going first, increases from 63.93% to 74.18%.  For reference, the average Mekk Knight Invoked Deck / Invoked Deck has either a 63.93% or 69.40% chance of seeing Aleister turn 1 (69.40% assuming they play Set Rotation in addition to 3 Meltdown, 3 Aleister, and 1 Terraforming). What that means is... Altergeist has been granted a significant boost to its consistency, amongst other things.

In addition to the added consistency, you're no longer as prone to cards like D.D. Crow and Called by the Grave as you were with 1 Multifaker. You now have 3 copies of the heart of your Deck, and with new F & L Lists seeing use in online competitive events (like the PPG Circuit's custom ban list) there has not been a better time to pick up Altergeist.
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Key Altergeist Cards:

• Altergeist Multifaker: The engine that makes Altergeist work, Multifaker is critical to the snowballing of the Deck as a whole with its ability to get you to cards like Silq, for disruption, and Meluseek, for more advantage.

• Altergeist Meluseek: A key piece in getting to your Fakers, and other Altergeist monsters (like Marionetter) down the line, Meluseek is also a versatile tool with its battle oriented removal effect.

• Altergeist Marionetter: Inevitably you'll find yourself with some awkward faker-less hands, and when those hands creep up... the next best thing is Mari. With the ability to set Protocol or Manifestation, she can keep you alive during your next turn and even provide some much-needed interaction via Protocol. Aside from her Normal Summon effect, she also has another powerful effect. Mari's ability to send an Altergeist card to the GY to revive an Altergeist from the grave is incredibly powerful in the mid-late game, netting you additional Altergeist bodies.

• Altergeist Silquitous: While it's not great to open, this card is undeniably important to the Deck's core strategy. Being a Quick Effect bounce is already really, really good. When you add the fact that this card can function as pre-errata Brionac for the Deck... it becomes even more insane. This card can not only bounce your opponent's cards to the hand, it returns your Altergeist Traps and monsters back to the hand for a 2-in-1 disruption, as you're also gaining future setup (i.e. setting up Faker again, getting another Marionetter set, getting multiple uses out of Kunqueary). Adding to its impressive repertoire of ability is yet another effect. If this card is sent to the GY, whether it be as Link Material or byway of interaction with your opponent, Silq can grab an Altergeist Trap from the grave.

• Altergeist Kunqueary: While nowhere near as consistently impactful as the rest of its brethren, Kunq can be pivotal in winning some matchups. Its ability to stop attacks, that is not once per turn, coupled with its on-summon negation can prove to be too much for some Decks.

• Personal Spoofing: Though it's not "technically an Altergeist card", it wouldn't be right to exclude spoofing from this list. Not only is it an additional 3 copies of Faker, and not only is it able to trigger faker on its own when activated... it can get you a whole host of other Altergeist monsters. Access to Kunq during your opponent's turn or Meluseek/Mari during yours are just some of the benefits this card can provide.

• Altergeist Protocol: Likely your first set off Mari, Protocol is the 2nd inherent piece of disruption within the archetype - after Silq. On top of being a monster negate, that pops, it also has a nifty effect that prevents the activation of Altergeist effects. That's pretty absurd given how powerful some of the effects of the Altergeist lineup are, and this card is pretty handy given how many boss-caliber monsters exist in today's format (of which some are incredibly hard to out via monster effects).

• Altergeist Manifestation: Though it may not be as impressive as some of the other Altergeist cards, Mani definitely has a place within the group. With cards like Silq and Protocol, you're able to abuse Manifestation's unique design to get free reborns on either turn in addition to getting your Mani back to Deck or hand. These reborns can prove to be crucial as you may not have a Multifaker on field, or a Silq left in Deck to bounce with.

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Options to consider for Extra/Main/Side

Aside from ratio adjustments, there are a few cards that should be considered when building Altergeist.

• Extra Deck:

-> Linkross: It's able to trigger off your Hexstia, which will probably be even more relevant once turn 1 Hexstia becomes reality with the release of Altergeist Pookuery, and it's able to set up some Link 2 plays (assuming Linkuriboh is in your GY).

-> Borreload Dragon: It's still amazing all these years down the line. It's hard to out, it has the ability to remove some of the game's most annoying monsters, and it's pretty big. There's not much more you can ask for from Borreload, the issue is that it's not as fast or as impactful as some of the Extra Deck's other options (see Borrelsword & Accesscode).

-> Altergeist Primebanshee: Another Altergeist name that you may end up wanting if you manage to banish your 3 Hexstia. However this card's actual impact is debatable as Altergeist is not reliant on its Extra Deck... and this card's only real place is as another name.

• Main Deck:

-> Fantastical Dragon Phantazmay: Needlefiber does exist in the TCG alongside Linkross, Verte Anaconda, and Union Carrier. Given the power and prevalence of Link 2+ monsters in the TCG format, it is definitely worth it to consider this card.

-> Mystic Mine / Secret Village of the Spellcasters / Terraforming / Set Rotation / Metaverse: I'm putting a whole host of cards together because they all go together (though you do not have to play all together). If you opt to play a more Mystic Mine centered variant, as it has proven to be successful (see Gabriel Netz's 1st place LCS list), it's also pretty reasonable to invest Deck space into cards like Demise of the Land as well.

-> Heavy Storm Duster / Typhoon: Given the prevalence of Eldlich, and the rise of Altergeist, Storm Duster & Typhoon might be worth playing in the main Deck instead of Side. They're Normal Traps, so they can trigger your Multifaker and be set off Trap Trick, while removing threats in your opponent's backrow.

-> Crackdown: It's similar to Compulsory Evacuation Device, but you get to keep the opponent's monster.

-> Trap Trick: If you opt to play a higher Normal Trap Count this card is fantastic (it can get you Infinite Impermanence, maybe a Different Dimension Ground or even a Compulse).

• Side Deck:

-> Kaijus / Lava Golem: Same reason for why Sphere Mode is in the Side. Altergeist isn't entirely reliant on its Normal Summon and it can't clear a break-my-board type of field if it DRNMs, and these cards are amazing at doing exactly that.

-> Lightning Storm: It's great in the mirror, versus Salamangreat, and a whole host of other strategies. It clears backrow or Attack Position monsters, and doesn't care if you have a bunch of set traps.

-> D.D. Crow / Different Dimension Ground: For the more GY based strategies, these cards are great options.

-> Artifact Lancea: It hits Eldlich, it hits TCG Adamancipators, and it can hit rogue options like Thunder. Overall it's still a great option for Decks that banish to progress their gameplan.