by in
A bit of time has passed since the Valiant Smashers pack has been released in the TCG. Introducing new archetypes like “Centur-Ion” and “Memento” looked rather promising as to what they added to the modern game of Yu-Gi-Oh — simplicity and flexibility.
However, now that we’ve got some time to see the Tops, where the best and professional players have come to experiment and dominate, we can finally make some judgments on who’s the very best in today’s meta grind.
Nationals are due in eight months, and if you plan on attending, now is the time to start practicing with these decks to improve your chance of winning it!
Rescue Ace
Sinful Spoils Rescue-Ace is one of the top-reigning meta decks this year, with an 82.6% play/win rate across multiple regions. The powerful impact of resolving Rescue-ACE Turbulence, the ability to dodge SEVERAL hand-traps, multiple summons, and the resolution of Hydrant with two face downs make this the Top of the Line in today’s meta. Grinding through your opponent’s back row as they gain advantage on your turn for the slap-back is daunting. Along with easy access to S:P Little Knight and Rescue-ACE Impulse on the field, it can be incredibly hard to stop an Ace Player once they’ve got a set field and GOOD LUCK if you lose the coin toss and didn’t open any hand-traps.
Tearlaments
Coming back from the depths is Tearlaments, just recently, in fact, topping Querétaro WCQ Regional a few days ago by Jorge Alberto Polito. If you thought you needed disruption for Rescue-Ace, Tearlaments are the sole reason for wanting to utilize two or more hand traps in a single term. With monster effects chainable from the hand, field, and GY, you’re susceptible to ganks from literally every angle. Easy access to Baronne on the field, mixed with fusion summoning powerful monsters like Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart for shuffling cards from the GY back into the deck, leads to a revolving grind game that can be tricky to stop before it starts.
Unchained
Unchained is, in my opinion, one of the most “fair” top-tier meta decks in the current game state, which a great pilot can elevate. Despite powerhouses like a resolved Unchained Soul Lord of Yama or Unchained Soul of Sharvara, the deck is considerably balanced as it takes a great player to know which specific cards to activate and a good opponent to understand how to bait or work through those cards for a solid game.
Infernobles
An incredibly strong Synchro-Link-based deck that can encapsulate the older style of playing while appealing to the next generation of players with its amazing Link monsters like Emperor Charles the Great. If your opponent goes first-turn, it can feel a bit dice-rolley since they can generate so much with so little. With the help of its field spell, Noble Knights Museum, a non-once-per-turn engine-rever that can generate advantage, and a simple Neo-Space Connector combo that can quickly get you into Isolde, there’s a lot going for this deck. One of the most frustrating things about this archetype is the fact it can play around with multiple hand-traps. I’ve personally only found that Droll & Lock is a quick way to prevent them from doing everything they want to do on their turn, but even that sometimes isn’t enough.
Mikanko
Last but not least, you know I had to cope with the “Mikanko” archetype. Diabellstar Mikanko is an incredibly powerful deck going first or second, with the ability to Acid Golem lock your opponent or simply OTK after using up all of their interruptions. One of the most important cards of the deck is the Ken and Gen package, which allows you to strip one card from your opponent’s hand, draw two, and perhaps even make them discard another if you have Tactics or Talent in hand. With versatility and combo-ability all in one, there’s not one “correct” way to play the deck, meaning a great pilot could definitely take this deck to the next level.
Thanks for reading, and I hope I’ve given you some ideas for your next deck. See you next time!