More Broken than Pot of Greed

So after browsing through the new releases in Photon Shockwave, I came across Fragment of Greed.

Fragment of Greed (Continuous Spell)

"During your Draw Phase, place 1 Greed Counter on this card when you perform your normal draw. When this card has 2 or more Greed Counters, you can send this card to the Graveyard to draw 2 cards."

I told my friends how this cards was more "broken" than the original Pot of Greed. Mind you, this was a joke as the art does depict a shattered Pot of Greed. However, I got such a strong reaction that this was a BAD card that, quite frankly, I'm disappointed at them.

Here we have a more balanced, splashable version of Pot of Greed. It may not be part of some game-ending combo, but it's far from being unplayable. From that logic, Six Samurai United is a bad card. Just the other I had a game against someone that was playing a Six Samurai deck. Everytime he attempted to summon a Six Samurai and start gaining Bushido Counters, I negated the summon with Solemn Warning. Because he couldn't net any card advantage from his Six Samurai United and Gateway of the Six he subsequently lost. I myself was trying out dubkdad1's most recent Volcanic variant.

Now does that mean that Six Samurai United is a bad card? Of course not. But you can't always use the "this card counters that" argument in this game. Things just don't always play out that way.

It's a solid card, and it's worth playing. I would play it, not in anything I'm running at the moment due to space issues, but it's something I might consider running in the future.

Wouldn't you rather have you opponent waste their Mystical Space Typhoon on the Fragment of Greed you just played than your set Solemn Warning? I'd like to think so.

Just watch out for that pesky Giant Trunade.

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Knowledge is Power

Tech Genus Hyper Librarian (Spellcaster-Type/DARK/Level 5/ATK 2400/DEF 1800)

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

While this card is face-up on the field, draw 1 card each time a Synchro Monster is Synchro Summoned.

So Tech Genus Hyper Librarian is the latest crazy that's sweeping the OCG, replacing copies of Magical Android in most players' Extra Decks. Why? Because it's combilious!

Stat-wise Librarian is almost a carbon copy of Android, having 100 extra DEF, but the beauty lies in 2 differences:

1. The Effect
2. The Type

Being a Level 5 generic Synchro Monster is a real blessing as it essentially makes Normal Summoning a Junk Synchron equivalent to Special Summoning a Level 5 Synchro. Since it's so easy to summon, it's easier to gain even more card advantage from it, but I'll come back to that in a moment.

Now in the past I've attempted to construct a deck based around tuning Junk Synchron and Synchro Fusionist to search for Miracle Synchro Fusion. However, at the time Magical Android, Ally of Justice Catastor, and Junk Warrior were my only Level 5 options, and MSF is often a dead draw without the right materials or if your opponent doesn't destroy it (they might get cautious of your set cards after Game 1). It was then after looking through some old cards that I came across this beauty:

Magicat (Spellcaster-Type/LIGHT/Level 2/ATK 600/DEF 500)

If this card is sent to the Graveyard for the Synchro Summon of a Spellcaster-Type Synchro Monster, you can return 1 Spell Card from your Graveyard to the top of your Deck.

See it yet? With Magician of Faith and Dark Magician of Chaos banned, recovering Spell Cards is often a costly endeavor. Thanks to Hyper Librarian, however, the synergy is just amazing. You can easily reuse cards like Monster Reborn over and over, and when you're done gaining card advantage you can just synch Librarian with Formula Synchron for Arcanite Magician and gain even more advantage. 

Not bad for an archetype card, eh?

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Speed Racer

 When it comes to speed, a deck that is able to draw more than the others has the advantage of being able to to gain access to its key cards faster. In fact, most FTK decks capitalize on this concept by running 1 or more draw engines to thin their decks. But engines aren't limited solely to draw cards. They can function in recycling cards or maintaining field presence. Today I'll be listing some engines that can be incorporated in various decks to courtesy of Pojo user Yukichi:

Original Link: http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=864893

Synchro Cat:
3 X-Saber Airbellum
1 Rescue Cat

1 Summoner Monk
0-1 XX-Saber Darksoul 

Lightsworn:

0-2 Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
2-3 Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
1 Charge of the Light Brigade

Plant:

