It's been said before on this blog and elsewhere, the Koaki Meiru deck does has a learning curve to it, and it is slightly steeper than other decks. With so many themed cards to choose from, not only do you have to know which ones to put into a deck, you also have to know how to use them effectively. A lot of the current decks have pretty simplistic goals in mind. "Summon xxx, win the game." In Koaki meiru decks, there are bosses that can fit the "summon xxx, win" criteria, but you can't get there as easily as with other decks. So Koakis have a more fulltime strategy requirement, whereas other decks may only need to focus on the "early game" or "late game" to fire off their game winning combos. So let's take a look at the type of cards we will be playing along the way.
Spells:
Core Compression - the Koaki Meiru draw card. You discard 1 monster and draw 2, after you reveal the iron core in your hand. I have yet to determine if this card can be ran in 3's or not. Other decks that had draw engines ran them in 3's, so why can't koakis? If the problem is having a core in hand, then the answer may be to use Immediate Disposal along with CTU, draw the core into your hand on your draw phase, then use the compression already in your hand. I also thought that using Core Reinforcements in the deck with this card would work, but that seems to be too many themed cards. Then, unlike other decks with draw engines, koakis dont necessarily need to draw into something specific do they? Hand advantage and resources are important for any deck, but the decks that shined from draw engines, drew into game winning combos and bosses. This isn't to say that KM has no boss or combo, I just haven't found the ideal build that would shine from these draws. This still requires more testing, but I'm sure that the card should be ran in 3's if it is to be ran at all.
Core Overclock - When this card was released, it was a godsend. Five-hundred extra attack puts the majority of KKM at 2400 and Urknight at 2500, enough to generate massive field presence from every summon. I personally used to run this card at 3, then 2, then 1, and now 0. It is not a bad card in the slightest, and can OTK when combined with the right monsters, I just had trouble with drawing dead copies into my hand. For this reason, people believe Burden of Mighty is a better card, which turns boss monsters into normal monsters. I feel Overclock is better for field presence, burden just becomes an annoyance to the opponent a lot of the time and the focus isnt on removing your monster, but rather destroying burden. A lot of my gamelosses do result from me not being able to attack over a certain monster, Overclock would make it possible to attack over monarchs, stardust, and many other bosses.
Core Transport Unit - instant core in the hand. Best KKM support outside of the core itself? Maybe. Discarding cards in your hand is often painful for KKM decks. What CTU does, is it allows you to take a small hit for the chance at running the deck at optimum potential. It took me a while to get 1 of these, then 2, and I will continue to main 2 for a long time. A lot of people believe that the core really only benefits Urknight, which is partially true. Discarding cores instead of revealing monsters is usually a bad play. With this in mind, you would think CTU should only be required in decks using other themed support such as Reckoned Power or Iron Core Luster. This may be true, taking out CTU would make room for generic S/T cards in exchange for not using cards that rely on the core. Some people call that blasphemy to the deck itself, but I honestly am not sure what to think of it.
Iron Core Armor - Any monster that battles with a Koaki loses 400, 700, or 800 ATK, depending on what you equipped it to. The effect is not negateable since it does not make a chain. Also, for 1 time only, it stops the endphase destruction of a Koaki if you choose not to reveal. I have yet to test this card, but I did think about using it with Hidden Armory in a recursive build. The problem with Iron Core Armor is that it only prevents destruction in the endphase. If it stopped destruction at any time it would have been MUCH better. The attack deduction is also a bit lackluster, and can not put you over boss status monsters with a level 4 Koaki. If it returned to the hand it may have also been good, but unfortunately it does not.
Iron Core Immediate Disposal - Option 3 for grabbing iron cores. You wont have the core in hand until the next turn, but if you have a reveal in your hand, or a monster that doesnt require it, this card allows more easy use with Negaton Core Panel. Essentially, with Negaton and a monster on the field, your opponent will have trouble activating effects until your next turn, when you get your core. When compared to CTU, you lose 2 cards(1 for playing ICID and 1 for not drawing a new card) instead of losing 2 cards (1 for playing CTU and 1 of your in-hand resources). Which is more painful is debatable. Until I test ICID more, I will continue using CTU over it. CTU also becomes 3 cores while ICID will always be 1.
Iron Core Speciman Lab - Awesome card, but why did I stop using it? This is one of the only cards that can put a Maximus in your hand. It requires a core reveal to stay alive, which isn't difficult at all, and if you do have a reveal, it becomes a target for your opponent. If you don't have a reveal, you can still activate it in your end phase before it blows up, how great is that? I think the main reason why I stopped using it is the fact that A)Losing field presence in exchange for hand resources is not always a good trade off. B) When not done purposely, your goal should be to have a reveal. C) Drawing multiples suck. Aside from that, the card really is good, and I wish I could use it. But alas, we know using too many themed cards will kill your consistency.
Koaki Meiru Initialize! - As of right now this card is garbage. I think this card is only playable in decks that use neither CTU or ICID, the card goes to your hand instantly. In essence, you lose the same amount of resources when using Initialize!, it is almost better if your card was going to be destroyed anyway, so why is this so bad? The answer is, during the time your card is not being destroyed, you will want an iron core. This makes Initialize a dead card, unless you want to sacrifice your monster. In my head, that is a bad play. Noone should sacrifice field presence for a core, using it when the card will be destroyed anyway is the only acceptable option. Though, with triple Reckoned Power and Labs and other cards that require Iron core reveals, Initialize is one of the fastest things around.
Koaki Ring - The newest KKM card, being released in STBL. It's a NORMAL spell that targets 1 FACE-UP monster, DESTROYS it and deals 1000 points of damage to BOTH players. The Capital text is what makes this card bad. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved it if it was slightly powered up, but right now it's half of a ring of destruction that only works on your turn. What makes Ring of Destruction so good is that it can deal any amount of damage and can be used on the opponent's turn. Perhaps thinking of this card has a more balanced Ring would make it more appealing. Still, I wish it was at least quickplay. When STBL comes out I will try running 3 of these, just for testing. That is up to 3000 additional damage done to the opponent (and myself) that could have won me the game (or cause me to lose).
Urgent Synthesis - Instant recursion. The monster stays on the field permanently and all you lose is the core. Getting a level 4 monster back from the grave is never a bad idea, and can even win you the game, so why is THIS not being ran? Main issue is deck space, that whole problem with using too many themed cards. I think Urgent Synthesis does require more testing, I'm not even sure how many to use in the deck. Using 1 makes it a lucky draw, and that 1 monster needs to really prove its worth. Using 2 makes it more consistent, but not something to rely on. You could get back 1-2 monsters per game, to do who knows what with(considering you drew themed support and lost a core, rather than drawing generic cards). Using 3 would make it part of the strategy of the deck. You will no longer be drawing s/t support, you are now using monsters more often, so a deck that uses Rooklord or Valafar may benefit from Synthesis. Other than that I don't see too much point in the card past just 1.
Next time we'll talk about the KM trap lineup. When I first started playing KM's I was using SIX themed traps cards, then 4, then 3, then 0 for a long time, now 3. So it should be an interesting descussion. After that I may talk about my deck as a whole, why i stopped using as many generic monsters, and why i'm not using specific cards.
DREV sneak peak is this weekend, so live testing may not happen. We'll see lol
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