Creative Deck Strategy: Pyromaniac Eruption

Introduction:

Before I begin, I need to give a bit of context as to where this article came from. The strategies in this article have been designed in response to a challenge made to me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Zerjavo/status/756121559962644482. As we replied, the challenge was accepted, and I hope you like the two builds that I’ve procured for you today. After all, who doesn’t like a bit of burn damage? Or the forgotten Pyro-type?

Strategy One: Volcanic Ties

Check out a sample decklist concealed within the Spoiler below:

SpoilerMain Deck:
||| Volcanic Rocket
| Volcanic Slicer
||| Laval Magma Cannoneer
||| Flame Spirit Ignis
|| Summoner Monk
|| Volcanic Counter
||| Volcanic Scattershot
||| Volcanic Shell
||| Laval Volcano Handmaiden
||| Ties of the Brethren
| Soul Charge
| Foolish Burial
||| Magma Conduction Zone
| Rekindling
||| Searing Fire Wall
|| Ceasefire
||| Blaze Accelerator Reload

Extra Deck:
| Lavalval Dragon
| Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Horse Prince
| T.G. Hyper Librarian
| Laval Dual Slasher
| Hi-Speedroid Chanbara
| Armades Keeper of Boundaries
| Old Entity Chthugha
| Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger
|| Number 61: Volcasaurus
| Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon
| Number 50: Blackship of Corn
| Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer
| Daigusto Emeral
| Gagaga Cowboy

When looking at the list, be sure to notice a couple of my Extra Deck selections. In particular, take a look at Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Horse Prince, since it can add a lot to the strategy. If you do happen to go into a Synchro Spam, you can actually choose to end with using Ignis instead of just relying on a lucky Quasar like most Laval variants turn to. With Horse Prince, you manage to load your Graveyard with 2 more FIRE monsters without sacrificing a tribute for Ignis, since Horse Prince brings a Volcanic Counter straight out of the deck when it is summoned. This lets you even use your FIRE Extra Deck monsters to bolster the amount of Effect Damage you are dealing. If you are wondering about the reasoning for the double Volcasaurus, just remember that this deck does spam out Level 5 Synchro monsters like noone’s business when it does go off, and Volcasaurus may just be the best burn-oriented Xyz monster in the game. Also it is FIRE to follow up with an Ignis after using its effect. At the end of the day, your personal build of a strategy like this could vary in many ways from mine, but this decklist was built to show off the deck and hopefully convince you that the Pyro type is not completely dead and gone after all. But I’m not quite done yet – before you pass judgment, please take some time to check out the second strategy of my article, and this time, we are throwing off the unreasonable shackles of the Pyro type!

Strategy Two: Berserk Volcanics

This Quickplay Spell card may just be the perfect example of a high risk, high reward card. You’re banking everything on the next seven cards of your deck being monsters. Now if you are already deck thinning away your traps due to Rocket, that guarantee actually isn’t too far fetched. But the biggest problem for such a monster heavy deck is guaranteeing that the direct attack deals 1500 or less damage… Thanks Yugi and Breaker, the Magical Warrior. So we have to call upon yet another archetype to help us out, since the Laval cannot fill the hole this time, and just because it fits so perfectly, we’ll use an archetype from another under-represented type: Thunder! Bring on the Watts!

Click on the spoiler below to see a sample decklist:

SpoilerMain Deck:
|| Superheavy Samurai Thief
|| Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
||| Volcanic Rocket
| Heroic Challenger – Assault Halberd
| Heroic Challenger – Thousand Blades
| Performage Hat Tricker
|| Performage Trick Clown
|| Wattgiraffe
| Wattcobra
|| Marmitting Captain
||| Speedroid Terrortop
||| Gallis the Star Beast
|| Eccentrick Archfiend
| Speedroid Taketomborg
| Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice
|| Volcanic Counter
|| Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit
||| Volcanic Scattershot
|| Maxx “C”
|| Berserker Soul
|| Blaze Accelerator Reload

Be sure to pay attention to some of the supporting cast that came along with our archetypes! For example, consider Marmitting Captain. Sure, it shuffles a card back into your deck for just a single draw, but that is HUGE if you want to be able to return a Scattershot back to be sent later for its field wipe. I cannot impress on you enough how helpful it is to have swarming capability tied into a setup monster. Another good tech that I am running is Eccentrick Archfiend, because it doubles as either Spell and Trap OR monster removal, whichever is needed at the time. Sure, it’s a useless Pendulum alone with no lowscale to call a friend, but when you are fighting a Pendulum deck, you can actually steal your opponent’s low scale with Superheavy Samurai Thief to unlock the power of the Pendulum Summon! At the end of the day, these techs and more are common showings in many different Monster Mash variants, but you really can tap into any similar cards because this build really is a Monster Mash at its core. Sure, we are running 2 Spells and 2 Traps, but since the Traps want to be in the Graveyard anyways, it is not too much of a loss if you happen to get unlucky and mill one of your Blaze Accelerator Reload with Berserker or Gallis the Star Bird.

