Steelswarm Analysis
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Steelswarm Analysis
3E-hero neos 2011-08-05, 14:50
I - Introduction
II - Side Decking
III - Must have techs
IV – Steelswarm VS Monarchs
V - Their cards
VI – Basic decklist example
VII – Steelsworn intro + decklist example.
VIII - Conclusion
I:Hi guys,
As my debut article here I’d like to talk about the Steelswarm Archetype.
The Steelswarm Archetype are like Monarchs, they focus on Tribute Summoning. They all are DARK attributed Fiend-type monsters with 0 DEF except their Gatekeeper which has a nice 1900.
II:‘’So what, we got another meta wannabe deck with some Monarch alike cards?’’
That’s what you could be thinking right now. Well yes, they’re like Monarchs, but they are definitely not a wannabe one, they have some great effects and combo’s in their arsenal and they can control the game in no-time. The big problem with them is that they don’t have any realy protection which means that they can hardly maintain the field presence.
Now it is possible to run several cards as techs here like Virus Traps or Dark Flash, the problem is, you already need to be in control of the game. And although these guys do it fast enough, that does not tell that you will hold any of these techs at the moment you can play them, and as we all know, you will draw right into it when you are in a pinch!
Because of these facts, Side Decking becomes extremely important for Steelswarms! You need a strong Side Deck which is ready for the threats your deck can face. And remember, In order to overwhelm the opponent, you need to find your weak spot. These weak spots need to be filled up, like when you play against Samurai, you really want to Side in Puppet Plant, steal their Shi-En, be like safe from Traps a turn(the opponent wants their monster back and Shi-En can negate once). In addition, you can make some combo’s so you can re-gain control of the game. Biggest weaknesses of this deck are for example in today’s game:
- Gravekeeper: You are unable to use Dark Armed Dragon, Recurring Nightmare, Stygian Street Patrol, Steelswarm Mantis. You miss a big part of the deck, just because of Necrovalley, now GK’s have got Descendant to blow your backrow away so trying a Malevolent Catastrophe is risky, but you can try it. You can even try Siding in Genex Ally Birdman to either nuke the field or go into Ancient Fairy Dragon and destroy Necrovalley, I personally think that would work better against them, and good old Mystical Space Typhoon of course.
- Second is Plants, they got many outs and play in the Grave a lot, siding some Debunk Trap Cards can be essential to victory, Debunk can screw them up by removing Dandylion, Spore, Glow-Up Bulb and so on. Great card to side against them. Not only Debunk, even D.D. Crow can be really useful here.
- Next up is Anti-Meta decks, they can stop plans with Oppression, but an even bigger problem is Rai-Oh and Doomcalliber Knight. They are almost always on the field and can screw up big plays easily, know we all got the popular Veiler in our Extra Deck, but that doesn’t always work, as it’s in the opponent’s turn. Forbidden Chalice negates the effect on the field but it’s a cost to tribute Doom or Rai-Oh, not working either then. Again, Debunk can help you against these. And if you’re afraid of Banisher of the Radiance you can try Forbidden Chalice. As for Oppresssion, MST and Malevolent Catastrophe are great picks.
- Decks that swarm faster than you, yes they are are a problem from time to time, Dark Flash could be a good side but it’s extremely dangerous especially if the opponent goes into Stardust, it’s just utterly useless then. Trying Bottomless and Compulsory Evacuation Device for these are great to stop/slow them down from swarming the field constantly.
III:On to the next part, must have techs! Steelswarm is a great and fun Archetype but they are so slow on their own, they need some support from the outside, here’s a small list that you might always want to use in Steelswarm builds because they just speed the deck up a lot, or help out in hard situations where you need them:
Stygian Street Patrol
Amazing monster, gives you an immediate tribute fodder, combo's crazy with Recurring Nightmare(like recycle Steelswarm Caller and Girastag/Mantis/Moth for some combo's[more explained below]). Doesn't hurt at all in 3's, the effect does what it has to do, and it's easy to get him were you want him.
