Introduction

Decklists do not display the function of some cards (What does this card do? What is it supposed to do?). Neither do they show the Mirror Match interactions that can only be understood during an actual game.

True Dracos is a very popular deck in the OCG currently. In this short article, taking into consideration True Draco Mirror Matches, I am here to share with you some facts and learning points about True Dracos, that you might have missed.

Description

It is a common misconception that you need to rush out Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King as quickly as possible. The aggro sector of the deck actually lies in the scary resource-farming monsters who I like to refer to as the ‘Mini’ True Dracos. Introducing the trio:

Unfortunately, Dreiath III, the True Dracocavalry General failed to make the cut. Its effect differs from the rest and I do not consider it to be the heart of the deck.

While we are at it, if you are curious about ratios, I would suggest for you to play two of every ‘Mini’ True Draco. Personal preferences always differ, but playing two has allowed me to fill up more slots with more useful staples. If there is ever a need to go to three copies, I will only recommend Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter to be at three. It has the best stats and the ability to farm for your True Draco Traps – which is where the hostility of the deck lies.

Mirror Matches

Mirror Matches will be a battle of chains between an opposing ‘Mini’ True Draco and the one that you control. Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter is probably a common option, as the True Draco Traps’ function is to disrupt the opponent, while the True Draco Spells provide recovery and draw power.

Aggressiveness is the key. If you are unable to stop their Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter’s effect from resolving, make sure to at least have your own Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter’s effect resolve. This way, you will not lose out in terms of resources. Having two ‘Mini’ True Dracos on the field is a scary opening. Whichever card/effect your opponent uses, you get a plus.

Quick-play

Quick-play spells share an untold synergy with Dragonic Diagram. The field spell has the unparalleled ability to destroy any and every card you control. Sometimes, too many Dragonic Diagrams in hand is not a good thing, as you lack cards to sacrifice for destruction for Dragonic Diagram’s effect. If you were to offer your quick-play spells, such as Cosmic Cyclone, for destruction, you can chain Cosmic Cyclone to Dragonic Diagram (NOT TARGETING IT OF COURSE), targeting an opponent’s Spell/Trap to make the most out of it.



Since Dragonic Diagram’s destruction is not a cost, here is how the chain will resolve:

Cosmic Cyclone banishes your opponent’s Spell/Trap. Dragonic Diagram destroys your Cosmic Cyclone.

This allows you to make the most out of your Cosmic Cyclone.

For this reason, Forbidden Chalice is a very useful card in Mirror Matches. Dragonic Diagram’s activation will trigger an opposing Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter or any of their ‘Mini’ True Draco’s effect. You respond by using Forbidden Chalice on their monster, and upon resolution, they do not get the search, and you get to save resources by destroying your ‘used-but-on-the-field’ Forbidden Chalice for Dragonic Diagram’s effect.

Forbidden Chalice has been a popular Side Deck option since True Draco’s dominance, and it is now commonly seen in the Main Deck.

Immunity

Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King’s immunity goes both ways. Giving it a Spell immunity prevents it from reaping the benefits of Dragonic Diagram. Hence, it is a common practice to Tribute Summon it with Trap + Monster immunity instead. This can be easily achieved during the opponent’s turn for more board disruption

Following this train of thought, board removal options such as Raigeki and Dark Hole can easily remove Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King from the board. While Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King can arm itself with Spell immunity, it has its consequences, which we will discuss later.

Prioritizing

Almost always, you want to get your mini True Dracos out, whichever it is you play or have in hand – Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter, Ignis Heat, the True Dracowarrior or Majesty Maiden, the True Dracocaster.

This way, if you get hit by a Hand Trap, like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring or Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit, you will be able to chain your True Draco monsters’ effect to compensate for your resources. Whichever you search (Trap, Spell, Monster) depends on who you have on your field.



Speaking of which…

Both players

This is a small point but equally crucial. True Draco Heritage affects both players. No, I don’t mean the draw. However, if one inspects the card’s text properly, you will notice that you get to draw for each type of True Draco card sent from the field to the graveyard this turn. Not just from your side of the field but both sides!

This is an important part of the card text which some players may have neglected. This means that if your opponent Tribute Summons during your turn, you can use your own True Draco Heritage to draw for each type of cards he sent to the graveyard. It will be more useful when you find yourself in a pinch and lack resources to fight back. This is common after your opponent’s summoning ordeal.

Apart from being a win-more card, True Draco Heritage is your go-to card for draw power and advantage-generator. It is a common removal tactic to destroy True Draco Heritage with Dragonic Diagram to search for another copy of True Draco Heritage. The first True Draco Heritage will destroy an opponent’s Spell/Trap while you get to draw a card via the second True Draco Heritage.

