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Main [40]
[3]
[10]
[27]
Extra [15]
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[5]
[1]
[6]
Side [15]
[3]
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[8]
Link: Tearlaments Deck 2023
Backstory
Tearlament deck debuted in Power of the Elements in August 2022 and received support in Darkwing Blast and Photon Hypernova, as well as aid from a synergistic series of EARTH Fairies in Magnificent Mavens. In their prime, Tearlament decks made for one of the most dominant strategies of all time. Subsequently, this led to it being one of the hardest hit decks in the game’s history in February 2023 with the banning of their strongest combo enabler Tearlaments Kitkallos as well as the Limiting of not only Tearlament cards themselves (Merrli, Scheiren, and Havnis to 1) but also the Ishizu cards from Magnificent Mavens (Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard, Agido the Ancient Sentinel, Keldo the Sacred Protector, and Mudora the Sword Oracle also to 1).
Other notable casualties from prior lists to be banned/Limited as a result of their effectiveness alongside Tearlaments include bans to Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon and Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion that helped to send Tearlament monsters to the GY in order to trigger their effects to fuse as well as a Limit to Herald of the Orange Light which synergized well with the Ishizu cards used in Tearlaments. With all these hits, Tearlament has unsurprisingly taken a step back from its position as not only the best deck in the game but one of the most dominant ever, but it remains a fun and viable rogue strategy capable of topping regional tournaments.
Playstyle
Tearlaments’ main win condition is to Fusion Summon powerful monsters by triggering the effects of Tearlaments Scheiren, Havnis, and Merrli when they’re sent to the GY. In order to accomplish this, effects sending cards from your Deck to the GY are used including the Tearlament monsters’ effects as well as cards like Foolish Burial, Agido the Ancient Sentinel, Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard. Additionally, Tearlaments’ Spells and Traps trigger when sent to the GY to add Tearlament cards from various locations to your hand. With the advent of Tearlaments Kashtira in Photon Hypernova, Kashtira packages are very common and provide the Deck with another layer of high-ATK monsters with which to overwhelm opponents in tandem with Tearlaments’ strong Extra Deck.
Often Guardian Chimera, Kaleido-Heart, and a Kashtira monster can OTK opponents after clearing their board, while going first Tearlaments can set up several layers of disruption from the front row, back row, hand, and GY making it hard to blow Tearlaments out with any individual board-breaking card. I tend to favor playing the deck in such a way going first as to put up as many omni-negations as possible to have my bases covered with cards like Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World, Baronne de Fleur, Tearlaments Cryme and Bahamut Shark into Toadally Awesome, sometimes putting up all the above.
Tech Choices
Kaijus help against large unaffected powerful but high-investment monsters that are popular at the time of writing (just after the release of CYHO) like Chaos Angel and Expurrely Noir. One can also play Gameciel which has synergy as an Aqua monster and Interrupted Kaiju Slumber which can add a Kaiju on your turn after it was sent to your GY, but I like Radian as it helps make Mudragon of the Swamp. Danger and Shaddoll monsters have also historically synergized well with Tearlaments.
I like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring because it stops Branded Fusion as well as Runick variants’ draw 3 off of Runick Fountain, but other hand traps merit consideration depending on the format. Droll & Lock Bird is also particularly strong right now and I have it in the Side Deck, but note that it can prevent you from searching on your opponent’s turn off of the in-GY effects of cards like Tearlaments Sulliek and Tearlaments Scream.
Tips and Tricks
Typically where you have control of which Tearlaments to send to the GY for a Fusion Summon, you’ll want to prioritize Tearlaments Havnis, then Scheiren, and finally Merrli. This is because Scheiren is effective on your turn as an extender while Merrli is saved to be sent off of Spright Sprind.
If your opponent uses a Level 6 Bystial monster targeting a card in your GY to banish it and Special Summon itself, you can chain your Quick Effects of Tearlaments Kashtira, Keldo the Sacred Protector, or Mudora the Sword Oracle to get it out of the GY on your terms and prevent them from Special Summoning their Bystial.
Primeval Planet Perlereino’s effect to destroy a card can be triggered if your Tearlaments monster is shuffled into the Deck/Extra Deck by any means, including by the effect of Keldo the Sacred Protector or Mudora the Sword Oracle. Use these cards in conjunction to destroy a card whenever you want by triggering Perlereino using Keldo or Mudora’s Quick Effects, providing a key additional disruption at the perfect moment.
Make sure to keep a Tearlament monster in the GY in order to do this. You can also use Perlereino to destroy your own cards, great to trigger the GY effect of many Tearlament cards. I often destroy my own Kaleido-Heart and use its effect to Special Summon itself back and send Tearlaments Scream to the GY so I can add Tearlaments Cryme to my hand for a powerful extra negation, or you can add Sulliek or send Sulliek to add a Tearlaments monster. These little interactions help bolster your boards.
