Forum:Deck Guide/Plant

Plant Guide
By Akiza

=General history and strategy of Plants=

History
The Plant type was extremely unsupported, until the Phantom Darkness Booster Pack was released, helping Plant users with Lonefire Blossom and Gigaplant. Even so, a competitive Plant deck was yet to be made. This soon changed with the debut of the Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's anime, since Akiza Izinski uses a Plant-based deck. This indroduced the Crossroads of Chaos Booster Pack, along with some of the Plant-type's strongest support cards, some examples being the Black Rose Dragon, Tytannial, Princess of Camellias, and Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis. This allowed Plants to become a semi-meta deck, often ending up in second tier on the list.

Basic Strategy
Much of the general strategy of Plant decks involves ressurecting Monster cards from the Graveyard to the Field, using effects of cards like Gigaplant, Miracle Fertilizer, The World Tree, and Plant Food Chain. One of the things that differs a Plant deck from a Zombie deck in it's ability to ressurect cards, is the fact that Plants usually require one card on the field to take root and begin swarming, much resembeling as if you chop a weed away, but the roots remain and the weed grows back. If even a single card survives, such as Gigaplant, Miracle Fertilizer, or The World Tree, then you can regrow your botanical army next turn. Now that you know what you're going to be working with, let's take a look at the different cards you will be including in your deck, shall we?

=Card Choices=

Monsters:


 * Botanical Girl - This isn't one of the best Plant cards, but it can search a number of good Plant monsters, such as Dandylion, Lord Poison, and Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis. It is also good material for Synchro Summons, since you can search a monster to put in your hand just in case the Synchro Summon goes wrong somehow. This card is also useful with cards such as Pollinosis since it's effect would still activate.


 * Botanical Lion - This is one of the strongest level 4 Plant monsters, and it can get even stronger, with a max ATK of 3100 when you have 5 Plant monsters on your side of the field. As an added bonus, your opponent can't change his loyalty, with cards such as Brain Control and Mark of the Rose.


 * Copy Plant - A very versatile tuner, being able to change its level to match any Plant monster on the field. This allows you to copy a level 4 monster on your field, to make an easy level 8 Synchro, or any number of things. You could even copy a larger monster such as Gigaplant, then tune it with a weak monster, and keep your Gigaplant on the field while you bring out your Synchro.


 * Dandylion - Not many cards will give you two more cards for free when they die, but Dandylion is one of them, and he has the added bonus of being a Plant. Dandylion is a VERY useful tool, even though he may not seem like it at first. For one, Synchro Summons, Synchro Summons, and more Synchro Summons. He acts as a level 3 himself, high for his stats. Then, once he is placed in the Graveyard, his effect will trigger and give you 2 level 1 Tokens to work with.


 * Dark Verger - In short, this is a Plant version of Quillbolt Hedgehog. Not recomended for most Plant decks.


 * Evil Thorn - This may not seem like the best card at first, but it has a lot of uses. It's great for Summoning Dark Armed Dragon, and can be used as fuel for cards like Allure of Darkness or Mark of the Rose. If you have a decent amount of DARK monsters, definately run 3.


 * Fairy King Truesdale - One of the first Plant monsters ever created, and also summonable by Lonefire Blossom. Ever since the effect was rewritten, he hasn't been of much use, since Gigaplant and Tytannial, Princess of Camellias outrank him, but he's not a terrible card.


 * Gigantic Cephalotus - An okay level 4 Plant, usually overwritten by the Botanical Lion in terms of power and speed in gaining strength. This card also has a very weak DEF, while Lion has an excellent 2000.


 * Gigaplant - Ring a bell? This is the card I was talking about in the History/Strategy section, and there's a reason. He has a great effect, being able to Summon a Plant or Insect monster from your hand or Graveyard, once per turn! Being a Gemini is sort of a pain, but remember that he can be summoned by the Lonefire Blossom, and can be further supported with cards like Supervise or Double Summon.


