Creative Deck Strategy: It’s a Bird? It’s a Plane?

have never found a good avenue to completely break through into competitive. Let’s fly sky high by discussing this awesome archetype!

Introduction:

To SCRAMBLE or not to SCRAMBLE:

Scramble Key Cards:

The first strategy I would like to highlight is a deck based around Scramble!! Scramble!!. With the clear win condition being resolving your Quickplay Spells, this is a great variant to consider fitting in tech cards to be sure you draw into the combos that you require. The goal of this sort of variant is to swarm the field with MPBs en masse, use their effects to get into a dominant field position, and then never let that setup slip away ever again. So let’s talk individual cards.

Mecha Phantom Beast Megaraptor & Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion
- These monsters are pretty much the core in any MPB build, especially Scramble ones. Raptor provides the searching, and the combo of the two monsters provide your main tokens.
Mecha Phantom Beast Coltwing
- This is a powerful multi-token generator, but is only a key card when you are using Scramble to Special Summon it directly from the deck. Its secondary effect is also super powerful as well.
Mecha Phantom Beast Tetherwolf
- In this variant, Tetherwolf is one of the best ways to make the tokens that count. Tokens are vastly needed, and if you do not have a way to get O-Lion to the Graveyard, look to Tether to get your setup started. Also, the Normal overload doesn’t really happen as long as you have effective dumping for O-Lion.
Mecha Phantom Beast Harrliard
- Harrliard works best when you can get two MPBs to the field alongside a token. Good news is, Scramble variants do that extremely easily. Thus, you can easily trigger his token generation when using your other MPB effects, fueling his own effect down the line.
Draw Muscle
- You NEED to protect your tokens so that way you can use Scramble during your turn to make the most of it. Thus, this definitely is a good card to be running here. Remember, pure MPB generally has a slow-start, so you need to be able to get your setup before continuing to a victory.
Aerial Recharge
- Aerial provides the reliable MPB token generation that the deck needs to function. Yes, it has a maintenance cost to keep up, but it is worth it, especially if you have Mega-Raptor on your field.
Call of the Haunted
- In many decks, this trap provides generic recovery, but this is especially important for MPB decks that run Coltwing as another way of summoning tokens en masse. Also, this trap is imperative if you want to go into Jaculuslan without resolving Scramble!! Scramble!! or relying on a pacifist opponent.

Check out my sample decklist hidden in the spoiler below:

SpoilerMain Deck:
| Mathematician
| Mecha Phantom Beast Coltwing
|| Mecha Phantom Beast Hamstrat
|| Mecha Phantom Beast Harrliard
||| Mecha Phantom Beast Megaraptor
||| Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion
||| Mecha Phantom Beast Tetherwolf
||| Draw Muscle
| Foolish Burial
| Mind Control
|| Mystical Space Typhoon
| Twin Twister
|| Scramble!! Scramble!!
||| Strike of the Monarchs
||| Aerial Recharge
| Bottomless Trap Hole
|| Call of the Haunted
|| Solemn Strike
| Solemn Warning
||| Spiritual Wind Art – Miyabi

Extra Deck:
| Armades, Keeper of Boundaries
| Coral Dragon
|| Mecha Phantom Beast Jaculuslan
| PSY-Framelord Omega
| Scrap Dragon
| Superheavy Samurai Swordsmaster Musashi
| Vulcan the Divine
| Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer
| Lightning Chidori
| Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack
| Number 11: Big Eye
| Number 35: Ravenous Tarantula
| Number 39: Utopia Beyond
| Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max

NOTE: You can make this a TCG-legal decklist by just replacing Coral Dragon and Musashi with other Extra Deck options. Have fun!

Rank 4/7/10 Key Cards:

The second strategy is what is considered as ‘mainstream’ Mecha Phantom Beast. If you can even say those words together. This is the normal build you will most likely come across if you ever happen to find someone piloting these aircraft. The overall goal and difference between this and the last build is to trim down unnecessary brick cards; instead, we choose to maximize on Xyz potential and useful topdecks. The deck is specifically designed to Xyz Summon monsters of Ranks 4, 7, and 10, as the name implies. However, it also has solid access to Synchro monsters as well. This variant plays more of a slow-rolling game, but it definitely can pack its punch when you chain the right MPBs together. Sure, you don’t have the sheer amazingness of Scramble plays, but Mecha Phantoms do just fine winning without that risk.

