You don't even have to draw them! ™

Before we begin, I just want to get two things out of the way:

-We are NOT going to insult your intelligence by giving you builds that are untested or “undertested”. You don’t deserve it and we don’t have the nerve to do it to you; some YGO columnists will but we won’t. I’ve played over three-hundred RATED matches with this archetype in DN’s 1400+ metagame, so I can safely say I know what I’m doing. At Yugibro, we won’t write about it if we don’t know about it. It’s as simple as that.

- We here actually understand that every player has their own accustomed style. We’re not telling you to copy us card for card; we’re giving you some ideas to build from. Take what you want to from what we give you, that’s how we do things around here. We’re not going to write pretentious crap about how you need to up your “mind games” or become a zen “draw master”. We aren’t going to tell you to take a shower before regionals, or how the latest steaming pile of dung will become tomorrow’s metagame (Quite a few self-proclaimed deckbuilders going around hyping Haze Beasts lately). We’re writing articles about YGO, for YGO players. That’s all there is to it.

I’ve been very reserved for the past couple of weeks ever since Chicken was released in the OCG. Even though I have tested the deck to what feels like perfection, I felt as though I should wait and see what the OCG Overlords do with Chicken and Wolfberk. The result was not pretty. Granted, my first level 3 build looked similar to what is commonly played in the OCG as of today, but over time with some solid advice and proper testing I gained a pretty good understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

Now as I said earlier, I’m not writing this so you can copy my build card for card. In fact, I’m saying quite the opposite. You should play what you feel MIGHT work, but also be aware that certain things shouldn’t be touched (3 Chicken and 3 Spirit are staples in level3 fists! Snake is a waste of space! Don’t mess with what works!).

                                      CORE PLAYSTYLE
 

(If you are already familiar with this deck please don’t bother reading this section, it’s not required to read at all. This is for those who are unfamiliar with the deck, or are still skeptical about it.)

Alright now this is something I’ve been meaning to address for a long, long time. I’ve been playing this archetype since November of last year and it was pretty clear what the core playstyle was. However, as more cards were released (ie Chicken and Wolfberk), the dynamics of the deck changed overnight. Now there really is no definite playstyle, as the options just radically opened up for the level 3 build.

If I had to REALLY narrow it down for you though, it would be to build advantage with Chicken while hitting the opponent’s sources of card advantage with Bear, Monkey, Beastgod and Cardinal. Or alternatively, if you have knowledge of what your opponent is playing, just flat out put them in soft-lock by dropping Swallow on the board. Cards like Kongo, Tenken, and Tensen can be classified as deterministic cards, because if you set them directly from the deck your opponent obviously knows what is coming. The point of those cards is to limit the options your opponent has. Setting Tensen from the deck will prevent any attempt to gain advantage from battle (Even if they use a card like Forbidden Lance, it will not matter as much. Consider them using Lance and as solid minus, especially if you are trying to setup your grave for Spirit.), Tenken will prevent any effects MP1 that will put you in a compromising position (Dark Hole, BLS effect, etc.), and Kongo will almost always shine if your opponent merely sets a single card. If their memory fails them, you can always take advantage with these cards. This is a great deck for those that like to aggressively control the game without too much setup.

My build which I have affectionately dubbed: "Horsecock Turbo" (Rekindling version is jokingly called OMEGA, because Rekindling is a 1 card OTK! Once you see that card, it's the end for you!)

The combo with nothing on the field is Spirit into Leopard/Chicken into Sirius into Rekindling into Horse into Chicken or Leopard depending on what was summoned via Spirit into Bear or Monkey then use Leopard or Chicken to get Tensu on the board.

2400+2200+1500+1600+400= 8100 dmg and this is only with one dance spell active and absolutely nothing on the field before Spirit into Sirius

                     

                                              "Tech"

Hawk should be considered a staple at 1 in the Chicken build, but because many still doubt this card even with easy access to Horse, I’ll have to explain why.

2800 Horse MINIMUM, which will get you over anything the meta can throw at you within reason granted you cannot destroy the target via Bear.

