True Draco Monarchy

Hello everyone, this is my first submission. The deck I'm gonna present to you today is the one I currently use, it is a True Draco deck that I built when I came back to YGO in Master Rule 3, I updated it since then so it would always stay relevant and work around nerfs the archetype received. To this day, its purpose is still the same, being an excellent Anti-Meta deck that is able to have a great control of the field as well as limiting the opponent's options.

Composition :

Monsters :

• Metaltron x1 : A very good boss monster, provided you summon it correctly it gets a full effect immunity (even to yours), it can also be discarded and called by through TK Return. We do not make use of his second effect in this deck, you are free to swap it for another monster if you wish to.
• Dinomight x3 : Probably the best TD monster (save for the Holy Master Peace), is finaly back at 3. You want to get one out on the field ASAP to set up your continous traps.
• Dreiath x2 : A very good monster that protects your other True Draco monsters from getting targetted by effects, which is still rather common in the Meta, it's always good to have on the field, its second effect is also very good as you can float a body or Metaltron (but without their effects). I advise running at least 1, I decided to opt for a 2nd for consistency.
• Ignis Heat x2 : The Spell counterpart to Dinomight, it is less strong but it is still a decent monster to have, you can add a third copy but IMO the spells aren't as important as the traps despite being draw engines.
• Majesty Maiden x2 : Another good monster to have, it's weaker than the other in the TD archetype but it is a searcher for another TD monster that you need.
• Night Dragolich x3 : A surprisingly underused card, especially with TD, it is a Wyrm monster that switches all non-Wyrm Special Summoned Monsters to Defense position as well as reducing their current Defense Value by their original Value (which often means it will be set to 0). Given the fact that all TD monsters in this deck are Wyrm, there is absolutely no reason not to use such a simple but extremely efficient monster. Seriously, keep it at 3 and enjoy. Be mindful however because it is completly useless against any decent Branded player !
• Master Peace x0 (for now) : FINALY Komoney remembered Master Peace was stuck in the banlist and decided to bring it back to 1 in OCG. Master Peace. It's too early to see if it will allow TD to be better as a Rogue deck and have some appearances in tournaments. MP shares Metaltron's immunity to the tributed type of cards and has another effect (arguably the reason he was banned) that pops a card on the field during each turn in exchange for bannishing a continuous spell or trap from your GY (which we run 15 of in the deck).

You may be tempted to add Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (or even Uria, Lord of Searing Flames) in a deck with so many Continous Spells (and Traps) and wonder why I don't use them. The short answer is that those are bait cards for TD decks. The long answer is that even if there probably will be a duel in which you can summon Hamon and laugh in a 4000 ATK monster that deals 1000 effect damage each time it destroys another monster and that offers attack protection to other monsters when staying in DEF mode, it would also require you to also run at least 1 or 2 copies of Cerulean Skyfire to efficiently protect and make the most out of Hamon, which would take up precious Deck Space for cards that you cannot search and that have very poor synergy (not "innexistant" because of the continous TD spells) with TD cards. I'm sorry for the long parenthesis to talk about this but it is a common mistake begginer TD players make when they want to create a deck. So, please, for the love of the Egyptian Gods, don't do that, it's genuinely trolling and will cost you much more duels than it will win you.

Spells :

