In my previous article, I talk more than a little about this match-up for Harpies. I spent some more time trying to figure it out and the results were more interesting this time around.
Harpies and Stuff
I didn’t have much time to test Harpies this week, so I won’t harp-on too long.
Harpie vs Kozmos
This week, I tested against Kozmos. It’s an interesting match-up because, while they behave similarly to Burning Abyss, they are much more flexible. In my previous article on this archetype, I talked about how Burning Abyss is a relatively straightforward match. Harpies have access to Abyss Dweller, Ice Beast Zerofyne, and can use Instant Fusion to increase Rank 4 consistency. With added destruction cards, Harpies can clear their field without too much trouble.
Kozmos, on the other hand, have trigger effects that can chain to Harpie cards. That makes any kind of investment you put into destruction cards, like Mirror Force, Icarus Attack, etc, less consistent. They also summon higher attack monsters more consistently. The backrow destruction that these birds are known for is also hit or miss, since Kozmos don’t need to rely on their backrow.
In order to combat them, I modified the deck that I ended with after testing against HEROS. So in addition to Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, I added 3 Imperial Iron Wall.
The deck is still not consistent against Kozmos, but it’s not a blow out anymore. It’s definitely still under 50% consistency against them though.
Removing Vanilla Harpies
I also took out 2 vanilla Harpie Ladies and added 2 Cyber Harpie Ladies to deal with the attack power difference during the battle phase.
Kozmos have quick access to high-attack monsters. Even though Ice Beast Zerofyne is easy to make, you can still attack and run into an Honest.
Book of Eclipse and Lightning Chidori
Book of Eclipse flips all monsters face-down. It’s pretty hilarious to combo this with Lightning Chidori. It gets rid of those monsters with targeting or destruction by card effect restrictions.
Deck (40):
Harpie Deck
Monsters (16):
1 Harpie Lady
3 Harpie Queen
2 Cyber Harpie Lady
3 Harpie Harpist
3 Harpie Channeler
2 Harpie Dancer
2 Summoner Monk
Spells (15):
2 Instant Fusion
1 Raigeki
2 Dark Hole
1 Terraforming
1 Elegant Egotist
1 Book of Moon
1 Book of Eclipse
3 Hysteric Sign
3 Harpies’ Hunting Ground
Traps (9):
1 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Mirror Force
3 Imperial Iron Wall
1 Fiendish Chain
1 Call of the Haunted
2 Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror
Extra Deck (15)
2 Elder Entity Norden
1 Mavelus
2 Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack
1 Number 101: Silent Honors ARK
1 Harpie’s Pet Phantasmal Dragon
2 Ice Beast Zerofyne
2 Lighting Chidori
2 Abyss Dweller
1 Gagaga Cowboy
1 Traptrix Reflesia
– Reflisia is in here but not very prominent. There needs to be a good first turn option in this deck, and this is defensive and a little aggressive.
That’s it for this week. If you’re playing Harpies, I’d be curious to hear what you’ve done!
Harpie Lady Testing
It’s hard out there for us birds of prey. I spent a week testing the Harpie Lady archetype. The game has changed so much since I played with them back in January of 2014. Pendulum Monsters are here, Artifacts are different, every deck has crazy amounts of access to every card it needs. Where do Harpies fit in?
Deck Profile: Artifact Monarchs
I just can’t resist running Artifacts in any deck it’s functional in!
Deck Profile: Buster Blader
None other than a Buster Blader deck. Don’t get your hopes up.
Buster Blader’s new support is underwhelming
The greatest dragon-slayer is brought up into the new yugioh era with support released in the Breakers of Shadow set. A new Buster Blader-themed Fusion, 1 new Synchro, 1 new version of Buster Blader, 4 new support monsters, 2 Spells, and 1 Trap make up a new Buster Blader support archetype called Destruction Sword.
Fun Deck: Budget Kozmo
I was bored, and I wanted to make Kozmos, but that’s expensive. So, I made this.
Dinomist Regional Matchup Review
On less than 3 hours of sleep, with a deck finalized that morning, I go 4 – 3 – 1 in 8 rounds of swiss. Here’s my matchup review.
Dinomists and Deskbot 001?
I’m considering what to do about regionals. I’ve been playing Dinomists for a few weeks now and really like the straightforward nature of the deck. It’s power comes from two abilities: one that negates an effect that would target Dinomist monsters and one that negates an effect that would destroy Dinomist monsters.
Dinomists only use two core game mechanics: attacking and pendulum summoning. So in order to cover their vulnerabilities, you have to look outside the archetype for support. And since I don’t have Cyber Dragon Infinity, here are some of the other things I’m considering:
Deskbot 001
Deskbot 001
Deskbot 001 gives Dinomists access to synchro summoning. This card comes out of the graveyard with almost every pendulum summon. The extra 500 attack and defense it gets for each machine-type monster can make it a pretty big beatstick.
There are 3 synchro monsters of note that Deskbot gives you access to:
Metaphys Horus
Metaphys Horus
Metaphys Horus has a tidal wave of effects. Syncroing with a Level 5 Dinomist monster allows you to negate the effect of a face-up card (monster, spell, or trap) and you gain control of an opponent’s monster. It’s disruptive, something Dinomists could use.
The only issue is that it has relatively low attack, and won’t be covered by Mist Armor or the field spell, Dynomic Powerload.
Ally of Justice Catastor
Ally of Justice Catastor
Deskbot 001 and any Level 4 monster gives you destruction for monsters that can’t be destroyed by battle. Since Dinomists are attacking focused, this helps to expand their battle phase options.
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
A little excessive, but it’s powerful, so whatever. Deskbot 001 and 2 – Level 4 Dinomist monsters make Trishula. It’s disruptive and has OK attack.
Dinomists have a crowded Pendulum Summon
All of these options occur after a pendulum summon. That way, you get Deskbot 001 for free. But I don’t like the idea of having all of these decisions to make. They all crowd the pendulum summon, making its success that much more vital.
Fortunately, Dinomists have a really solid defense if they choose to sit around and wait. Mist Armor and the field spell protect them, and as they gain more field presence, they become pretty scary.
Are you running a Dinomist deck? What have you done differently to deal with problem cards? I want to know what you’ve done to make the deck your own, so leave a comment. Or, you can also reach out to me on twitter @mattcarterwa .