Forum:Deck Guide/Stall

by Gadjiltron

Intro

Every Deck is different. No two Decks are the same. Unless they got netdecked, which is frowned upon.

Some Decks enjoy summoning large monsters. Swarm Decks summon many monsters in one turn.

Some Decks do damage without battling. Burn Decks damage the opponent's LP without attacking.

Some Decks like to win within a single turn. OTK Decks make combos to accomplish that.

But one kind of Deck just constantly defends, turn after turn after turn, shrugging off their opponent's attempts to damage them. Is there even a win condition for just turtling? Well, sort of. Depends on the build.

Mechanics

As the name implies, Stall Decks are focused around defending themselves from opponents' attacks or attempts to do damage to them. Of course, the nature of the cards they use prevent the Stall Deck from making any kind of offensive presence. As there is no win condition granted from defending all the way, the definition of Stall is used to support other types of Decks that can provide a means to win.

Perhaps the most popular means of a win condition from a Stall Deck is Final Countdown, which is impossible to stop after it has successfully activated, but needs the Deck to survive 20 turns (10 from each player) during the Duel. Thus, a Stall Deck partially devotes itself to draw power to get Final Countdown sooner while also replenishing resources to supply its defenses.

Related Guides

See the following for examples of Decks that may utilize Stall to help achieve their goals.

• Slow Burn Decks
• Mill Decks
• Exodia Decks

Analysis

Strengths

• Potentially annoying - To the opponent, anyways. Several recent cards have given the Stall Deck very very convenient options of fending off opponents' attacks or denying the Battle Phase entirely, buying them extra turns while the opponent is a sitting duck (damage wise).

Weaknesses

• Requires their win condition to do anything - Is Final Countdown somehow at the bottom of your Deck? Well, you're basically screwed, since all those turns of defense accomplish nothing if you don't have your win condition set up beforehand.
• Slow - Sometimes, just a turn of a lapse in defenses is all it takes for the opponent to utterly destroy you. The fact that the Stall Deck is made of cards that are more difficult to search than most other archetype-specific cards complicates this.

The Basics

Win Conditions

These are the cards commonly used by Stall Decks to try and net a win.

• Final Countdown - The general win condition for a Stall Deck. Once it successfully resolves, there's literally no way of stopping Final Countdown unless the Duel ends prior to its 20 turns. The 2000 LP payment, on the other hand, does make it easier for the opponent to finish the player off if they can't defend themselves well enough. Recently, the occasional, yet no so fun, Countdown variant had popped up in tournaments, dragging out games unnecessarily and causing Countdown to be Limited in the TCG.
• Wave-Motion Cannon - 20 turns seem a little too long for you? Try 16. Well, chances are the opponent is likely to destroy WMC before you reach its optimal 8000 damage, so it's better to distribute it across 3 copies. Sometimes WMC is simply played to distract removal cards so that the rest of the setup can last a little longer.
• Exodia the Forbidden One - While possible, a Stall Deck relying on drawing Exodia is often seen as unrefined since faster variants are more often played nowadays.
• Destiny Board - Technically workable with the right cards. Destiny Board can win the game in half the time Final Countdown takes, but at the cost of using up more space in your Deck that would have been used for defenses, taking up more backrow that would, once again, be used for lasting defenses, and being easily dismantled once any part of the message disappears. Build and play with care if you want to try to win with this.

Defenses

And these are cars that often appear to help defend the player.

