The Frozen Horus

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 In the heart of the Arctic's icy expanse,

Horus faces a sight that makes his soul dance.

A mighty robot polar bear, guardian of the glacial realm,

Its metal form glistening, a spectacle to overwhelm.

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to our bi-weekly post on this blog. Before we continue discussing the decklist, I should inform you that, as of today (written on July 28th, 2023), the booster pack, Age of Overlord (AGOV), has already been released. I recommend checking your local game store to see if they have it in stock. Similar to the previous Booster Pack, Duelist Nexus (DUNE), AGOV contains many game-changing cards, including new waifu cards. It's definitely worth exploring!

Now, let's get back to our focus for this session—combining an old archetype with a new one from the AGOV booster pack. After several deck tests, I can confidently say that this combination is quite potent, with the cards complementing each other perfectly. Let's take a closer look at the old archetype that will be the main focus of this deck.

The Ursarctic, Mecha Polar Bear archetype, plays around the concept of Negative Synchro Summoning. It was released in the Deck Build Pack: Ancient Guardians (DBAG) on March 6th, 2021, alongside the Ogdoadic and Solfachord archetypes. This archetype has captivated many players with its unique art and the allure of robotic polar bears. However, the concept of Negative Synchro Summoning can be a bit confusing. All of their Synchro Monsters cannot be summoned conventionally; instead, you need to subtract the levels of two monsters to Synchro Summon a monster with the same level. While their main monsters are strong and fearsome, the Synchro Summoning process can be challenging to execute.

For this decklist, we won't be using the Ursarctic Synchro Monsters; instead, we'll focus on the main monsters—the big dudes of the archetype. Let's look at two of the Ursarctic monsters we'll include in this deck.

The Polar Evolution

The Other Side of SD Jack Atlas

Hello again, everyone! Welcome to this week's blog post. As usual, I'll be sharing a new deck idea that you can try out in real life. I'll also include the budget for the deck, so you can decide whether it's worth building. On June 24th, 2023, KONAMI released SD Jack Atlas: Pulse of The King in the OCG. This Structure Deck contains all the Jack Atlas Archetypes from the Anime and Manga, including Resonators and Red Dragon Archfiend, making it easy to build a strong Jack Atlas Deck with just three copies of this Structure Deck.

However, if you search the internet, you'll find that most players who play Jack Atlas Synchro (also known as King Synchro) only use the Resonator Engine in their decklists. The Resonator engine alone is potent enough to summon strong monsters, so it's understandable why other cards are left out. But it's a bit sad because other engine cards in SD Jack Atlas are also interesting and powerful. Let's explore another engine that was also released in SD Jack Atlas.

A. The Assault Mode Engine

SD Jack Atlas included all the materials needed to play the Assault Mode engine. Psi-Reflector, Assault Beast, and Assault Mode Activate were all released in the same Structure Deck, making it easy to incorporate this engine into your deck. It's a shame that Emergency Teleport isn't included in the deck since it helps summon Psi-Reflector easily, but you can easily obtain it for a reasonable price online (less than 100 yen) to complete the Assault Mode Engine.

The Assault Mode Engine allows you to Synchro Summon monsters between levels 6 to 9. One of the advantages of this engine is that you don't need to Normal Summon for the combo. With just Emergency Teleport, you can get a Level 6 to 9 Synchro Monster on your field.

Pros:

1. One-card combo; you only need Emergency Teleport / Psi-Reflector for this engine.
2. Not limited to specific special summons after activating this combo; you can still perform Link, XYZ, or Fusion Summons for the rest of your turn.
3. Requires only a small number of cards to play this engine (around 5 to 7, including Emergency Teleport).

Cons:

1. High brick chance if you draw Assault Beast or Assault Mode Activate in your hand. The combo requires Assault Beast in the graveyard, Psi-Reflector on the field, and Assault Mode Activate in your hand.

Doesn't directly support Red Dragon Archfiend or Jack Atlas playstyles.

B. The Ascator Engine

Alongside the Assault Mode Engine, the Ascator Engine was also released in SD Jack Atlas. Both Ascator, Dawnwalker, and Fire Ant Ascator were reprinted in the Structure Deck. With just these two cards, you can summon Level 8 Synchro Monsters on your field. However, similar to the Assault Mode Engine, this engine also has its pros and cons.

Pros:

1. One-card combo; you only need Ascator, Dawnwalker in your hand for this engine.
2. Requires only a small number of cards to play this engine (around 4 to 5).

Cons:

1. High chance of bricking if you don't draw Fire Ant Ascator in your deck; without it, you can't perform the combo.
2. You can't search/tutor this deck from the deck easily like the Assault Mode or Resonator engines.
3. Restricts you to Synchro Summons for the rest of the turn after performing the combo.
4. Doesn't directly support Red Dragon Archfiend or Jack Atlas playstyles.

Although both engines have limitations compared to the Resonator Engine, they can still be played to a certain level and form a solid deck when combined. To counter the high brick chance, I incorporated another engine in the deck.

"You can Ritual Summon this card with "Chaos Form". You can reveal this card in your hand; add 1 "Dark Magician" or 1 non-Ritual Monster that mentions it, from your Deck to your hand, then place 1 card from your hand on the top of the Deck. When your opponent activates a monster effect (Quick Effect): You can return this card to the hand, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Dark Magician" from your GY, and if you do that, negate that activated effect. You can only use each effect of "Illusion of Chaos" once per turn.'"

