Extra Deck Eldlich Monarchs (Master Duel)

Hi, Grayewick the Fusionist here, back with a deck that's just as fun as it's grindy, Eldlich Extra Deck Monarchs.

So how the hell does this deck exactly works? Well see, the problem with Monarchs is that you don't exactly have a good turn one play, if you don't have access to either Thestalos the Mega Monarch or Erebus the Underworld Monarch to snipe your opponent's hand, Zaborg the Mega Monarch to mess up your opponent's Extra Deck, or Ehther the Heavenly Monarch to set up for the next turn, hopefully, and the problem with Eldlich is that it does not have a good turn two play, unless you've established tempo during your turn one set up, provided it doesn't get messed up by your opponent during their turn, which is highly unlikely that they won't, so I thought to myself "maybe I should try splashing these two together, test it, and maybe find some incidental synergies between the two archetypes", and so I did, and so I found! It turns out that both The Prime Monarch, Conquistador of the Golden Land, and Huaquero of the Golden Land are all treated as Level 5 LIGHT monsters on the field, giving this deck access to a neat Rank 5 toolbox in the Extra Deck, or Rank 8s as follow up considering the fact that all Mega Monarchs are Level 8 monsters, and Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring is a Level 3 Tuner, providing access to Level 8 Synchro plays as well. Also if you didn't know, you can Special Summon Erebus the Underworld Monarch using your Eldlixirs, if you already have an Eldlich the Golden Lord on board because apparently, he's a Zombie type monster. And so, here's the list breakdown.

The one of Monarchs:

• x1 Granmarg the Mega Monarch/Mobius the Mega Monarch - You'll usually set them up with Ehther the Heavenly Monarch against back row heavy decks, depending on whoever you needs the most or who's available.

• x1 Thestalos the Mega Monarch - This is one of the greatest turn one set ups you could have, especially if you already have an Ehther the Heavenly Monarch for the next turn, or an Eldlich setup ready. Not a lot of cards has effects that provide access to hand information, and that's what makes Thestalos important.

• x1 Raiza the Mega Monarch - This card is the first half of your second strongest disruptions (not necessarily weaker), being able to stack a card on the field on top of the deck and recycle a card on either GY to the deck. Sure, it does target, but it does not destroy, and if that card so happened to be an Extra Deck monster, your opponent would have to do all the work to bring out that monster again, but they might not even get another shot in doing so.

• x1 Caius the Mega Monarch - This is the other half of your second strongest disruption, the bane of DARK attribute monsters, and the reason as to why this is arguably stronger than Raiza, is because sure it does need to target a card, but it banishes the card and inflicts a 1000 damage to your opponent, and if it so happened to be a DARK monster, you get to banish all copies of that card from anywhere. Also, if you tributed a DARK monster for his summon, in which you have more than plenty of, optimally during your opponent's turn through Escalation of the Monarchs, you get to target TWO cards instead. That's six DARK main deck monsters banished maximum. And guess what, DARK attribute is one of if not the most popular attribute in the game, alongside LIGHT.

• x1 Zaborg the Mega Monarch - This is, what I would say, your strongest disruption relative to today's meta game in Master Duel for one simple reason, and that is he gets to mess up with your opponent's Extra Deck, and in this current format, we have a lot of meta decks that rely heavily on one of Extra Deck monsters. Sure, his effect requires you to have tributed a LIGHT monster in order for it to be activated, but you've got a lot of in-archetype LIGHT monsters, and guess what, Eldlich the Golden Lord is a LIGHT attribute monster, and so are your Golden Land Trap cards. And you do not have to pop Zaborg himself, if your opponent has a LIGHT monster that can be targeted and destroyed, and so happened to have a higher Level than Zaborg, you can destroy that monster instead, and again, much like in Caius' case, LIGHT attribute is one of the most popular attributes in the game, alongside DARK.

"Why use Xyz monsters?"

