Facing the Meta: Nekroz



Every format we have that one deck that stands above the rest, whether it be Dragon Rulers or . However, one thing all of these so called  'broken' or 'tier 0/1' decks have in common are the following characteristics: consistency, searching power/drawing power and combos that can hurt other meta decks.



Now I present to you the deck that one of the strongest, if not the strongest deck this format: Nekroz. Lore wise, Nekroz are a clan that can weave the power of legendary monsters into armor and use them. They are based on monsters from Duel Terminal archetypes and their storyline also continues from them.

Playstyle:

The style of the deck is very simple: you focus on Ritual summoning and each of the ritual monsters have two effects (one on the field and one activated by discarding from hand). Not only that, Nekroz ritual spells can be banished from the grave (along with another Nekroz monster) to search a different ritual spell from the graveyard. This in addition to generic Ritual support cards makes Nekroz a very flexible, consistent and powerful deck.



Main monsters:

Trishula

Decato wrote:

The Boss of the archetype (excluding Serphia as it is nearly impossible to summon her with a Nekroz deck). It can be discarded from the hand to negate any effect targeting a Nekroz monster you control. However, it's true effect shines when it is ritual summoned: you can banish 1 card from each of your opponent's hand, field, and graveyard.

Brionac

Decato wrote:

The searcher of the deck: you can discard this card to add 1 Nekroz monster from your deck to the hand. It's on field effect isn't too bad either, you can target up to 2 face-up monsters special summoned from the extra deck and bounce them.

Unicore

Decato wrote:

You can discard this to recycle: discard this card to add 1 Nekroz card from your graveyard to the hand. While it's effect of negating the effects of all special summoned monsters (from the extra deck) is useful, it is mainly used to create the Djinn lock.

Clausolas

Decato wrote:

Discard to search a Nekroz spell/trap card from grave. When it is summoned, once per turn you can negate the effect of 1 face-up monster
special summoned from the extra deck and make its effect 0. It is a LV 3, same as Djinn, Releaser of Rituals: you probably know where this is going.

Senju/Manju

Decato wrote:

When normal/flip summoned, add 1 Ritual monster/spell from your deck. Also a possible combo piece for the Djinn lock.

Infamous combos:

Djinn lock: This is the main reason why Nekroz are so powerful. While it may take time to learn the lock at the start, it is a very simple and powerful lock that prevents your opponents from special summoning any monsters. Many Nekroz decks runs 3 Book of Eclipse just to break it in a mirror match (as being flipped face down stops the anti-special summoning effect).

Generally it goes along the lines of: Normal summon Manju/Senju - search for Clausolas (then Kaleidomirror) and Unicore - Special summon Unicore by using Herald of Rainbow Light from the extra deck - Use Herald's effect to add a Illusion from the deck - XYZ the two and use Lavalval to dump Djinn to the graveyard - Use Illusion and special summon Clausolas with Djinn - watch as your opponent is left stranded.

Variants:

Deskbot
Gishki
Hand

Weakness:

Denying searching effects:

Decato wrote:

Raioh, Mistake, Shared Ride, Wrongful Arrest

Deny effects from hand:

Decato wrote:

Debunk, Mind Drain, Mind Crush

Deny Special Summons:

Decato wrote:

Pachy, Vanity's Emptiness

Prevent banishing:

Decato wrote:

Imperial Iron Wall

Perfect Side:

Decato wrote:

Masked Hero Dark Law, Diamond Dust, Maxx C, Shared Ride

Some general tips:

1) Play around Trishula: its effects don't work when no card is in the hand/field/graveyard
2) Don't attack into Clausolas with a Special Summoned monster
3) Be wary of Djinn locks; not many run Gungnir now so you can abuse the 2 Dark Hole and 1 Raigeki
4) Break the Djinn lock by Book of Moon/Book of Eclipse as it won't retain its effect after being flipped.
5) Siding is key - always have cards ready for the Nekroz matchup
6) While there is a limited number of plays Nekroz can do; don't rely on it as Jar of Avarice is out on the OCG.