Deck Analysis 3: I'm Still Cool!

by **Dante Kestrel** Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:02 pm

Hello everyone, it's that time of the week again, free deck time! Dante's here to give you the tips on decks that will give you that competitive edge in this metagame, without becoming the competition. Just as soon as Dante learns to stop talking about himself in the third person. Therapy usually helps.

The lifetime of a deck is rarely considered to be without hardships. When cards originally launch, they can be met with incredibly high optimism, with everyone making them out to be the next best thing, and every new deck revolving around the new card(s). Things seem great, like they're at the top of the world. But, these great decks face problems when the next banlist launches, and some decks don't live to see the next format. More often than not, even if the decks aren't completely demolished, their strategies are left cripped by the lack of one or two cards that made up the entire game plan (I'm taking about you, TeleDAD).

One example of a deck that's dealt with this sort of hardship is the modern Plant deck. Now, I say modern because the Plant type has been around ever since Yu-Gi-Oh! first launched, but the advent of many cards has advanced them in the ranks and actually made them very competitive at times. Spore, Lonefire Blossom and Glow-Up Bulb were considered to be some of the most sought-out cards in the meta-game. Variations like Tengu Plants and Dopple Plants were considered to be top-tier decks at the time.

So, why don't we see Plants as an active decktype today? It's simple, the banlist cut out cards that people thought essential. Lonefire Blossom was limited to 1 and Spore and Glow-Up Bulb were both banned outright. That leaves the deck worthless in most people's eyes. But, with some clever crafting, and a few cards that are still released to keep the Plant support going, they're definitely still viable.

One of the main hooks of this deck that I found will be in the form of Ivy Shackles. As the breakdown plays out, I'll explain why this card can be so beautiful for this deck.

Do These Vines Makes Me Look Deadly?

Main Deck: 41 Cards

Monsters x 21

2 x Bird of Roses
1 x Botanical Girl
1 x Copy Plant
1 x Dandylion
1 x Evilswarm Mandrago
1 x Gigantic Cephalotus
1 x Gigaplant
1 x Hedge Guard
2 x Koa'ki Meiru Gravirose
1 x Lonefire Blossom
1 x Lord Poison
3 x Naturia Cherries
1 x Naturia Cosmobeet
1 x Naturia Pineapple
1 x Naturia Rosewhip
1 x Seed of Flame
1 x Tyttanial, Princess of Camellias

Spells x 11

1 x Dark Hole
3 x Fragrance Storm
1 x Heavy Storm
2 x Mark of the Rose
1 x Monster Reborn
1 x Mystical Space Typhoon
1 x Pot of Avarice
1 x Super Solar Nutrient

Traps x 9

1 x Dark Bribe
3 x Ivy Shackles
1 x Mirror Force
1 x Plant Food Chain
1 x Pollinosis
1 x Solemn Warning
1 x The Huge Revolution is Over

Extra Deck: 15 Cards

1 x Ally of Justice Catastor
1 x Black Rose Dragon
1 x Lightning Warrior
2 x Queen of Thorns
1 x Splendid Rose
1 x Stardust Dragon
1 x T.G. Hyper Librarian
1 x Awakened Hero Gagagigo
1 x Gachi Gachi Gantetsu
1 x Lavalval Chain
1 x Leviair the Sea Dragon
2 x Number 50: Black Corn
1 x Wind-Up Zenmaines

Side Deck: 15 Cards

1 x Botanical Lion
1 x Cactus Bouncer
1 x Cactus Fighter
1 x Fallen Angel of Roses
1 x Neo-Spacian Glow Moss
1 x Rose Tentacles
1 x Violet Witch
1 x NEX
1 x Thorn of Malice
3 x DNA Surgery
1 x Overdoom Line
1 x Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss

Breakdown

Main Deck:

As I mentioned beforehand, this deck has some interesting characteristics that stem from the use of Ivy Shackles in this deck. Despite DNA Surgery being a viable substitute (The main reason why it's in the Side Deck, if you absolutely need to switch it out), the fact that this card will also get you a free draw if you just happen to have it destroyed while activating is a bonus that's not easy to pass up. Considering this, even if you would have it destroyed by an MST or Heavy Storm, you could still activate the card in response, get it destroyed, and get a free draw as a result. That extra card can make or break a game.