 * Hedge Guard - This little guy isn't too bad, he has a solid 2200 DEF, so he should be able to survive a battle if you need a wall. In addition, he can be played from the hand, to help a monster on your field from being destroyed by battle. Watch out while using this effect though, the monster's ATK points will be cut in half for the turn in exchange for being protected. Overall though, I don't recommend including him in a deck.


 * Inmato - Before the announcement of Petit Inmato, this guy was basically useless. But now, his little cousin can set up a lot of Synchro combos! He's also DARK, letting you run Allure of Darkness, or Dark Armed Dragon.


 * Koa'ki Meiru Gravirose - This card is an excellent addition to many Plant decks. It would most likely be limited in some way for it's amazing ability of sending any Level 3 or lower monster to the Graveyard straight from your deck, but Plant users can rejoice, since they can use it to its full potential, as long as they have a Plant in their hand. Dandylion is one of the best targets for this card, some others being Necro Gardna and Plaguespreader Zombie.


 * Lonefire Blossom - This card is a staple in nearly all competitive plant decks. Being able to Tribute itself, (Or any other Plant of your choice) to Summon any Plant from your deck, is just amazing. No wonder he was Semi-limited, he can summon a monster of any level! Two of the best choices to start with are Tytannial, Princess of Camellias, and Gigaplant.


 * Lord Poison - This is a great card, even though his ability can only be triggered on destruction by battle. Notice, like Lonefire, that there is no limit on what you can bring back! Your opponent will have to play carefully if they know you have this in your hand, because he can bring back the mighty Gigaplant, who in turn can bring back Lord Poison!


 * Mystic Tomato - An excellent opening move, as long as you have a good amount of DARK monsters in your deck. You can even throw in a Dark Armed Dragon in your Plant deck to really suprise your opponent. This monster could even allow you to tech some Necro Gardnas, for attack negation. One of the best uses for Mystic Tomato though, is to remove it for the costs of other Plant monsters, such as Black Rose Dragon, since Mystic Tomato has no real need to be brought back to the field.


 * Nettles - The next best Plant type Tuner, second to Copy Plant. Nettle's effect won't be used often, but he has a decent ATK for his level, and is always level 2, which you may find more reliable than Copy Plant, depending on your Extra Deck. Try out both and see which works better for you.


 * Petit Inmato - Inmato is now actually worth running! This little guy is a searcher with some amazing skill. He searches 2 monsters, straight to the field, when he's destroyed by battle! This is really effective if you choose to Summon another Petit Inmato, and then an Inmato. If he was destroyed during your opponent's turn, this will allow you acess to a Level 5 Synchro monster next turn! If you chooose to play him, go with 3.


 * Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis - This is the star of the Plant Burn deck you will see soon. He may seem not so good at Level 8 and only 2200 ATK, but this means he is a viable target for Trade-In, and can be brought back during the End Phase simply by removing a Plant-type monster from the Graveyard, such as Phoenixian Seed. Plus, since he can inflict 800 damage on his destruction, and also cause his own destruction, this can be a very annoying card to deal with, although I only reccomend it in a deck based around itself.


 * Phoenixian Seed - This is the card used to Special Summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis from your hand. It really has no other use than that, so it should only be placed in a deck that runs Amaryllis.


 * Prickle Fairy - This is another one of the first Plant monsters ever made. It isn't used in any commonly used Plant decks today, although it could be possible to build a deck around this card, by comining Insect monsters with Plants.


 * Queen of Thorns - The only Plant-type Synchro monster currently in the TCG. It's statsa are somewhat weak for a level 6 Synchro, but it could be used to lock down the opponent, once they are down to only a couple thousand LP. Remember that this card can be brought back from the Graveyard with cards such as Miracle Fertilizer, and Gigaplant.


