Notes & Combos

No Trouble Sunny makes me so sad...

What do the new cards do?

1. Frost and Treat - more chances to full combo; +1 handtrap resilience, +1/2 Link material on turn 2, 3, or beyond.
2. Sunny's Snitch - Can be either a start or an extender. Does not have an ED lock, unlike Home.

After experiencing the tier 2 and 3 decks of this format with a Live☆Twin Unchained deck, I couldn't see a world where I could build pure Live☆Twin to OTK. If we had gotten Evil★Twin's Trouble Sunny...We could've.

Until Trouble Sunny comes out, I still believe control is the best playstyle. In a format where most of the best deck's skills have HOPTs, I aim to run my opponents out of gas before I've even revved the engine.

To explain my non-engine:

1. IDP - So many decks care about the graveyard that IDP is a no-brainer for my Limit 3 trap of choice. For Crackdown, I fear too many decks can out it. For Compulsory Evacuation Device, I believe too many decks can play around it/access that monster again. For Floodgate Trap Hole, I feel I need to open 2 to truly see value and the card does nothing against Link Summons, limiting flexibility.
2. Warning Point - Unlike FTH, this card is highly likely to affect an opponent's summon. WP is also highly flexible, stopping combo starters or disabling boss monsters or preventing crackbacks in the grind game.
3. Ballista Squad - Offers a layer of complexity to opponent's turns and offers outs to otherwise tough situations.
4. Enemy Controller - This card is almost necessary in Live☆Twin, letting the deck play going second when it otherwise couldn't. Cards like Mind Control and Cynet Crosswipe fail where this card succeeds, but I'll talk about those more later.
5. Evil★Twin Present - In theory, this card is highly valuable as removal. In practice, I felt left wanting a different kind of disruption. It's searchable, though, so still valuable enough to play.

Cards I considered but decided against:

1. Cynet Crosswipe - With this playstyle, you are either going full combo or setting three. If the former, is can only ever be a -1. If the latter, it's a garnet and likely won't be any more valuable than your other non-engine.
2. Mind Control - Simply not as valuable as IDP. Go net neutral to remove 1 body versus banish two monsters
3. Evil★Twins Ki-sikil & Lil-la - Theory: Run Fiend's Exchange, play a 19 card deck, go go go. Removing your entire board to push for OTK is too risky, not likely enough to warrant playing. Also bricky with draw power.