The first major combo I have to address with this deck is definitely the one between Ivy Shackles and Fragrance Storm. Even if you don't draw any monsters, these two cards can prove to be a blessing for you. While Ivy Shackles turns all your opponent's monsters into Plants, Fragrance Storm will destroy any Plant on either side of the field, which can destroy your opponent's monsters and get you a free draw at no extra cost. With this deck not being exactly at an amazing pace, these cards help to slow the opponent and possibly get you moving faster as well. Especially considering that all of the cards in your Main Deck are Plants, leaving you with no problem for that second draw as well. Likewise, when considering Ivy Shackles as a way to slow your opponent down, those type specifics decks will definitely have a hard time when your turn comes around. Sure, these won't stop Heroes from taking your monsters, but any other decks taking advantage of Super Polymerization and type-specific cards will surely get hampered by a card like that. As an added bonus, Seed of Flame gives you a free monster if it's destroyed, so feel free to destroy that card yourself if you need a stronger monster out of the grave and more cards.

Remember when I said Lonefire Blossom was one of those key cards in a good Plant deck? Well, it still is, even if you can only use one of them these days. The uses for this card are even better with the new cards that this deck has to offer. Combined with Botanical Girl, you'll not only get another Plant to assist you, but you can also add another Plant to your hand, in case that doesn't work. The classic tribute (Which does work with Lonefire itself also, don't let the card fool you) for Tyttanial proves well when you consider how power a monster like that is. And with the added bonus of Xyz's in this deck, a SSed Dandylion can link with Lonefire for a Leviair, which'll pay off with how often you banish monsters from your grave.

While still on the subject, both Botanical Girl and Bird of Roses serve great search roles, when Plants don't have many of those cards to search with, other than themselves. Despite not being able to search for many cards, Botanical Girl doesn't need to be destroyed by battle or force the card to be on the field when you bring it to you. Some may consider that a minus, but it's a plus when that card that you're adding is vital to your strategy and can't get destroyed, for your sake. Meanwhile, Bird of Roses serves as the parallel to that as it has more attack and is a better option in itself if you just need to destroy something small quickly. At the same time, if you happen to get caught with a bigger monster than the Bird, having it destroyed in Attack Position is much more of a blessing for you. Sure, you'll take some damage, but the Tuners you get out of the deal are definitely worth the small price you've paid.

When Plants need assistance swarming the field, who else to help than the Naturia cards. Naturia Cherries, Pineapple, Cosmobeet and Rosewhip all help in their own little ways to make the deck a bit better. With Naturia Pineapple, I present to you the Treeborn Frog of Plants. Literally speaking, the effect is alike to Frog, the only difference being that your Graveyard needs to stay clear of anything that isn't Plants. For the average person, this isn't hard to accomplish, considering that you'll either have your Pineapple early in, or by the time you do get the card, it won't be crucial to your current set-up, and will be a nice card to banish or destroy for whatever cards you're using at the moment. Cosmobeet is just an easy tuner to get out, as long as your opponent Normal Summons or Sets at least once during their turn. If nothing else, it buys you an extra turn, or a Plant in the grave for Mark of the Rose. Naturia Cherries will be your backup, no matter what you draw it from. As long as there's at least 1 other of that card left in your deck, there's a reason to set it on the field, as it'll summon another one, be it destroyed by battle or by card effect. And of course, Rosewhip disables your opponent in crucial times, as well as having moderately high defense on top of being a tuner for the deck.

Many decks use Koa'ki Meiru cards as nice support, this being no exception. Gravirose is a great beatstick for Plants, to keep you going until your stronger Synchros get out. At the same time, it's secondary effect throws out cards for your Synchro effects, Mark of the Rose, or whatever other effects. Dandylion also gets you free tokens if it's sent to the graveyard this way as well. That Dandylion is a great card for this deck. Most people know already how valuable Dandylion is, considering it'll spam out tokens, no matter how it's sent to the graveyard. And seeing as it's a Plant, it's just perfect for this deck, to be tributed by Lonefire, or to be summoned by it. Likewise, to be potentially summoned by Gigaplant, level copied by Copy Plant for an Xyz/Synchro monster and much more.

