Before we dive into combo and plays, I would like to give a one paragraph feature on Thunder Dragon. Not really a significant tech for Metalfoes, but it is a viable option for pendulum decks as you can gather both copies in your hand easily. Either draw into both of them (thus making the third copy dead, in a sense) or you dump the first to fetch the second and third copies. With Thunder Dragon, you can facilitate the summoning of staple Rank5s in Metalfoes, the most versatile option being Constellar Pleiades, which can serve as a threat on the board, and be used for recycling resources on the field.


Also, look forward to another solo article on techs, featuring Quickdraw Synchron. It is in the works.

Now let's begin, shall we?

Rule of the thumb

• Search-and-set out all your Metalfoes spell/traps before activating Pot of Desires.


• Metalfoes Fusion and Metalfoes Combination should take priority. The former is recyclable via its own effect, and is crucial for making plays, and Combination gains you field advantage and a search for any pendulum Metalfoes you wish.


• Metalfoes Counter is of the least importance out of all. Sure, it gains you significant field advantage and recycling, but if it is banished, you can just fetch PSY-Framelord Omega to return it to the grave. From there, you can use its recycling effect. (We can do this in the OCG, not sure what the ruling is for the TCG landscape.) But of course, retrieve it if you can.


• Fullmetalfoes Fusion isn't played by all players. but it does serve purpose in fusion summoning during your opponent's turn. You might want to seek this card out on your first turn as well, after you are done with the first two.


• Of course, if you can, by all means search-and-set out all your spell/traps.


• If Pot of Desires banishes your Metalfoes monsters, (E.g. Two Steelren, One Goldriver, Two Volflame etc) let it be. You still have your 2nd and 3rd copies. If you managed to banish all three copies of the same card, play more cautiously. Recall that your resources are limited (E.g. If all three Volflames are banished, you have nothing of significant ATK to call out using Metalfoes Counter), and plan your plays from there on.


• If you find yourself using Pot of Desires right off the bat, due to an opening hand with no Metalfoes in hand, chances are you are skating on thin ice. Hence you might want to murmur a prayer before you resolve the card's effect. It is like driving a card at 80km/h, swerve around and pray that you won't hit anything at all. It won't be that bad, but chances are you won't escape unscathed - few spells/traps might be banished this way.


• Desires is controversial. High risk, high reward. But the plus one is always appreciated. Much like how OCG doesn't approve of splashing Upstart Goblin into every single deck in the TCG, all for the sake and name of consistency, many TCG players do not see this new Pot card in a good light. If you do not wish to face a situation where your expensive Solemn Strikes gets banished and unusable, or lose a game due to an unlucky banish by Desires, by all means: Don't play it. Personally, I don't like to tempt fate. And if I haven't mentioned it enough, I don't play this card, but I can see why others do as I comprehend and acknowledge the benefits of it.

Onto the next part of the article, we shall talk about the Crimson's Dragon manga counterpart.

The Gofu Play

Named after the namesake card, Blackwing - Gofu the Vague Shadow, with just three cards, you can bring out Ultimaya Tzolkin. Three cards and a card to set that is....

• Card you need: Two Metalfoes monsters and Blackwing - Gofu

1. Summon Gofu and use its effect to summon two tokens.


2. Place Metalfoes monster #1 on scale, destroy token #1 to fetch Metalfoes Fusion


3. Activate Metalfoes Fusion to summon Metalfoes Adamante using Metalfoes monster #2 and token #2.


4. Adamante and Gofu summons out Ultimaya Tzolkin and this is when and where you set your card to trigger the Level12's synchro effect.

Options wise, many players should have their own array of synchro dragons prepared by now. But just for the sake of those who are uninformed, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon and Void Ogre Dragon can both make your opponent's first turn miserable. Stardust Spark Dragon can be summoned for a more defensive option, and is the card of my choice when I have a Vanity's Emptiness hidden among my backrow cards. Activate Emptiness during the Standby Phase to prevent inherent summons like Kaijus and Gofus, then protect it if required.
Black Rose Moonlight is more of a second turn card, but arriving on the field early in the game's first turn means that it is capable of keeping decks like Blue-Eyes in check. Its mandatory effect also means that it won't miss its timing, making it worthy of consideration.

