Blind Second Extra Deck True Draco

Introduction

It's been a while since my last upload (a couple of years) but I am back and raring to upload new decks!

True Draco has been a deck that's always been sticking around as a relevant deck ever since its introduction in 2016 having been at the top of the metagame for some time as well. Despite the introduction of link format and the banning of Master Peace, limiting Return of the True King to 1, and now Dinomight Knight the True Dracofighter limited at 1, the deck has shown promise as an avid, control-based rogue deck that can utilize floodgates to perhaps their maximum potential.

Though I didn't play True Draco during their prime, I did pick up the deck in 2018 and decided to play around with it for a while. After working with the variants that exist (which I will post later), I have found that this variant of the deck has been the most flexible with the diversity of the format in mind and general strategy of most decks which currently dominate the metagame.

Strategy

Note: I won't go over specific ratios as I think it's more worth the time to discuss the general strategy and theory behind the deck. If there are questions about ratios, then please go to the comments section and I will gladly answer!

First, a bit of theory on why I think playing blind second is strategic in the February 2019 format. If we look at the decks which have been performing at the top of the metagame, you have the following four decks consistently showing results: Sky Striker, Danger! Thunder Dragon, Salamangreat, and Danger! Orcust. If you lose the coin flip, it's generally going to be the case that they'll go first in which you are forced to go second, thus having this version of the deck is useful then. Now let's say you win the coin flip, the problem is that decks like Danger! Thunder Dragon and Sky Striker are fully capable of breaking apart your board to a large degree. Considering that you don't know what your opponent is playing until game 1 starts, it's better to just start off going second so you can know what your opponent plays and have a good chance of being able to respond using the cards in your deck designed for going second.

The above theory works especially well with True Draco which is by nature able to break boards using the graveyard effects of the continuous spells and traps within the archetype. Not to mention, using the floodgates allows the deck to further simplify the game state. There Can Be Only One is great vs every deck you would worry about except Sky Striker for which you can already utilize True Draco's natural ability to break apart the board along with Evenly Matched. The key strategy with this deck lies in using the going second options you have, such as Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries and Infinite Impermanence to slow down your opponent along with Evenly Matched to break their board apart or bait out a negate, in order to effectively allow for you to effectively turn the pace of the game to your favor.

Since Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries is used, it can be guessed that most of the cards in the Extra Deck are targets for Cherries. The only exceptions are Number 61: Volcasaurus, which is there due to its utility in helping to either end the game or be used to win with the new time rules, Salamangreat Violet Chimera which is a target for Super Polymerization, Predaplant Dragostapelia which is also a target for Super Polymerization, and Borreload Dragon which is just useful generic utility.

The side deck is designed to help you in future games with certain cards being preferable for going first and others for going second. There is more of a focus on going 2nd cards mainly to capitalize on the fact that you have a game 3 which you can come back from in the case you need to go that far since the opponent is likely to force you to go second if you win game 1, then they lose game 2. In case you lose game 1 and you win game 2, then they’ll again most likely force you to go second again due to the nature of their deck hence making this the best strategy.

Matchups

I will be primarily focusing on the following matchups: Sky Striker, Salamangreat, Danger! Thunder Dragon, and Danger! Orcust. If there are any other matchups that you, the reader, are curious about please feel free to ask about it in the comments section.

• Sky Striker: This matchup is overall more on the difficult side especially when put in the position of going first unless you gain access to the necessary cards. When going in blind second as you can use Cherries to banish Sky Striker Ace - Kagari and or Shizuku (if you happen to have multiple Cherries) which then you can follow up with Evenly Matched or use the natural board breaking abilities of True Draco. However, when going second, it is risky to play a long game vs Striker due to cards such as Sky Striker Maneuver - Afterburners! which pose quite a threat. Going into future games, it is highly recommended that the player side in all three copies of Anti-Spell Fragrance to work with Imperial Order and side out Super Polymerization along with There Can Be Only One which will greatly help with this matchup. If desired, Wiretap could also be sided in for future games to avoid Evenly Matched or maybe Inspector Boarder to potentially slow down the opponent's plays.


• Salamangreat: This matchup is overall pretty easy due to the natural board-breaking ability that True Draco has along with their comfort playing floodgates like There Can Be Only One which cripples Salamangreat significantly. In future games, depending on how the Salamangreat player tends to play as observed from game 1, it may be recommended that The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode is sided in for future games if you anticipate that you will go second again. Playing the third copy of There Can Be Only One would be highly recommended for future games while siding out Imperial Order in exchange.


• Danger! Thunder Dragon: This is arguably the most difficult matchup due to Thunder Dragon Colossus posing such a huge threat to True Draco, not to mention the sheer amount of negations which are usually set up. When going in blind second, it's recommended that Cherries is used for Saryuja Skull Dread in order to heavily restrict the ability of the opponent to extend their play to their full potential. However, if desired and depending on the situation, the player may prefer to pick Thunder Dragon Colossus or Guardragon Elpy as the Cherries target instead. Following up with Evenly Matched or Super Polymerization would then be best while setting up There Can Be Only One. Cards such as The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode, Artifact Lancea, Inspector Boarder, and the third copy of There Can Be Only One should be sided in to help with this matchup in future games.


• Danger! Orcust: This matchup is rather easy and True Draco has practically little to no problem with this matchup due to the natural board-breaking ability of True Draco, not to mention Azathot not being an issue to worry about. To help secure the match victory, it is recommended that the player side in Artifact Lancea and side out Imperial Order.

Conclusion

This is a fun while competitive deck to play in this current format which is full of Salamangreat, Sky Striker, and Danger! Thunder Dragon. I encourage players to at least consider picking up True Dracos for the February 2019 format! If there are any questions about card ratios or strategy, please ask in the comments section and I will reply!