Dino decks are interesting in that they have a lot of modularity but are largely a combo deck. The core of a Dino deck is very similiar as is the main strategy: find double evolution pill to special summon Ultimate Conductor Tyranno (UCT) after destroying multiple Babycerasaurus or Petiterandons; use Ultimate Conductor Tyranno to book of moon all your opponent's creatures and smash through them. They get very interesting in how they get there and how they utilize their deck ratios: The entire core of a dino deck can be stripped down all the way to under 20 cards with only 3 or so cards that are needed in the extra deck. Some tournament meta decks strip the core and shove in all the hand traps to watch out for and 3 crossout designators, some people try Dino Albaz, Dino Eldlich, etc. There are so many ways to build dino decks, and anyone who says Dino Dekcs are stale hasn't played enough dinos or just been squashed by UCT too many times.
This variant of Dinos tries to cover all its bases. uses the scrap engine as extenders and 4 cards for True King as Extenders and the Dinomorphia route as protection. The latter 2 engines are very small but highly synergistic. This Dino deck prefers going 1st just to open a board of floodgates., negates, and destruction. Even though Dino decks can OTK quite easily, this deck does not do well going second against a board of negates or floodgates.
INDIVIDUAL CARD/ENGINE BREAKDOWN:
DINO Engine:
Main Deck engine
DInos need their normal summon and are thus essential to get as much ash bait as possible.
Example strategy: Fossil Dig: Find Misc. Discard Miscellaneousaurus to protect your dinosaur monsters. Banish Misc from GY to special summon animadorned Archosaur, destroy dino in hand, find Double Evolition pill. Link Away with a link 1, Banish both a dino and the Link 1 or a hand trap to special summon UCT.
The strategy can also be accomplished through Souleating Oviraptor, but oviraptor is more prone to Ash and Effect Veiler hand traps and leaves you with a dead board. However, Oviraptor is a level 4 and can be much more versatile on the field for the extra deck. As far as dinos in eggs go, Baby finds almost engine starters, Petite is used to find Dinowrestler Pankrytops or Dogoron for a big body on board.
SET ROTATION:
3 Lost World// Dragonic Diagram // Mystic Mine// Magical Midfield Breaker
My philosophy with set rotation is that you should have 5 total fields in the main and side deck where just one terraforming is not enough. Any less is a brick. Set rotation is great for knocking out an Opponent's field spell or preventing them from activating any field spell at all. As such, they can stop decks that need a field spell such as Numerons or field spells that kill dinos such as Necrovalley and Zombie World.
LOST WORLD
Lord world is kind of busted. Prevents you from gettting hit with Lightning Storm, evenly matched on turn 1, slows a D/D/D deck in its trail, etc. My favorite play is going first game 2, activating lost world, and then flipping a Rivalry of Warlords I had in the sideboard, locking my opponent into Dinosaur monsters they weren't using.
Mystic Mine helps you build resources and can be knocked out with your own field spell; lord knows when KONAMI will ban it in the TCG
TRUE KING:
2 Cards
True King Lithosagym + Dragonic Diagram: Synergizes with Dinos because they let you destroy monsters as card effect, killing dino babies in hand. Lithosagym also banishes your opponent's extra deck.
DINOMORPHIA:
2-3 cards.
Use this to special summon Dinomorphia Terrizia: and set the Dinomorphia Shell. If you get hit with Nibiru or a Raigeki, you have to rely on your backrow as protection. I don't own a Terrizia as of October, but it's a card I want. It was $30 for a while when it got scalped in May after doing well in Master Duel, then stabilized back to $10 a few months later, but it just doesn't do enough for me splash down $10 for the card. Replace 1 Animadorned Archosaur.
SCRAP Engine:
5 cards+ 1 extra deck monster Just another thing you can destroy. Best when used as a special summon. It’s a way to spam out level four creatures for Ranks and Links summons. Scrap Golem x1 can be replaced with Scrap Chimera depending on your build. Usually people use one Golem and One Chimera because once you link away into scrap dragon, you can special summon one golem and keep comboing off. However, Golem is a garnet and the Chimera can easily be used for Rank 4 monsters.
3x POT OF PROSPERITY Dino decks have the inherent issue of being bricky. 3 pot of prosperity would realy help the deck (if a playset wasn't triple digits). You caj take out the dinimorphia ir true king package for 3 pots.
Psy frame package. Is qirth adding so you can prevent getting ashed and have aome synchoes and link climbing to do.
If you asjust the extra deck for 2 evolzars, knightmares, and linkuribohs, pot if extravagance is also good.
Expensive cards to consider: Link 4 monsters: Appouloussa: Goddess of the Bow: Mainly used to negate Nibiru.
Accesscode Talker + link 3s; surprisingly easy to link climb in this deck.
Side Deck: Strategize going first cards and your typical backrow/Dimensional Barrier cards. Solemn Strike is a great budget option.
May 2022 update
Pl
Book of eclipse is great sideboard and mainbiars with the stupid kashtira lock.
You can even start mainbiarding change of heart these days.
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