Brooklyn Rage (Red-Eyes feat. Some Geminis)

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon will bring victory, however, what the Red-Eyes B. Dragon brings is not victory, but potential. But this card is only for one who has the courage to duel."

-That shopkeeper from the Season Zero movie

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Joey Wheeler might not be the most competent character to ever grace the animated series. Didn't exactly stop me from admiring his odd antics, not to mention getting weirdly interested in his archetype and somehow fitting something around it for this day and age.

Before you lies a Red-Eyes deck featuring a combination of various Red-Eyes monsters, Gemini monsters, arguably the best Red-Eyes Fusion monster aside from the one that's basically an auto-win, and a certain Link monster that's likely inevitably going to cost a fortune upon coming stateside. It's more of a fun and casual sort of deck, though it is fun to take up against certain big boy decks and enact some beatdown there.

 

Monsters

Red-Eyes B. Dragon, the one, the only. The much less revered (and reprinted/supported) counterpart to the one Dragon Normal monster Konami just loves to milk dry. I don't necessarily hold it against you for playing either, I personally feel some of the few notable Blue-Eyes cards include Alternative and Chaos MAX. Still, this red guy's one job is pretty much fodder for certain special summons and even a certain other kind of card that we'll get to later. The main one in question is...

A very big part of the deck in one way or another, Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon. This card is basically a free summon provided other Red-Eyes monsters are in your hand. Any one will do. Regardless of level or type, so long as "Red-Eyes" is in the name, feel free to use it to bring this guy out. More often than not, you'll likely Link or Xyz it away into something better, but on the rare occasion it's destroyed thanks to your opponent's efforts, you get to Special Summon a Red-Eyes monster from the grave. If it just so happens to be Red-Eyes B. Dragon, its ATK doubles to act as a pretty good beatstick to get around certain situations. You'll likely go for some of the more powerful ones instead, however. Speaking of...

Though not really a strong monster on its own, Black Metal Dragon is one of the monsters to help tie the deck together. It can be easily brought out with One for One, otherwise you can equip it to a Red-Eyes monster to give it 600 extra ATK. Its second effect is arguably better, though. By sending it from the field to the grave, for example, by the effect of this deck's boss monster or by using it for a Link Summon like Linkuriboh (who pretty much solely exists in this deck for this exact purpose) or the other really good Link in this deck, it lets you search any Red-Eyes card from your deck, including a monster or backrow, essentially acting as a Candina or Time Thief Winder for the deck.

Red-Eyes Wyvern is a monster that's really only good in the grave, which it can easily be sent to by the effect of Insight or Alternative. Once there, if you didn't perform a Normal Summon during your turn, you get to banish it and Special Summon a Red-Eyes monster from the grave. Once again, any monster with the two specific words in its name will do, so no need to be picky.

Red-Eyes Retro Dragon makes for a surprisingly good handtrap in a way. Should any Red-Eyes monster, or monsters, of yours at L7 or below be destroyed your opponent's attack or card effect and hits the grave that way, you Special Summon Retro Dragon in defense from your hand, then revive all the Red-Eyes monsters destroyed by that attack or effect from the grave like nothing happened to them. Can you say, "Retro Dragon's first effect: Bites the Flame!" Yeah, erm, I'm going to hell for that Jojoke, aren't I?

Despite being a Fiend, Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning couldn't fit this deck better. It's a beefy monster that normally requires one tribute to bring out at 2500 ATK, but c'mon. This is 2020, do you really see people outside of True Draco or Ancient Gear Tribute summoning anymore? No, no, you're gonna bring this out with any of your Red-Eyes supporting cards or effects! And once you do, you can likely normal summon it to achieve the wonderful effect of essentially unleashing a Raigeki upon your opponent's monsters if their DEF is lower than Archfiend's ATK. It almost feels like stealing, but man is it satisfying to nuke some monsters that would swarm you otherwise.

Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon is another Gemini, with the exception being it can be used for effects that specifically call for a L7 Red-Eyes in the place of B. Dragon. That's not to say its effect once Gemini'd isn't trash, though. Battling with it period will almost always net you a free 2400 damage against your opponent come the end of the Battle Phase, just enough to chip them off in some cases.

Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact's effect basically defends all your other Red-Eyes monsters from destruction while on the field, even though it's mostly just fodder for another really good Extra Deck monster you might bring out now and again.

Arguably one of the best Dragons in the deck is none other than the so-good-it's-limited Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon. By banishing a Dragon that's already done its job, it Special Summons to the field and revives a Dragon from your grave once per turn. Geez, this deck can really revive is key components easily, huh? Not much else to say, just a really good card for these kinds of decks to run.

 

The next two monsters are primarily used for fusion material of this deck's boss monster, and they can be swapped out with any of the Warriors in the Side Deck to support your tastes. These are just two I personally enjoy for their individual utilities.

 

Phoenix Gearfried, on his own, may just seem like another unnecessary support card for a card that got like, only so many clutch moments in the anime. But believe me when I say after it's been revived and Gemini'd, its ability to revive Geminis in the GY upon activation of an opponent's Spell, and as far as I can tell it's not a once-per-turn thing. It can also come in clutch in tandem with this deck's boss monster while it has cards equipped, letting you counter your opponent's backrow that targets monsters. Surprisingly useful, at least in my eyes.

