Thursday 8 December 2011

Visiting Six Samurai

I couldn't sleep and decided to do this post on my thoughts of the Six Sams and how they should be played, I hope that I can get different perspectives so as to furthur improve my deck without netdecking.

As we all know, Six Sams were introduced in Strike of Neos blah blah blah.... And then got Gateway in Extra Pack 3 ZOMGWTF so OP. Then got the LSS in STOR.

From then on, LSS consistently topped and continued to top until..... Sept'11 banlist hit their consistency quite badly. The deck is still a favourite and from the decklist distribution in the Japan tournaments, it ranks about a close 3rd or 4th with Dark World behind TGAA and Inzector. Clearly the deck has lost some of it's powerfulness with the loss of Shien's Smoke Signal, which led to players having to sub in Asecetism to ensure their first turn Shi'en plays.

Here are some common things seen in the decklist nowadays that were rather different last format.

3 Kageki to 2
Now most people run 2 Kageki cos honestly, it's a lousy top draw in most scenarios and requires an activation of an effect, which tends to fall prey to the plethora of Effect Veilers being run everywhere now. Furthurmore, having 2 in your hand sucks, but the consistency must remain present to have this outlet to first turn Shi'en, hence the drop to 2 instead of 1.

2 MST to Side
Simple reason, no space. Strong card this format as one MST could change the game and also against Dark World where you have to blast everything, Heavy Storm isn't enough. However, against the typical meta of TGAA and Inzector, not very big deal due to their lower trap counts.

Drop Yaichi
Yaichi was extremely powerful previous format but has lost almost all it's use. Furthurmore, it is not a viable Ascestism target at all and has been replaced by the more usable Zanji and Enishi.

FIRE girls
For some reason they are being dropped and they are not being sided. I think Hand is still extremely important, though the Mizuho for Ascestism can be dropped.

Do we still main Compulse?
In my March'11 build, I teched in one CED, which proved quite useful, however I teched it out this format and haven't looked backed till recently, as it appears to be in every Six Sam decklist in Japan, either ran in 1s or 2s.

D. Prison still good?
Considering that if the Dark World player has a fairly decent hand AND goes first, it becomes very difficuly for the Six Sam player to match the Grapha, hence the use of D. Prisons. The problem remains that this will affect the consistency of the deck.

Magatama or SLR?
Japan decklist now mostly main 3 Maga, whereas I main 2 and 1 SLR. I find SLR similar to Maga in many ways and much more practical. Still Maga negates Hyperion, a big deal in the Agent matchup.

Drop 1 Warning?
Recently I have been considering dropping 1 Warning as it just hasn't been that good this format. Both TGAA and Inzector are not TOO afraid of Warning as their food come from the grave anw.

Dark Hole?
I have never liked Dark Hole much, but I do main it because of the potential plus and the ability to go for that final push. I know people in Japan have all dropped the Dark Hole, and considering it's a card I heartily dislike I should be doing it to.

Heavy Storm?!
I want to keep Heavy because I need that assurance but I have top drawn it when all I needed was a mob to win and that's when it becomes total bullshit.

The usage of Shi'en
I know that alot of people have said things like us Sams players must now use our Shi'en more wisely, but I believe one should always first turn Shi'en or Naturia Beast as it drastically limits the plays opponents can go into. Furthurmore, I believe the truth sign of a good Six Sam player is his usage of the Shi'en negate, how he must not be easily baited out by some Monster Reborn or CotH. As far as possible, I feel the Shi'en should never negate anything if able cos you never know.

Please leave your thoughts on whether I should keep maining Heavy and Dark Hole, and also some tech ideas of yours I could try.
I will not tech in an Irou + BLS though.

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