Finally, the day has arrived: A TCG-Exclusive strategy achieved nearly the highest honor a archetype can, and came second in YCS Orlando. Favored to win, Ryzeal Mitsurugi looked clean in spite of being relatively unexplored, and for its very first outing at a YCS, with plenty of room to grow and a second wave coming this spring, the Ritual Reptiles appear to be on their ascent. This run came off the heels of nearly 2 years of not a single TCG-Exclusive being reasonably competitive, the most recent prior to Mitsurugi being…Gold Pride, if you squint. So, let’s dive into why Mitsurugi has finally breached the glass ceiling on the TCG’s design, and where they might be going from here. Presenting: Mitsurugi Ryzeal.
I’ve already covered Mitsurugi in detail, as part of a Drytron strategy, but here it takes center stage as a smokescreen for the current best deck in the game, Ryzeal. The actual engine that’s being played is small, being only 10 cards, and per two of the pilots who took the deck to a top placement, oftentimes the entire package would be sided out game 2, reminiscent to the beloved Madolche/Ghostrick strategy from ~2013. Here, Mitsurugi represents a way for Ryzeal to wildly increase its power ceiling, and give the deck better options for breaking boards against established strategies. Moreover, because the point at which one needs to stop Mitsurugi is so clear, being negation for Mitsurugi Ritual, you can plan around that, and set up protection by way of Ryzeals before even touching your Reptiles. One notable exclusion from this list, adapted from several of the topping lists, is Mitsurugi no Mikoto, Kusanagi. Kusanagi is the only monster component of your line that itself doesn’t start the combo, alongside one search from King of the Feral Imps, and one of the players stated that the only change he’d make would be to shave to 40 cards, cutting Kusanagi.
This is a contentious choice, however, as Kusanagi is one of the main ways this strategy beats, or at the very least has a less awful time against, Droll & Lock Bird. Droll is often played as a means to stop Ryzeal at its first search, as nearly every monster played has an inbuilt way to add a card from Deck to hand, so in theory, Ritual Summoning with Mitsurugi Ritual, and sending both Saji & Kusanagi allows you to get back the Ritual Spell where you’d otherwise not be able to. That said, the exclusion of Kusanagi here leans into that weakness, and accepts it as something the list hates to see, period. Finding Ritual without hard opening it, through Droll, is already impossible, so why bother playing a brick that otherwise has no game against it regardless? This is where, when Mitsurugi receives its second wave, I wager we’ll see more experimentation in what gets played. If they introduce another Maindeck + Ritual Monster, suddenly playing through those hoops becomes quite a bit easier, and if they print a Level 12 Ritual, fingers crossed, Kusanagi instantly becomes the entire combo when sent alongside a Level 8 Ritual.
That aside provides a jumping-off point to note that Mitsurugi is the first TCG archetype since Kozmo to be fully realized, and playable to a competitive level, with only its first wave of support. With a mere 7 cards to its name, and only 5 played here, the strategy feels competent, so what might cards 8-14 bring in Alliance Insight, when it arrives on May 1st?
One of the biggest points at which Mitsurugi falters is when it cannot access its Ritual Spell, or it otherwise is negated. Mitsurugi Ritual is one of the best Ritual Spells ever printed, but because it’s the only way to Summon your Level 8s, it is a clear choke point that can be seized-upon. In an ideal world, Mitsurugi would receive something like an Extra Deck monster which enables a similar Ritual Summon, as additional bodies are something it has in ample supply, as well as another Maindeck name, and Ritual name. Presently, you lose quite a bit of value if you see multiple copies of your Maindeck monsters without running Reptile garnets, so smoothing it out and making the ‘send from Deck’ mode feel better would be paramount. The best thing Mitsurugi could be given, however, is a Level 12 Ritual Monster.
It might seem obvious as to why this would be a game changer for Mitsurugi, but just to enunciate — being able to Tribute both a Level 4 & 8 from Deck solves every problem the strategy has. You’d be able to chain block your return of the Ritual Spell, and search another card, meaning not only do you go plus, but the pain points of the archetype are diminished against something like Ash Blossom. Moreover, this would allow your normal combo + Night Sword Serpent, meaning you’d be able to add a free Level 4 to Ryzeal builds in a way not currently available. I fully believe, so long as the second wave for Mitsurugi is any good whatsoever, that we may see a shift towards it being capital-M Mitsurugi Ryzeal, rather than Mitsurugi merely being the engine. Luckily, as part of the TCG Product Preview for Alliance Insight, we received the below artwork, and coping as I may be, I sincerely hope it’s that hypothetical Level 12.
Fully siding out Mitsurugi in the current build, and swapping in 10 pieces of non-engine tailored for whether you go first or second, is part of why the strategy is so scary. Game 2, you’re practically facing a different deck, leaning hard away from its high potential power ceiling, and becoming a ruthlessly efficient midrange list. In fact, the only reason the deck lost in Finals and ended up in 2nd place was due to a blunder from its pilot — playing into Nibiru, and being punished for it, when a far lower-committal endboard was perfectly possible.
That’s partially what I mean when I say the sky’s the limit in terms of this deck’s growth, as it hasn’t seen its true potential reached yet, whether in terms of build, play patterns, or even support itself. Konami simply needs to print functional pieces, not even necessarily good ones, to prompt the deck to be a mainstay in the meta even if Ryzeal itself gets hit on the upcoming Forbidden & Limited List.
The ratios here are quite tight, and included are some absolutely hilarious tech options, such as Reptilliane Echidna, a means to search your Mitsurugi combo going second, or even Haggard Lizardose, a draw that helps reset Ame no Murakumo no Mitsurugi into the GY, where Futsu no Mitama no Mitsurugi can revive it for a quick field wipe. While some of the points at which Mitsurugi interacts are odd, and seem weak (leading to the initial assessment that these cards weren’t good enough), negation or a handrip, and rapidly reborning your monsters for additional pluses and destruction works very well.
Aside from that though, one included tech in the Sidedeck is that of Triple Tactics Thrust and Artifact Sanctum, which can provide access to Lancea against Ritual Beast & Maliss, which practically wins the game on the spot.
The one wrinkle is the inclusion of triplicate copies of every single legal Mulcharmy, which is burdensome on ones’ budget. Ultimately, these are necessary, as each helps beat a specific matchup unless they decide to Droll themselves, but it hurts to see these cards be so ubiquitous, ala Maxx “c” of years past. It remains to be seen if these are a good design for the game, or merely a way for the OCG to finally ban the card-draw-cockroach.
Frankly, I am beside myself with excitement at the thought of Mitsurugi’s next wave. Not only have they managed to make a compelling TCG Exclusive, but it being Reptile that doesn’t require Snake Rain is a small miracle. While I imagine its partner in crime, Ryzeal, may see some touching on the banlist, Mitsurugi is here to stay, so learning when to interact with it, and what to watch out for, is paramount.
All told, that’s the brief on current Mitsurugi! How have you been using the new archetype to your advantage? What do you want to see for future support? Let me know in the comments below!