Gambling...
In a Majespecter Metalfoes deck, you have plenty of cards in your deck capable of setting and triggering Tzolkin's effect. Thus it would be risky but not completely crazy to perform the combo, despite not having a S/T on hand to set, but instead go out on a limb and bet it on the draw Metalfoes Fusion provides. #Gamble. Apart from wishing to draw into any spell/trap, your Metalfoes as scales can set cards (Assuming you have targets in your deck) thus increasing your chances of drawing into cards that can trigger Tzolkin's effect. The only 'bad' cards to draw in this risky situations are really just your off-theme pendulum cards like the Majespecter monsters and Luster Pendulum, the Dragonslayer especially if you can't resolve the latter's pendulum effect due to the lack of another copy of your already-placed-on-scales Metalfoes monster.
Notice that the entire process doesn't take up a normal summon at all. Thus you can normal summon your Metalfoes monster in hand before fusion summoning, allowing it to be placed in the Extra Deck, face up, instead of hitting the grave. That is, if you should lack a better normal summon to perform for the turn.

It is unorthodox, but not completely nonsensical for you to tribute summon Ultimaya for the summon of Majespecter Unicorn - Kirin or any other stun monsters like Jinzo, Vanity's Fiend that you may have in your deck. Think of it as an investment if you feel that your lockdown is sufficiently stronger that way. From experience, there is no harm committing another monster onto the board. I once won a game with Amorphage Sloth and Void Ogre Dragon providing a strong lockdown which my opponent playing D/D/D had no answer to.



The above combination can be replicated and reduced to two cards. Simply use it to bring out a Level5 Fusion target and fuse it with Blackwing - Gofu. That way, you still have your tokens to be used for further fusion summons or destruction fodders.
This is also another reason why Instant Fusion is a viable tech card in Metalfoes. Apart from just summoning Elder Entity Norden for offense plays and pluses, it can generate Level5 non-tuner monsters for the summon of Ultimaya.

And that, boys and girls, is probably the single by-the-book play of a Metalfoes deck. From here on, nothing is carved in stone. Which is why I have prepared five sample hands drawn from my deck, and listed down how I would have played it and build my field. Hope it will provide insight for players on what the possible starting plays can be like.

Sample Hand plays

Sample Hand 1

1. Summon Bunbuku to fetch a second copy of Kirin.


2. Activate Painful Decision, pitch a Metalfoes Steelren to the grave to add a second copy to your hand.


3. Paste both searched cards as scales. Should you be lucky, your opponent would drop a Maxx C. From there on, you can decide if you want to grace him with a draw or none at all.


4. Nevertheless, continue on. Steelren destroys Kirin, placing Metalfoes Combination on the field.


5. Metalfoes Volflame - place it on the scale and destroy Steelren, setting Metalfoes Counter onto the field.


6. Paste your second copy of Kirin onto the scale, completing it. With scales of 2 & 8, pendulum summon your two monsters, gathering Steelren, Kirin and the previously normal-summoned Bunuku on your field.

The decision to summon Steelren was to open up the option of normal summoning him again if it gets bounced by your opponent's Kirin. It's a habit of mine, since Metalfoes is very common deck to meet in Singapore's competitive scene. Generally, for your own Kirin's effect, you might want to bounce Bunbuku to normal summon it again the next turn for another search.

In addition, a 2100DEF monster is tempting your opponent to destroy it, thus allowing you to activate Metalfoes Counter, if he is hasty enough to try to deal some damage to your board, or your search-and-set card slipped his mind. But if you value firepower, by all means, go for Volflame which has more offensive stats.
Lastly, Steelren was chosen instead of Volflame on the field since you have access to Fullmetalfoes Fusion. If you need to perform a fusion play during your opponent's turn, you can bounce Steelren back to hand, then upon resolution, activate it. At this moment, chain Metalfoes Combination. Steelren in hand, as a fusion material. will be sent to grave, allowing you to revive it via Combination's effect, once you summon Metalfoes Mythriel which is Level6. You can't achieve this outcome with Volflame replacing Steelren as the former has a higher level than the fusion monster you can call out - Metalfoes Mythriel. Summoning Crimsonite would deter the purpose of the fusion summon as it doesn't generate or maintain your field advantage.

