Updated Aggro Monarch article goes here.
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The idea of using Monarchs in Goat Format dates back to Soul Control, which was originally piloted by Evan Vargas during the first SJC of April 2005. Evan's big innovation was to use the monster stealing effect of Soul Exchange to summon Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch, free of charge. This maneuver results in a +1 in the form of a free-floating Fire Monarch. However, the great weakness of the deck was that on-field Monarchs are easily neutralized by Tsukuyomi, who has only become more popular over the years since the deck's inception. Thus, Soul Control decks have traditionally struggled to compete with Standard Goat decks, but the build pictured above from DGz's Logic pushes the concept closer to its full potential.
The first thing to notice about this deck is the aggressive use of 3 Trap Dustshoot, which is probably the most effective card one could call upon to combat Tsukuyomi. Unfortunately, running 3 Trap Dustshoot likely precludes the use of Thestalos, who is generally considered the most reliable monarch in the format. That means the deck settles on using the only other monarchs available at the time, plus Jinzo. But perhaps the true genius of the deck is that Trap Dustshoot also makes plays like Mobius, Granmarg, Zaborg and Creature Swap more reliable, because it provides the user with additional insight into the opponent's facedown cards. Knowing what your opponent is doing in a simplified game state, as is the case with Trap Dustshoot, can lead to truly momentum-swinging plays for the monarch player.
The second major departure from Evan's Soul Control build is the use of both Brain Control and Enemy Controller over Soul Exchange. This is another aggressive decision that strives to take advantage of the the freshly summoned monarchs, who can run over weaker monsters or strike for 2400 damage. Neither of these outcomes is immediately possible with Soul Exchange, which makes monarchs much less imposing. This is also an anti-Tsukuyomi strategy because it creates a trade-off for the opponent, who now has to decide between letting the attack go through or spending a card to stop the monarch from doing any further damage.
Logic's deck is also very low on its Monster count, which leads to steadier, more fluid hands with lots of good Spells to choose from. It also allows him to respond to monsters on the field on his terms, primarily with the use of Monarchs as opposed to cards like Exarion Universe. Two other important monsters I would like to draw attention to are Asura Priest and Twin-headed Behemoth. Asura Priest is essentially one of the most difficult monsters to kill in the format, because it is immune to TER, Chaos Sorcerer and beaters like Exarion. It's a card the monarch player will always have until it gains control of the field, so despite the low monster count, an Asura can often be used to progress the game. Twin-headed Behemoth on the other hand has a very different role, but it might be the most valuable monster in the deck. It survives almost everything, including Tsukuyomi and TER, only to come back as free tribute fodder the next turn.
All in all this is one of the coolest decks I've seen in the past year. I've always loved the idea of Soul Control, but personally struggled to translate it into a competitive build given the Modern Goat Format meta-game. Kudos to Logic for developing such a creative solution.
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The idea of using Monarchs in Goat Format dates back to Soul Control, which was originally piloted by Evan Vargas during the first SJC of April 2005. Evan's big innovation was to use the monster stealing effect of Soul Exchange to summon Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch, free of charge. This maneuver results in a +1 in the form of a free-floating Fire Monarch. However, the great weakness of the deck was that on-field Monarchs are easily neutralized by Tsukuyomi, who has only become more popular over the years since the deck's inception. Thus, Soul Control decks have traditionally struggled to compete with Standard Goat decks, but the build pictured above from DGz's Logic pushes the concept closer to its full potential.
The first thing to notice about this deck is the aggressive use of 3 Trap Dustshoot, which is probably the most effective card one could call upon to combat Tsukuyomi. Unfortunately, running 3 Trap Dustshoot likely precludes the use of Thestalos, who is generally considered the most reliable monarch in the format. That means the deck settles on using the only other monarchs available at the time, plus Jinzo. But perhaps the true genius of the deck is that Trap Dustshoot also makes plays like Mobius, Granmarg, Zaborg and Creature Swap more reliable, because it provides the user with additional insight into the opponent's facedown cards. Knowing what your opponent is doing in a simplified game state, as is the case with Trap Dustshoot, can lead to truly momentum-swinging plays for the monarch player.