• Dragonic Diagram x1 : I would bet it is the strongest Field Spell in YGO (save for Mystic Mines and Stromberg), it is PERFECT for the archetype : each TD Monsters can't be destroyed in battle once EACH TURN. You can also discard any card on the field or in your hand to search for any TD card in your deck once per turn. And as a side benefit, TD monsters gain 300 ATK and DEF. If it gets back to 2 or 3, we will play 2 or 3.
• TD Heritage x3 : Depending on the number of TD cards you discarded during this turn, you can draw the same ammount once per turn. Needless to say it can turn up into a +2 / +3 or more on each use.
• TD Disciples x2 : Your main (and only) recycling tool, but that card lost a lot of value with Dinomight and TK Return being unlimited as it used to be a life saver if they got poped. Maybe I will consider to add back the third copy if Master Peace comes back in the TCG, for now, it can be a dooming brick in a starting hand. It also allows you to get a +1 once per activation, which is always nice in the long run.
• Terraforming x1 : Well, do I even need to tell you why ?
• Domain of the True Monarch x1 : This card is actually very good with TD, you do not run an Extra Deck here and decks relying on Tribute Summoning are very rare. Being allowed to lock your opponent out of their own Extra Deck is devastating in the current Meta. Its second effect is also very good to make up for TD's generally low ATK values. You can run more than one copy of it, don't forget you can search it with Terraforming too.
• Card of Demise x1 : A very good instant +2 card. The prices you pay for it are no big deal, setting up a good field is better than inflicting damage and discarding unused monsters is okay since you can bring them back with TK Return or recycle them with DC Disciples.
• Pot of Duality x2 : This card is decent, you trade it for one of the next 3 cards in your deck, it is a +0 but you get to chose what you need the most out of the options you get, and you do not Special Summon anyways. I used to run 3 copies but it's a big L when you open two copies of it.
• The Monarch's Stormforth x2 : Give the Kaiju / Super Poly treatment to any big wall or annoying generic meta staple standing in your way. That cheesy strat DOES NOT target but you might need to bait potential negates, so you have to be creative to get it right. I run two copies, praying that I won't get both in my opening hand, but even then, you could set them both and use one of the TD/TK traps Tribute Summon effect during opponent's turn in conjunction with this card to out their starter with a spare in case of a negate !

Traps :

• TK Return x3 : A very important card to keep you alive and get bodies back for tribute summoning if you do not want to disrupt your backrow. Every turn without Return on your field is a (re)turn you didn't play right ! I would recommend to keep it at 3 but you could drop it to two if you play all 3 copies of Dinomight to search for it. TK Return counts as a TD Trap !
• TD Apocalypse x3 : This card is also very strong but it requires finesse to use correctly, you can **** up your opponent really badly with both of its effects, but we'll talk about it later.
• The Monarchs Erupt x3 : It negates the effects of all monsters that were not Tribute Summoned, that's it, I don't need further explanation. Allthough you gotta make sure to always have a Tribute Summoned monster on your field, which shouldn't be too hard.
• Waterfall of Dragon Souls x2 : A good search card, especially if you abuse its second effect (we'll come to it later). You can add a 3rd copy if you want.
• Rivalry of Warlords OR Gozen Match x1 : Those cards are staples now, being preciously usefull against a lot of modern Meta Decks. You are stuck to one copy of each and I advise against putting both in you Main Deck at the same time and to pick the one you need with the other waiting patiently in the Side Deck.
• Infinite Impermanence x2 : I only run two handtrap slots in this deck because I prefer to play the good old YGO and rely on my combos to out threats in a more stylish way. I pick Imperm for the negate and potential backrow stun but you can replace it with any other handtraps you like. You could also probably remove some copies of other cards to run more handtraps.

Previously on the list :

• Storming MF : That MF used to be fire, literally. Yeeting all ATK position monsters your opponent controls into his hand (or extra-deck) could, if you got it off, opponents to instantly surrender (and sometimes call ******** or flame you). However, this card is now dead as it cannot deal with all the blanket protection effects running around and it is too specific.
• Escalation of the Monarchs : Tribute Summoning during your opponent's Battle Phase was always fun and giggles, but asside from that, it is now time to rest. One of the combos explained later can make use of it, so feel free to fool around if you dare !

