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"Chain link 1, 2, 3, 4" - a guide to playing Shaddoll


ihop

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wish I had this mat ;-;

 

Hello everyone, ihop here. I've been playing Shaddolls for many months now and I've enjoyed them very much - they're very competitive and fun to play, as well as somewhat challenging so I definitely think playing them has made me a better player, especially since I'm normally inclined to play thoughtless backrow decks (Yosenju would probably have been my deck of choice this format if I didn't have dolls)

 

[spoiler=About Shaddolls]

The basic idea of Shaddolls is to send them to the graveyard in order to make fusion monsters, which then triggers the effects of the smaller monsters. Every main deck Shaddoll monster has 2 effects - a flip effect, making them all flip monsters, and and an effect which triggers when they are sent to the graveyard by a card effect. It's important to note that it says "by" and not "for", therefore they cannot be triggered by cards that send to graveyard as a cost, for example Raigeki Break. Shaddolls have 6 fusion monsters, 5 of which are in the TCG currently, all of which require a Shaddoll monster as well as one monster with the attribute of the card itself as materials. All fusion monsters have effects that punish or restrict Special Summoning in some way, as well as all having the effect that they add a "Shaddoll" spell or trap card from your graveyard to your hand when sent to the graveyard (these ones can be triggered by anything)[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Shaddoll Monsters]

ShaddollBeast-DUEA-EN-R-1E.png

While not necessarily the best or most powerful, Beast has a very useful send effect indeed, allowing you to draw a card, which is literally always useful. For this reason it's always worth maxing out copies of Beast because it's always possible to resolve its send effect and gain use from it. Its flip effect is also quite nice, especially if you can send a Shaddoll for its second effect, and it's also useful to be able to tribute for it, especially in a mirror match where you want to tribute your fusion monsters (more on that later)

Run 3

ShaddollFalco-DUEA-EN-R-1E.png

Probably has the most powerful flip effect, allowing you to summon something back and then get its flip effect (which is often more powerful than the send effect) easily. Another useful thing is that it can actually revive your fusion monsters, many of which have a substantial amount of DEF, meaning they can easily survive a turn, and at any rate it's a free way to add a spell/trap back to your hand. Its send effect is basically there to facilitate its flip effect, putting it in the perfect position to be flipped sometime next turn. It's also a Tuner, which allows it to make mainly level 5, 6, 7 and 10 synchros, all of which are rather useful. The trouble with Falco is that it's pretty mediocre to draw and downright awful if you have no other Shaddolls. It's also slightly slow, and although it puts pressure on the opponent it's not always guaranteed to resolve in a useful way. It also suffers from the fact that it can't use both effects in one turn - if it goes to grave during the opponent's turn it won't be able to summon anything if it's flipped in the same turn.

Play 1-2 (I prefer 1, but 2 is equally good)

ShaddollHedgehog-DUEA-EN-C-1E.png

Both of this guy's effects are really good. If you can successfully flip it it can start your plays off since it gets you to your fusions if you don't have one, and even lategame it can get Core which is always nice. However, its main redeeming factor is its send effect which not only gets you more fodder for your fusions, it also gets you to whatever you want so you can always guarantee you have the optimal fodder.

Play 2

ShaddollDragon-DUEA-EN-R-1E.png

It's not hard to see how this thing's send effect is useful. It's really nice to send if you don't need any other effects and just want to clear a backrow, and it even lets you pop face-up backrow so you can get rid of at least some floodgates. Its flip effect is decent, it's handy if your back's against the wall and you need to get rid of an extra deck monster, or need a floodgate gone for a turn. However, its the send effect that makes it good, as well as the fact that 1900 attack is quite big and it's a nice standalone beater if you have Vanity's out or something, plus it's a level 4 for rank 4 plays.

ShaddollSquamata-DUEA-EN-C-1E.png

This thing is basically whatever send effect you want it to be, since it can choose to send anything. It's main use, really, is additional fodder which is never bad since it can choose to be anything else. It also allows you to send whatever you want off things that send Squamata but not necessarily any Shaddoll card. The final use of its send effect is also very important because it means you can make a first-turn Falco play if you have a card that sends, because Falco can always bring this back. Its flip effect is relatively useful, it's seen a lot because it's brought back with Falco T2 a lot. It's also a level 4 and has decent attack. yay

Play 2, I've even seen some builds play 3 but that doesn't convince me.

ShaddollHound-NECH-EN-C-1E.png

Probably the only Shaddoll that outright sucks, its send effect is really bad outside of flipping one of your own monsters which can occasionally be useful but not enough to make this worth it since it's useless most of the time. Its flip effect is semi-decent but it's not always possibly to resolve and not necessary a lot of the time.

Play 0

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Shaddoll Spells/Traps]

ShaddollFusion-DUEA-EN-SR-1E.png

The original Shaddoll Fusion, it's a complete and utter blowout if you can resolve it with cards from the deck because you can choose anything to send/make and it's a +lots. The downside is that it's so good that people play around it a lot of the time, but in Decks like Burning Abyss where it's almost impossible to play around it unless you have Fire Lake (and even that is questionable - you can just fusion from hand and you've forced them to waste a Lake and 2 monsters just to stop you fusing from deck) and Tellars if they can't make Diamond/you have a way to negate Diamond, this is just amazing. It's also simply a fusion, and since the deck needs a fusion of some sorts to win a lot of the time, this thing is almost never bad.

Play 3

ElShaddollFusion-NECH-EN-SR-LE.png

This one is more versatile and more consistent than vanilla Fusion. It's never a blowout like the other one but the fact that it's quick-play gives it some huge advantages. It can be chained to things like Vanity's so you can summon something and probably make their Vanity's die with your fusion, can be chained to something that removes one of your monsters from field so you're basically using that monster as free fodder, it can be used in Battle Phase to push for game if you fuse with things that have already attacked, and it can be used in your opponent's turn to lure them into attempting to attack a smaller monster and therefore ending their battle phase. 

