Introduction
On December 19, I attended my first Remote Duel Regional to see how well Phantom Knights performed in the current meta. I ended up with a 4-2 record, losing only to the 1st and 2nd place players of the event. While the record itself isn't fantastic, it landed me 7th, and the event was much more tolerable than playing 10+ rounds in Los Angeles. Because many cards lock Phantom Knights from playing if they lose the die roll, I opted for a handtrap build preventing problem cards like Archnemeses Protos and Artifact Scythe from hitting the field.
Phantom Knight Decklist
While uninteractive, I did end up playing the Scythe to lock the opponent's Extra Deck. Phantom Knights were the best deck to Scythe lock opponents because of its ability to play around almost every topdeck besides D.D. Crow and Called by the Grave. While Scythe is problematic, this is a meta full of turn skips with Harpie's Feather Storm and Archnemeses Protos.
The list was basically ripped off from one of Josh Kippenberg's (Exxxtra) PK YouTube deck profiles with the only change replacing his third Gozen Match for a 3rd Anti-Spell Fragrance. I did not spend much time optimizing it for my preferences, but this particular list appealed to me because I had wanted to play both Scythe and handtraps. Infinite Impermanence does not conflict with The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine as much as one thinks. Droll & Lock Bird and Nibiru, the Primal Being are some of the highest impact handtraps as of now, though Artifact Lancea is another option.
Thoughts, Changes, or Recommendations to the Phantom Knight Build?
I thought Number 80: Rhapsody in Berserk would be a cool option for Break Sword plays, but honestly, it just never comes up over Time Thief Redoer. The one Cosmic Cyclone was supposedly the sacky Mystic Mine answer, but typically the types of decks that use Mine demand an almost immediate answer, so it fails to be of any use when drawn 10 turns later. I'd swap the Cyclone for an Imperial Order in the main. I would also try to fit in an Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess as well, probably replacing I:P Masquerena.
I cannot speak much of the side deck. Out of all my matches, the only side card I have ever resolved was the 1 Lancea Set from Dagda. I think a third Twin and possibly more Cosmics over Lightning Storms would be nice.
Honestly, the commitment to Artifact Dagda for my turn 1 play made me dislike the deck. The deck plays into Nibiru extremely hard, and it also burns the Leviair, providing much less extension in later turns. I ended up taking out Scythe and Dagda after the event to play normal Phantom Knights.
Rounds and Matchups
Round 1: BYE
A duelist's luck is part of their success. My opponent never showed up for his first round. While a free win is nice, this bye is not too great for tiebreaker purposes.
Round 2: Mirror Match 2-1
I won the die roll and opted to go first. While playable, my hand was so awkward that any handtrap would have ended my turn. Of course, a Nibiru got dropped on my Rusty, forcing me to set Impermanence and Scythe and pass. My opponent starts with a normal summon Tour Guide and chaining Kagemucha Knight, and I knew this would lead to an OTK. However, he opted to go for Apollousa with 4 materials and a Rusty. I negate Rusty with Infinite Impermanence and he proceeds to hit my token and my lifepoints and pass. At this point, my board was the set Scythe and Destiny Hero - Celestial in hand. I topdeck Fusion Destiny, kill Apollousa and Scythe locked him next turn to steal the game. Fusion Destiny bailed me out incredibly hard there.
Game 2 he opted to go first and built the typical normal Phantom Knight board but with Dragoon instead of DPE. I scoop after because my hand was unplayable anyways, but I got more knowledge of his deck for game 3. I had opened both Celestial and Dasher.
Game 3 my Torn Scale was Ashed and my Rusty got Nibiru'd, but I managed to extend to DPE & Dagda with a set Phantom Knights' Fog Blade thanks to the Phantom Knights' Wing I discarded off Torn Scale. However, when I was reviving Lancea and Scythe off of my DPE pops, he Called by the Graves my Scythe. Fortunately, with only 3 cards left, he couldn't push through a Lancea and Fog Blade and it led to an OTK next turn.
Round 3: Swordsoul 2-1
I lost the die roll, and Swordsoul went first to set up Baronne de Fleur and Swordsoul Grandmaster - Chixiao. I activate Nibiru to force the Fleur negate, and drew into another Nibiru for turn. However, I couldn't do much because I couldn't force the Chixiao negate until I made Rusty. I set a Fog Blade and pass. On his next turn, I Fog Blade the Fleur Standby effect to prevent him from resummoning Fleur, and the 2nd Nibiru went through this time as he tried to play. During his End Phase, I revived Rusty and it was all over from there.
