Most of the emerging strategy revolves around Hieratic Dragon King of Atum. It's a Rank 6, requires two dragons, and can once per turn detatch to grab any dragon from the deck. The downside is that Atum can't attack, and the summoned monster is 0/0. The upside? Atum can summon REDMD from the deck. That's very important. You can OTK with this by combining it with that absurdly named rank 10, though there is no sign of that coming to the TCG soon. Clearly it hasn't stopped people from fooling around with it on DNET though.
OTKs are nice and all, but that's not what I'm looking for in a competitive deck. Sure, if I can include the option, then I'll do so. Trident Dragion is generally fine for me and it's very easy to get of an Atum play. Many players have gone so far as to include cards to specifically facilitate the OTK, like Mist Valley Baby Roc. Seems decent...until you realize that you're murdering your consistency. Roc has no purpose other than to feed the combo which, let me remind you, is easily shut down by even a single Veiler.
OTKs are nice and all, but that's not what I'm looking for in a competitive deck. Sure, if I can include the option, then I'll do so. Trident Dragion is generally fine for me and it's very easy to get of an Atum play. Many players have gone so far as to include cards to specifically facilitate the OTK, like Mist Valley Baby Roc. Seems decent...until you realize that you're murdering your consistency. Roc has no purpose other than to feed the combo which, let me remind you, is easily shut down by even a single Veiler.
So rather than turn my field control deck into a 'herp-derp' dive-bomb OTK/FTK, I am instead trying to take the Hieratics and incorporate them in a way that benefits the existing Dragunity strategy. Let's look at a few of these cards, shall we?
To reiterate: Atum is the linchpin of the Neo-Dragunity strategy. With this card a huge variety of plays become possible, and it's very worthwhile to summon. Grabbing REDMD is just the icing on the cake too. This guy can also grab a few other cards that can really put the pressure on the opponent. We'll get to those in a bit. In the meantime there is a very important question to answer: how do we summon Atum? Dragunity is based around 8s after all. Well, it takes 6 to get 8...
The most effective way to summon Atum can be done from the first turn. Zephyros is essential, and by discarding it to search Phalanx through Dragon Ravine, you can bounce Ravine and discard Phalanx to search Dux. Summon Dux, grab Phalanx, then make a Vajrayana. Get Phalanx, and make a second Vajrayana or a Gae Dearg (to dump Aklys, usually) with your on-field Zephyros. Bam. You have two level 6 monsters and possibly a Phalanx on the field if you wanted to go that direction. The best part is that it only cost you one card. From here you can summon Atum, detach for REDMD, bring back one of your materials, and summon Stardust Dragon. You end with Atum, REDMD, and Stardust. Not bad at all for one card.
This is all great, but it's a one-trick pony. Zephyros will only work once per duel, so if you want to summon Atum again, you'll either need Xyz Reborn...or a new build direction. Here's a card that might remind you of last year...
Mystletainn was to be the ultimate out to Effect Veiler. You summon Dux, it gets negated, and then you summon Mystletainn to grab your level 8 anyways. If D.D. Crow and Maxx "C" weren't seeing play, I would be running this guy right now (especially with Bottomless Trap Hole falling in play). It even lets you circumvent Fiendish Chain which is very popular this format. However, it's just inconsistent enough to keep it out of my main deck for now...but it is a level six. Think back to our earlier combos. Instead of using Zephyros, make Vajrayana with Dux, and then use the extra Phalanx to summon Mystletainn.You can end with the very same field, though it costs you an extra cards. You're still ending up with a three card hand, so it's fine anyways.
But Mystletainn isn't the only non-extra deck level 6 we can run...
Hieratic Seal of the Dragon King is TCG-exclusive, and it's a very interesting one to boot. The other seal (yes, that level 8 normal dragon) is generally what people think of in regards to Hieratics. This seal is so much better for one key reason: it's two levels lower. In fact, it's actually designed to summon Atum as you can probably tell by the name. Unfortunately it has one major drawback...it's a Gemini, and not a true normal. This means it can't be summoned from the deck by most Hieratic effects. This means we'll have to get it to our hand, or put it in the graveyard. Sounds a bit tough, right? Well it would be if Hieratics didn't have a spell card that searches every archetype member. Yep, it's a big deal (note the bold, that will be on the test). Oh, and then there's Dragon Ravine, which can put this card in the graveyard from either the hand or the deck. Synergy, bro. Think of this as a Destiny Hero-Malicious for Dragunity.
Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit is yet another level six, searchable by Hieratic Seal of Convocation like every other Hieratic monster, and it makes summoning Atum even easier. It has a Cyber Dragon-like summoning condition, and when it's tributed, it will grab the Hieratic Seal of the Dragon King from the graveyard. The really unfortunate part of Tenfnuit is that it can't attack when summoned. It's not quite the Rai-Oh killer that I want. On the plus side:
+Easy level 6 allows you to summon Phalanx/Aklys along side it and make Stardust with NO fear of Veiler or Crow.
+Easy level 6 allows you to summon Phalanx/Aklys along side it and make Stardust with NO fear of Veiler or Crow.
+Baits BTH, Torrential, and other cards to keep your Dux play safe.
+Perfect fodder for REDMD
It's easy to see how Tenfuit goes beyond just facilitiating easier OTKs. It gives Dragunity the one thing it wants so desperately: a way to play around it's 'one normal summon per turn' weakness. With such powerful searching abilities Hieratics are poised to make a splash in the metagame, but more importantly, they are quite capable of making Dragunity far better than it currently is. In the next blog post I'll talk more about the rest of the seals and how they expand the strategy. Until next time then.
+Perfect fodder for REDMD
It's easy to see how Tenfuit goes beyond just facilitiating easier OTKs. It gives Dragunity the one thing it wants so desperately: a way to play around it's 'one normal summon per turn' weakness. With such powerful searching abilities Hieratics are poised to make a splash in the metagame, but more importantly, they are quite capable of making Dragunity far better than it currently is. In the next blog post I'll talk more about the rest of the seals and how they expand the strategy. Until next time then.