Play 3

NepheShaddollFusion-SECE-EN-ScR-1E.png

Neither a blowout nor versatile, this is definitely the worst fusion, not least because it actually requires to have a monster on field. It's probably worth playing 1 once Anomalilith comes out in TCG because it's just so good to make, but right now I wouldn't play it. It does have a Qliphort Scout on it though, which is really cool.

Play 0-possibly 1. Once Anomalilith comes out I recommend playing 1, but that's just theory

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This is an interesting one that I only found out about recently. Its main problem is that it's far too reliant on actually opening with the Fusions and if you don't open a Fusion this is almost guaranteed to be dead unless you have Math+Shadow Games (although Kuribandit could also help with this). Once you get it off it's really nice, and can be used against Nekroz to make Anomalilith which is great.

Consider siding some - it's also cool in the mirror since it's triggered by both player's sends.

ShaddollCore-DUEA-EN-SR-1E.png

Core has a number of really nice things going for it. Having a send effect similar to the Fusions is nice, but what makes it stand out is the fact that it can be used as any attribute which, since most of your cards are DARK but Winda is often somewhat underwhelming, is really nice since you can make Construct or, like above, Anomalilith which are normally better options. It's useful, but drawing it with no fusions sucks.

Play 1, possibly 0.

SinisterShadowGames-DUEA-EN-UR-1E.png

A really consistently good card, it's basically a chainable Foolish Burial which is really nice especially because you can use it during the opponent's turn so you don't limit yourself using effects during your turn. The other effect is really nice too, particularly with Falco and Squamata, since you can actually keep Squamata on the board if they attack your face down Squamata with only one monster you can flip it, pop the monster and send something, keeping a Squamata. Same goes for Dragon. It's good with Falco because you can send something and immediately set it, even better in End Phase. As consistently solid as it is, it's not spectacular, and some builds cut copies because it's a little slow or just doesn't do enough and the opportunity cost of not running something more powerful is too big.

Play any amount between 0 and 3, depending on build.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Shaddoll Fusion Monsters]

ElShaddollWinda-DUEA-EN-UR-1E.png

Winda's usefulness is hit and miss. It can single-handedly destroy some decks (I'm looking at you BA and Satellar), but is almost completely useless against others (Nekroz and Yosenju, for example). It's also the easiest to make and is often just made to trigger your send effects, seeing as it can be made with 2 Shaddolls. Be careful though, because the effect also affects you - this is particularly relevant if you make it with Falco.

Play 2. 3 is not worth it because against decks it's good against 1, maybe 2 is probably enough to win, and against decks it's bad against you don't really want to make 1, let alone 3.

ElShaddollConstruct-DUEA-EN-UR-1E.png

In terms of sheer power this thing is definitely the best, to the point that you're almost forced to play LIGHTs even if they may be slightly suboptimal. The effect to send a card is nice since it just lets you do one more thing, and it also has very nice attack and is a Catastor for special summoned monsters which is nice if you're staring down something like Leo or BLS. It also has a nice DEF stat and so is great to bring out with Leo.

Play 3

ElShaddollShekhinaga-NECH-EN-ScR-1E.png

It can be very useful, but it can also be somewhat undewhelming. If you have an out to Unicore it's fantastic against Nekroz since it stops both Brionac and Trish and can't be beaten over by anything. You play enough EARTHs to be able to make it fairly easy and its effect is pretty useful, especially lategame if you have a lot of Fusion that you're cycling round with your fusion monsters and Core.

edit: PLAY 2 - against Nekroz you can go summon Shek and then, when Unicore's out you can Shek their Trish or Brio, and chain El-Shaddoll into another Shek so the first one gets off the field and can resolve. I just found out about this and idk if it's worth the Shek or if you can't just fuse with a LIGHT/DARK in hand for Construct or Winda instead, but it seems legit.

ElShaddollWendigo-SECE-EN-SR-LE.png

It's rather a shame that art as good as this had to go to waste (at least you don't pull thousands of them like you do with the original Pink Dolphins), but this thing is really bad. Not only do you not play any WINDs, there's also no reason to because its effect is borderline useless and attack.

Avoid at all costs

ElShaddollGrysta-NECH-EN-ScR-1E.png

This card is reasonably good, being able to negate a summon is nice and the cost is negligible, but the main problem here is that you don't play any FIRE monsters and there aren't really any FIRE monsters that are close to being worth it, with the possible exception of the hands which still seems underwhelming. It's not bad, but not good enough to make you play suboptimal FIRE monsters. It's also not worth the extra deck slot just so you can make it with core.

Run 0

el_shaddoll_anomalilith_by_memoriesofblu

(not the real card, but it shows the effect)

Unlike Grysta and Wendigo, this thing is worth running suboptimal WATERs for. It completely stops Nekroz unless they have, well, a Djinn out (and not even Farfa), and sitting on 2700 attack that's not half bad either. It's obviously not released yet and so I, a committed TCG player, have not tried it yet, but it goes without saying this is good. My best bets for making this guy will be Core, maybe 1 Nephe, and then either Treeborn Frog or Serpent.

Play it when it comes out, probably at 1

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Non-Shaddoll options]

There are so many of these and so many builds that I've probably missed out a few. I'll be listing the most obvious ones that come to my mind.

