Introduction
My name is
, here to bring you a guide to the newly-supported T.G. archetype.T.G. (short for Tech Genus) was originally piloted by Bruno Antimony in the 5D's anime, wherein he would guide Yusei Fudo into learning Accel Synchro, a form of advanced Synchro summoning requiring one Tuner Synchro monster and at least one non-Tuner Synchro monster which allowed the user to summon powerful Synchro monsters at Quick Effect speed. This is reflected in the strict materials of the T.G. archetypes largest monsters (such as Loading...
and Loading...
) and the universal effect of the T.G. Tuner Synchro monsters to Quick Synchro on the opponent's turn.
The word "genus" is defined as a ranking of living and fossil organisms used in taxonomy. This suits the Tech Genus monsters perfectly as they each represent cybernetically-modified organisms, from salamanders to zombies to even humans! They are the ideal monsters for Antimony, who is himself an android from the distant future.
T.G. has historically seen little playability (the strongest it's ever been, contextually, is T.G. Stun), but the support provided to the deck in the TCG set Age of Overlord has breathed new life into an otherwise defunct set of cards. These cards allow pilots to fully embrace the spirit of the anime's Accel Synchro like never before, even when locking the opponent with Loading... .
This article was originally published on the release day of T.G. and Snake-Eye in Master Duel. Since then, many advances have been made in discovering the deck's capabilities, enough to warrant an update to the guide. Some notable changes are:
- Better clarity on the ratios of the core Main Deck.
- Additional Extra Deck options.
- More information on the extended Snake-Eye engine and the addition of the Fiendsmith engine.
- Updated decklists and combos.
Deckbuilding
- Core Main Deck
- Extra Deck
- Engines
- Consistency Spells
The T.G. Monsters
Regardless of the supplementary engines you play alongside T.G., these monsters are the core necessary to perform any form of combos with this deck. The number of each can vary depending on what works best for you; there are no "solved" ratios and what you play will depend on what you are trying to dodge in terms of disruption and what you want your endboard to look like.
T.G. Rocket Salamander
Most of your plays will ultimately hinge on accessing Loading... . This card is so important, T.G. players will use cards like Loading... and the Sinful Spoils package just to search for it. Loading... has two effects, the first tributing any T.G. (including itself) to summon another T.G. from Deck and the second reviving any Level 4 or lower T.G. in the GY if you control a Machine-type T.G. monster. That said, it does very little on its own, making many of the other cards in this list just as necessary.
Due to the searchability of Loading... and its potential to conflict with supplementary engines for your Normal Summon, some decks can survive with just one while others benefit greatly from up to three copies.
T.G. Screw Serpent
You really can't churn out Level 5 Synchros without Loading... . In addition to being a Level 4 Tuner, its effect allows it to revive another Level 4 or lower T.G. from the GY. It's searchable, but playing more copies allows you to play through some disruption better and can give you easier follow-up, with some combos requiring a minimum of two to perform.
T.G. Tank Grub
The utility provided by Loading... makes it a mainstay in T.G. decks. Though it is a Tuner, it can be considered a non-Tuner for the Synchro summon of a T.G. monster, meaning you can pair it with any of your Level 1 extenders, both Tuners and non-Tuners, to make Loading... . Additionally, it summons a Level 1 "T.G. Token" when used as Synchro material, providing the extra body often required to make the full Calamity lock combo work.
T.G. Drill Fish
One of T.G.'s best extenders going second, Loading... allows you to combo and can threaten interaction on its own. It summons itself for free so long as you control a T.G. monster and, since it can both attack directly and destroy a monster in the Battle Phase, it forces your opponent to negate its effect or remove it rather than hitting one of your core combo pieces. Its largest downside is that it's xenophobic; as in, if you control any monsters other than T.G. monsters (like a Loading... ) it can be dead in hand.
T.G. Booster Raptor
The most searchable of the Level 1 T.G. extenders, Loading... is a fantastic addition to any T.G. deck, but especially those that run Loading... . It serves an important role as a Level 1 non-Tuner that does not requires all monsters you control to be T.G. monsters, a perfect fit for combos insulated by generic on-field monsters.
T.G. Gear Zombie
A potentially very valuable card, Loading... is T.G.'s only free Level 1 extender that's also a Tuner. This means, if your Loading... is negated on your first turn and you're left with only a Level 1 non-Tuner T.G. on your field, you can use this to still get to Loading... . Additionally, you can use this to avoid immediately fetching Loading... by immediately making Loading... with Loading... .
T.G. Cyber Magician
A fairly interesting starter for the deck, Loading... lets you use T.G. monsters in your hand as material for the Synchro Summon of a T.G. Synchro monster. Ideally, if you need to use this as your Normal Summon, the T.G. monster in your hand will be Loading... so you won't need to spend Loading... 's GY effect on it. Loading... is not really necessary as a starter; one of the main reasons you'd play it is to bait Loading... and Loading... , since negating its effects, despite what you might think, doesn't prevent you from Synchroing with your hand. That said, once players start to learn the deck, they won't fall for this anymore.
