I would like to talk about a deck that I think is the best choice for the upcoming format. The deck I am going to talk about is none other than Yang Zings, the first Wyrm type monsters in the world of Yugioh.

For those that don’t know, Yang Zings are an archetype that are based around Synchro Summoning as well as each sharing the same following text:

“When this card you control is destroyed by battle or card effect and sent to your Graveyard: You can Special Summon 1 “Yang Zing” monster from your Deck, except [the Yang Zing that was destroyed.]”

The only difference in effects is the Battle Position of the monster that is summoned. The Battle Position the monster is summoned in follows the undermentioned pattern. If the destroyed monster had 0 DEF, it will summon a monster in Defense. Likewise, if the destroyed monster had 0 ATK, it will summon a monster in Attack. Due to the fact that Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing has both 0 ATK and 0 DEF, it can summon a Yang Zing in either Battle Position. The next thing that the Yang Zings share, with the exception of Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing, is that if they are used as Synchro materials, the Synchro monster summoned will gain a bonus. Lastly, all of the Non-Tuners share this effect:

“Once per turn, during your opponent’s Main Phase or Battle Phase, you can: Immediately after this effect resolves, Synchro Summon 1 Synchro Monster using only “Yang Zing” monsters you control (this is a Quick Effect).”

This effect is extremely important to this deck’s strategy.

Before going into alternative builds, this is my personal build of Yang Zings. I will explain all of my card choices before going into possible cards you may want to switch out for others, honorable mentions, and of course, other possible builds.

Main Deck Total: 40

Monsters: 14

Spells: 11

Traps: 15

Extra Deck: 15

The first thing I would like to talk about are the Main Deck choices, then I will go into the Extra Deck, and lastly I will go into match-up knowledge which will incorporate potential side deck options..

The first Yang Zing I am going to talk about is Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing. Chiwen is arguably the most important Yang Zing. Like all other Yang Zings, it will summon one of it’s fellow Yang Zings from the deck upon it’s destruction. An interesting thing to note about Chiwen is that due to the fact it has 0 ATK and 0 DEF, you can choose the Battle Position of the monster that it summons. Chiwen is very unlike the other Yang Zings because instead of giving a bonus effect to the Synchro monster that is summoned by using it as a material, it instead as a very useful recursion effect that reads:

“When a “Yang Zing” monster(s) you control is destroyed by battle or card effect and sent to the Graveyard, while this card is in the Graveyard: You can Special Summon this card, and if you do, banish it when it leaves the field.”

This is insanely helpful because that means that if a Yang Zing you control is destroyed, you can get any Non-Tuner from your deck and this Tuner from your Graveyard, allowing for an instant Synchro Summon! As a result, I usually like to get this guy in the Graveyard as soon as possible.

The next Yang Zing and the one that I feel is the next most important is Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing. The unique thing about Suanni is this effect:

“A Synchro Monster that used this card as a Synchro Material gains 500 ATK and DEF.”

Due to the fact that Suanni is a Level 4, itself and Chiwen will Synchro into a Level 5, one of which becomes infinitely times more powerful with an attack boost. That Synchro Monster is Armades, Keep of Boundaries. An Armades with 2800 ATK is very good at killing almost anything in the game without any risk. This means you can attack over any sort of Shaddoll monster without it getting it’s flip effect as well as killing El Shaddoll Winda without letting your opponent get a Shaddoll Fusion back from their Graveyard to their hand. Armades is also able to crash with El Shaddoll Construct. Armades can easily win the Shaddoll match-up by itself. Another reason that I think Suanni is easily the second best Yang Zing is due to it’s 1900 ATK stat. 1900 ATK is a great beater. It kills most main deck monsters in the game such as a Shaddoll Falco and Satellarknight Unukalhai.

Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing is the last of the “primary”Yang Zings. The unique piece of text on Bi’an is:

“A Synchro Monster that used this card as a Synchro Material cannot be destroyed by battle.”

Unfortunately, this effect is not as great as you may think. The only Synchro monsters that Bi’an is able to make by himself and Chiwen are Armory Arm, Underworld Fighter Balmung, and Phonon Pulse Dragon. I found the latter two cards quite underwhelming and as such they didn’t make the cut, mainly because I found it more beneficial to just leave a Bi’an and a Chiwen on the field rather than Synchro Summon. Armory Arm doesn’t really gain much by gaining Battle Immunity because it spends most of it’s days equipped to another monster. Although, Bi’an is great in the fact that by using itself, Chiwen, and a Suanni, it can make any Level 8 Synchro or with a Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing it can make a Level 6 Synchro like Goyo Guardian, it is mainly played not because of its’ effects, but because of the fact since it is Level 3, it really helps in making your main boss monster, Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing. I found that playing three of this card is absolutely necessary, because you will definitely want to be able to make Baxia as consistently as possible.

