Welcome to Week #5 of the OCG 2017.01 format.

Zoodiac, Cockroaches and Ghosts.

This report will cover 52 top-performing decks from 7 tournaments that were held in Japan during 28 – 29 January 2017.

Clarification



The previous naming convention – “True Draco Zoodiac” and “Zoodiac True Draco” – were rather confusing and non-intuitive.

To avoid any misunderstanding, “True Draco Zoodiac” has been renamed to “Master Peace Zoodiac”.

Master Peace Zoodiac 3 Zoodiac Ratpier 2 – 3 Zoodiac Whiptail 2 – 3 Zoodiac Thoroughblade 1 Zoodiac Ramram 3 Zoodiac Barrage 1 Fire Formation – Tenki 2 – 3 Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King 3 Terraforming 3 Dragonic Diagram 2 Succession of the True Draco 1 Disciples of the True Dracophoenix 2 Revival of the True King

Master Peace Zoodiac has a heavy Zoodiac core, and runs a minimal of True Draco cards to support Master Peace.

Some variant may run 1 – 2 Mariamne, the True Dracophoenix.

Zoodiac True Draco 3 Zoodiac Ratpier 1 Zoodiac Whiptail 1 – 2 Zoodiac Thoroughblade 1 Zoodiac Ramram 3 Zoodiac Barrage 1 Fire Formation – Tenki 2 – 3 Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King 0 – 1 Mariamne, the True Dracophoenix 2 Majesty Maiden, the True Dracomage 2 Dinomite Knuckle, the True Dracofighter 3 Terraforming 3 Dragonic Diagram 2 – 3 Succession of the True Draco 1 – 2 Disciples of the True Dracophoenix 2 Revival of the True King 1 – 2 Apocalypse of the True Dracos

Zoodiac True Draco, on the other hand, has a heavy True Draco core, and runs a minimal of Zoodiac cards.

Some variant may run 2 Ignis Heat, the True Dracowarrior in place of Dinomite Knuckle, the True Dracofighter.

Metagame Breakdown

39 Zoodiac: 19 Mono Zoodiac 13 Kaiju Zoodiac 5 Master Peace Zoodiac 2 Kaiju Master Peace Zoodiac

13 Others: 3 Zoodiac True Draco 2 Greener Zoodiac Predaplant Shiranui 2 Zoodiac True Draco Metalfoes 1 Burn 1 Greener Zoodiac Zefra Lunalight 1 True King 1 Zoodiac Metalfoes Kozmo 1 Zoodiac True Draco Kozmo 1 Zoodiac True Draco Predaplant Kozmo



Mono Zoodiac



Mono Zoodiac controls the game by disrupting the opponent’s strategy through Trap cards. However, a deck that is heavy on Trap cards oftens performs poorly when going second.

By cutting down traditional Trap cards for more Hand Quick Effect monsters (“Hand Traps”), mono Zoodiac can disrupt the opponent even when they go first, thus improving their odds when going second.

In addition to the regular “Hand Traps” (Maxx “C”, Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit and Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring), Flying “C” is making a big return due to the rising popularity of mono Zoodiac.

Among the 19 mono Zoodiac, 15 of them are running Interrupted Kaiju Slumber in their Side Deck – allowing them to switch into Kaiju Zoodiac when facing True Draco.

Kaiju Zoodiac



Kaiju Zoodiac has a good matchup against True Draco, but struggles against mono Zoodiac.

With almost everyone playing Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring and My Body as a Shield, it is difficult for Interrupted Kaiju Slumber to resolve successfully.

Coral Dragon is an interesting tech to get rid of Flying “C” by using Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit or Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring as the Tuner for the Synchro Summon.

Amusingly, Kaiju Zoodiac has stocked up their Side Deck with plenty of Trap cards – allowing them to switch into mono Zoodiac in a mirror match.

Master Peace Zoodiac



Although Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King is strong against mono Zoodiac, most mono Zoodiac are prepared with Kaiju in their Side Deck.

Even Master Peace Zoodiac themselves are running Kaiju in the Side Deck.

The popularity of True Draco and Master Peace continues on a steady decline.

Conclusion

The current OCG metagame is basically Zoodiac variants fighting among themselves.

Based on my personal observation (take it with a pinch of salt), I feel that the Zoodiac variants are in a Rock-Paper-Scissors balance.

However, the boundaries between the variants are very much blurred due to them being able to switch into another variant using the Side Deck.