Dark Grepher
This is amazing, sets the grave up, nice ATK status to open a game with and speeds the deck up a lot. You can Special Summon it, ditch another Steelswarm, sent Stygian, play Recurring Nightmare, and that's just one of the many combo's(in other words, this card works as a searcher with Recurring Nightmare).
Dark Armed Dragon
This comes out at least get this out once every 2 duels but mostly each game. Plenty of grave control with Avarice, Recurring Nightmare, Stygian Street Patrol, and fast milling with Lightsworns. And amazing devastating effect, free Special Summon and a great 2800 beater. You can easily remove stuff you won't need anymore with this like a Mystic Tomato.
Recurring Nightmare
with so many targets, this is just a card to run in 3’s, gets you a fodder and a tribute monster right of the bat.
Amazing monster, gives you an immediate tribute fodder, combo's crazy with Recurring Nightmare(like recycle Steelswarm Caller and Girastag/Mantis/Moth for some combo's[more explained below]). Doesn't hurt at all in 3's, the effect does what it has to do, and it's easy to get him were you want him.
Dark Grepher
This is amazing, sets the grave up, nice ATK status to open a game with and speeds the deck up a lot. You can Special Summon it, ditch another Steelswarm, sent Stygian, play Recurring Nightmare, and that's just one of the many combo's(in other words, this card works as a searcher with Recurring Nightmare).
Dark Armed Dragon
This comes out at least get this out once every 2 duels but mostly each game. Plenty of grave control with Avarice, Recurring Nightmare, Stygian Street Patrol, and fast milling with Lightsworns. And amazing devastating effect, free Special Summon and a great 2800 beater. You can easily remove stuff you won't need anymore with this like a Mystic Tomato.
Recurring Nightmare
with so many targets, this is just a card to run in 3’s, gets you a fodder and a tribute monster right of the bat.
These are the best choices and must haves in a Steelswarm build, you could try the Dark Creator but it's hard to get out because it conflicts with Recurring Nightmare a lot.
Aside from speeding yourself up, how about slowing your opponent down, Rai-Oh is an outstanding tech in Steelswarm ,you don’t search directly from the deck so it can kill the new Xyz monsters, Synchro Spam plays, Offering Gadgets, versatile one for one searchers like Stratos. And so on, great tech in Steelswarm and can be used in 3’s without trouble.
IV: ‘’But what makes these ‘’Steelswarm’’ monsters any better than Monarchs and why would I even bother playing them instead of Frognarchs/Monarchs?’’
Simple question, simple answer, these guys got a different style, they allow for more destructive techs, they make +’s instead of 1 for 1 trades and they easily recycle with Recurring Nightmare. As Frognarchs can run Obelisk, so can Steelswarm if they want to! Difference is that it would be a big waste as having Steelswarm Caller, Gatekeeper and Mantis is much more sexy. As you can see and like I said before, some of their effects make a +1 instead of being a one for one trade like Monarchs, this is a big deal nowadays. As these cards need their own deck, it explains why they have some more powerful effects. Running them over Monarchs is of course a personal preference but it's because they only relate to Monarchs as the time when they activate and relying on Tribute Summoning. For the rest they got a different play style and different combo's.
V:Enough rambling about the Monarch VS Steelswarm, they both got their own thing! Lets talk about the best Steelswarm cards(click on the names for the wikia page):
Steelswarm Caucastag
Optional monster, 2 tributes but definitely worth it, it’s a monster version of Heavy Storm or Dark Hole. Devastating effect when it goes off but can be a bit hard.
Steelswarm Girastag
Caius made a new friend here, this card does not destroy and it gains you some LP, now 1000 LP might not seem a lot, but with Solemn Judgment and Solemn Warning you can play, and the costs of Mantis and Moth, it’s a great addition. Caius alike effect, just goes into grave instead of Banished, little less good but it’s still an amazing card. 2600 ATK is really hard to run over in early stages of the game, and only 1 Steelswarm tribute needed!
Steelswarm Mantis
This card is optional, cannot combo with Scout but great combo’s with Caller.