T.G. Warwolf
Although quite important at one point in time, so long as Loading... is legal and playable in Master Duel, Loading... is not important at all to the T.G. deck. That said, there are some interesting combos which use this card, so if you want to try any of those non-standard versions of the deck, you could play one of these.
The T.G. Spells/Traps
T.G. Limiter Removal
T.G.'s only in-archetype 1.5-card combo that ends on a meaningful board begins with Loading... . By discarding a card as cost, you can search out both Loading... and any Level 1 extender to recreate the two-card combos that manifest T.G.'s stronger endboards. It's also searchable off of Loading... if you already have Loading... , allowing you to fill your hand with extenders. Opponents may shotgun Loading... on activation, which can protect your otherwise fragile main combo. The GY effect is useful for enabling follow-up plays as well, though not usable in the same turn as the first effect.
In almost all builds of T.G., Loading... is an easy three-of. However, builds employing an extended Snake-Eye engine may only need one or even none at all.
T.G. All Clear
Practically a custom card for the archetype, Loading... is an advantage machine. It searches any T.G. monster from Deck or GY, destroys a T.G. monster (which can trigger the floating effects of those that have them), provides an extra Normal Summon, and turns your T.G. monsters into Machines, enabling the effects of Loading... and Loading... . The only reason it's not an instant three-of is because it's a searchable combo piece and not a starter, but many will appreciate extra copies to play through your Loading... being negated and as a potential starter alongside Loading... .
T.G. Close
Nothing hurts more than seeing your board invalidated by board breakers like Loading... and Loading... , which is why T.G. players were thrilled to receive their own archetypal Counter Trap Loading... . It's searchable by Loading... , but the most common play is to send it to the GY, then set it to the field after banishing and resummoning one of your own Synchros with Loading... .
TG1-EM1
So close to greatness but doomed by the specificity of searchers, Loading... looks fantastic on paper, being able to trade the opponent's key monsters with our weaklings. However, because it's a "TG" Trap and not a "T.G." Trap, Loading... can't search this. Our deck, which can struggle going second and when playing through disruption, can't afford to run this gimmicky, unsearchable Trap.
T.G. Extra Deck Monsters
All of our Main Deck T.G. monsters have implicit synergy with T.G. Synchro monsters via their levels meeting the proper Synchro level requirements. Additionally, some T.G. Extra Deck monsters have amazing combo-enabling and advantage-building effects that are built primarily to be used with our T.G. Main Deck monsters. Also, if that weren't enough, our greatest asset Loading... locks us into T.G. monsters for the rest of the turn. This is to say, playing an ample number of our plentiful archetypal Synchro monsters (and one Link!) is absolutely necessary; these cards have no generic replacement.
T.G. Mighty Striker
One of the two new T.G. Synchro monsters that facilitates our gameplan, Loading... does an unbelievable amount for the deck. It can search a T.G. Spell/Trap upon Synchro summon (generally either Loading... or Loading... ), sends a T.G. card to the GY when sent there for Loading... or Loading... access, and serves as a Level 2 Synchro to pair with two Level 5 Synchros for Loading... . You generally only need one, but a second can help play through Loading... and some combos make a second for further plays.
T.G. Over Dragonar
Turns out Loading... isn't that broken when you can only summon T.G. monsters with it. Loading... , when Synchro Summoned, summons as many T.G. monsters from your GY as you want in Defense Position. Not only is this monster the key to practically all of our combos, it can even recover other T.G. Synchro monsters, from little ones like Loading... to larger ones like Loading... (though keep in mind that it cannot resummon Loading... ).
As impactful as this card is, it's also our greatest chokepoint. If the opponent has any familiarity with T.G., they'll hold their Loading... for exactly Loading... , knowing that it can shut down our entire turn. Thankfully, we have several means to protect it that will be discussed further into the article. As of the writing of this guide, we do not know the rarity of Loading... , but if it's less than UR I would recommend playing three when possible.
T.G. Hyper Librarian
Its generic materials make it a staple in other Synchro spam decks, but Loading... has great utility at home as well. It lets you draw a card for every Synchro summon you perform and can serve as non-Tuner Synchro material; you can sometimes get upwards of four draws before removing it from the field, building up a hand of extenders, hand traps, and follow-up. If you can somehow keep it on the field while using the effect of Loading... , you even draw off of that, too.
T.G. Star Guardian
This card is very straightforward in its ability to extend combos and recycle resources. Loading... retrieves a T.G. monster from the GY on Special Summon (not just Synchro Summon) and features a built-in ability to Special Summon any monster from your hand, including that newly-added monster. It's also potentially a very valuable piece of your endboard, with the effect shared by all T.G. Tuner Synchros to Synchro Summon on the opponent's turn. You can play two for follow-up and an extra Tuner Synchro, but since it can be triggered by Loading... there isn't too much reason to play more than one.
T.G. Blade Blaster
In less than optimal hands, Loading... will be how you access Loading... on the opponent's turn. It synergizes with Loading... in that whatever is banished by its effect is subsequently summoned to the field, with your primary target being Loading... . It's also just a large guy that can be made under the T.G. summon lock, which can be just what you need to OTK.