Mathematician-DRLG-EN-ScR-1E.png

I'd hesitate to even call this an option. In a deck that hardly needs its normal summon a walking foolish is fantastic, especially because it also draws you a card if it's destroyed in battle, putting pressure on the opponent to get rid of it in other ways, not to mention it can get a bit of damage in and can also make Shek. It's also a consistent Djinn out with a certain card that's coming up next.

Play 3

PeroperoCerperus-PGL2-EN-GScR-1E.png

The goofiest-looking Djinn out you'll ever see. It's really handy if you can send it off math because you can bash into their Claus with Math and destroy Claus straightaway, breaking the Djinn lock on your turn. It's also useful at getting rid of floodgates, particularly Shadow Mirror, and is also an EARTH for Shek.

Play 1

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WhiteDragonWyverburster-MP14-EN-C-1E.png

These guys are also more or less standard. They have decent stats, let you make Xyz in a pinch, give you LIGHTs for construct and can even Fusion/Synchro on field and search another one. They're also really nice just to keep you in the game as floaters. The white one is far better than the black because you play far more DARKs, and ideally you want to draw the white first and then search the black, automatically giving you a LIGHT in grave.

Play 3:2, 3:1 or 2:1 of White:Black, depending on build and preference.

BlackLusterSoldierEnvoyoftheBeginning-GL

I mean, why not? It's as much of a win condition as it was when people thought it should be rebanned, and it's easy to summon in here. It's also, in a pinch, a LIGHT to make Construct.

Play it, always.

DarkArmedDragon-PGLD-EN-GUR-1E.png

More difficult to summon and less of a win condition than BLS, I'm on the fence on this one. It's amazing if you do get it off and Eclipse Wyvern makes that a bit easier, but it's a really bad draw and having a DARK isn't really all that useful for fusion. 

Play it depending on preference - I'm leaning towards no.

EclipseWyvern-PGLD-EN-GUR-1E.png

Solely for Dark Armed, it makes it a little more consistent and it's really good with black dragon or BLS, especially if you send it from deck with Fusion or even Math. 

Play 1 if you're playing Dark Armed and 2 Black Dragon, otherwise I wouldn't recommend it.

Kuribandit-DRLG-EN-ScR-1E.png

This thing is a mixed bag. Milling 2-3 useful Shaddolls/Peropero and a fusion/other useful backrow will probably win you the game there and then because of the sheer amount of advantage you gain, but if you mill a bunch of backrow or mill useless Shaddolls (ones that have already been used or Dragon when they have no backrow) it's very mediocre and eats up a normal summon which, while not essential, is often better taken by Math in that case. I like it, but I'm not totally convinced.

Run none or 3

300px-DenkoSekka-NECH-EN-UR-1E.png

Everyone's favourite walking Cold Wave is particularly good in here because it doesn't really restrict much, since you can still use your fusions. It's amazing against BA and Tellars, especially if you stop BA Fire Laking on the Fusion, or you summon it vs Tellars that are relying on a Call/Oasis to stay in the game. It's good maindecked in offensive builds even if it does suck against Nekroz, and should probably be sided everywhere because of how amazing it is vs BA and Tellars

Play 3 in an aggressive build, side 3 always.

AbsoluteKingBackJack-PGL2-EN-GScR-1E.png

This thing sucks. Believe me, I've tried.

AllureofDarkness-SDGU-EN-C-1E.jpg

Not a lot to say about this one. It's decent, but often you'd rather have every DARK in hand. It's nice for getting rid of dead black dragons, I guess.

Play it if you want

BreakthroughSkill-BP03-EN-C-1E.png

This thing is relatively good against everything, but where I feel it particularly shines is the Satellar matchup because it can not only negate a Deneb/Altair during their turn, it can also stop Diamond's effect, meaning you can abuse Fusion (even better if you have the Denko). It's also nice against B.A. to get round sidedecked Vanity's Fiend or stop Dark Law being as much of a nuisance. It slows the momentum of the deck a bit but I really like it because it means you don't lose to things that might otherwise beat you.

Play 0-2

MaskChangeII-SDHS-EN-C-1E.png

Everyone knows how good Dark Law is against a lot of meta decks these days. This might be worth siding just because of how good it is against Nekroz. Having said that, it takes up space in an already crowded extra, and it's not as good as in BA because you can't resolve the monsters you discarded for it like you can in BA.

Side 2-3, if at all.

300px-StarSeraphScepter-WSUP-EN-PScR-1E.

300px-StarSeraphSovereignty-WSUP-EN-PScR

I'm actually yet to try these but... they seem ok. They're really good if you can get them off but I'm concerned they may be a bit dead if you don't draw multiples and have a Black/White Dragon. They're also LIGHTs for Construct, obviously.

Run 3 of each if you're playing them. I'll come back to you on these.

286664.jpg

A friend of mine was trying out a build with 3 of these maindecked as well as 3 De-Fusion, so you can bring it back after you use it to make Construct. Obviously this thing is amazing against Nekroz (well, any deck really), and he was even able to summon it games 2 and 3 by its effect since he sided in Lancea. Seems even better now with Seraphs, might be worth looking into.

Run 3 if you're playing De-Fusion. I'll get back to you on this one, too.

Artifact.png

The Artifact engine is really cool as again, it gives you LIGHTs and more options, plus a better MST to stop floodgates. It has advantages and disadvantages over a more standard build, the main disadvantage obviously being that drawing them sucks if you don't have Movement for Beagalltach.

Play 3 Sanctum, 2 Ignition (side a 3rd), 2 Scythe, 1 Moralltach, 2 Beagalltach and sidedeck 3 Lancea.