The final Yang Zing monster I chose to play was Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing. This guys unique text is:

“A Synchro Monster that used this card as a Synchro Material is unaffected by Trap effects.”

That effect is great! You can use a Bixi, Suanni, and Chiwen to make a Black Rose Dragon that is unaffected by Trap cards. It will be pretty hard for your opponent to stop that field nuke. I chose to play two Bixi due to the fact that while it’s effect is great, you don’t really want to draw it because of it’s low level. The lack of pressure it applies makes it better to summon it with another Yang Zing and go right for a Synchro play.

Pulao is an interesting card. The immunity to spells can really help make an almost indestructible Baxia, but the fact that it is a Level 1 really hurts its viability. He is too hard to incorporate into other Synchros because if the Synchro requires more materials, it will be much more volatile. In other words, the high risk of using more materials isn’t really worth the reward. If you make a four material Baxia, and get negated by a Solemn Warning or Black Horn of Heaven, then you will probably be in a terrible, unrecoverable state. Despite all of the bad things about this card, the only real reason I chose to play it was because I wanted to have more Yang Zing monsters in the deck as I found myself running out too often.

That concludes my Yang Zing line up. I chose to play thirteen total Yang Zing monsters because in your opening hand, you really only want to see one, maybe two Yang Zings at a time.

The only non-Yang Zing monster I chose to play was Masked Chameleon. If this card didn’t have the text:

“You cannot Special Summon any other monsters, except from the Extra Deck, during the turn you activate this effect.”

I would love it so much more, but I found this card to be a necessary evil. When I tried playing without it, I missed it and I realized I just had to take it with a grain of salt. Chameleon is really great for the plays it opens up. Using itself to summon a Suanni from your Grave allows for an instant Baxia. While the Baxia will only spin one card to the deck, it still applies a ton of pressure on your opponent. Chameleon can also be used with Bi’an for an instant Black Rose Dragon or with a Bixi that is already on the field to make a Goyo Guardian that is unaffected by traps! It is pretty hard to get around of those.

Now, I will go into my spell choices, I will only highlight certain choices that I made because I believe many of these cards are “standard” in the spell line up of most decks.

The first card I will talk about is Yang Zing Path. This is the only Yang Zing specific spell card I chose to play. I found the other ones inconsistent and lackluster while this one proved to be beyond extraordinary. Your graveyard basically fills itself up, so why not take the free +1! I chose to only play two of this card due to the fact that it can be dead if you open it, so I tried to minimize my chances of opening it all the while making sure that I will still see it later in the duel.

Dark Hole is a card that has fallen out of many duelist’s main deck and I can definitely see why. The card can be quite dead if you are winning and especially now with the new Shaddolls, you won’t really want to destroy their face-down cards as they will still get their effects. Also, Winda won’t be affected by Dark Hole, making it extremely sub par in that match-up. I chose to play it because it can trigger your effects, turning a well-timed Dark Hole into a Synchro or even just making a Path or Soul Charge live without losing field presence.

Next, comes the traps. Again, since trap line ups are pretty standard I will only go into card choices that I found to be more profound than the rest.

The new Trap Hole that just came out in DUEA also has a part in my Yang Zing deck. I recently replaced Bottomless Trap Hole with this card for a few reasons. First of all, unlike Bottomless, this card is a great out to El Shaddoll Winda. This card is also great because it kills things like Stardust Dragon or Stardust Spark Dragon as well as Number 101: Silent Honor ARK. Lastly, this card can also interrupt some plays when your opponent activates the effect of Satellarknight Vega. The only card this doesn’t work to well against, is Soul Charge.

At first I was conflicted with this card because I didn’t understand how it could be so good with so many decks running cards like MST and Sinister Shadow Games which can send a Shaddoll Dragon from deck to the Graveyard to destroy it. After some extensive testing, this card is definitely much better in practice than in theory. It may not auto-win, but it definitely catches opponents by surprise and if you get caught in a bad position under Skill Drain, it might spiral out of control. Sometimes I found that my opponent would start setting many Shaddolls a turn, afraid to flip them face-up. Skill Drain performs very well in that match-up because it stops those slow flip effects. If they have the out, they have the out, but if they don’t have the out, this card can really win some games and ruin some people’s days.