There are some reasons you might consider cutting Loading... , the first of which being the constraints of the T.G. Extra Deck. If you play numerous other tech cards, this Plan B can be less than worthwhile to include over other Plan B options, especially in Snake-Eye lists. Secondly, it really only has a superior payoff to a regular Level 10 Synchro if it's used to Calamity lock, so if you don't use that card, you can probably do better than a Loading... with one activation.
T.G. Glaive Blaster
Representing (in my humble opinion) the pinnacle of Yu-Gi-Oh boss monster card design, Loading... is both a powerful obstacle with a unique form of interaction against the opponent and a means of recurring further resources and extending plays. You always want a Loading... on your endboard if you can make it there due to its synergy with Loading... . Some pre-release lists ran two, but you generally value more Extra Deck space over the capacity to summon this a second time (especially since Loading... give you the capacity to put it back into the Extra Deck from the GY).
T.G. Trident Launcher
The only archetypal T.G. Link monster, Loading... is a very interesting card in the context of current play. It was originally designed for Master Rule 4's restriction on where Extra Deck monsters could be played, with three downwards arrows to facilitate three Synchro monsters at once. Before Age of Overlord, T.G. combos needed to resolve Loading... to make any plays, but now that role is largely filled by Loading... .
Despite being somewhat outdated, Loading... can still be a powerful card, allowing pilots to pivot to a new line through disruption and unbricking certain hands. That said, many combos don't require it anymore, and if you're itching for space in your Extra Deck and your Main Deck is already quite consistent, you might consider cutting it.
T.G. Wonder Magician
Probably the most played T.G. Synchro monster while Loading... was legal, Loading... is not so important for our current strategy. The mandatory ability to pop a Spell/Trap on Synchro Summon was historically used to trigger Loading... , but the most use we can get out of it (aside from occasionally hitting an opponent's Spell/Trap) is hitting our own Loading... to Calamity lock without Loading... . Still, if you want two Level 5 Tuner Synchros in your Extra Deck, there's some potential benefit in running one Loading... in place of a second Loading... .
T.G. Recipro Dragonfly
If you play Loading... , most of the use you'll get from it is simply as a Level 2 non-Tuner Synchro to use as material, as it's the only one available under the T.G. summon lock. It can sometimes be used to resummon Synchro materials in the GY to recycle their effects, get an extra draw from Loading... , and make Loading... or Loading... with itself as material, but you might also end up finding it wasting space in your Extra Deck, never seeing the light of day. You're welcome to try it (and it's even necessary for some combos), but its place as a T.G. staple has largely faded.
T.G. Power Gladiator
The effect of Loading... is largely meaningless, serving only to occasionally squeeze out an OTK or thwart Loading... . It's true value is being the only non-Tuner Level 5 T.G. Synchro monster aside from Loading... , which you need for most combos. This is essentially a mostly inconsequential budget option for an extra body since, as of the writing of this article, we do not know the rarity of Loading... .
Shooting Star Dragon T.G. EX
Based on the effect alone, Loading... seems like an easy card to dismiss. Negation of monster effects targeting monsters is a mediocre effect, even if it's not a OPT, negating a single attack is terrible, and the GY effect seems like a steep cost for a guy that does so little. Even if you have a line that just ends on a Level 5 Tuner and Level 5 non-Tuner (such as the one-card Loading... combo), rather than make this on your turn, you would rather just wait until the opponent's turn to make Loading... , right?
One benefit Loading... has is the ability to make a large beatstick going second that has some amount of protection. Loading... can also do this, except it negates Spell/Traps that target only itself and requires cards in hand to discard rather than GY resources to banish.
The banish for cost effect of Loading... can also be used to fulfill the role of enabling a Calamity lock play, pairing with Loading... to revive Loading... on your own turn. This means that you can retain Glaive's revive effect on your opponent's turn to steal one of their monsters or get an extra activation off of Loading... . One of the downsides is that, if you needed the revive on your own turn to get to Loading... in the first place, you may be out of a Calamity lock where you otherwise would have had one. Another downside is that the monster effect you typically negate is your own Loading... , which is gone for the rest of the duel after it's banished, limiting your follow-up plays (especially if you only play one Serpent).
T.G. Halberd Cannon
I've included Loading... specifically to dissuade readers from playing this card. I know it's iconic and everything, but the effect is just too mediocre to justify spending any resources making it, especially since you typically would only be able to choose one between this and the insurmountably stronger options Loading... and Loading... .
Negating a Summon sounds incredible until you realize that it only includes inherent summons and cannot negate effects that would summon a monster (like Loading... does), severely limiting your options. The clause that it needs to be face-up to activate and resolve the effect means that your opponent can respond with any form of removal and invalidate your card. And if that weren't enough, the floating effect to summon a T.G. monster from the GY is a when effect, meaning it will almost always miss timing.
I'm sure it would feel fantastic to finally make the card that was so impossible to summon a decade ago, so if you really need to, leave it in Casual queue. You'll feel nothing but pain bringing Loading... to Ranked ladder.
Generic Extra Deck Monsters
Whether they're win conditions, combo enablers, or OTK enablers, these generic Extra Deck monsters are made either early on your turn or during your opponent's turn to avoid the T.G. lock imposed by Loading... .
