Forum:Deck Guide/Skill Drain

Skill Drain Guide

By BobaFett2

"Skill Drain" is an extremely powerful card from Dark Crisis that was reprinted in Gold Series and Dark Revelation Volume 1. It was once Semi-Limited because of its powerful effect. What "Skill Drain" does is negate all face-up monster's effects, which can be used in decks that use many effects from their Hands or Graveyards and by decks with big monsters that can be Normal Summoned with a penalty. In addition to this, the deck will not suffer from common meta cards such as "Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter" and "Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier". This makes a "Skill Drain" deck an Anti-Meta deck that can be very powerful. The main weakness of the deck is the fact that you can only use three "Skill Drain" in a deck and three "Pot of Duality" isn't enough to guarantee that you draw it. As of September 1st, 2011, "Skill Drain" decks are very risky due to to Limiting of "Heavy Storm" and the Unlimiting of "Mystical Space Typhoon".

Pros and Cons

Pros

Skill Drain decks are THE ultimate Anti-Meta deck: "Skill Drain" decks can make use of both "Skill Drain" and "Dimensional Fissure", allowing them to break almost every strategy.

Skill Drain decks can easily summon monsters with high ATK: Most notable is "Beast King Barbaros", which has good ATK even without "Skill Drain".

Cons

Skill Drain decks need their Normal Summons: Without their Normal Summon, a "Skill Drain" deck won't be able to do anything.

Without Skill Drain, the deck is at a disadvantage: Some monsters, such as "Fusilier Dragon", become useless without "Skill Drain".

Main Cards

Monsters

• Malefic monsters: You can control more than one, they don't require a Field Spell, and multiple monsters you control can attack due to "Skill Drain". Note however that you must put the one on the field face-down because the one in your hand will still prevent you from summoning it.
• Beast King Barbaros: "Skill Drain" makes "Barbaros" a no-tribute 3000. You could also use his effect if you don't control a "Skill Drain". Even without "Skill Drain" "Barbaros" is a tough monsters.
• Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür: Special Summoned by removing "Barbaros" and "Fusilier". Skill Drain negates it's negative effect.
• Elemental HERO Captain Gold: A 2100 monster that allows you to use "Miracle Fusion".
• Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast: "Skill Drain" makes "Fusilier" a no-tribute 2800.
• Majestic Mech - Ohka: "Skill Drain" allows "Ohka" to remain on the field without being Tribute Summoned.
• Malevolent Mech - Goku En: Same as "Ohka".
• Reborn Tengu: Whenever he leaves the field, you Special Summon another from your deck. Tengu always resolves off the field, so he can't be affected by Skill Drain.

Spells

• Forbidden Chalice: Works like a "Skill Drain" on a single monster. It also gives the monster 400 attack, meaning that it can be used in the damage step on a "Ryko" or on one of your monsters (turn "Barbaros" into a 3400 after your opponent attacks it).
• Gold Sarcophagus: Slow, but more reliable than "Upstart Goblin".
• Upstart Goblin: Makes it easier to draw "Skill Drain".

Traps

• Skill Drain: The central card of the deck type.

Variants

Skill Drain Beatdown without Gold

"Skill Drain" beatdown centers on using "Skill Drain" to max out "Beast King Barbaros" and "Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast". The main weakness of the deck is not getting "Skill Drain" or "Forbidden Chalice" early in the game, causing you to be stuck with weak monsters or self-destructing monsters. "Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür" is an optional card (Remove another "Barbaros Ur" or "Barbaros" and "Fusilier") that isn't always easy to summon (due to only having three "Barbaros" and "Fusilier".

Skill Drain Beatdown with Gold

"Skill Drain" beatdown can also make use of "E - Emergency Call", "Elemental HERO Captain Gold", and "Miracle Fusion". This allows for more search power as well as the ability to Fusion the "Elemental HERO The Shining" and "Elemental HERO Gaia", with the abilities of the former still working (so you can recycle an E-Hero). The deck makes use of Special Summons so "Royal Oppression" isn't as good of an option but it has more search and draw power.

Malefic Skill Drain Beatdown

"Malefic" monsters are very powerful and easy to summon but very vulnerable. You can only control one "Malefic" monster at a time and while you control it your other monsters can't attack. In addition to this, "Malefic" monsters are destroyed while there isn't a Field Spell card on the field. "Skill Drain" gets rid of these weaknesses by allowing them to remain on the field without a Field Spell and allowing you to control multiple as well as allowing your other monsters to attack. The only "Malefic" monsters worth using are "Malefic Stardust Dragon" and "Malefic Cyber End Dragon" because they don't require you to have another useless monster in your deck. Malefic Skill Drain decks can make use of "Allure of Darkness" and "Malefic World" as drawing and searching power. Malefic Skill Drain decks have performed well at 2011 YCS (pre-September 2011) events.

Toon Skill Drain

"Toon" monsters are great in for Special Summoning quickly as you can Special Summon any number of "Toon" monsters while you control "Toon World". They can also attack directly but they cannot attack the turn that they are summoned and is costs Life Points to attack with them. "Skill Drain" can eliminate this cost as well as allowing them to attack the turn they are summoned (although it prevents them from being able to attack directly except against a clear field) and stops them from being destroyed when "Toon World" is destroyed (or removed from the field in some cases).

Toon Skill Drain Core

Monster Cards Deep Sea Diva x0/3 (Adds Synchro Summons to the deck) Doomcaliber Knight x2-3 Toon Gemini Elf x3 Toon Goblin Attack Force x3 Thunder King Rai-Oh x2-3 Extra Deck: Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier x0-1 Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth x2-3 Gem-Knight Pearl x3 Spell Cards Forbidden Chalice x1-3 Megamorph x0-2 Toon Table of Contents x3 Toon World x3 Upstart Goblin x3 Trap Cards Skill Drain x3

Macro Skill Drain

"Macro Cosmos" and "Skill Drain" are both powerful anti-meta cards that stop many mainstream strategies. They can be combined effectively because the main Macro Deck monsters don't have effects that activate on the field while the Skill Drain Deck monsters don't use the Graveyard. However, the deck suffers from the common weakness of Macro Decks and Skill Drain Decks of their main cards being easy to get rid of as well as non-searchable.

Rock Stun Drain

Rock Stun is a powerful decktype consisting of "Koa'ki Meiru Sandman", "Koa'ki Meiru Wall", and "Koa'ki Meiru Guardian" along with anti-meta monsters such as "Neo-Spacian Grand Mole", "Doomcaliber Knight", "Thunder King Rai-Oh", "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo", and "Legendary Jujitsu Master". "Skill Drain" gets rid of effects but monsters that can tribute themselves and activate their effects from your Graveyard (or while Banished) work perfectly with this deck as they don't lose their main powers.

Machine Beast warrior Skill drain

This version of skill drain has Beast warriors such as Beast king barbaros and reborn tengu as well as Machina Fortress as a monster engine. the build more or less is concentrated around Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür its consistent in the way that the deck special summons a lot more than traditional skill drain decks. so here is the basic skeleton My build can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5xfhlBiA_Q

Machine Beast warrior Skill drains

Monster Cards Beast King Barbaros x3 Reborn Tengu x3 Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür x1-2(depending on your preference) Cyber Dragon x2 Cyber Valley x2 Machina Fortress x3 Machina Gearframe x2 Malefic Cyber End Dragon x2-3 (discards for fortress or you can summon) Thunder King Rai-Oh x2-3 Doomcaliber Knight x2-3 Spell Cards Forbidden Chalice x2-3 Forbidden Lance x2 Pot of Duality x2-3 Trap Cards Skill Drain x3