Forum:Deck Guide/Macro

by Gadjiltron

Intro
Back in Invasion of Chaos, the idea of removal from play was played up, with cards that require removal for some powerful effects, or removal to summon them. Notable cards like these were the feared Envoys, along with things like Strike Ninja and Bazoo the Soul-Eater. But that was basically it.

Fast-forward to Enemy of Justice, where Macro Cosmos and Dimensional Fissure were introduced. This added an entire new strategy of gameplay, and possibly one of the most disruptive ones. With this, came the Macro Deck.

Mechanics
The Macro Deck is focused around removing the opponent's cards from the game, while also benefitting from the fact that cards are going to the Removed from Play zone, rather than the Graveyard. This is threatening to many Decks, be it inside or outside the meta, for several reasons.

Know that a lot of cards benefit from the Graveyard in many ways:
 * Some take cards back from the Graveyard, like Pot of Avarice or Call of the Haunted.
 * Some have effects that trigger in the Graveyard, like Sangan or Necro Gardna.
 * Some have effects that say "destroy (a monster) by battle and send to the Graveyard", like Thought Ruler Archfiend.

Since the cards are not going into the Graveyard, it cuts off a lot of effects here and there, which makes the Deck a serious threat to many others once it gets up and running.

Analysis
It is important to know how the Deck is going to run, and here is a lowdown on the Deck's performance:


 * Speed - The Macro Deck needs some time to set up, unless you open with a Macro/D-Fissure to get all the combos going. It can also be modified to make the best out of some draw engines around.
 * Power - The removal going around allows the Macro Deck to deliver a hard punch to most other Decks that are not prepared for removal situations.
 * Consistency - The cards that drive the Macro Deck should form about 1/5 of the Deck, meaning a minimum of 20% chance of getting one in your opening hand. When they're not around, however, the Deck gets a bit of a headache while it waits to draw into them.
 * Risk - Depending on a few sole cards to stay on the field puts this Deck at a dangerous position, being vulnerable to removal. A bad hand essentially means there's few ways to defend yourself.
 * Meta Ranking - Most Macro Decks don't really make it big into the metagame, though the Macro Monarch build usually tends to stand the best chance getting a mid-tier position.

The Basics
The cards that easily compose the framework Macro Deck are as follows:


 * Dimensional Fissure and Macro Cosmos are both essential cards to the Deck for they send things out of play if they would go to the Graveyard. Although Dimensional Fissure does not do as much as Macro for it only removes monsters from play, having monsters going out of play is damaging enough to most Decks that are not prepared for getting them back. A must for any Macro build, though be wary that they are very susceptible to S/T removal, and too many at the wrong time pretty much turns them into dead draws.
 * Banisher of the Radiance and Banisher of the Light share the same effect as Macro Cosmos, though they come in monster form. They can serve as temporary replacements for Macro or D-Fissure while neither is out, but tend to be vulnerable to battle. There is a general preference of Radiance over Light because the 1600 ATK on Radiance is substantial in most games today, and it can be Summoned in Attack Position to get its effects running immediately without worries, while Light needs to be set or risk death in battle.
 * D.D. Survivor makes up for a good portion of the Macro Deck's aggressiveness. As it keeps on coming back when removed from play while face up on your side of the field, this allows it to serve many uses, such as Tribute fodder and a defensive wall if needs be. with 1800 ATK it can take on many other monsters of its level, and often does not have to worry about destruction unless it is face-down, or neither of the above listed cards are present.
 * D.D. Scout Plane is DD Survivor's "little brother", so to speak. Though it sports lowered stats and is forced to be Special Summoned back into Attack Position when removed from the field, one of the charms it has lies in the way its effect is worded. Unlike DD Survivor, DD Scout Plane can come back when it is removed from play from anywhere, be it Deck, Graveyard, or hand. This means that you can Set or discard it, and it will still return from the RFG Zone.
 * D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation is also key for the Macro Deck, being a "Premature Burial" for the RFG zone. However, instead of costing Life Points, it takes off a card from your hand, which may restrict its use and makes it a dead topdeck. Still, in the right situations, DDR can call your monsters back for another go before they hit the RFG zone.
 * Caius the Shadow Monarch has always been a welcome addition to the Monarch family since late 2007. It boasts the standard Monarch stats, but this time, when Tribute Summoned, it can remove any card from the field, even itself. As a bonus, it can burn 1000 to the opponent if the card you removed is a DARK monster. Clearly a monster no Deck focused around removal from play can ignore, but be mindful that you'll need to keep your monsters around for him.
 * Return from the Different Dimension has good reason to be Limited. While it does cost half your Life Points, you basically get to swarm the field with all of your RFG'ed monsters, while your opponent doesn't enjoy that luxury. With a sudden swarm like that, half your Life Points is nothing when you're pushing for a game-ending finish. Just use it wisely, for all your monsters go out of play at the end of the turn of activation.
 * Bottomless Trap Hole has been receiving plenty of attention as of late, due to it being able to take out many big beaters and capable of getting at any kind of summon. The fact that the monster(s) being hit go out of play too is always helpful for the Macro Deck, and this Deck has few reasons not to run it.
 * Cyber Valley has several effects that allow for it to function well in RFG Decks, since they mostly involve removing itself from play.
 * The first effect removes it from play as a cost when it gets attacked, ending the Battle Phase and giving you a free draw. This can help you buy some time when you're in a pinch or your main engines haven't arrived yet, while increasing the chances of them coming up in your next draw.
 * The second allows it to remove itself and another monster you control from play to draw 2 cards. You can either use this with Survivor or Scout Plane since they will be coming back at the end of the turn, or you can steal an opponent's monster and remove it with this effect, netting you more cards and ensuring the opponent's monster won't come back (most of the time...).
 * The third removes itself and a card in your hand from play, allowing you to add a card from the Graveyard to the top of your Deck. This is often not worth the hassle, and most of the time you probably won't need the Graveyard anyway.


