Notes & Combos
This time I'm copying bajs' homework, specifically:
discord%2Ecom/channels/867220466875891774/935093360715243520/1182898943932235888
but tweaked just a tiny in hopes the teacher doesn't notice :) (link obfuscated to get around link censoring but should still work if copy/pasted into the address bar if you really want to follow your sources)
I don't think the deck is that good due to its main shtick being a somewhat specific 2-card combo of Hop Ear+a quick effect special summon (preferably level 6). But I think it's pretty satisfying when it does work, espcially when choosing to go second from the coin toss, only to end up playing more than the opponent on their turn.
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The massive Bystial package means the matchup spread is fairly pronounced, mostly depending on how relevant the Bystials are: I had an easier time coasting into bronze for the DC cup by bullying Branded and D-Link players than I did dealing with "random bullshit go!" of mid-late month Diamond. The most aggravating auto-loss by far is stun, since this is a blind second deck without backrow hate. I tried Denko Sekka for a bit, but she felt too specific when also in competition for the normal summon.
Returning to Bajs' list, Imperm didn't feel necessary enough to keep, especially since it mildly conflicts with all of the quick effect special summons. So I dropped the set for more hand traps. This in turn let me swap Desires for Sekka's Light for some extra hand-fixing/mill-relevance. I tried Lubellion+Regained for a while as some added Saronir utility, but I prefer the immediate draw power of Sekka's.
Ghost Belle was my compromise for helping deal with Labrynth, while also having some uses in other matchups & Called By insurance.
Ghost Ogre is definitely strange, but I wanted more handtraps that could also serve as banish fuel for my Bystial package in matchups where the opponent doesn't provide that. And more LIGHT fodder in particular for Chaos Ruler's self-revive is a nice bonus. Ogre came up in enough conditional situations that I don't feel too bad about the choice, but it's definitely still the most tentative. Moving to more consistent tuner access with some Assault Synchron copies is probably more correct but boring, and Ogre is cuter so I'll pass.
Crocodragon I added mostly as a hail-mary draw 1 when I have nothing better to do with a Bystial + a (presumably not useful) Ghost Girl normal summon. I still lost most of the matches where I brought it out, but I still think digging for a desperation Maxx C or whatever is still more useful than whatever else I could've been doing from those positions. Maybe one of the other VW poster children is more correct here but it doesn't feel like it.
I added Donner as something to with mismatched pieces if I have no synchro plays and/or putting Gamma back online by self-clearing my own board. Since most of the deck is LIGHT/DARK, Azalea might be more correct but with odds and ends like Impulse, I'm doubtful. PSY-Framelord Lambda might be funny with a larger PSY-frame package.
To make room, I dropped Number 77: The Seven Sins from the rank-8 line, which means Pain Gainer can't be activated on the way to making a 4-material Zeus. I found that I rarely went into the rank 8 line, so it doesn't feel like much of a loss. At this point, Pain Gainer might be better served as Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger instead but I couldn't quite bring myself to do that. Zeus mostly just felt like Kashtira Unicorn bait anyway, so it probably doesn't matter much. ¯\‗(ツ)‗/¯