Did you miss ‘Valiant Smashers‘ when it was first released in late 2023? Maybe you’re just returning to Yu-Gi-Oh! and something in this particular set has grabbed you. Or are you looking for your next deck build and want to see if anything in ‘Valiant Smashers‘ is worth a look? Well, why don’t you follow me on this rundown of the ‘Valiant Smashers‘ deckbuild pack as we cast an eye over the introduced archetypes (and some of the wildcards too) to see if anything takes your fancy?
CENTUR-ION
Kicking us off, we have the brand new Centur-Ion archetype whose lore centres around a young knight, her squire and the mech they pilot to fight the forces of evil. The Centur-Ion deck is Synchro-based, with the combination of the pilot (a Tuner monster) and their respective mech (a non-Tuner monster) to form the fully functional fighting force (a Synchro monster representing their combination).
The monsters within this archetype have effects involving sending each other to the backrow as a Continuous Trap before Special Summoning them back out again. ‘Centur-Ion Primera’ forms the basis of most of the Centur-Ion combos with it’s effect to search for any other Centur-Ion card and it’s Level 4 Tuner status making it integral to Synchro Summoning your big boss monsters.
Did you miss ‘Valiant Smashers‘ when it was first released in late 2023? Maybe you’re just returning to Yu-Gi-Oh! and something in this particular set has grabbed you. Or are you looking for your next deck build and want to see if anything in ‘Valiant Smashers‘ is worth a look? Well, why don’t you follow me on this rundown of the ‘Valiant Smashers‘ deckbuild pack as we cast an eye over the introduced archetypes (and some of the wildcards too) to see if anything takes your fancy?
CENTUR-ION
Kicking us off, we have the brand new Centur-Ion archetype whose lore centres around a young knight, her squire and the mech they pilot to fight the forces of evil. The Centur-Ion deck is Synchro-based, with the combination of the pilot (a Tuner monster) and their respective mech (a non-Tuner monster) to form the fully functional fighting force (a Synchro monster representing their combination).
The monsters within this archetype have effects involving sending each other to the backrow as a Continuous Trap before Special Summoning them back out again. ‘Centur-Ion Primera’ forms the basis of most of the Centur-Ion combos with it’s effect to search for any other Centur-Ion card and it’s Level 4 Tuner status making it integral to Synchro Summoning your big boss monsters.
‘Valiant Smashers‘ also brings some strong reinforcements across the backline for Centur-Ion with the Field Spell ‘Stand Up Centur-Ion!’ allowing you to Synchro Summon in response to a Special Summon even if it’s your opponent’s turn and ‘Centur-Ion Bonds’ opening the door for Centur-Ions to return to the field from your GY and ‘Centur-Ion True Awakening’ able to negate and destroy an opponent’s card as it activates it’s effect.
The crowning glory of Centur-Ion is ‘Centur-Ion Legatia’, a Level 12 Synchro monster with a mighty 3500 ATK and effects that can protect your other Centur-Ions (if they have ATK over 2000), destroy your opponent’s highest ATK monster and bring a non-Synchro Centur-Ion into your backline. ‘Centur-Ion Legatia’ gives so much versatility that you will want it as part of your endboard when you have been executing those delicious Centur-Ion combos!
Since ‘Valiant Smashers‘, new Centur-Ion cards have been released as part of ‘Legacy of Destruction’, ‘The Infinite Forbidden’ and ‘Rage of the Abyss’ sets so it looks like Konami have big plans for this deck going forwards. If you want a solid Synchro deck with a lot of synergy to other styles that is only going to get bigger with time then enlist your Centur-Ions today!
MEMENTOTLAN
In an amusing piece of wordplay, the Mementotlan takes its name from a combination of ‘Memento’ and ‘Mictlān’ (the name of the Aztec underworld) which goes a long way to explaining the card art. The monsters of this archetype are mostly comprised of classic monsters from the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh! that have been made over with a crystallised Aztec-inspired new look – for instance, ‘Mementotlan Angwitch’ is the Mementotlan counterpart of ‘Fairywitch’. The loving tribute to the original cards extends to the point of Mementotlan monsters having the same Attribute, Type, Level, ATK and DEF as their inspirations. As you might have spotted, the Mementotlan monsters have effects unlike their inspiration that take this archetype from a disparate blend of nostalgia cards into an archetype with a solid cohesive strategy.
