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Deck Profile – Sorosh Saberian Blackwings
While Blackwings’ available cards haven’t changed since the release of Raging Battle, there have been trends and shifts in how they’re played. At the Canadian National Championship, it was all about the battle between the fast builds versus the slower versions of the Deck with “Reckless Greed.” Both Decks tended to run two copies of “Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn.” Blackwings in their various incarnations were the most popular Deck at the Canadian Championship, occupying more seats in the Swiss rounds than any other strategy. They also took three competitors to the Top 8.
At the U.S. Championship, Blackwings occupied a lower percentage of the field, but in order to counter the anticipated threat, Blackwing Duelists started Side Decking their third copy of Sirocco. Even Duelists playing other Decks started siding it, since Sirocco can draw on the ATK of all your opponent’s Blackwings as well.
Today we see the next step in that trend, as Blackwing Duelists like Sorosh Saberian cut out the middle man and Main Deck a full three copies of Sirocco the Dawn. The result isn’t quite as straightforward as you might think. Here’s Sorosh’s build.
(The full decklist will be posted after the event.)
| Monsters | Spells | Traps | Side Deck | Extra Deck |
3 Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn |
3 Black Whirlwind |
3 Solemn Judgment |
Because Sorosh is playing a full three copies of Sirocco, he can run other cards to complement it. The first is a pair of “Deck Devastation Virus,” which are included here strictly because Sirocco is Chainable Tribute fodder. Deck Devastation is great in a mirror match, blowing away Kalut, Gale, Blizzard, and a select range of tech monsters. It’s even better against Synchro Cat, where it takes out every lynchpin card in the Deck. “Rescue Cat,” “Summoner Monk,” “Gravekeeper’s Spy,” “Gravekeeper’s Guard” – none of that stuff is big enough to survive the Virus’ wrath. It’s not bad against Lightsworn either, where it can eliminate “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” as well as problematic cards like “Honest” and “Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid.”
But there are other changes that Sirocco allows for as well – namely the inclusion of “Delta Crow – Anti-Reverse” in the Deck’s Trap lineup. What’s cool about Delta Crow is how Sorosh can force an opponent into a situation where they’re vulnerable to it. If he drops Sirocco to a field where it’s the dominant monster, there isn’t much that can attack over it: if his opponent doesn’t have an answer like “Smashing Ground” or “Honest,” they’re going to do one of two things. First, they might throw out a combo to try and regain control of the field. Second, they may go on the defensive, Setting a monster and at least one Spell or Trap Card.
It’s the latter situation Sorosh is hoping for – one that allows him to blast his opponent with an End Phase “Delta Crow – Anti-Reverse” that was previously Set, and then head into his next turn with a Sirocco already on the field. From there he can perform some of the Special Summoning madness that we’re all so used to seeing from Blackwings at this point, making big push with multiple attacks for game. Alternatively he can even throw down Blackwing – Bora and a couple other monsters, pour all the ATK into Bora with Sirocco, and swing through that Set monster for huge damage. If that’s not enough to seal the deal, Dark Strike Fighter is always waiting in the wings (no pun intended).
Other picks like “Morphing Jar” add a bit of unpredictability to Sorosh’s Deck, but that third Sirocco is really the core of the most important innovations. There are a lot of Duelists here today making similar Deck-building decisions, too. Sorosh was testing the build with other Torontonian players like Walter Chan earlier in the week, and Matt Peddle is also playing “Deck Devastation Virus” in a similar build. This is the natural progression of an ongoing trend, and Blackwing Duelists should be sure to take note.