Playstyle :

True Dracos have held a good spot as an anti-meta deck since their release, being really dominant in 2017 and early 2018 (and still being strong in 2020). Despite numerous limitations and bans that have since then been mostly all lifted (save for the Main Boss : Master Peace), the Archetype is very good and almost always combined with other Archetypes to solidify its or the other Archetype's strengths while covering for weaknesses. Now a Rogue, this deck is making use of Monarch cards to make it hard for the opponent to Special Summon (as well as locking down the Extra Deck). As I said earlier, I have been using this deck for a long time and I think my win-ratio throughout the years is roughly or above 50%, IRL and Online, YGO.PRO and Master Duel. However, living in a small town far away from the bigger cities, I have not taken part in any major tournament for a while, which would be this deck's true test as a Rogue Deck. In the past, I used to have a harder time going against other TD or Monarch decks, the end result depended more on the RNG and luck than anything else and against Dark Magicians and Vanilla Blue-Eyes decks (by Vanilla I mean decks that want to summon the regular BE White Dragon without using Chaos Max / Neo Ultimate or any other non-normal monsters) as they were unaffected by some of my lockdown cards. I also had some trouble against some Phantasms decks when having a mediocre starting hand as they are Power Decks that do not rely much on the Extra Deck and you need to make perfect use of your resources to dispatch them. In the present day however, things are complicated, going second is very hard except if you open with everything you need. Playing against Branded decks can also make you bang your face or your fist on your desk but I guess this is the same for any other Rogue decks.

Not gonna lie, I'm expecting you to know how TD work and what their unique gimmick here if you came here and read this far but I'm going to sumarize it incase it is not your case. TD Monsters are to be Tribute Summoned and they can use Continous Spells or Traps to be Summoned. TD Spells have two effects in common : They allow you to Tribute Summon a TD Monster once during your Main Phase (in addition to your Normal Summon) and, if they are sent from your field to the Graveyard (through being use as Tribute or Destroyed / Discarded), they allow you to destroy any Spell or Trap card on the field. TD Traps also have two shared effects : They allow you to Tribute Summon a TD Monster once during your OPPONENT'S Main Phase and, if they are sent from your field to the Graveyard (through being use as Tribute or Destroyed / Discarded), they allow you to destroy any Monster card on the field. That means that you have to be mindfull of your cards and how you manage them. You nevertheless have the ability to cycle a lot through your deck and to draw or search a lot of cards through clever usage of your effects. If you go first, you want to assert dominance over your opponent and to make sure you won't have your field shatered in an instant and to get OTK-ed, which is the point of the current Meta, relying on the "Monarch" aspect of the deck and Dreiath for cover. If you go second, you want to break your opponent's field wide open with your spells and traps and to make sure he does not have any chances of making a come back (with Dragolich to lock him out of special summoning from the GY for example). Do not hesitate to tribute your TD spells or traps if you need to get rid of the opponent's backrow or monsters, even if that means tributing TK Return, the gods will forgive you in that leads you to a victory, especially now that it is not Limited anymore. Also, do not be the noob that activates the Spell and Traps GY effects when your opponent have nothing you can target, you will have to destroy one of your own card and you will look (and feel) dumb. Anyways, this deck has a lot of Combo Potential, here is a few examples to get you started, I'll let you discover the rest by yourself !

Combos and Tricks

10 IQ combos :

• Card of Demise + TK Return
  • Just send TD monsters to the GY during your End Phase, and instantly after doing that, summon one with TK Return.
  • You can also "cheese" the damage immunity this card grants to your opponent if you use it during your Main Phase 2.
• Dragonic Diagram + Any TD Spell or Trap (+TD Heritage) set or activated on the field
  
  • You not only get to search a card you need, you also yeet a card your opponent controls in the process.
  • After that, you can use TD Heritage to draw a card (or more if you sent more TD cards from the field to your GY this turn).
• TD Apocalypse (+ Dreiath III) + TK Return
  • When your opponent attacks, use TD Apo to target a monster you control and send it to the GY to halve the opponnent's monsters ATK points, then use TD Return to bring that same monster if Defense position.
  • This combo gains 90 bonus IQ if the monster you sent to the GY is Dreiath as you will be able to use its effect to summon any TD monster and then you can call back one of the highest DEF points TD monster.

