User:MrVariant/Pendulum Deck

Pendulum decks consist of using a Pendulum Monster with a low scale and one with a high scale to special summon multiple monsters from your hand (and pendulum monsters from extra deck) simultaneously. Their monster counts can run around 30, so decks may go over 40 cards (which may help lower the risk of drawing the same pendulum monsters). This is essentially a modern Monster Mash deck.

Recommended Monsters

Jinzo / Prime Material Dragon / Red Dragon Ninja for protection.

Kuraz the Light Monarch

Mist Valley Apex Avian (if level 7 is between scales)

Reborn Tengu helps for tribute/xyz summons (if 2nd copy is used)

Sacred Crane (if level 4 is between scales)

Thunder Dragon (thins deck and gets Constellar Pleiades)

Gazer Magicians

The Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician are also recommended to let you get the full range of 2-7 level monsters, though using either one of them with Flash Knight allows you to pendulum summon powerful level 5-6 monsters.

Flash Knight Build

Flash Knight is very easy to search and versatile thanks to Rescue Rabbit and Reinforcement of the Army. It can allow level 5-6 pendulum summons with Stargazer/Timegazer Magician, or go from 3-6 with Foucault's Cannon. The Transmigration Prophecy, Dark Factory of Mass Production or The Warrior Returning Alive helps recycle this card if it goes to the graveyard as an Xyz Material.

Magical Exemplar Build

If using spellcasters, pendulum zone plays will earn spell counters; combos are below: ●Toon Table of Contents for an Xyz summon with Toon Gemini Elf. You can alternatively use Toon Cannon Soldier for Allure of Darkness and summon another monster.

●Onomatopair with Gagaga Magician works as well.

●Star Drawing can let you draw but has no spells to search it quickly.

● Foucault's Cannon can be searched via Summoner's Art and played in the pendulum zone to get 4 spell counters. However, only one counter is necessary to Synchro Summon Effect Veiler from your hand/graveyard.

Ninja Build

Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo is a toolbox and can easily get those tribute monsters from your deck via Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation for dragons like Prime Material Dragon.Ninjitsu Art of Transformation can get Dark Simorgh to prevent sets or Mist Valley Apex Avian to negate plays and recycle with your next pendulum summon. Red Dragon Ninja can counter a set regardless of how it is summoned so long as it has a ninja or ninjitsu card in graveyard.

Strengths

● Swarm with multiple monsters that have protection or can Xyz Summon.

● Improve mechanics of old monsters (Even D.D.M. - Different Dimension Master may be useful and Thunder Dragon does wonders).

● Easy to search/draw (Many dark pendulum monsters allow you to use Allure of Darkness.

● Unaffected by spell lockdowns which do not destroy cards such as Number C106: Giant Red Hand or the banned Imperial Order.

● There are combos to search for cards and create consistency; this is a monster mash deck because most of the spells/traps will be deck thinners/recycling engines.

Weaknesses

● May not always have the right scales, and having only one on the field (or with copies in your hand) is useless. For example, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon has a high scale of 4 and needs an extra turn to search for a Star/Timegazer Magician, so it may not be recommended; Deck Construction requires a consistent plan for the levels to be pendulum summoned (scales 1-8 are optimal and 3-6 are good; using scale 4 is a gamble).

● Typhoon can counter a Pendulum Summon on your 1st turn. Mystical Space Typhoon will also put a damper on things.

● Destroyed Pendulum Monsters go to the extra deck even as spells, making it difficult to reuse in the pendulum zone; Rescue Rat needs 2 of the same monster, which does not help at all.

● Discard Deck will have a field day with this, especially Royal Tribute given the high monster count.

● Solemn Warning will counter the whole pendulum summon. Unlike Bottomless Trap Hole or Torrential Tribute, a Quick Effect has nothing on counter traps.

● Bigger monsters that can lockdown like Crimson Blader or protect from targeting like Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree may be a problem.