Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Debut: Ice Barrier - Post Terminal Revenge

Carter Kachmarik
May 29, 2024
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Across every card game, there’s always an archetype or strategy that operates as the basis of a joke, being a reference for players to identify one another with.  Yargle or Storm Crow come to mind in the case of Magic, or Unicorn Priest in Hearthstone, but for Yugioh, that title is held by Ice Barrier.  Released in the Hidden Arsenal series, Ice Barrier was laughably inefficient at what it did, to the point of comedy, acting as a series of soft-locks that required multiple Ice Barrier monsters on the field, culminating in incredibly broken boss monsters that never saw play in their home strategy.  It’s been long debated as one of the truly ‘worthless’ strategies, but time has been kind to the stoic protectors of the Duel Terminal.

Receiving support in Structure Deck: Freezing Chains, murmurs began to echo — Was Ice Barrier…playable?  Yet now, with three weeks to go until the release of Battles of Legend: Terminal Revenge, the question has changed.  Is Ice Barrier going to be Tiered after the set releases on June 21st?  I aim to answer that question here, with Ice Barrier - Post Terminal Revenge.

Note: Some names are subject to change once English translations are revealed.

Ice Barrier’s background section is going to be effectively blank, as the only success this strategy has had prior to the 2024 wave came in the form of Duel Links, where Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier was part of a relevant OTK strategy for some time.

Instead, I want to jump right into the new cards, and how they salvage this strategy to an extent that’s hard to parse.  First, Mirror Magic Master of the Ice Barrier — This Tuner translates another body of any kind into a suite of Tokens which allow you to pivot between any number of Level 8 or lower WATER Synchro Monsters, and even beyond that, she floats into another Ice Barrier card from banished or Deck (effectively, anywhere).  The main WATER Synchro you’re going into is Lancea, Dragonic Ancestor of the Ice Spirit Mountain, which can twice per turn Summon an Ice Barrier from anywhere, such as Trishula, or General Raiho, massive tempo swings which devour opposing resources or help you close out the game.  To top it all off, Georgius, Swordsman of the Ice Barrier assists in getting to higher Level Synchro monsters and recurring your resources, being a relatively free body that you don’t want multiples of.

While these new cards are obviously strong, and represent some highly concentrated individual power, there are some older Ice Barrier tools we’re relying on in order to smooth things out.  General Raiho of the Ice Barrier is the only “oldschool” Ice Barrier monster we’re on in the Main Deck, ripping apart opposing hands or otherwise being a sort-of Skill DrainMedallion of the Ice Barrier also comes from their first-ever wave, and the fact that it’s a non-HOPT search Spell should indicate the fact that nearly every core piece in the strategy is accessible at any point.

Many of the playmakers here, however, originate from the Structure Deck, specifically Revealer of the Ice Barrier and Speaker for the Ice Barriers.  Revealer ports into a live Mirror Magic Master, and Speaker is two free bodies, although incidentally, Revealer also potentially turns into Hexa Spirit of the Ice Barrier which can assist in highroll hands by sending Mirror Magic Master to the GY, and recurring it with either Georgius or Freezing Chains of the Ice Barrier.

So, in order to understand the deck’s core lines, let’s go over the standard Revealer play:

Normal Summon Revealer, discarding a card for Hexa.  Hexa effect, sending Mirror Magic Master, who searches Georgius.  Georgius for Mirror Magic Master, and Synchro Summon Coral Dragon with Revealer & Hexa (You can alternatively pivot directly into Lancea).  Tribute Georgius for 3 Tokens, and Synchro Summon Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys for 3 Draws via the Tokens and Coral Dragon, drawing another.  Finally, any Extenders can lead to further plays with the remaining Tuner(s).

The obvious observation here is that this line is wildly flexible, and at several points you could pivot into any of your core Synchro Monsters, or include extenders in order to go farther, or play safer.  The WATER Synchro pool is shockingly large, and the tools you’re provided are enough to absolutely play through one handtrap at the wrong time.  That said…

We’re absolutely jamming as many ways to play through non-engine as possible, here.  

Another component of why Ice Barrier might be good comes down to its space — the Deck comfortably fits ~20 pieces of non-engine in lists, which means we can absolutely play the Melodius approach of ‘solid core line and a brutal array of handtraps’, on top of Talents and Crossout.  The difference is that Ice Barrier’s plays often result in ~2-4 draws, which help dig us deeper into the critical non-engine that these rogue strategies rely on.  I prefer to play a full set of Ash Blossom, Effect Veiler, and Infinite Impermanence, as well as Crossout Designator targets of Ghost Belle, Mourner, and Ogre (your mileage may vary).  If you’re expecting more Tenpai, switch to Nibiru as an option, and if you’re expecting opposing rogue decks, a few Maindeck copies of Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju can assist in breaking those classic ‘unbreakable’ boards.

Ice Barrier is also gifted with a specific set of flet slots in-archetype, in the form of Warlock of the Ice Barrier and General Wayne of the Ice Barrier.  Warlock is for when you know you’re going first, able to act as an Anti-Spell Fragrance on legs that can be searched and Summoned regularly — it’s amazing as a means to shut down decks like Snake-Eye and Tenpai if you know you’re on the play.

Wayne, meanwhile, is a backbreaking going-second extender that helps you fight against stalled starters, such as when Revealer or Mirror Magic Master are negated.  It not only puts a Level 6 body onboard, a critical Level for Synchros, but also finds an Ice Barrier Spell/Trap of choice.  Notably, these both should live in the Side Deck, because in a blind 40 they’re awful on the wrong turn, but in the 55 they’re critical components of Ice Barrier’s shocking flexibility.

This list has pretty exact ratios, chosen from a mix of testing and looking at lists that have done well in the OCG.  Ice Barrier, prior to Tenpai, had some decent showings in that format, although the emergence of Tenpai did put a damper on the strategy.  I feel it may have more legs TCG-side where we have additional copies of Crossout, but only time will tell.

When you hear a Deck has a potential draw 4 + pop + Spell/Trap negate, with potentially ~20 slots for non-engine, that starts to sound like a real strategy.  That said, if you can find room, you can also play a small Bahamut Shark-Toad line, off of the standard Revealer combo, searching Speaker instead of a reborn.

Moreover, unlike some hardcore combo decks, Ice Barrier can not only grind, but play a safer midrange game into control strategies.  There’s a few key lynchpin effects to resolve, but luckily nothing in the strategy is truly do-or-die, unlike many Synchro Spam archetypes.  Even then, we’ve got cards like Georgius which wholly shut off GY effects and sit on the board, or Raiho to stop resource-light engines that can’t afford to lose hand advantage, attacking opponents at all angles.

With that, I highly encourage you to await the coming of Ice Barrier as a potential Rogue contender in Battles of Legend: Terminal Revenge!  We’re on the precipice of a killer banlist, by all accounts, and it’s important to know what might be a top dog after the hammer falls.  Do you have any sweet tech for Ice Barrier?  What else do you want to see me cover from Terminal Revenge?  Let me know in the comments below!