Since the release of the @Ignister archetype in Ignition Assault, the @Ignister deck has evolved from a potential rogue deck to a promising meta pick. The deck has recently found itself topping various remote and local events. But how did a relatively fringe archetype become one of the best decks in the game?
Taste the Rainbow
The @Ignister main deck makes use of a variety of @Ignister monsters that provide useful effects when summoned or used as material for extra deck monsters. is the preferred combo starter of the deck, searching for any lower level @Ignister you need. Before the release of this new support monster, was the main starter, as it was crucial for accessing the field spell. It now focuses on searching other spell cards to either expand your combos or provide follow-up plays.
ensures the monster you normal summoned returns to your hand, on top of returning a spell / trap when it is used for a Cyberse link summon. As a main deck card with such high utility, it's surprising that most lists only play one copy of this Skittle. is the tuner of the deck that can summon it's non-tuner dance partner for synchro summoning. These four monsters are the heart of the deck—facilitating consistent combos with their effects.
A couple of additional extenders are also played in the deck. can summon itself from the hand, which makes it easier for the player to field another unique attribute. It can tribute another @Ignister to add a higher level one to your hand, namely . This card offers protection depending on how it is used—either by becoming a defensive wall for your monsters or by negating card effects for one of your monsters.
While all of these cards can prove vital for going into in-depth combo lines or even playing through interruptions and negates, the monsters are only half of the @Ignister deck.
A.I. Support You
One of the best supporting cards in the deck is . This field spell enables combos through its effect to summon each attribute of @Ignister monster from your hand, once per turn. It allows for easy link climbing if your main monster zones are clear, which means that up to six monsters can be summoned with just one card. But it gets even better. If you have another copy of the field spell in hand, you can activate to return the second copy to your deck and draw three cards. With this, the field spell can also help to generate resources, which makes it an essential player in the deck.
is more of a double-edged sword on the other hand, as it can get you the @Ignister you want, but at a cost. For example, if you want a reactive card like "Achichi" at important moments, you can use "Meet You" to reveal and add the necessary card to hand. You're not likely to summon the Fire Pheonix though, so you're definitely taking 2300 damage because of A.I. Meet You at end of turn. While losing a chunk of life points on the first turn can hurt, the benefit of setting up the ideal end-board often outweighs this cost.
Another card that can help you take that extra step when necessary is . Having an in-archetype increases the power of the deck considerably, allowing you to summon back any @Ignister—including big beaters like , or the backrow bane that is . This card can also "reborn" the link six @Ignister monster, which deserves an entire section on its own.
The Dark Towers
is the card with the highest link rating in the game and one of the most powerful Cyberse monsters. With the standard @Ignister combo, it is easy to set up a 4,000–6,000 attack Arrival on the first turn. While at the lower end of this range your opponent can beat over it with their own , Arrival gets protection with cards like and Wind Pegasus. If an @Ignister player commits to a 6,000-attack Arrival, however, the only thing that can stop it are cards that tribute or extra deck monsters that use it as material. Specific cards to watch out for in these areas are Kaijus and , respectively.
Further reinforcing the link six against these threats is . By opting to synchro summon this monster with , it guarantees an unbreakable board with its protection effect while you control a link monster. Added to this, it can bounce an opponent's monster to their hand if they decide to attack, leaving Arrival untouched. Whether you want to have an extra layer of protection or commit all your resources to having an unbeatable card, you can't go wrong when it comes to playing Arrival.
Sins of the Father
Other @Ignister support in the extra deck also includes the baby form of Arrival, , which is the card that promoted as the deck's main starter. This is because of its effect to search the field spell. The link one pairs well with Dark Templar during the combo to chain-block its graveyard-summoning effect, while Infant becomes whatever attribute you need for the rest of the turn.
Generic Cyberse link monsters like and are essential for link climbing in any Cyberse deck, but they also serve other purposes in @Ignister. Splash Mage not only gives you a water attribute if you don't have , but also enables the use of more link materials for Arrival by being a link two. Playing a second copy is incredibly useful for going into Accesscode on your next turn, with the link six being used as material to boost it to 8,300 attack. Transcode is similar in that it teams up with to quickly field an Accesscode that can attack twice for a simple one-turn kill. It also can be revealed with to add the earth attribute to your hand.
Overall, the consistency, versatility, and power of the @Ignister deck has only grown with new support for the archetype. This deck will continue to see competitive success in the current format for its impressive end-boards and ability to recover through interruptions to finish games quickly. The time for @Ignister has finally arrived.
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