Notes & Combos

Ryzeal is out, but I decided to stick with Maliss for my Master I climb this month. My deck is mostly the same as my list from last month with some minor changes.

I replaced the 2x Lancea with 2x Imperm since Ryzeal, which is a very common matchup, isn't affected by Lancea. I also replaced both I:P Masquerena and Link Spider with Salamangreat Almiraj and TY-PHON. I:P just never comes up, and Link Spider isn't really necessary even if you get Nibiru'd. Almiraj is useful to convert a Normal Summoned handtrap into a Cyberse so you can make Splash Mage for lines where you get negated after using Underground/Sarc to summon a Dormouse. TY-PHON can occasionally break a Ryzeal endboard but only if they summoned two Xyz Monsters and also don't have backrow disruption like Ryzeal Cross's negate or Ryzeal Plasma Hole. TY-PHON also has anti-synergy with the Link Monster lock from the Maliss banish effects, so keep that in mind too. Some people say that summoning TY-PHON means you're losing, but sometimes it does actually steal games. Plus it's a flex spot in the Extra Deck, so no real harm in including it.

I'm also gonna add that Droll is probably the best card in this deck at the moment because not only does it beat Maxx "C"/Mulcharmies when going first, it's also a great tech choice against Ryzeal to stop all their searches, which usually reduces their endboard to Detonator pass.

Which deck is better: Ryzeal or Maliss? Pretty tough answer honestly. Maliss has a higher skill ceiling and access to Dominus Purge but has a big weakness to cards like Lancea. Ryzeal is more consistent and has more flexibility in deckbuilding but does rely heavily on Detonator. There's also how both decks have specific weaknesses that the other deck doesn't necessarily have, which means that certain tech choices can beat one deck but not the other. This is all exacerbated by the fact that Master Duel is a Bo1 game with no side deck. What I am certain about though is both Ryzeal and Maliss are the best decks in the game, bar none. Be prepared to see those two decks a whole lot for this format.