Forum:Deck Guide/Hopeless Dragon

Hopeless Dragon Guide

by Tantara

• Updated Guide here.

Hopeless Dragon. The name coming from the former hopelessness of the dragon type. Though many OCG players did try to create a competitive dragon deck, they all failed. Hence the name "Hopeless". Dragon decks were given hope, however with the release of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon. The release of REDMD allowed the once dead deck to gain pure power and even win a few tournaments in Japan. The deck is a relative newcomer to the TCG, REDMD having been released as a Shonen Jump Promo Card. As SJC (Shonen Jump) Promo's are slightly difficult to obtain, Hopeless Dragon remains one of the more expensive decks to make.

Card Choices

These are the cards that are chosen for the typical Hopeless Dragon deck.

Monsters

• Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon - The whole point of the Hopeless Dragon deck. This card is similar to Il Blud, but it's far superior. It's easy to get out, which is a plus, and it's special summoning effect from the graveyard or hand makes it simply incredible. One cannot call their deck a Hopeless Dragon deck without two or preferably three of these.

• Red-Eyes Wyvern - A strong pick in the Hopeless Dragon deck, it's ability to summon itself or REDMD makes it a very powerful combo card. This card is a fairly good beatstick as well, making it a welcome addition to most Hopeless Dragon decks.

• Dark Armed Dragon - As many Hopeless Decks are DARK based, Dark Armed Dragon, or DAD, is an excellent card to include. With the amount of Grave Control that REDMD offers, it's very easy to get 3 DARKs. This card is also abusable via Phantom of Chaos.

• Dark Horus - Being a dragon, DARK, a decent effect, and a massive attack of 3000, this card is a very good choice in DARK based Hopeless Dragon decks. As the use of spell cards is big in Hopeless, you'll be able to easily swarm the field with low level DARKs. It's DARK, lvl8 status makes it good Trade-In and Allure of Darkness material.

• Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord - While Vandy is a DARK dragon type, it can still lead the deck to lose some of it's aggressive focus. Van'Dalygon is best used in more control based Hopeless Dragon decks and not shunted in at random times. It's DARK, lvl8 status makes it good Trade-In and Allure of Darkness material.

• White Night Dragon - Though Trade-Inable, it's not a card that I'm a fan of in Hopeless Dragon. It's ability to ward off cards such as Brain Control can make it a nice card, but cards such as Dark Horus are a better alternative.

• Blue-Eyes White Dragon - Though an oldie, Blue-Eyes Hopeless Dragon is one of the most consistent Hopeless decks out there. Trade-Inable and searchable via White Stone of Legend, this card can can allow devoted builds to have consistency.

• White Stone of Legend - This card allows Blue-Eyes Hopeless to do a manner of things. First off, Stone is a self-replacing card; it searches for a replacement when it's destroyed, this replacement just happens to be a beatstick that is very abusable via REDMD. Second off, it's a dragon, making it good material for summoning REDMD. Third off, it's LIGHT, allowing Blue-Eyes builds to run Honest (though most do not), and allowing the inclusion of Chaos Sorcerer. This card also allows the inclusion of Harmony's Treasure. This card, being a tuner, allows the deck access to synchro monsters as well.

• Exploder Dragon - Though not a powerful monster, this card allows you to remove almost any obstacle. This card is also reusable via REDMD and also allows you a good card to remove for it's summoning.

• Masked Dragon - many Hopeless Decks do not run it, the ones who do mainly use it as summoning material for REDMD. This is a good option for searching out cards such as Exploder Dragon and White Stone of Legend

• Light and Darkness Dragon - This is a card best designated to it's own build, only being special summonable by REDMD from the hand. Being unspecial summonable from the grave, and destroying your field when it's destroyed, this card isn't the most popular choice.

• Twin-Headed Behemoth - being able to stay on the field for a while makes this card is best used for REDMD summoning material.

• Magna Drago - this card is only used in decks that are designated to synchro summoning and not included randomly. This card is best used in conjunction with cards such as Strong Wind Dragon and Prime Material Dragon

• Tyrant Dragon - This card, being Trade-Inable, is not a popular Hopeless Dragon choice due to it's need for tribute when summoned from the grave. Being FIRE, this card can lead to the inclusion of Frost and Flame Dragon

• Frost and Flame Dragon - only used in designated builds, this is a mostly fun, non-competitive card to base a deck around. Not convenient, this card demands a deck made up of FIRE and WATER dragons.

• White-Horned Dragon - though DARK, this card in't a very popular choice as it's effect isn't that powerful. Though it does have a maximum attack of in the high 3000s, your opponent is most likely not going to have 5 spells in the grave until late game.

• Phantom Dragon - though a LIGHT Trade-Inable monster, this card has never been a popular choice due to it's space restricting effect. Hopeless Dragon decks tend to swarm the deck, so this card is more hindering then helping.

• Blizzard Dragon - an excellent dragon card, this is more designated to more controlling Hopeless Dragon builds. Blizzard Dragon tends to be overlooked, but it really is an excellent choice.

• Strong Wind Dragon - Though it's level 6, making it excellent synchro material, it's not a very popular choice in hopeless. Prime Material Dragon is a superior choice.

• Koa'ki Meiru Drago - a very popular side-deck choice for Hopeless Dragon decks, it demands a degree of skill to play. The controller of Drago can no longer special summon his/her own DARK monsters (REDMD), so this needs a degree of timing as well.

