Casual Deck Strategy: BlackWyrm Synchro

For the first time in CDS article history, the focus of this article is not about an archetype, theme or series, but rather this article focuses around a specific monster type! More specificly, the newest monster type! Let’s jump right in and learn about the power of Wyrms! And before you ask, this is NOT a Yang Zing article, but we will be introducing a secondary Synchro engine!

Background and an Introduction to the Type:

The Wyrms are a group of monsters that were introduced in Duelist Alliance, and they became the second additional Monster Type added to the game outside of Divine-Beast. While many people just think of the Wyrms as Dragon knockoffs that were introduced to avoid Dragon Ruler synergy, “Wyrm” is actually a more specialized term that describes this Type well. Wyrms commonly appear in various mythologies, and are represented in a metaphysical, mystical, or spiritual appearance in comparison to the destruction loving Dragon-type brethren. It is also interesting to note that just like the first new Monster Type added to the game, Psychic, both new Monster Types commonly include monsters that resemble another Monster Type.

The neat factoid about the Wyrms is that a lot of the effects of the non-Archetype bound Wyrm monsters serve a higher purpose of gaining, followed by maintaining control of the field and in extension the duel. There is a strong core of Special Summoning, allowing you to quickly get your resources to the field. Next, there is a number of disruption effects available to the Type that forces the opponent to react or be shut out of the duel. Lastly, there is a strong number of boss monsters that help you to close the duel. This triple threat of options allow for a Wyrm deck to be extremely strategically diverse from the getgo. This eliminates the problem that most type-centric decks have from the start – synergy. We’re not relying on a couple of Spell or Trap cards here, the Type was designed to work together from the start. With such a wide range of creative, unique, and niche effects, the Wyrm Type monsters synergize extremely well with each other, creating what can function as a cohesive deck when built properly. One Wyrm alone will not make the cut for a competent opponent, but an endless lineage will start to overwhelm an unsuspecting opponent. Now that we’ve dabbled in the basic ‘Theory-Oh!’ behind this deck, it’s time to introduce the heavy hitters that carry all of the weight.

One Boss, One Tutor, Key To Victory…

We’ll begin with Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing, the centerpiece of any Wyrm-centric deck. Yazi offers three key effects, each that has immediate consequences in your duel. First, Yazi cannot be targeted by your opponent’s card effects. While this is especially important to guarantee his 3rd effect, it basically boils down to the fact that your main go-to Synchro monster is immune to Castel, Phoenix Wing, Farfa, Stealth, and so many other threats in this monster-based removal state of the game. Don’t get me wrong, he does not have complete immunity, but your opponent will have to circumvent this protection in order to get Yazi off of your field. Most of the time, your opponent will be forced to let Yazi ‘do the thing’ with his second effect, trading himself to destroy any card your opponent controls. From the start, this may not sound like a good option, trading a powerful Synchro monster to destroy one card, but again, his 3rd effect ties everything together. Whenever Yazi dies by battle or card effect, you get to Special Summon 1 Wyrm-type monster from your Deck. Talk about tying together many different effects into one. Basically, Yazi gives you access to ANY of your Main Deck Wyrm monsters, all it takes is destroying an opponent’s card in order to trigger its effect. Note that if your opponent destroys Yazi with some Spell or Trap card before he can use its effect to destroy a card, you still get that trade of Yazi for one of their precious resources, a favorable trade that you were looking for anyways. Also, Fiendish Chain and Effect Veiler are powerless to stop Mr. Evil, since he cannot be targeted by either common threat. If you cannot see how powerful this could be, perhaps we should talk about the other powerhouses that the Wyrms have available, since Yazi can only be as good as the Wyrm monsters it summons! We will start off with the only Tuner to make its own tokens to Synchro Summon with: Paternal Seahorse!