Like I say, give me suggestions for other things I may have missed, there are so many good choices to run that I definitely don't have them all.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=A quick word on chains]

Constructing a chain is fairly important here because you want to search/send before you draw if at all possibly. This is relatively simple if you're fusing 2 Shaddolls to make Winda, since if one of them is Beast you can simply declare beast to be Chain Link 1, therefore it will activate last, after you search. Construct is automatically the Chain Link after all your monsters you've sent resolve, meaning you should always send with Construct first, as the summon happens after the fusion materials are sent to the graveyard. Again, make sure Beast is Chain Link 1. Eclipse Wyvern, however, is a mandatory effect, and therefore must always be Chain Link 1, meaning if you were to fusion for Construct with Beast and Wyvern you would have to send, draw, the banish. The most important thing to remember is to make sure that Beast is Chain Link 1 where possible.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Cards you don't want to see]

175014.jpg

This thing is extremely annoying because it negates so many of your effects and negates them in all the relevant places. Peropero does a bit to help this since it's not negated, but otherwise it's a nuisance.

331742.jpg

(and D Fissure and Soul Drain)

Probably even more obnoxious than the mirror, because it also dodges Peropero assuming it's flipped before it hits the grave. Luckily, only Ritual Beasts and Yosenju can really get away with playing these.

305814.jpg

Again, this threat is somewhat mitigated by Peropero but if you don't have access to an out you more or less lose since you can't get a monster with 2400 and you don't play many reactive backrow. Emptiness is a problem too but at least you can Dragon it, or indeed chain El-Fusion.

DjinnReleaserofRituals-THSF-EN-SR-1E.png

The deck is very susceptible to the Djinn Lock. I keep saying this but Peropero's an out, but if they have the Scolding you're in serious trouble unless you have multiple outs.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Example decks]

[spoiler=Slapped together Denko Dolls in 10 minutes, probably terrible, never properly played them so I don't know the exact optimal build]

wLrwlfa.png[/spoiler]

[spoiler=My IRL deck, I'm messing around with it but I'm kinda happy with this build]

XzcKyTS.png

6q0hbex.png

qDylfCF.png

sG3iEni.png

p0FNkJX.png

Apologies for the awful awful quality, the disgusting mixed rarities and the fact that my BLS hasn't arrived yet, although I have actually bought one after having to borrow one for 3 months worth of tournaments off various people, including for 2 regionals.[/spoiler]

More variants coming soon.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Matchups]

I'm not quite au fait with the exact matchups yet as I haven't been able to get a colossal amount of playtesting done, but here's a basic idea of good and bad matchups-

[spoiler=Good matchups]

Burning Abyss - very difficult for them not to make Fusion live, Dragon gradually picks apart backrow, Dante is underwhelming in the face of Construct, Winda is basically an instawin a lot of the time, can't play many side cards to hurt you other than Vanity's Fiend. In all the BA matchups I've played (4 against 3 TGU BA, 2 against non-TGU) I've lost only a single game and won the rest comfortably. Admittedly, I didn't play particularly good players and have managed to avoid BA in really high-level play but I don't imagine it being much different.

Heroes - the deck sucks anyway since if I want to make Dark Law I'll play BA, but this deck totally destroys them as long as it has Fusion and even then it's only at threat if they can Dark Law. Dark Law's technically a problem but Fusion still works so you can just make Construct/Shek and that's out of the way. I'm yet to lose a game to heroes, and I've played them a lot

Satellarknights - Just. If they open well and have enough Alphas/can make unanswered Diamond it's problematic but Denko completely rips them to shreds, as well as Breakthrough Skill. This is a marginally good matchup, you should be at a slight advantage, more so if Denko is maindecked.

Rogues. Other than the decks in this list it should be able to beat any TCG deck consistently. I haven't lost a tournament match ever to anything that isn't Qliphort, Nekroz, Ritual Beast or Yosenju.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Neutral Matchups]

Mirror match - duh. It's a matchup normally decided by skill, because it's important to get to your Fusion as fast as possible by sending it qith Squamata a lot of the time, and it's also important to try and not leave Fusions out - Beast is good for this as you can Tribute Summon.

Nekroz - I've put this as a neutral matchup although it does lose more often than it wins simply because Nekroz is a better deck. It doesn't inherently lose to Nekroz and Shaddoll are able to side a lot of cards that hurt it (Mistake!), as well as them now having a good Djinn out. It's one of the decks most capable of beating Nekroz, I'd say.

Qliphort - I really haven't tested against April 15 Qliphort at all but I imagine the matchup improved a lot since Vanity's went to 1. Dragon is a threat for them because they can quite easily run out of their 2 Scout very easily, which is probably game if they don't have Qlimate Change. idk on this one though, I know someone who has Qliphort so I'll try and get a few test games in against him next time I go to locals.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Bad Matchups]

Yosenju - They can actually play floodgates which hurt you and Kama 1 is as good an out to all your fusions as it gets. They also never make your Fusion live so it's kinda hard to gain advantage against them. It's not a completely unwinnable matchup simply because the deck is slightly better than Yosenju, but it's not as good as it would normally be based on the strength of the decks.