Baronne de Fleur
I mean, it's Loading... . You know what it does.
It does have some specific synergies with T.G.; since you generally end on a pairing of one Level 5 Tuner and one Level 5 non-Tuner, you can Synchro into the Level 10 Loading... on the opponent's turn very easily. In some cases, you can banish and resummon it on your turn with Loading... to replenish a spent negate for the following turn. If you open Loading... and nothing else, you can end on just this and follow-up in hand, praying for a good top-deck draw. You can even use it with Loading... to make Loading... once the negate is spent. Ultimately, there's no reason not to play Loading... .
Crimson Dragon
As of the writing of this guide, we don't know for certain if Loading... is available in Master Duel, but if it is, it generally represents your win condition, paired with an on-field Loading... . It facilitates the most straight-forward and protected version of the Calamity lock (though it isn't strictly necessary to perform it) and can give you fantastic plays even if Calamity lock is banned, converting into one of several powerful boss monsters listed below.
If Loading... is not yet in Master Duel by the time T.G. releases, the power ceiling of this deck drops pretty hard.
Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity
All references to the "Calamity lock" represent an endboard that summons this monster, Loading... , on the opponent's turn. It prevents your opponent from activating cards or effects, full stop. They can set cards, summon monsters, and even attack, but very few decks can survive without activating cards on their own turn. What's more, your opponent can't even respond to the lock itself (though they can intercept the cards that perform the summon of Calamity).
If you have this plus Loading... on your field, as long as you have any other monster to remove the cards your opponent sets to their field, you have exactly 8000 ATK on the field, enough for an easy OTK. The Calamity lock, though toxic and uninteractive for your opponent, is perhaps the strongest thing T.G. can pull off. The main reason you might entertain not playing it is that some decks, like Labrynth, ignore it completely or can otherwise play around it fine. Given this, if your Extra Deck is slim and you need to choose between this and Loading... , the latter is perhaps more reliable as a whole.
Cosmic Blazar Dragon
You'll most likely want a gameplan other than the Calamity lock off of your Loading... , especially if the Calamity lock is banned as of when you read this guide. In that case, you won't need to look much further than Loading... . It's an omni-negate (including summons!) that banishes itself from the field as cost, dodging interactions from your opponent. Moreover, because it's not a OPT, you can summon it back to your field with Loading... after using the negate, allowing you to negate for a second time.
Though you wouldn't often do so, Loading... is summonable in-engine without Loading... , giving you something to fall back on if Loading... is outed. This card is highly recommended even with Calamity lock available, but becomes practically mandatory when not.
Red Supernova Dragon
Yes, you can make Loading... with Loading... . You can even make it in-engine if you try hard enough. But trust me, its effect is not as good as it looks. If you wanna play it consistently, once the Resonator support from The Crimson King is in Master Duel (if it isn't already by the time you're reading this), you can play it there.
However, depending on the decks that you find most frequently on Ranked ladder, there is an argument that, against certain decks, Loading... is more valuable than Loading... . This is because, similarly to the latter, you can resummon it with Loading... after using its non-OPT effect which banishes itself. The issue is, though you can use the effect a second time on your opponent's turn, if you do, it won't come back until the End Phase of your own turn, meaning you can't mobilize its massive ATK for an OTK or banish your opponent's field on your turn.
Stardust Sifr Divine Dragon
This is less of a serious consideration and more of an honorable mention for its synergy with Loading... (easily makeable with Superheavy Samurai). The destruction protection is actually really nice and comprehensive; rather than blocking the first time any card would be destroyed, Loading... blocks the first time each card would be destroyed. This means, for example, if your opponent uses Loading... to destroy Loading... and Loading... to destroy a set Loading... , both instances would be blocked individually.
The monster negate attached to Loading... is not as comprehensive as Loading... 's omni-negate and can't be looped with Loading... without using up one of its banish activations, but there is occasionally some utility in destroying a card on the field that isn't necessarily the card you're negating. Sticking around after using the negate can also be handy if Loading... is outed, so that you aren't left with a completely open field.
If Loading... is sent to the GY and you have Loading... in your GY, you can summon the latter by banishing the former, giving you a 2500 ATK body with which to make a Level 10 Synchro. If Loading... is on the field when you do so, you can resummon the Loading... from your banished cards, replenishing the negate and the destruction protection.
Even though the preceding three paragraphs just made this card sound incredible, we don't always have a line through Loading... and it can be hard to justify such a defensive strategy when we have the capacity to negate every playable card in the opponent's hand or prevent them from activating anything at all with the Calamity lock... but this is something to look out for in the future.
Spright Elf
Because Loading... is banned in both the TCG and OCG formats and has never before existed alongside the Age of Overlord T.G. support, synergy and combos using both at once are very underexplored. However, early testing indicates that the targeting protection of Loading... , along with its ability to reborn Loading... every turn, makes it a highly recommended inclusion. Guarding Loading... from Loading... is immensely valuable and adding two omni-negates to a Loading... into Loading... set-up is way too good to pass up. Disregard it at your own peril.