Of course, it wouldn't be a plant deck if Gigaplant wasn't involved in some shape or form. Like Doom Shaman, Il Blud, or any of those other Gemini summoners, this card'll give you some pretty good attack, and some nice monsters to boot. Especially considering you don't actually have to Normal Summon it first; you could just as easily have a Lonefire Blossom get that monster out with a Special Summon, then Gemini Summon it for another useful Plant. Speaking of special summoning, Evilswarm Mandrago may seem like one of the odd choices in this deck, but it's effect will prove to be valuable for you, regardless. Even if you have monsters on the field, you can still Special Summon this thing, if they're got one more than you. I don't need to mention how this can boost you up, any time you need an extra monster.

I've still got Copy Plant, Gigantic Cephalotus, Hedge Guard and Lord Poison to discuss, so let's see if I can all fit this into one paragraph. Cephalotus is a beatstick, similar to Gravirose, that can get even stronger if other Plants leave the field. This applies well with Ivy Shackles, as destroying those monsters will also boost it's attack a bit, and possibly give you that extra boost if you need to destroy a 1900 Attack monster. Copy Plant's an adaptable tuner, searchable by Botanic Girl, and summonable by Seed of Flame, which makes it great for almost any situation. Hedge Guard is a defense, when there's nothing else, and saves monsters in time of need. And Lord Poison just gets plants out of the grave when you want Plants out, it's as simple as that.

The only two Spell cards that I really still need to discuss is Mark of the Rose and Super Solar Nutrient. People would think that having a control card that gives the monster back is a bad thing, but Mark of the Rose is one of the best cards this deck has to offer. With the only cost being a banished plant, Mark of the Rose turns your opponent's monster into your instant blessing. A free Xyz or Synchro for you, or a huge monster that they own is perfect to tip the scale. Not to mention, it lets you attack on your turn, if they have just a bit of LP left and have a huge monster preventing you from finishing them off. Super Solar Nutrient is similarly one of those cards tat gets you great Plants at the low price of a weak Plant. The effect speaks for itself, and can net you anything you need, provided it's in the space of 3 - 6.

Likewise, there isn't much left to be said, except for two Traps here, and that would be Plant Food Chain, and Pollinosis. A Blast With Chain for plants is just what this is for the deck, as it boosts the attack of the monster for you, and if the card gets destroyed while equipped, you've got a much better bonus on your hands as well. Use it even if you don't get the boost, free monsters are free monsters! Pollinosis is one of those type-specific cards I mentioned that are usually released around a deck's advent to make it even better. With this, you can negate pretty much anything, except for Monster effects, but you can just negate the monster's summon altogether, really. All in all, it's a win-win for you, as long as you have another backup.

Extra Deck:

There isn't much I need to detail here, aside from the importance of having certain cards in this deck. Queen of Thorns assures you that if your opponents attempt to spam Special Summons of any kind, that they will suffer dearly for it. A Tour Guide to the Underworld into a Xyz monster would cost the opponent 3000 LP right there, assuming they don't summon anything else, at all. Splendid Rose continues the Plant support, and cuts attack in half for you to carve the way for your other monsters, and can do even more damage than Queen of Thorns would in one immediate turn, seeing as it's able to attack once again, with the removal of a plant and a half of it's attack cut for that turn.
T.G. Hyper Librarian is here, because.. well, with this deck, you need other level 5 Synchros. And this card has a bit of extra attack in case Catastor won't cut it.

Number 50: Black Corn assert the idea that there should be some Plant cards in the Extra Deck, to keep consistency in the grave, and have some usefulness for Naturia Pineapple. Alverd isn't really summonable by this deck's standards, otherwise the card would also be included as another Plant-type Xyz. However, Black Corn isn't a bad card in itself, as it's effect throws out cards that can't be destroyed by battle, and does damage to boot. Awakened Hero Gagagigo is a card that has powerful attack, to combat cards that simply need to be overwhelmed by pure strength, and not by card effects. Besides, a new Gagagigo card's been long overdue. And Leviair is a card that serves a great purpose in this deck for bringing back the cards that you banish for other cards to work. If Splendid Rose banishes a Plant to halve a monster's attack, Leviair can just as easy summon that monster to the field and add to your arsenal. If Black Rose Dragon banishes a plant, to switch a Defense Position monster out of hiding, the monster can still add to the fight. All in all, it's a huge asset not to be taken lightly here.