So, here's the thing. Eldlich is a resource manage focused archetype, and so are Monarchs. Pantheism of the Monarchs being at three significantly makes it faster than back when it had it at 1, and this is where we discuss mirror matches and tempo control. There is only one rule that resource focused control decks follow when it comes to facing each other, and that is "it's not about who gets to win sooner, it's about who runs out of gas later", and that's exactly what your Xyz monsters provide. Not only do they provide additional interruptions and bodies on board, but they also act as a way to slow down the pace of your deck while applying enough pressure by holding your Golden Land traps, your The Prime Monarchs, and your Monarch monsters themselves as Xyz materials. It's fine if you don't get to activate your Conquistadors and Huaqueros in your GY this turn, you've got an established board while being able to interrupt your opponent through other interactions, and when all else fails, this is why we play Psy-Framelord Omega. He is the failsafe of this deck. He gets to recover any of your banished resources while he's on the field once during your opponent's Standby Phases, and he gets to recycle himself and another card on either GY back to the deck. I'm almost tempted to run Dogmatika Punishment in this deck, if not only for the fact that I have to use my Extra Deck.

Discussing the other Extra Deck stuff:

• Draco Berserker of the Tenyi – Great monster with a non-destruction form of interruption. Can get really out of hand easily.

• Shiranui Shogunsaga – He’s just here because he’s a Level 8 Zombie Synchro you get for free. He’s a decent beat stick that can attack under Cursed Eldland.

• Psy-Framelord Omega – I’ve discussed this card already in my previous guides, there’s a reason why he’s limited and will most likely gonna stay as such. He recycles your banished Monarch, Eldlixir, and Golden Land Spells/Traps, or even any monster banished by your opponent once during each of your opponent’s Standby Phases. He also can rip a card out of your opponent’s hand at Quick Effect speed.

• Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon – Now THIS needs a bit more explaining. I have known but never really looked into this card intensively, until now that I’ve been building decks in Master Duel and have been searching for good Xyz monsters, and I told myself “Why run Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon, a once per turn spot removal, not even at Quick Effect speed when you can just run this instead, considering the fact that he can protect your LIGHT monsters, and that includes Eldlich the Golden Lord, from targeting effects, and Eldlich himself already has an effect that protects him from being destroyed, which both lasts until the end of your opponent’s next turn?” Also, not to mention the fact that because you’re playing Monarchs, you get access to a neat Rank 8 engine, and that is why we’re running Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy, which by the way, Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon can recycle from the graveyard, if opponent happens to out it.

• Crimson Knight Vampire Bram – This card, I just recently discovered and has actually made me update all of my Eldlich lists just to include it because he’s actually crazy good for Eldlich. He’s a Rank 5 Xyz monster that only requires Zombies, which should be pretty easy for you to make, that can float upon being destroyed in general. Also, he can steal monsters on your opponent’s graveyard by just detaching 1 Xyz material. I’d even say he’s a staple in every Extra Deck Eldlich build.

• Shark Fortress – Here is where the jank comes to play. We’re running two Link 2 monsters, including I:P Masquerena, that’s why I decided to go with Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax instead of Accesscode Talker, since he offers more protection. Avramax’ effect states that he can’t be targeted by card effects, and your opponent cannot target other monsters for attacks, except himself if he’s Link Summoned, which Masquerena enables. Shark Fortress’ effect also states that your opponent cannot target monsters for attacks, except itself. Now what do you get if you have two monsters that practically does the same thing? I don’t know if you’re familiar with this interaction but it’s practically like having two face-up Command Knights or Solar Flare Dragons on the field except they both taunt attacks, not diverting it away as the previously stated two does, and also, if you plan on using the Masquerena + Avramax package on a Synchro deck and you can Synchro Summon a Level 7 monster, there is a way to also do this but better, with Cyberse Quantum Dragon. It’s absolutely janky and I love it.

This deck is just wonderful. I am a Fusion strategy enjoyer, but I do appreciate decks like Monarchs in particular as well, due to its nature of it requires the pilot to pay close attention to their and their opponent's resources as well, and that's what I loved about most Fusion strategies too. But anyway, I know this isn't a cheap deck to build either, but if you happen to have the resources to build or test it, or even improve it, give it a shot. That's all.