• Spirit Reaper and Marshmallon - These are two very well-known walls that cannot be destroyed in battle at all, thus blocking off non-Piercing battle damage until the opponent gets rid of them via removal or the like.
• Battle Fader and Swift Scarecrow - And in case the opponent does manage to get a direct hit in, Battle Fader and Swift Scarecrow are there to stop the direct attack and forcibly end the Battle Phase, denying any further attacks from getting in. Battle Fader is usually seen as slightly superior due to Special Summoning itself at the same time.
• Zero Gardna - A humble monster with a Quick Effect (activates on either turn) that provides a Waboku effect, protecting you and your monsters from battle. Why use it over Waboku, then? Perhaps because Royal Decree can't negate it, and it slips outside the reach of Skill Drain.
• Cyber Valley - When targeted for an attack, Cyber Valley can banish itself to forcibly end the Battle Phase while also allowing an extra card to be drawn.
• One Day of Peace - Both players draw a card and take no damage till their next turn. Which is a major aid for you since you want to stay alive and need an extra draw while not really bothering about doing damage. Recently Limited due to some off-the-wall mill loop, but that shouldn't terribly hurt your defense options.
• Messenger of Peace - A very useful card that prevents strong monsters with at least 1500 ATK from attacking at all, and with a negligible maintenance cost of 100 LP per turn. Since it doesn't look at Levels like Gravity Bind or Level Limit - Area B do, it also blocks off Xyz Monsters which are immune to those cards.
• Swords of Revealing Light - This classic card from way back came off the List completely. Use this to hold off attacks for 3 turns. If needs be, you can also attack, but a defense-devoted Deck doesn't really care about that.
• Threatening Roar - A Chainable Trap that prevents the opponent from declaring an attack. The little rulings surrounding it means that for best efficiency, you are best activating it at the end of the opponent's Main Phase 1, before they proceed into the Battle Phase. Thunder of Ruler does a similar thing but is restricted to the Standby Phase, greatly reducing its surprise factor. Note that this card affects the opponent by causing them to be unable to declare attacks, so even monsters that are unaffected by Traps cannot bypass this effect.
• Frozen Soul - Activated only while your LP is at least 2000 less than the opponent's, Frozen Soul forcibly skips your opponent's next Battle Phase. The conditions are easily met if you either used Final Countdown beforehand, played several Upstart Goblins, or simply let your opponent beat you around a little. Similar to the above card, Frozen Soul affects the opponent rather than their monsters, so Trap-immune monsters are still rendered unable to attack since the opponent loses their Battle Phase entirely. Also note that the opponent goes straight from Main Phase 1 to End Phase, the "skip their next Battle Phase" part of the effect is retained and will stay until the next time they enter it.
• Fiendish Chain - Often seen as Side Deck material in other Decks to help negate effects and attacks, Fiendish Chain becomes a rather invaluable means of protection in a Stall Deck as it pretty much renders the target monster useless.
• Wall of Revealing Light - Pay 3000 LP and pretty much all of your opponent's monsters will have trouble trying to attack you.

Combos

And these are some simple card combos that can be used to deter attacks.

• 2x Marauding Captain or 2x Magician's Valkyria - Both cards protect other cards of the same Type from being targeted for attacks. Two of them under your control means that the opponent cannot attack at all, provided you don't control face-down monsters or monsters of other Types.
• 2x Solar Flare Dragon - Slightly different from the above combo, in that these cards cannot be attacked themselves when another Pyro-Type monster is present on the field. Hold only 2 of them and not only does your opponent not enjoy any attack targets, but you also get a net 1000 LP burn each turn.
• Flying "C" and Curse of the Circle - One of the main problems of relying on Level-dependent locking cards is that Xyz Monsters can bypass them since they don't have Levels. This is where Flying "C" comes in by sealing off Xyz Summons and clogging their field. Problem is that the opponent can simply remove it by Tributing it or using it as Synchro Material, and Curse of the Circle counters this. The best part is that Curse of the Circle doesn't stay on the field, so once it resolves Flying "C" becomes a one-card thorn in their side. The final loophole would be to get C destroyed by battle, but since you're a Stall Deck, you probably don't run many monsters with high stats that could destroy it, and can lock off the Battle Phase to deny the opponent suiciding C.
• The Dark Door and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow - The former card only permits players to attack with one monster at a time. The latter card can negate an attack once per turn, and re-Sets after resolution.
• Ground Collapse and Ojama Trio - The former card prevents your opponents from using 2 of their Monster Card Zones. The latter fills the remaining 3 with 0-ATK Tokens, preventing further Summons. If you so wish, you can up the ante by using Ojama King instead of Ojama Trio, and Ojama Knight instead of Ground Collapse, though this is better performed in an Ojama Deck.
• Spirit Barrier and Astral Barrier - The former card prevents you from taking Battle Damage while you control monsters. The latter card lets you protect your monsters from attacks by turning attacks into direct attacks. Which are then completely neutralized because of Spirit Barrier.