The heart of the Mementotlan strategy is quickly sending monsters to the GY so you can Special Summon the boss monster ‘Mementoal Tecuhtlica – Combined Creation’, a 5000 ATK/DEF who can attack all of your opponent’s monsters while you control no other monsters. ‘Mementoal Tecuhtlica – Combined Creation’ can be quite vulnerable to card effects unless you tap into the potential of ‘Mementotlan Ghattic’ and ‘Mementotlan Mace’ which allow you to prevent your opponent targeting ‘Memento’ monsters with card effects and take control of one of your opponent’s monsters respectively.
The backrow Spell/Trap cards generally serve to reinforce the core Mementotlan strategy with effects such as allowing you to bring out a ‘Mementoal Tecuhtlica – Combined Creation’ from your hand or deck when your opponent destroys a ‘Memento’ monster (‘Mementotlan Bone Back’) or negating your opponent’s card effects at the cost of 1000 ATK/DEF from ‘Mementoal Tecuhtlica – Combined Creation’ (Mementotlan Cranium Burst).
On the whole, the Mementotlan archetype is both a devoted love letter to monsters from the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh! as well as a strong archetype that use the broken bones of your monsters to build your path to victory!
VAALMONICA
The Vaalmonica archetype is based on the ancient trope of the little angel and demon on your shoulder that try to guide your actions. However the curious twist that the ‘Fiend’-type Vaalmonicas are LIGHT attributes and the ‘Fairy’-type have DARK attributes poses the question: who really is good or evil?
The pendulum monsters ‘Dimonno Vaalmonica’ and ‘Angello Vaalmonica’ are the foundation for the Vaalmonica deck with effects to bring each other into the Pendulum zones. Once they are in play, you will be aiming to earn Resonance counters onto
‘Dimonno’ or ‘Angello’ by either taking damage or gaining LP which can easily be achieved with the backline support cards.
Once you have at least 3 Resonance counters in your preferred Pendulum zone then you can bring out the corresponding boss monster. For the ‘Dimonno’ route, you will be summoning ‘Zebufera, Vaalmonican Hallow Heathen’ – a Link-1 monster with a powerful 2500 ATK and a handy effect to trade in your Resonance counters to protect your cards. If you have been stacking on ‘Angello’ then you will be raising ‘Duralume, Vaalmonican Heathen Hallow’ – another Link-1 monster with 2500 ATK but prioritising destruction this time with Resonance counters allowing you to attack up to 3 times with ‘Duralume’ in one turn.
The Pendulum summoning mechanic has been largely ignored over time so it is refreshing to see the ‘Vaalmonica’ archetype that is a fairly competitive deck with lots of personality that breathes new life into the format!
WILDCARDS
Aside from the new archetypes added, ‘Valiant Smashers‘ also contains a myriad of other cards including some general staples (‘Foolish Burial’ and ‘There Can Only Be One’) as well as entries to pre-existing archetypes (‘Abominable Unchained Soul’ and ‘Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir’ ).
Of these wildcards, ‘Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood’ is probably the most well-regarded thanks to it’s effect allowing you to gain LP when your opponent Special Summons and Effect monster. With so many playstyles revolving around chaining Special Summons to flood the frontline, this can be a powerful aid for surviving the onslaught. In timed duels, it has added value of insulating you from any last-minute combos that focus on bringing out a menagerie of monsters.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A structure deck is a great foundation if you want to get duelling but there’s something to be said for building something a bit more personal, using packs and buying singles to create something unique that suits your style. If you want a deck with personality and potential – which could be rejuvenated at the drop of a hat with new releases in the latest sets – then ‘Valiant Smashers‘ is one of the best around.