Imagine: Special Summon Caller with Stygian > Tribute Caller for Mantis > re-Summon Caller with Mantis and Special Summon Gatekeeper with Caller > Tribute Caller for Girastag or Moth > Summon Caller > Xyz into a rank 4 > profit!
That’s some nasty combo right there, requires 3 cards in the hand and 1 in the grave but it gives you an incredibly fast control over the game.
Steelswarm Moth
Bigass Pinguin Soldier, 2400 one tribute that makes you a +1 at the cost of a small 1000 LP. Amazing card to play and clears you the way for free attacks. Also notice that it’s able to return any card the opponent has, not just monsters!
Steelswarm Caller
This card, if used properly can serve as a Reborn Tengu alike card, after tributing it, you can Special Summon any level 4 or lower Steelswarm from your deck, but the best is of course another copy of itself. It’s not that you get a really strong monster or anything, it’s just that you don’t make the one for one trade anymore but you make an actual +1 just like that. Another great target for it is Steelswarm Scout or Steelswarm Gatekeeper(explained beneath this). In addition, this combo’s crazy when summoned with Stygian Street Patrol.
Steelswarm Gatekeeper
In the first place this seems way to hard to let it go off, needs to survive a turn blah blah. But no! When this card is summoned by Caller, you can summon an additional monster, possibly another high level Steelswarm, allowing for more fun and control. Even possible an OTK when you got the right hand. Not only possible to combo with Caller, also great Mantis target.
Steelswarm Scout
Treeborn Frog anyone??? When I said they look like Monarch I didn’t mean…..
This card is like Treeborn, difference is that it doesn’t allow for Enemy Controller abuse and it needs skill, it’s played in the start of the Main Phase 1 AND it doesn’t allow for any more Special Summons that turn! Requires some skill but great tribute fodder for Girastag or Moth.
First Step Towards Infestation
A watered down Gemini Spark, hmm…..
It needs some skill to play, in the first place, you lose your beater, your opponent loses nothing and you only get one card back, but what if you summon Girastag, Mantis or Moth and your opponent plays Bottomless, Compulsory, D.Prison, Mirror Force etc etc??? That’s when this card comes in handy, becomes a +1 with a re-usable tribute monster right there. Good card but requires some skill to play.
Optional monster, 2 tributes but definitely worth it, it’s a monster version of Heavy Storm or Dark Hole. Devastating effect when it goes off but can be a bit hard.
Steelswarm Girastag
Caius made a new friend here, this card does not destroy and it gains you some LP, now 1000 LP might not seem a lot, but with Solemn Judgment and Solemn Warning you can play, and the costs of Mantis and Moth, it’s a great addition. Caius alike effect, just goes into grave instead of Banished, little less good but it’s still an amazing card. 2600 ATK is really hard to run over in early stages of the game, and only 1 Steelswarm tribute needed!
Steelswarm Mantis
This card is optional, cannot combo with Scout but great combo’s with Caller.
Imagine: Special Summon Caller with Stygian > Tribute Caller for Mantis > re-Summon Caller with Mantis and Special Summon Gatekeeper with Caller > Tribute Caller for Girastag or Moth > Summon Caller > Xyz into a rank 4 > profit!
That’s some nasty combo right there, requires 3 cards in the hand and 1 in the grave but it gives you an incredibly fast control over the game.
Steelswarm Moth
Bigass Pinguin Soldier, 2400 one tribute that makes you a +1 at the cost of a small 1000 LP. Amazing card to play and clears you the way for free attacks. Also notice that it’s able to return any card the opponent has, not just monsters!
Steelswarm Caller
This card, if used properly can serve as a Reborn Tengu alike card, after tributing it, you can Special Summon any level 4 or lower Steelswarm from your deck, but the best is of course another copy of itself. It’s not that you get a really strong monster or anything, it’s just that you don’t make the one for one trade anymore but you make an actual +1 just like that. Another great target for it is Steelswarm Scout or Steelswarm Gatekeeper(explained beneath this). In addition, this combo’s crazy when summoned with Stygian Street Patrol.