Ritual Beasts - As is always the case with Ritual Beasts they're easy to beat if they draw shit, and they often do. However, in the event that they draw good it's a big problem because Steeds is obnoxious and your Fusion's not even live since they can just chain to defuse. Same with Yosenju in that Shaddoll are inherently better, but the deck is more than capable of taking matches. They can also run a lot of floodgates to beat you.[/spoiler]

If there's any decks you'd like adding tell me, particularly if I've forgotten a big one, and I'll try to fit them in. Bear in mind I don't know enough about certain decks/matchups so I won't be able to explain, say, the Fluffal matchup. I also know nothing about OCG decks so don't even bother[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Matchup Elaborations]

[spoiler=Nekroz]

Shaddoll have about as good a Nekroz matchup as any deck does. There are two obvious main threats in this matchup - the Djinn Lock, and Trishula. The former is difficult to play around and you have to hope you either have the out, which is good news for you and, since the Djinn Lock is most common turn 1, normally means you win the game because you're now so far ahead in advantage as the Djinn lock is not a particularly productive play. However, what you really want is to open Veiler because you can Veiler the Lavalval Chain (I'd hold off Veilering a Ju turn 1 because more often than not it becomes Chain) which not only stops the Djinn Lock but also means your Shaddoll Fusion is live and they are way behind. Even better than Veiler is Lancea, as more often than not they rely on banishing the Djinn from grave to Cycle back Claus. By chaining Lancea to the Cycle you can not only stop the lock and keep an Extra Deck monster on board, but if they were careless or unlucky they may be forced to discard a Manju to bring back Unicore, or a Brio to bring back Brio in grave. This, again, puts you at a huge advantage. Your outs to Djinn Lock if it happens are Raigeki, Book of Moon, Squamata which admittedly is a bit slow, Dragon, Mathematician + Peropero and possibly Shock Troops of the Ice Barrier.

 

Trishula is actually possible to play round but, to be honest, is more of a threat. It can be made at a +0 with Cycle or a -1 with Mirror but if it's summoned and resolved you probably lose since you lose at least 2 useful cards plus they have a 2700 beater. It's important to avoid leaving yourself Trishable at all costs - your best bet is to keep a hand empty at all costs. Falco is very good for this, as well as being difficult for them to get round and being able to bring back Fusions which is awesome. Hedgehog and Beast are less good at this and should be avoided where possible. You should also avoid summoning Mathematician turn 1 as it instantly gives you a card in hand (assuming you have another monster that need normal summoning), field and grave. Veiler, Breakthrough Skill and, to a lesser extent, Mind Crush are insurance policies against Trish and mean you're under less pressure to keep your hand empty, although it's still worth it in case they have a second Trish or an Eclipse or something.

 

It goes without saying that Anoyatillis is good in this matchup. The best way to summon it is through El Fusion in response to a Ritual Spell as you'll make it fizzle so you guarantee wasting at least one spell, even if they then have an out to it. El Shaddoll Fusion is generally useful in here as you can make end phase plays with set Falcos etc, as well as being able to force Sheks through under Unicore (Shek's another good card here, as long as you can avoid Unicore).

 

Key cards: El Shaddoll Fusion, Anomalilith, Falco, Mistake, Mind Crush, Majesty's/Vanity's Fiend, Secret Village, Crush Card Virus

Side out: Copies of Dragon above 1, 1 Mathematician, 1 Fusion, some Shadow Games, Star Seraphs if applicable.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Mirror Match]

The Shaddoll mirror match is, in my opinion, the most skillful and entertaining matchup this format. Both decks have the ability to severely punish each others misplays and games can often be decided on fine margins.

 

The most important part of this matchup is to avoid leaving an extra deck monster out at all costs. This means Hedgehog is very very important, since it allows you to get to Beast which you can tribute set your Construct for. Furthermore, it's important to avoid normal summoning Mathematician unless you do not plan on leaving out an Extra Deck monster, as it eats up your tribute set for Beast. Construct is extremely important as well here since it guarantees the ability to send Hedgehog. For this reason, and for the fact they can back up extra deck plays with Constellar Diamond, Seraph Dolls have the slight edge here since they can Construct more easily. It's always worth assuming that they have Fusion because it's that important - if you let your opponent fuse from deck they're probably going to win the game since they advantage gained is so huge. Book of Moon, Vanity's and sidedecked De-Fusion are extremely useful here as they all stop Shaddoll Fusion. Book and De-Fusion remove your extra deck monster, potentially forcing Fusion to fizzle or forcing them to use cards in hand they don't want to, and Vanity's obviously stops Fusion resolving. Sidedecked Vanity's/Majesty's Fiend is useful here since it's another way to get your extra deck monster off the board and they're also good at shutting the opponent down. Raigeki and Dark Hole are very useful here because you're very often facing a field of set Falco and Beast, which Raigeki and Dark Hole break nicely. Veiler is also nice here since Veilering a Construct often stops them being able to send Hedgehog, meaning they cannot get the Beast they need and are forced to leave Construct out. As in most mirrors, Mind Control is good.

 

Key cards: Hedgehog, Beast, Shaddoll Fusion, Raigeki, Book of Moon, Veiler, Construct, Mind Control

Side out: Mind Crush, possibly a Dragon, 1 of 3 Falco[/spoiler]

[/spoiler]

 

If I've missed anything/forgotten anything/you disagree with any advice or choices, shout at me and I'll fix it/argue my case. Hope this was useful.

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Oh, good idea. I was going to put a list of good and bad matchups just as a starting point but I forgot to do that and yes, I could elaborate on them further. Trouble is, I haven't really tested enough against anything but BA and Nekroz, I only have a couple of games with my friend playing Satellars and I didn't get to side, and same goes for April 2015 Qliphort as well as the mirror. Hopefully locals this weekend will give me an opportunity to get a bit more playtesting done. Certainly, I'll put the good and bad matchups and I'll get matchup elaborations for Nekroz and BA done pretty soon.

 

edit: Looking back on it, I think I've started already by just writing about how they're good/bad matchups

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Just saying but you forgot Curse of the Shadow Prison.

 

1058926.jpg

 

Everyone forgot about this thing.  It's literally makes any of your fusion cards Super Poly.

 

At the very least I think it's a decent enough side deck option, especially if you don't want to run subpar waters to make Anomalilith just for that Nekroz matchup.

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Instead of doing actual matchup elaboration which could be a bit complicated I'm going to report all the games of any tournaments I go to which should give an idea of how the deck plays. I'll probably then include an archive of all the matchups against relevant decks in the OP for reference.

