And here's my perfected pure variant of Arkraiders for the July 1st TCG format. Enjoy!
Deck Link:
https://www.duelingbook.com/deck?id=5483725Example Replays (to show you guys how well this deck plays going first and second):
https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=37528-31310609https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=37528-31369574https://www.duelingbook.com/replay?id=37528-31395407MAIN DECKMonsters (15):3x Arkraider Apprentice Lara
3x Arkraider Communicator
2x Arkraider Prime Amelia
3x Arkraider Prime Richard
2x Arkraider Wicked Traveler
2x Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
SPELLS (35):2x Arkraider Chirugai
3x Arkraider Excalibur
2x Arkraider Gauntlets of Thor
2x Arkraider Heaven's Glow
3x Arkraider Lost City - Niflheim
1x Arkraider Lost City - Paititi
2x Arkraider Lost City - Yamatai
3x Arkraider Lost Memories
2x Arkraider Pool of Eitr
2x Arkraider Sacred Guidance
2x Arkraider Triangle of Light
1x Called by the Grave
2x Foolish Burial Goods
2x Hidden Armory
1x Monster Reborn
2x Pot of Desires
1x Reinforcement of the Army
1x Set Rotation
1x Terraforming
EXTRA DECK:1x Arkraider Darkness Lara
1x Arkraider Fantastic Lara
1x Arkraider Force Wraith
1x Arkraider Shadow Lara
2x Arkraider Survivor Lara
1x Arkraider eXotic Lara
1x Arkraider eXtreme Lara
1x Arkraider Wicked Nightmare
1x Arkraider Aquatic Lara
2x Arkraider Legendary Lara
1x Arkraider Mentor Von Croy
1x Arkraider Natla, the Vengeful
1x Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights
SIDE DECK:3x Nibiru, the Primal Being
3x Arkraider Diary of Knowledge
3x Arkraider Periapt Shard
1x Harpie's Feather Duster
2x Lightning Storm
3x Evenly Matched
I designed the pure variant so that it consistently produces the end result of boss monsters no matter what hand I draw. This deck is now strong to the point where theoretically, 1-2 cards is all it takes to produce at least a decent, if not powerful, turn 1 board.
Apprentice Lara, Communicator, Excalibur, Niflheim and Lost Memories are an absolute 3-of's as you always want to see these turn 1 for your starting combo. You can technically cut down Richard to 2 if you'd like; however, for me, because I'm using Pot of Desires, I felt the need to run 3 just in case.
With the addition of quick-play spells to fortify the defenses, break boards and/or extend combo plays, Arkraiders are now capable of going second with confidence. With Pool of Eitr, you can destroy cards that present problems to your combo plays and/or force negations out of your opponent. With Heaven's Glow, you can prevent your combo monsters from being targeted early on, and take advantage of your equip spells' floating effects, or even prevent Nibiru from breaking your board before you have a chance to summon out Aquatic Lara. With Sacred Guidance, you can extend your combo with the draw 2 effect or revive 2 Arkraiders from your GY. With the pure variant, you don't need to worry about its demerits anyway since you're only summoning Arkraider monsters.
Foolish Burial Goods and Hidden Armory are also the very reason why this deck is powerful - Foolish Burial Goods allow you to capitalize on your field spells or equip spells floating, and Hidden Armory allows you to search for the equip spell that you need to extend your combos. And yes, Set Rotation is limited, but it is a must-have for Arkraiders as it allows you to bring out your field spells quickly when needed.
So far, in terms of extra deck, I never had to use Isolde. However, it is an option should I run into a pinch where I have to use it.
Let me know what you guys think.