Normal Monster Deck

A normal monster deck, or "Normalcy deck", is a deck that takes advantage of the cards that benefit, and the benefits of, Normal Monsters. Especially concerning the soon-to-be-released Strike of Neos's Genetic Werewolf, Normalcy decks have never been more formidable as back when effect monsters were quite rare. While normally your monster lineup determines which magic and trap cards to use, this deck is inverse in that aspect. Magic cards that depend on the active parts of Normal Monsters, such as subtype or level, are going to very actively filter your available monsters. Starting off with a few obvious choices for the format in which this was written, are as follows: Graceful Charity Heart of the Underdog (multiple) Heavy Storm Mystical Space Typhoon Smashing Ground (multiple) Mirror Force The "Heart of the Underdog" will allow for rather LARGE hand sizes to make up for the lack of thinning monsters such as Sangan. From here, its good to decide the type of Normalcy deck you want to create. For simplicity, we'll start with a normal Beat down deck. This will take full advantage of every card in the game up to and including the upcoming set "Strike of Neos", just to keep the article up to date. The general beat down deck is going to include a decent variety of Pro-Normal or Anti-Effect cards that will help even out the playing field. The first card to add is Skill Drain. For 1000 life points, all effects of effect monsters are negated: they become no better off than your own vanilla monsters. This is an important tactic to consider, as the current meta has LOADS of monster based removal that can be dealt with by this little gem. Breaker, the Monarch cards, Jinzo (if skill drain is out first, Jinzo will be negated), even the DD removal monsters will fall prey to Skill Drain's diabolical reach. Your Summoned Skull may not have gotten any better, but it sure as hell beats that wimpy Zaborg they summoned. What’s better is, this can be CHAINED to the Monarch's abilities in an "Imperial Order" style of play to make them waste their effect. Another, relatively new card to consider in the mix is your second, third, and fourth Mirror Forces in the form of Justibreak. What’s better than nuking ALL of your opponent's attack mode monsters with Mirror Force, than him trying again next turn and meeting the same results? The requirements are easy to fill in a deck like this, and your opponent will be the only one feeling the burn when all is said and done. This is especially good for decks that cant afford or find their FIRST Mirror Force. The obviously magnificent choice to add in is Order to Charge. In every Normalcy deck I've created, this has been a key card. A Quick-play that needs only a normal monster sacrifice, it gets rid of an opponents monster. This may sound nuts, as it becomes 2 for 1, but you can quickly even up the score by strategically activating the card (say, when your only monster is about to get Smashing Ground'd). Its little buddy card, Order to Smash, is a good side deck card if you've got some extra Charcoal Inpachis laying around. The 2 for 2 mentality can easily swing in your favor. In the realm of sticking it to Effect Monsters even more, Non Spell-casting Area is another card to consider. While this card was much better when Dark Hole was around, due to it becoming more of a Raigeki, it still has purposes in this Smashing Ground and Lightning Vortex based life. As I've said, due to bannings this has lost a lot of its steam, but if you feel as though you're falling prey to magic cards once too often, this could help out a load. The obvious thing is to look to the anime for some inspiration as well. Jaden actually proves useful by reminding us all to get our daily 1 for 2 by using Dark Factory of Mass Production. Near any time you draw it after the first two turns, you've made out like a bandit.

With what you've got thus far, its simple to come up with a nice easy deck list. Strike of Neos gives us two new beauties to use in the form of Genetic Werewolf and Frost Sarus. Each one raising the attack bar by 1000 for their levels (up to 2000 for a 4 star and 2600 for a 1 sac respectfully), they're no-brainers to add in.

Frost Sarus Frost Sarus Cyber Dragon Cyber Dragon Cyber Dragon Genetic Werewolf Genetic Werewolf Genetic Werewolf 1900 monster here 1900 monster here 1900 monster here 1900 monster here 1900 monster here 1900 monster here 1900 monster here 1900 monster here 1900 monster here Exiled Force Exiled Force

Notice the "1900 monster here"? They really and honestly don’t matter in card (preferable to take the ones with the higher defense first). The only way it were to make the deck into a theme in addition to Normalcy. A decent idea for a deck like this would be to include the Trap Card "Spiritual Earth Art- Kurogane" (SEAK for short) With Genetic Werewolf and three other earth normal 1900's out there, you could at any time swap them out for Exiled Force and promptly blow away an opponent's monster so long as he's in your graveyard. SEAK is also good for eluding targeting magic and trap cards, or re-using an attack. Got a Genetic Werewolf on the field AND in the graveyard? Attack with one, SEAK swap out the other, and attack again. 4000 damage over two attacks with two cards? Sounds nice to me. Also, "But Mage, why Exiled Force if we're running Skill Drain? We can't use it!" Yet, indeed you can. Because of a loophole in the way Skill Drain works, it only stops the actual effect, and not the whole "activate and pay costs" thing; even worse, it only stops card effects if they happen while the card is on the field. This is useful to you, however, because it allows for any of your 4 star monsters to be swapped out for spot monster removal if the need arises through SEAK. The Skill Drain loop hole also allows for Cyber Dragon to seem important once he's been summoned. You still get his "free monster" ability, but his there-after effect-less nature is masked to match the rest of the field. There are other strategies to add to flavor up Normalcy, but Earth just seems to be the best one. This doesn’t mean that if you go to your local card shop that you'll be without tribulations, however. The current meta is very, VERY aggressive. While Stein may be gone, the Monarchs still loom around with their 2400 attack power, and your opponent's Cyber Dragons can quickly spell disaster if you aren’t prepared. If you're left top decking with no field, you cant recover as easily as your opponent can, but a truly aggressive deck like this is hard to topple once its momentum gets moving. Many times I've LOST to these decks simply because my "remove, summon, attack" was trumped by "remove back row, summon stronger and expendable monster, attack". You've done a decent job in making your deck so far, but there are still a few good cards to consider! First off is a little gem called Fake Trap. Released back in Metal Raiders (second set), this will substitute itself for any trap card(s) that get destroyed on your side of the field. That’s right, if you have a field filled with traps and your opponent activates Heavy Storm, your traps are safe and all HIS back row is destroyed. This will be good to help protect your Skill Drains and un-used Justibreaks. In the opposite spectrum, an opponent's Cyber Dragon or Monarch could easily tear through your Genetic Werewolves and 1900's without fear of oppression, even WITH Skill Drain out. One card can not only turn the tables without them able to react, but put the fear of Ra into them to destroy it. The Continuous Trap card known as Blast With Chain is the answer to your prayers. Being that it directly increases ATK strength of a monster it equips to by 500, it has the ability to be activated in the damage step, where the usual opponent will be hard pressed to find an answer to this sudden change of events. Its second ability of taking a card on the field with it will force your opponent to take it out strategically, if they even know that it is there. Your only major fear at this point is probably going to be a Jinzo before you are prepared with Skill Drain, or Royal Decree, which is the bane of many original decks. By the time they can get out one of three decrees, you should be able to pick out cards you can swap out for perhaps an extra Giant Trunade, or even a Chiron the Mage (which would be added due nearly exclusively for his ability to destroy Royal Decree). Normalcy has a lot more bases than previously covered. In the right hands, this could be deadly.