Centur-Ion initially released in the OCG in Valiant Smashers alongside Memento and Vaalmonica, and was the one I zeroed in on immediately. It had cute girls and mecha, which is like a match made in heaven for me, and it was the most immediately powerful of the archetypes in that pack (compared to the mediocre starting states of Memento and Vaalmonica, even if both decks now have much better support). In Master Duel, it's...
Very playable! Like, it's in the Tier 2-3 bubble where it's clearly not as powerful as Snake-Eye/Yubel, but it's very capable of contending with the best and winning games with reasonable consistency. A lot of consistency, no less, since we run 12 one-card starters (Primera, Trudea, Emblema, Stand Up). It's very easy to make the deck get going, and once you get going you have a lot of grind that's hard to bust through.
Centur-Ion Engine
- Primera is our archetypal Stratos, searching out anything that isn't another copy of herself (or Emblema Oath since it's our out-of-archetype-by-name search spell) and also our Tuner by which to Synchro with. Also protects our Level 5+ Centur-Ion monsters from destruction by effect, which can be really funny when your opponent decides to discard their entire hand trying to blow up Auxila with Jowgen (literally happened to me in the Duelist Cup, they spent 4 cards on trying to out Auxila that way), but otherwise mostly just translates to making boards harder to bust before you do an Accel Synchro. Run 3.
- Trudea is Primera's partner in the lore, and allows easy access to Primera in scenarios where you don't draw her (and lets you get into Gargoyle II if you aren't under Maxx 'C' or aren't concerned about Nibiru). Very painful when she gets Imperm'd, but otherwise she's another playmaker. Once again, run 3 copies.
- Stand-Up Centur-Ion! is our archetypal field spell that does basically everything. It gets you into full combo if you didn't open Primera/Trudea (for the cost of a discard, which cannot be performed under Shifter as an aside), and gives you the ability to Synchro on your opponent's turn. For the third time, you run 3 copies. Also Primera's doing the ever-goated Gunbuster pose in the art, because this archetype is peak.
- Emblema Oath is that aforementioned not in the archetype by name searcher (like Stake Your Soul or Nadir Servant), which either puts a Centur-Ion monster in your zone as a Trap (which can be summoned immediately) or sets a Centur-Ion Spell/Trap (normal S/T rules apply there). Yet again, you're running 3 copies, this also represents full combo.
- Gargoyle II is the Level 8 I usually try to snag if I can, as it adds itself back to hand after being used for Synchro material. Every card that isn't a 1 card starter, this one included, is probably best run at 1 copy. You want to minimize the amount of bricks since this deck 'only' has 12 direct starters, and most of the cards here don't need multiples to be useful.
- Emeth VI is a second level 8, mostly just a safe discard fodder that can help you dodge some stuff and get another 8 on the field. Perfectly cuttable, I'm debating axing it myself.
- Bonds is an extender/recovery tool, allowing you to fix awkward scenarios where something leaves the field or the wrong thing gets Imperm'd.
- Wake Up Centur-Ion! is another extender, a way to Synchro with Primera if you can't get an 8 on the field in some other way, and even Foolish Burials a Centur-Ion card afterward by banishing itself from the GY.
- Phalanx is our primary end-board trap, banishing a card until the next Standby Phase. Notably, the nature of it does trigger SS effects (like our Synchros and Primera) and prevents cards like Phantom of Yubel from coming back. It also revives a Centur-Ion monster (including our Synchros) by banishing itself from the GY. I run 1 copy, but there is an argument for 2 I feel.
- True Awakening is an omni-negate Counter Trap with the requirement of sending a face-up monster in your S/T zone to the GY. It's not quite as powerful as it sounds, as it requires relatively specific hands to get an extra monster in the S/T zone (and oftentimes conflicts with whichever supplementary engines you're running since they often use other Continuous Spell/Traps), but when it works it works very well. I run 1 copy, but it is entirely cuttable.
- Auxila is our most important Synchro, and your thing to make turn 1 no matter what. It searches a Centur-Ion card on Special Summon and protects your face-up Spell/Traps (including any non-Centur-Ion ones you might be running, whether they're stun floodgates or King's Sarc or Branded Regained) from all card effects your opponent throws at it. and in the End Phase, it puts a Centur-Ion from GY/banishment in your S/T zone as a Continuous Trap. I run 2, but there's argument for pretty much any quantity of it.
- Legatia is the original boss monster, and still an important card for busting through your opponent's monsters. It draws 1 on summon and then lets you destroy the monster your opponent controls with the highest ATK. It also has a similar effect to Auxila, though only from hand or GY. I run 1 copy, but you can run more if you've got the space.
With all the Centur-Ion engine complete, that only accounts for 18 cards in the main deck. That's not enough on its own to make a deck. There's a decent number of options for filling out the deck, the most common as far supplementary engines go being either Horus or Bystial. Horus gives you access to the Rank 8 XYZ pool and makes it easier to get into the Centur-Ion part of your deck, Bystial has the potent grind from Regained+Beast and the Level 10 Synchro pool. Feel free to experiment. I run a large Horus engine for the purpose, since it allows access to Giantrainer to dig through the deck.
The rest of the deck is comprised of hand-traps and 3x Evenly Matched, pretty simple stuff. Pick and choose what you like, there's not really a defined "best" choice for non-engine because it's defined by the meta and not the deck itself.
As for the Extra Deck, while we lack Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity, Crimson Dragon is still an extremely potent card and my usual pick for what I make on my opponent's turn. Quasar is an omni-negate that is a pain to out, and Supernova is a board-wipe that can basically ruin your opponent's day if you time it right.
Rank 8 XYZ priority is usually Photon Lord > Hope Harbinger going first, as monster effects usually tend to be more problematic than Spells, but use your discretion and think about the format you're in and which one would be more useful going up against the best decks. Giantrainer should only be used if you need to dig, and remember that it doesn't work if you go to the Battle Phase for any reason (usually Evenly Matched). And Dingirsu is just another board-breaker, because every drop of board-busting is valuable in a format like Master Duel.
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