The second major departure from Evan's Soul Control build is the use of both Brain Control and Enemy Controller over Soul Exchange. This is another aggressive decision that strives to take advantage of the the freshly summoned monarchs, who can run over weaker monsters or strike for 2400 damage. Neither of these outcomes is immediately possible with Soul Exchange, which makes monarchs much less imposing. This is also an anti-Tsukuyomi strategy because it creates a trade-off for the opponent, who now has to decide between letting the attack go through or spending a card to stop the monarch from doing any further damage.
Logic's deck is also very low on its Monster count, which leads to steadier, more fluid hands with lots of good Spells to choose from. It also allows him to respond to monsters on the field on his terms, primarily with the use of Monarchs as opposed to cards like Exarion Universe. Two other important monsters I would like to draw attention to are Asura Priest and Twin-headed Behemoth. Asura Priest is essentially one of the most difficult monsters to kill in the format, because it is immune to TER, Chaos Sorcerer and beaters like Exarion. It's a card the monarch player will always have until it gains control of the field, so despite the low monster count, an Asura can often be used to progress the game. Twin-headed Behemoth on the other hand has a very different role, but it might be the most valuable monster in the deck. It survives almost everything, including Tsukuyomi and TER, only to come back as free tribute fodder the next turn.
All in all this is one of the coolest decks I've seen in the past year. I've always loved the idea of Soul Control, but personally struggled to translate it into a competitive build given the Modern Goat Format meta-game. Kudos to Logic for developing such a creative solution.
Modern Era Deck Lists (2017 - present):
The Modern Era of Goat Format coincides with the release of DuelingBook.com, which offers a Goat Format dueling lobby. These lists are a collection of personal, contributor, and tournament winning decks.
The Modern Era of Goat Format coincides with the release of DuelingBook.com, which offers a Goat Format dueling lobby. These lists are a collection of personal, contributor, and tournament winning decks.
AGGRO MONARCH - JOHNSON
Logan Johnson's Aggro Monarch ("Hand Control") deck.
AGGRO MONARCH - ZAPP
Richard Zapp's Aggro Monarch deck.
Historic Era Deck Lists (2005):
The Historic Era of Goat Format coincided with the Advanced Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournaments that took place between June and August of 2005. The purpose of displaying these decks is to give historical context to the decks of the Modern Era.
The Historic Era of Goat Format coincided with the Advanced Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournaments that took place between June and August of 2005. The purpose of displaying these decks is to give historical context to the decks of the Modern Era.
AGGRO MONARCH - JOSH WISEMAN
This is Josh Wiseman's Aggro Monarch deck that he used to qualify for the 2005 US National Championship in LCQ1.
References:
2018 FLC1 Deck Profile: Logan Johnson:
https://formatlibrary.weebly.com/flc1/post-3
The Debut of Richard Zapp's Aggro Monarch:
http://duelistgroundz.com/index.php?/topic/145347-the-official-goat-format-thread-april-2005-tcgdb2-pre-ntrct2crv/&do=findComment&comment=3998790
2005 LCQ1 Top 8 Deck Lists:
http://kperovic.com/metagame/yugioh9324-2.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=2768
2018 FLC1 Deck Profile: Logan Johnson:
https://formatlibrary.weebly.com/flc1/post-3
The Debut of Richard Zapp's Aggro Monarch:
http://duelistgroundz.com/index.php?/topic/145347-the-official-goat-format-thread-april-2005-tcgdb2-pre-ntrct2crv/&do=findComment&comment=3998790
2005 LCQ1 Top 8 Deck Lists:
http://kperovic.com/metagame/yugioh9324-2.html?tabid=33&ArticleId=2768
