Cryptid's Quick Lists - Zoodiac Eldlich - December 21st Build

Cryptid’s Quick Lists – Zoodiac Eldlich Dec 2020

1. Introduction


2. Combo Guide


3. Final Thoughts

1. Introduction

Before I get started I’d like to take a sec to plug my discord server The Yu-Gi-Oh Writer’s Guild. We’re a community of Yu-Gi-Oh players and content creators who host regular events and offer feedback on your lists or guides. We have a Tag-Duel Tourney coming up soon as well as more events coming early next year. If any of this interests you I’ll leave a link to the server here.

It’s been a while since I released a guide as my larger projects are taking substantial time to complete and maintain. Due to this I decided to try a shorter format guide to share lists I’m working on or playing in events that don’t fit my normal style of guide. This guide format will focus more on the decks core lines and follow-up plays along with any observations I’ve made during testing or play. All that said we’ll begin this series with with my current ranked deck Zoodiac Eldlich. On its own Zoodiac has had a storied history of meta play leading to a ban on both Zoodiac Drident and Broadbull on the September 2017 banlist. Zoodiac Drident was released to one earlier this year and this along with the recent release of Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus Sky Thunder has propelled Zoodiac to Tier 1 again. Eldlich was likewise released earlier this year and in a similar arc to Zoodiac has featured in various decks between Tiers 1-3 since. The combination of the 2 has been spotted in top-cuts throughout 2020 although I was first exposed to it via Kyle Lemieux`s top 16 list from PPG Weekend #4. My list features the standard line-up of Zoodiac monsters and a somewhat conservative Eldlich package to make room for tech choice such as the Artifact Scythe package and Imperial order.

2. Combo Guide

A quick primer before I begin our look at the deck’s combos and follow-ups I’ve chosen these particular lines due to their frequency in my time with the deck. As with my other guides I’ll try to explain a variety of follow-up options for the hands however I always encourage ones own testing with any deck to fully understand the deck’s lines.

1) Any 1 Zoodiac Monster

The first line we’ll be looking at is the deck’s most basic line for going first or second as it only requires one card. We begin by normal summoning our Zoodiac monster, for the purpose of this I’ll use Thoroughblade as an example. From there you’ll want to resolve any productive on-summon effects before overlaying Thoroughblade for Zoodiac Hammerkong. Your next choice depends on if you’re on the play or draw: if you’re on the play you’ll overlay Hammerkong into Zoodiac Drident, whereas if you’re on the draw you’ll want to overlay into Zoodiac Boarbow. Drident will give you at least a pop going first, if not more depending on which Zoodiac monsters are attached to her and what else you opened. On the other hand Zoodiac Boarbow enables Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus – Sky Thunder going second as potentially an OTK that turn depending on what else you opened. Conveniently AA-Zeus is also a suitable follow-up if you overlay an additional couple Zoodiac XYZ’s monsters during the line. Both of these lines are independently powerful as well as an excellent compliment to other forms of interaction like Imperial Order or Artifact Sanctum.

2) Zoodiac Ratpier

Next up is the staple combo of 2020 Zoodiac decks: The Megaclops Combo. For those unaware Infinitrack Fortress Megaclops is an enormous link 3 requiring 3 XYZs monsters to summon, a trivial task for this list. While there are a number of lines that can end on Megaclops I’ve chosen to cover the most direct line. Starting from the summon of Zoodiac Ratpier we activate its effect to Foolish Zoodiac Ramram before overlaying into Zoodiac Hammerkong and Zoodiac Chakanine respectively. From there you’ll want to detach Hammerkong for Chakanine’s effect to summon Ramram from the graveyard before overlaying Chakanine into Zoodiac Drident. We then use Drident’s effect to destroy Ramram by detaching Chakanine before re-summoning Chakanine with Ramram’s graveyard effect. To finish the line all we have to do is overlay Zoodiac Drident into Zoodiac Tigermortar and use her effect (ideally by detaching Drident itself for extra set-up) to attach Ramram to Chakanine in order to fire her effect again to summon Hammerkong. Finally we’ll link all 3 XYZs into the titular Infinitrack Fortress Megaclops. On its own it represents a large and mostly immovable body however combined with any other interaction such as our Eldlich engine or Handtraps, Megaclops can spell a quick defeat for your opponent.

3) Cursed Eldland + Any Eldlich Spell/Trap + Zoodiac Ratpier

The final line we'll be covering today is a hybrid, based on average end boards of both halves of the deck. To start we first normal summon Zoodiac Ratpier before activating its effect to foolish Zoodiac Ramram. From there we'll overlay into Zoodiacs Hammerkong and Chakanine before activating Chakanine's effect by detaching Hammerkong to summon Hammerkong from the graveyard. It's at this point that the Eldlich portion of the deck comes into play with Cursed Eldland. Use it search Eldlich the Golden Lord before discarding your Eldlich Spell/Trap of choice to send Cursed Eldland to the graveyard. From there we trigger it's effect to Foolish another relevant Edlich card, in this case I'll use Haquero of the Golden Land as an example. Next we set our Eldlich Spell/Trap and pop it so activate Eldlich the Golden Lord's resurrection effect. From here we can close the Eldlich half of the line by activating the grave effects of both Eldlich Spell/Traps we Foolished during the preceding plays. Finally to finish we'll overlay Zoodiac Chakanine into Zoodiac Tigermortar. We then use her effect to attach Zoodiac Ramram to Hammerkong before overlaying Chakanine into Zoodiac Drident. All together this board will optimally leave you with 2 pops and pseudo-Towers in the form of Eldlich the Golden Lord and Zoodiac Hammerkong, plus any other applicable interaction one opens.

3. Final Thoughts

At the end of this guide I'd just like to thank everyone for reading this! Let me know what you think of the new format in the comments below or my server, link here.

As the meta continues to evolve post the December 2020 Banlist one can expect a variety of changes to established strategies as well as a few newcomers in the form of decks like Draitron. However Zoodiac Eldlich seems to be evergreen in the current meta just as it has been all year. The deck’s power was raised somewhat with the addition of AA-Zeus but at its dual-archetype core the deck's lines are mostly unchanged from earlier builds. I've really enjoyed my time with the deck despite a lack of any meaningful competitive data due to its sheer versatility across a variety of openings. If I had to pick on one weakness of this build it would be its reliance on the normal summon sticking on the first turn in order to execute its powerful extradeck plays. One could perhaps remedy this with the addition of a card like Triple Tactics Talent although I don't think that will help versus more control oriented strategies. Overall Zoodiac Eldlich is a solid deck with some interesting interaction and several powerful pay-offs but is limited due to its reliance on the normal summon.