This is the only Yang Zing specific trap card I chose to play as I found the other ones to not really impact the game-state, at least for now before Qliphorts come out. Yang Zing Creation is fantastic in that it turns all of your monsters, including Chameleon and your Synchros, into Yang Zings. A typical combo in this deck is having a monster you control destroyed while this is on the field and Chiwen is in the Graveyard. You will get to summon a Suanni, Bi’an, and Chiwen in the end and be able to make an instant Baxia during your opponents turn. This card is definite three-of because drawing it in multiples is great.

This is a personal tech choices between me and my friends that has a place in many of our decks. Summoning a monster from the Graveyard is great in this deck because it opens up more Synchro plays as well as providing “food” for Baxia’s effect. A well placed CoTH during your opponent’s turn while already controlling two monsters can easily lead to a surprise Baxia or Black Rose Dragon.

The last trap I want to talk about in this deck is Wiretap. During my initial DN testing, this is a card that seemed to fall out of favor but after testing it extensively, I feel like it is essential in the current meta. First of all, due to the lack of Wiretaps in other decks, yours will almost always resolve, meaning that most of your plays will be safe. This, combined with Forbidden Lance, will always ensure that your Baxia or other Synchros resolve. This card is also the true winner in the Burning Abyss match-up. Due to their effects, the Burning Abyss have access to powerful trap cards such as Phoenix Wing Wind Blast and Karma Cut. These effects are devastating when they resolve because they will usually impact you for the rest of the duel, unlike a Bottomless Trap Hole or a Compulsory Evacuation Device which will only slow you down. Negating this cards are absolutely crucial to winning the match-up.

That covers the traps, now I will discuss certain Extra Deck choices. The Extra Deck in Yang Zing is extremely important. It is pivotal that you have access to a wide variety of Synchros not only because of their powerful effects, but because of their levels. Having access to almost every level of Synchro will ensure that you can dodge many effects that your opponent will try to use on you. For example, lets say your opponent tries to use Number 61: Volcasaurus on your Baxia. No problem! Just chain your other Yang Zing and create a Synchro Summon with Baxia and a Chiwen, creating Giganticastle, avoiding your opponent’s card effect and saving you a ton of life points. Like the Spell and Trap line ups, I will only go into cards that I feel require an explanation.

This is probably the best card in this Extra Deck. A 2800 beater who’s attacks cannot be responded to can easily take games. Once you get ahead in certain match-ups, making this will seal the deal. This card is especially important in the Shaddoll and Burning Abyss match-ups, but I will go into those later.

The key player in any Yang Zing deck. On summon, it will usually spin three cards your opponent controls back to the Main/Extra Deck. This card is a huge game-changer due to the fact that he can be used during your opponent’s turn, during the Battle Phase or either one of their Main Phases. Going into this to remove any of your opponents newly set backrow while they are still unable to be activated is a huge advantage. Also, making one of these while you have a Yang Zing Creation on the board usually means you will be able to make two! One thing to note about Baxia is that it’s effect can miss timing. This means that if during your opponent’s turn they use any card and you chain a Yang Zing effect to Synchro into Baxia as Chain Link 2 or higher, Baxia’s effect will not activate due to the fact that it misses the timing. Make sure to use your non-tuner Yang Zings as Chain Link 1!

Goyo Guardian just came off the Forbidden and Limited list and probably has the best home inside a Yang Zing deck. Most of the time, Synchro Summoning a Goyo Guardian will require the use of Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing. When Bixi is used as a Synchro Material Monster, the Synchro monster summon will be unaffected by Trap Cards. A Goyo that is unaffected by Trap Cards is a huge power spike! If you have a few backrow to defend it such as Breakthrough Skill and Solemn Warning, the only thing you will really lose to is a Book of Moon.

Due to the fact that Leo, Keeper of the Sacred Tree is a level 10, it will require the use of many different Yang Zing monsters. While it may be hard to get out, it will be practically invincible! It will probably be a 3600 ATK monster who cannot be destroyed by battle or affected by Trap Cards. Similar to Goyo Guardian, the only real outs to this card will most likely be a Main Phase 2 Book of Moon, Evilswarm Exciton Knight, or Dark Hole, the last of which no longer sees much play.

