[ECG] Deck Check: Dark Dimensional Combination, Reverse Daiyusha!

[ECG] Deck Check: Dark Dimensional Combination, Reverse Daiyusha!

  Monday, May 05, 2014    byak

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Hello again, cardfighters! We're taking a break from the Japanese card game for a bit because of the release of Booster Set 13 on English shores! We've actually managed to go over a handful of new decks from this set in the past, but there's one in particular I've been trying to find the time to write about for a while: Reverse Daiyusha!

That's right, another Dimension Police deck, go figure, but they're all being released around the same general time, so it's just coincidence. Booster Set 13 gives Dimensional Robos a completely different route to take after establishing themselves as a modern deck in the recent Trial Deck. Instead of following through with Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaiser, we're actually going back to our roots with Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha, and his Reverse form...

Meet Dark Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha "Reverse"! This new boss unit definitely goes reverse when compared to what Dimensional Robos normally do (no pun intended). Instead of putting a lot of power on your own vanguard and creating a huge center column, Reverse Daiyusha weakens your opponent's vanguard, making all of your columns suddenly become a lot scarier! By counterblasting one and locking two of your own Dimensional Robos, your opponent's vanguard loses 10000 power during that turn. This effectively gives all three of your columns +10000 power, since your opponent has to guard with an additional 10000 for each attack, but on the downside, you're locking out two of your boosters. Despite this, if you have 11000+ columns, they'll more than likely require an additional 5000 shield to guard in the end, which is a good gain considering your vanguard becomes terrifying during your Limit Break turns.

One of the things I don't like about this Limit Break is that it discourages you from focusing down rear-guards, since your attacks are most effective versus their vanguard. But this was basically always the case with Dimension Police, since the core feature behind the deck was threatening their vanguard with your huge and flashy vanguard, so it's not too bad.

However, another thing to remember is that Reverse Daiyusha doesn't work with Commander Laurel at all, and Laurel defined just about Dimension Police deck out there. Locking two rear-guards basically prevents you from resting four rear-guards with Laurel, meaning you can't include it in here. Reverse Daiyusha's Limit Break still warrants using him though, so let's just move onto the deck!

Dark Dimensional Combination, Reverse Daiyusha!
17 / 14 / 11 / 8

1 Dimensional Robo, Daimagnum
2 Justice Cobalt [Critical]
2 Demon-eye Monster, Gorgon [Critical]
4 Dimensional Robo, Daibattles [Critical]
4 Dimensional Robo, Daicrane [Draw]
4 Dimensional Robo, Gorescue [Heal]

4 Dimensional Robo, Daishield
4 Dimensional Robo, Daitiger
4 Dimensional Robo, Dailander
2 Dimensional Robo, Gocannon

4 Dimensional Robo, Daidragon
4 Dimensional Robo, Kaizard
3 Dimensional Robo, Daidriller

4 Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha
4 Dark Dimensional Robo, "Reverse" Daiyusha

The first thing that sticks out is that instead of using the usual Break Ride and boss unit combination, we're going straight for the Cross Ride in this deck! While Daikaiser is a very powerful Break Ride, "Reverse" Daiyusha doesn't really create as much burst as other Daiyusha variations, meaning it's better to go for a more sustained late game. What I mean by this is that instead of trying to kill your opponent with a Break Ride, you slowly deal damage over time by using Reverse Daiyusha's Limit Break every turn. This is a lot more effective because for one, Reverse Daiyusha's Limit Break only costs a single counterblast, so you can use it over three or four turns. Also, we can obtain Cross Ride defense in this deck, which is very important. If you carry 13000 base power, it just makes each turn that much easier to guard, allowing you to live longer and deal more damage with Reverse Daiyusha.

As we've established before, the original Daiyusha isn't even that bad of a card either. With four copies of Kaizard, Daidriller, and Dailander, it's easy enough to elevate him to being the menace of the early game. Our starter, Dimensional Robo, Daimagnum, also helps Daiyusha gain an extra critical by adding himself into the soul and giving him +4000 power. Since Daimagnum is our starting vanguard, we are guaranteed this effect almost every game, unless it's retired. Daiyusha's early criticals really makes up for Reverse Daiyusha's lack thereof in the late game, making your late game even scarier. Riding Daiyusha early also obviously lets you obtain 13000 defense.

Dimensional Robo, Gocannon is also a new support unit for Daiyusha specifically. He comes with 6000 power, but by sliding him and another Dimensional Robo into your soul, you can give your Daiyusha vanguard an extra critical for a turn. Depending on when you use this skill, you can force out something valuable from your opponent. If you manage to go Kaizard into Daiyusha with a Gocannon followup, you might be able to catch your opponent off guard, considering how early into the game it is. I've seen this play steal games by itself because your opponent either drops a lot of cards from their hand or is just unable to do so. Granted, if your opponent has gone through a lot of cards in their deck, it might not be the best idea, since Sentinels are always a possibility.

Gocannon also has value later in the game as well. It's a given that using Gocannon in conjunction with Reverse Daiyusha's Limit Break creates extreme pressure, but it's also a given that your opponent more than likely has a Sentinel to stop you anyway. However, if you managed to ride Reverse Daiyusha before Daiyusha, you can use Gocannon to slide the regular Daiyusha into the soul later on, letting you come back with the 13000 base power the deck needs!

You might also think that three Daidriller and four Dailander might be a bit excessive. I thought this as well for a while, but they can actually be pretty valuable. The reason this is is because of their synergies with Daidragon. It sounds odd, but theoretically if you put a +4000 on Daidragon, it swings for 16000 unboosted. Considering the fact you're usually locking the unit behind Daidragon, this is actually really significant, as it results in an additional 5000 shield to block. You can also put +4000 on any other full column to bump it over 21000 for a turn, then lock away what you just used since it comes with a low base power.

Overall, the deck plays a lot differently from how Dimensional Robos used to work. Dimensional Robos beforehand were the definition of vanguard burst, where they'd pull off flashy combos to launch their final and strongest attack at the end of the fight. Reverse Daiyusha on the other hand kills your opponent slowly. It takes advantage of its tank stats and puts your opponent on the clock. Every turn they have to invest about 20000 more guard to keep themselves from taking damage, and over time it really adds up. The only problem is the deck lacks field control. It spends all of its time focusing the vanguard, so you can't really play a slow game even if you wanted to. The deck also has a natural weakness to Link Joker, as do all Reverse decks, but this is a given.

Despite all this, I enjoy Reverse Daiyusha a lot as a deck. I've spent more time than usually playing with or against it and I've grown fairly used to it. I feel as if it operates very differently compared to most other decks in our time, so keep this in mind when you take it out for a spin. Remember that your deck does better over time than most others, and use that fact to your advantage! But for now, until next time, cardfighters! Stay tuned for more news from all the upcoming releases!