 * Allure of Darkness, everyone's loved draw power card. Considering that most Macro builds run a good amount of DARK monsters, there is no harm in running this as the removal of the DARK monster will just add towards the Deck's strategy.

At least 5 of the above can be easily obtained through two Structure Decks: The Dark Emperor for TCG, and Advent of the Emperor for OCG. Both Decks contain some material to make a partially decent Macro Deck.

With the basic framework explained, there are several ways a Macro Deck can go, depending on the play style.

The Pioneers
The standard Remove-from-Play style of the Macro Deck serves to thoroughly aggravate the opponent by removing as much of his field from play while utilising this fact to his advantage. There are a variety of cards that serve this purpose:


 * D.D. Assailant holds solid stats of 1700/1600, making it capable of taking on many monsters of its level. What's even better is that if a monster somehow trumps it in battle, DDA gets the last laugh by removing the monster from play. Note that despite this advantage, it has trouble with stubborn walls that will not be destroyed by its ATK.
 * D.D. Warrior Lady has fair stats of 1500/1600, but one of the things that make it noteable is that its removal effect is optional and triggers after it battles, and thus you can control whether you want the monster going out or not.
 * D.D. Warrior is the weaker version of DD Warrior Lady, having both weaker stats and a compulsory removal effect. This means that your opponent can ram it with a weaker monster if it is in defense, and essentially clear the way for bigger monsters to attack you. However, it is a nasty surprise if your opponent's big beater attacks into it, and aggressively this guy can suicide into walls, saving you from wasting its better spent cousins.
 * Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer boasts 1800 ATK, a solid stat, and each time he deals battle damage you can remove up to 2 monsters in the opponent's Graveyard from play. The ability to empty the opponent's Graveyard makes him a solid choice, and if needs be he can prevent the opponent from removing any cards in the Graveyard from play, locking out things like Mezuki or Book of Life from activating, for example.
 * Gren Maju Da Eiza has no base stats, but gains 400/400 for each of your opponent's removed from play cards. Late into the game, when the RFG zones have been stacking up with cards, this monster can grow into quite the beatstick - 7 removed cards already gets it to 2800/2800! If that's not all, him being LV3 allows him to attack under Gravity Bind and Level Limit - Area B, both of which are cards that can lock out your other monsters from attacking due to their levels. Be careful, though, he's a dead draw in early to mid-game.
 * Necroface is played in this Deck primarily for its powerup effect. It can shuffle back all RFG'd cards on both sides, allowing you to recycle used cards that have been removed by Macro Cosmos, and in return it powers up. Late in the game this serves to disrupt the tempo of deck-thinners while raising Necroface to immense sizes.
 * D.D. Dynamite is another "game ender", dealing 300 points to the opponent for each of his removed from play cards. As with Gren Maju Da Eiza, this is ideal for late game when a lot of cards have accumulated for maximum burn. Note that this Trap is also chainable, so you can still get something out of it while your opponent wastes removal.
 * Dimensional Prison removes attacking monsters from play on activation. This makes it plain and simple removal, and it also bypasses lots of stuff that negate destruction effects, too.