Unfortunately, having a Yang Zing Creation face-up on the field restricts you from making any Xyz monsters. As a result, I chose to limit myself to only one, and I feel that this is the best choice. I chose Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer because he can get rid of many floodgates which would be harder to remove otherwise. Castel will easily spin cards like Soul Drain, Macro Cosmos, and Dimensional Fissure back to the deck! Castel was also my choice because it can get rid of hard-to-kill monsters such as El Shaddoll Winda, which would normally get a Shaddoll Fusion back when sent to the Graveyard, but now won’t get anything because it will be sent to the deck.

That covers the main Extra Deck monsters I want to talk about, now I will go into some alternate card choices as well as some honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut.

In my first incarnation of the deck, I chose to play the Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness alongside Mathematicians and a Foolish Burial. The card ended up being very win more and very hard to get in the Graveyard if I drew it because I would usually rather set a Yang Zing rather than this little guy. Mathematicians also ended up being pretty cloggy so I found it was best to just cut both of them along with the Foolish.

This is a card that very much so resembles Masked Chameleon but without the drawback. I chose Chameleon over this because while our Masked Reptile has a pretty inconvenient drawback on his effect, a one card Baxia had much more of an impact than a one card Armades or Samsara, Dragon of Rebirth.

One for One was another card I took out even though it seems good in theory. I found that leaving the Chiwen summon to the other Yang Zings was the better option. Other reasons I chose not to play this card was because if you opened a hand with no monsters, it would be particularly dead. Also, if you opened a hand with just one monster, it is usually better to set the monster and have the One for One be a defensive trap rather than going -1 for no reason.

While having a 37 card deck is great, and so is getting to your key cards quicker, this deck can have two very bad problems. Either drawing no monsters or drawing too many. If you draw no monsters, you will probably have trap cards to aid in protecting you until you draw one, but if you draw too many, you will be in a very bad spot and the last thing you need is to Upstart into another monster. It is primarily for that reason that I chose to remove the Upstarts for more defensive Trap Cards.

This was a trap that my friend encouraged me to play but I found it very inconsistent and wasn’t that great in a lot of Match-ups such as Burning Abyss and Shaddolls, which I believe to be the other two top contenders this format. More often than not, my opponent was still able to get some advantage back with their own monsters effects, making it just a waste of space.

Now that I have covered honorable mentions, I am going to go into match-up knowledge. After each match-up, I will list cards that are particularly good to side against them as well as cards you will probably want to take out.

Shaddolls:

75/25

I’d like to consider this match-up much more favorable toward Yang Zing, but I don’t know how long it will stay that way. The key card that allows Shaddolls to win this match-up is Super Polymerization. Super Poly allows them to instantly kill our tuner, leaving was unable to respond to it and putting us in pretty bad shape. I don’t find Winda to be much of a problem because of the main decked three Breakthrough Skills and two Dimensional Prison, but you have to know how to play the match-up. Yang Zings have this great quality which is the ability to out grind almost any other deck in the meta. The trick against Shaddolls is, just don’t Synchro. Just keep setting and passing and let them play their game. The deck will run out of options quick and the last thing you want to do is make their ShaddollFusion more powerful by Synchro summoning. Save all of your outs for Winda and stall it out. Keep a close watch on their Graveyard and when you notice them start to run out of resources try to gain some field control with a well timed Armades or Baxia. Synchro summoning will be your downfall in this match-up, so it is definitely in your best interest to play for the grind and with endgame in mind.

Side-Ins: De-fusion, Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Puppet Plant, Nobleman of Crossout

Side-Outs: Soul Charge, Bottomless Trap Hole, Call of the Haunted, Mystical Space Typhoons (Unless you see them playing Vanity’s Emptiness)

Burning Abyss:

60/40

This is the deck I consider to be the next top spot. Piloted by a great player, this deck will easily push through an infinite amount of backrow and never lose advantage, although, it will lose resources, and fast. I play against Burning Abyss the same way I play against Shaddolls, I set my monsters, and wait. I save all of my backrow to kill things that simplify the game state, such as Constellar Pleaides, Ghostrick Alucard, Chaos Sorcerer, and Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. Rank 3s aren’t very powerful and due to the fact that they can’t make Abyss Dweller, they won’t be able to deal with your monsters very well with the exception of their traps. Burning Abyss has access to powerful cards such as Karma Cut and PWWB. It is very important to save your Wiretaps for these cards as a well-timed Karma Cut will take out up to two of your Chiwen. Depending on my backrow, the only other card I might use a trap card on besides the ones listed above are Mathematicians. You definitely have to if you know they are playing Felis, Lightsworn Archer because if they resolve a Black Rose Dragon, it will be difficult for you to take back control. After siding, you will probably want to save your Chain Disappearance for their Tour Guide from the Underworld. You will also want to save your Skill Drain for their Chaos Monsters or their Tour Guide From the Underworld as well. There is no real point in Skill Draining their Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss because they will still be able to mill as a cost.