2 Lonefire Blossom
2 Dandylion
1 Tytannial, Princess of Camellias
1 Spore

Flamvell:

3 Flamvell Magician
2-3 Flamvell Firedog
2-3 Rekindling
1 Summoner Monk

Gravekeeper:

2-3 Gravekeeper's Spy
0-1 Gravekeeper's Descendant
0-1 Gravekeeper's Guard

Frog Tribute:

2 Treeborn Frog
3 Swap Frog
3 Substitoad
1-2 Ronintoadin

Dandy Warrior:

2 Dandylion
2-3 Quickdraw Synchron
3 Drill Warrior

Machina:

2-3 Machina Gearframe
2-3 Machina Fortress
0-2 Machina Peacekeeper
0-2 Machina Force

Macro:
0-3 D.D. Survivor
0-3 Cyber Valley
0-3 Caius the Shadow Monarch
1-2 Macro Cosmos
2-3 Dimensional Fissure

Gadget:
2-3 Green Gadget
2-3 Red Gadget
2-3 Yellow Gadget 

Zombie:
1 Mezuki
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
1-3 Zombie Master
1-2 Goblin Zombie

Super-Nimble:

3 Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
1-2 Super-Nimble Mega Hamster

Volcanic:

3 Volcanic Rocket
3 Volcanic Shell
1 Summoner Monk
1-2 Blaze Accelerator

Destiny Draw:
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
2 Destiny Hero Malicious
1-2 Destiny Hero Dasher
1 Destiny Draw

1 Allure of Darkness

Appropriate:
1-3 Hand Destruction
1 Card Destruction
1 Morphing Jar
2-3 Appropriate

E-Teleport:

1-3 Krebons
0-1 Psychic Commander
1 Emergency Teleport

Deep Sea Diva:

2-3 Deep Sea Diva
0-1 Reese The Ice Mistress
0-1 Spined Gilman

Counter Fairy:
3 Bountiful Artemis
3 Dark Bribe
2-3 Divine Wrath
1 Solemn Judgment

Genex:
2-3 Genex Controller
1-2 Genex Undine
1-2 Genex Neutron
0-1 Genex Spare

Gemini Spark:
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
3 Elemental Hero Neos Alius
3 Gemini Spark
2-3 Emergency Call
0-2 Hero Blast 

Geartown:
2-3 Geartown
1-3 Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon

Fortune Lady:
1-3 Fortune Lady Light
1-3 Fortune Lady Dark
1-3 Fortune Lady Water
1-3 Fortune's Future
1 Future Visions

Reptilianne:

2-3 Reptilianne Gardna
1-3 Reptilianne Naga
1-2 Reptilianne Vaskii
0-3 Offering to the Snake Deity

Toon:

3 Royal Magical Library

3 Toon Table of Contents
1-3 Of Any Toon Monster
2-3 Magical Citadel of Endymion

Dragon Draw:

3 Cards of Consonance
3 Legendary White Stone
3 Blue-Eyes White Dragon
3 Trade-In
3 Super Rejuvenation

Reptile Worm:

2-3 Worm Cartaros
2-3 Worm Xex
2-3 Worm Yagan
0-3 Worm Jetelikpse

Malefic:

3 Malefic Stardust Dragon
0-3 Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon
0-3 Blue-Eyes White Dragon
0-1 Allure of Darkness.
1-3 Trade-In
1-3 Advance Draw
0-2 Magical Mallet

Koa'ki Rock:

2-3 Koa'ki Meiru Guardian
2-3 Koa'ki Meiru Sandman
0-3 Koa'ki Meiru Prototype

Immortal Bushi:

2-3 The Immortal Bushi
2-3 Armageddon Knight
1 Necro Gardna
1 Reinforcement of the Army

DARK/WIND Fortune:

1-3 Fortune Lady Dark
1-3 Fortune Lady Wind
1-3 Dark Simorgh
1-3 Fortune's Future
1-2 Gold Sarcophagus
1 Allure of Darkness
0-1 Foolish Burial 

Reinforce Truth:

1 Reinforce Truth
2 X-Saber Pashuul

Neo-Spacian:

