SIDE DECK OPTIONS FOR ALMAGICIANHey guys, so I figured I'd point out a couple key cards that you can use in the side deck if you're playing Almagicians. I've designed these cards with the modern format in mind, as I wanted to give my archetype cards that are attuned to better deal with the modern decks of today.
Without further ado, let's begin. First off, we have Wormtail.
This monster, depending on the variant you're playing (whether it be pure Almagicians, Adventurer Almagicians, Dumbledore FTK or Des-Almagicians), can work either in the main deck or in the side deck. It's the archetypal Kaiju that can be summoned to your opponent's field by tributing 1 or 2 monsters. The BEST part is, this monster locks the controller into summoning Almagician monsters only, meaning unless your opponent is playing Almagicians as well, they'll be locked out of special summons while Wormtail is on the field.
So why design Wormtail like a Kaiju? In the original Harry Potter series, Wormtail (a.k.a. Peter Pettigrew) betrayed his friends in favor of the Death Eaters, and as such, to theme it correctly, I wanted to give it the effect that summons it to the opponent's field instead. Such a traitorous monster, isn't he?
This monster is a great way to take out 1-2 key boss monsters the opponent controls and lock out the opponent from being able to Nibiru you during your turn. This side deck thrives against decks such as Ishizu Tear or Spright, which will allow you to eliminate unwanted boss monsters that can potentially disrupt your combo.
Next up is Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse.
The very curse that murdered scores of wizards and witches, this card allows you to banish any 1 monster your opponent controls at the cost of 1 card from your hand, and until the End Phase of the next turn, neither player can use that monster. A surefire way to either get rid of a starter monster OR a problematic boss monster that can be targeted.
While it is pretty slow against modern decks such as Ishizu Tear, I find that this works best in a control format that focuses on 1-2 boss monsters such as Eldlich.
Next up, Harry's signature spell, the Disarming Spell, Expelliarmus.
This spell has two effects - one that allows you to steal a random card from the opponent's hand if you control 3+ Almagician monsters with different names, and an effect that allows you to negate any spell your opponent activates and set it to your side of the field, a perfect disarmament card to use against a deck that heavily relies on spell cards.
This card thrives best not only against decks that heavily rely on Spell cards, such as Sky Strikers and Exodia decks (Yes, Exodia players, I'm looking at you!), it also allows you to break mirror matches, giving you that much better of a chance to win mirror match games.
Next, a card designed on the theme of the Hogwarts battle, Almagician Apocalypse.
Looks overwhelming, isn't it? It uses GY resources to banish all Spell/Traps or monsters your opponent controls face-down, OR allows you to Prohibition any 1 card for the rest of the duel at the cost of 1 "Almagician Eternal" or "Almagician Mystical" monster you control. This is not only a perfect board-breaker card against backrow-heavy decks, it also works best to lock out the opponent from that one critical card they need to win the game, such as Mystic Mine for example.
While I wouldn't necessarily say that this card completely power-creeps Evenly Matched, as Evenly Matched doesn't require GY resources to activate, I would say rather, that the two cards complement each other.
Of course, we can't forget about the Prophesized Rivals card.
This card is an archetypal Destined Rivals, freezing all monster effects on the field for 1 turn and, if used during the opponent's turn, their monsters are forced to attack right on the spot. This is a great way to shut down combo decks if they heavily rely on monster effects on the field.
Last but not least, a card that serves as a memoir to Harry's good old times with Sirius and Harry's parents, Window to the Past.
This card allows you to steal any 1 monster from the opponent's Extra Deck to your field, allowing you to take away their one boss monster. In addition, if any Almagician monsters you control would be destroyed, banished or sent to the GY by a card effect, you can banish it from the GY instead to protect your monsters. This card is a perfect counter to decks such as Ishizu Tear or Spright, as well as any deck that relies on boss monsters from the extra deck.
Depending on the format, I'll be swapping these cards in/out to adjust my decks to the ever-changing formats. Let me know what you guys think - which of these side deck options would YOU be most likely to use if you were to play Almagicians?