Side-Ins: Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Skill Drain, Stygian Dirge, Chain Disappearance

Side-Outs: Mystical Space Typhoons, Masked Chameleon, 1 Pot of Duality

Satellarknights:

55/45

This is a deck that you probably shouldn’t have too much trouble with as long as you utilize your traps and sides well. Negating their Abyss Dweller will be pivotal to you winning the match. Grinding out this deck will be difficult because of the use of cards like Daigusto Emeral. For that reason, you will probably want to take a more aggressive approach on the game, trying to shuffle back their Satellarknight Deneb before it hits the Graveyard. Baxia turbo is the name of the game against that deck, and when executed properly will leave them with almost no cards and hopefully no Satellarknight Denebs in their Graveyard to make an Xyz with.

Side-Ins: D.D. Crow, Maxx “C”, Effect Veiler, Skill Drain, Stygian Dirge

Side-Outs: Masked Chameleon, 1 Pot of Duality, Yang Zing Creation

Mermail / Atlanteans:

40/60

This is a match-up that can really go both ways. Their access to cards like Abyss Dweller and Number 11: Big Eye can easily ruin your strategies and plays. Due to their lack of traps, I try to play more aggressive against Water as well. Trying to spam Baxias to spin their Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls, face-down Mermail Abysslindes, and Mermail Abyssgaios back to the deck. Due to the fact that Suanni will give Baxia +500 ATK and DEF, it will have 2800 ATK meaning that Abyssgaios cannot negate its effects. Saving your traps for important monsters such as Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack, Mermail Abyssgaios, and Abyss Dweller will be important to winning this match-up, even it means you will take some hefty damage.

Side-Ins: D.D. Crow, Maxx “C”, Mystical Space Typhoon, Twister

Side-Outs: Dimensional Prison, Wiretaps

Sylvan:

65/35

This match-up is extremely favorable towards you. Killing Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand is easy because you have many 2800 Beaters that cannot be destroyed by battle. The main strengths that the deck has against you is Vanitiy’s Emptiness. Which while hard to get around, can be avoided. You will definitely want to try to play “Make Baxia Turbo” against Sylvans to try to prevent any huge boards from being established. If they open LonefireBlossomSoulCharge and create a board with those cards, it can still be “outable” with proper use of cards like BreakthroughSkill and TorrentialTribute. While Game 1 is probably 60/40 toward you, after siding it becomes much more in your favor.

Side-Ins: ChainDisappearance, Maxx“C”, MysticalSpaceTyphoon, Twister, SkillDrain, D.D.Crow, EffectVeiler

Side-Outs: Wiretap, DimensionalPrison, CalloftheHaunted, MaskedChameleon

Infernity:

20/80 Going Second

50/50 Going First

This World Championship winning deck is a very difficult match-up for Yang Zings. If they make a field, it will be almost impossible for you to get over for a few reasons. First of all, Infernity Barrier will stop your big Xyz play unless you can bait it out early. Also, they have very efficient removal of your monsters because they can utilize the fact that Infernity Break can make your Yang Zing monsters miss timing! Game 1 will likely go to them, so siding is key in this matchup.

Side-Ins: D.D. Crow, Chain Disappearance, Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Skill Drain, Stygian Dirge

Side-Outs: Soul Charge, Masked Chameleon, YangZingCreation, Call of the Haunted, Pot of Duality

Evilswarm:

50/50

This underdog match-up can really go both ways. Evilswarm Ophion will obviously stop your Synchro plays but some Evilswarm players will be inclined to Xyz into an Abyss Dweller instead of an Ophion, allowing you to make Synchro plays if you can protect your monsters. Game 1 will greatly depend on draws from you and your opponent while Game 2 will definitely be in your favor after siding.

Side-Ins: Mystical Space Typhoon, Skill Drain, Stygian Dirge

Side-Outs: Masked Chameleon, Call of the Haunted, Pot of Duality, Soul Charge

Yang Zing:

50/50

This mirror match is extremely slow and will likely go into time. Neither player will want to make the first move because if you do and get stopped by trap, then your opponent will be able to make a Baxia and swing the game in their favor. For this reason, you will probably want to just be in a set-pass mentality until you draw multiples of Wiretaps, Lances, and probably a Soul Charge just to be safe. Soul Charge is extremely important in this match-up as it will easily turn the game around back in your favor.