Note: if you destroyed a True Draco Trap with your first True Draco Heritage, you get to draw two instead.

Less haste, more speed

While some would be quick to aim all their missiles at the field spell, there are players which prefer catching their opponent off guard and aim their Hand Traps at True Draco Heritage instead. True Draco Heritage is a True Draco’s player key to compensate and recover resources. Players who are too overreliant on the draw will be punished when the opponent negates it or destroys it with Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring or Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit.

The argument is the True Draco Heritage can usually draw 2 or 3 cards. Aiming a Hand Trap at it is more worth than targeting the field spell, the latter which is essentially a 1 for 1.

PSY-Framegear Gamma became popularized recently to stop Hand Traps targeted at ‘playmakers’ of the deck – the searchers, such as Fossil Dig or deck’s respective Field Spells. Since players usually open plays with such cards, the field will usually be empty, allowing PSY-Framegear Gamma to negate any Hand Trap that chains to those cards.



Seeking to negate/destroy True Draco Heritage with Hand Traps can be seen as a way to avoid the risk of PSY-Framegear Gamma negating your Hand Trap, yet at the same time continue to disrupt your opponent.

Being hit with PSY-Framegear Gamma is awful as it can lead to a -2. Losing your Hand Trap after it gets negated, the ensuing PSY-Framelord Omega takes another card from your hand as well. If your opponent is piloting True King Yang Zing Dino, you have additional cards to worry about. Phantom Fortress Enterblathnir and Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier can take more cards away from your hand, making your opponent miles ahead of you in resources.

This situation happened at Game 2 of the Quarter Final Feature Match Yugioh Open Tournament Hong Kong (YOTHK). Having one card in hand before his turn even begun, the victim surrendered that duel and they both went to the third game. YOTs are the OCG’s equivalent of a YCS.

Going second

Now that in the OCG, the hits to Zoodiac ensures that one cannot generate a ton of pluses from a single card alone by falling back on the Zoodiac core combo. This makes it less risky to lead second in a duel. There has been a popular practice for some time, where players snatch for the ability to go second in True Draco Mirror Matches in the OCG. I will leave it to your personal preference to decide if that is worth your while.

Once again, the reasoning is that going second, you get to make the most out of your True Draco spells/traps, when you tribute them away. Instead of having them be sent to the graveyard with no targets on your opponent’s field to destroy, you get to destroy your opponent’s cards. Going second also aligns with the strategy of playing multiple copies and types of Hand Traps.

Side Decking

Common Side Deck cards for Mirror Matches are unorthodox and free to the player’s preference. Below I will list a few which I have witnessed in the OCG, some of which deserve my applause for their bravery at dabbling with a double-edged sword.

The first category of Side Deck cards I will refer to as the “ Brave and the Bold “. This section of cards comprises of cards that hurt the True Draco player itself. However, since True Draco can tribute away Continuous Spells/Traps for the Tribute Summon, added with Dragonic Diagram’s ability to clear these cards when there is a need to, some argue that these cards are less of a double-edged sword, but more of a card that can allow a player to gain field dominance and board control. Macro Cosmos/Dimensional Fissure Skill Drain Mask Of Restrict Dimensional Fissure is usually for a True Draco’s matchup against True King Dinosaur. This prevents Babycerasaurus and Petiteranodon from using their effects as they both need to get sent to the graveyard. Dimensional Fissure allows Spells/Traps to still enter the graveyard, and hence True Draco’s Spells/Traps can still disrupt the opponent. Macro Cosmo is a much daring approach meant to shut down the opposing player’s True Draco Spell/Trap. Skill Drain is similarly dangerous for both, but a prepared player will arm his Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King with trap immunity. This field is deadly as there are limited methods to clear away the boss monster under the pressure of Skill Drain. Mask of Restrict locks the opponent out from Tribute Summoning all together. It is actually a weaker lockdown as compared to Macro Cosmos, as a Dragonic Diagram paired with a True Draco spell can simply destroy this floodgate, whereas Macro Cosmos will banish the True Draco spell, and disallow it from resolving. Needless to say, Mask of Restrict + Macro Cosmos + while the user has already set up the field is a terrifying situation to face.