With the massive amount of monsters going out of play, this Deck will benefit greatly from cards that power up depending on monsters going out of play, like Gren Maju Da Eiza or Necroface. Once enough cards are gathered in the RFG zone, drop the beatstick and strike for massive damage!

King of the Cosmos
The Macro Monarch Deck style utilizes the recyclability D.D. Survivor and D.D. Scout Plane to provide an unending flow of Tribute fodder for the Monarchs. Aside from the basic cards needed, it primarily uses the following:


 * Kuraz the Light Monarch is a key card to a certain draw engine, due to its ability being able to trigger when Special Summoned, and the owner of the cards destroyed by said ability drawing cards. Further details are below.
 * Raiza the Storm Monarch has always been a popular choice for Monarch builds, as his spinning effect messes up the opponent's next draw while also removing cards off the field for the time being. There should be little reason not to include him in this build.
 * Mobius the Frost Monarch is not as mandatory as the other Monarchs, but is still good as he can destroy your opponent's Spell or Trap cards. This is essential because the high levels of your monsters make for difficult times when faced with any locking cards, but it can also snuff out potential threats.
 * Cyber Dragon is a quick Special Summon when you've got an empty field and your opponent has a monster or two. Its solid stats make it a good beatstick, but often you'll be making use of it to Tribute for a Monarch.
 * Jester Confit has the ability to be Special Summoned at no restriction or cost. This also makes him good fodder as Tribute for a Monarch if no other options are available.
 * Enemy Controller is usually used for its first effect of switching battle positions, either to block an attack or expose a monster's weaker stats. This Deck, however, having a lot of Tribute fodder, exploits the second effect that requires a Tribute to control an opponent's monster. The said monster can be used to either attack or Tributed off for a Monarch, and the Tribute fodder comes back at the end of the turn.
 * Spell Striker is also a good choice for Tribute fodder. Since your opponent will be likely to take out your Dimensional Fissures (which will almost always end up in the Graveyard), the Fissures serve an additional purpose to be removed to summon these little guys.
 * Battle Fader is an amazing card for this Deck, since it can stop a direct attack (and possible OTK) while giving you more Tribute fodder for your next Monarch. It always goes out of play if removed from the field after being used this way, but since this Deck pulls cards from the RFG zone it can be reused another time if needs be.
 * Soul Exchange is potentially useful since you can Tribute your opponent's monster (thus getting rid of it without touching any keywords like, oh, "destroy" or "remove from play") for your own Monarch, in exchange for your Battle Phase. Best used when you often find yourself in a strong lack of Tribute fodder.

One reason why Kuraz is used is because of his effect that can trigger when Special Summoned. This means that he can be used in conjunction with DDR in this simple draw loop:


 * Have another monster in your RFG zone first.
 * Play DDR, discarding Kuraz.
 * Special Summon Kuraz using DDR's effect.
 * Kuraz's effect triggers. Target your own Kuraz and the DDR you just used to revive him.
 * Both cards are destroyed, and you draw 2 cards. No advantage lost.

Unfortunately, the Deck is a little more reliant on Macro Cosmos or Dimensional Fissure than usual, particularly in the draw engine. But once the combos are set up, it can go pretty quickly through the Deck for needed cards.

Where Is My Deck?
The Macro Mill style combines mill and removal to basically carve any Deck to pieces, for even fewer Decks have a backup plan when their Deck is going out of play. Noteable cards in this playing style include:


 * Necroface is a key card for this Deck build, because its effect triggers when it, like DD Scout Plane, is removed from anywhere. Its mean effect takes 5 cards from the top of both players' Decks into the RFG zone, no questions asked, but the Macro Mill Build will usually be profiting off of it. If you're lucky, the Necroface will set off another copy for more milling! The powerup effect here is redundant, though, as it reshuffles cards from the RFG zone back to the Deck.
 * Needle Worm is the #1 milling card out there, having a flip effect that takes 5 cards off the opponent's Deck. No doubt, including this is a must for any Mill build, and Macro Mill is not excluded.
 * Gravekeeper's Servant adds the cost for the opponent to send the top card of his Deck to the Graveyard to declare an attack. If you have Macro or D-Fissure out, the cards will end up going out of play, and thus the opponent cannot fulfill the cost (in D-Fissure's case, the card type cannot be confirmed) to attack, giving plenty of time to set up other combos.
 * Gold Sarcophagus is capable of searching out any card from the Deck, but what's amazing is its ability to work with Necroface, as it removes the card from play for a turn before it reaches the hand. This will set off the milling effect of Necroface immediately.
 * Interdimensional Matter Transporter is also good in pulling your Necroface out of play for a while, which will once again set off its removal effect. It'll also come back at the end of the turn to defend your Life Points and punish your opponent even more once it leaves the field (hopefully into the RFG zone).
 * Escape from the Dark Dimension is also quite useful one you have removed your Necroface from play. Simply chain it to any S/T destruction targetting it. Necroface will be Special Summoned back onto the field, only to be removed from play once again, removing another 5 cards from both player's Decks.