2-3 Convert Contact
2 Neo-Spacian Glow Moss
2 Neo-Spacian Dark Panther
1 Neo-Spacian Grand Mole
0-1 Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin or Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab
2 Cross Porter

Alchemy/Valley:
3 Cyber Valley
2-3 Battle Fader
2-3 Dimensional Alchemist
1 Plaguespreader Zombie 

Roid:
3 Armoroid
3 Expressroid
0-2 Drillroid
3 Supercharge
1-3 Trade-In
2-3 Reckless Greed

Greed/Mask:
2-3 Mask of Darkness
2-3 Reckless Greed

Machine Duplication:
3 Tuningware
0-3 Darksea Rescue
0-3 Cyber Valley
2 Machine Duplication
0-2 De-Synchro 

The list is by no means complete but it is a good reference for any duelist. I'll be updating this post as the original link gets revised.

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Darkwing Duck

 

Seriously, how many of you guys couldn't help but think of a certain 90's cartoon featuring an eponymous superhero anthropomorphic duck with the alter ego of Drake Mallard when you first heard the TCG name for the Black Feather archetype? I'm sure I wasn't the only one out there, but let's not get off topic. Today's topic is dedicated to my friend Raz, who has bested me more times then I like to admit. Since he is an avid user of Blackwings, I decided to talk about the theme today, more specifically about the types of draw power the deck has at its disposal.

Five cards will the primary focus of this discussion:

• Morphing Jar
• Allure of Darkness
• Cards for Black Feathers
• Pot of Duality
• Reckless Greed

Morphing Jar
Though not a Blackwing itself, Morphing Jar accomplishes two very important goals in a Blackwing deck: 1) loading the graveyard for Vayu/Blizzard/DAD/Dark Creator and 2) replenishing your Hand. I've seen a few players using Ryko to accomplish the former and immediately thought of this card. There have been quite a few times in practice duels where I've seen Sirocco and Vayu stuck in a player's Hand, and what better way to get them in the Graveyard than this? At the very least it can save your Spies and Rykos (should you run them) from getting removed by a Nobleman of Crossout. Definitely a card to consider running.
Run 1 (limited)

Allure of Darkness
Most (if not all) Blackwing players were upset when this card was limited, and with good reason. Before it's limitation, using multiples of Allure in conjunction with Black Whirlwind gave the deck plenty of speed, making easier to get the Kalut or DAD you needed to turn the game around. How's that different from any other draw card? Well considering the fact that every Blackwing is a DARK Monster and that most players run multiple copies of Bora/Shura/Kalut, there's should no problem removing one for the extra draw. Had this card been semilimited or unlimited I say run as many copies as you can. Unfortunately that's not an option.
Run 1 (limited)

Cards for Black Feathers
Had this card not required a Blackwing to be removed and the prevent Special Summoning, it would be a carbon copy of Allure. In fact, I'm sure one of the contributing factors for Allure's limitation was so that this card would sell more. (Sneaky Konami ಠ_ಠ) In actuality Cards for Black Feathers is not quite as versatile as its predecessor. Blackwings rely a great on their Special Summons so while the extra draws can definitely help, don't expect to pull off that game-ending swarm the field during the same turn.
Run 1-2 (depending on your reliance on Special Summons)

Pot of Duality
It may be seem like I've contradicting myself a little here, but I like this card much better for Blackwings than Cards for Black Feathers. While both cards seal off Special Summons, Pot of Duality lets you scout out your upcoming draws and lets you pick out the best card out of the three for your current situation, which can make a world of a difference.
Run 2-3 (depending on your reliance on Special Summons)

Reckless Greed
Now this is a card I haven't seen being used in a while in Blackwing decks. Many consider it unreliable, and this is more or less true. The only way to truly benefit is if you manage to activate 2 or more simultaneously and that involves getting multiple copies in hand. If you can pull it off there's a good chance you can end the game that turn, depending on what you draw, but the lack of consistency makes running this card less than desirable.
Run 3 (if you decide to run it at all)

In conclusion, my ideal lineup would consist of:

• 1 Morphing Jar
• 1 Allure of Darkness
• 2 Pot of Duality

Obviously, other players will have their own preferences regarding their drawing options, some even completely forgo it.

Remember players, the game ends with you.