The Workshop - Zombies

The Workshop is where I’ll be discussing the major decks of the metagame, and since it’s the most recent entry into the competitive sphere, where better to start than the Zombie deck that’s been wreaking global havoc?

The deck is heavily favoured by such ‘pro’ players as Adam Corn, Ceser Gonzalez, the Bellido brothers, and even Europe’s own Claudio Kirchmair, and with Zombies taking seven out of the top sixteen places at Shonen Jump Columbus, the very first time they were played this format, it’s not hard to see why.

The deck was so successful because of one card, the card that changed everything this format:



While Blackwings were previously regarded as the premier synchro generating deck, Zombies proved to be the deck that could abuse Brionac to the fullest, allowing for incredible success (despite the overall victory going to Vincent Ralambomiadana’s ‘French Twilight’) at it’s premier Jump.

Brionac revolutionised how the game is played this format, strengthening some decks, weakening some others, and rendering some strategies completely obsolete. If Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind put Stardust Dragon in the ground, then Brionac is the final nail in the proverbial coffin. It’s no longer safe to turtle up behind a Stardust Dragon/Mirror Force setup, or hope to control the battle phase through Colossal Fighter alone, so it stands to reason that the deck most able to make use of this fantastic new card would be the most successful. Enter Zombies.

The most popular variant seems to be based around the build that took Jeff Jones to a top 16 finish, surprising (and dominating) people with Deep Sea Diva:



Monsters: 18
2x Mezuki
2x Mystic Tomato
2x Pyramid Turtle
2x Goblin Zombie
2x Deep Sea Diva
1x Dark Armed Dragon
1x Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1x Caius the Shadow Monarch
1x Zombie Master
1x Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind
1x Sangan
1x Plaguespreader Zombie
1x Spirit Reaper



Spells: 16
3x Burial from a Different Dimension
2x Gold Sarcophagus
2x Allure of Darkness
2x Foolish Burial
2x My Body as a Shield
1x Book of Moon
1x Brain Control
1x Mind Control
1x Heavy Storm
1x Mystical Space Typhoon



Traps: 7
2x Bottomless Trap Hole
1x Solemn Judgment
1x Mirror Force
1x Torrential Tribute
1x Call of the Haunted
1x Dust Tornado

Total: 41

I’m going to be upfront and I say I don’t like this build, in comparison to a more control based, slower paced version resembling what took Lazaro Bellido to a similar top sixteen finish. This deck has far too much a preoccupation with a one turn kill victory, which the deck is fully capable of performing without such potentially crippling cards as Foolish Burial and Mind Control; along with the third Burial from a Different Dimension this has the disastrous potential to give some awful, mismatched, nigh unplayable hands. Obviously Jeff (as a previous Shonen Jump Champion) is an excellent player, so I doubt it really mattered.

Now, that said, the deck is monstrous. But this applies to all Zombie decks across the board, as the deck is capable of generating ridiculous advantage and performing one turn kills at a frighteningly consistent rate.

To perform a one turn kill with this deck (or any Zombie variant) requires so few cards that it’s very easy to set up, with Goblin Zombie, Deep Sea Diva/Emergency Teleport and Burial from a Different Dimension it’s possible to put well over 8000 attack points on the field. This influenced the decision for both Jeff and Lazaro to run a single Dust Tornado to allow one turn kill frequency, in addition to Lazaro maining a single Phoenix Wing Wind Blast.

The main combo of the deck then, is to use Pyramid Turtle/Mystic Tomato to tutor in a Goblin Zombie, then use Deep Sea Diva/Emergency Teleport to synchro for Brionac, activating Goblin Zombie’s effect to search for Mezuki, using Brionac’s effect to clear any obstacles (discarding Mezuki/Plaguespreader Zombie) along the way. Throw in a Burial from a Different Dimension or a Dark Armed Dragon, and you’ve got a massive swing of tempo, pace, position and power, if not a straight up one turn kill.

Lazaro had some more interesting deck choices, specifically Tragoedia, an excellent choice. Tragoedia is so good here for a number of reasons – it allows you to survive in the face of opposing one turn kills, it can swing the game in your favour through it’s ‘Snatch Steal’ effect, it provides free tribute fodder/synchro material, and can place a huge amount of attack points on board, which can be vital, this allows you to inflict heavy amounts of damage without ever even needing to summon Brionac

This deck is very, very good. Adam Corn has gone so far as to proclaim it the best deck of the format, and with the power and consistency, and the sheer swarming it’s capable of, I’d be inclined to agree.

Some good videos from 'the pros' regarding Zombies:

Adam Corn on the top decks and the format:



Cesar Gonzalez's Top 8 Regional Zombie Deck:



Dale Bellido on the Krebons/Diva debate:



Cesar Gonzalez on the top decks this format:



Also, check out this weeks featured video from Dale Bellido on his brother's Zombie deck from a recent Toronto Regional.

Till next time, good luck and have fun!

- Alex