Black, White, And Grey Zone

Back into the rogue decks edition. Agents has been known to be the most dominant deck before Inzektors were released and, of course, before the September 2011 banned list decides to punish T.G Striker and The Agent of Mystery-Earth. Though it is no longer a popular deck in the current format, Agents or T.G Agents are still very much a force to be reckon with. With or without preparation. It is a deck that seems to have every aspect of meta decks right now. The deck is capable of swarming, blowing things up and control the field. Sounds familiar? With so much more new generic Exceed support, how true is it to no longer consider Agents a part of our format? That is up to you to decide I suppose. 

PLAYER PREFERENCE ENGINE

Having Earth and Striker at one, this deck has to adopt a new fashion to be able to compete in the highest of level. True to say players are no longer able to plus off Earth right away, however, the structure of the deck itself is something very flexible. Being able to accommodate plenty of tech cards, the limitation of Striker and Earth almost seems like a blessing in disguise. Player preference is what Agents are all about at the moment and the ability to fit in cards like Tragoedia, Photon Thrasher, Ghost Ship, Lightray Sorcerer and Spell Striker is almost as rewarding as before. It is no surprise to see the deck played in a more Chaos-oriented built. That aside, Gachi Gachi Gantetsu were one of their best weapon before and now we have Wind-Up Zenmaines. Having a Turn 1, Gachi Gachi and Zenmaines proves to be a hassle to deal with. All of that coming from Venus and Warwolf. Which in a lot of ways also means setup for Chaos plays. Simply detach a Shiny Ball and Warwolf when needed and you are good to go. With that amount of support, the deck has the ability to control the pace very well. Most importantly, according when you need to do so. What happens if Maestroke comes into the picture?

When it comes to hand traps, Agents have access to Herald of Orange Light. Additional Effect Veilers. Depending on what you prefer, the deck itself can be a certain combination between both choices. How well would they work together depends on how well you draw, so to say. However the fact is, Agents have plenty of selection when it comes to hand traps. It can be from Orange Light to Effect Veiler, Maxx “C” or even Herald of Purple Light to Herald of Green Light. Some of them may not be the best of choice but they are indeed available.

With Trishula gone, Synchros are beginning to see less play in competitive means and with that Agents has yet again lost another powerful weapon. Though many has come to forget of an existence that can spell disaster in many ways, Ancient Sacred Wyvern. A huge beater and a monstrosity capable of reviving itself, Ancient Sacred Wyvern is a strong offensive and defensive measure against decks that rely solely on huge beaters to end games. Being able to include unfamiliar techs also means Agents can be used as an Exceed engine. The basic line-up being The Agent of Creation-Venus and T.G Warwolf. When equipped with tech cards like Photon Thrasher, Agents find themselves receiving tremendous boost. Not to mention, access to further Ranks of Exceed monsters. Again, that is up to the player piloting that deck to decide. Whether you want them to be control-based, a spam engine or beat-down formed, Agents can easily switch between the structure and main strategies according to your needs. 

MASTER HYPERION, ARCHLORD KRYSTIA

Boss monsters, every deck has one and most of the time they are your win condition. Or something like that. Agents ruled by not one but two boss monsters that are well-known to assist in changing the tides of your match. Krystia provides soft-lock and it has colossal stats to prove that also not to forget it has a pseudo-recurring ability. Achieving that early is no impossible feat with Valhalla present. Valhalla can be a dead card but it can also be a card that would slap your opponents hard enough. May it be to Special Summon Krystia early or to use it as extra leverage to provide more field control by means of Special Summoning Venus followed by Warwolf and into Gachi Gachi Gantetsu and Wind-Up Zenmaines. After that, you can proceed with a Normal Summon. In a control-based Agent deck, having Krystia during your first turn together with back-row protection usually means the end. Though you can argue on that point but truth be told, it is a bitch of possibility. 

Master Hyperion, used to be everybody’s best friend. A monster capable of coming out for free with the ability to blow things up and hold your field with 2700 ATK does not require much explanation I suppose. Graveyard manipulation can also be achieved by this fellow and works pretty well together with the previous boss, Krystia. Imagine having six fairies in your Graveyard, spend one for Hyperion’s appearance and another one for him to fire upon command. That leaves you with four which also translate to Krystia. Either way, the synergy between boss monsters in this deck is pretty amazing. They complement each other as well. You either bait with Master Hyperion or Krystia and allow the other to hit the field. Sounds specific but not a fantasy.  All and all, Agents still have the backing of The Soldier. Yes, Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning. Even Tragoedia can be a boss monster.

BANISHER OF THE RADIANCE

Macro Cosmos is wrecking the Meta as always and Agents does lack behind when it comes to powerful traps like such thus why Banisher of the Radiance exists I suppose. A pseudo-Macro the least to say and it is also part of the Fairy family. Going back to Valhalla and the over-extending, imagine being able to set up a field consisting of Gachi Gachi Gantetsu, Wind-Up Zenmaines and Banisher of the Radiance. A 2k beat-stick screaming “Smash the Insects!” Of course, Dark Hole still exists but what are the odds. That formation works even better with back-row insurance. Right after that, now imagine a field consisting of Krystia and Banisher during the first turn with back-row protection. Sounds like fun isn’t it? Whatever Banisher’s drawbacks are, it replaces with strong control. Unless you prefer to be crazy and include Macro Cosmos into your side-deck, Banisher is the best option Agents have to go against the Meta. Apart from Krystia that is. 

VALHALLA, HALL OF THE FALLEN

Not that much on the fallen part, as seen above, Valhalla proves to be an important piece when constructing and playing Agents as of now. The amount of leverage it provides help reduce the negativity it has in its name. Though such is said, this card is prone to MSTs and stuff like that. But it rewards the pilot with bombastic plays when it does hit the field. Depends if you want to run it or not, again, Agents are now a deck that functions according to its pilot’s wishes. I believe there is no longer a standard built for it.

We have come to an end of another huge wall of text. Agents have the potential to innovate and improve in my opinion but at the end of the day it relies on who is running and building the deck. A deck can afford to be ‘techy’ sounds like a bad choice but it does promise a lot of things if you know what you’re doing. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post.  Remember to play smart, fight hard or go home a loser. Thank you for dropping by!