I Tested Giant Orc so That You Don't Have To!

I recently had the great opportunity to go to GGP Maryland, and had a tremendous time while getting all the way to second place and meeting a lot of fun and lively people! And as the title suggests, the lone “spice” for the day probably feelslike the two copies of Giant Orc relegated to the side deck. And you are probably wondering, “But isit ACTUALLYgood in a Chaos Turbo strategy?” As we know, Warrior decks have been quite a thorn in our side this season, and trying to mitigate their advantage has often proven to be a considerable challenge....But the answer is actually yesto our question. Indulge me. PLEASE indulge me!​

One thing I and other players have discovered is that cards often need to be put into the lab to be fleshed out sometimes. If it weren’t for Goolahz or Ivan, the final decision may not have happened due to space issues. But going into the event, this was not just a “yolo” decision, but actually something that came to be through a bit of meditation and testing (and admittedly, a desire to make big monster go BOOM in certain gamestates). So, the more serious environment of a GGP seems to confirm some things about a thesis that the card could compete with the slot that is traditionally reserved for Zombyra. This is NOT to say that Orc is a better tech choice than Zombyra, of course, but I now believe the viability is near-equal and the roles are slightly different. We need to address several points that make Giant Orc a strong choice; particularly against traditional Warrior or Gumo strategies.  ​

​1. Attacking directly IS a big deal

• Snatch an 1800 monster + Orc = 4000 damage, a relatively common lethal against Warriors 
• Ring + Orc attack is also 4400 
• Knowing you could potentially direct attack lethally at 2000 life points can considerably change the behavior of the opponent 

2. The resource game can exhaustHave you ever drawn Zombyra late-game with a thin deck? Deckout can be a common problem against warrior strategies, who will almost never lose against Turbo in the same manner, and Zombyra will not pressure life points.​

3. It can FORCE interactionA scenario that actually happened Friday is helpful to illustrate a unique interaction. I summoned Orc and attacked over Blade Night, then of course Orc went to defense. Then because no other monsters were available, my opponent summoned Mystic Swordsman lvl 2 to beat the Orc, to which then I was able to destroy by battle with Spy on the next turn. Spy then went to defense on the following turn, solidifying the position. The end scenario would have been far worse with Zombyra in this situation. And, of course, pressuring the Orc is a correct thing to do because otherwise it could create some devastation if switched back to attack. Also, the end dark in grave is more favorable. ​​

These are all strong arguments to make Giant Orc a consideration in the Chaos Turbo strategies. But there are a couple of obvious weaknesses. One is that Orc often doesn’t want to be committed to the board for only a direct attack without lethal because of card advantage reasons, nor does it want to just stay in attack position if Snatch has not been used as that could also be threatening to life points. There are situations in which you would rather just normal summon Zombyra to an empty field. The potential for Zombyra to confidently walk into two-monster boards with little backrow is also very appealing. So although Orc is pretty awful Snatch-bait just like Zombyra, this only truly applies in game states where you are actively attack or have high life points. ​

So, taking what I have learned, what could be the formula for future anti-Warrior side boards? I now think that a combination of Giant Orc and Zombyra in the side deck could be an optimal path forward. We have the tools to severely challenge the resource game, and incorporating more normal summons into that formula provides a challenge that is hard to answer. My current thinking might lean towards something as follows; two Giant Orc, one Zombyra, one Kinetic Soldier, three Sakuretsu Armor, and an eight card that could be either Swords of Revealing Light or Solemn Judgment, both of which have interesting roles to play (Swords of Revealing Light pairs VERY well with Giant Orc). I truly think post-side winrates for Warrior strategies would struggle very heavily with similar lineups, and it will be interesting to see if anything similar becomes applied.  ​

I hope this writeup about what may be seen as a meme card has been enjoyable, and I hope the perspective livens up your day! Warm regards to everyone in the community and those who helped and congratulated my first GGP finish! -FungusAmungus​​