Spright Sprind
Spright Sprind is used to send Tearlaments Merrli to the GY, however the Limit to 1 of Tearlaments Merrli complicates the process of sending Merrli to the GY with Sprind after having Link Summoned Sprind using Merrli. That being said, you can still do so if you have a Level 2 in the Deck (such as Diviner of the Herald) as well as any of Mudora the Sword Oracle or Keldo the Sacred Protector in the GY, as Sprind will activate first being an on-Summon Trigger Effect at which point Merrli won’t be in the Deck, but if you chain the Quick Effect of Mudora or Keldo to shuffle Merrli back into the Deck, Merrli becomes a valid target for Sprind by the time it resolves at which point you can send Merrli and use it to Fusion Summon.
Bahamut Shark
Bahamut Shark is surprisingly easy to Xyz Summon in Tearlaments despite requiring its materials to be specifically WATER Level 4s, and I’ve found doing so highly effective as it grants access to Toadally Awesome, a powerful omni negate. You can use any combination of Tearlaments Reinoheart, Night Sword Serpent, and Mudragon of the Swamp, with Supreme Sea Mare being another option that works well with Tearlaments if you choose to play it. Radian the Multidimensional Kaiju has the benefit of being a DARK non-Aqua monster that you can fuse with a Tearlament to make Mudragon which you can then use to overlay for Bahamut Shark.
So if this package is something you’re interested in including in your Extra Deck, note that any DARK non-Aqua monsters have the additional benefit of facilitating Bahamut Shark lines including Bystials, Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite, Danger monsters (although unfortunately not Danger! Nessie!), and any others you find useful. You can also make Mudragon using your DARK Extra Deck monsters if you’ve gotten to that point like Dharc, the Dark Charmer – Gloomy, Predaplant Dragostapelia, Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World, or Cherubi, Ebon Angel of the Burning Abyss, but not Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart as it cannot be used as Fusion Material.
Fusion Summon
There’s a combo using any two Level 7 monsters to set up a Fusion Summon, provided Tearlaments Merrli is still in your Main Deck so make sure that’s the case. First you make Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack in a Main Monster Zone, then you use its effect to Special Summon 2 Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens. Then, use these Tokens as Link Material to Link Summon Cherubini, Ebon Angel of the Burning Abyss which you’ll use the effect of by sending King of the Swamp to the GY.
Now, you can Link Summon Spright Sprind using Cherubini and your Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack (or preferably something else if you have another monster to spare so you can preserve your Dracossack with 1 Xyz Material attached so Sprind can use its effect to return a monster from the field to the hand as an additional form of disruption) and use Sprind’s effect to send Tearlaments Merrli from your Deck to the GY, triggering its effect to Fusion Summon using it and King of the Swamp as material which you can use to Fusion Summon Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World or Tearlaments Rulkallos, or with an additional Aqua Monster and/or Reinoheart you can make Kaleido-Heart.
Often given a choice of cards in your GY to banish for Tearlaments Kashtira’s effect to Special Summon itself, another copy of Tearlaments Kashtira is a good choice, as being a Psychic WATER monster it isn’t able to be used as Fusion Material by shuffling back with the effect of Havnis, Scheiren or Merrli anyway but you could potentially send Tearlaments Cryme from the top of your Deck to the GY, in which case you can add your banished Tearlaments Kashtira to your hand.
Tearlaments Reinoheart
Tearlaments Reinoheart is another card commonly added back off Cryme, but mostly because after using its effect to revive itself it is banished upon leaving the field, and I wouldn’t banish him for Tearlaments Kashtira’s effect unless absolutely necessary as Reinoheart can be a useful Fusion Material in the GY to make Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart.
Baronne de Fleur is another powerful omni-negating monster this Deck has access to. You can make it using a Level 7 non-Tuner (like the Kashtira monsters in this Deck or Radian the Multidimensional Kaiju or Danger! Nessie! if you choose to play the latter) and a Level 3 Tuner (like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring or any of the series of Level 3 0 ATK/1800 DEF hand trap Tuners. Alternatively you can by use Diviner of the Herald. Diviner can send Kelbek/Agido to become Level 6, trigger their effects to send cards from your Deck to the GY, and easily make Baronne with any Level 4 non-Tuner. You can use Diviner to send Kurikara Divincarnate to become Level 3 and tune with a Level 7 non-Tuner.
Tearlaments Deck Match-Up Strategies
Against opposing Tearlament decks or Dark World, prioritize Abyss Dweller as they depend heavily on effects that trigger in the GY which Dweller will shut down. This applies to any deck that depends on GY triggers, but those are particularly notable at the time of writing this.
Against Floowandereeze, True Draco, Monarch, and other decks that prefer serial Normal Summons to Special Summons the effect of Tearlament Rulkallos does very little, so prioritize Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World and Predaplant Dragostapelia instead.
Against Runick variants or Sky Striker decks Guardian Chimera and Mudragon of the Swamp are especially effective as they and others of Mudragon’s Attribute are untargetable. Grapha, Dragon Overlord of Dark World isn’t as strong here because it can only negate Normal Spells and Traps, not Quick-Play Spells. Keldo and Mudora are also extremely strong against both decks as you can chain them to Runick Fountain’s effect to shuffle back their targeted Runick Spells and prevent them from drawing, leaving them vulnerable to an OTK or by keeping Raye and the required 3 Spells out of Sky Striker players’ GYs.
Against Branded Despia you’ll want to prioritize Tearlaments Rulkallos to stop Branded Fusion or Fallen of Albaz, and save Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring for Branded Fusion if you have it.