Plunder Patroll is one of those rogue decks that suddenly started topping regionals and YCSs. Master Duel made the deck more popular, but it had a hard time against decks of certain attributes. Photon Hypernova is changing all that so we can plunder the opponents' life points to our hearts' content.
Introduction
Even though we have been in a tier zero format for a while now, Plunder Patroll has managed to steal some regional tops recently and even won the Madison regional in the United States in December. The deck definitely punishes players who do not know how to play against it and is also very good at interrupting the opponent's plays while generating card advantage, which fuels said interruptions.
Plunder Patroll is a deck that can fusion summon, xyz summon, link summon, and even synchro summon. On the bright side, the deck can cheat out these summoning methods using three pirates with distinctly colored beards. , the beating heart of the deck, also happens to be a tuner. During the opponent's turn, it can special summon a Plunder Patroll monster from the extra deck with the same attribute as a monster in your opponent's field or graveyard, and equip itself to it. Alternatively, when sent to the graveyard, it can special summon a Plunder Patroll monster from the deck, locking you into Plunder Patroll monsters for the rest of the turn. Usually, you would want to summon .
Redbeard almost has the same first effect as Whitebeard since it has to go the graveyard first before targeting a Plunder monster on your field to equip itself to. is a link two water monster and is generally a card you want to have on your field as soon as possible. It can target any effect monster you control to summon a monster with an attribute similar to that of a monster on your opponent's field or graveyard. The targeted monster equips itself to the newly summoned monster and, as a bonus, you draw a card as well.
There are three more main deck monsters. can special summon itself from the hand if you control another Plunder Patroll monster. Also, if it is sent from hand or the monster zone to the graveyard, you can discard a card and draw another one. is your second tuner. By sending a Plunder Patroll monster either from the field or hand to the graveyard, it can special summon itself to the field. Also, by discarding any card, it can special summon itself from the graveyard, again, locking you into Plunder Patroll for the rest of turn. Lastly, we have . It can add back your monsters from the graveyard by special summoning itself. Its other effect allows you to special a Plunder monster from your spell/trap zone in defense position when it goes to the graveyard.
In addition to Blackbeard and the new monster we get to in a bit, there are three ships making up this deck's winning condition. is a light attribute fusion monster that can negate and destroy your opponent's monsters once per turn, if they activate an effect, by discarding a Plunder card. If Lys was equipped with a Plunder Patroll card, you may then search a Plunder spell or trap card. Its other effect allows you to special summon a Plunder monster from your spell/trap zone to the field during either player's main phase.
Plunder Patrollship Lys
Next up, we have , a dark attribute xyz monster that targets and banishes effect monsters on your opponent's side of the field at the cost of discarding a Plunder card, before searching you a Plunder spell or trap card. If Moerk is equipped with a Plunder card, this effect can be used during either player's turn. Additionally, if Moerk was properly xyz summoned, it can protect your Plunder cards from being destroyed either by card effects or battle, by detaching a material.
Lastly, we have , a fire synchro monster. Brann gives every other Plunder monster a 500-attack boost, facilitating one-turn kills. It can get rid of backrow at the cost of discarding Plunder cards, and can do so as a quick effect while it is equipped with a Plunder card. Like other ships, it grants you a search after the effect resolves, but this particular ship searches for monsters instead of spell or trap cards.
I don't really want talk about spell and trap cards. Mainly, you will only need the field spell , which boosts your monsters' attack by 500 for each Plunder card in your spell and trap zone (the field spell itself does not count). Once per turn. you can discard any card to search any Plunder card. Also, when Shipyarrrd is in the graveyard, you can bounce any Plunder card in your spell and trap zones to set the former onto the field. It is a very versatile card that can put itself back on the field when destroyed or be used for Goldenhair's first effect. It can also search any on-theme card, allowing you to pick the right card for every situation.
The New Card
Based on the attributes of the extra deck monsters I mentioned above, the deck struggles against earth- and wind-based strategies. There is a trap card called , which changes the attribute of one of your opponent's monsters. However, it remains a trap card you might not even get to use. Luckily, Photon Hypernova provides a solution for most of this problem by giving us a new ship.
is an earth synchro pendulum monster, with a pendulum scale of one. It is the first Plunder pendulum monster the theme gets, but I am somewhat certain that the remaining wind ship will follow suit and will have a high pendulum scale. It has a couple of interesting effects. The first one is that if your opponent special summons one or more monsters, you can add a Plunder card from your deck to your hand, thus continuing the tradition of the ships generating card advantage. As a bonus effect, if Jord is equipped when this effect resolves, you can special a Plunder monster from your deck. This allows you to set up cards such as or during your opponent's turn to summon even more ships from your extra deck.
Its second effect can only be used during your own turn as it is an ignition effect. You can target any Plunder Patroll card in your graveyard, then return it to your hand before placing Jord in your pendulum zone. This effect sets up the pendulum effect that makes Jord a great card. You can declare one attribute, special tokens to both sides of the field, and return Jord to your extra deck. This allows you to extend your plays and summon a ship from your extra deck on your first turn as a preemptive measure without even knowing what your opponent is piloting. So even against wind-attribute decks, you can get your interruptions on board without having a wind ship. Or if you need any specific ship, you can bring it out without any issues.
Plunder Patroll Sample Decklist
Main Deck
Extra Deck
Side Deck
3
3
3
2
2
3
2
3
3
1
3
1
1
3
2
2
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
3
3
2
3
1
3
I prefer the adventure engine over the Runick engine as a supplement due to its synergy with the deck. Granted, even with the new support, it is still a rogue deck, but it can achieve good results.
Plunder Patroll is fun to play and rewards those who think ahead and manage their resources. The deck needs a good pilot as you make plays and decisions during your opponent's turn. It is a reactive deck that thrives depending on what the opponent throws at it. The feared Kashtira matchup is not that bad, mainly because you now have an earth attribute ship, and can get you out of a tough spot to start using your zones again. However, it is important to have multiple copies of each ship so they do not get banished.
If you have any suggestions on how to improve the deck and make it work even better, please share your thoughts with everyone in the comment section below!
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, not of Cardmarket.