The Deck style plays mostly defensively, setting up a lock to keep the opponent from attacking too often, while warping cards out of the opponent's Deck using the standard strategies of a defensively-oriented Mill Deck.

Example Decks
'Note that these Decks serve to give examples of each different Deck type. It is highly recommended you make your Deck as unique as possible, rather than copying these Decks entirely.'

Other Tips
Aside from the cards listed above, there are other cards to consider in a Macro Deck. Which ones to use are up to you.


 * Escape from the Dark Dimension - A Call of the Haunted version for the removed DARK monsters. When considering whether to run this or not, take into the consideration the kinds of DARK monsters run. Any of them being a key card to the build? Go ahead. Not so many key DARK monsters? Think again.
 * Helios - The Primordial Sun series - One underlooked ability of Macro Cosmos itself is its own ability to Special Summon the first in the Helios series, which can be used for a quick Tribute fodder. Do note that its powerup effect is rather weak, and it will end up as a dead draw quite often. By extension, Helios Duo Megistus and Helios Trice Megistus may be powerful late-game, but keep in mind that with Macro or D-Fissure out they don't go to the Graveyard and don't revive.
 * Golden Homunculus - Another kind of monster that powers up on the number of RFG'd cards, but this one has a decent base ATK of 1500 to grow off. The drawback? It needs a Tribute, and is often a dead draw.
 * Karma Cut and Dark Core - Both of these cards are discard-for-removal cards. Karma Cut has the surprise properties of being a chainable Trap, and can remove copies of the removed monster from the Graveyard, while Dark Core can be played immediately and can target any monster, should you need to remove your own. There may be space for one kind, but not both most of the time. Take your pick.
 * Soul Absorption - As anything that would hit the Graveyard would be going out of play, you will gain massive amounts of LP with this card. In fact, the constant regeneration combined with DD Survivor's persistence will net you a lot of LP in the long run.
 * Grand Convergence - It's a Quick Play, which is good, and can nuke the field of monsters, a property that is always welcome. Unfortunately, this card also requires you to have Macro Cosmos out. Run a copy at your own risk.
 * Guardian Eatos - This card seems a little out of place, but the fact that it can be Special Summoned while your Graveyard is empty earns it some recognition. While the powerup effect is not of much use in the Macro Deck, this card can serve as either backup Tribute fodder, or an early beatstick.

As this Deck is significantly different from most other Decks, there are some staples that you might want to avoid this time round:


 * Any Graveyard-requiring card is nigh-useless in the Macro Deck since you'll be cutting off your own Graveyard too.
 * Gorz has little opportunities to come out by his effect, since you will be keeping a Macro or D-Fissure out, and so your field would not be completely clear.
 * Be careful if you choose to play Heavy Storm. If you plan to do so, make sure you're going to end the game, or ensure you have replacements for the Macro/D-Fissure that will be going out in the process.

There are also several weaknesses. Keep these in mind when building the Deck or Dueling so as to avoid suffering heavily too often.


 * Anything that can destroy Spells and Traps will go after your Macro and D-Fissure.
 * Imperial Iron Wall prevents cards from being removed from play by all means, therefore cutting off all of the Macro build's strategies. Keep an eye out for this in Decks like Zombie Decks or Quillbolt OTK, since this will be run in 3's. Usually.
 * Burial from a Different Dimension is capable of circumventing Macro and D-Fissure due to the different wording it uses ("return", not "send".) This can be used to refuel the Grave with key monsters to get their effects, or disrupt your play by emptying your RFG zone. This gets particularly infuriating if they fill up their previously empty Graveyard to exactly 3 DARK monsters, clearing the path for Big DADdy to wreak havoc.