Side Deck:

Most of the monsters in this side deck are more Plants that simply offer alternatives to the presented in putting more firepower in. I won't waste time explaining all of these, as cards like Botanical Lion or Rose Tentacles are very easily spotted as being simple Plant support cards, and don't need to be elaborated on more than that. Besides, you're probably already tired of reading so much of this. Cactus Bouncer is a situational card that you'll most likely be using, only if absolutely necessary to block out their special summoning. Fallen Angel of Roses does a great job in recycling Plants, including Lonefire Blossom, but doesn't have much use other than just being a powerful plant. And in that regard, Tyttanial outdoes it by a longshot, and won't get banished after it's used. Violet Witch is a search card, just like Botanical Girl, but it wasn't a Plant card. The main criteria I tried to establish for this deck was that all the cards in the Main Deck be Plants. Should you want to discard that, by all means, go ahead and add in Violet Witch, but that disrupts the flow of cards like Mark of the Rose and Naturia Pineapple.

Cactus Fighter and Neo-Spacian Glow Moss are cards that should only be run if other cards from the Side Deck are also swapped in. Based on the facts at hand, Cactus Fighter is a perfect addition when also added in with Thorn of Malice. By itself, Cactus Fighter can easily destroy a monster, and get that token on the field. By that same regard, when adding in the Thorn of Malice, a loop occurs here, where the Fighter can always do damage by attacking the Needle Token, and it will never be destroyed by battle as long as the monster remains equipped. At the same time, Glow Moss is designed to do better when you add in NEX and Twinkle Moss to the Extra Deck. Having this card in general is great to be searched by Super Solar Nutrient, Lonefire Blossom or any other Plant search in this deck, and afterwards, NEX can bring out the better card to do some better damage. Besides, another level 3 Plant doesn't hurt to add for a Synchro or Xyz, regardless of the situation. And when you add in the fact that you get a free draw when it's attacked, that makes things that much better for you.

DNA Surgery is one of these cards that needs to be briefly mentioned, as it's not essential, but can be substituted for Ivy Shackles in some cases. Machine decks, or Xyz's that rely on having certain monster-types to get the big monsters out will be much more damaged by DNA Surgery in these cases. However, the free draw does not come with this card, so it's simply a matter of choice, in some cases, as it'll affect both decks equally in most situations.

Weaknesses and Counters

I never do like to come to this section, as it always shows that there are decks that will come along and trump you, no matter what you do. In this case, the enemy of Plants is Skill Drain. Skill Drain saps Lonefire of it's power, prevents Gigaplant from using it's second effect and doesn't allow Tyttanial or any of the Synchros to stop the opponent in any way. There are ways around this, yes. But I recommend that the card be destroyed as quickly as possible, along with any other monsters summoned while the card is out, to make sure any 3000 attack Barbaros don't lay around to smack your monsters to dust.

Another one of the deck types that has a way of shutting Plants down is any other deck that attempts to change card typing. Zombie World, Cyber Fortress Dragon, any cards of the like will debilitate you, and prevent you from using most of your effects to the fullest. For this reason as well, I recommend DNA Surgery as an alternative to Ivy Shackles. This can give you your own monster typing back as well, so that you're not subject to the opponent's schemes with typing and also allowing yourself to use your deck as you would normally. Just be sure that you get your rulings correctly. A monster can be considered to have 2 types, if two cards are out that would suggest that.

Well, we had some laughs, we had some cries.. although I would get yourself checked if an article like this caused you to try. Something like that just isn't normal. I just hope I don't get any complaints that I'm using a deck that's more confrontational for a change. *Drags the huge bag of hate mail off-stage. Even though there is no stage.* As always, feel free to leave replies to this article if you have any suggestions, ideas, criticisms, and all that good stuff. Or, feel free to Private Message me if you have any questions, I promise I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I do take deck requests, that is something I do! I can't guarantee that the next article will focus on it, as I am a bit selfish to get my deck ideas across as well, but feel free to send me messages detailing what kind of deck you want to be made, and how you want it to be structured/strategized.

See ya next time,
Dante Kestrel,
The Man Who Can't Bother To Have a Proper Schedule for His Articles