Additional Tech Options for Pyro Burn Variants:

Royal Firestorm Guards – Normally featured in Volcanic decks, since it is a type-locked Pot of Avarice. It definitely helps to be able to reuse Scattershot multiple times, and this monster let’s you do it without Daigusto Emeral.
Volcanic Doomfire – While he is actually the boss monster of the Volcanic archetype, he hasn’t seen much use ever. But it can be useful as a 1-of alongside 3 Blaze Accelerator Reload.
Ceasefire – I have to say, this may be the most underrated burn card, despite being Semi-Limited. The amount of damage you can get out of this one card is ridiculous, especially in current times when swarming the field is natural. With decks relying on heavy LP costs, such as through Solemn Strike or Solemn Warning, it can even end duels in your favor that seemed like easy losses.
Blazing Mirror Force – Use this trap for unexpected massive amounts of burn damage. It really does hurt badly.
Trap Hole of Spikes – A more conservative version of Blazing, but it does not burn yourself. At the same time, it only destroys one monster.
Just Desserts, Secret Barrel, Secret Blast – Not quite as powerful as Ceasefire, but these can be serious burn cards in their own rights.
Ring of Destruction – Consider it a Blazing Mirror Force for one monster, that can pretty much be used at any time. Chainability is great in its own right, so be sure to consider this.
Solar Flare Dragon – This is a tech option particularly for the first variant. While 500 damage is laughable, alongside Ties of the Brethren, Flare’s built-in protection will be functioning. And if you get two copies out, it will result in a slow burn as your opponent’s time runs out. Or until they draw any sort of removal. Again, your call!
Sephylon, the Ultimate Timelord – A 4000 ATK point threat is nothing to scoff at, especially when it is easy to load the Graveyard with 10 Monsters. But let me be clear, this isn’t restricted to just the Mash variant! It can even be used in the first, due to your rampant milling. If this is a card you want to have, feel free to try it out, I like it a lot!
Volcanic Queen – Non-targeting, non-destruction monster removal that also burns and can be used as fodder for Blaze Accelerator Reload if need be? Count me in.
Brilliant Fusion – Since one of the Gem-Knight Fusion monsters uses a Pyro-type Fusion material, you can send any of your Volcanics to the Graveyard directly from the deck! Also, Garnet itself is Pyro, so you have that option if you really gotta stick with the same type for everything!

My Fire Mix Tape of Puns and Advice:

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this article. To save you the suffering from first-degree burns, I have tried to contain all of my red hot puns into one section. So here is my advice with the Pyro-type: Feel free to burn up your opponent’s in-game, but be sure to never actually burn them in real life. Life is not a game, there is no reset. Yeah, I hate having to spell out that disclaimer, but you never know either today’s world, so I am making it absolutely clear that I do not condone any habits or talents of pyromania. Either way, I just want everyone to know that I didn’t start the fire, it’s always burning since the world’s been turning. Just take your deck down, down, down into a burning ring of fire. So get out there and Pyro-it-up as the flames burn higher!!! (PS: I am still waiting on my WIND/Pyro Fireworks-based theme Konami. Please make it happen. If it features the first WIND Ritual monster, I will buy them and then actually run them. No matter how useless or rogue.)

As to our challenger – I hope you are pleased with the results, because it was truly a blast to create and refine these variants. I have to admit, I had a bit of help with the 2nd variant, but at the end of the day, these decks truly do reflect the best burn capabilities that I have found. Who knows, perhaps there are better ideas out there. But thanks again, specifically for giving me the push to design and write about something completely off the wall. I hope this inspires others to do the same! I won’t always be able to write an entire article in response, but I will keep those ideas in the back of my head for future CDS articles!

Conclusion:

As always, the lists above are just my personal builds. You may not expect much out of the Pyro type, but it most definitely can take you by surprise. Until the next time, keep innovating and building creative decks! Most of all, just enjoy dueling for the fun that it can be!

Reminder, I also take suggestions for future CDS articles! While I will not run out of cool ideas, I do want to be writing articles about strategies you are interested in. So if you desperately wish to see a CDS article about the archetype, theme, or strategy you love, feel free to private message me on the YGOrg Discord server or the YGOrganization Forums with your ideas to keep under consideration: my username is Quincymccoy.

YGOrganization

Creative Deck Strategy: Pyromaniac Eruption

Let your sparks fly and your beautiful flames will leap and dance across the sky! Embrace your inner Pyromaniac!

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