Aggro Beatdown with Fiend Power

Tributes:

• 2x Summoned Skull
• 1x Dark Ruler Ha Des
• 1x Jinzo

Beatsticks:

• 1x Zombyra the Dark
• 1x Dark Elf
• 2x Luster Dragon
• 1x Mad Dog of Darkness
• 1x Slate Warrior
• 1x Gagagigo
• 1x Opticlops
• 1x La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp
• 1x Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke
• 1x D. D. Assailant

Defensive Front:

• 2x Wall of Illusion
• 1x Legendary Jujitsu Master

General Effect Monsters:

• 1x Witch of the Black Forest
• 1x Penguin Soldier
• 1x Magician of Faith
• 1x Sinister Serpent

Spells:

• 1x Axe of Despair
• 1x Back to Square One
• 1x Change of Heart
• 1x Dark Hole
• 1x Graceful Charity
• 1x Harpie's Feather Duster
• 1x Monster Reborn
• 1x Mystical Space Typhoon
• 1x Pot of Greed
• 1x Premature Burial
• 1x Scapegoat
• 1x Stray Lambs
• 1x Swords of Revealing Light

Traps:

• 1x Call of the Haunted
• 1x Magic Jammer
• 1x Seven Tools of the Bandit
• 1x Torrential Tribute
• 3x Waboku

Card Summary:

     Tribute monsters:    4 ( 9%)
     Beatsticks:         11 (26%)
     Defensive monsters:  3 ( 7%)
     Effect monsters:     4 ( 9%)
     ----------------------------
     Total monsters:     22 (52%)

     Spells:             13 (30%)
     Traps:               7 (16%)
     ----------------------------
     Total Spells/Traps: 20 (47%)
     
     ----------------------------
     Total Cards:        42

For this library play session I went back to the basics. I decided, after experiments with Rituals, high-defense, and Spellcasters, that it was time to reassemble together the absolute strongest of all my cards in terms of attack and effects and build an aggressive beatdown deck. As an added bonus, this deck can also unlock the power of Dark Ruler Ha Des, as it features seven different Fiend beatsticks and tributes who benefit from his effect (I wanted to increase this number but I didn't want to take out Gagagigo to add another La Jinn, as even 50 attack can be helpful). Once Dark Ruler is in play, I have ample opportunity to negate Effect monsters, making Nobleman of Crossout a relative waste of deck space.

I played in six normal duels and two Double Duels, and I obtained victory in every last one. That's right, 10 consecutive opponents were felled by this deck. I certainly feel vindicated after the the occurances at the last play session, and I'm glad I didn't decide to not come to this one out of fear it would be like the last. Some of my favorite opponents showed up again and we all had a very good time. What went on today is what the game is supposed to be about.

What worked:

• The tributes. Raw power and some lethal effects for minimal cost, and just the right percentage for a well-balanced deck. They virtually never showed up when I didn't need them, and when I didn't have them, I had Witch to search Summoned Skull or Jinzo at my discretion. Searching out Jinzo with Witch helped to turn around one of the two Double Duels I played in.
  
  
• The beatsticks. Again, raw power, good effects, easy to summon, and great in number. This is the largest percentage of beatsticks I have ever included in a single deck, giving me something to summon or set at virtually any point. Zombyra and Dark Elf contribute to the Aggro factor, as they have very high attack to help hold the field. The Giant Orcs seem to have taken a day off today, as I didn't face any of those. Even if I had, a Giant Orc cannot face the rage of Zombyra the Dark when he wields the mighty Axe of Despair, still one of my most favorite combos.
  
  
• The defensive front. You're probably surprised to see my key defensive deck cards still here. I always run 2 or 3 defensive monsters in a beatdown deck, no matter what. You are always facing monsters that exceed your own attack power no matter what, and that's when you must gracefully shift to the defensive. These cards do this and so much more by costing the opponent resources on the field and from the deck. I definitely would like to pull some more Legendary Jujitsu Masters, because his effect of sending cards back to the deck just destroys many opponents and is better than Wall of Illusion.
  
  
• The general effect monsters. My old standbys come back again, having proven themselves so invaluable in my high-defense iteration. Sinister Serpent showed his worth again, Witch of the Black Forest helped a lot as mentioned above, and Penguin Soldier adds even more threat on top of the Walls, Jujitsu Master, and Back to Square One. Those 5 cards combined kept my opponents' fields virtually empty. Unfortunately, I never got to use Magician of Faith's effect. The one time I set her to get my Monster Reborn back, a Torrential Tribute went off before she got flipped. C'est la vie.
  
  
• The spells. Again running the gamut of effects, but this time more focused on resource replenishment, card destruction, and token defense. Back to Square One was the star of my one-on-one duels. I drew it almost every time and used it to great effect. Scapegoat and Stray Lambs proved especially useful in the Double Duels, with so much chaotic attacking going on, and the fact we played with 4000 LP each.
  
  
• The traps. Finally cut down to a number acceptable for a Jinzo-wielding deck, these are the trap cards that I simply refuse to do without. Call of the Haunted adds yet more replenishment, Torrential Tribute adds yet more destruction, and Magic Jammer and Seven Tools are the staples of counter-trap negation. Waboku needs no explanation whatsoever. I have to say that Torrential Tribute proved more useful than I had feared. I was given ample opportunity to use it after my own field had been cleared of monsters and the opponent thought he was safe. Tit for tat, I say!

What did NOT work:

• Absolutely nothing! This deck exceeded every one of my expectations for its performance. I believe, balance-wise, that it is statistically perfect. The only thing it needs are even stronger cards. I'd be willing to give up one Summoned Skull for another Dark Ruler Ha Des, which hopefully I will soon have from the Master Collection, and of course I need beatsticks with higher attack. Still having to rely on 1800 normal monsters can be dangerous, and certainly won't stand up to the likes of Giant Orc. I could have also added a Jirai Gumo to this deck, but since he'd never be able to attack (his effect is too dangerous), I decided he would hurt more than he helped.

That's all for this time. There's another play session next month though, and who knows what challenges that will bring, or what new cards I might have by then.