Dealing with Inzektors

Seeing as how Inzektors will be legal in the TCG in a couple of days, I've started contemplating about how to deal with them.  The reason I'm completely ignoring all of the other themes from ORCS is because they aren't nearly as deadly.  So what if you lose half of your hand to a first turn Wind-Up loop?  You still have three cards, and they just have a field full of weak Monsters.  Either way, you should at least be running Effect Veiler to lessen the chances of getting looped...

Anyways, after thinking for a while about Inzektors, I've realized that the plus-4 they get off of the Dragonfly/Hornet/Centipede combo isn't all that powerful by itself.  It's the fact that they can do it three turns straight that's scary, provided they get the first one off.  Like Six Samurai, Inzektors have proven to be one of those decks where if they open well, you can't do very much to stop it, but if they don't, they can't do very much at all.

So, dealing the first Dragonfly is the problem.  The way that people will usually deal with this is by using certain Traps, like Solemn Warning or Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, or by using Effect Veiler or D.D. Crow.  That's great and all, but they'll be expecting this and will often be ready to play around it.  It's not uncommon for Inzektors to play Trap Stun, which deals with your Traps, and they can also run Dimensional Fissure, which stops your "hand Traps."  So, if they can stop what you're trying to stop them with, you basically lost.

The rest of these strategies are rather unorthodox, so if you don't care and just want to use the generic stuff, just skip the next three or four paragraphs...

The second way to deal with Inzektors is to OTK them.  Yeah, not much to be said about that.  Just play Lightsworn or Six Samurai and hope to get lucky or something.

A third way, which is quite unconventional, is to use a deck that leaves its field empty on the opponent's turn.  How is this possible?  There's only one way I can think of: Drill Warrior.  That's right; you can keep your Drill Warrior safe during their turn by banishing it with its effect, then beat them down during your turn.  If Inzektors somehow become "tier zero," then this will be something to consider, but otherwise, Quickdraw Synchron-based decks are too inconsistent to deal with the rest of the meta.

A fourth option is hand disruption.  Get rid of that Dragonfly after they grab the second one from the first combo.  Mind Crush and D.D. Designator could work as generic hand disruption.  Dark Worlds also have access to their own forms of hand disruption, but they would lose to the same types of cards that are sided against Inzektors like Macro Cosmos.  This strategy isn't all that great, seeing as how you would have to get combo'd on before being able to use it most of the time.

The latter three options don't seem all that appealing, but they have the surprise factor that can throw off an Inzektor player pretty easily.  However, the most generic strategy of just siding in more Traps will probably be the most common.  As I've said, though, it provides the same dilemma of playing against Six Samurai during their format.  They will be able to anticipate your counters and side in counters for them.  Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about that but try your best and hope to be luckier than them.

So, how can we best prepare to stop them?  You should already know about stuff like Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Macro Cosmos, Solemn Warning, and Chain Disappearance, so I won't go into those.  They're all good generic options, but they lose to Trap Stun, so I'm hesitant to rely on them.  Instead, let's look at another plausible Side Deck card.

Foolish Return, that garbage Rare that you pulled so many times from Storm of Ragnarok while trying to get Six Samurai cards, isn't garbage anymore.  If they have their Hornet set up in the Graveyard, you can send it back to the deck to stymie them.  If you banish it, then they can get it back with a Tour Guide into Leviair play.  However, it's harder to access while it's in the deck, making this a better way of stopping their combo.  Let's consider the following:

You go first and Set Foolish Return and perhaps a Monster.  Your opponent opens with their Dragonfly and Hornet, and proceeds to summon the Dragonfly and equip Hornet from their hand.  They send Hornet to the Graveyard to target your Set back row, of course, and you Chain Foolish Return, sending Hornet back to their deck.  Now, they have to consider what they want to Special Summon with Dragonfly's effect.  If they have another Hornet in hand, you would've lost anyway, but if not, they will probably decide to Special Summon the Hornet you sent back and overlay for an Xyz Monster.  So, your opponent basically just used two cards in their hand to make a Rank 3 Xyz Monster.  All you lost was a Foolish Return, and perhaps a Set Monster.

What would've happened if you banished that Hornet with D.D. Crow instead?  Your opponent would be able to destroy your lone back row with Hornet, then Special Summon Centipede.  If you Chain D.D. Crow to Centipede's equip effect, they would be able to simply overlay for Leviair and grab the Hornet back.  So, you would lose at least one card plus the D.D. Crow, and they would be left with Leviair and Hornet on the field.

In both scenarios, you will have to minus, but Foolish Return is better at mitigating that minus.  D.D. Crow may make them waste a Centipede, but Foolish Return is more reliable overall.  It prevents them from using Leviair to bring back the Hornet, gets around stuff like Dimensional Fissure and Debunk, and also adds a psychological aspect to your play.  A Set Foolish Return might look like a Solemn Warning to them.  They might waste a Trap Stun only to have their Hornet sent back to the deck before they can make a play.

And if you think about it, that's the most important factor in stopping Inzektors.  You have to make them waste their first Dragonfly.  That's what all those Side Deck cards like Solemn Warning and Trap Hole are being used for.  If you use Foolish Return, you won't lose to something like Trap Stun or Limit Reverse, which would let them continue their combo unhindered.

Am I saying that I won't be using Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror against Inzektors?  No, I'm not crazy.  Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror also hurts other decks which I would expect to face, like Dark Worlds and Infernities, so there's no reason not to at least side it.  However, in an attempt to be able to better deal with Inzektors by siding unconventional cards, I will most likely play Foolish Return.  Besides, it's not like it doesn't serve the same purpose as D.D. Crow against other decks, not that people were siding D.D. Crow to begin with...