S:P Little Knight
Though Loading... is an Age of Overlord card just like the newest T.G. monsters, the likelihood that this card is available as of the publishing of this article is very slim. However, if you're reading this guide at some point in the future where this is playable in Master Duel while trying to learn and build T.G., you'll definitely want to consider it.
One of the biggest weaknesses of T.G. is playing under Loading... . We can push through it and Calamity lock if it's available or lock ourselves with our own Loading... depending on our hand, but otherwise we can do little more than pass turn and hope our opponent bricked, since our shortest path to minimal disruption still requires two summons and a fairly specific opening hand. Loading... is not only a potential gameplan through disruption, but also a more consistent two-summon answer to getting hit with Loading... . It can also be used on turn 3 before locking ourselves into T.G. monsters to help dismantle whatever board our opponent made on turn 2, since we'll almost always have a Synchro or Link monster to use as material.
Accesscode Talker
If Loading... survived the opponent's turn and we're running Loading... , Loading... can be a powerful OTK tool. It needs very little explanation, I imagine, as pretty much any deck that runs Link monsters can use them to boost its attack and as banish fodder for unrespondable, non-targeting pops. Despite this, we generally don't use it.
For one, since you're probably not going to play any more than two Links, the payoff for Loading... is fairly small. Not every combo line gets to have Loading... , and if you don't have it, you're spending a lot of on-field resources for a Link-4. You can convert a turn 1 Loading... with just one additional material, but it has the same issue as Elf: it's rarely ever going to survive to turn 3. And if it does survive, say, after a successful Calamity lock, you have two 4000 ATK monsters on your field already; what's an unprotected Loading... going to do?
Mist Bird Clausolas
You get a couple of neat utility uses from Loading... . One of them is as a way to force interaction from your opponent going second without a lot of commitment; if they don't stop it, you can negate an opponent's monster's effects and allow any of your weakling T.G.s to run that monster over by battle.
Loading... can also come in handy in a situation where you have Loading... , Loading... , and any Level 1 non-Tuner on your field when you end your turn, since you can climb into this, then Loading... into Loading... ; or, if you have Loading... , go into any generic Level 8 Synchro (such as Loading... or Loading... , then followed by Loading... .
The second situation is fairly niche and probably not worth sculpting your already tight Extra Deck space around, but Loading... is a fair choice for its dual purposes.
Satellite Warrior
If you value popping cards over an omni-negate from Loading... ... well, Loading... pops a lot of cards. We go through so many Synchro monsters in our combo that this is practically a board wipe, and in some cases can be paired with the Calamity lock to destroy everything your opponent sets before passing their turn. Its ATK doesn't look impressive until it rapidly climbs after destroying cards, easily pairing with any other boss monster for a quick OTK. If you can find the Extra Deck space for it, it's well worth your consideration.
Chaos Angel
The Light attribute of Loading... and Dark attribute of Loading... make Loading... a perfect match for this deck. Both protection effects are live when we make this monster at the end of a standard combo, guarding our Loading... from the opponent's monster effects while also protecting our tiny Loading... from getting run over by battle. Its effects are so potentially strong that it can be worth running this over Loading... , opting against a fragile Calamity lock entirely over a well-defended midrangey board in situations where you don't have access to Loading... or Loading... .
If you only have the 1-card Loading... combo available, Loading... can be a stronger payoff than Loading... , allowing for your Synchro monsters to be protected from disruption on the crackback while offering a banish which can, at times, be just as effective as a negate. Additionally, when paired with Loading... , you can trigger the banish effect multiple times (as it occurs on Special Summon and not a OPT), though be warned that doing so removes its protection effect.
Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying
For tricky opponents with monsters that can't be targeted or run over by battle, your solution may just be Loading... . It's probably the most situational of the Level 10 Synchros, but it's the best access the deck has to non-targeting removal, and a banish that also affects the GY at that. You can trigger the effect yourself using Loading... or on your own turn using Loading... or Loading... . It can also just be a tough card for your opponent to out in a similar vein to Loading... , which is unaffected by more monster effects but vulnerable to Spells/Traps.
Accel Synchro Stardust Dragon
Though Loading... would probably spend most of its time in your Extra Deck collecting dust, there are situations where you'll find yourself wishing that you had it, such as through Loading... and Loading... . Most of the time you'll spend making this card is as a part of the Superheavy Samurai engine, in which it has a bunch of use. You could also use Loading... alongside Loading... to punish an Loading... or Loading... in some instances. In general, I wouldn't recommend investing the Extra Deck space unless you're committed to the Superheavy Samurai engine, especially since the PSY-Frames can be used to make Loading... instead, but, well, the option is there.
Garden Rose Maiden
Seeing more success in variants playing the extended Snake-Eye engine, Loading... can provide a higher ceiling for your combo line. Level 5 non-Tuner Synchros with beneficial effects are few and far between for this strategy, so lines that can make this will be glad for its additional effect. You rarely add Loading... , so where it shines is its GY effect to revive a Dragon Synchro monster in your GY, which will generally be either Loading... or Loading... . The primary drawbacks of Loading... are that she cannot be made under the T.G. lock and is a card more suited to high-roll plays, which will not always be accessible.