“. This section of cards comprises of cards that hurt the True Draco player itself. However, since True Draco can tribute away Continuous Spells/Traps for the Tribute Summon, added with Dragonic Diagram’s ability to clear these cards when there is a need to, some argue that these cards are less of a double-edged sword, but more of a card that can allow a player to gain field dominance and board control. The second category are simple – Spell cards . Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King is usually Tribute Summoned using a Trap and a Monster, especially during the opponent’s turn. This leaves it vulnerable to Spell cards. So far, OCG players have taken a liking to two cards in the Side Deck to exploit this weakness of Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King. Graydle Eagle The Monarchs Stormforth The Monarchs Stormforth is slightly more obvious. It is also a useful card to pair with True Draco traps’ effect when you are low on resources. By tributing away your opponent’s monsters, you get to retain your True Draco trap for future plays, assuming you only consumed one Tribute for your ‘mini’ True Dracos. I understand that this card is Limited in the TCG, which is why the next option may be more attractive to players. Graydle Eagle is used very interestingly. Some players like to use it to suicide into Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King. With this play, if Graydle Eagle is either destroyed by battle or Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King’s effect, you get to target Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King with Graydle Eagle’s effect, gaining control of it. Other players who prefer catch their opponent off guard and set Graydle Eagle face down instead. This will usually force your opponent to react immediately, or risk surrendering their boss monster over to their opponent. For this reason, it is a more effective strategy when your opponent is low on resources. There are various desperate methods your opponent may attempt to avoid Graydle Eagle having its way. The first is to obviously destroy or remove Graydle Eagle as an equipped card, but this will cost Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King to be destroyed as well. Secondly, they may Tribute Summon, using Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King as a tribute when Graydle Eagle is declaring an attack. Either way, the plan to remove Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King succeeds, making Graydle Eagle such a hilarious counter to the Dracoslaying King. Despite being unaffected by Monster effects, Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King can still be targeted by Graydle Eagle’s effect. When Graydle Eagle equips itself to Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King, it then functions as an Equip Spell Card. Graydle Alligator works similarly to Graydle Eagle while sharing synergy with Dragonic Diagram. However, when using Graydle Alligator, you have to bait out Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King’s destruction effect for your strategy to work. Graydle Alligator’s effect will not trigger if it is destroyed by a monster effect, as opposed to Graydle Eagle. Understandably, if a player were to witness this trend, Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King can be summoned out with a Spell and Monster immunity to prevent these cards from being effective. However, the weakness of this strategy is that it leaves Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King vulnerable to the destruction effect of True Draco traps when they are sent to the graveyard. Spell immunity also prevents the attack boost and protection of Dragonic Diagram from affecting Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King. Also, given that TCG has access to Raigeki and two copies of Dark Hole, it is likely that Graydle Eagle may not be necessary.

. Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King is usually Tribute Summoned using a Trap and a Monster, especially during the opponent’s turn. This leaves it vulnerable to Spell cards. So far, OCG players have taken a liking to two cards in the Side Deck to exploit this weakness of Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King. The final category of monsters belong to what I term as “ Police monsters “. Their function is to stop the ‘Mini’ True Draco monsters from getting their way. The use of such monsters are obvious but may be more suited for other decks against a True Draco matchup, rather than a True Draco Mirror Matchup Gendo the Ascetic Monk Majesty’s Fiend Kaiju monsters.

“. Their function is to stop the ‘Mini’ True Draco monsters from getting their way. The use of such monsters are obvious but may be more suited for other decks against a True Draco matchup, rather than a True Draco Mirror Matchup

A win-more card

Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King is only a good thing when you are leading in advantage and plan to cripple your opponent further. Initial stages of the game are likely to be better in the hands of the ‘Mini’ True Draco monsters to farm for cards and advantage while keeping the opponent on their toes. Summon it out too early and it will succumb to the plenty to ‘outs’ your opponent has prepared for you. A Kaiju monster easily wastes your effort and resources you dedicated to summoning out this boss monster while placing you several steps back in the game.

A thing players neglect about Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King is that it doesn’t exactly gain resources. It disrupts and stops your opponent’s attempts at a comeback. Timing its summon is crucial and if you face an opponent which misuses Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King by summoning it out too early – exploit that. Trust me, the threat of Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King is greatly exaggerated.

Conclusion

A True Draco mirror is actually a battle of wits, where players have to calculate how many pluses they can achieve and ‘out-plus’ your opponent. Baiting, out-resourcing, trapping/tricking your opponent into performing a poor strategic choice is all part and parcel of the game.

If I use my _________, will he chain the effect of his Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter? If I use True Draco Heritage, will that bait out a Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit? Will this bait out _________?

You will soon find that the fiercest foe is no longer Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King nor Dragonic Diagram, but at how fast the ‘Mini’ True Dracos can farm for resources, which snowballs and momentums into victory.

Of course, with the presence of the Zoodiacs, the TCG metagame will shape itself and differ vastly from the OCG metagame. The above is mostly with regards to the ‘Pure’ True Draco builds you commonly see topping now in the OCG, such as Demise-True Draco.

I thank you for your time in reading this article and hope that it served you well. Hilariously, I was tempted to name the article, [Top 10 things you might not know about True Draco] but I feel that it resembles a click-bait youtube video title. Nevertheless, I am pretty confident that some of these facts are new information to some, and I hope that I manage to share some valuable information to players around the globe.

I am Ken Sir, ending my turn.