Prelude to 2012 Philippine Nationals/WCQ

Three weeks ago, Me and some of my friends/teammates were discussing about what deck to use in the upcoming Philippine Nationals. When i was analyzing the meta, I came up with 3 options; Inzektor, Chaos dragon, or Ninja-Heiro. One of us (Asian Team 2011 Champs member, Karlo Bonillo) told me that Chaos Dragons are really hard to stop that's why he chose that deck. I agree with that but the problem is, when it comes to defense, they really lack a lot. So i thought about Heiros or Ninja Heiro. I tested it but not happy with the results. Without Gustaph max, the deck is just tier 1.5 (at least for me). So it came down to my final option, Inzecter. They have a well-balanced offense and defense, strong board control, and great top-decking capabilities. The only thing that i considered about using Inzektors was the thought of me running through a lot of hate such as Macro Cosmos, Chain Disappearance, Veilers, etc. After having numerous play test and analyzing our meta (chaos dragons, Machina, Wind-up inzecters, Darkworld, and a bunch of random decks), i decided to run Inzektors. The fact that using the most dominant deck over a sub-par one just to avoid hate is enough reason for me. I also thought that even against a bad match-up, inzektor has a higher percentage of winning compared to other decks.

After deciding what deck to use, it's now time to choose what build or how i will build my deck. What cards to use or not, etc. I read a lot of lists on shriek.twoday.net and tried everything. Inzektors have a pretty standard build though so it wasn't that hard. The only things i needed to adjust were the traps and some monsters. I used to run 2 Gigamantis on main without DAD since i like the atk boost especially for the small insects. I also hate of losing my otk card for allure and i want to draw it faster. the problem was, if you don't have other inzektors in hand, it's stuck! As for DAD, well yeah, it goes the same as to being stuck for some turns (or for the entire game) but gives you better options. So i tested again and decided to run DAD instead of 2nd Gigamantis.

Next, it was a dilemma on whether to run 3 Cardcar Ds or 2 Card troopers+1 sangan. At first, i really wanted to go with Cardcar since i really like draw power. The cost of sacrificing your normal summon for a turn is a small price to pay for card advantage. It also draws your opponent's trap and Veiler leading you to a safe Inzektor play. On the other hand, Card trooper gives you a better range in getting/dumping your hornet/ladybug. It gives you a 1,900atk beatstick which comes in really handy against most match-ups. Sangan's effect is also important when completing your inzektor pieces. It can also search for veiler when needed. Both of them are good against torrential tribute and other destruction cards. They also have better synergy with call of the hunted compared to Cardcar. So I ended up with the Card troopers and Sangan.

I'm almost done with my deck except for one thing, thinking about including Black Luster Soldier or not. I asked myself if it was worth including BLS in the deck despite having 3 other light monsters only. I said to myself, if i don't draw any Effect Veiler, i would probably end up losing anyway. so why not?  Plus i needed that extra boss monster for the push and the more options i have, the better. For those of you who are interested to see my list, here it is.

-Inzektors-

Monsters: 20
Centipede x3
Dragonfly x3
Hornet x3
Ladybug x2
Sangan x1
Dark armed dragon x1
Card trooper x2
Effect veiler x3
Black luster soldier, EOB x1

Spells:11
Monster reborn x1
Heavy Storm x1
Pot of Duality x3
MST x3
Allure of darkness x1
Foolsih Burial x1
Book of moon x1

Traps: 9
Solemn Warning x2
Solemn Judgement x1
Torrential Tribute x2
Call of the haunted x2
Raigeki Break x1
Bottomless Traphole x1

Extra: 15
No.17 Leviathan dragon x1
Levair x1
Zenmaines x2
No.20 Brilli-ant x1
Djinn Melomelody x1
Djinn Muzorythm x1
No.39 Hope x1
Djinn Maestroke x1
No.12 Crimson ninja x1
Tiras, keeper of genesis x1
No.61 Volcasaurus x1
Inzektor Exa-stag x1
Gaia Knight Dragoon x1
Chimeratech Fortress Dragon x1

Now that my main deck is complete, it's time for me to construct a side deck. There are things to consider when doing one. First, put cards that are flexible so you can use it for different matchups. Check your main and side to make sure you have a balance number of cards to take out and put in without sacrificing your deck's consistency. And last, make sure to use cards that make's a big impact against your opponent. Keeping that in mind, i was able to come up with this side deck list:

LS ryko x1 - against Raggia or any random/rouge deck. additional S/T destruction
Cyber dragon x2 - Machina or any beatdown deck
Maxx "c" x2 - Windups, Heiros
Tragoedia x1 - Against otk decks
Swift scarecrow x1 - Anti-OTK just like trago.
Darkhole x1 - for chaos dragons, machina, heiro.
Mind control x1 - Inzektor, Heiro,
Dimension Fissure x2 - Darkworld, Chaos Dragon
Transmigration Prohecy x1 - Inzektor, Chaos dragon,
Overworked x1 - Inzektor, sometimes Darkworld
Royal Decree x2  - For trap-heavy decks. perfect counter for Shadow-impri mirror

As you can see, most of the cards in my side are used for at least 2 match-ups except for Overworked. I needed at least 2 traps dedicated for inzektor since i take out 2 call of the haunted during game 2. I didn't main darkhole since i end up destroying my opponent's field with hornet's effect. For mind control, there are matchups that it doesn't matter and sometimes completely useless so it's better to be in side rather than main. Instead of using 2 tragoedias, i cut 1 down for swift scarecrow just to avoid being locked by koaki meiru drago during otks. I included D.fissure since it can entirely shutdown Darkworld and Chaos Dragon without affecting your deck.

After finishing my deck, i ran some test and happy with the results. I felt really comfortable with my deck and that is one key factor when joining a tournament. As long as you have confidence with your deck, you can win matches without having too much pressure. Know your deck's strength and weaknesses so you can be ready for any situation. Consider your options before making a move. Most important of all, the less mistake you make, the bigger chance you have to win.

That concludes my "Prelude to Nationals". I hope you enjoyed and learn something from this post. I will be posting my Nationals Tournament Report very soon so please check out my blog again. Have fun!