Yu-Gi-Oh! Rage of the Abyss: Islands in a Meta Sea

We’re less than a month out from the release of Rage of the Abyss, the first major release of cards following the August Forbidden & Limited List.  Overall, that list is a mixed bag, and while the meta has indeed changed based on some of the hits provided by that list, the overall standing of the top decks is functionally identical, just with a few of the placings swapped around.

ROTA aims to change that paradigm less with shocking new archetypes or flashy strategies, and more with a pile of supplementary engines and single pieces which help bolster a number of decks in a variety of ways.  That said, there’s one particular card coming out in the set with a looming dread attached to it which is difficult to deny: Mulcharmy Fuwaross.  Whether that bird is going to be the end of TCG-style Yugioh remains to be seen, but as a preview of what’s to come, let’s take a dive into Rage of the Abyss!

First and foremost: Fuwaross.  This second in the line of the Mulcharmy monsters is a behemoth of a card, in spite of its squishy appearance, and functionally represents a pseudo-Maxx “C” in today’s metagame.  Snake-Eye specifically folds terribly to this coming down, and nearly all decks at a minimum break even once it’s resolved, even if playing around the bird.  While decks like Floowandereeze and Harpie can make special use of Fuwaross, nearly every strategy is going to be tailoring their handtrap lineup to counter and include it.  Ash Blossom, Fuwaross itself, and Called By the Grave/Crossout Designator are all primed to take precious nonengine slots, meaning decks that can play lean are going to benefit greatly from this meta shift.

But what decks can play around this?  The correct answer is Floo, as not only can it gently tutor the bird throughout the course of a 2-turn setup, but it also in no ways triggers its effect.  Furthermore, the ever-present Dimension Shifter isn’t a counter to Floo, which might mean the best anti-meta strategy after the release of ROTA shifts away from Ritual Beast, and towards Floowandereeze.

Also coming out in ROTA, and benefitting from stalled turns, is the new strategy centered around Enhanced Metalmorph — While unassuming, this greatly diversifies the options available to decks running targets (Level 7/8 Fiends/Dragons) by not only giving them a means to interact in a layered context, pivoting from on-field monster negates to a swapped-out Spell/Trap negate with heightened protection, but also being extremely consistent in raising the floor for decks forced to pass turn, as will become common with the printing of Fuwaross.  This is a new engine I expect to see a shockingly high amount of, even with it being lukewarm at face value.

What I don’t expect to see are some of the headlining archetypes from ROTA, being the new Shark monsters, Primoredials, and Six Samurai.  Each of these additions to the format do essentially nothing that isn’t done better by something currently present, and moreover, while Primoredial would normally seem interesting as an anti-meta strategy, it plays horrendously into a resolved Fuwaross, dunking on its chances to ever see the light of day.

Notable exceptions to this curse of mediocrity, I believe, are the Atlantean/Mermail support and new Battlewasp starter included in this release; while balls-to-the-walls combo decks have gone out of style, especially in the face of Fuwaross, these each lean into the combo-centric nature of their home strategies in a way that can genuinely outgrind Snake-Eye if their opponent doesn’t open a suitable quantity of non-engine.  Battlewasp - Rapier the Furious is especially notable as one of the craziest starters we’ve seen in a long time, but instead of being locked to Blackwings like Simoom, this opens itself up to a fully-Insect combo deck that seemingly is a single card away from materializing.

Dominus Impulse is a card, somewhat like Fuwaross, that I expect to see quite a bit of, but for the wrong reasons.  Its restrictions from activating LIGHT, EARTH, and WIND monster effects for the rest of the duel notably fully allows the entire Snake-Eye Diabellestar Azamina strategy to utilize it scot-free, implying Konami intended this deck to simply be the best in the format from its inception, providing support after support seemingly tailored to it.  Impulse is the exact kind of card I don’t want to see, but worse still is perhaps the third archetype included in the Snake-Eye soup, being the upcoming Azamina.

Azamina is worryingly close to the Knightmares of old, being extremely accessible to any deck willing to part with excess advantage, providing an abhorrent amount of both interaction and advantage for little input.  Azamina asks you to send a single monster to the graveyard to access an omni-negate, in the form of Azamina Rhea Silvera, or close out a game with an extended line including Azamina Mu Rcielago.  These cards are obtained by virtue of their highly searchable, highly generic Spell/Traps, which themselves are partly Sinful Spoils, meaning one of the already-best engines in the game accesses them without issue.

Not unlike Fiendsmith, the ability to turn any advantage leftover from a highly tuned midrange/combo line into further extension at a moment’s notice is something that worries me about modern Yugioh.  I truly hope the next banlist cripples the ability for decks to do things like this, as in ROTA these types of piles are only going to get better, and by a wide margin.

Not included so far in the reveals are the TCG-Exclusive second wave of Mimighoul monsters, which I hope are good (but know will likely disappoint, given how much faith I placed in both Tistina & Ashened), as well as a variety of imports.  This set contains support for plenty of strategies we don’t have access to in full yet, including the new Union XYZ cards, new Allure Queens, and new Performages.  This leaves us in an odd spot, as we aren’t going to get the imports for sets which include these cards, being the Animation Chronicle  LIGHT Duelist Pack respectively, so the actual competency of these cards is going to vary wildly based on when those are imported.  That said, the support for the EARTH Duelist Pack was slowly trickled out to us, first in Power of the Elements and then Magnificent Mavens, so it’s anyone’s guess.

However, if I might make a plea — the Union XYZ support genuinely looks like it could bring back ABC as a meta strategy, especially with the TCG-Exclusive  The League of Uniform Nomenclature Strikes, so I’ll be knocking on wood that those arrive here in ROTA.

A lot of the best cards in Rage of the Abyss look to be good on their own, or fun support for decks that are beloved, but won’t make it onto the tier list.  Do you prefer this style of pack to something like POTE, which upends the meta and truly introduces new threats to the format?  It’s a tough thing to think about, to be sure, but at this point I’m tired of Snake-Eye as a broad concept, and frankly just need a break from seeing Fiendsmith Engraver resolve.

What will you be playing once ROTA drops?  Do you have anything I’ve missed from the set which might improve or detract from the current meta?  Is there some specific secret sauce I’ve missed in the archetypes that fail to excite?   I’d love to hear what you’ve been thinking in the comments below!