The current TCG and Genesys format aren’t just different in terms of their cardpool, but instead in what they ask of a given player. In the TCG, your decklist is likely stock, one of three or so different options in the format, or a Rogue deck trying to make it big; what you need to perfect is not mastery of the cardpool, but of interactions and playing through specific points of negation. Genesys meanwhile is a brewer’s paradise, virtually unsolved even now, with a shocking diversity of decks that range from Exodia FTK to Linkless K9 Vanquish Soul. Yes, the actual play in game is key, but there’s simply too much in the format to know by heart for one duelist to prepare for, so instead it’s best to arrive at a given duel with the best version of a strategy that you can. This is where I come in, to give you a crash course on deckbuilding for Genesys, and what’s set to succeed or fail in this brand-new format.
Genesys is defined by 3 divergent paths of deckbuilding: Spending your entire budget on the best engine, spending your entire budget on non-engine like handtraps, or playing something outlandish like an FTK or Flower Cardian. 100 points goes away fast, and two playsets of the absolute best handtraps are enough to fill out a budget, so splitting hairs and playing something like Ninja or Swordsoul, which is hit to some degree but isn’t actually as powerful as stuff like K9, won’t do you much good. It’s the Tistinas & Gishkis of the world that fall into that second category, which I’ve personally been drawn to—the great unknowns that never saw the light of day in normal Yugioh. The best deck spending wholly on engine is going to vary person-to-person, with early contenders being K9 cores, Odion, & Fire King, but these are a point change away from being overtaxed. I suggest starting your path with an unknown, and looking for the non-engine available at 0 points, to best familiarize yourself with what Genesys has to offer.
Going second in Genesys is a game of board breakers, as opposed to handtraps. Certainly cards like Mulcharmy Fuwalos & Droll & Lock Bird will be seen in decks that can afford them, but for the majority of point-intensive strategies you’ll instead be relying on reasonable Traps going first, and answers going second. Those answers come in the form of Kaijus, unhit barring Interrupted Kaiju Slumber, Ultimate Slayer, and Book of Lunar Eclipse. Where Book of Moon costs points to play, its Twin Twisters-esque cousin escapes untaxed, meaning you’re more vulnerable if you end on exactly two bodies to flip face-down. Better still, because of the lack of Link Monsters, that actually has a universality found lacking in the main game: FLIP decks in general, or those who interact with face-downs, find a home in Genesys. Slayer meanwhile has exactly three great picks to send, only needing to account for Fusions, Synchros, and Xyz. At 0 points are Garura, Wings of Resonant Life, Golden Cloud Beast - Malong, and Mereologic Aggregator—cards that enjoy being sent directly to the GY from the Extra Deck.
This is also an endorsement of Dogmatika Punishment, which shockingly escapes with 0 points, and (unless things change) the brand-new Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Thunderbolt which can search it. If you’re a strategy that can afford the Extra Deck slots, and doesn’t need it, slotting in Slayer, Punishment, and Thunderbolt is a great package.
On the topic of turn 0 plays, however, it comes time to talk about the 4-card PSY-Frame-esque package that’s been sweeping the format, being a 3:1 ratio of Rescue-ACE Impulse and Rescue-ACE Fire Attacker. As soon as your opponent blinks, you can get a Level 6 Machine body on the board and filter 2 cards, in a simulacra of what K9 is doing in the TCG. This has raised the ceiling substantially on what midrange strategies prone to bricking can accomplish, and is incidentally great in the Fire King piles that have rapidly emerged. Speaking of which, both Kurikara Divincarnate & Lava Golem are unhit, and the former even works with the shocking 0 point Herald of the Orange Light. If you’re playing FIRE or Fairies, your answers are just simply going to be better than other decks in the format; that also includes Artifact Lancea, in case the Ritual Beast players get any ideas.
On the topic of handtraps, let’s talk about the two you’ll be seeing in 99% of lists running handtraps at all: D.D. Crow & Skull Meister. Each of these hate out the GY in their own way, through either a targeted banish or negation. If your deck loses to one or both of these cards, I’d reconsider it as the best option for your entry into the format, because these two will be everywhere. The opportunity cost is low, and these are great going either first or second, especially without a significant number of Bystials in the format. In addition, digging for these by way of the Rescue-ACE package is very reasonable, given that suite of cards doesn’t really care if the opponent has access to the very same—their relevant effects are activated in the hand & on the field. Even without the Rescue-ACEs, decks with Level 1s can make Lyrilusc - Recital Starling to search Crow, and Blackwing is an early Rogue pick which benefits from another DARK Winged Beast.
In terms of consistency tools, Genesys has made a bit of a mistake in leaving both Pot of Extravagance & Pot of Duality legal at 0 points. While not applicable to every deck, this is a disastrous level of consistency for some of the most obnoxious decks in the room. True Draco, Stun, and somehow Linkless Altergeist have all topped in smaller tournaments, riding on the back of these profound tools. Also in the format is Upstart Goblin, which doesn’t matter all too much for most decks, but has seen a roaring rise of playability in Gold Pride as a means of setting your LP lower than the opponents, through giving them 1000 extra.
To combat this, Droll is a mere 5 points apiece, and Shared Ride is 0, meaning you can benefit immensely from going first into control strategies, and not just because their backrow is likely to be a turn late. If you can’t afford Droll, Mistaken Arrest is also around, although it’s far worse being unable to activate on the opponent’s first turn, if you’re on the draw.
If I had to think of some Genesys decks that are likely good enough, but simply not seeing play because they’re as of yet unsolved, the first thing that comes to mind is a variant of Despia that’s not especially deep on Branded tools. Not only is Aluber 0 points, the entire archetype is free, and coupled with all of the powerful free tools accessible to Fairies there’s probably something there. A lot of the removal you’re reckoning with in the format is either targeting or destroys, and Despia is very happy to deal with either. Also in that list, and perhaps even in the same deck, is Artmage/Medius the Pure. Medius is, shocker, a DARK Fairy and from the GY starts the combo for his engine all on his own. By ditching the Branded half, outside of maybe a single Branded Fusion, you could make great use of the tools available to a strategy like that using the rest of your 67 available points. Thinking like this, i.e. combining engines and archetypes freely, is what’s going to put the best players in Genesys ahead as the format evolves.
One of the biggest aspects of Genesys that worries me is how it will handle incoming releases. We’ve seen strategies like Ninjas & Millennium absolutely crippled for seemingly no reason, unless you wind back the clock far enough to imagine when Konami was conceptualizing Genesys. If there’s sufficient lag time between new sets and new points, the format will quickly come to resemble a Link-less, Pendulum-less version of the current TCG. I highly endorse them aggressively pointing up cards from new sets, as the overall power curve of Genesys is substantially lower than its sister format.
While yes, growing pains are expected, we’ve already been promised an early point update in the coming month-and-a-half, and on Konami’s website they’ve canonized the term “non-engine”. This is a format written about by someone who plays the game, and crucially, is willing to address its players with a candor not unlike the golden age of Blogatog, for Magic players.
How have you enjoyed Genesys thus far? Is there a deck you’ve settled on playing, or is the format still open enough to be considering your options? What needs to have its points changed in the upcoming update? Do you think this format will last? Let me know in the comments below!
