Introduction:

Historically, the Yosenju archetype had been stuck between two worlds. With half the support clearly geared towards Pendulum Summoning and the other half able to function without it, this archetype appeared at first glance to have a lack of focus. But let me present a different take on the new support – for the first time, the two styles got neatly stitched together. For the first time they didn’t have to just be a stun engine with some swarming potential, they could actually begin to utilize their beast of a boss monster, Mayosenju Daibak. By the end of this article, hopefully you see how this is the case.

Strategy:

If you still don’t understand how this strategy functions yet and remain unconvinced – that’s completely fine. I’m not finished discussing this archetype yet. So take this pause in my wall of text to check out the decklist, then I’ll continue onwards.

Decklist:

Click to view the Interactive Decklist in the Official Card Database.

Strange Choices? No – Intentional Ones.

Next up on the radar comes Yosenju Tsujik. This card has been used in even the past meta builds of Yosenju, so why leave him out now? Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that he simply isn’t worth it anymore. With no ability to gain advantage, a 1000 ATK boost just doesn’t cut it for the deck anymore. I definitely prioritized the second copy of Sabu, which greatly speeds you towards the pendulum dreamstate. As for Yosen Training Ground, this card is amazing when you start your plays with it, but you do not want to be drawing into it later. By running 1 copy, you can still hope that the one duel you draw into it you make amazing use, but you don’t have any chance of drawing multiple copies.

Alternative Techs:

Note the very small list of other techs – Yosenju really doesn’t play well with any other archetypes or cards that Special Summon, and WIND doesn’t have the greatest attribute support… this leads for a pretty lackluster tech section, outside of one key card I’ve held until this point to discuss further.

• Other Themed Tech Options:
  • Yosenju Oyam: Offering the ability to protect your LP in a pinch as well as serving as an additional searcher can be cool. This card also interacts well with Stormforth, offering an alternative Tribute Summonable monster in a pinch to add at the end of your Yosenju Normal Summon train.
  • Yosenju Tsujik: Yes, I panned this card earlier, but as much as I dislike using it, it is still an option. If you want that extra ATK you don’t need, feel free to use this.
  • Yosenju Kodam and Foolish Burial: This card is a super unique case of “it’s great if I am losing, but I don’t need it if I am winning.” An extra Normal summon after your chain is disrupted can be a lifesaver, so make sure you think about whether or not you want to use this card for that reason alone. But this version of the deck does have Pendulum summoning already as its fallback…

• Other Support
  • Pendulum Back: As a deck that aims to play a grind game until they can explode on their second turn with consistent access to two scales, this actually isn’t a bad option to give yourself a better grind game. But the biggest issue with Yosenju now is their initial play rather than their later ones.
  • Divine Wind of Mist Valley: WIND monsters bouncing to hand? Free summons say yes please. This can work as just a way to guarantee you have a monster blocking your LP, but it does come at the cost of restricting you from activating your Sword Sting.

Addressing the Tech Elephant in the Room:

Lastly, I want to address the three meta-shifting cards released in the Gold Sarcophagus tins, generally but also in specific relation to Yosenju, as there seems to much misunderstanding as to which is appropriate for which strategies.

At the end of the day, each of these three cards really are game-warping. For a quick wrap-up, Nibiru isn’t great, Shifter provides protection against two turns, and Ruler gives you an easy out to monster-heavy boards. While I don’t run any of these in the main deck, you could switch out The Monarchs Stormforth with 3 copies of the disruptor of your choice, at which point it is almost required that you switch out your Magat for Oyam or another high leveled Yosenju to search with Oroshi Channeling if you don’t want a Pendulum.