Let's Talk Dragunity

When I first heard that Order of Chaos would have Dragunity support in it I immediately opened my word processor and started typing. However, let me make one thing clear: I'm not writing this because I think that Dragunity decks in the

future

will be good. I'm writing this because I think that the deck is good

right now

. So how good is it exactly? How does the strategy stack up to the current competition? Perhaps most importantly, why should

you

run Dragunity? Let's talk.

Looking back: March 2011

The Dragunity archetype was fully released in 2010 in the OCG, but it would be over a year until the Dragunity Legion structure deck would hit TCG shelves. March already feels like forever ago, and it was a very different place then. Book of Moon had just been limited and offered Dragunity the chance it needed to get plays through a vicious backrow. Trishula, Reborn Tengu , and T.G. Hyper Librarian had yet to hit the scene, but there was Six Samurai running around. Between YCS Charlotte and Anaheim four Dragunity decks would make it into the Top 32.

And then we never heard from the deck again.

Okay, so the deck made a splash in competitive play for a bit. At any rate, it completely fell off the radar and was virtually never heard of again. The deck was just too slow for the format, and once Plants really started taking off there simply was not a chance for Dragunity to do anything even with new support like Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite . I dropped the deck completely between April and August, only picking it up again a few weeks before the format change. It was during that time that I discovered that Dragunity are still very good, but lack that killer edge that other top tier decks have.

Dragunity in the Current Format

There are so many good reasons why people should try Dragunity, but there are just as many reasons why it is a deck to stay away from. This duality presents an interesting case that I believe can be solved by good deck construction, so let's talk about the core strategy of Dragunity. Firstly there is Dragon Ravine ; the Field Spell gave the deck a shot at championship level competition. Ravine is an incredibly powerful card that makes the whole strategy come to life. Recruiting copies of Dux and Legionnaire while sending Phalanx and Aklys to the grave at a discard cost, and being able to repeat this process every turn makes Dragon Ravine a one card engine.

If there is one thing that this deck is known for it is the first turn Stardust Dragon play that it makes nearly every duel. With six copies of Dragon Ravine (three Field Spells and three Terraforming ) along with three copies each of Dragunity Dux and Dragunity Phalanx , it is almost too easy to put a level 8 Synchro monster on the field every turn. The deck plays a very effective “protect the Stardust Dragon ” strategy, and that is just as effective as ever. Stardust presents an interesting situation for the opponent that applies pressure right away, and promises to keep up that pressure as long as a duelist has access to Ravine.

The infamous “summon Stardust Dragon and set 3” along with Ravine on the field is still an awesome play even with the changes this format. Mystical Space Typhoon at three and Heavy Storm returning is virtually a non-issue when you factor in Stardust. Unless the opponent is packing a number of other Spell and Trap removal options then chances are that your field set up will be mostly safe. Still, it is by no means unbreakable. The backrow needs to be composed of cards that are designed to protect Stardust while remaining useful even after it has been tributed.

Building to Beat the Metagame.

The main strengths of the Dragunity deck come from its ability to apply pressure early and continuously. For that reason, disruption is hard to retaliate against. Cards like Effect Veiler , Maxx “C”, and D.D. Crow are huge problems that Stardust and MST can't solve. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw Maxx “C” was that it was going to make playing Dragunity impossible. Now players are running it in threes. The boss monsters of this format are all tough to deal with, and most of them can shut down your plays entirely. Master Hyperion and Grapha can be negated by Stardust, but they can also attack over it. Archlord Kristya and Black Luster Soldier end games outright for obvious reasons.

Then there is the side deck. While Dragunity is not being seen in the metagame much, it is still on the wrong side of side decking trends. Cards like Dimensional Fissure and Chain Disappearance simply ruin the strategy. This might very well be a terrible format to run the deck in, but if you can get around these negatives, then there is quite a bit that this deck can offer.

I really dislike posting decklists because personal preferences can get in the way of good theory. Anyways, here is the most basic Dragunity build that I felt conveyed the best that this strategy has to offer. Try not to get too distracted by the odd trap line-up, I'll discuss that in detail below. For now, let's take a look at the monsters and how they interact with each other.

The standard 3-3-3-2 set of Dragunity monsters is here of course. It is by far the best way to run the critical engine pieces, so I won't take much time to explain it. I will point out that I do not believe that Dragunity Arma Mystletainn is worth running this format. When Effect Veiler was the only card that could stop a first turn Dux play from occurring, Mystletainn was great. However, that is no longer the case. Maxx “C” presents an even more worrisome threat, and D.D. Crow is rising in play again. Mystletiann ONLY works against Effect Veiler plays, and nothing else. Icarus Attack is a much better card to keep the tempo going after a disrupted Dux/Legionnaire play.

