That's basically because of my Side Decking habits. I side at least five cards against any given match-up because I actually want to draw those cards. To accomplish this, I have to put very generic cards in my Side Deck, like Smashing Ground.
That means that I'm not siding cards that are auto-wins against certain decks. An example of that would be Light-Imprisoning Mirror in the Lightsworn/Zombie format. You draw Light-Imprisoning, and you win against Lightsworn. Instead, I'm using cards like Banisher of the Radiance, which don't win duels on their own, but help significantly against a lot of different decks, like X-Sabers, Gravekeeper's, Frog Monarchs, Fish OTK, and Lightsworn.
However, because the Gravekeeper's match is so bad, I may have to break this habit. Closed Forest is basically a free win against Gravekeeper's, so siding three might be justified. Along the same lines, Ally Salvo is also very one-dimensional, but it kills Skill Drain in Hero Beat, which can cause me trouble.
Fortunately, the format has slowed down to the point where I can afford to wait to draw these cards. I would wait for them in the same way that I wait for Scrap Chimera: if I open with them, I can start aggressively, but if not, then I merely stall the game out until I can draw into them.
Unfortunately, besides simply not drawing the cards, there's a huge downside to Side Decking like this. If I were to go up against a rogue deck like Gladiator Beasts, I wouldn't be as prepared, since I would be dropping the generic stuff (Smashing Ground) for specific stuff (Ally Salvo).
In this way, Closed Forest is closing off my Side Deck to more versatile options, but if it can help against the second most played deck, then it might just pay off.
All I have to do to accomplish this is drop $50-60 on Closed Forests...
Closed Forest is amazing, but I'm in the same boat as you. I'm not going to spend 30-40 on a side deck card.
ReplyDelete@Michael Bonacini
ReplyDeleteActually, I have been saving money for the YCS, so why not use it to help me make Top 32? With Gravekeeper's and their endless access to Necrovalley, I need something to put a stop to it, which is why I'm going to get Closed Forests.
This format will probably have a lot of Gravekeeper's, so I'm hoping that getting Closed Forests will be a good investment. If Gravekeeper's end up dying for some reason, then I'll be happy either way. Yay, win-win!
I used to not be for Closed Forest because you sided it for one deck: Gravekeepers. Granted, they're worth siding for, but I don't really like non-versatile side-deck cards. I'm currently using Zombie World, but it doesn't have the same crippling effect on Gravekeepers, although it does help against Monarchs/Fish OTK.
ReplyDeleteBut now that Dragunity have made their way on the field, there are two potential threats that Closed Forest does wonders against. So I can happily advocate in favor of Closed Forest.
Ally Salvo is tricky because of the fact that it has to die by battle. Of course, Light Beat doesn't really swarm, but one thing I did when I played the deck was try and not attack face-downs.
I played Light Beat when GK's had just come into power and Snowman Eater was the hot tech of the day, so there were plenty of reasons for me not to smash into set monsters. I mained two NoCs for this reason and would try and Gemini Spark any others if I had another monster to summon as a follow up.
Light Beat is hard to side for, and Ally Salvo is viable but I think it might let you down. I would look for something more reliable, but heavens knows what that is.
(If you have any friends going and playing Samurai, I would advise them to look at the card Mysterious Guard. It's kind of like Penguin Soldier when you control a Warrior, but you topdeck one of their cards as well as return another to their hand. Maybe not optimal, but you might give it some play-testing.)
Apologies for the lengthy post.
I see Samurai being more prevalent, but Gravekeeper will still be a big deal. You're also going to be using Scraps, which literally helps Closed Forest because your monsters are mostly beasts.
ReplyDeleteIf I can get a good deal I would pick up a couple, but eh. I'm already using Skyscrapers and Captain Golds for Gemini.
@whyohwhynousername
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't Side Deck Closed Forest against Dragunities, most likely. Definitely not three. It's all for the Gravekeeper's, since the two cards that mess me up are Necrovalley and Skill Drain. Skill Drain is taken care of by Ally Salvo, but I'm still going to Side Deck more generic Spell/Trap hate, since I found the room.
@Michael Bonacini
The thing is that I almost always 2-0 Six Samurai, so I don't really care about that match-up. The only way that I would lose a duel to Six Samurai is if they open with Gateway and I don't draw a Tuner in my starting hand to deal with it.
Necrovalley is a huge problem, so Closed Forest should help. Gravekeeper's is my only bad match-up, so I need to side crazily for it.
Skyscrapers are an interesting idea, and definitely something worth trying. I hope you do well.
3 Closed Forest might be excessive, i would've thought 2 as optimal. Alongside the pair of banishers you side I can see you holding your own against gravekeeper's. You have at least 1 or 2 pot of expensiveness mained yes? Then you'll find 2 forests enough. (double mst ftw!)
ReplyDelete@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI actually took Pot of Duality out of my deck. It didn't help that much, and it hindered my Worm Xex plays.
That's why I'll be using three Closed Forest.