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Theme Deck Profile – Joseph Vazquez’s Spellcaster Deck
Joseph Vazquez might be playing one of the best Spellcaster Decks we’ve ever seen in a SHONEN JUMP Championship. When “Secret Village of the Spellcasters” made its debut in Crossroads of Chaos, Duelists were tempted by the prospect of using its effect to shut down all of their opponents’ Spell Cards. The problem at the time was that “Emergency Teleport” / “Dark Armed Dragon” Decks were just too fast, and even without their Spell Cards, those Decks’ monster lineups alone would often be enough to win games.
But times have changed! A lot of the top Decks we expect to see here today rely on Spell Cards like “Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Foolish Burial,” “Solar Recharge,” “Burial From a Different Dimension,” “Allure of Darkness,” and more just to get off the ground. That means Secret Village might be more powerful.
Many new card effects are activated from the Graveyard, like “Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor” and “Shiny Black “C.”” Spellcaster Decks are great for dealing with these powerful cards, since one of their big stars is “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer.” Kycoo prevents your opponent from using these powerful Graveyard effects, since your opponent cannot remove cards in either Graveyard from play while Kycoo is on the field. Kycoo can also remove monsters from your opponent’s Graveyard, making it tough to Summon “Judgment Dragon,” “Dark Armed Dragon,” “Chaos Sorcerer,” and other monsters that need specific cards in the Graveyard in order to be Summoned.
Those are the trends Joseph Vazquez aimed to take advantage of when he decided to come here this weekend with a deeply dedicated Spellcaster Deck. Controlling the opponent’s moves with Secret Village and Kycoo, Vazquez also runs three copies of “Breaker the Magical Warrior” and three “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress” for heavy Spell and Trap removal. The result is a beatdown-style Deck that hits hard and fast to lock out the opponent, boosted by tons of theme support. Here’s what it looks like:
| Monsters | Spells | Traps | Side Deck | Extra Deck |
3 Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress |
3 Secret Village of the Spellcasters |
2 Magician’s Circle |
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“Solidarity” boosts the ATK of all monsters on the field by 800, as long as those monsters are the same Type as the monsters in your Graveyard. Adding this to an all-Spellcaster lineup means that Vazquez can take down big monsters and do some serious damage in record time. “Solidarity” also makes it a lot tougher for an opponent to wipe Vazquez’s monsters off the field, so when he activates “Secret Village of the Spellcasters” he’ll have an easier time keeping the Village’s effect going. This Deck’s strategy is very straightforward: Get a couple Spellcasters on the field, make them as big as possible, and swing away while Secret Village and Kycoo make life rough for your opponent.
This Deck also has some really cool tricks. “Magician’s Circle” allows Vazquez to search out Kycoo or “Injection Fairy Lily” whenever they’re needed. The Circle also forces an opponent’s Spellcaster from the Deck onto the field where it can be easily destroyed during Vazquez’s turn, making sure that Secret Village’s effect isn’t shut off by an opposing Spellcaster.
“Magical Dimension” kind of does the same thing, destroying an opposing monster and letting Vazquez Tribute one of his own to Summon a stronger one from his hand. This card can destroy an opposing Spellcaster during Vazquez’s turn, when the opponent is locked down under Secret Village’s effect, leaving no time for Normal Spells. Vazquez can even Chain “Magical Dimension” to the activation of “Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor’s” effect, Special Summon Kycoo on the Chain, to stop Vayu’s effect from resolving.
Both these cards can Special Summon another Spellcaster favorite, too: “Magical Marionette.” Marionette builds up Spell Counters as Spell Cards are played, then can use those counters to destroy monsters on the field. Vazquez is running one copy so he can search it out with Magician’s Circle, turning his Spell Cards into extra monster destruction with the Marionette’s ability. “Chaos Sorcerer” keeps the free monster destruction coming, clearing the way so this Deck can make quick wins.
Vazquez’s Deck has two big things going for it. First, it’s a case of “the right Deck at the right time.” He’s playing a lot of cards that work really well against the Decks he’s expecting to see. But beyond that, it’s such a focused and fun Spellcaster build. Playing “Magician’s Circle” and “Magical Dimension” taps into the unique theme support Spellcasters have, while “Magical Marionette” is just an awesome cherry on top of it all.reported by
Jason Grabher-Meyer