Yes, you have your milled Steelren from Painful Decision. But if you revive that copy of Steelren, you won't have sufficient targets in grave to activate Mythriel's effect the next turn.

Sample Hand 2

1. Summon Bunbuku to fetch a second copy of Kirin.


2. Place Goldriver and Kirin on the pendulum scales, Goldriver destroying Kirin to search-and-set Metalfoes Combination on the field.


3. Place Eccentrick Archfiend on the scale, and use its effect to destroy your set Metalfoes Combination.


4. Combination searches out a Scale8 (E.g. Steelren).


5. Complete the scales by placing Steelren on the scale.


6. Pendulum summon out your monsters from the Extra Deck. You field should have Bunbuku, Archfiend and Kirin.


7. Set Solemn Strike.

The destruction of Combination by your own card for the sake of searching out a scale may be disadvantageous as it is essentially a 2-for-1 card exchange play. But it is all for the sake of getting Eccentrick Archfiend onto the field, so that if the situation calls for it, I can bounce it back to hand with Kirin's effect, and for it to be used as a scale once more for backrow removal.

With this hand, I have a backrow Solemn Strike and a hand trap to respond to my opponent's plays. On top of that, Kirin can recycle my resources and allow more searches (by returning Bunbuku) the following turn. This, I feel, is a strong opening field. All done without the need of Blackwing - Gofu (I don't play that card in my deck build.)

A more conservative option would be of course to use Archfiend and Goldriver as scales to pendulum summon out Kirin.

Sample Hand 3

A significantly weaker opening hand, but still playable. I would personally set my monster in facedown, and set both Metalfoes Counter. This not only conceals the deck I play during the span of my opponent's Main Phase, Silvered's 100DEF points almost assures that it can be destroyed by battle and thus allowing the Counters to activate.

On your next move, you can attempt to use Swords of Concealing Light as a offensive option to flip them face down and assault with Orichalc's double piercing. At that same time, it also netralise threats such as Kirin, or any monsters that prevent or negate monster effect activation.

Retrieve Silvered via Counter, use it to pop Concealing Light to search Metalfoes Fusion. (Don't forget the grave effect.) Fuse for Orichalc, using the two monsters special summoned by Counter. (Most likely two Metalfoes Volflame.)

Retrieve one Volflame using the second Metalfoes Counter and that could allow you to pendulum summon with a complete set of scales. This is strongly advised if you managed to draw into a card worth summoning out during your Draw Phase, or via Metalfoes Fusion's draw, like Kirin.

Personally I would reserve Mystical Space Typhoon, for floodgates like Anti-Spell Fragrance and Vanity's Emptiness and not set it on my first turn.

Sample Hand 4

I was lucky to open with Bunbuku again. Lol, this isn't scripted. So the opening play here seems to be quite standard. Summon him out again, search for another copy of Kirin. Kirin and Steelren forms a scale of 2 and 8, so you can pendulum summon out your 2nd Kirin and Jowgen the Spiritualist. Be sure to leave the latter in defense mode. Its ATK is so feeble it can be taken out by a Maxx "C".

Speaking of which, you have one of your own, in case your opponent activates something along the lines of Swords of Concealing Light or Book of Eclipse, and nullifies your lockdown in the process, then you can still do something apart from watching helplessly - drop Maxx "C".

Steelren should search for Metalfoes Combination after your pendulum summon by destroying Kirin on scale to invest in plays during your next turn. This way, you can search for your other half of the pendulum scale when you destroy Metalfoes Combination during your next turn with Steelren.
Metalfoes Counter is also another option but do note that you can only use it when/after Jowgen gets destroyed. But Kirin's job is to ensure that that doesn't happen.

Sample Hand 5



You won't be making large plays from this hand, but you can still survive.

1. Set Silvered on scale.


2. Set Eccentrick Archfiend on scale. Destroy Eccentrick Archfiend to bring Metalfoes Combination onto the board.


3. Set Eccentrick Archfiend on scale. Destroy Combination with Archfiend's effect. With Combination destroyed, fetch a Scale8 Metalfoes of your choice.


