Notes & Combos

Why.

Why did I have to play this deck again.

Ah right, because the Blackwing structure costs 1500 gems and I had to save them for Sinful Spoils while also lacking Gold Pride cards to make P.U.N.K.

Oh yes, it's a beautiful day outside, the campaign' spirit is fading, the copypasta is beckoning, your girl is drowning, and there is no happiness in Ba Sing Se.

None.

I hate this deck; I have played it for way too long and have come to the conclusion that it was only meta by sheer luck and a very short-lived streak of balanced card design by Konami, which then ended the very instant Branded got released.

A thousand matches, a thousand Mo Ye stopped by Impermanence or Veiler, every time. And no trace of Heavenly Circle, which btw, cannot even be searched. YOU HAD ONE JOB, TENYI. ONE.

Swordsoul Tenyi exists because Wyrms are a deprived Type with very little support, very dubious themes outside of

中国龍

so they got to stick together, amirite?

Ah right, there is Yang Zing too, the Ice Barrier of Wyrms. Oh well, I'll leave the explanations for the list Swordsoul Tenyi hard-relies on Tenyi and Yang Zing (and a banned Protos) to pretty much be able to breathe in any common meta: already a deck that was only strong when it came out, the sheer jankiness of both archetypes got worse...and worse...and worse...as time passed on...

BUT WHO CARES, RIGHT? IT'S NOT LIKE THIS DECK WAS GIVEN AS STRUCTURE FOR THE CODE CAMPAIGN AS WELL AS EVERYTHING ELSE GETTING NERFED TO THE GROUND, THUS BEING THE MOST SPAMMED OF THE EVENT, RIGHT? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

This deck is so solved, so predictable, so old, so annoyingly long-aged (but I'm sure Kashtira murdered it several times over by now. It's not even rogue), I didn't even have to be original: all I had to do was replacing the banned Maxx C and add Final Sigma instead of the nearly unsummonable (without Bystials) Dis Pater and I had the deck ready, already. I even forgot to put the third Longyuan, deluding myself into thinking I could bury the trauma of playing this atrocity during the Duelist Cup (how I miss you Halq)

Before I go for the list, if you even try, even think this deck is easy, I'm sending Qixing Longyuan to your location. Been 3 months he hasn't been eating, and he's fueled by nothing but sheer rage and contempt. Just like me.

