Deck Profile: Feroze Ramcharan
This deck profile showcases Feroze Ramcharan's Gravity Bind Machine variant, featuring X-Head Cannon and Limiter Removal for powerful offense, supported by trap cards and versatile monsters for control.
Feroze Ramcharan is one of the star members of Team Nexus, and a well-versed, well-recognized Level 3 judge. Though his efforts at running Machines in the first Shonen Jump Championship last year at Gen Con So Cal met with resistance, he’s persevered to create a very cool Machine variant that’s taken him to impressive standings midway through today.Here’s the Gravity Bind Machine deck Ramcharan was running.
Monsters: 181 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning1 Cannon Soldier1 Tribe-Infecting Virus2 X-Head Cannon1 Roulette Barrel1 Breaker the Magical Warrior1 Cyber Jar2 Mechanicalchaser1 Morphing Jar1 Sangan2 Night Assailant1 Jinzo1 Sinister Serpent1 Reflect Bounder1 Magician of FaithSpells: 171 Heavy Storm1 Mystical Space Typhoon1 Snatch Steal3 Limiter Removal1 Lightning Vortex1 Scapegoat1 Graceful Charity1 Card Destruction1 Swords of Revealing Light1 Enemy Controller2 Nobleman of Crossout1 Pot of Greed1 Giant Trunade1 Premature BurialTraps: 71 Ring of Destruction2 Gravity Bind1 Ceasefire1 Call of the Haunted1 Torrential Tribute1 Mirror ForceSide:1 Emergency Provisions1 Book of Moon1 Giant Trunade2 Barrel Behind the Door1 Dust Tornado1 Magic Cylinder1 Divine Wrath3 Royal Decree2 King Tiger Wanghu2 Mobius the Frost MonarchThe deck is essentially a teched-out version of the Machine decks that did so well in the final days of the pre-Advanced format. It uses X-Head Cannon, Mechanicalchaser, Reflect Bounder, and Jinzo to create its main offense, pumping them unpredictably with Limiter Removal. The ability to use Limiter Removal in the damage step makes it difficult to counter, especially with cards like Waboku. Limiter Removal also makes a single face down card and even a weak attack position Machine into a total beast, which is daunting if you’re considering attacking into it. The deck also deters offensive actions through the use of Gravity Bind, Mirror Force, Torrential Tribute, and Magic Cylinder (from the side deck). The problem with Machine decks after the release of the Advanced Forbidden and Limited lists was that nothing could cover for the deck’s over-extensions—Fiber Jar was gone and Mirage of Nightmare, needed to accelerate the deck to its key cards, was also removed from the format. Ramcharan has worked around that issue with a plethora of defense-oriented traps. He’s also got more support monsters than previous builds of the deck, including Night Assailant to give card advantage with Card Destruction and Graceful Charity. Tribe-Infecting Virus presents a risk in the face of Snatch Steal, but Ramcharan plays it with a careful subtlety that generally prevents it from becoming a liability. Two Nobleman of Crossout keep the road clear for your big attackers, and Giant Trunade does the same thing. This deck shunts out big one-shot attacks, and when it does, it needs those shots to sink into an opponent instead of a monster.Beyond its inclusion of Gravity Bind, the deck runs the usual spread of battle-oriented powerhouses in the trap category. The essential beauty of Ramcharan’s deck is that it’s not as complicated as others would make it. He’s got a standard concept, he varies it in a few key ways, and he’s created a unique deck that doesn’t directly depart from the concept and tenants of its source. Ramcharan demonstrates an understanding of what made the proverbial gears of old-school Machine decks turn, and his updated version respects those old concepts without bogging the deck down in traditional play trends.Machine decks are in for a lot of changes over the coming months, and this is a great starting point. Feroze Ramcharan has solved the problem facing Machines—coverage for over-extensions—with grace and simplicity, and this will make a great starting place for any Machine deck you may wish to build. Give it a shot yourself!
Metagame.com (2005)
This article was originally written by Metagame.com, what was formerly the official website for large Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament coverage. It has been preserved by GoatFormat.com so that players can learn from this historical tournament coverage.