4. Paste the Scale8, and pendulum summon both Eccentrick Archfiends.


5. Destroy Silvered to place Metalfoes Counter on the board.

A Maxx "C" in hand assures that you will be able to provide a response during your opponent's turn, and in the current OCG meta, I will just drop it during the Standby Phase of the next turn. Seeing how many decks perform inherent summons right off the bat, like Photon Thrasher in ABC, Gofu in Metalfoes, Speedroid Beigomax in the various decks.

This will likely deter my opponent from making massive plays, and I can go on the offensive with Counter the next turn. But Counter is also there for defending and spawning Volflame should your opponent decide to attack your Eccentrick Archfiends.

Review

In each of the proposed scenarios, my opening field can be improved with the addition of another Metafloes pendulum card, be it Scale1 or Scale8. I can either

• Get more Kirins on the field.


• Summon more pendulum monsters (which can then be used for Kirin's effect or to be sent to Extra Deck when used for fusion materials).


• Be able to fuse for Fullmetalfoes Alkahest, which is a very challenging card for most opponents to bypass, adding a further lock down pressure on the field.


• Attempt more search-and-set, thus gathering more cards like Combination and Counter on my backrow.

With that in mind, I hope players can appreciate Pot of Desires' effectiveness and utility in a deck like Metalfoes, where a single card can add obstacles on the field. Hence, the additional card in hand advantage can often be worth the 10 banished cards.

Monsterful hand is not wonderful

One very common problem a player would likely face apart from drawing little to no Metalfoes, is too many metalfoes in hand. And it very often happens, to me at least, when I am too lazy to table shuffle my cards after a casual game.

It is still playable! What I would do is:

1. Destroy, search, set etc.


2. Perform a pendulum summon.


3. Fuse for Fullmetalfoes Alkahest using Metalfoes Fusion


4. Try to search Fullmetalfoes Fusion, so you can attempt a fusion after 'stealing' one of your opponent's monster after Alkahest activates and resolves its effect.


5. You might want to search-and-set Metalfoes Counter next, as an easy way out of Alkahest is to summon a normal monster and attack it. Which is why in mirror matches, Alkahest doesn't pose much of a threat without Kirin to protect it from opposing attacking monsters.


6. Or as always, go for Metamor Formation. For your search of the other half of your completed scale next turn.


7. Metalfoes Fusion's draw also grants you a fresh new card, and you can pray for it to be a better card rather than just another Metalfoes monster.

Once you draw a full hand of Metalfoes monster, the game isn't over. It is just that you have to plan ahead more for your next turn's plays and moves.

For TCG players that lament Alkahest hasn't arrived yet, I think the best possible play is to go defense and fill your backrows with Combination and Counter. Once again, it is an investment for next turn plays.

If you go second with a full hand of Metalfoes pendulum, your best bet would be to go for Mythriel or Orichlac.

Fusion Combination

A related point to consider is that you may want to go for a 'combination' (pun intended, definitely) of backrow traps to set, such as Combination + Counter instead of getting greedy for field advantage and just set merely two copies of Metalfoes Counter.
Reason being that a Twin Twister, or in OCG's case, Harpie's Feather Duster would get rid of your backrow. In the latter's case, if your both set are Counters, you wouldn't have been able to benefit off their first effects if both gets destroyed simultaneously, which is what your opponent will likely do.

With Combination + Counter, they will be more inclined to leave Combination alone, and go for the destruction of your scale and Counter instead. Next turn, you can use Counter for a retrieve, get a pendulum to paste as scale, destroy Combination and you would have been able to gather a complete set of scales for a pendulum summon.

Sure, even if you set both Counters and they get destroyed, you can still use both for a retrieval to obtain a set of scales. But without Combination present, (since you didn't opt to set it, and instead went for a 2nd copy of Counter), you probably won't end up with much cards to pendulum summon out.
I still think Combination + Counter is still the safer choice that assures you with resources to play with during your next turn. But feel free to argue otherwise.