Zeus Package
This deck is filled to the brim with Level 1 monsters and has difficulty going second, a combination that encourages Loading... . Moreover, with Loading... , you can go into Zeus without activating a single monster effect, potentially limiting the effectiveness of the opponent's interactions.
That said, it's a significant Extra Deck investment of two monsters (three if you include Loading... ) in a deck with already limited Extra Deck space. T.G. also struggles to combo after making Zeus, meaning in many cases you'll have to pass turn and hope the opponent can't recover. While it can pay off handsomely at times, it's not always a particularly great investment and its viability can be meta-dependent.
Sinful Spoils
The Sinful Spoils engine, comprised of the above four cards, is the gold standard of supplementary engines for this deck. Unless you play a Superheavy Samurai engine (detailed below) these are practically a must-include. With up to six starters, two bricks, no garnets, and going either card-neutral or +1 off the engine alone, Sinful Spoils increases the consistency of this deck tremendously.
Loading... gives you a 1.5-card combo that ends on a free Level 1 monster on the field in Loading... and Loading... or Loading... in hand, without using your Normal Summon. You can even replenish the card you discarded if you opened with Loading... by using its GY effect after activating Loading... .
Snake-Eye Extended
The Sinful Spoils engine above runs just the bare minimum amount of Snake-Eyes necessary to perform its function, but this one is capable of using the board-swelling capabilities of Snake-Eyes to its full advantage. With the garnet Loading... , you gain up to six more starters for the engine in Loading... and Loading... . Just that addition is quite significant, but if you're willing to also play Loading... and Loading... , you can push the ceiling of what a single card is capable of creating in the T.G. archetype.
Keep in mind that, although Loading... is not yet available in Master Duel as of the writing of this article, there is still plenty of merit to playing this engine. Because you end up with so many starters, you can actually avoid playing quite a few T.G. cards that would otherwise be considered mandatory, such as three Loading... or the T.G. extenders, allowing more space for non-engine. Additionally, Snake-Eyes give you access to the Link plays the deck is known for, only limited by your Extra Deck space.
The main downside of this engine is that Loading... becomes an even bigger chokepoint for the deck than usual if you've slashed your back-up plays like Loading... . However, the potential for a higher ceiling, combined with the potential for back-up Link plays, make this engine a compelling option.
Fiendsmith
The Fiendsmith archetype was unveiled very recently as of the writing of this guide, yet it shows a lot of potential as an engine in many different decks, including this one. Essentially, Loading... represents a one-card combo without a Normal Summon into Loading... , which can send any card to help play through disruption, or Loading... , which, on top of being a solid endboard piece, can negate the opponent's Loading... . It doesn't start any combos on its own, but the Fiendsmith engine can be a massive boon to your strategy regardless.
Though it would be nice to see Loading... more often, Loading... making you discard a card in a deck full of engines that discard without many good cards to discard represents too much loss in card advantage to be worthwhile. Loading... isn't the worst thing to draw on its own either, offering a free Level 1 non-tuner to pair with a Normal Summoned Level 1 Tuner in a worst-case scenario while also being able to represent removal going second through Loading... 's on-field effect. Drawing both Loading... and Loading... can be bad if the latter has no target in deck for its search effect, but because of the discarding engines in our deck, it shouldn't be too frequent of an issue to get it into the GY regardless.
Because this engine is so new as of writing this guide, its role in T.G., if any, remains unsolved. "Fiendsmith" is unlikely to even be the TCG-localized name. There is a lot of potential here waiting to be uncovered, and any advances in this engine's capabilities should be closely monitored.
D/D Savant Kepler
This small D/D engine gets you a Level 1 Tuner and a Level 1 non-Tuner on the board, which mostly represents the full combo. Even with just Loading... you can still get a Level 1 Tuner on the field without your Normal Summon, so there's only one card out of five in this engine that's truly "dead" in hand.
This can struggle against disruption since your T.G. Level 1 extenders require you to control a T.G. monster, making it difficult to continue playing without another engine. Fortunately, if your opponent sees Loading... as your first play of the turn, they'll likely think you're playing a dedicated D/D/D deck, which means they might hold an Imperm or Veiler for Loading... .
Miscellaneousaurus
By using the GY effect of Loading... , you can summon a Level 1 Tuner as extension practically for free. It's also searchable with the non-OPT Loading... , which has synergy with the core T.G. monsters as it can get your Loading... . With six playables and no bricks, it seems like a must-have, except...
Loading... is a garnet, since Loading... can only summon monsters from the Deck. If you draw the one garnet, it turns up to six cards in your deck completely useless if you ever need a Tuner extender to play through disruption. However, as long as you don't need a Tuner and any T.G. extender will do, you can still summon Loading... from the deck.
Additionally, this engine is an excellent tool to bait negation. If your first activation is Loading... or Loading... , your opponent will likely believe you are playing a dedicated Dino deck, in which case they will use their Loading... on the GY effect and, when you go second, any monster effect negation on the Quick Effect. This leaves you with the ability to continue to play using any of your primary starters.
Speedroid Terrortop
What this engine generally offers is either two extra bodies for linking into Loading... or an answer to Loading... or Loading... (aside from Loading... ) that takes up very little space in your deck by making Loading... or Loading... . You can also decide to play a copy of Loading... for cases where your only playable card in hand is Loading... , since it can facilitate the summon of Loading... .
