November 2024's YCS Bologna's winner was Magical Musketeer Fiendsmith, piloted by Matthieu Bricard! Ever since, many other duelists have picked up this strategy for it's "low to the ground" grindy control playstyle in a meta where handtraps reign supreme. Able to handtrap to a standstill combo decks like Maliss and power through a mid-range deck's interruption like Ryzeal, Magical Musketeer Fiendsmith remains a dangerous competitor in the current meta!
The ridiculously powerful link-1s of both Magical Musketeer (Magical Musketeer Max) and Fiendsmith (Fiendsmith Requiem) give the strategy a lot of resilience through interruption and the ability to generate a lot of bodies for link summoning. If one archetype gets handtrapped (for example, when you summon Max), you can easily pivot to the other archetype (link away Max for Requiem) since both link-1s require only a light fiend monster! Handtraps are easily brushed aside in this strategy, with only the most powerful handtraps like Mulcharmy Fuwalos and Dimension Shifter able to fully stop the turn. Due to the sheer amount of link material, Magical Fiendsmith also can also tap into Unchained, giving you access to resource recursion and extra interruption through Unchained Soul of Yama and Unchained Soul of Rage.
If your opening hand has both Magical Musket and Fiendsmith, this deck ends on a whopping 5-6 layered interruptions! On top of that, this deck sports room for 22 staples, with 19 of them being handtraps! If you're looking for a deck to hardcounter combo heavy decks like Maliss while being able to withstand a ton of handtraps/interruption from midrange decks like Ryzeal, you've chosen the correct deck to pilot!
Want to see the deck in action? Scroll to the very bottom for the Youtube video!
ARCHETYPES AND DECKBUILDING
Magical Musketeer Fiendsmith is actually technically made out of 3 fiend archetypes, with the main two mentioned in the name and the third being Unchained. The other half of the deck is composed of staple cards, mostly consisting of handtraps.
FIENDSMITH is the main "engine" that keeps this deck running, and is a recurring engine that recycles light fiends that keeps the grindgame of this strategy going. Since it is the main strategy, the Fiendsmith cards are maxxed out for extra consistency. The Fiendsmith spells are also maxxed out since they have synergy with the Magical Musket monsters. It is composed of x3 Engraver, x3 Lacrima the Crimson Tears, x3 Tract, x3 Sanct, x1 Lurrie and x1 Paradise.
The MAGICAL MUSKETEER package in this deck is minimal, and it's used primarily as a way to generate extra link material, bait interruption, and to provide more fusion material for the summon of Fiendsmith Desirae. It is composed of x3 Starfire and x1 Calamity in the maindeck. There is x1 Max in the Extra Deck. Despite the low count of Magical Musket monsters, these cards are recyclable from the graveyard due to the Fiendsmith cards.
The UNCHAINED cards are a mini package in this deck that raises the power ceiling of the endboard. There are only two cards in the maindeck - x1 Sharvara and x1 Escape of the Unchained. Given you have enough link material, you can end on both Unchained Soul of Rage and Fiendsmith Desirae, complete with a set Escape of the Unchained and an Unchained Yama in the graveyard. If fully set up, these cards adds an extra 4 interruptions to your endboard (Rage's link away, S:P's double banish, and Escape's pop!)
STAPLES form nearly half of the cards in this strategy! A whopping 19 handtraps are used, and the best ones were chosen specifically for this format - x3 Ash Blossom, x3 Effect Veiler, x3 Infinite Impermance, x3 Dominus Purge, x3 Mulcharmy Fuwalos, x2 Nibiru and x2 Ghost Ogre. 2 Triple Tactics Talent is used since it's almost always live with all the monster-based interruption and handtraps during the Main Phase. Finally, x1 Called By the Gave is used to get the edge in handtrap wars.
In the SIDE DECK, 6 handtraps are there to hardcounter Maliss - x3 Artifact Lancea and x3 Chaos Hunter. x3 Droll and Lockbird are used for ideal match-ups. x3 Dimensional Barrier is used to blow out decks dependent on 1 Extra Deck type. Finally, 2 Purulia is for more draw power. Archfiend Eccentrick is a searchable light fiend with Fiendsmith Tract and it can destroy monsters and spells.
COMBOS AND GAMEPLAN
Fiendsmith Magical Musketeer is adaptable - it can create a board with multi-layered interactions, with up to 6 interruptions + handtraps in hand! Or it can play low to the ground - for example if your opponent activates Fuwalos - you can just give your opponent a singular draw while you set up your entire gameplan!
This deck functions as a grindy midrange control deck that specializes in destroying combo-centric strategies. The duelist simplifies the gamestate by drowning their opponent in handtraps, then using the combined resource generating power of Fiendsmith, Magical Muskets and Unchained. Overtime, the duelist should overpower their opponent with a gigantic Fiendsmith Desirae and his other fiendish pals.