Paternal Seahorse, albeit a Korean World Premiere card right now, is the cornerstone of the deck, as it is the only Wyrm-type Tuner monster that gives you access to a wide range of your Extra Deck without over-investing too many monsters into the field. Considering the above strategic execution of Yazi, if you choose to Special Summon Seahorse, you can simply make a new Yazi to the field to beat your opponent’s face in. Not too bad for what seemed to be a 1-for-1 trade at the beginning. While this second Yazi cannot activate either of its effects during the turn, it will still be immune to targeting which is a plus versus certain opponents. But Seahorse offers much more than just that, as its effect to create tokens and reduce its Level allows you to Synchro Summon any Level 5, 6 OR 7 Synchro monster without any other cards. This is important because it allows you to destroy a threat with Yazi, then go into the Synchro monster of choice for the current situation in the duel. One backrow discouraging you from Goyo-stealing something? Not anymore! Another cool point of Seahorse is that it can be Special Summoned by both of the important Wyrm monsters, Magma Dragon and Unmasked Dragon. Again, the important take-away here is that the main Wyrm-type Tuner is versatile enough to meet your needs.

As you probably have guessed, the most important part of a toolbox deck is that you need cards that give you access to whatever you need at any point in the duel. That role falls to these two tutors, Magma and Unmasked. First, Unmasked gives you access to any Wyrm-type monster from your deck when it is destroyed in battle, as long as it has 1500 or less DEF. Good News, EVERY important Wyrm-type monster that you should be considering meets this criteria. This also solidifies the potential for the deck to use Creature Swap, a Spell card that easily swings the advantage into your favor when combined with your other monsters. I will only touch upon a few of the cool monsters you can summon with Unmasked, but it includes: Seahorse, Romantic Royal Swamp Oarfish, Bird of Paradise Lost, Night Dragolich, and the other important Wyrm summoner – Magma Dragon. While Magma definitely has very little impact early in a duel, his entire purpose revolves around refunding your resources in the midgame that you poured into Synchro Summoning in the beginning of the duel. When Magma is Special Summoned by any means, CotH and Oasis of Dragon Souls included, you get to Special Summon 1 Wyrm-type monster from your Graveyard. With Magma in the mix, you have access tostall tactics, aggressive maneuvers, and preparing combos for your next turn. With the addition of this Wyrm, the deck finally has enough versatility to be called a toolbox, especially with such a wide range of targets to bring back. If you want to make Star Eater, bring back Seahorse. If you want to stall out your opponent’s attacks, bring back Unmasked. If you need an additional Wyrm from the deck, bring back Yazi. Any way you slice the pie, Magma has an important role to play.

Generic Wyrm Synchro Deck Skeleton:

• 1 Bird of Paradise Lost
• 3 Magma Dragon
• 3 Unmasked Dragon
• 1|2 Night Dragolich
• 3 Paternal Seahorse
• 1|2 Romantic Royal Swamp Oarfish
• 3 Yang Zing monsters of your choice (To round out attributes for Chaofeng)
• 2|3 Creature Swap
• 3 Call of the Haunted/Oasis of Dragon Souls

That’s it? Something is definitely missing…

At max numbers for each of the cards in my skeleton, you still only have 20 cards. But there is something extremely important missing from the above skeleton – a good way to make a Level 7 Synchro. Remember the earlier section of this article, where I mentioned that Yazi is the linchpin of this strategy. While Paternal is the ultimate ‘Yazi’ summoner, there is no other Wyrm tuner that can offer solid access to Yazi. If only there was a good Level 3 Wyrm Tuner that could Synch with Magma… While we could dream forever about possibilities, you need to accept reality and realize that you will be relying on outside Synchro engines to get to Yazi to begin with. The first engine I always turn to for Level 7 Synchro monsters is the Mathematician/Felis, Lightsworn Archer combo, and in this deck, it is an absolute must for the time being. The good news is that you have a backup to dump with Math if things get rough, and that is Magma Dragon, in order to unlock that extra summon out of CotH. But this is only one combo, aren’t you supposed to have a bigger trick up your sleeve? And yes dear reader, I do. If you didn’t already guess from the title of this article, I guess I’ll just have to let you in on my little secret. Let’s shift gears and turn to the best archetype that makes Level 7 Synchros, the engine that can make this deck tick smoothly! Crow REPRESENT!

