Yu-gi-oh! Deck Profile- Malefic Dark World

A while ago, I wrote about Malefic Drain, a fun deck idea which made the notoriously unreliable Malefic archetype semi-viable. The basis for the deck was simple- use the trap Skill Drain to negate the negative effects of the Malefics and cards like Beast King Barbaros, while simultaneously limiting your opponent’s ability to respond. Unfortunately, due to the deck’s hodgepodge nature as an assortment of different cards (everything from Ancient Gears to Gravekeepers), I found it difficult to maintain and ended up scrapping it. However, I still liked several aspects of the Malefic deck, and decided to try and find a way to make the deck work a little better for me.

And so I turned to the dark side…

Or, rather, I decided to use Dark Worlds, the ever-present bane of the Yu-gi-oh metagame, in conjunction with Malefic Skill Drain, making a much faster and more aggressive deck. Just as how Malefic Drain was intended to be used, this deck balances beatdown and control in order to limit the opponent’s ability to respond while also maintaining field presence with a never-ending onslaught of powerful monsters. The added draw power afforded by the Dark World archetype, as well as Grapha’s obstinate refusal to die, makes this version far more aggressive than the typical Malefic Drain deck. This isn’t exactly what I’d call a competitive deck (I wouldn’t exactly call anything I build competitive), but it has been performing well thus far.

The deck uses the standard Dark World lineup- three Graphas, three Snowws, and three Browws- as well as the standard Malefics (Cyber End and Stardust. For the lulz, I’ve also included Malefic Truth Dragon). It’s a pretty sparse monster lineup, but it covers all the necessary bases. Grapha is your main beater, can be discarded to destroy one of your opponent’s cards, and recycles a low-level Dark World monster. Malefic Stardust Dragon protects your field spells when not under Skill Drain. Malefic Cyber End Dragon is a bigger beater, Broww gives you extra draw power, Snoww searches for any of your key cards, and so on. I’ve also included a copy of Beiige, which combos well with Grapha (discard Beiige for Gates, draw a card, Beiige summons himself and bounces back to the hand to summon Grapha). I'm not using Tour Guide in the main deck simply because I find that it clashes with Skill Drain, but this is up to the player. Grapha and Malefic Stardust are also Trade-in fodder and can be used to Xyz summon a Rank 8 in a pinch.

I'm Snoww and I approve this message.

The spell lineup is also pretty standard, but I feel like I should defend some of my choices here. I’m not running Dragged Down into the Grave or Advance Draw in the main deck, for example. With three Dark World Dealings, three Trade-ins, three Upstart Goblins, and three Gates, this deck has plenty of potential draw/discard power. I have also included Foolish Burial, which can send a Grapha to the grave so that you can bounce a card and summon it (you can also send Malefic Truth Dragon so that you don’t end up drawing it), and One Day of Peace, which can buy you an extra turn or delay your opponent. I used to run Seal of Orichalcos in the main deck, like in my old Malefic Drain variant, but ended up cutting it for a single copy of Terraforming, which has added a little consistency to the deck. As for the traps, I’m simply using three Skill Drains as well as the two Virus cards, which can be used to further hinder your opponent (Grapha is almost a free resource for these cards).

The key to playing Dark Worlds effectively is to make all of your cards count- don’t burn through your draw cards just because you can, but strive to make each move at the most opportune moment. Many bad Dark World players simply don’t get this and end up tearing through their whole deck without really making effective plays, and if your opponent is able to set up their board then no amount of draw power is likely to save you if you aren’t using your cards effectively. The trick is to be aggressive yet somewhat cautious at the same time, making sure you have board presence while saving a few cards for when they are needed most.

The Extra Deck contains the more powerful new Rank 4 Xyz monsters (Honor ARK and Exiton Knight), a variety of Rank 8 monsters which can be brought out using Grapha or Malefic Stardust as materials, the cards needed to bring out the Malefics (of course), and some Rank 3 Xyz that can be brought out if you ever find yourself able to. The side deck consists mostly of interesting tech cards some people have recommended including in Dark Worlds, although I find myself siding in Dragged Downs and Mind Crush during matches.

So without further ado, here is my deck list!
 

Monsters x16

Malefic Truth Dragon

Malefic Cyber End Dragon x2

Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World x3

Malefic Stardust Dragon x3

Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World

Snoww, Unlight of Dark World x3

Broww, Hunter of Dark World x3

Spells x19

Allure of Darkness

One Day of Peace

Trade-in x3

Dark Hole

Upstart Goblin x3

Dark World Dealings x3

Foolish Burial

Forbidden Lance x2

Terraforming

The Gates of Dark World x3

Traps x5

Deck Devastation Virus

Eradicator Epidemic Virus

Skill Drain x3

Extra Deck x15

Cyber End Dragon x3

Stardust Dragon x3

Evilswarm Exiton Knight

Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis

Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings

Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand

Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder

Number 101: Silent Honor ARK

Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction

Leviair the Sea Dragon

Wind-up Zenmaines

Side Deck x15

Malefic Cyber End Dragon

Doomcaliber Knight

Trance Archfiend

Dragged Down into the Grave x3

Forbidden Lance

Zombie World

The Seal of Orichalcos

Mind Crush

Reckless Greed x3

Light-Imprisoning Mirror x2

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