Yu-Gi-Oh! Rogue Report: Anti-Meta Vaalmonica
When we receive tournament report information from the OCG, it’s always going to be a mixed bag. Our formats are exceptionally different, and it’s no small wonder that decks which flourished in Japan flop in the states, in examples such as Dragonmaid, or Evil Twin. That said, one deck that’s received support in Legacy of Destruction has the capacity, I feel, to break that trend, and actually manage to put up results in what might be the most solved format since TOSS. Vaalmonica came out with essentially no means to enable their strongest plays, and not only have they received such cards in LEDE, they’ve got even more coming out in Infinite Forbidden. It’s worth your time to learn how the angel & devil on your shoulder operate in Yugioh, because I have a sneaking suspicion they’ll be a sleeper hit as time goes on. With that in mind, I present: Anti-Meta Vaalmonica.
Vaalmonica has a simple general concept — You’re looking to find a copy of either Dimonno Vaalmonica or Angello Vaalmonica, discard a card, and set scales, before placing Resonance Counters via altering your LP. In practice, the introduction of Selettrice Vaalmonica wildly alters how this gameplay evolves, as it singlehandedly manages to open up Link lines the deck couldn’t have imagined. Selettrice is a starter, searching on Summon, but crucially also recurring itself if scales are active, meaning you’re provided plentiful discard fodder, for both your Pendulums, and cards like Super Polymerization.
Aside from their Field Spell, all Vaalmonica Spell/Traps are modal, which means you have a wealth of options available to you, the vast majority of which are either going net neutral in card advantage, or greatly accelerating your gameplan. Also in LEDE is Vaalmonica Invitare, which requires some more context.
Invitare does everything right. First, unlike the initial wave of Vaalmonica Spells, it never gives your opponent the opportunity to choose the applied effect. Its first effect, to Summon a Vaalmonica from the Deck, is strong of course, but with Selettrice also going plus on Summon, and recurring, a resolved Invitare in this fashion is often a +3. The second effect, as well, assists you when Selettrice has been interrupted, via something like an Infinite Impermanence. Here, it serves as her search effect, but also places a Vaalmonica in the Extra to Pendulum Summon and also go +3 in the end. The only caveats of Invitare are that it neither damages nor gains LP, and the first effect locks you to the effects on-field of just Vaalmonicas. Thankfully, you can manage that just fine.
One thing Vaalmonica has going for it is the raw density of consistency pieces with differing names, and that accrue value from differing zones. Because of this, we can play an absolutely massive suite of equalizers and be okay with sometimes just discarding them to our Pendulums’ effects. The fact that we have a Field Spell, and that all of the three best decks from YCS Raleigh need their Field Spells (Snake-Eye, Kashtira, Labrynth) means this is yet another deck I will steadfastly chuck Veidos the Eruption Dragon of Extinction in. As a bonus, we’re also on Super Polymerization, which can use Veidos readily as a material, widening our pool of potential Super Poly targets. Nibiru likewise is a great board breaker given all of the generic negation has been banned from the format, and everything we play outs boards which contain Thunder Dragon Colossus, an omnipresent threat that’s just come off of the banlist.
You can think of Vaalmonica in the same way that Exosister worked back when it was a theoretically good deck, but rather than being exclusively targeted against Graveyard decks, Vaal simply excels at punishing greedy decks that try to eke out every last bit of advantage before ending on cards that actually stop your breakers. You have the luxury of playing extremely low to the ground, and being able to OTK at a moment’s notice thanks to Duralume, Vaalmonican Heathen Hallow, so it’s likely you find at least 1 copy of a board breaker in your opening hand. For similar reasons, we’re not on cards like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, because I’m of the opinion that attempting to go 1-for-1 with Snake-Eye is a losing battle, without exception. Vaalmonica Scelta even allows us to dig for these pieces on our turn, and play conservatively, or simply act as yet another means to do our combo with Selettrice.
In terms of what that combo gets you, Selettrice represents a full Pendulum Scale, and 4 material you can use for Xyz or Link material. Often, this will go towards Beyond the Pendulum, or in some hands, Exceed the Pendulum, depending on whether you want to be copying the Draw 2 effect of Scelta, or the Spell/Trap search. In terms of your Sidedeck, I recommend cards like Cosmic Cyclone to beat Anti-Spell Fragrance, which is rough here, as well as potentially Soul Release, as well as the Lightning Storm+Harpie’s Feather Duster suite. I’ve played this deck quite a bit in testing, and you genuinely have a wealth of potential sidedeck choices, and plenty of space to swap them in. The core line of Vaalmonica is so tight and consistent, the rest simply comes down to dealing with opponents’ established boards.
I think it’s critical to additionally look at this strategy in the context of what it’s getting in Infinite Forbidden, as while the deck has several OCG tops, as well as a shockingly solid performance at the most recent north Italian regional, it still feels incomplete. Coming in INFO are a pair of cards that will make the deck undoubtedly tiered, in my eyes. First, Valar, Vaalmonican Hallow Hymn is an actual boss monster for the deck, and it presents a “Towers” with a negate to greatly raise the ceiling on going-first boards. Moreover, the new Trap, Vaalmonica Creator, allows you to place 3 Resonance Counters when it’s sent from hand or field to the GY.
That means your Pendulums, Super Poly, and even something like Forbidden Droplet singlehandedly open the waygate for Link plays, and the Vaalmonica links are disgustingly generic. It’s possible we’ll see further splashes within the strategy, although it’s going to take planning to find engines which can resolve through the lock on Vaalmonica Invitare.
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This is a metagame where we’re seeing decks that normally have no shot versus the top dog suddenly spring to relevance, which can be squarely blamed on the solved nature of Snake-Eye format. Stun, Stall (via Runick) and Dimension Shifter decks all have taken root, and it’s going to be difficult to see them shifted from contention when there’s a good chance your Swiss rounds are going to be 50%+ of the same deck. You’ve simply got to plan around that.
I feel there’s a genuine case for Vaalmonica being the best strategy to chuck this much non-engine in as far as equalizers go, as there’s really no other deck with as consistent and explosive a gameplan that enables these cards. Not only that, investing in Vaalmonica now means being prepared for when its big wave comes out in the next core set, helping a potential pet deck become all the more potent!
That’s a wrap on this strategy! There’s a lot to enjoy about Vaalmonica, and it finally has the tools to actually accomplish something, with even better things on the horizon! Let me know what you’re planning on doing with the Vaalmonica in the comments below, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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