With the Weight of a Feather…

The Blackwing Archetype has always been a mystery to many duelists, mainly due to the insane size of the archetype. Did you know that this archetype boasts 40 monsters already released in the TCG or OCG (with more being revealed in the ARC-V anime currently), more than any archetype other than HERO or Number? I would bet that you couldn’t even name 30 different Blackwing monsters and their effects off of the top of your head, unless you are a total 5Ds Anime and Manga fanboy. If you can, props to you. With such a large number of monsters available, it actually makes a Blackwing engine quite feasible, since you get to pick from the cream of the crop to facilitate Level 7 Synchro summons. It just happens that BWs have great Synchro Monsters to backup the main deck, and the best for a Wyrm build happens to be generic. When the 1 card destruction by Yazi just isn’t enough, it is time to call in the big guns of Assault Blackwing – Raikiri the Sudden Shower the newest Synchro monster for the archetype, hailing from DOCS! With the help of our feathered friends, Yazi no longer has to pull all of the weight, and you have an even better job offsetting the minus in card advantage for the Synchro Summon with the help of Black Whirlwind. Don’t forget, Gale also fills the role of a Level 3 Tuner to pair with your Level 4 Wyrm monsters, so you do not have to resort to a Blackwing combo in order to get out your Yazi.

Another neat interaction is that Raikiri turns itself into a Tuner Monster when made with Blackwings, so you can actually use this to your advantage in getting to your biggest boss monster – Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing. While Yazi was your key card binding the deck together, Chaofeng gives you the advantage swing to end the duel. He activates whenever you destroy an opponent’s monster in battle, allowing you to tutor a Wyrm straight from the deck with the same attribute as the destroyed monster. While Creature Swap is the best way to guarantee a favorable summon, I included the Yang Zing monsters in the skeleton so that no matter what you destroy in battle, you have some monster to summon with Chaofeng! On one final note about the Blackwings, after you summon out Raikiri or Nothung, you can keep bringing them back to the field with the power of Blackwing Tamer – Obsidian Hawk Joe. Hawk Joe basically gives you more ways to snowball advantage later in the duel. In other words, this allows your deck to have a strength at each point of the game! In the beginning: Going into Yazi early while losing little in card advantage through the help of BW engine. In the midgame: Using Yazi to gain card advantage while setting up for future synchro summons. In the endgame: Using Hawk Joe and Chaofeng to deliver the final strike while your opponent runs low on resources.

BlackWyrm Synchro Skeleton:

• 1 Bird of Paradise Lost
• 3 Magma Dragon
• 3 Unmasked Dragon
• 1 Night Dragolich
• 3 Paternal Seahorse
• 1 Romantic Royal Swamp Oarfish
• 2|3 Yang Zing monsters of your choice (To round out attributes for Chaofeng)
• 2|3 Creature Swap
• 2|3 Call of the Haunted/Oasis of Dragon Souls
• 5 Blackwing – Bora the Spear / Blackwing – Kris the Crack of Dawn
• 5 Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind / Blackwing – Pinaka the Waxing Moon
• 1 Blackwing – Steam the Cloak
• 3 Black Whirlwind

How does the BlackWyrm Synchro Deck Win?

It’s simple really, it all comes down to Swarming out Synchro monsters. With the help of Unmasked or Yazi, you should aim to begin your turn with a Seahorse already face-up. A normal turn with this setup begins with Seahorse’s effect, allowing him to Synchro Summon into a Yazi, which then blows up a card and lets you set up a Level 6 or Level 7 Synchro Summon with a second Seahorse. If you have a Level 4 in hand, you can always choose to Synchro Summon Chaofeng instead and leave your field with 2 Tokens and Chao to defend your LP if you cannot trigger Chaofeng’s effect to Special Summon another Wyrm from the deck. If you have a large number of Blackwings in your hand, the combo is generally to Normal Summon Pinaka, then Special Summon Bora or Kris to go into your Raikiri to bait out your opponent’s backrow. Remember, if you use Pinaka for a Synchro Summon, you must be summoning a Blackwing Synchro, so if you want to be Summoning Yazi, be sure to use Gale as your tuner. If you have Whirlwind and Bora or Kris, simply Normal Summon your Level 4 to pluck Gale straight from the deck to go into your Yazi. Remember folks, Yazi is the linchpin and the key to the deck, but that does not mean that you should ignore the power of your Blackwings if you have enough to swarm the field effectively.