Gets his effect under Macro Cosmos

Puts on average 1k-2k extra damage on the board, which is enough to OTK with an extra Fire Fist or give you enough damage to swing for a win.

Swallow is decent sideboard material. Putting him on the board is easier than people think. Simply search for him with Chicken, and if you don’t have Spirit in hand just synch for Horse into Raven to tribute summon Swallow. On summon he will net you a +2 granted you tribute Raven (the entire combo is a +4). His continuous effect will push your opponent into a soft-lock, and in some matchups this card is a win condition (To name a few: HEROs, Merlanteans, Inzektors, Verz Rabbit). Keep in mind this card also alleviates the problems this deck has with Effect Veiler and Forbidden Lance. The fact that this card is level 5 puts a lot of people off, but honestly…why would you want to get rid of this card? This is a 2-3k beater with a hexproof effect, you don’t want this removed from the field.

For those that aren't aware:

Prerequisite- Tensu or Fire Formation on the field, Chicken in grave, Spirit in hand

Now…Spirit into Chicken, Chicken into Swallow, Chicken into Tensu if you don’t already have it out, Horse into Raven, Raven into Swallow, both effects will trigger and pull a Tenki(Of course all tutors are situational…you may want a Kongo!) along with whatever protection you may need; a very easy play with a very easy +4. Congrats, you are now hexproof!

Fire Formation - Kongo

Wikia’s effect: When this card is activated: Target 1 face-down Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls; it cannot be activated while this card is face-up on the field. Your opponent cannot activate the targeted card in response to this card's activation. All Beast-Warrior-Type monsters you control gain 100 ATK.

Not a lot of players are talking about this. That’s disappointing, because I absolutely LOVE this card. Depending on your opponent’s field, you might want to switch out a dead Tenki for this using Chicken, or summon Panther through Horse to bring this out. It is absolutely killer in lategame, and if used in conjunction with Monkey or MST you can really do some serious damage to your opponent. The best part, I mean the absolute BEST part about this card is that you can prevent Gorz when you opponent tries to bluff it or bring it out by setting Compulse or DP. A large percentage of DN’s playerbase are unaware that gamestate is open when you set a card, so you might get away with a few things here and there if your opponent isn’t that knowledgeable. What I mean by this, is when you use Chicken to set Kongo from the deck they have a window of opportunity. If they pass it up, then you’re free to do some damage. I can’t begin to count how many times someone has passed up the chance to activate Threatening Roar when I set this card from the deck. Hopefully those of you unfortunate enough to see this on the board can respond accordingly now.

Run this at 1, just because you can search it out. If it had the words “When this card is activated: You can…” I would run 2. The reason being, you can use it in conjunction with Chicken 1^st turn to set you up for Spirit. Unfortunately the effect is mandatory so you have to use it when your opponent has a card set in the s/t zone.

                                            Matchups

I’ll save you guys some time and list the best and the worst from what is currently relevant, rather than giving you the full blown rundown.

Best:

HEROs –Swallow can be considered a wincon here. Very easy to outadvantage HEROs, Tenken and Kongo can throw the HERO player out of rhythm. Anything they have maindecked can be run over by any of the beaters under the influence of Tensen.

Chaos – Bear hits their sources of card advantage. Their opening play, set 1 go, is easily answered with Bear. Tensen/Hawk makes Horse large enough to not be run over by their big monsters and Swallow shuts the Chaos player down ENTIRELY.

Prophecy – Unfortunately for Prophecy, the game is played on the field not in the hand. Any defense they may have such as Trag, easily answered with Bear. Monkey can hit sources of card advantage such as Tower, and Prophecy have a natural weakness to OTK decks since they cannot commit to the field on turn 1 or most likely run little protection. Once you go hexproof with Swallow, there isn’t much the Prophecy player can do.

Merlantean- Once again, Tenken shines in this matchup. It will throw the Merlantean player out of rhythm, and doubles as being bait for Marksman. Monkey will cause Abysspike to miss timing if summoned by Abysslinde, and Bear once again will hit whatever they commit to the field. Once you go hexproof, the Merlantean player can only run over Swallow or blow up the field with Blackrose. Luckily, Tensen and Tenken shine in both situations respectively.

