Return of Red/Blue Samurai: Undefeated Locals

[rabman_gold]

Hello again. I thought I'd give a little idea on what I used for my Samurai build and an idea on how and why I went undefeated (4-0 in swiss, 2-0 in top 4). A little food for thought, but remember that all users have a preference in style, so this doesn't represent the perfect build. I also felt really lucky tonight after some easy games early on, so it helped.

Here we go:

Main Deck 40:
Monsters 16:
1 Spirit of the Six Samurai
3 Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki
3 Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan
3 Kagemusha of the Six Samurai
2 Legendary Six Samurai - Mizuho
1 Legendary Six Samurai - Shinai
2 Grandmaster of the Six Samurai
1 Enishi, Shien's Chancellor

Spells 16:
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Giant Trunade
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Gold Sarcophagus
1 Gateway of the Six
3 Six Samurai United
3 Shien's Smoke Signal
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Book of Moon

Traps 8:
2 Double-Edged Sword Technique
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Mirror Force
1 Compulsory Evacuation Device
1 Musakani Magatama

Extra Deck 15:
1 Mist Wurm
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
2 Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
2 Black Rose Dragon
1 Naturia Barkion
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Flamvell Uruquizas
2 Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En
1 Naturia Beast
1 Ally of Justice Catastor

Side Deck 15:
1 Effect Veiler
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Puppet Plant
2 Nobleman of Crossout
2 Dust Tornado
2 Rivalry of Warlords
2 Chain Disappearance
1 Musakani Magatama
1 Swallow Flip

Round 1 Vs. Danny (Junk Frogs/Monarchs):
He was chill and also plays Magic in his pastime. Not really the most competitive spirit there, but that's okay. He was also borrowing a deck so it didn't matter much.
Game 1: He didn't know how to make the most use of his cards, so I beat him down with a swarm. Didn't complain and took it like a man.
Game 2: Understood the flow better, but I did get a Warning off of his Junk Synchron, from there, I just overtook him.

Good warm-up for a stronger player in the second round.

Round 2 Vs. ??? (sorry) (Naturia Beatdown):
Could tell he was a beginner from his card choices (Scrap Iron Scarecrow) and we exchanged our understanding of the game. Interesting person (not bad).
Game 1: Solemn Warning'ed his main Naturia Bamboo Shoot. He scooped up from there. I had the control with Red and Blue anyways.
Game 2: He made major misplays, but I didn't even give an inch. Not Dark Hole'ing my field was a major misplay and I simply out swarmed him like any Legendary Six Samurai deck would.

Now here's the fun:

Round 3 Vs. (Devin I believe) (Gravekeepers):
He is a strong duelist in that store so this wasn't an assured victory. After seeing the various tie-breakers, I figured I would probably play him.
Game 1: I just simply catch him bad with Samurais after forgetting he played the exact same deck last week. My Mizuho does her work then I out-swarm him. His bad hands didn't help him much either.
Game 2: Say hello to Kinetic Solider... We were in a top decking frenzy and I couldn't deal with Reaper as well so I considered Black Rose'ing the field. He got me good.
Game 3: This time, I sided out my Puppet Plants for Cyber Dragons but they came to me too early. He Royal Tribute'd me, but I only lost Kizan. It was a bitter struggle. Shi En saw the field sparingly after Kinetic saw the field as well. We were top decking like mad. I forgot to play Giant Trunade so it lasted a few more turns before top decking a Smoke Signal into Kagemusha with him at 200 to finish him off. He's a good player, so I tip my hat to him. I was just luckier.

Here was the final swiss round, vs. Mike:

Round 4 Vs. Mike (Dragnuities):
He's good. He's younger, but he knows how to play his hands. I'd have to be extra careful but make sure I'm not TOO conservative (after play testing on the internet, thanks Celso).
Game 1: I simply beat him down with swarms. Mizuho does the work and he moves on when I rip apart his backfield after stopping his initial summons.
Game 2: I can't necessarily remember, but I think I win this game or #3. Either way, Double-Edged plows through at the end and it's all finished up. I'm the only 4-0, which I do find surprising considering that not all of the people there are that bad...

Top 4 Vs. Scott (Lightsworn):
He's also very good, but since I was undefeated, I ended up playing him first. I was wondering what he was up to since I saw Malefics at the beginning of my arrival.
Game 1: I ALMOST had the perfect Red Blue loop (Mizuho, Shinai, Gateway, and United), but he had Mystical Space Typhoon... Either way, I also had Solemn Judgment and Solemn Warning so I couldn't get run over after dishing 4700 to him over a destroyed Ryko. So he scooped...
Game 2: Once again had the stars aligned, I was really fortunate tonight. He didn't offer much resistance and I out-swarmed him, wiped his field, Chain Disappearance'd his Plaguespreader... I do feel bad... But I guess that's sometimes how things go (it's happened to me hundreds of times).

Top 2 Vs. Mike (rematch):
It was intense. I like reaching tops once again, but I play to win and Mike was sure that it wouldn't be easy for him either. We had a good handshake and it begun.
Game 1: I got off a Shi En early game and once again out-swarmed, out-maneuvered (Warnings), and took the game quick.
Game 2: He Future Fusion'ed for Five Headed Dragon, Pot of Avarice'd them all, Ravine'd for the Tuner, then turned it into Stardust with 2 backrow as well. I tried to recover, but he got me pretty good in two turns. I forgot he had that damn Dragon coming out and I scooped. Otherwise, I would've summoned Kizan first and tried to remove his Stardust, barring a bad trap. It's anyone's guess, I didn't ask.
Game 3: Here's the icing on the cake, I took a strangle hold, and almost had the Red and Blue loop once again within my grasp. If only I drew Gateway first turn... But I quickly turned my cards into 2 Shi En, so I had the advantage. Eventually, I top decked a Giant Trunade and summoned Kageki for the clincher. Good luck and fortune really shined on me tonight.

So I got a good feeling about tonight. It was only practice for the bigger battle on Sunday. I like what I got so I'll give it a shot, even if I don't do well.

Hope you guys have some ideas and inspiration on your Samurais. But if you don't, that's fine. That's why the SJC is tomorrow. If you have any pre-tourney thoughts, feel free to send them.

Remember, there aren't many reports on the way of the Bushido. You might want to consider that...