Mecha Phantom Beast Megaraptor & Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion
- These monsters are pretty much the core in any pure MPB build, especially builds that rely on the tokens to adjust levels. Pretty sure you got this by now.
Mecha Phantom Beast Tetherwolf
- While he was important to a Scramble build, Tether is on the same tier as Raptor for this build. If you can successfully summon Tether and Raptor on the same turn, you can adjust your levels as necessary to make a Level 7 or 10 Xyz monster as needed using the token manipulation effects. If you do choose to go Rank 10 into Number 35: Ravenous Tarantula, you even get the ATK boost on your tokens as well! While quite unorthodox, this is just one snippet of the power of MPBs in flight.
Scrap Recycler, Foolish Burial & Mathematician
- In the previous build, we used Mathematician because it is a great tech to elevate MPBs to a higher standard. But in this build, you want as many copies as you can get because you need the tokens from O-Lion and you need the extra Normal Summons. Most duels, you want to open with getting an O-lion into the Graveyard, and preparing to explode with a big play on your second turn.
Creature Swap
- What happens if you run into monsters that are just too big for your Extra Deck to handle? What happens if you accidentally made too many tokens and need to lower the Levels of your MPB monsters? Swap gets you out of both of these problems, plus it is great against decks that field one strong boss monster and watch you try to get over it.
Draw Muscle
- While in the last build you needed your tokens for Scramble, but in this one, you need to protect your tokens so that way your MPB monsters can survive until you get another turn. Quite frankly, you will never succeed at always having an O-Lion at the ready for two Normal Summons, so it’s best to have the slow backup option in the case that it arises. Plus, it’s an even trade in card advantage, so no loss.
Aerial Recharge
- Aerial provides the reliable MPB token generation that the deck needs to function. Yes, it has a maintenance cost to keep up, but it is worth it, especially if you have Mega-Raptor on your field. Again, this is not changing for any pure MPB deck.
Spiritual Wind Art – Miyabi
- In the last build, Miyabi gave you the ability to get rid of your monsters in a pinch, but mainly to give the deck a bit of removal outside of monster effects. In this build, it does the same thing, but it is much more necessary to diversify your effect types. While you could rely on Scramble in a pinch there, you need to rely on consistent, non-destruction-based removal that this trap offers.

Check out my sample decklist hidden in the spoiler below:

SpoilerMain Deck:
| Mathematician
|| Mecha Phantom Beast Hamstrat
| Mecha Phantom Beast Harrliard
||| Mecha Phantom Beast Megaraptor
||| Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion
||| Mecha Phantom Beast Tetherwolf
|| Scrap Recycler
||| Creature Swap
||| Draw Muscle
| Foolish Burial
| Limiter Removal
|| Scapgeoat
| Soul Charge
|| Twin Twister
||| Aerial Recharge
| Bottomless Trap Hole
|| Quaking Mirror Force
|| Solemn Strike
| Solemn Warning
||| Spiritual Wind Art – Miyabi

Karakuri MPB Key Cards:

Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion
- The main MPB for this build, as it is the tuner that summons a non-tuner when sent to the Graveyard. Additionally, you can use his extra Normal Summon to bring out more MPBs that you happen to draw into with your T.G. Hyper Librarian or Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X “Bureido” to keep the synchro looping alive.
Mecha Phantom Beast Tetherwolf
- The other main MPB, since it is a non-tuner that summons another free non-tuner. As long as you get out a tuner of appropriate level, you can start making tons of Karakuri synchros with this helicopter’s help.
Jet Synchron
- One of the main combo pieces for the deck, since it can be sent from the deck to the Graveyard by Accel Synchron. It also allows you to go into Bureido using a Burei to get the materials for another Bureido Synchro Summon.
Scrap Recycler
- In the other build, Scrap was useful just to generate a token early. In this build, you use him to generate a token, and then recycle back your Level 4 Karakuri monsters to be summoned back from the deck with your Karakuri synchros.
Red Resonator
- Helps unclog the potential bad hands you have a chance to draw into. But otherwise, it’s just a solid tuner monster that can really help you put out some more Synchro monsters in your loop.
Speedroid Terrortop & Speedroid Taketomborg
- The Speedroid engine may be put to good use for Xyz Summons, but in this case, it is another form of quick Synchro material to combo with your Karakuri tuners! Also, Terror is especially powerful when you are running this next card to summon it directly from the deck…
Transmodify
- This card works amazingly in this variant, changing O-Lion into Terrortop, changing Recycler into a Karakuri, changing Taketomborg into Megaraptor… All of these options let you modify the levels you control as needed, as well as give you the best combination of monsters early in the duel.
Iron Call
- The Monster Reborn for Level 4 and lower machines, this lets you extend your Synchros by using used materials a second time. Pretty much necessary in a deck that uses so many machines and wants to continue looping.

As you can imagine, that play is pretty accessible, since you can also be able to do that by opening O-Lion or Red Resonator alongside Scrap Recycler or Mathematician, or by opening 2 O-Lion and Transmodify, or by opening O-Lion and either Speedroid, or by opening Recycler or Math and Iron Call, or by opening O-Lion, Transmodify and Iron Call… I think you see my point – this deck has such a high combo potential, but you do not rely on one specific combination of cards to pull that off. That is why this deck succeeds. Remember, I am only describing one small combo here, you have plenty more that can branch off with that, sometimes even to end with Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, Stardust Dragon, and Titanic Galaxy with Solemn Scolding and Solemn Warning set. This deck has unlimited potential, and it packs a major punch.

Check out my sample decklist hidden in the spoiler below:

SpoilerMain Deck:
| Jet Synchron
| Karakuri Barrel mdl 96 “Shinkuro”
| Karakuri Komachi mdl 224 “Ninishi”
| Karakuri Soldier mdl 236 “Nimasu”
| Karakuri Strategist mdl 248 “Nishpachi”
|| Karakuri Watchdog mdl 313 “Saizan”
| Mathematician
| Mecha Phantom Beast Blue Impala
| Mecha Phantom Beast Megaraptor
||| Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion
|| Mecha Phantom Beast Tetherwolf
|| Red Resonator
||| Scrap Recycler
|| Speedroid Taketomborg
||| Speedroid Terrortop
| De-Synchro
| Foolish Burial
| Instant Fusion
||| Iron Call
| Soul Charge
||| Transmodify
||| Twin Twister
| Solemn Scolding
| Solemn Warning

Extra Deck:

| Panzer Dragon
| Accel Synchron
| Ancient Fairy Dragon
| Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon
| Deskbot Jet
||| Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 “Burei”
|| Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X “Bureido”
| Stardust Dragon
| T.G. Hyper Librarian
| Leviair the Sea Dragon
| Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack
| Number 38: Hope Harbringer Dragon Titanic Galaxy

As always, the above lists are just my personal builds. Feel free to tinker and improve on whichever variant entices you! Mecha Phantom Beasts can be a competitive threat, if you don’t believe that, at least try out the 3rd variant before you give up any hope. And besides, there’s enough options for you to try something new until you get the deck to work out! Until the next time, keep innovating and building creative decks! Most of all, just enjoy dueling for the fun that it can be!

Note: As of this article, I have rebranded my series as ‘Creative Deck Strategy’ rather than ‘Casual Deck Strategy’, because quite frankly, many of the ideas, engines, and decks can be used rather successfully in a competitive setting. Doesn’t make sense to keep a misnomer, but I kept the same acronym! Nothing has changed about my articles, you’ll still see plenty of cool archetypes, themes, and strategies that you probably haven’t seen before!

YGOrganization

Creative Deck Strategy: It’s a Bird? It’s a Plane?

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