The issue with both the Assault Mode Engine and the Ascator Engine is that the key cards may not be in your hand. However, using Illusion of Chaos, we can return key cards to the deck while also summoning a Level 1 Monster that can draw cards from the deck. I tried to create a deck combining all these engines, and here's what I came up with:

The (Super) Aitsu Brothers

 Hello everyone! Welcome to this Bi-Weekly blog post. How is your day? Is it fun or exhausting? I hope that as you read this blog, you're already in a good mood and condition. In today's post, I want to bring back some old cards that many players may have forgotten. These cards were considered useless even in the past and never received any support from KONAMI.

But why bother with these cards, you may ask? The answer is simple: it's all about the fun factor. It's enjoyable to revisit old cards from the past that may have been overlooked by players. It's exciting to brainstorm and theorycraft how we can salvage these cards and make them somewhat usable again. As long as the cards aren't complete trash, I believe it's worth the effort to revive them and introduce them to the current meta.

the cool bros

Let's dive into today's archetype, the Aitsu Brothers. These four monsters—Aitsu, Koitsu, Soitsu, and Doitsu—are all parody characters from another KONAMI franchise, Parodius, which is itself a parody of KONAMI's game, Gradius. It's fascinating to see the layers of parody in these cards.

Aitsu and Koitsu were released in the Champion of Black Magic booster pack in 2002, while Soitsu and Doitsu were released in the Cybernetic Revolution booster pack in 2004. Due to their low Attack and Defense points and unnecessary high levels, this cards were often disregarded. Despite being Fairy-type monsters, they didn’t receive any substantial support. Even cards like Shining Angel and Nova Summoner cannot summon them from the deck.

However, we can try to salvage these cards and make them viable again. Let's explore their characteristics:

• All of them have very low Attack and Defense points.
• Aitsu and Soitsu are vanilla monsters, while Koitsu and Doitsu have interesting effects.
• They have levels ranging from 3 to 10.
• Aitsu is a Fire Attribute monster, while Soitsu is Wind Attribute.

To utilize their low stats, we can incorporate effects that allow us to summon them from the Graveyard. For example, Debris Dragon can be a useful tool to revive the Aitsu Brothers from the Graveyard. Additionally, since Aitsu is Level 5, we can use it as a cost for the effect of "Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon," summoning it directly from the hand.

We can also leverage the Dragon-type theme by including cards like Blaster the Dragon Ruler of Inferno and Tempest the Dragon Ruler of Storms. This not only adds synergy but also aligns with the Attributes of Aitsu and Soitsu. 

Based on these ideas, I've crafted an Aitsu deck with a Dragon twist. Take a look at the decklist below:

Ignited Despia Ascendant, the Branded Manticore

 Hello readers!! I hope you're having a wonderful day and feeling great. Today, I am thrilled to share with you a new deck idea centered around an old card that has recently received a retrain. It's always satisfying to see Konami breathe new life into forgotten cards and make them relevant again. I truly hope they continue this trend, bringing more old cards back into the spotlight. Let’s review this particular monster!

Manticore of Smashing

(Beast-Warrior/Fire/Lvl 6/ Atk 2300/Def 1000)

"During your Main Phase: You can add 1 "Fissure" or 1 "Smashing Ground" from your Deck to your hand. If this card is in your GY: You can banish 1 "Fissure" or 1 "Smashing Ground" from your hand or GY; Special Summon this card. You can only use each effect of "Manticore of Smashing" once per turn."

The Manticore of Smashing is a retrained version of the Manticore of Darkness. While the old monster could only revive itself by sacrificing a Beast-Warrior, Beast, or Winged Beast from the field or hand, the Manticore of Smashing can revive itself by banishing a spell card from the graveyard or hand. Additionally, it can search for either "Fissure" or "Smashing Ground" once per turn from the deck. By banishing the searched card, it can revive itself again, creating a strong effect. However, it's important to note that the effect can only be activated once per turn, preventing an infinite loop.

Despite its strong effect, the Manticore of Smashing is not a particularly relevant or favored card among players. It has a relatively low attack power of 2300 for a level 6 monster, and its attribute being Fire makes it less versatile compared to Dark Attribute monsters that are easier to send to the graveyard. Additionally, the cards it searches, "Fissure" and "Smashing Ground," are single-target destruction cards. With the introduction of cards like Raigeki, Dark Hole, and Lightning Storm that offer mass destruction effects, the relevancy of these single-target destruction cards has diminished. Furthermore, summoning the Manticore of Smashing can be challenging as it is not an easy monster to bring out onto the field.

The first approach to play this monster involves manually searching and discarding it from the deck. By utilizing spell cards like Foolish Burial and effects that special summon monsters from the graveyard, we can summon the Manticore of Smashing to the field. The second method involves discarding it alongside Smashing Ground or Fissure, which can be achieved through cards that mill your deck, such as Lightsworn, Tearlaments, or Burning Abyss.

For this post,I opted to go with the first approach, manually send the Manticore of Smashing and reviving it from the graveyard. To accomplish this, I incorporated the Branded/Despia archetype, which allows us to dump the Manticore of Smashing to the graveyard via Branded Fusion. This synergy enables us to gain control of our opponent's field with the Branded Fusion Monster while utilizing the Manticore of Smashing's effect to search for Smashing Ground or Fissure and revive itself.

Now, let's take a closer look at the decklist: