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:

As usual, you ca visit this YGOProdecklist website to check each card's effect. 

With Illusion of Chaos, we can minimize the chance of bricking for both the Assault Mode Engine and the Ascator Engine. We also include Garbage Lord, a free Level 5 Dark Monster that can be searched with its underling, Garbage Ogre.

As we have Dark Magician in this deck, we can access Level 10 Synchro Monsters with an abundance of Level 3 Tuner monsters and Dark Magician special summoned by Magician's Soul. Magician's Soul can help replenish cards in your hand by discarding any useless spell/trap cards, such as The Crimson Gaia or Assault Mode Activate that we've already used.

Okay, let's talk about the deck price. Since most of these cards are already in SD Jack Atlas, I'll exclude their prices from the calculation.

For additional info about card price, you can access my google spreadsheet in this link

To my surprise, the other cards we need for this deck are relatively affordable. You can easily obtain them at a reasonable price. Thanks to SD Jack Atlas, we don't have to purchase the entire deck since most of the essential cards are already included in that Structure Deck. For Staple cards, you can swap or borrow from your main deck for this deck. I think this is quite cheap and easy to make. You should try to build it especially if you already had Structure Deck Jack Atlas as most of these cards are already in this deck. 

Well, that's the end of this blog post. Before we conclude, let's not forget that alongside the powerful Resonator Engine, SD Jack Atlas also introduced the Ascator and Assault Mode engines. With a little tinkering, these engines can certainly make a strong deck. While the Resonator Engine may take the spotlight, let's not overlook the potential of these other engines and explore the possibilities they offer. If you're a fan of Jack Atlas or just looking for unique and fun deck ideas, consider giving these engines a try. As always, I'm open to your comments and recommendations for the next post. Thanks for reading, and happy dueling!