 

So, today's locals. I used the decklist in the OP but cut one Twister for a Crush Card.

5 rounds no cut

Round 1 (Mirror Match, but he's playing the Spirit engine. Not going to add them as techs in the OP because they're completely outclassed by Seraphs)

Game 1: This guy is not a terribly good player and he maindecks Mask Change II which I think is criminal. He's playing a ridiculous amount of backrow which I just pick through by sending Dragons with Math and Shadow Games, and he doesn't have much else. He makes Dark Law but I Book of Moon it and that's more or less game.

Game 2: He has me on the ropes, he opens Fusion but I'm forced to fuse with my El Fusion. Eventually he ends up with a Booked Construct on 6k while I have a Castel on field, so I Mind Control his Construct, summon Squamata, swing with Castel and Squamata and El Shaddoll in damage step to steal the game.

 

Round 2 (Blackwings lol)

Game 1: He opens Whirlwind and Kris but I just power through his Kaluts and after pushing through his field of Nothung+Joe with Construct and Castel I win.

Game 2: Same thing but he doesn't have as many Kaluts so it's an easy win.

 

Round 3 (Nekroz, Chris Bowes of YCS Prague "fame")

Game 1: I win the dieroll which is amazing and open Veiler which is even better. He summons Senju and I know he's going to attempt to Djinn lock so I wait and Veiler his Lavalval Chain, and he doesn't have enough cards available to make Valk and is forced to leave his Chain on field. I Shaddoll Fusion into Construct and Summon Kuribandit, which is Veilered, and get Valked. I have the El Fusion in hand but don't want to lose my Construct on field. In his standby phase I El Fusion (idr why, but I didn't want to El-Fusion during his turn, maybe I'd already used the effect of the Hedgehog in my hand) with my Peropero and Hedgehog, make Shek and search Beast. He uses his Chain again, successfully sends his Djinn but he only has 3 cards in hand after Veilering my Kuribandit and can't actually get to the cards needed to summon Trish. He successfully summons his Djinn-Locking Claus but can only make Castel and not Trish, negates my Shek with Claus but scoops when he attacks my Kuribandit and I banish Peropero to pop his Claus. I had the game won anyway.

Game 2: I open Hedgehog, Mistake, Mind Crush, Veiler and Crush Card going first and he scoops instantly since he has no MSTs and not even a Ju so he had to discard Brio only to get Mistaked.

 

Round 4 (Cannon Soldier OTK - basically Lightsworn with 3 Cannon Soldier, 3 Quillbolt and Plaguespreaders so he summons a tuner and Cannon Soldier and makes enough Rank 2s to tribute them all off and win. I'm paired down, this guy was 2-1)

Game 1: Veiler on Cannon Soldier puts in work

Game 2: He flips Shadow Mirror before realising it also stops a good part of his deck, so I just Construct then top BLS to seal the victory.

 

Round 5 (Tellars)

Game 1: He goes first and opens Deneb+3 backrow. I can't really do anything but set 3 and Shadow Games a Dragon to try and hit the Alpha, as well as stopping him from bringing Deneb back with Altair, but he Night Beams and actually hits the Shadow Games. I chain Core to try and then chain Shadow Games to that but he Alphas the Core. I can't do loads and eventually I scoops when he summons Triverr when he has 2 Call and an Oasis face-up

Game 2: He opens Deneb and Rota, grabbing Altair and Vega, and sets 3. I summon Math and choose not to use the effect because Alpha is such a pain, and just crash his Deneb and get the draw. In main phase 2 I El Fusion to make Construct, send Dragon and actually hit the Alpha which is excellent. Next turn I Maxx C him on the Vega and he's forced to play through it or lose to the Construct staring him in the face, so I end up drawing 4, losing one to Triverr, and more or less win next turn by using Raigeki on his Triverr.

Gamr 3: He goes first and just passes. I summon Squamata, next turn he summons Vega which I Breakthrough Skill, and he passes. I summon Dragon and bash with Squamata and Dragon, and he scoops next turn. His hand was full of hand traps plus a Vega and an Altair, as it turns out.

 

I win as the only 5-0, and because our locals has shit prizes I win 3 packs of World Superstars but pull a Legendary Dragon of White, a Rhongo and a Blazeman so I can't complain.

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It depends upon the event and your read of the meta. If you're going to a major tournament and expect to play mainly Nekroz it's obviously really good, but it's mediocre against basically all other decks - it sucks in the mirror, I'd say Mind Crush is better vs Tellars since it's not as susceptible to Alpha and Delteros, it's mediocre against BA and, well, pretty good against Qliphort. I'm not a huge fan of it myself and I prefer Mind Crush because it has offensive as well as defensive properties (hit Valk before you attack without caring if you miss) and is generally better against the meta decks. By all means, side it though.

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ok, I got a good night's sleep so I can do this regionals report.

 

This is the last regional of the year, in Leeds, so I kinda need an invite because I haven't gone to that many this year and the other two I brought Shaddoll in full force Nekroz/Qliphort format which was never going to end well. 112 players which means there's 14 qualifying slots. Everyone in a qualifying slot gets £40 store credit, plus top 8 get a Shaddoll mat (!!!) and top 4 get a deck box. There's also 3 packs for entering, of which I choose THSF and pull a Brionac, so my day's already been made.

 

Round 1 (Yang Zing)

Game 1: I blast his Creation with Dragon and choose not to attack his face-down with Construct and instead drop BLS, which gets Breakthrough Skilled. Next turn he swings his little guy with 0 ATK into my Construct, which I Maxx "C", he grabs that Tuner that summons 2 from deck after taking 2800 damage and discards 2 to summon 2 and makes the level 8 synchro which spins back 3 of my cards, returning my set Falco, Construct and BLS. This thing is immune to traps and gains 500 too, apparently, but that hardly matters because I have Shaddoll Fusion and just make Construct at which point it's more or less game over.