For game 2 I managed to Nib him again, but it didn't do much against the Protos he summoned later. I quickly lose because Protos is a very good card. Game 3 was quite uneventful; I did my Scythe lock and he couldn't play. However, he did end up walling up with 4 monsters and a Swordsoul Blackout. Time was coming up though, and I had to make sure I did damage to overcome my 2000 LP deficit. After fastplaying for my life, I barely clinched enough damage to win in LP.
Round 4: Mine Burn 0-2
While playing Scythe to skip a turn is cringe, getting Mined for 20 turns is also annoying. I won the die roll and thought I won when I summoned Scythe. He then activates Demise of the Land to win the game because I didn't draw the Cosmic Cyclone to answer the Mine and the Cauldron of the Old Man.
Game 2, I only saw the Lightning Storm that I couldn't use yet, so I made a smaller board with DPE, I:P, and Rusty. However, I was forced to use I:P and DPE effects early because the opponent activated Pot of Duality to grab Lava Golem, and he activates Demise of the Land on my Link Summon. It went downhill from there. I was desperately trying to draw my 1 Lancea so I can Tribute Set over Knightmare Unicorn and activate Lightning Storm, but I only drew more Storms. I did draw a Twin Twisters but it got negated by Ultimate Providence. Cauldron of the Old Man killed me many turns later.
While losing to Mine Burn was not fun, I had to hope he would win all his other games for good tiebreakers. He did end up winning the overall event!
Round 5: Swordsoul 1-2
I won the die roll again and Scythed him, but he did the same thing as my earlier Swordsoul opponent. He walled up exceptionally well, with Blackout and 4 monsters, and I couldn't kill. With low extra deck resources on turn 3, it was difficult for me to get the OTK, and I failed. I end up getting Protos'd out of the game next turn, which is fair because I did Scythe him. The mismanagement of my Phantom Knight traps threw the game, but my Swordsoul opponent played very well to steal it.
Game 2, I go first again, this time determined not to play sloppily at all. He ends up scooping turn 2 as he didn't draw a single out or even a wall to end on. Now it was time for game 3 and one thing was on my mind: Protos.
I open Droll & Lock Bird game 3, which was nice because it meant Chixiao couldn't grab Protos off of Swordsoul Emergence. Unfortunately, he had hard opened Protos and I got locked out of the game. Again, a duelist's luck plays a part of their success! I conceded the game after, but it was a still a funny match of locking each other from playing the game. He later went on to get 2nd place, which helped my tiebreakers.
Round 6: Madolche 2-1
My opponent decided to go first after I lose the die roll. My opening hand had Impermanence and Nibiru, which is an OP handtrap combo, but I was so surprised when he normal summoned Madolche Anjelly I forgot to negate it. I decided to see what the endboard would be. I end up nibbing everything but his Glassoufle and saved my Impermanence for later. In hindsight, I should have chained Impermanence to Glassoufle so that Nibiru could get rid of it too, but I wasn't too familiar with the deck. I tried to play and force the Madolche Promenade, but I forgot Glassoufle can shuffle my monsters back to deck. The lack of resources forced me to set Impermanence and Shade Brigandine and pass, and he OTKs me next turn with Red Reboot. He told me he opened Reboot if I had used Impermanence turn 1, but my extra traps from Reboot definitely would have improved my line of play. Regardless, my lack of knowledge cost me the game, which is why rogue decks can perform well in events.
For Game 2 I decided to go first. I do remember opening a playable hand, but the events of that game were hazy. I want to say I succeeded the Scythe lock, but I only remember DPE carrying the majority of the game. Anyways, game 2 was mine and we got ready to play the final game of the day.
For game 3, the Madolche player opened very poorly and ended on Hootcake and 3 backrow. I assumed one of them was Promenade, so I did my best to play around it. I start with a normal Torn Scale and discarded something useless and it baited the Promenade. Then, I activate Shade Brigandine to go into Link Spider but my opponent flips Gozen Match. I then activate Fusion Destiny from my hand and start playing DPE control. The constant spot removal from DPE was eventually too much for Madolche to handle, and he conceded the match.
Conclusion
I felt like I could have performed better if I spent more time optimizing the deck for my playstyle. However, I did end up getting the Top 8 mat, so I won't complain too much. All the opponents and judges were friendly, and there is still room for improvement playing Phantom Knights.
It was a fun event, and remote dueling isn't as bad as people think. I also enjoyed the 6 round regional; I got to enjoy the rest of my day without even driving anywhere! Next time, I hope to reach the top 4 playing with the cards I love.
