[ECG] Deck Check: Ethics Buster Extreme, the Strongest Stand!

[ECG] Deck Check: Ethics Buster Extreme, the Strongest Stand!

  Monday, December 09, 2013    byak

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Welcome to our first edition of Deck Check! This will be our most frequent series of articles on this blog, where we come up with decks for all sorts of occasions and discuss the card choices that revolve around them. We hope that you learn new things from these articles, as well as bring some new decks to the playing field. Without further ado, here's our first Deck Check article, featuring Nova Grapplers!

Booster Set 13 wasn't too long ago, and as we all recall, Beast Deity Ethics Buster, Nova Grappler's first Break Ride, received two Cross Rides for itself: Ethics Buster Extreme and Ethics Buster "Reverse". Both of these units come with very powerful Limit Breaks to compliment their solid Cross Ride defense, but they both manage to accomplish slightly different things. Today, we'll be looking at Ethics Buster Extreme, along with my preferred decklist for the card.

As soon as you hit four damage, Ethics Buster Extreme's ability kicks in, transforming your late game into a terrifying storm of constant attacks every turn. Its Limit Break skill activates when you drive check a grade 1 or higher "Beast Deity" unit, and it lets you stand ANY Nova Grappler on your field as a result, without any form of cost whatsoever!

This Limit Break skill basically translates to, "All of your Beast Deity non-triggers are now stand triggers, without the power boost." We know Vanguard is all about probability, but this tends to manipulate probability heavily in your favor, making every card you drive check produce a positive effect during that battle phase. You can build your deck and make all of your non-trigger units Beast Deitys, which is very easy, considering they were given all of the basic tools of a Vanguard kit. They have their own Sentinel, their own +3000 attackers, a Break Ride unit, and, of course, Extreme. Even after all these, they have plenty of more powerful units you can fit in your deck. But why stop at turning all of your non-triggers into stands?

Theoretically, if you're using a deck that has a majority of stand triggers, your battle phase is conducted in such a manner where you attack with both of your rear-guard columns, and then your vanguard column. This is because you have decent chances of checking two stand triggers to let both of your rear-guards stand and swing again. However, if you follow this attack pattern and check into any other trigger, you're sitting there with minimal value from that trigger, because now your rear guards cannot carry that power with them. You can adjust your pattern by swinging with only one rear-guard column and then your vanguard, but in this deck, your chances of using Extreme's limit break are much higher than getting your triggers, and you'll end up over-standing and losing just as much value. How have I tended to this problem, you might ask?

Ethics Buster Extreme, the Strongest Stand!
17 / 14 / 11 / 8

1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh
4 Battleraizer [Stand]
4 Turboraizer [Stand]
4 Grapple Mania [Stand]
4 Beast Deity, Bright Cobra [Stand]

4 Beast Deity, Solar Falcon
4 Beast Deity, Desert Gator
4 Beast Deity, Max Beat
2 Beast Deity, Blank Marsh

4 Beast Deity, Brainy Papio
4 Beast Deity, Hatred Chaos
3 Beast Deity, Golden Anglet

4 Beast Deity, Ethics Buster
4 Strongest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster Extreme

This might be the first time you've seen a deck that uses not eight, nor twelve, but SIXTEEN stand triggers in a deck (outside of some possible and odd Mass Production Sailor deck), but I see this as the strongest approach when it comes to Extreme. Instead of having heals, draws, or crits you can check into, this deck is designed so that once you hit four damage, EVERY card you drive check will stand a unit, so every turn, you will have the potential to attack five times. A lot of units thrive off of this power, but the most important supporting unit would have to be Beast Deity, Max Beat.

Max Beat is a 7000 grade 1 that has a skill that triggers when it stands. At the cost of a counterblast (Note: something that Extreme doesn't use, at all), you can stand another Nova Grappler. Max Beat is key to making your second wave of attacks just as strong as the first. As long as you can manage the counterblasts, which is fairly easy in this build, you can use Max Beat over and over again to recreate full columns when Extreme swings.

Max Beat also carries value in the early game. When you're dealing with units with lower power levels, a single stand trigger has the power to stand a front row Max Beat, raise it to 12000, then Max Beat can stand any one of your 12000 attackers to create a very small rush turn. This can push your opponent up to high damage levels very quickly, but it also leaves your Max Beat open for any attacks, and it's a very important unit to have later in the game, so be careful.

Moving on from Max Beat, it is also important to note Brainy Papio's significance in the early game. Brainy Papio is a grade 2 that carries a 9000 body, and when it hits the vanguard, you can counterblast a Beast Deity to stand any Nova Grappler. This is an amazing pressure skill, especially because your deck carries a lot of 11000+ attackers that can deal continuous damage. Papio is the definition of this deck's early game, giving you access to an early rush turn, but it also combos well with Max Beat. You can have a column of Max Beat and Papio at any point of the game, and if the column hits, Papio can stand Max Beat, and Max Beat can stand Papio, for an overall cost of two counterblast. Two counterblast costs a lot, but if your opponent can't stop it you can just keep piling on damage that turn.

The cool part about using sixteen stands in the deck is that the stand triggers themselves offer a lot of utility themselves. Battleraizer and Turboraizer can boost for 6000 and return themselves to the deck, while Grapple Mania unflips damage and returns itself if it boosts and hits. Watch out, however, because Max Beat and Brainy Papio both require especial counterblasts for their skills, and if these stands hit the damage zone, it can lead to them being useless.

I'm personally on the fence with the inclusion of Miraioh as my starting vanguard. You don't necessarily need Ethics Buster before Ethics Buster Extreme in this deck, because as a break ride, it doesn't offer much towards the rest of the deck. The standing can be redundant at times but the Cross Ride defense can be valuable at other times. If I were to play something other than Miraioh, White Tiger and Riot Horn would be my alternatives. White Tiger creates the same pressure that Brainy Papio and Blank Marsh create without having to draw into it, and Riot Horn provides the same pressure as Max Beat, though without needing to draw into it. These are both strong choices and I highly recommend either if you don't have any issues with grade 3 consistency.

One big problem with this deck is its poor Link Joker match-up. Chaos Breaker Dragon and Infinite Zero Dragon easily lock away your front row, making your 100% stand triggers useless. My only tip for this match-up is to find opportunities to keep a column empty, so that when they go to lock your field, you have the time to commit to that column for a turn and pressure three hits. Other than that, best of luck with this match-up.

In conclusion, the deck can be very relentless when it reaches its ideal late game. You can pressure them with a constant five attacks every turn, making it hard for them to stay alive at five damage. Just be careful not to lose too many units, because this Extreme build relies a lot on having a full field as often as possible. Don't over-commit vs retire heavy decks or else you'll be entering the late game with a deficit. With that being said, feel free to test the deck for yourself and make some changes if you feel they're necessary. Next time on Deck Check, we'll be going to the other side of the coin, and investigating the deadliest Beast Deity...