This deck is all about responding to the field with whatever it takes to beat out the opponent, don’t forget that. As with any toolbox deck, pressure should only be applied whenever it will not cost you a large number of resources. So for example, if you can make a Yazi with 2 cards, go right ahead. But it is not worth it to commit 4 cards to get a Yazi onto the field on your first turn. While you may have some longevity with the help of Whirlwind, you cannot outlast an opponent using a deck that is advantage-heavy UNLESS you play smart. While conservative play is generally advised in Toolbox decks, quite frankly, you will not have the safety net of backrow 9 times out of 10, so it is best with BlackWyrm Synchro to summon out a Yazi as your main protection when need be.

While pressure is generally applied through your opponent basically forcing themselves to trigger Yazi’s 2nd effect to get him off the field, you can definitely take matters into your own hands whenever you draw Creature Swap. Swap is great when combined with Paternal Seahorse, because you can always make an extra token in ATK position before Synchro Summoning, swap that token over to the opponent, then Synchro Summon Blackwing – Nothung the Starlight using Seahorse and a second token. This simple play costs your opponent 3200 damage, you gain a monster they control, and they are probably left with an open field – and that is not even factoring in a Normal Summon (Which you can perform twice due to Nothung’s effect). While this play can be done without Blackwings in the Main Deck, its impact and ability to be recycled by Hawk Joe make Nothung into an integral part of the Extra Deck. Also, in the current Kozmo craze, Nothung is great at running over Forerunner as long as they do not have Honest, since its ATK modification does not target.

At the end of the day, your win condition is similar to that of a beatdown strategy. Your job is to just keep throwing Synchro monsters at the opponent until they fold under the pressure. Even the best advantage decks cannot keep up with constant pluses off of destruction and decimation of their fields. Remember, you can also tailor the main deck to include more Wyrm monsters that counter specific strategies, just like how Night Dragolich counters Extra Deck focused decks or how the Yang Zing monsters punish an opponent relying on destruction for monster removal.

Awesome Interactions and Combo Potential:

There are definitely some really neat card interactions you should consider when piloting this deck.

• Did you know that Clear Wing Synchro Dragon can actually trigger a Yazi that has its effect negated due to being Special Summoned by Magma Dragon? This is a great way to get over strong monsters such as Apoqliphort Towers, as Clear Wing rises to 5100 ATK power AND you get a free Wyrm monster from your deck to boot!
• Bird of Paradise Lost can reach insane levels of ATK on its own, as the typical BlackWyrm Synchro deck (as if it was a normal occurrence) runs around 10 other tuner monster. This gives you the ability to swing for game in a pinch after stealing one of your opponent’s best monsters!
• Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing does not need Yang Zing monsters as Synchro material in order to bounce cards back to the deck! The best way to create Baxia in this deck is to use Seahorse’s effect three times, then Normal Summon Magma in order to Synchro Summon Baxia with Magma and the Level 4 Seahorse. Not only do you get to bounce 2 cards, but you also get to use Baxia’s effect, bringing back Magma which brings back Seahorse, leaving you with 2 Level 1 tokens, Baxia, Seahorse, and Magma. Not too shabby for a 2-card investment.
• Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing does not need the opponent’s monster to be sent to the Graveyard in order to activate its effect, so it is always a wise move to Creature Swap over a Seahorse token in ATK position! This would let you summon a new Paternal Seahorse or Romantic Royal Swamp Oarfish from the deck, allowing for even more Synchro shenanigans that turn!

Alternative Options to the Blackwing Engine:

If I did not convince you of the potency of Blackwing|Wyrm, that is fine, because you can totally stick with other engines to make the Wyrm Synchro deck work. Over the creation and refining of this deck, I have had the pleasure of testing out a bunch of engines, so please find below a list of decent engines to try out:

