Mermail Atlanteans is the newest Tier 1 deck to; literally, make a splash in the format. This deck contains multiple OTKs that don’t require a significant amount of though. I will divide this post into two separate sections: One section will highlight how to play the deck, and the other section will contain information explaining how to combat it.
So there are only 4 Atlanteans that should be played: Dragoon to search for anything, Heavy Infantry for the addition normal summon and destroying a card, Marksman for its special summoning capabilities and destroying a card, and Attack Squad for extra attack power. Typically, players should play 2-3 Dragoon, 2-3 Heavy Infantry, 3 Marksman and 1-2 Attack Squad.
As for Mermails, these are the ones that should always be played: Abyssmegalo to OTK and to search Abyss spells and traps, Abysslinde to special summon other creatures, Abysspike and Abyssturge to manipulate your hand and graveyard, and Abyssgunde as a discard outlet that summons a Mermail from grave. Ideally you incorporate 2-3 Abyssmegalo, 2-3 Abysslinde, 1-2 Abysspike, 1-3 Abyssturge and 1-3 Abyssgunde.
Other monsters that this deck should play are Genex Undine and Controller, Deep Sea Diva, Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord, and other hand-trap monsters. Monsters that can be teched are Genex Ally Birdman, Abyssgunder, Dragon Ice, Koaki Meiru Ice, Abyss Soldier, and… Airorca. Airorca is the boss: Look it up if you don’t know what it does.
The mandatory spells are your obvious spells: MST, Reborn, Storm and Dark Hole. Other cards you should play are Salvage and Moray of Greed. Random tech cards are Call of the Atlanteans, Pot of Avarice, Pot of Duality, Allure of Darkness, and the equip spell thing that can negate a monster’s effect during damage step (I think it’s called Abyss Scale of the Karen or something).
The trap-line is a little iffy. Everyone plays Abyssphere. Some players might tech Torrential Tribute or Compulsory Evacuation Device. However, there are trap-heavy builds that play 8-10 traps.
The extra deck choices are very flexible. They vary on the build you are using, so I won’t go into details.
Now these are some strategies and plays you should be familiar with:
1 – Open Genex Undine: There is an extremely defined correlation between opening this card and winning the game. The more you do that the better. It’s part of the reason I play POD, so I have a slightly better chance of opening with it.
2 – End phase Abyssphere: I’ve found the ruling that states if you activate Abyssphere to summon Abysslinde in the end phase, Abyssphere destroys itself, allowing to utilize Abysslinde’s effect. You should do that.
3 – Birdman and Diva: Summon Diva and special summon Infantry. Bounce Diva for Birdman. Re-summon Diva and summon Marksman. Overlay Diva and Infantry for Daigusto Phoenix and activate its effect to attack twice. Marksman attacks for 1400, and you summon Attack Squad which attacks for 2200. Phoenix attacks for 1500 twice. Birdman attacks for 1400. This is exactly 8000 if they all attack directly.
4 – Abyssmegalo and Diva: Special summon Abyssmegalo. Summon Diva and special summon Marksman. Tribute Diva with Abyssmegalo to attack with it twice. Marksman attacks for 1400, summons Attack Squad which attacks with 2200. Abyssmegalo attacks twice with 2400. This is 8400 damage if they all attack directly.
I will now conclude the first part of this post. It’s obvious this deck is broken, and doesn’t require much skill and though, unfortunately.
Now, I will discuss fighting this deck. It is a little bit difficult, however, it is similar to fighting against Wind-Ups. I think it’s crucial to use Veilers against this match-up, and Maxx “C”s to draw Veilers. These are the best monsters to negate with a Veiler:
1 – Diva
2 – Abyssmegalo, Abysspike, Abyssturge, Abyssgunde
3 – Moulinglacia (because it’s better to lose 1 card than 2)
4 – Extra deck monsters
Besides Veiler and Maxx “C”, any deck that can afford to run Gorz and Tragoedia should run them. This doesn’t make Shock Master as easily as Wind-Ups can. Running traps is also good; Bottomless, Dimensional Prison and Compulsory Evacuation Device are the best choices. Warning will lower your life points, and put the monster in their graveyard for later use, so I don’t recommend it.
The following cards are good side-deck choices against this deck:
1 – Dimensional Fissure
2 – Macro Cosmos
3 – Soul Drain
4 – Fiendish Chain
5 – Dragon Ice (especially during the mirror match)
That’s basically all you can do, regarding fighting this deck. Honestly, if you have nothing to stop them, you will auto-lose. If they resolve a turn-one Genex Undine, you almost auto-lose. This deck is unfair, but there’s nothing anyone can do.
Hopefully, this post enlightened you about this deck, and how it plays. Hopefully, you have a couple more idea on how to fight this deck. If you have any comments, comment away.
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