Darkened Gales

Let's reopen the topic about Blackwing - Gofu once more at this point of time. Majespecter Bunbuku isn't just a Fire Formation - Tenkito search out the more valued archetype member - Kirin. After its normal summon, its purpose doesn't just end there. It can also interact with Gofu for a 5+3 synchro summon, which allows you to access most of your Level8 sychros apart from Crystal Wing. A possible synchro play like this justifies non-dragon synchro monsters such as PSY-Framelord Omega in a Metalfoes' player Extra Deck.

Your other monsters can also usually interact with Gofu for a synchro summon as well, but Bunbuku is mentioned because he is usually summoned first via a normal summon for its search effect. As Gofu is a DARK synchro, you can even add cards like Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons or Void Ogre Dragon as Gofu is capable of meeting their tuner monster requirement.
In short, don't set your path too narrow - Gofu isn't just for Ultimaya plays. In fact, there is a rising trend of Japanese players reducing Gofu to two/one copies. With that, they remove the Ultimaya and dragons lineup for the extra deck. Gofu thus only serves as a tribute fodder him, and occasionally, a synchro summon for generic Level7 or Level8s.

Lastly, Gofu tokens, being treated as normal monsters due to game mechanics, can be used for the fusion summon of Fullmetalfoes Alkahest as well.

Let this card blow you away

Mystical Space Typhoon has high utility in a Metalfoes deck. As mentioned above, I would prefer to keep this card in hand most of the times, and use it only when my opponent flips up Anti-Spell Fragrance, which would have shut down my deck otherwise. Another target is Vanity's. It is common for opponents to open Vanity's prematurely, to stop inherent summons like Gofu or pendulum summon. Mystical Space Typhoon exists to punish them with a two for one card exchange. (Destroy another spell/trap, and Vanity's self-destructs.)

I would even argue that Mystical Space Typhoon is more useful and versatile than Twin Twisters in Metalfoes, and that it should also be regarded as a combo piece. Since it can be used to fetch you a scale alongside Metalfoes Combination, without the need to wait for a turn to activate it, allowing it to remain face up, and be destroyed by a Metalfoes pendulum scale effect.

Thus the reason you usually see it maxed out in many OCG decklist. The same argument applies for Eccentrick Archfiend, except that being a pendulum card, it dies to Anti-Spell Fragrance.

Apropos of the argument of Mystical Space Typhoon vs Twin Twister, I believe that Metalfoes prefer a one-for-one card exchange, rather than a two-for-two, seeing how the discard doesn't always necessarily benefit Metalfoes in extending their plays. That being said, many players still hold a personal preference for Twin Twister.

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting to recycle Metalfoes Fusion when it is in grave. Always use it immediately. whenever you can. It gives you a new card which could change the face of the game. Heart of the cards, right?


2. Players tend to forget that you can use Metalfoes Fusion to fuse more than once per turn, it is just the grave effect that is a once-per-turn.


3. Recklessly doing your search-and-set such that you end up with no viable scales.


4. Activating your pendulum scale effect and dying to a Ghost Ogre, thus being incapable of pendulum summoning that turn.


5. Not willing to perform the two card for one card exchange (destroying your own card to trigger Metalfoes Counter or Metalfoes Combination) and lose the game due to the inability to perform any other plays. Doing a disadvantageous play is always better than doing nothing and losing the game, in my opinion. I once destroyed Metalfoes Fusion for a draw, and managed to draw into Super Polymerisation to win me the duel. Heart of the cards right?

Conclusion

Metalfoes is a "farm for resources'' type of deck. In many situations, like many other decks, the situation defines the best play. With Blackwing - Gofu in hand, it is simple. Summon him out, try to go for Ultimaya, and if not, pop some tokens. But without it, the plays are more non-intuitive and requires careful planning and thinking. It ain't like Tellars where you summon Deneb, search and set 3/4 backrows.



There is no hard and fast way, and no standard by-the-book opening field. I hope that the sample opening hands were sufficient in helping you understand what to do with your Metalfoes deck during your first turn.

It is a tall order to mash all combos and plays of every single Metalfoes deck build in a single article. That way, I would also lose focus on the basic introduction of the deck, which was what this article series set out to achieve, by helping players get on their feet. Personally, I enjoying piloting this deck, and I hope that by this series of article, other players can learn how to play it too, and share the love for Metalfoes as well. Until next time, .