Steelswarm Gatekeeper
In the first place this seems way to hard to let it go off, needs to survive a turn blah blah. But no! When this card is summoned by Caller, you can summon an additional monster, possibly another high level Steelswarm, allowing for more fun and control. Even possible an OTK when you got the right hand. Not only possible to combo with Caller, also great Mantis target.
Steelswarm Scout
Treeborn Frog anyone??? When I said they look like Monarch I didn’t mean…..
This card is like Treeborn, difference is that it doesn’t allow for Enemy Controller abuse and it needs skill, it’s played in the start of the Main Phase 1 AND it doesn’t allow for any more Special Summons that turn! Requires some skill but great tribute fodder for Girastag or Moth.
First Step Towards Infestation
A watered down Gemini Spark, hmm…..
It needs some skill to play, in the first place, you lose your beater, your opponent loses nothing and you only get one card back, but what if you summon Girastag, Mantis or Moth and your opponent plays Bottomless, Compulsory, D.Prison, Mirror Force etc etc??? That’s when this card comes in handy, becomes a +1 with a re-usable tribute monster right there. Good card but requires some skill to play.
I realize I skipped a bunch of Steelswarm cards, but these are simply the only ones worth playing.
VI:Now that we have got the basics covered, lets get to the deck:
Total(40):
Monsters(29):
1X Dark Armed Dragon
3X Dark Grepher
2X Effect Veiler
1X Morphing Jar
2X Mystic Tomato
2X Steelswarm Caller
2X Steelswarm Gatekeeper
3X Steelswarm Girastag
2X Steelswarm Mantis
3X Steelswarm Moth
2X Steelswarm Scout
3X Stygian Street Patrol
3X Thunder King Rai-Oh
Spells(
:1X Allure of Darkness
2X First Step Towards Infestation
1X Giant Trunade
1X Monster Reborn
3X Recurring Nightmare
Traps(3):
1X Solemn Judgment
2X Solemn Warning
Now that is just a basic list, feel free to toy around with it.
VII:These guys are not the fastest ever, but there’s only one Archetype that is, Lightsworn. Combining Steelswarm and Lightsworn makes an obvious deckname, Steelsworn.
’’Why Steelsworn?’’
It’s for the simple reason that Steelsworn allows for an engine that gets your cards faster were you want them, Stygian Street Patrol and Steelswarm Scout in the grave, Dark Armed Dragon & co in the hand. We all know that the Lightsworn engine plays fast, but it takes a little risk, you can mill vital cards, that’s why I squeezed in 2 Gold Sarcophagus to search that card you will/might need in 2 turns so you cannot mill vital cards.
Here’s an example decklist:
Total(40):
Monsters(23):
1X Dark Armed Dragon
2X Dark Grepher
3X Ehren, Lightsworn Monk
1X Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
3X Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
2X Steelswarm Caller
3X Steelswarm Girastag
3X Steelswarm Moth
2X Steelswarm Scout
3X Stygian Street Patrol
Spells(14):
1X Allure of Darkness
1X Charge of the Light Brigade
1X Giant Trunade
2X Gold Sarcophagus
1X Monster Reborn
2X Pot of Avarice
3X Recurring Nightmare
3X Solar Recharge
Traps(3):
1X Solemn Judgment
2X Solemn Warning
As you can see, the Lightsworn engine allows for more milling, and 5 more draw cards! Does what a Lightsworn engine does, makes a deck better.
Don’t forget to add Xyz monsters to the Extra Deck, and level 7 Synchro’s when you will run Genex Ally Birdman(Side or Main)!
VIII:At the moment ''Steelswarm'' is unable to climb up the ladder of the Meta, it isn't the best counter to meta decks either. They lack support to have them maintain control of the game.
It could be that Mantis + Caller combo’s will be popular when Xyz is out as it allows for 2 high level monsters + a Rank 4 Xyz. Pretty good for a 3 card combo.
I hope you enjoyed my first article here, thanks for reading!
Comments appreciated!
Ps: All credits for the banner and card pics goes to KKJ, thanks!
3E-hero neos
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Join date : 2011-05-21
number 39 utopia
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