Verz Rabbit- Bear, Swallow, and card advantage. All I have to say. We have access to Rivalry in the sideboard, the stun created by Ophion is laughable at best, and 1950 is the least of our worries. If you are in endgame and you have Spirit in hand with Chicken in the grave, you’ve already won.

Worst:

Chain Burn- This duel is like watching a dog bleed to death. Just use standard Chain Burn tactics, and game 2 try to get Rivalry up to prevent Lava Golem.

Anything that makes use of Skill Drain- Unlike Macro Cosmos which can be easily countersided against with IIW, my only sideboard to make use of this matchup is Malevolent Catastrophe. So I pretty much have to wait until I draw into MST, Heavy, or Malevolent to counter this card.

                                             Sideboard

Chain Disappearance is making a comeback. Expect this card to see a lot of play in the LTGY meta. It hits many common matchups like Prophecy (though don’t bother using this vs Prophecy, there is a better side I will explain later), Six Samurai and even the mirror match! Expect this card to be used against you when you are playing against a deck that cannot afford to use Skill Drain or Macro Cosmos. It also hits rogue matchups like Dragunity, Karakuri, so on and so forth. With so many decks relying on graveyard setup, this is shaping up to be great sideboard material.

I know what you’re thinking. “Oh but Neo, Fire Fist relies on backrow! This card is suicide!” Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t. The level 3 build, now more than ever, can give you formation production from absolutely NOTHING. Panther, like Chicken, has once again changed the dynamics of the deck. Before you had to summon Raven/Hawk via Horse and crash into a monster to get some formation production, now it’s easier than ever. The net loss from this card is negligible; just remind yourself that with this deck…every loss for your opponent is an even greater gain for you. There are some pretty neat combos with Bear/Gorilla and Tensen with this card as well, granted you would have to activate Tensen in response to the attack. The faster you push into endgame with this deck, the easier it is to out-advantage your opponent and dismantle whatever hope he may have left.  Always remember this.

I have never met a backrow I agreed with. I absolutely hate crashing into backrow. Any backrow heavy deck such as Gravekeepers, HEROs, even Wind-Ups and Dino/Verz Rabbit to an extent will hate this card. I’ve used it in hundreds of duels, and it has a lasting effect once it is used. I know I said I wouldn’t give you any “mindgames” malarkey, but this card can actually give you a legitimate psychological advantage. Once they see it, they will try and play around it. Whether it be setting less, or simply not attacking into it. This can work to your advantage, as mentioned earlier you can easily dismantle a “set 2 go” with MST/Gorilla and Kongo. I usually side this in if I am playing a backrow heavy deck and the rest of my sideboard cannot hit it OR when I go 2^nd in the next game vs a deck like Wind-Ups. Always take turn order into account when you side!

I love this card, I really do. This has worked so well in the mirror, vs Prophecy and Merlantean as well. As you guys already know, you can chain this to Priestess or Megalo’s effect. I use this in conjunction with Imperial Iron Wall when playing vs Prophecy. You can also pull off some pretty clutch defensive plays in late game if you need to!

This card is primarily used to counterside vs Macro Rabbit, and decks that can make use of Macro. It also doubles as protection vs DP/BTH, so it has some generic use as well. This card can stun the Prophecy player, but not to the point where he can do nothing.

Soul Drain and Rivalry are self-explanatory wincon cards; I don’t think I need to explain why they are in the sideboard at all. You guys are good enough to know. Gemini Imps is just preference; I prefer to have them in there because Dragged Down to the Grave gets me salty.

My Dueling Network username is Neodasus

If you want to see the deck in action, I usually duel from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST. Spec me as I try to make it to the #1 spot for matches! Maybe I’ll try to get a deep YCS run after the next set, we’ll see!

Alright guys, I hope I've been of some help to you. Maybe you changed your mind about something, or maybe you learned something new? Either way, thanks for reading.

Believe in the will2skill, and flame on!