Having the dual purpose of guarding your combo or potentially unbricking a dead hand and starting your combo is very handy, making this small engine worth consideration.
Superheavy Samurai (Baronne + Mighty Striker w/ Diabolantis)
This is a very interesting choice that can drastically change the way you approach your deckbuilding. The Superheavy Samurai engine can both make a Loading... on your own turn to insulate your combo from handtraps and provide a Loading... to jumpstart that combo, all with up to nine starters. All it costs is anywhere from 10 to 14 cards in your Main Deck and two cards in the Extra Deck (three, if you also want to include Mr. Plan B Loading... ).
The payoff is tremendous, being able to perform all of this without even using your Normal Summon so long as you open with access to Loading... and play Loading... in your deck. Opening with just Loading... still gets there, but you need to Normal Summon it first.
There are a couple issues with this engine. Firstly, you have to run the garnet Loading... , which can turn off the engine entirely if you draw it. This engine is also particularly vulnerable to Loading... ; if you are hit by it after starting with Loading... you can potentially continue to play afterwards with your T.G. cards, but you can also be left with no option but passing turn on Loading... .
This engine can actually thwart Loading... under fairly specific conditions. It does not aim to summon Loading... by the fifth summon, but it does threaten to before you commit too many resources; you can still play if you have the pieces necessary to combo with your Normal Summon. If you do, you can perform the entire T.G. combo with all your zones freed and no concern for getting your field wiped.
Another weakness of this engine in the context of T.G. is that your Pendulum scales range from 1 to 8 while most of your Main Deck T.G. monsters are Level 1, meaning they cannot be summoned in this way. The most value you will get from a Pendulum Summon with this engine is summoning Loading... and other Superheavy Samurai cards.
Perhaps the most obvious issue with the Superheavy Samurai engine is the restriction on the use of Spell/Trap cards. Though you would probably still run Loading... , having to decide whether using it on a well-timed Loading... is worth the trouble of having much of the engine turned off makes the card worse than it otherwise would be; for that matter, many staple Spells/Traps like Loading... and Loading... would be out of the question, locking you out of valuable non-engine options in metagames where they matter most.
That said, as long as Loading... remains unbanned, there's a lot of value in these cards that makes them a powerful consideration.
Superheavy Samurai (Baronne + Mighty Striker w/ Accel Synchro Stardust)
Frankly, there's very little distinguishing this version of the engine from the one just above, but I'll go over some of the differences.
This variant plays Loading... in order to summon a Level 1 Tuner, which is a second garnet in the deck. If you draw it, you can still make Loading... without your Normal Summon, but you lose out on the Loading... . You also cannot get both of this engine's payoffs without using your Normal Summon, regardless of whether you start with Loading... or Loading... .
In exchange, you get access to Loading... before making Loading... , meaning your search for Loading... is insulated from hand traps unlike the previous version. This wouldn't likely come up on ladder, as players are likely to use up their interactions on Superheavy Samurai cards first, but it can matter in a Best-of-Three tournament setting where they know to hold their Loading... for the chokepoint.
Also unlike the above variant, you don't need cards in addition to the one-card starter in order to receive the full benefit of the payoffs. Because you need Loading... as Synchro material with Loading... , you need an extra T.G. monster to pop with Loading... to perform the search in that version of the engine. Because Loading... provides the Level 2 Tuner by its own effect, you can pop Loading... instead as you would ordinarily.
This variant of the engine can also (sort of) play through Loading... , with the difference being that you can continue to make Loading... with purely Superheavy Samurai cards so long as you have an extra one in hand to Pendulum Summon as a target for Loading... . Unlike the first variant, this is practically the only way to continue since you've used your Normal Summon.
Ultimately there are pros and cons to both, so the one you opt for is based on what elements of each you value more.
Superheavy Samurai (Baronne Only)
I won't go too deep into the downsides of Superheavy Samurai as an engine in general as I would be largely repeating the information stated above. I will, however, discuss the downsides of this variant in particular, as well as some of its upsides.
This version of the Superheavy Samurai engine serves the exclusive purpose of summoning a Loading... in exactly five summons. In that sense, this engine is a more clear counter to Loading... , especially since the negate can be replenished in the End Phase for the next turn by Loading... . This use of Superheavy Samurai also does not require your Normal Summon to execute, leaving it available for your standard T.G. plays. You play one less garnet than the above since you don't need the Loading... and one fewer card in the Extra Deck.
One extra downside of this variant is that you have to play the Karakuris in order for your Loading... to be a one-card starter. Also, for the large Main Deck investment that this engine is, it does not actually get any of your plays started, at best providing a Pendulum Summon which, as discussed previously, is lacking usefulness in T.G. outside of some specific cases. As a result, your deck can end up with less room for non-engine or begin to lack in consistency.
As of the writing of this guide, both Superheavy Samurai engine variants are viable options for your T.G. deck, but if Loading... becomes banned and you enjoy the ability to isolate combos from disruption that the engine generally provides, this would be your best bet.
