The EX-ZERO Festival is now well underway in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, and there’s plenty of free gems and other goodies just waiting to be won. As always, duelists can easily grind this event with a self-burn strategy or by building a Flowandereeze deck variant, but there are other, more entertaining ways to do it. Why not, instead of going the usual Ben-Kei OTK or playing the birds, go for both the win and the troll with Yosenju Bounce?

The Deck:

Monsters:

• x3 – Maxx C, Yosenju Kama 1, Yosenju Kama 3
• x2 – Yosenju Kama 2, Yosenju Sabu, Yosenju Shinchu R, Mayosenju Daibak, Mayosenju Hitot, Gamaciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju
• x1 – Yosenju Izna, Yosenju Shinchu L, Dimension Shifter, Gardarla, the Mystery Dust Kaiju

Spells:

• x3 – Fire Formation – Tenki
• x2 – Yosenju Oroshi Channeling
• x1 – Lightning Storm, Harpie’s Feather Duster, Dimensional Fissure

Traps:

• x3 – Royal Decree
• x2 – Storming Mirror Force, Yosenju’s Sword Sting

The Goal:

The entire goal of this deck is to stop opponents from using traps, lock down their GY and bounce problem cards back to their hand. This is a deck that relies on disruption rather than negation or quick OTK, though the latter is possible given the right opening hand. It doesn’t not outright dominate like a full-fledged meta control deck, but it is able to hold its own and be downright annoying for the opponent. In other words, this is a deck for those who want to win and do a bit of trolling as part of the process.

The Strats:

Offense

Most of the time, one’s goal should be to get Mayosenju Daibak and/or Mayosenju Hitot on the board (without tributing if possible). Hitot can bounce one face-up card upon summon, and it grants all of one’s monsters a 500 ATK boost for every card bounced. Daibak on the other hand can bounce any two cards upon summon; it doesn’t matter if they’re face-up or face-down. Yosenju Kama 1 can also bounce a card so long as the player controls another Yosenju monster, which will usually be the case since Yosenju Kama 1, 2 and 3 can all normal summon another Yosenju monster upon being normal summoned.

Opening hands don’t often have all the cards needed to summon a Mayosenju right away, so the first priority should be to get those cards in hand via Yosenju Sabu, Yosenju Kama 3 or Fire Formation – Tenki. Sabu searches Hitot, Daibak, or Shinchu R/L upon summon; Kama 3 searches any Yosenju card when another Yosenju inflicts battle damage upon the opponent, and Tenki just searches any of the main five Yosenju monsters.

Targets will differ depending on the duel, but generally it’s best to use Tenki search Kama 1 or Sabu if they’re not already in hand. As for Kama 3 and Sabu’s targets, it depends. If only one Shinchu or Maysenju is needed, use Kama 3 to add Yosenju’s Sword Sting to hand so as to have protection during the opponent’s turn. If a Shinchu and/or a Mayosenju are needed, then use Kama 3 to search one and use Sabu to search the other. The one that’s best to search will, again, depend on the situation, but Hitot is often a good choice. Hopefully, all the needed cards will be in hand after this. If not, do whatever damage possible set a trap and Dimensional Fissure if possible and pass turn.

Defense

All normal summoned Yosenju/Mayosenju monsters automatically return to the hand in the End Phase, so defense rests entirely on Storming Mirror Force and Yosenju’s Sword Sting. Both aim to disrupt the opponent, but during different times. Use Sword Sting during the opponent’s combo if possible, ideally once the normal summon is used and two cards are on the field. If timed well enough, it’ll stop them dead in their tracks since neither GY or banished effects will be accessible. If the chance to disrupt their combo is missed though, Sword Sting can also be triggered when the opponent declares a direct attack. As for Storming Mirror Force, just let them attack into it. Don’t waste it though; it’s worth letting an attack go through if it’s only a small amount of damage.

Kaiju Plays, Dimensional Fissure/Shifter and Yosenju Oroshi Channeling

Kaiju are not once per turn, so one kaiju can be used to remove at least two cards. Just summon the kaiju to the opponent’s field, summon Yosenju Kama 1 and one other Yosenju, bounce the kaiju back to hand and then summon the kaiju again. Getting rid of it the second time can be difficult without traps or another bounce, but it might be worth it depending on what all is on the field. As for Dimensional Fissure/Shifter, their entire purpose is to block the GY. This deck doesn’t use the GY at all, so blocking it doesn’t hurt the user.

Lastly, if opening with Yosenju Oroshi Channeling, make sure to use it before summoning any monsters but only after using Tenki and/or Dimensional Shifter. This is because Oroshi Channeling requires that there be no monsters on one’s side of the field in order to activate. Most of the time, the second effect: “Place one Shinchu L and Shinchu R from deck in to the pendulum zones,” is preferred. If Shinchu L is already in hand, however, only the first effect will work. Use it to add Hitot if one isn’t already in-hand.

It’s best to do this after Shifter and Tenki because Shifter can only be activated if no cards are in one’s GY, and Tenki getting hit with an Ash Blossom or another negate is usually better than Oroshi Channeling getting hit instead.

Weaknesses

Yosenju’s biggest weakness is that its monsters always return to hand in the end phase. It keeps resources from being used up, but it comes at the cost of a risky open field. It also has no good answer to decks like Chaos MAX since its boss monsters cannot be targeted by card effects. This can be mitigated somewhat by subbing-in cards like Solemn Judgement, Infinite Impermanence or Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring though.

Substitution Targets:

Of the cards listed above, Maxx C and Royal Decree are perhaps the best targets for replacement. Special summoning is not as prevalent in this special format, so running only one Maxx C should be fine. Also, having three copies of Royal Decree might be excessive, so taking one out in favor of another Storming Mirror Force,  Solemn Judgement, Infinite Impermanence or even a Pot of Duality might be a good idea. It just depends on how badly one wants to shutdown the opponent’s back row.

This is Yosenju Bounce: a solid, fun deck that’s more interested in disruption and grind than in negation or OHKO. It won’t always win, but it doesn't brick much and can often prompt a satisfying rage-quit from the other player. Give it a shot in the EX-Zero Festival and have fun collecting those gems!