• Adhara: With the ban of Protos, Adhara now limits itself to recycling whatever is vanished by Chixiao or Chengying. Mostly because there are never enough Wyrms in the hand, and Mo Ye and Longyuan are too busy countering their own effects. If anything, being a Level 1 Wyrm Tuner means you can make emergency plays with Vishuda and Ashuna whenever things go south and a token is all you have on the field (which will happen. Because Nibiru is legal. Again. I MEAN. C'MON!), as well as a free Special Summon to try to play through interruptions.
• Ash: Ash sometimes works, sometimes she doesn't. She works against everything that's not this deck and doesn't against this deck. This is your free get-out-of-jail card against every deck that relies on the first free search. Unfortunately, it only works once per turn. Assuming no Called or Crossout. Good luck, pal.
• Shthana: is the perfect Taia and Vessel target and exists to make sure Monk doesn't just stand there with his unimpressive 1000 ATK statline after being summoned, as well as making "crashing into bigger ATK monsters" an actual strat, and reviving him after using Blackout on him. Because Protos is banned. Didn't I already say that?
• Ecclesia: Ah Ecclesia, what a wonderful card: she's Quick, a free SS when going second or against Psy-Fra-(wait, Gamma is banned), and also an emergency Tuner for Synchro...EXCEPT SHE'S A SPELLCASTER. cries ALAS WHAT A TRAGEDY IT WOULD BE IF THIS DECK HAD A STARTER THAT DOESN'T BRICK BY ACCIDENT! AH THE TRAGEDY! And yet I would run her at 3 in 49+ decks. To give you an idea.
• Mo Ye: Do I need to explain what she does? Don't think so. Btw, needs a WYRM in hand. At least it's better than Longyuan when it comes to that...Makes okay chainblocks and gives you a +1 that's only going to compensate for the massive minusing this deck normally goes through, Chixiao excluding. And for the record, to CL1 Mo Ye, CL2 Xiao, you need to activate them in reverse.
• Taia: Taia is the Little Wyrm That Couldn't Brick When Your GY is empty. But people will be very thrilled to know Emergency makes this a one card combo...assuming Longyuan or Mo Ye aren't a better option to this. Taia truly prospers the longer the match goes, for the comeback of the century. Also has a specific combo with Baxia, where you summon the latter and mill Mo Ye to then revive her with Baxia's effect, potentially resolving Baxia's shuffle twice. That's all they do. And they do it badly. But Yang Zing are broken so why not give this knight an actual purpose?
• Longyuan: Left it at 2 because I'm an idiot, Longyuan carried the deck for a bit too long, by actually summoning the only level 10 who can make a decent endboard unlike the vast majority of this deck, Baronne. Unlike the others, it's also the only Tuner-maker who can shield you from Baronne, but only if summoned before the first Synchro: for each Synchro is 2+1, each Swordsoul summon is a 1+1, and Nibiru is at 5. YEP.
• Vishuda: Vishuda is the only Tenyi card that doesn't come with penalty and goes right for the money, by bouncing/shuffling cards, assuming, line the rest of the Tenyi, that you control a non-effect monster. Also a level 7 for an emergency Ash-vulnerable Chixiao summon, with that SS condition. Now if only Ashuna were like this
• Ashuna: Summons from Deck and locks to Wyrm (luckily only after, and not retroactively). THIS is the price we all have to pay for a bit more consistency and decency, as well as summoning Chaofeng to make a nasty floodgate that only works against LIGHT. If anything, the self SS helps with Monk. The problem is coordinating the emergency Chixiao summon with Adhara. Being the best Tenyi in terms of board progression and searchability also means it's the perfect discard fodder for Shaman and Longyuan. Too bad it locks you from Baronne, Sigma and Dragite. If you're going first, pray that Qixing is sufficient.
• Nibiru: I give up
• Vessel: "Vessel is a winmore", they say. I say "Chaofeng, Baxia setups and Tenyi grind games". If life offers you a foolish+searcher, why throw it down? WHAT HAS IT DONE TO YOU?
• Tactics: It's been legal for a while, broken for as much time, but I just couldn't bother to craft it until the meta forced me. Now that I did, I will abuse it. And you will watch.
• Emergency: Your favourite Ash target (calling it bait would be seriously overestimating Swordsoul's consistency) and, without Protos, potential Tenyi searcher. (Please summon Tenyi before Swordsoul. For the love of Shangdi). Also, if banished, allows Yazi. DON'T SUMMON CHAOFENG WITH THIS
• Called and Crossout: The first is for destroying and the latter is for saving your blessed rear from a very aggressive meteor crashing down your board in about 5 summons.
• Circle: For your allowing Your Girl to actually resolve. But it's ok. You will never draw it. As for the other effect, it will also disable and be disabled by the first one. But you can always pop it with Baronne to actually use it. In doubt, don't.
• Imperm: Well you see, when the deck is lacking in disruption, fill it with handtraps. Especially if they do a better job than Mr. "my search disables the negate effect for that turn" Swordsoul UNBELIEVABLE JANKMASTER CHIXIAO
• Blackout: You can pop Monk, you can pop Chixiao after he's used his effect, you can search it with Chixiao (which you will be doing 90% of the time with Baronne, on the first turn) and cry as you have just blown your monster for discutible payoff. Have I already said that Protos is banned?
• Yazi: Yazi, unlike many other Synchros cannot be targeted, and when popped will summon a Swordsoul, thus being more useful than several i could mention. Unfortunately it's level 7 which means Emergence's banished effect, although it alone allows Taia to convert to full combo from that spell search. Well, there was an attempt.
• Baxia: Baxia is not OPT, positively broken, but with a notable lack of Quick Effects, able to shuffle everything to oblivion and back. With the Taia combo illustrated before, Yazi-applicable, you can even do it twice and still end on a Mo Ye into Xiao into Qixing/Baronne/Chengying. By now it should have its back shattered from all the carrying it's been doing
• Draco Berserker: Emergency Wyrm summon for when Ashuna screws you, a banish effect that doesn't work on the Damage Step, a battle boost + double attack that only works against monsters, AND A ROUND 0 IN DEFENSE. I really can't imagine why people stopped using this. You won't get the same privilege.
• Chixiao: THE Swordsoul. When you read "Swordsoul" and "Token" together, you read Chixiao (unless you only have Longyuan). With a fantastic search effect that disables the monster negate and a monster negate that disables the search effect, Chixiao's whole purpose is to fail at keeping the board and getting himself carried by the rest of the desk, most notably Baronne and Dragite. All for a search.
• Chaofeng: Baxia + Adhara. That's how you summon it. NEXT!
• Baronne: Of course, in such a refined and no-nonsense deck like this, Baronne is nothing but an extra-who am I kidding. Some people think that Chixiao-Baronne is a bad going-first board. I will remind them that this deck perishes to Imperm and Nibiru, and that it's a miracle if they're even able to summon her. Your boards will all look like Xiao-Baronne-Blackout, Xiao-Baronne-Blackout, Xiao-Baronne-Blackout, Xiao-Baronne-Blackout. Thrilling, I know. Be grateful.
• Chengying: I know the atk boost is very alluring, but you gotta understand he's not hard to stop, and that his board presence, effect destruction protection included, isn't top notch. But it contributes with beeg ATK and further disruption, I guess. Ah and the last one won't even activate if there isn't a card in either GY or field. It's both or nothing. At least it has better defense than Qixing.
• Sigma: Tower and pray to OTK, requiring a level 7 and a Token. Woo
• Qixing: Your favourite going first option for when a resolvable Longyuan is all you have. Don't attempt to go over 5 without Nibiru. Skill issue, take this -1200
• Monk: Non-Effect, Link-1, requires Tenyi, Wyrm. Enough said
• Shaman: Like Taia, she's the eternal clutch with an effect that spiritually minuses if Imperm'd and an annoying Wyrm (activated effect) lock. And that Monk combo effect for the peasant beatdown

...there is no happiness in Ba Sing Se.