Zephyros is great in Blackwings, but it is absolutely amazing in Dragunity. Being a Winged-Beast means it can climb with any of the Dragunity tuners into level 8 Synchros. It is a great discard and works with Simorgh and Icarus Attack if you are running them. Otherwise Zephy provides some extra options like Rank 4 Xyz access and easier Trishula plays. If you are in a situation where you have to summon Legionnaire over Dux, Zephy can still let you make bigger synchro monsters (or Trishula). It also gets Ravine off the field to keep it safe until your next turn. There is almost no reason, unless you're running Koa'ki Meiru Drago , to not run it.





Safe Zone $3.63 $1.55 $0.49 Set Extreme Victory Number EXVC-EN078 Type Trap Card Attribute TRAP Rarity Super Rare Card Text Activate by selecting 1 face-up Attack Position monster. That monster cannot be targeted or destroyed by your opponent's card effects, or be destroyed by battle. It cannot attack your opponent directly. When this card is removed from the field, destroy that monster. When that monster is removed from the field, destroy this card.

Store Condition Qty Avail Price Xsaber TCG Near Mint 1st Edition 3 $0.45 Card Guru Pro Lightly Played Unlimited 1 $0.49 HardFurCardz Near Mint Unlimited 3 $0.55 JustNate Lightly Played 1st Edition 1 $0.55 InvictumGaming Moderately Played 1st Edition 1 $0.57 Epoch Collectibles Moderately Played 1st Edition 1 $0.57 Yugiohexe Near Mint Unlimited 1 $0.57 NC collectibles Moderately Played Unlimited 1 $0.59 Dragons Keep Gaming Moderately Played Unlimited 2 $0.59 Card Guru Pro Lightly Played Unlimited 1 $0.60





Protecting Stardust

The hardest decisions while building Dragunities for me is “what traps do I run?” It is so hard to pick what goes in, since it can easily affect the way you can react to your opponent's plays. In fact, the trap line-up is the first thing I look at when someone posts their Dragunity build. As I said earlier, there are some odd choices here that look a bit scattered, and that is simply because I wanted to list options. In a fully designed deck I would certainly run more multiples of the cards that I felt were absolutely necessary, but you might find that different cards work better for you. For instance, I would run another copy of Safe Zone over Fiendish Chain , but you might run neither of them.

Defending Stardust or any of you other Synchros can be tough. There are a lot of cards out there that are going ruining your day. The Solemn trio keeps your board control in check, even if it forces you to play a bit more aggressive. Bottomless Trap Hole is an alternative, and it does help deal with Hyperion and Grapha (after all, they need to attack over Stardust, so they generally will not try and destroy cards until afterwards.) Still, it doesn't prevent Orient Dragon or Brionac from hitting the field. D.D. Crow can be a bit too easy to run into, and don't even get me started on Dark Smog.

Lastly, Debunk is your solution to Effect Veiler , Maxx “C”, and D.D. Crow . Given that those three cards are massively disruptive to the Dragunity strategy, Debunk should at the very least get two slots in your side deck. Yet, its versatility makes it good enough to run in the main deck as well. Call Of The Haunted also helps to counter Crow and Veiler while at the same time bringing back your big Synchros for another round (especially Stardust).

Other options

If the standard build is just too standard for you, I've got you covered. Starting with one card that I couldn't fit in above, Koa'ki Meiru Drago is an excellent option to combat...well...everything bar X-Sabers. Right now just about everyone is special summoning Light or Dark monsters, and Drago stops them all. I would seriously consider maining it if your meta is filled with Agents or Darkworlds. Pot of Duality is another choice that can make the deck play a little more consistent at the cost of disabling Stardust or Synchro climbs.

Join the Legion...

...or run something that has an easier time coping with the current format. Dragunity is nowhere near finished evolving, but it will take some real innovation and thought to make it truly viable on a championship level. The deck can still smash decks at lower levels of competition, but that can be said of a lot of current strategies. I would certainly look into Dragunity though, especially if you are having trouble finding a deck for this format. Of the three structure decks released this year that have generated top tier decks Dragunity Legion left the most to be desired. With a promise of more support next year, the Dragunity strategy may finally be realized. On the other hand, it might have the potential right now but not be expressing it. That's some food for thought anyways. Until next time then.

11/3/2011 9:50:00 AM