100 IQ combos :

• TD Apocalypse + TD Apocalypse or TK Return
  
  • When your opponent attacks, use TD Apo and target another TD Apo or TK Return, not only will your opponent's monsters lose half their ATK points, you will also be able to pop one.
  • Bonus points if you use it during the Battle Phase, when an opponent declares an attack.
• TD Apocalypse + TD Apocalypse
  • Just use TD Apocalypse effects twice, halving even further your opponent's monsters ATK. Be mindfull however, the trick here is that you cannot use that combo in the same Chain, so you will have to find a way to create two different Chain blocks !
  • Just like the previous combo, you get bonus points if you use it when your opponent declares an attack.
• Waterfall of Dragon Souls (+ Dreiath III) + TK Return (+ TD Heritage) (+TD Disciples)
  • Use WDS second effect to send a monster you control to the GY to draw two cards (or more if you sent more monsters to the GY with that effect).
  • Add 100 IQ if that monster was Dreiath (you know the reason if you read the TD Apo + TD Return Combo).
  • Add 300 additional IQ if you then use TD Heritage to draw even more cards (tho it has to be during your turn).
  • Make it over 9000 IQ if you can then get TD Disciples off and to draw one last card.
• Metaltron XII + Dreiath III (+TK Return) (+Any TD Spell)
  • Use Dreiath to Tribute summon Metaltron, then use its effect to special summon another Metaltron (if you have multiple copies of it) or any other TD Monster.
  • Add 100 IQ if you then bring it back with TK Return.
  • Add Cyber Dragon Nova IQ if you then use a TD Spell to Tribute Summon another Dreiath.
  • Add Cyber Dragon Infinity IQ if you once again use a TD Spell to Tribute that other normal summoned Dreiath to Tribute Summon another monster (and Special Summon again with Dreiath).

500 IQ Combo :

• Escalation of the Monarch + Metaltron XII + Dreiath III (+TK Return) (+Any TD Trap)
  • That is actually the same combo than the one I just mentionned, but you will start it during your opponent's Main Phase or Battle Phase instead of during your turn, causing Chaos within is mind as you play YOUR TURN during theirs.
  • If you do that during the opponent's Battle Phase, you won't be able to use the (+Any TD Trap) part and you will have to wait for your opponent to get to his Main Phase 2, you can circumvent that issue with Escalation of the Monarch.
  • Seriously, it already happened to me several times that confused opponents mistakenly ended their Battle Phase or lost to the Timer because they weren't sure who had to play and what Phase we were in anymore.

Lockdown Combo :

Night Dragolich + Any Tribute Summoned TD Monster (preferably Dreiath or Metaltron or both) + Monarch's Erupt + Domain of the True Monarchs + TD Apo + A card ready to be used for TD Apo + Infinite Impermanence ready. Your opponent can only break it piece by piece, and you should be able to deal with it.  

In conclusion :

I thank you A LOT for checking this deck and reading this far, do not hesitate to try the deck out or to ask me if you have any questions left. If you have constructive feedback to give about anything, do not hesitate either. I will surely keep updating this deck as BanLists come and the Meta evolves, I am often experimenting with new stuff revolving around TD (I'm currently trying an Invoked + True Draco deck, it's good stuff but it is sometimes weird). Once again, thank you for reading and see you in a duel ! Drultime

EDIT 1 : March 12th 2021 : Rephrasing Cyber Dragon Infinity IQ combo to remove confusion, Typos cleaned, update recommendations for TK Return following it's Return (pun/20) to 3.

EDIT 2 : October 2nd 2024 : Ratio tweaks that I never updated here since all the TCG changes for True Dracos. Hopefully I will return soon once Master Peace's OCG unban gets carried over here !