Game 2: He chooses to go first and opens what I suppose would be classed at "the nuts" in Yang Zing, as far as that goes. He summons the thing that summons more (Jiaotu, or something?), summons 2 and makes a Yazi (that one I do know) that's immune to spells and is on 3100. I Shaddoll Fusion and he flips his one backrow, Emptiness, but luckily I have El Shaddoll in hand too and can chain it, sending something and the Veiler I drew as my 6th card :/ to make Construct and just attack into his Yazi and kill it, which is basically game over. idk if this deck just has a really bad Shaddoll matchup or whether it's just bad.

 

Round 2 (Qliphort)

This is the matchup I've been fearing most since I have a lot of cards that are useless against Qliphort - 3 Maxx "C", 2 Veiler, 2 BTS and a Vanity's

Game 1: He bricks and doesn't get to Scout so I just beat him down with Squamata and Mathman.

Game 2: He does get to Scout and eventually he gets so many searches with that and Saqlifice that he eventually pendulum summons 3 and drops Towers (this card is bad, more on that later) and wins.

Game 3: Again, he doesn't get to Scout and this time it's Squamata and Dragon.

 

Round 3 (Mirror Match)

Game 1: He draws a hand of only monsters and I get to resolve Falco multiple times and just overpower him with fusions in 1 turn.

Game 2: I open awfully but I draw into an El-Shaddoll fusion with Maxx "C" which means I can drop Construct and then tribute it for Vanity's Fiend. He has the Dark Hole for the Vanity's Fiend but I was able to stop his Falco resolving and the loss of that advantage eventually means he's always behind in cards and I beat him down.

 

Round 4 (Mirror Match)

Game 1: He wins the die roll and chooses second and my first 5 cards are very mediocre, so it's an easy win for him.

Game 2: I choose second but he opens Math which swings momentum back into his favour, and he also has a fusion card and I'm just always behind.

 

Round 5 (Qliphort)

Game 1: He goes first and has Scout and all that stuff and just crushes me

Game 2: I go first and open Math, 2 Mind Crush, MST and Squamata. I Mind Crush his Scout which he grabs with summoners art, see that the rest of his hand is mediocre and beat him down when all he can do is summon monsters like Carrier and Disk on 1800.

Game 3: He goes first and activates Monolith and Carrier, pendulum summons Monolith from hand and sets 2. He then tries to first Mind Crush with no cards in hand, then Soul Transition his Special Summoned level 5 monolith, so I know his entire backrow and mind control his Lith, summon Falco, make Black Rose and nuke his entire field. He can't win from there.

 

Round 6 (Nekroz)

This is a friend of mine from locals, he was actually the Tellarknight player I beat round 5 of last week's locals.

Game 1: He makes me go first and while I can play round Trish for a bit I'm eventually forced into a position where I can't avoid it, and it's basically over.

Game 2: He opens the Djinn lock and then constantly gets round my outs. I set Squamata which is Raigeki'd, set another Squamata which he has Trish from hand for, set my third Squamata which he Veilers when he leaves it face-down, but at some point I crush carded too so he has basically nothing else but Claus. I tribute my Squamata for Beast, he leaves it and I flip it next turn and draw into Vanity's Fiend, which I summon, beat over Claus and win from there.

Game 3: It's a massive grind game because I can always leave my hand empty but I draw no floodgates at all for ages. Eventually he can bash me with a Valk and then time is called and, while I have a solid field in Construct, 2 Breakthrough and Mind Crush when he has hardly anything, but he has the Valks and I can't do the damage in time. grrr, what a way to lose

 

Round 7 (Mirror)

Game 1: He chooses second and I don't open Math, so he's always ahead of me.

Game 2: It goes back and forth, I'm forced to make Nothung but can't get it off field and he tops Shaddoll Fusion. Luckily I have a way to get back into the game, and eventually I can do bits of damage to him so I book of moon his core, summon Hedgehog and Black Dragon and those two plus the battle phase El-Shaddoll in hand are enough to steal the game.

Game 3: I bash him with a Winda very early, and then time is called turn 5 or so. He summons Black Dragon+Construct but misplays in that, knowing I have a set El-Shaddoll, attacks with Black Dragon so I just El-Fusion into Construct, and take no damage that turn since he has to stop attacking with Black Dragon. Next turn I go Shaddoll Fusion, and he used Vanity's but I chain El-Shaddoll, making Shek. He now has only White Dragon in hand, with Construct, Falco and Emptiness on board, 2200 life behind. I have Shek and set Squamata, and he enters his last turn of time. I think I have it won easily since he's locked by his own Emptiness, but he tops Dark Hole, but luckily he also pops my Squamata and I can send and summon Falco, which he can't get over and he offers the handshake. What a game!

 

So I finish 5-2 and come 11th! I have my invite, and my store credit gets me 10 packs of sleeves as well as 5 THSF packs, from which I pull 5 solid but unspectacular secrets.

 

[spoiler=Picture of final standings. Shaddoll player round 4 ended up going 6-0 and lost round 7, coming 2nd, Nekroz player went 6-1 and finished 4th and the Shaddoll player from round 2 finished 14th]11188297_10153322300758010_6539435311185[/spoiler]

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So, with CORE on the horizon, will Anoyatyliss be enough incentive to run Nephe-fusion?