 * Rafflesia Seduction - This card really isn't ever used, since Jowls of Dark Demise is considered better. No Plant deck should really have the need to run this....


 * Regenerating Rose - This card isn't really worth the 2 Tributes, since it has no ATK points and relies on destruction by battle to activate. I see no need to run this, unless you are working on some sort of Token deck that can easily pull this card out.


 * Revival Rose - Not too bad. It's main good points are being DARK, and that it can revive itself when Gigaplant or Tytannial are destroyed. It would be a good combo to Summon Copy Plant, and change it to copy this card's Level to make a Level 8 Synchro monster, without losing card advantage.


 * Rigorous Reaver - Not a horrible card, it can decrease any monster's ATK points when destroyed by battle, as well as filling the Graveyard for both players. It would work well in a sort of hand destruction deck.


 * Rose Tentacles - The requirement to be Normal Summoned hinders this card's potential, but that doesn't make it worthless. This could easily inflict a lot of damage ot the opponent, if you play Black Garden after Rose Tentacles, since you could inflict 1200 points of Battle Damge per Rose Token, then 300 more with the effect of Tentacles. You could then repeat this process for each Token on the opponent's field.


 * Seed of Flame - With 1600 ATK points, this card is excellent when using the final effect of Black Garden, but that's pretty much it. It's possible to create combos with this card, by destroying it with Fragrance Storm, but I don't recommend running it unless you plan on abusing Black Garden's last effect or Fragrance Storm a lot.


 * Tytannial, Princess of Camellias - The strongest Plant-type monster in the game, and summonable by Lonefire Blossom. She's level 8 for Trade-In, and also has an amazing DEF power. Oh, did I mention she comes in with built-in negation against any targeting effects? What's not to love? This card goes in almost any Plant deck, as long as you play Lonefire, or any other way to easily Special Summon her. Be careful of dead draws though, since Lonefire Blossom cannot summon her from the hand.

Spells:
 * Wall of Ivy - Not the best Plant-type monster, but I like it. He's a Flip Effect monster, so he's a little slow. He could possibly be used in a Black Garden Control build, running at one or two.


 * Black Garden - This card makes the duel very interesting, and is the core of many Plant decks. You can use the Tokens it produces for endless purposes, such as Pollinosis, Tribute Summoning (but be warned, the monter you Summon will be cut in half. Be sure to Set the monster if you wish to avoid this.) or to activate this card's final effect. Most commonly, you would use this effect while 3 Rose Tokens are the only Plant-type monsters on the field, by destroying itself and these three Tokens, you could bring back a monster in your Graveyard with 2400 ATK points, such as Black Rose Dragon, Gigaplant, or even more interesting choices such as Dark Nephthys. With Black Garden in your control, the possibilities are endless.


 * Fragrance Storm - This can be used in combonation with Black Garden to score free draws, by destroying a Token on their field. If you're lucky, this card can be pulled off to be a +2 in card advantage. However, if unlucky and destoy a monster on your own field, this could end up being a -1. I only recommend running this is you have Black Garden in your deck, or if you choose to run DNA Surgery or Ivy Shackles. At most, play 2.


 * Mark of the Rose - This is an amazing card. Mainly due to the fact that it is unrestricted, meaning while your opponents will be playing 1 Brain Control and 1 Mind Control, you can have have both of those, plus 3 copies of this card. Take control of powerful Synchro Monsters such as Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier or Goyo Guardian, and you can end up finishing the opponent with their own monster. If you play enough Plant-type monsters, definately get a hold of 3 of these. Even the cost isn't too bad, you can remove a powerful Plant to return with Return from the Different Dimension.


 * Miracle Fertilizer - Not a bad card, although I don't personally like it, for the fact that it prevents you from Normal Summoning for the turn. However, if you play enough big plant-type monsters, this card can help bring back Tytannial, or Lonefire to search the Princess from your deck. If you don't mind spending your Normal Summon, go ahead and play one or two.