Adventure
It isn't easy, but you can use the Adventure engine to prevent disruption, including Loading... , while performing T.G. combos. All in all, you give up one Extra Deck slot for seven starters (not including any unbans to Adventure as of reading this guide), four bricks, and no garnets. If you want to avoid running head-first into a Loading... or Loading... , you can cut that down to four starters and no Extra Deck commitment by cutting the Speedroids.
The best starter for this engine is Loading... since it not only gets you access to Adventure by sending Loading... to the GY, but also provides a free Link-2 to help climb into Loading... or as material for a Loading... . Starting with Loading... is doable, though it's harder to consistently perform combos alongside it without Sinful Spoils. A powerful benefit is that opening Rite plays better under Loading... , since you can end on an omni-negate with just one summon.
One for One
A very simple card, Loading... has a lot to offer for T.G., summoning either Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , or Loading... from the Deck. You can use this to start your plays or extend through negation with ease.
Bonfire
Did you know that Loading... is a Pyro monster? If you want to see Salamander in your hand without relying on hard-drawing it or using Loading... , feel free to search it with Loading... . That said, as of the writing of this guide it is not available in Master Duel, with no indication of when it might be released.
Fossil Dig
If your favorite extender is Loading... , you can play Loading... to search it even without Loading... . Granted, the main benefit of this card is to be able to search either one that you're missing, so it's not highly recommended, but worthy of some consideration nonetheless.
Piri Reis Map
If you rely on Loading... or Loading... to begin your combo, you might want to consider Loading... . At the beginning of your Main Phase, at the cost of half your LP, this card can search out either of those cards, giving you an extra consistency boost. Keep in mind that although you can also fetch Loading... with this card, you cannot activate its effect to summon a T.G. Token unless you Normal Summon it, which you won't always find the opportunity to do.
Combos
There are many, many combo lines for this deck depending on what you have in hand, what interruptions the opponent has, and so on. A skilled pilot will understand the ins and outs of this deck well enough to be able to improvise on the fly. That said, it can be a challenge figuring out key combos on your own, so I'll be providing some examples to practice below.
One-Card Combos
T.G. Rocket Salamander
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57003302
D/D Savant Kepler
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57003699
Bonfire (NS after OSS)
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57220229
Snake-Eye Ash (Playing Around Nibiru)
Snake-Eye Ash (Playing Through Negated OSS w/ Cupid Pitch)
(credit to
)Snake-Eye Ash (Draw Phase Calamity Lock w/ Synchro Rumble)
(credit to
)1.5-Card Combos
T.G. Limiter Removal + Any Discard (Calamity + Close)
http://duelingbook.com/replay?id=444133-56980117
(credit to
)T.G. Limiter Removal + Any Discard (Calamity/Blazar + Elf)
(credit to
)Sinful Spoils + Any Discard
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57005276
Superheavy Samurai + Any Discard (w/ Normal Summon)
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57059364
Superheavy Samurai + Any Two Discards (w/o Normal Summon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQBE7rnhobc
(credit to
)Two-Card Combos
Kepler + Any T.G. Extender
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57004389
Salamander + Grub/Salamander
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=444133-56984964
(credit to
)Salamander + T.G. All Clear
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57004915
Salamander + Screw Serpent
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57027692
2.5-Card Combos
Salamander + T.G. All Clear + Any Discard
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57005011
Limiter Removal + Any T.G. Extender/Salamander + Any Discard
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57025394
Sinful Spoils + Limiter Removal + Any Discard (Playing Through Imperm)
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57094594
Sinful Spoils + Limiter Removal + Any Two Discards (Playing Through Droll)
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57219599
Sinful Spoils + Terrortop + Any Discard (Nibiru-Proof)
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57146644
Sinful Spoils + The Fiendsmith + Any Discard (Playing Through Imperm)
Limiter Removal + The Fiendsmith + Any Discard (Playing Through Imperm + Draw 3)
3.5-Card Anti-Nibiru Combos
Terrortop + Limiter Removal + Any Extender + Any Discard
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=1034207-57006807
With Trident Launcher & Retaining Adventure Follow-Up
Terrortop + Limiter Removal + Any Extender + Any Discard
http://duelingbook.com/replay?id=444133-57040225
With Spright Elf & Baronne
(credit to
)Sample Decklists
With the information provided in the Deckbuilding section of this guide, plus a little bit of experience, you should be well on your way to creating your own T.G. deck! But, if you still need some guidance or are new to deckbuilding, I've provided some samples below.
Keep in mind when considering these decklists that they may not reflect the meta of the time in which you are reading this guide. Choices of non-engine and other deckbuilding decisions can vary depending on what you intend to play around and counter.
Superheavy Samurai T.G.
Snake-Eye T.G. (T.G. Focused)
Credit to
Snake-Eye T.G. (Snake-Eye Focused)
Credit to
https://www.masterduelmeta.com/top-decks/master-i/february-2024/tech-genus/gnawty/lOra2
Conclusion
Welcome to the end of the guide! I'd like to give a big thank you to
, , , , , and everyone else in the Master Duel Meta Discord's #tg-tech-genus text channel for the encouragement, discussion, and exchange of ideas for the future of T.G. in Master Duel.