You might also be wondering, "Chupi, now why in the heck are you running Elemental HERO Blazeman in this deck if you've already made your own personalized deck profile of HEROes long ago?", at least initially. Not only does it make for good material, but when it's revived from the grave upon your boss monster's destruction, you get to add Polymerization to your hand, just in case you need an extra fusion card for stuff you don't necessarily wanna pay LP with or have to wait after setting for the right moment to snipe some of your foe's monsters to make your own. You can forego this and add in another copy of say, Twin Twisters or Lost Wind, but I kinda like the added utility of this monster particularly.

The other Warrior materials you could use, A/D Changer, Amazoness Swords Woman, Fortress Warrior, Big Shield Gardna, Guardian of Felgrand, and all of them all have their respective niches, so you can go ahead and swap those in if you'd like.

Spells/Traps

Cards of the Red Stone immediately stands out among the spells of the deck, and is pretty much the reason to run a bunch of L7 Red-Eyes monsters. Using it and subsequently discarding one of these monsters lets you draw twice, then optionally send a second L7 Red-Eyes to the grave. In a way, it's like a Destiny Draw and Dragon Shrine rolled into one.

Red-Eyes Insight is a must-run-at-three. Not only does it let you send any Red-Eyes card from your hand or deck to the grave, setting up their grave-reliant effects later on, but it also lets you search for any Red-Eyes backrow you want. Any one. Take your pick, aside from the dedicated fusion card if you still want to have your important summons take place and subsequently the boss monster, who I keep foreshadowing and playing the pronoun game with for some reason.

Red-Eyes Fusion makes the deck what it is, letting you send cards from your hand, deck, or field to bring out a big nasty Dragon that really tears up the scene. Keep in mind that you can only set if you should choose to activate it from your hand, which I really dunno if you'll be doing all that much. Just let that one special Link I also keep foreshadowing do the job and you'll be good to go.

Red-Eyes Spirit acts as a second and third Monster Reborn for your Red-Eyes monsters, once again any of them. A revival that can be searched with a card that also sets up its respective archetype's grave effects. Now how about that?

Return of the Red-Eyes is surprisingly good, where simply if you control a Red-Eyes monster, you can revive any Normal monster, period, from your grave, including the Geminis, which you'll most often be summoning with it. Say hello to Archfiend and Gearfried once more, and you can activate it during either turn! A great way to keep your resources coming back for more. Even if your opponent destroys it, though, its use doesn't end there, as upon destruction it basically becomes a Red-Eyes Spirit, letting you bring back another Red-Eyes monster. You'll only really need to run one, given all the other revival stuff in the deck. Still, it's the gift that keeps on giving.

 

Extra Deck

Ah yes, finally. I get to bring up that one boss monster. Without further ado...

Red-Eyes Slash Dragon easily makes the deck what it is. Requiring relatively generic material to bring out, its nifty 2800 ATK becomes 3000 once any of your Red-Eyes monsters attack. Heck, as long as you've got warriors in your grave and Red-Eyes left to attack with, you can keep on equipping and powering up with Warriors to bring from the grave to keep the muscle going. But wait, its second effect is even better. If your opponent has the gall to try and target any card you control with their own card or effect, you can send a Warrior or Black Metal Dragon to counter and really show them who's boss. And even if Slash is destroyed, you get to Special summon whatever Warrior was attached to it upon destruction. All around, very good to have on your side.

Meteor Black Comet Dragon is another fusion brought out by Red-Eyes Fusion, this one packing a mighty high ATK stat and an effect that Foolish Burial's a Red-Eyes and burns for its original ATK afterwards. Furthermore, if it's sent to the grave from the monster zone, you get to revive a Normal monster a la Return of the Red-Eyes just like that.

I don't suppose you'll be bringing out Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon all that much, but it's definitely got its use. Protected from destructive card effects while it has material, it also burns for 500 every time your opponent activates a card or effect. Also during either turn, you can detach a material to revive a Red-Eyes Normal monster. Man, what is it with this deck and revival of Normal monsters?

Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack is another R7 Xyz that's out and about for the effect of bringing about two tokens for free you can either use for this card's destruction effect or for additional Link summons and such. Not really much else to say, just a good niche to fill.

Another useful niche is filled by Number 11: Big Eye. This one essentially lets you gain control of one of your opponent's monsters without too much a drawback. Only real restriction on this card is that it requires two L7's to bring out, but you can't really complain since Alternative and other revivals for your L7's are things.

The one big Link monster in the deck is Predaplant Verte Anaconda. Not only can it make a monster DARK and set up different kinds of Super Poly plays, but by paying 2000 LP, you can send a Polymerization or Fusion card to the grave to copy it. Keep in mind that while sending Red-Eyes Fusion, you can still bring out its monster despite the fact you've already summoned the turn, but after that point you just can't summon again for the rest of the turn.

The other monsters in the deck are mostly your Super Polymerization targets, like First of the Dragons, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, Predaplant Dragostapelia, Mudragon of the Swamp, etc. and etc. Good for getting rid of your opponent's powerful tools and coming back with your own, as the card is known for.

 

All in all, I've grown to admire Red-Eyes and this particular build I've put together. Hopefully you find it just as fun to wave around as I did. If you've got any tips on how I can improve the deck, say, in the choice of Gemini monsters or Warrior material for Slash Dragon, do let me know in the comments below and I'll try and take it to heart as best I can. 'Till then, as far as who let you in on this particular thing, fuggedaboudit.