 * Raging Mad Plants - A version of Limiter Removal for Plants, although this isn't nearly as good in my opinion. It depends on how many Plant monsters are in your Graveyard, and since Plants base on Special Summoning from there, I don't think you would get a very big boost. However, if you own one and want to try it out in your deck, it could be possible to fit this into an Amaryllis Burn deck, since it would be destroyed during the End Phase, inflict 800 Damage, then come back in that same End Phase. Try it out and see if it works for you.


 * Seed Cannon - Usually used in Burn builds, this card can accumulate quickly, especially with Black Garden in play. Try to fire it within the turn you activated it though, because you don't want to risk having it destroyed while it's almost full. In a standard Plant Burn deck, I recommend 2.


 * Seed of Deception - Do not play this card. At all. If you want to waste a card to bring out another monster, Double Summon works a lot better, and can be used to Gemeni Summon Gigaplant. Seed of Deception is simply a waste of time.


 * Spiritual Forest - This card prevents the destruction of a Plant by battle once so you're better off using something like Scrap-Iron Scarecrow and preventing any chance of taking battle damage.


 * Super Solar Nutrient - The only thing this is good for is Tributing a Dandylion Token or Copy Plant to grab Lonefire from the deck. I dont' recommend running it, unless you abuse Dandylion like no tomorrow.


 * The World Tree - This card has tempted many a player into using it, including myself. Its effects appear amazing at first sight, but even if you activate DNA Surgery or have Black Garden on the field, you're vulnerable to Heavy Storm, Giant Trunade, Dark Armed Dragon, Judgment Dragon, or any other card that will clear all of your Spells and Traps away in one shot. There is a lot of Spell and Trap removal out there nowadays, with Breaker being unlimited. As tempting as it may seem, I strongly advise against this card.


 * Thorn of Malice - Not the best card to use. Only useful with Black Rose Dragon and possibally Rose Tentacles because it can attack multiple times therefor lower opponant monsters attack multiple times. Not recormended.


 * Wonder Clover - This is a situational card. It does allow you to attack twice with one monster but you must discard a level 4 Plant type and none of your other monsters can attack. Not recomended.

Traps:


 * Bamboo Scrap - I don't know what Komani was thinking when they made this card. Black Garden will completely overshadow it, if you're looking to clog your opponent's field with Tokens. Ojama Trio might work as well, but the Tokens will not be Plant, and they can still be used for a Synchro Summon.


 * Ivy Shackles - This card is good if you want to use Rose Tentacles or Fragrance Storm in your deck, but not much else. It can be just as good as DNA Surgery because you get to draw a card when it was destroyed wile face up. I recommend against using this.


 * Plant Food Chain - A rarely used and situational trap card. It can create OTKS when chained to an effect like Black Rose Dragon, but not much else. You could include this in a Geartown/Black Garden build, at 1, maybe 2.


 * Pollinosis - This is is a very powerful trap for Plant decks. It rivals Solemn Judgment and isn't restricted to 1 making it an exelent choice at 3 for Plant Decks. However, if you don't run Black Garden, I don't recommend this card, seeing as you won't have much fuel.


 * Wall of Thorns - This is another very powerful trap card for Plants. The big drawback though, is that a Plant-type monster must be attacked in order to activate it. Use this card if you don't have the money for Mirror Force, but other than that, I say no to this card.

Non-Plant Support Monsters:


 * Black Rose Dragon - The full potential of this card can only be unleashed in a Plant deck. This card is extreamly powerful when the opponent is on the defensive. Twilight Rose Knight, and Debris Dragon are two of the best Tuners used to instantly Synchro Summon this card.


 * Twilight Rose Knight - A very useful tuner monster for Plants. This card can easily Synchro Summon a monster up to Level 7 on the first turn, with no help from other cards. Your most likely choice, would be Ancient Fairy Dragon or Black Rose Dragon.


