The Side Deck

In the last thread, I mentioned a few interesting points that Jason Greber-meyer brought up on TCG-Player.com. The side deck is nothing new to YGO, but it is one of the most important pieces of the game. It can fulfill many different roles:
1) To punish your opponent for using certain cards in their deck.
2) To remove barriers your opponent places that make it difficult for you to play.
3) To psych out your opponent, such as by siding out key strategies and incorporating new ones.
4) To outspeed your opponent.

Most player's side decks are the same on the local level. Or perhaps it may be better to say that a majority of players who don't put as much thought into their side deck, use similar cards. If they aren't playing Tengu Plants, you would probably see:
2 D.D. Crow
2 Chain Dissappearance
1-2 Gozen Match
2 Thunder King
1-2 Puppet Plant
2 Kinetic Soldier
2 Cyber Dragon
Chimeratech
If you ARE using Tengu Plants or a similar low trap count deck, you may see something like this:
2 D. D. Crow
2 Malevolent Catastrophe
2 Thunder King
2-3 Cyber Dragon
Chimeratech
2 Puppet Plant
1-2 Nobleman of Crossout
1-2 Smashing Ground

That is a pretty generic side that can hit a number of problem cards in the game. For Yugioh in 2011, the strength of this side is questionable, as there are more decks out there than ever. There's Light and Shadow Imprisoning Mirrors, Maxx "C", Rivalry of the Warlords if your deck can use it, Level Limit Area B, Dust Tornado, Trap Dustshoot, and many many more to choose from. There's no way you can fit all of it it, right? Well, I think it is important to take a GOOD look at your side deck, especially the cards that you run multiple copies of, and decide if you really need 2 of those in the deck. Just like Jason's topic, let's take D.D. Crow for example. Drawing 1 in your opening hand is awesome against Tengu Plant. It can hit Dandylion, Glow-Up Bulb, Spore, or whatever else. Now, most people run 2 in their side deck to increase the chance of getting the 1 in your first hand. As awesome as that is, what is the reward for drawing into both D.D. Crow? Sure it can deny a Pot of Avarice or a Spore after you hit Dandy and Glow up, but now, D.D. Crow has turned itself into a one for one, or possibly even a minus one, just so that you could use it twice. Don't forget that using a spore that was milled to the graveyard doesn't really cost the opponent much, but rather stuns their play for the cost of 1 card out of your hand. If you have been holding that 1st(or 2nd) Crow for a few turns, then it was technically dead in your hand. Most players wait for the right opportunity to shut down a play with Crow that could have been something else in the long run. Let's take a look at a few choices for that SECOND D.D. Crow:
1) Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer - Tengu Plants don't use many monsters over 1700 ATK. Kycoo is at 1800, so it is already a beater that they have to synchro to get over it. If your opponent has milled even 1 monster to the grave, then Kycoo has fulfilled its role of the 2nd D.D. Crow. Even removing something like Tengu or Lonefire blossom from the graveyard means that they're in-hand Debris or Avarice could be dead. While on the field, Kycoo also prevents the activation of Spore, giving it a 2nd stun if you summon it at the right time. The key here is to not summon Kycoo to swing over a ryko. If Kycoo was a D.D. crow in your hand, you wouldn't use its effect unless you knew it was going to work. Finally, in a topdecking situation, Kycoo could be a better draw than a Crow. Topdecking D.D. Crow while your opponent is in the same situation relies on your opponent to draw a card to make your Crow break even. If it was a Kycoo, you could have simply removed 2 key cards now and hopefully deny your opponent use of their graveyard-based effect.
2) Maxx "C" - Seen in tons of side decks in the World Championship Qualifier in Europe, Maxx "C" is another great option for that 2nd Crow's spot. Whenever you play Maxx "C", it will replace itself with a new card, causing it to break even. After that, it gives your opponent 2 choices, to either let you draw into more cards(i.e. Dark Hole, Monster Reborn, Solemn Warning, or D.D. Crow #1) or stop their turn now and take the hit. Maxx "C" can also work against decks that you usually wouldn't side a D.D. Crow into such as against Venus in Agents. I believe the key to using Maxx "C" in a deck is dependent on the number of good draws you have in your deck versus the number of bad ones. For example, if you're playing Hero Beat, most draws can be turned into something - a Spark, a Miracle Fushion, etc. In X-Sabers or Nordics, where you have a few dead traps, you may have to side out some of those dead draws to make Maxx "C" more efficient.

The idea here is to decide if siding in 2 copies of the same card, just to get one sooner, is better than having a side deck of MULTIPLE cards. That way you don't have to side in 1 strategy(that your opponent may predict), you could be siding in multiple. I believe that the only time that 2 or even 3 cards are justified for a side deck is when the cards are instantly playable. A great example is Gozen match and Rivalry of the Warlords against(almost any) decks that are hurt by it(Plants and Frogs with Gozen, Scraps with Rivalry). In many situations, you can flip Rivalry or Gozen on the first turn after it is set and instantly stun your opponent. If you drew into your second one, then it isn't TOO bad as destroying your first will be a priority for your opponent. Cyber Dragon does this too for many decks, as it is rarely a dead draw if you happen to get it. Bumping that 2nd copy up to 3 is necessary for some. The reasoning is either A) If I draw any of these, I will instantly win the game, or B) My matchup against Deck XX is so bad, that I need 3 copies of this card so I can compete. It is hard to say whether or not those are sound arguments to make, especially with how many decks one may have to face with only 15 cards to switch out.
Michel Grüner - Tengu Plants
1 Dust Tornado
1 Thunder King Raoih
1 D.D. Crow
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Puppet Plant
1 Kinetic Soldier
2 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
1 Dimensional Prison
1 Ally of Justice Core Destroyer
1 Chimeratech Fortress Dagon
1 Debunk
1 Black Horn of Heaven

Sami Sekkoum - Gravekeepers
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Kinetic Soldier
2 Gozen Match
2 Caius the Shadow Monarch
1 Deck Devastation Virus
1 Rivalry of Warlords
2 Mystical Space Typhoon

Liu Hoi Ki “海狗” - Darkworld (OCG)
Side: 15
2 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
2 Cyber Dragon
3 Puppet Plant
1 Kinetic Soldier
2 Chain Disappearance
3 Skill Drain
2 D.D. Crow
William Sy - Six Samurai
1 Greenkappa
2 Puppet Plant
2 Cyber Dragon
1 Dark Hole
2 Light-Imprisoning Mirror
1 Musakani Magatama
2 Dust Tornado
2 Dimensional Prison
2 Rivalry of Warlords

Jose Carlos Ubilla Grijalva - Machina Gadgets
2 D.D Crow
2 Effect Veiler
1 Malefic Cyber End Dragon
3 Gozen Match
2 Kinetic Soldier
2 Light-Imprisoning Mirror
2 Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror

I suggest all of my readers to take a good long look at your side deck and the number of copies of each card. Ask yourself, which cards give you an advantage over your opponent? What are you lacking in your main deck that has to be sided in for certain matches? If you think you don't have room to side certain cards in, try to find the most redundant cards in your deck after you decide on what cards simply don't work against your opponent. Running Six Sams and getting nailed by Anti-Meta Skill Drain? Consider dropping a smoke signal for something more important. If all else fails, you could always run a 41 or 42 card deck, with those spots dedicated to your side. A random seven tools, smashing ground, or even Dark Bribe as your 41st card can be easily taken out without removing key components from your deck.