[MW] Techs That Bond Your Fusion Decks Together!

Why is there a Dinosaur in my Magnet Deck?

We are days away from YCS Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and things are slowing down as players travel to the event to prepare for the main event. This week has been quite interesting as the Branded hype continues along with many other techs for the current game and the upcoming future.

Borreload Furious Dragon is back on the menu as a prime Super Polymerization option to use against Branded as it is reappearing in the meta. The fact you only need 2 DARK Dragons as material is amazing, as decks like Branded and Dragon Link at times will have just that on the field. While you can use Super Polymerization, Dracotail can use this as a tech to use both Dracotail Mululu and Fallen of Albaz through either Albion the Branded Dragon or Lubellion the Searing Dragon to either push for more damage or recycle resources for the grind game. The effect of this card is also powerful, as you quickly target 1 monster you control and a card your opponent controls to destroy them. Being a Quick Effect makes this card an amazing piece of interruption during the opponent’s turn, along with The Fallen & The Virtuous for another point of removal.

Being the best Spell Card to release in a bit, The Fallen & The Virtuous has taken the waves in the deckbuilding of players by storm. Seeing play in Decks like Dracotail and Sky Striker, it is great to have a Quick-Play Spell Card that can remove problems on the field from Herald of Arc Light, Ido the Supreme Magical Force, Anti-Spell Fragrance (especially if you chain directly to its activation), and Dracotail Flame (to dodge the targeting portion of its effects that would negate your Spell Card). If you do destroy Ido the Supreme Magical Force, it will then Special Summon itself to the owner’s field and lock them out of the game if they don’t have a way to get it out themselves. This single card has changed deckbuilding for the future for Fusion Decks as it warrants you wanting to run the Branded Engine if needed. 

With Triple Tactics Thrust receiving alternate artwork in THE CHRONICLES DECK: The Fallen & The Virtuous, it has solidified itself on the market, where each version is above a couple dollars. Many players chose to run three copies of Thrust as a way to grab many Normal Spell/Trap Cards from their Decks to either Set them to the field (with the downside of not being able to activate the Set card that turn) or, if their opponent controls a monster, add the card to their hand instead. Being a way to tutor for many of the powerful Normal Spells and Normal Traps in the game is great, from Harpie’s Feather Duster, Harpie’s Feather Storm, Lightning Storm, and The Black Goats Laugh, just to name a few. Even with this new print, it didn’t affect the already existing copies on the market much, to where the Ultra Rare print from RA03 dropped to around $5 a copy. With Dimensional Barrier now being Forbidden, it has lost one of the best blowout cards many had access to. As such, players have to find other cards to use going into the future.

Being one of the most high-in-demand staples in the modern format, this card’s price will continuously rise over time until it is reprinted into the ground again or hit into oblivion. I swear, I am done with Branded for a while after this article.

Along with Borreload Furious Dragon, many players are picking up copies of Predaplant Triphyoverutum as another Super Polymerization option against DARK Attribute Decks like Maliss, Mitsurugi, and Branded. While you control a Fusion Summoned Triphyoverutum and your opponent Special Summons a monster from their Extra Deck, you can negate that Summon and destroy that monster. And if you utilize Predator Counters in your Deck in some way, not only does Triphyoverutum gain the total original ATK of all other monsters on the field with a Predator Counter, but you can also Special Summon Triphyoverutum from your GY in Defense Position. This card is mainly used for the Extra Deck negation and fusing away the opponent’s board with Super Polymerization. Having 3000 ATK/DEF makes it both a great beatstick and a great wall to defend yourself against the opponent.

With a total of 2 prints from Legendary Duelists: Immortal Destiny and Legendary Duelists: Season 3, this card has low quantities for both the Super Rare and Secret Rare versions. Hopefully in the future, we see a well-deserved Ultra Rare print for those who love the rarity.

Duoterion from Legendary Duelists is completely gone off the market because of the brand-new Magnet Warriors releasing in Burst Protocol. You may be asking, why is a Dinosaur being bought up for a Rock Deck? Well, their new Spell Card, Magnet Bonding (YGOrganization Translation), is the biggest reason. Duoterion can discard itself to add any Bonding Spell/Trap from the Deck to the hand, and this new Bonding card is amazing for any Magnet Warrior Deck where you can activate 1 of the 3 effects it has. For the 1st effect, you can add 1 Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum ± (YGOrganization Translation) or 1 Level 4 or lower Magnet Warrior monster from your Deck to your hand, making this card one of the best starting Spells for the Deck. For the 2nd effect, you can add 1 Level 8 Magna Warrior monster from your Deck to your hand. For the 3rd effect, you can Fusion Summon 1 Rock Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck by shuffling Rock monsters from your hand, field, GY, and/or banishment into the Deck. Adding a new wave of consistency for the Deck is great, and the best part is, Duoterion has a Common print from Speed Duel GX: Midterm Paradox that is nearly untouched.

With the new Magnet Warriors making waves in the OCG, Beta the Electromagnet Warrior has been wiped off the market. This is one of the best cards to start your plays with, because if it is Normal or Special Summoned, you can add any Level 4 or lower Magnet Warrior monster from your Deck to your hand. This is used to search for a copy of Epsilon The Magnet Warrior, and when Epsilon is Normal or Special Summoned, you can send a copy of Magnet Warrior Ω+ (YGOrganization Translation) from your Deck to the GY, and Epsilon’s name becomes the sent monster’s name until the End Phase. Then, you can Special Summon 1 Magnet Warrior or Magna Warrior from your GY with a different name than a card you control. Now that you have Magnet Warrior Ω+ (YGOrganization Translation) in your GY, you can destroy 1 Rock monster you control to Special Summon it to your field, and this card is useful as when an EARTH monster on the field activates its effect, you can quickly target 1 face-up monster on the field to change it to face-down Defense Position, making it a great way to interrupt the opponent’s turn.

This card has only seen its initial print back in 2016 from the Structure Deck: Yugi Muto, so hopefully, we see a new reprint for this card in the upcoming Maze of Muertos for Konami to cross-promote it and Burst Protocol.

With Barrier Statue of the Torrent surviving the Forbidden & Limited List somehow to see another day, players drove in waves to pick up the “next best option” to use in their Decks alongside Seventh Tachyon to search it up. With Barrier Statue of the Drought and Barrier Statue of the Infernos now being Forbidden, the players have other plans with this one, as some Mitsurugi players are going back to run a copy of Divine Golden Shadow Dragon Dragluxion to search up Seventh Tachyon. By revealing a copy of Number 103: Ragnazero in your Extra Deck, you can add either a Level 4 WATER monster or a Level 4 Fairy monster from your Deck to your hand, so even then, you can add Barrier Statue of the Heavens if Barrier Statue of the Torrent receives a ban in the future. The players of this game will always find a way to use floodgates to stop their opponents from playing the game, as now they are just another combo Deck endboard piece.

At the rate of how the game is quickly adapting, I do potentially see the final 3 Barrier Statues in the future receiving a status on the Forbidden section on the list; only time will tell when Konami will fire the trigger.

With YCS Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this weekend, I will predict that either Branded Dracotail or Maliss @Ignister will take the win, but we will see what happens this weekend. I do wish everyone luck who is attending, and may the best duelist win.

Edited and co-written by Angryjon