 * Violet Witch - There are many useful things about her, but also many drawbacks as well. This means that putting her in a deck is really up to you. Some of the good things about her are that she is DARK, and can search many more cards than Botanical Girl can. Your best choice would obviously be Lonefire Blossom. Drawbacks would be that she has to be destroyed through battle in order activate, and she isn't a Plant-type monster herself.

= Basic Plant Deck =

Mechanics
This section will be teaching you about a basic Plant Beatdown deck. The general strategy you will use is Special Summoning your Lonefire Blossom to bring out your big hitters like Gigaplant or Tytannial, Princess of Camellias, then attacking repeatedly. You can repeatedly bring back Lonefire Blossom through Plant Food Chain, Lord Poison, and Miracle Fertilizer. One of the best parts about this type of Plant deck, is that the above mentioned cards have no limit onto what Plant monster you can bring back. This means that if more Plant type monsters are released with high ATK power, you can add these cards to your deck. Now, let's check out how this deck is working in the Meta.

Statistics

 * Power (/5) -
 * Consistency (/5) -
 * Risk (/5) -
 * Efficiency (%) -
 * Meta Ranking () -

Building the deck
= Black Garden Control Deck =

Mechanics
If a beatdown strategy isn't right for you, you might want to try a Control deck. This type of build limits the options your opponent can make. Black Garden is the key card in the deck, so you'll need to be able to grab it from your deck fast, and protect it. Pollinosis will be another key to winning here, locking down anything played. The cost is a single Plant-type monster, easily generated by Black Garden. However, since Black Garden limits you from making any big attacks, be prepared for a lengthy duel.

Building the deck
= Phoenixian Burn Deck =

Mechanics
As the name says, this varient relies on eliminating the opponent's Life Points through Burn effects. Primarily, Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis. It inflicts 800 damage each time it's destroyed, and comes back at the end of the turn if you have a Plant-type monster to remove from your Graveyard. Obviously, you'll need cards to put the removed cards back in the Graveyard to keep Amaryllis alive. You can also use Seed Cannon and Dark Room of Nightmare to rack up the burn damage.

Building the deck
= Gigplant Gemimi Deck =

Mechanics
This runs similar to the Plant Beatdown build, but focuses a lot more on Gigaplant. You'll be using Supervise a lot, to give Blazewing Butterfly and Gigaplant their powers, then quickly swarming to attack. Power Tool Dragon is also good to use, since he can search Supervise and Mark of the Rose to your hand.

Rank in General Meta
If you want a competitive Plant deck to take you to high places, this is one of your options. Thanks to the fast swarm power of Gigaplant combined with Supervise, you'll be taking the field faster than your opponent.

Building the deck
= Geartown Garden Deck =

Mechanics
A varient of Black Garden Control, but with a twist. Very few decks in the Meta run Field Spells, but this is even more rare. The deck runs two different Field Spells, Geartown and Black Garden. When Geartown is replaced by your Set Black Garden, it's effect will activate, giving you the biggest beatstick in the deck: Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon. This also works by Synchro Summoning Black Rose Dragon while Geartown is on the field, proceeding to destroy all cards on the field.

Building the deck
= Skill Drain Plants =

Mechanics
A Plant Swarm deck which uses Skill Drain to help slow down the opponant. What makes this deck effective, is that most of your cards will get around Skill Drain by activating in the Graveyard. Keep in mind that Lonefire Blossom and Tytannial, Princess of Camellias must tribute themselves in order to exploit this.

Rank in General Meta
As of now, this is one of the only commonly seen Plant decks in major tournaments, along with Gigaplant Gemini. Expect to do decently well against Lightsworn and Blackwings, since many of their effects activate on-field.

Building the Deck

 * Beast King Barbaros
 * Tytannial, Princess of Camellias
 * Lonefire Blossom
 * Lord Poison
 * Nettles
 * Gigaplant

Traps
 * Skill Drain