 

I'm not convinced. The fact you have to control a Shaddoll is really lame since it cuts you off from Math or whatever, and it's really only good against Nekroz because Lilith kinda sucks against everything else. I think Core itself is probably enough and if anything I'd probably run a Serpent.

 

Also, yesterday was Saturday, and that means locals.

 

5 round no cut as usual.

Round 1 (Bad kid playing HEROes)

Game 1: Avian is no match for my swarm of fusion monsters.

Game 2: Neither is Clayman

 

Round 2 (Madolche) This is a friend of mine actually, he went 6-1 and came third at last week's regional

Game 1: He's forced to set a Messengelato because he bricks and I just kinda put pressure on him and by the time he does topdeck into an Anjelly I have Book of Moon.

Game 2: He opens Anjelly, which I veiler, but next turn he has Magileine and I have no answer to that and he also has a Marauding Captain and can make a big Leviair+Tiaramisu play

Game 3: Similar to game 1, he's forced to just set a Messengelato and I pressurise him with Dragon+Squamata and Breakthrough for his Marauding Captain

 

Round 3 (Volcanic HERO)

Game 1: I get my field nuked by Scattershot (how good is this card!) and he planters a reload in grave which causes me to scoop when he summons unopposed Firestorm Guards

Game 2: The game goes on for ages but eventually I keep myself alive with Core, make an unopposed Construct and even though he can make Dark Law he can't get round Construct and then I top BLS just before he can topdeck a way to make Emeral which would have let him resolve Scattershot again for game.

Game 3: He goes t1 Dark Law and although I have Shaddoll Fusion I've lost so much advantage that I can't get back into the game.

 

Round 4 (Qliphort)

Game 1: This guy is really bad, he goes first and has Summoner's Art into Scout and activates Monolith then searches for Towers. I shit bricks thinking he has t1 Towers but he just summons Helix and sets 2, I summon Math and send Dragon to pop Scout, he MSTs my set Mind Crush on his turn and I chain it to get rid of Towers (Towers is so bad man, even if you play Qliphort properly) and eventually I can make a fusion and win.

Game 2: I remember this game vividly, he goes first and opens Scout and Monolith, sets 1, summons Carrier and ends. I MST his set card (cursed seal of the forbidden spell, apparently), Fusion with Dragon and Wyverburster for Construct, pop Scout, send Hedgehog and add Dragon, normal summon Dragon, beat over and attack, then activate Village main phase 2 and he scoops instantly.

 

Round 5 (Zombies? How did they go 3-1?)

Game 1: He can't avoid putting an extra deck monster on board and I just eat him up with Fusion

Game 2: I only have El-Fusion but I bash him with Construct then tribute it Main Phase 2 for Vanity's Fiend and he just scoops.

 

I finish 3rd, win 2 packs of WSUP and pull shit but meh. I must say I'm very impressed by Volcanic HERO, it's a bad matchup but the guy went 5-0 and the deck's very legit.

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Noden as the WATER target for Anoyatyllis? It gives you access to easy rank 4s like Lavalval Chain and Emeral Chain, and Instant Fusion can also summon Winda so she dies in the end phase and recovers you a fusion spell from grave, so it's a bit dual purpose.

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I'm starting doing proper matchup elaborations, will do the rest in the coming days. Feel free to shout at me and disagree with me. I'll also update the card descriptions soon because a lot of them are inaccurate and I'm missing some important tech/standard cards.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thank you.

 

By the way, to spark a discussion, I have seen the Train Shaddoll variant being mentioned every now and then in the past weeks, and it even reached the Top in an OCG tournament. If we were to get the Trains before the banlist changes, do you think they would have a chance of topping in the current TCG format (considering the different TCG hits on Nephilim, El Shaddoll Fusion, Skill Drain, etc. from OCG)?

 

EDIT:

To contribute something myself, I noticed that said topping deck mained x3 Skill Drain, which I suspect was one of the key elements for its victory as this floodgate messes with a lot of decks; however, in TCG it is Limited. On the other hand, Shaddolls have it rough in OCG because of the hits on Shaddoll cards, Mathman, etc. so in theory the variant would play better in TCG. This is why I'm curious to know or discuss if this variant would have any degree of success in current TCG.

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I think the train build is borne out of necessity rather than being better than any other build. With 1 Construct it's difficult to build it round a LIGHT engine and the EARTH engine is the second best thing with the advantage of having actual synergy with Shek. Shek's nowhere near as proactive as Construct and isn't as good at advancing your game state and although Gustaph Max and that lot are really cool I think just looping Constructs is more consistent and answers other things better.

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Actually OCG has 0 Construct.

Anyway, do you think the result of Columbus is due to people being overprepared for dolls?

 

Isn't it back to 1 now or something?

 

People being overprepared for Dolls definitely has something to do with it and it doesn't help now that Burning Abyss are back with a bang because anti-BA cards are generally also anti-Doll cards. I also think as more people get access to CROS cards it's becoming evident that CROS really hurt Dolls as a deck - they got a good card for the Nekroz matchup but that's been balanced out by the fact that Qli got a new floodgate, every deck bar BA has a way of making Diamond really easily now (Nekroz can make Diamond even more easily than Dolls can make Anoytatyllis) and Ritual Beasts have improved which are a bad matchup at the best of times. I don't think Dolls are dead or anything and I think they'll bounce back from Columbus once people realise the hype is over and stop overpreparing for dolls, as well as Dolls finding a way to adapt to Diamond.

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Hardly any. It only works on Falco and Core and they're not the main cards in that matchup anyway. The only threat is Breakthrough Skill. If you want to properly play around Grieving you can target Dragon with Falco because it's actually good at getting rid of Dante, is another Dragon on the field and them putting it in the deck only makes it easier you to pop another backrow.

 

edit: not even Core, only works on monsters.

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