Side-Ins: Chain Disappearance, Mystical Space Typhoon, Twister

Side-Outs: Dark Hole, Call of the Haunted, Yang Zing Creation



Mythic Rulers:

40/60

The last deck I am going to talk about today are Mythic Rulers. The Mythic match-up can definitely go both ways and it very much depends on the skill of your opponent. Boards that consist of cards like Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack or Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand will be easy to get rid of because of cards like Baxia and Breakthrough Skill. The real troubles in this match-up come from well-timed Skill Drains and Number 11: Big Eyes from your opponent. I think there will be a lot of Mythic Rulers because I feel like they have a favorable Shaddoll match-up due to the fact that the Dragon Rulers will recur and be able to kill Winda if they decide to summon it. It, like Sylvans, is also able to main powerful floodgates such as Skill Drain and Vanity’s Emptiness, the latter of which will make it very hard for you to play.

Side-Ins: D.D. Crow, Mystical Space Typhoon, Twister, Soul Release

Side-Outs: Call of the Haunted, Masked Chameleon, Wiretap

The next topic I would like to talk about in Yang Zings is whether to go first or second. I feel like this change has made a great impact on the meta. I will start off by mentioning the fact that most of the time in this deck, I would prefer to go second. In the way the this deck works, on your first turn you will probably be setting a monster, a few backrow, and passing turn. The extra card helps greatly in this in that it could be the monster that you wouldn’t have drawn otherwise or it could be an extra protection card. Yang Zings also lack a real first turn play, so if you let your opponent go second you will, right off the bat, -1. Then, if they make a play such as summoning a Traptrix Myrmeleo you will be -2 which will make it very hard for you to come back because this deck spends most of it’s early game going even. Although I normally go second, depending on my sides, I might take first. If I side into any floodgates such as Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror or Stygian Dirge, I will definitely want to go first. Opening a floodgate can sometimes result in an auto-win and I don’t want to pass that opportunity up. Other times you may want to go first are against decks that will establish a board that is very hard to get around turn 1, such as Infernities. Going second was a change that I made to my play-style with this deck and it has greatly helped.

The second to last thing I would like to address are cards that you will definitely want to look out for because I feel that they might just define the format. The first card, which is primarily run in Shaddolls, is Super Polymerization. I personally feel that this card is extremely meta defining. Right away, your opponent can’t respond to it, greatly interrupting any play that they might have tried to make. It’s resolution will probably leave you +1, maybe even +2 with a monster on board that can usually be very hard to deal with, primarily El Shaddoll Construct and El Shaddoll Winda. People try to deny it, but this card is live against almost all match-ups. No matter how you try to avoid, basically every deck plays a Light or Dark monster. Even Sylvans and Dragons use Felgrand or Number 11: Big Eye. Whether you like it or not, a well-timed Super Polymerization on your Chiwen will definitely leave you and a very bad position.

The other card I wanted to talk about which has already seen a price spike is Karma Cut. This card is arguably the best discard trap in the current meta. It instant outs Winda or Construct without letting them get their Graveyard effect. It also kills any Burning Abyss monster, denying their effects as well. It is especially useful on cards such as Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss and Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing. These cards tend to linger in the Graveyard for later usage and denying that can certainly disrupt someones plays.

The final thing I am going to talk about is the future of the Yang Zing archetype. Accompanying the Qliphorts in The New Challengers will be several new Yang Zing cards. The primary one to look forward to is seen on the left, and his name is Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing. Like the other Yang Zing tuner, Chiwen, Jiaotu has a pretty unique effect that reads:

“If you control no other monsters: You can send 2 “Yang Zing” cards from your hand to the Graveyard; Special Summon 1 “Yang Zing” monster with 0 ATK and 1 “Yang Zing” monster with 0 DEF from your Deck, but banish them during the End Phase. You can only use 1 “Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing” effect per turn, and only once that turn.”

This effect gives Yang Zings an immediate play. If uninterrupted, Jiaotu will result in an immediate Baxia or any other Synchro of your choosing. This card definitely gives Yang Zings the tool they will need to combat the Qliphorts and it is for that reason that I think Yang Zings will continue to be an excellent deck for the next set and for the next format, but that is an article for another time. Thank you for reading, and I hope you see me again here on Hotsauce Games.