Emissary Aggro

What is Emissary Aggro?

​Emissary Aggro is a new-age Goat Format deck which relies on 3 copies of Emissary of the Afterlife as a way of pushing for damage and gaining card advantage. It plays 2 copies of Sonic Duck to search with Emissary of the Afterlife, which has the highest attack stat of any level 3 or lower monster in the format. It also typically plays Twin-Headed Behemoth and Sangan, which also serve a similar role to Emissary of the Afterlife by being resilient attackers. As support the deck plays Skill Drain, which does not shutdown most of the deck’s monsters. Otherwise, it plays a typical aggressive trap lineup with Solemn Judgment, Trap Dustshoot, and Sakuretsu Armor.

How Does Emissary Aggro Work?

​Unlike most aggro decks, Emissary Aggro heavily leverages the war of attrition to pressure the opponent’s lifepoints. The basic principle behind the deck is to put the opponent in a lose-lose situation when Emissary of the Afterlife attacks. The opponent can either stop the attack with a card like Sakuretsu Armor, taking a -1 in card advantage in the process, or more commonly just opt to take the damage. Twin-Headed Behemoth and Sangan both put the opponent in the same predicament. These cards also make good tribute fodder, most commonly for Mobius the Frost Monarch, which can destroy these unused Sakuretsu Armors and press for more damage. The rest of the deck’s support is all built around maximizing the value out of Emissary of the Afterlife and his crew. Trap Dustshoot is used to send back the one threat that you care about, and then hopefully Skill Drain and your other removal can clean up the rest. Abyss Soldier is also played to bounce back monsters for synergy with Trap Dustshoot. The fact that the deck typically plays Mobius the Frost Monarch means that Abyss Soldier’s effect is a lot more likely to be live than usual. Even in the face of Skill Drain, Abyss Soldier still has solid stats. Exiled Force is typically used to counter defensive monsters, and it works under Skill Drain. ​

Emissary Aggro Example Decklist

https://www.duelingbook.com/deck?id=3822662

Why Emissary Aggro is Viable

Emissary Aggro has one of the best matchups against Anti-Meta Warriors due to the fact that their monsters are not very useful against you (Blade Knight, King Tiger Wanghu, and so on). Mobius the Frost Monarch can be devastating, and post-side you can bring in Giant Soldier of Stone as a defensive monster to search with Emissary of the Afterlife. Most of their trap cards, such as Sakuretsu Armor and Compulsory Evacuation Device, are also weak against you. Emissary Aggro also has a reasonable game against Goat Control, which typically relies on its battle traps to cover its weaker openings. Trap Dustshoot and Skill Drain are both very strong in this matchup. Scapegoat can be annoying, but most Goat Control decks only play 2 copies, and King Tiger Wanghu and Asura Priest can always be sided in. Lastly, Emissary Aggro currently thrives on the basis of the fact that the most common plans for beating other aggro decks don’t work as well against Emissary Aggro. Sakuretsu Armor, Smashing Ground, and Lightning Vortex are all very poor against the deck. Gravekeeper’s Spy and Legendary Jujitsu Master can simply be attacked over by Mobius the Frost Monarch or shutdown by Skill Drain. Mobius the Frost Monarch also stops cards like Royal Decree and Messenger of Peace from being threatening. Creature Swap is also a poor choice because stealing Emissary of the Afterlife is not very useful. In fact, Emissary Aggro can sidedeck Creature Swap itself if it wants to! ​