• Mathematician and Felis, Lightsworn Archer
  • I know I mentioned this earlier, but it is good to have all of the engines located in one area of this article. This engine is the best at making advantage-conscious Synchro Summons, since Mathematician is a one-card Level 7 Synchro. On the other side, Felis will clog when you draw her, and if you want to rely on the one-card Synchro Summon multiple times in a duel, you would need to be running multiple Felis.
• Emergency Teleport
  • Using E-Tele to summon out Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit is a great way to get a Level 3 Tuner to the field. In addition, your tuner has the secondary purpose of being a hand trap to disrupt your opponent’s plays. Lastly, Ghost is a great monster to swap to your opponent in ATK position if you need to push through a lot of damage at once.
• CheepCheepCheep and Cockadoodledoo
  • The rooster engine may not have any built-in ways to mitigate the advantage cost to Synchro summon, but it certainly makes up for that in versatility. With a Level 3 or Level 4 tuner that Special Summons itself from the hand, you can make either Baxia or Magma, but it completely depends on the field conditions. The best part of this engine is the synergy between Cheep and Bird of Paradise Lost, since Cheep lets you summon Paradise straight from the deck when it is flipped face-up. Also, Cheep is Level 1, which pairs nicely with Paradise to Synchro Summon Chaofeng. Not bad for a little chick!
  • On a side note, you can choose to run this engine alongside the Blackwings, since you can always opt into Assault Blackwing – Kunai the Drizzle as your Level 5 Tuner monster. While the Tuner itself will not be able to change its Level, it will let you Synchro Summon into pretty much anything using other Synchro monsters, which can be extremely useful to make Hawk Joe plays, since Kunai itself is a Level 5 Winged Beast-Type monster.
• Lightsworn Engine
  • I personally hate using Lightsworns, due to the random nature of their milling effects, you can definitely benefit from the Lumina/Raiden Synchro combo to make a Level 7 Synchro monster. With the help of Solar Recharge and Charge of the Light Brigade, you have a shot at including enough search power and draw power to make it work, but you would be taking a risk with the milling.
• Masked Chameleon
  • There are multiple Wyrm-type monsters that boast 0 DEF, so Chameleon could work out as your main tuner. If this sort of build were to be attempted, I’d expect more a heavier Yang Zing main deck presence, which would cause the deck to lose a bit of its unique charm.
• Whatever other engines you can come up with!
  • Quite frankly, there are not enough Wyrms yet to make a complete deck all on their own. So the brunt of making this deck work falls squarely on your shoulders, because you can definitely make things work out with any engine that facilitates Synchro Summoning. I definitely came up with a ton of ideas, but there are definitely still more of them out there for other duelists to discover and try out!

Completed Example Decklists:

The following are two of my Wyrm Synchro builds. For those who stuck it out, thanks for reading all the way through this article! There may be issues with these builds and/or paragraphs about the Wyrm-Centric deck, but as always, this article is meant as a starting point for your own deck-building endeavors in the future!

BlackWyrm Synchro: CLICK HERE.

‘Pure’ Wyrm Synchro: CLICK HERE.

 

Personal Note:

To all of you who have kept up with reading my strategy articles, thank you so much for your support. I would like your feedback in the comments below as to which of the following ideas I should pursue as the next article I write. Wyrm Synchro was chosen by the readers of my last CDS article, and I would like your feedback again concerning what you want to see next! For your convenience, I’ve added a short description for each option:

• Black Luster Soldier & Gaia the Fierce Knight
  • Brand new support is coming soon in Dimensions of Chaos for Black Luster Soldier, but this new support shines without even touching the Ritual monsters.
  • Key Cards: Awakened Gaia the Fierce Knight, Galloping Gaia the Fierce Knight, Black Luster Soldier – Sacred Soldier
• The Super Soldier Arrives
  • Ever wondered how to actually build a consistent Ritual version of the Black Luster Soldier deck with the new support? 
  • Key Cards: Jewels of the Valiant, Knight of the Evening Twilight, Gaia, the Polar Knight
• Endymion, The Fusion Citadel
  • It has been over 1.5 years since I last wrote about Spell Counters – It’s time to revisit the mechanic and introduce a new way to approach the deck.
  • Key Cards: Magical Exemplar, Performage Tricklown, Endymion the Master Magician
• “C” Monarch
  • The monarchs are powerful monsters that need a tribute engine to function, and the “C” theme is pretty much the best at providing support in that regard. Meet the Monarch deck that relies on Insects!
  • Key Cards: Counterattacking “C”, Doom Dozer, Verdant Sanctuary
• Prediction Symphony
  • Some duelists have found success combining the Prediction Princess archetype with Shaddolls, but what happens if you turn to the Symphonic Warriors instead…
  • Key Cards: Prediction Ritual, Symphonic Warrior Guitarrs, Herald of the Arc Light