Here is the best possible board available with Magical Musketeer Fiendsmith:
Magical Musketeer Starfire + Fiendsmith Engraver + Either Fiendsmith Tract/Sanct = Fiendsmith Desirae (omni-negate on field), Fiendsmith in Paradise in GY (targeted send to GY if it sends Desirae from Extra Deck), Unchained Soul of Rage (links away opponent's monster into S:P Little Knight x2 banish, also it recycles fiends from GY), Escape of the Unchained (targeted pop), Unchained Soul of Yama in GY (summons fiend from GY), Lacrima of the Crimson Tears (generates follow-up for next turn)
Normal summon Magical Musketeer Starfire.
Discard Fiendsmith Engraver to search for Fiendsmith Tract.
Activate Fiendsmith Tract in the S/T zone behind Starfire to search for Fabled Lurrie, then discard Lurrie.
CL1 Lurrie's mandatory effect to summon from GY, CL2 Starfire's effect to summon from deck Magical Musketeer Calamity.
Link summon Magical Musketeer Max using Starfire.
Link summon Fiendsmith Requiem using Lurrie.
Activate Fiendsmith Sanct in the S/T zone behind Calamity to summon a Fiendsmith Token.
Activate Calamity's trigger effect to summon from the GY Starfire.
Activate Fiendsmith Requiem's effect to summon from deck Lacrima of the Crimson Tears.
Lacrima's on-summon effect sends to the GY Fiendsmith In Paradise.
Link summon Unchained Soul Lord of Yama using Magical Musketeer Max + Fiendsmith Token.
Yama's on-summon effect searches for Unchained Soul of Sharvara from deck.
Summon from the GY Engraver by shuffling back into Extra Deck Magical Musketeer Max.
Link summon Fiendsmith's Sequence using Lacrima + Engraver.
Activate Sequence's effect to fusion summon Fiendsmith Desirae by shuffling back Engraver + Calamity + Lurrie.
Activate Sharvara's effect in-hand to destroy Sequence.
Link summon Unchained Soul of Rage using Sharvara + Yama.
Sharvara's trigger effect when sent to the GY sets from deck Escape of the Unchained.
Activate Sequence's effect in the GY to equip itself to Fiendsmith Desirae.
With this endboard, you have Desirae's omni-negate, the targeted-send of Fiendsmith in Paradise (send Desirae from Extra), Soul of Rage's link -> S:P Little Knight's double banish, Escape of the Unchained's targeted pop, and the follow-up for next turn with Requiem/Lacrima and Rage/Yama! On top of that, this deck contains a ton of handtraps as well! All opponents are generally hard pressed when facing this strategy because of the barrage of handtraps followed by the overwhelming grindgame of Fiendsmiths and Magical Musketeers!
HELP! I'VE BEEN MULCHARMY FUWALOS'D!
In this scenario, you normal summon your light fiend, then you link summon into Fiendsmith Requiem. That way, you'd give your opponent only one draw! During your opponent's turn, you tribute Requiem to summon Lacrima from deck, and she sends to the GY Fiendsmith in Paradise which is one interruption.
GENERAL TIPS
Your siding patten for this deck is take out any handtrap irrelevant to the matchup and replace it with appropriate cards. You can also take out both Unchained cards, and 1 each of Sanct and Lacrima, at the risk of less consistency.
Remember, this deck's main condition is to simplify your opponent's gamestate with handtraps while outgrinding your opponent of resources. Try not to give your opponent extra draws with the Mulcharmies! Also, you generally draw 2 with Triple Tactics Talent.
Magical Musketeer Max is an excellent way to bait interruption going second! If your opponent doesn't stop it, you get a lot of free advantage!
If you are struck with a Mulcharmy Fuwalos, simply just normal summon a light fiend and summon Fiendsmith Requiem, giving your opponent extra card to draw. During your opponent's turn, tribute Requiem to summon Lacrima from deck, sending to GY Paradise for an interruption!
The natural counter to handtrap-centric decks like Fiendsmith Magical Musketeer are trap decks. Trap decks generally don't care about handtraps too much, and since there is no main or side-decked backrow hate they tend to flourish. Beware of decks like Labrynth!
CONCLUDING REMARKS
I've always liked midrange decks that can support a ton of handtraps or staples. It allows for the best Yugioh to happen, where both duelists have a back-and-forth trading resources, cards and monsters on the battlefield. Fiendsmith Magical Musketeer allows for that! You can go either first or second, and actually play proper games vs. almost any deck this format can throw at you! Also, something is so unfathomably cool and unfair when you use a link-1 of 1 archetype to pivot into another link-1 monster of a second archetype! The unique identity of Fiendsmith Magical Musketeer as the premier "link-1" deck and the fun characteristics of its gameplay make this deck one of my favourites to ever pilot.
GLHF Duelists!
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