Yu-Gi-Oh! Rogue Report: Sharks ft. Xyz Force
Following the success of rogue decks at YCS Sydney, I want to take a couple of weeks and explore options beyond the obvious Tier 0 threat that is Snake-Eye/SE Fire King. One of the biggest benefits for a deck builder at this time is that, because top tables are undoubtedly going to be full of one specific strategy, you can tailor your gameplan around that specific matchup. Case-in-point, Joak Don taking a top32 slot with Sharks.
Sharks is an archetype poised to take advantage of this solved format, and I feel there’s great merit in exploring one card not found in Joak’s list that came out as a TCG-exclusive in Phantom Nightmare, being Xyz Force.
Xyz Force is a Normal Spell that takes an “Xyz” card from your Deck and either puts it in the GY, or adds it to your hand, depending on what you have available onboard. Moreover, it helps go wide and close out games by way of its turn-after GY effect, which can help you to extend and recoup 1-of Xyz Monsters you’ve ranked-up from. One of the marquee choices in the topping list was 3 copies of Foolish Burial Goods, used to generally bin a copy of Ice Barrier, or in low-ceiling hands after a Droll, Full-Armored Xyz. You’ll notice that second option is already an “Xyz” card, and given Goods has a hard-once-per-turn clause, at minimum you could play a copy to send errant Full-Armored copies to the GY.
That said, in our case, there’s a far more nefarious option that’s flown under the radar of this duelist, which helps raise the ceiling of this strategy against Snake-Eye to a truly remarkable extent.
I’m referring to Xyz Revive Splash, which has a middling effect on the field, but a far more potent power from the GY. You can banish Splash to Rank-Up any WATER Xyz into any other, of 1 level higher; while there are cards in this strategy which do similarly, there’s a particular Rank 6 WATER Xyz that’s been the sole reason Unchained was ever good — D/D/D Wave High King Caesar. Using Xyz Force, you can turn a Rank 5 WATER Xyz into this negation behemoth, and Xyz Armor Fortress is a wildly accessible choice in Shark specifically. This can allow for 3-negate Caesars at best, or allows you to hedge with boards such as Abyss Dweller, Full-Armored live, and a 1-2 material Caesar.
Adjusting the ratios of Foolish Burial Goods to Xyz Force is a difficult thing, however, as they each have essentially 2 preferred targets, sharing one between themselves. I’ve opted for a 2:2 split, meaning you have 4 copies of this effect in the decklist, although skewing one way or the other is entirely fair. Critically, this card also allows your key effects, such as the GY denial of Abyss Dweller, to dodge cards like Infinite Impermanence, Ranking-Up into N.As.H. Knight, which in turn is also a removal piece that pivots further, into Number 103: Ragnazero. Playing with a live Splash in your GY means opposing targeted interaction will generally fall flat, and given it’s not a monster, Splash is immune to effects that normally might stymie its resolution. You’re actively hoping to send this card to the GY, but if it does go to your hand, you can pitch it to cards like Forbidden Droplet.
I’ve also changed out the cards used in this list to include Beautunaful Princess and singleton copies of our extenders, rather than cutting the Ash-bait starter as Joak has. In my eyes, Shark is already fighting a losing battle when it loses its initial power play, and it’s worthwhile to go all-in anyway in resolving Buzzsaw Shark. If we were ever going to resolve Beautunaful Princess, Buzzsaw would also resolve, and the inverse is likewise true in the current format. The only extender I’ve opted to retain at 3 copies is the non-HOPT Xyz Remora, coincidentally another card we can search with Force, and one of the most legitimately absurd extenders ever printed. Translating 1 Xyz body into 4 is practically alchemy, and it’s one of the few ways to keep up in the current format. At minimum, this is a great reason to include Xyz Force, because worst-case hands can bin a Remora while you have White Mirror in hand, allowing you to revive it and go for a single Rank 4 with Force’s follow-up.
You could go even harder on your Xyz options as well, including cards like Xyz Import of Purrely fame, which can serve as an additional target for Force, or a recursive removal opinion via the activated effect of Full Armored Dark Knight Lancer.
I do firmly believe that the existing Shark deck has legs, although iterating upon it by cleaning up ratios and adding in more search cohesion could go a long way to improve its power ceiling. It is without a doubt worth your time to pilot this deck at a locals level, and for that I’d recommend cards like Droll & Lock Bird, Anti-Spell Fragrance, and Cosmic Cyclone in the side, as well as a singleton copy of Xyz Encore, a searchable means to punish Purrely players, or other decks relying on Xyz options you might encounter. There is a tremendous breadth to the options you’re afforded by “Xyz” searchers, and even cards like Xyz Slidolphin might be at home (although the Sea Serpent typing definitely hurts its chances). The greatest enemy of this deck is managing its HOPTs with Joak’s build, and the more single copies of extenders you play, the less you need to worry about dead cards in hand.
The way this deck is built, you essentially divvy up your slots between starters+Abyss Shark, extenders or means to find extension, and non-engine, and playing around with the choices made between those three categories needs to be paramount to finding your ideal list. I’ve found myself enjoying a suite of singleton extenders, but your results may vary; I’m far more wary of dead cards in hand by way of HOPT mismanagement, but the consistency provided is undoubtedly a benefit.
As for the Extra Deck, we’re severely limited in terms of good options, as essentially everything locks us to WATER Xyz in some capacity. That said, we do get easy means to turbo out things like Abyss Dweller, Toadally Awesome via Bahamut (who himself turns readily into our Full-Armored line), and Number 4: Stealth Kragen. On the whole, limitations breed creativity, and making the most of our Extra Deck when we have a ton of Rank 4 access is how this strategy aims to break parity, with things like Zeus & S:P as backups.
This is a strategy coming into its own, and with further support such as Full Armored Utopic Ray Lancer on the horizon, there’s more to come for these black-bordered Fish. I honestly believe Shark is going to have a presence similar to Burning Abyss back in the day, as an occasional boogeyman with powerful matchups into midrange decks too reliant on internal synergy. That said, even now I think Joak could have woven 1-2 copies of Xyz Force into his list and done even better, given bricking on 2+ copies of Foolish Burial Goods can cost even the best players games.
With that, we close the curtain on a look at modern Sharks! I’ve been impressed with this strategy for a while, and it’s great to see the Full-Armored package have a home in a rogue contender! How do you want to use Sharks to their full potential? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!
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