A sudden blast from the past, I wanted to quickly explore how Tricktser Burn has evolved over the last couple of sets since its original inception during set 3 and quick rise to fame. While I do not expect it to once again take the meta by storm, I do believe the rogue potential is certainly there especially if you catch your opponent unprepared. I hope you enjoy this short deck profile, as I gear up for the publication of a longer one in the near future.
The Decklist
Since the deck was first introduced during the 1k tournament back in set 3, it has undergone a variety of small changes that ultimately made the build more streamlined, dispensing the need to run defensive tools like A7 Cheshire The Cat, in favour of brand new events like Dimensional Lamination and the newest addition to the roster Siren Brigade, that adds even more utility to the deck. Comboing with cards like Tractor Beam and allowing for some extra stats on the board without the need to expend resources, thanks to her self-bouncing effect, it has certainly become an integral part of the archetype. That being said, there is still plenty of room for experimentation and the reintroduction of old tools like Well of ID, which was not featured in the list at hand. Lastly, while you can certainly run Set 5’s newest 1 damage CNT, “Heaven’s Devils” Space Racer, it did come off as relatively lackluster during testing with the other CNTs offering far better utility with their secondary effects.
The Burn Package
This section does not merit a lot of analysis, as it is fairly self-explanatory. It will simply serve as a visual representation of the core ‘Burn Cards’ cards native to the archetype.
Between Cosmic Efreet, Masashi Amanogawa Da Galactic Samurai, A7 “Duchess” the Brawler, and Specialist “Bullseye” Wolf you have thirteen different instances that can impact your opponent’s life-total directly and that is before we even consider Events.
Specifically, when it comes to events, you will take note that only Photon Torpedoes and Blaster Cannon have been listed as core. This is not to say that you cannot run cards like Space Mimic and #GG, in fact, the latter of which can be found in the submitted list.
Naturally, we can not have a burn deck without the classic lineup of CNT effects like Blaster Cannon and Photon Torpedoes coupled with defensive events like #GG.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, the deck at hand, although fun and reliable is very likely going to have a poor showing during this metagame due to the dominance of Value Berserker which specifically runs one card that operates as a hard counter to the deck’s overall strategy; namely Space King Arthur, ft. Adriano. However, presently it is one of the few, if not the only, meta contender that sports this particular CNT as a full playset. Yet, one has to also be wary of Azar, the Incandescent. Though he may have a limited showing at the moment, he nonetheless operates as a key unit for some of the up-and-coming archetypes. As a result, Trickster Burn should more likely be relegated to the rogue tier of viable decks, performing quite well in the absence of hard counters.
In terms of future viability and whether or not this is a deck you might want to invest in, it is difficult to accurately predict just how the GateRuler will shape up in future sets. But if the past is any indication, it is submitted that the deck will effectively continue to lurk in the shadows and might have a runway tournament performance here and there, when players least expect it. At the very least, it is inexpensive and a fun way to make your opponents sweat.
Disclaimer
All commentary at hand refers to the English format of the game. As such the only data in relation to deck viability taken into consideration is that resulting from the ENG tournament and local scenes. This is due to the fact that Japan has a variety of powerful cards that allow certain archetypes to remain viable or exceed their English counterparts. This disclaimer applies to the entirety of Set 5 related articles published henceforth.
gunnolfbjorn 