Drive rulers in Set 4, ‘Become The Hero!‘, are making a comeback in a big way, and leading the charge is none other than everyone’s favourite; Berserker. While it may still only be limited to one organic drive per turn, the level cap of the deck is extensive enough to allow for a lot of impactful cards to be contained therein. Moreover, in addition to the previous set’s ‘multi-drive‘ package, additional cards have been printed that allow the deck to drive more than once per turn, thus further extending its set up and reach.
The Decklist
Please do keep in mind that while the deck at hand, submitted for the purposes of this article, is quite well crafted and with all the relevant inclusions, there are still substantial prospects for change. Essentially, as the general ‘win condition‘ of the Berserker ruler is simply to be as aggressive as possible by slamming high impact cards onto the board, what those cards can be, may differ substantially from player to player. As such, in the section below, I will cover the absolutely essential cards to this archetype. Beyond that, feel free to use your imagination and include whatever you prefer, following the general rule of thumb of ‘impactful’.
Card Inclusions
The list of cards relevant to the Berserker ruler, I believe, is quite straightforward. Utmost and foremost there is Darumageddon and Sakuya-Hime, Kami of Blossoms for the simple reason that they drive more cards, with the effect being attached to a decently statted body.
In a similar vein, Youmaoh Oni-Mask Avenger is also included because of his ability to drive an additional card. Granted this latter inclusion might raise an eyebrow or two consider the stats are a downgrade from the base ruler’s 5 ATK and 4 STK. However, the cards ability to deny checked CNT activation on top of acting as a mini-shield, by virtue of the Gear-Up mechanic, shift the argument for its inclusion heavily in the card’s favour.
Of course, cards like Schrodinger – the Cat out of the Box and Arcane Innovator are fantastic defensive inclusions. The former still fulfilling its role as the deck’s 17th unofficial CNT and the latter recyling and shuffling actual CNTs back to the deck.
Graduating from the Units and onto the Events, to no-one’s surprise we have Thousand Year Sakura making yet another appearance, as a generic staple in most drive decks. Lastly, we have the lastest Yomajin Front legend from Set 4 ‘The Tale of the First Dawn‘ that is an absolutely phenomenal card regardless of how it sees play; CNT, played or driven.
Final Thoughts
Due to all the new support that has arrived, for Drive Rulers in the most recent set, I am of the belief that certain drive decks no longer play second fiddle to Hand Rulers. Of course, I cannot make this assertion with absolute certainty until some more tournament results have been documented. However, with the large variety of multi-drive support printed already, decks and rulers that once explicitly relied on high-rolling such effects to win their games should now be able to win a little more consistently. In turn, their classification shall be reflected in their documented winrate, estimated to be at least low Tier Two, at the present time.
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