Doing well at a tournament is always great and that goes double when it's an important event with qualification on the line. There's also a lot to be learned. Learn all about the deck choice, the reasons to go Runick as well as the deck's biggest issues, about the tournament and matchups here!
Why Runick Spright?
The reason for running Runick Spright is one of two things really. One: I had the Spright Package and the Runick package, which gel well thanks to any of the Runick quick-play spells' ability to summon a level two in the form of from the extra deck, allowing you to special summon the Sprights monsters from hand as extenders. Despite losing , the Spright components still make quite easily if you open up an extra level two monster, so I included that to basically stop anything my opponent was up to. That and the link/rank two toolbox is very powerful if you know what to use, with monsters like allowing for amazing disruption on your opponent's turn.
Two: The Runick cards currently have an amazing match-up against the arguably best deck this format, Tearlaments. Because a Runick deck's strategy often involves milling your opponent by banishing their deck, you basically hard-counter their Tearlaments, which all have effects when sent to the graveyard, in many cases the ability to fusion summon out their boss monsters like from the extra deck. These effects don't trigger if the monster is banished, and the deck has a hard time recycling these monsters, meaning if you mill their cards first, they most likely won't be able to contest you.
The field spell also allows you to activate Runick spells from your hand, on your opponent's turn. This means you can keep your resources in hand, safely away from any destruction effects until the time is just right!
There are two problems with this deck. The fact that the Runick cards stop you from entering your next battle phase creates a scenario where you can control your opponent, but not really kill them. To counter this problem, I made use of , a link four monster which gains 200 attack for each banished card and also acts as disruption for your opponent when a monster is summoned to a zone a link monster points to. This meant that I could deplete my opponent's life points in one big swing, which was often necessary.
The other issue is that these matches go long. Very long. If you find yourself nearing time, you will probably be down on life points. This is due to cards like burning you for the attack of a special-summoned Spright monster. To help seal victory in the tight game two or three, I used , which, when special summoned, allows you to target a monster and gain life points equal to its attack. This could often be a gain well over 3,000 thanks to Zeroboros and with a link, fusion, or synchro monster under it.
| Decklist: |
|---|
| Main Deck | Sideboard |
|---|
- 3
- 3
- 1
- 1
- 3
- 3
- 1
- 3
- 3
- 2
- 1
- 3
- 3
- 3
- 2
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 2
| | |
Now that Darkwing Blast is out, I'll make a few changes. Other than that, I was quite happy with my build.
Matchups
Round 1: I beat Predaplant Branded 2-0.
Round 2: My first Tearlaments match of the day. This match I played sub-optimally and it unfortunately ended in a draw.
Round 3: This was against Eldlich Trap Stun. Typical Eldlich shenanigans, floodgates, and traps galore. I went 2-0 thanks to including two Runick Destruction in the main, and also using D.D. Crow to banish from graveyard.
Round 4–6: All Tearlaments of various builds. These matches were to the wire. Nearly every match went to the time limit by utilizing the life point gain from 's effect and gaining 200 attack for each banished card. I could ensure I set up well over 10,000 life points to win in time. Won every match, although most were 2-1.
Round 7: This was an interesting game. The matchup was Burn. The deck is very capable of destroying regular meta decks thanks to its ability to shut down monster effects and negate spells and traps through the use of cards like and . Then, using , they can burn you or regain the life points they spent on their Solemn Judgments. Thankfully, due to the recycling of the Runick cards via , I could play multiple time to win by deck out in game one. Following the same tactic in game two put me into a game state that allowed me to deploy Red Resonator to ensure victory.
Winning
It was great. I rarely find the time to compete in bigger events these days and barely even get to make it to locals sometimes. I wanted to at least top this tournament as I was trying to secure my spot at the European Championships next year. I told my fiancée months ago I'd make this cut. It was a nice change to be able to go to an event and just have a good time with friends while also aiming to top.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, not of Cardmarket.