• Genesis Dragon - A LIGHT level 6 dragon, this card is best used in Hopeless Dragon builds that are based around Chaos Sorcerer. It's effect allows the player to reuse Dark Armed Dragon as well as control the number of DARK dragons in the grave.

• Prime Material Dragon - an excellent choice in some Hopeless Dragon builds, this card gives you a degree of field control and protection for REDMD. This card, being a level 6 and of the LIGHT attribute, can be an excellent choice for Chaos and Synchro variants.

• Armageddon Knight - A decent dumper for DARKs, while Dark Grepher is superior in most ways, this card is very good with Dark Horus, every time it's summoned, you can send a useful monster to the grave.

• The Dark Creator - Currently used in almost every Hopeless Dragon build out there, this defensive behemoth can be easily abused via Phantom of Chaos and Future Fusion. Most of the time, it'll be dumped for Phantom of Chaos but it can be very good on it's own. This card is a target for Trade-In and Allure of Darkness

• Phantom of Chaos - A current staple in all Hopeless Dragon decks, this card is simply incredible. It allows you to reuse and abuse almost every monster in the Hopeless arsenal, being able to pull off some incredible plays. This card is best used with The Dark Creator, REDMD, Sky Scourge Norleras, and D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation.

• Sky Scourge Norleras - The most powerful card in advanced play, using Phantom of Chaos is currently the most efficient way to pull off it's effect. Being a level 8 and DARK, this card is exceedingly easy to dump in the grave. Either love it or hate it, this card allows some incredible plays with Red-Eyes Wyvern and can efficiently destroy your opponent.

• Dark Grepher - The best way to dump DARK monsters, this easily special summonable card allows you to get three DARKs in the grave the first turn it's summoned and two for every turn after. This card is excellent for fueling the fires for REDMD and Dark Horus.

• Necro Gardna - Currently extremely popular, this can be an extremely good defensive card, especially for those who are playing Burial from a Different Dimension as they can reuse it. This is a very easy card to use, get it in the grave through any means (including discarding for D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation) to spare yourself an attack.

Spells

• Stamping Destruction - This card can give Hopeless Dragon an edge over anti-meta decks, being able to remove threats such as Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror and Royal Oppression. This is an excellent side deck choice.

• Trade-In - an incredible card that gives most Hopeless Dragon decks speed and consistency, this allows you to dump a dragon in the graveyard to draw 2 cards. What's not to like?

• Future Fusion - The best card in this entire deck in my opinion. It allows you to dump as many as 5 Dragons in the grave, possibly 5 DARKs in the grave for The Dark Creator and Dark Armed Dragon by selecting Five-Headed Dragon. This also allows you to pull off some incredible combos; you can use it to send REDMD to the grave to be used via Phantom of Chaos, you can send REDMD and Red-Eyes Wyvern to special summon REDMD during the end phase, you can send three White Stone of Legends to fetch three Blue-Eyes White Dragons to your hand.

• Hidden Armory - A semi-popular choice, most DARK-based Hopeless decks should play this, it allows the quick fetching of D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation. This allows power plays via Phantom of Chaos, REDMD, etc.

• D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation - Tech in all DARK-based, this card is a basically preference based card. Many players choose to play this in 2's, allonw with 1-2 Hidden Armory to fetch it. This pairing allows the player to gain access to any of his/her removed from play cards, allowing you to have direct access to monsters removed via The Dark Creator, Phantom of Chaos, Dark Armed Dragon, Allure of Darkness, and others.

• Burial from a Different Dimension - Only run in builds that play Necro Gardna and Plaguespreader Zombie, this card somewhat clashes with DDR causing the deck's consistency to drop. However, this does allow you to use Necro Gardna a total of nine times allowing the Hopeless Dragon deck to become very defensively strong.

• Foolish Burial - a decent choice in Hopeless Dragon, this allows quick access to fodder for REDMD or Red-Eyes Wyvern.

• Allure of Darkness - an incedible card that gives most Hopeless Dragon decks speed and consistency, allowing you to remove a DARK to draw two cards. As most Hopeless decks run D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation, this is not a big deal.

• A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon - A potentially abusable card, this card can be especially useful while playing Vice Dragon. While not used by all Hopeless users, the cost isn't so deadly as you can easily special summon the monster summoned next turn via REDMD.

Extra Deck

• Five-Headed Dragon - the target for Future Fusion. It's ability to land 5 Dragons in the grave and it's insane attack and revivability make it an impossibly good addition to the deck.

• Exploder Dragonwing - The best target to synchro for if you're playing Hopeless. Besides being difficult to destroy, it's easily revivable by REDMD, making it very abusable.

• Trident Dragon - an incredible card to summon if possible, this card can lead to incredible, out-of-nowhere OTKs. Though easily destroyed, this can lead to an easy win.

Traps

• Burst Breath - an excellent self-destruction card, this card can help you damage swarming decks such as Blackwings and Zombies.

• Return from the Different Dimension - A potentially devastating, game-ending card, this is similar to Solemn Judgment in it's cost and as such, is mainly based on the user's preference. The turn this card will be used, the user will most likely win. If this card is included, one might want to reduce the copies of DDR and Hidden Armory in the deck.

• Proof of Powerlessness - Similar to Burst Breath in it's field clearing ability, this is a semi-popular card, now. It allows the user to clear away swarm decks, namely decks such as Blackwing and Six Samurai. The user of this card can easily bypass the side effect of this card by using it during the opponents turn.