Variants

Time Out

This example Deck focuses on searching and using Final Countdown to win, with Wave Motion Cannon as backup.

You Mad?

Also known as a "troll-stall" Deck, this stall variant uses defenses that are harder to counter, mainly due to a lot of them being Chainable to removal, as opposed to the continuous S/Ts that lift once destroyed. It also focuses completely on getting Final Countdown and holding out all the way, without having a backup plan should it fail.

You're Already Dead

Because Destiny Board eventually requires the entire backrow for its victory condition, this variant uses defenses that don't constantly take up (and waste) S/T slots or can be manually taken off the field without further assistance so that the message finishes.

Tag Duel Options

Since you have a lot of options that restrict attacks for both sides of the playing field, you're best off with a partner that also doesn't attack a lot. Consider pairing with any of the Slow Burn Decks so that you have another supply of defense, or pair with any of the Quick Burn Decks so that you can shield them in between volleys of damage.

Other Tips

Need draw power? Everyone loves draw power. Consider the following to help you dig through your Deck and find the cards you need.

• Cardcar D - During the Main Phase 1 where you've Normal Summoned this card, you can Tribute it to draw 2 and end your turn while sacrificing any other Summons as well. Since you're likely to be relying on your various effects rather than big monsters to defend you, it's a welcome draw power option. Be wary of your opponent holding Effect Veiler since it makes the car a sitting duck waiting to be picked off.
• Mystic Piper - Tribute him to draw a card and reveal it, and if it's a LV1 monster, you get another draw. Since you'll be running triplicate Swift Scarecrow and Battle Fader among other LV1 monsters, you're likely to get his bonus draw a lot of times. If you're running Exodia, the limbs will also trigger the bonus draws. Combo with Kinka-byo to use Mystic Piper's effect multiple times while also giving you the option of running Slacker Magician, which makes for a very stubborn wall.
• Pot of Duality - Dig through the top 3 cards of your Deck and add one to your hand, though in return you can't Special Summon for the turn. Considering your relative lack of monsters, this should not pose a big issue.
• Gold Sarcophagus - Pretty much the only way to search out Final Countdown, as otherwise there isn't another good means to get any Spell from your Deck to your hand.
• Upstart Goblin - You're not aiming to deplete the opponent's LP, so why not? You'll face some difficulty if you're falling back on Wave-Motion Cannon, though, but if you're resorting to that it's already a very difficult situation.
• Hope for Escape - You'll be taking a good deal of damage if your defenses don't get set up or are crushed quickly, so if you're still alive, you get to draw several cards at once. Don't hold back on it for too long, though. Popping it when the difference is between 3000 and 5000 will net you 2 cards, which is good enough. 3 or more may extend into overkill. If you want, you can chain two of these together to deliberately extend your LP gap (and draw more cards), but unless you're playing Exodia, you'll wind up with severe hand overload.
• Defense Draw - A good combination of defense and draw power. Defense Draw lets you block off the damage dealt to you via one attack and lets you draw a card on top of it. Of course, the drawback comes in that it doesn't protect your own monsters and isn't Chainable if your opponent picks it off with removal. Maybe use it as space filler.

Or perhaps you seek more defensive measures?

• Arcana Force 0 - The Fool - Yet another monster that cannot be destroyed in battle at all. Be careful if using him, because his 0 DEF means you take the full brunt of Piercing attacks, and if he ever goes into Attack Position, you are fully vulnerable and cannot manually set him back into Defense.
• Des Wombat - On occasion you'd bump into an opposing Burn Deck which couldn't care less about your defensive measures since it doesn't attack often. Toss this in to turn off their win condition. It will provoke them into attacking you proper, which is where your attack preventers come in.
• Fortress Warrior - Not as sturdy as Spirit Reaper, Marshmallon, or AF0, since it only resists destruction in battle once per turn. Fortunately, Fortress Warrior comes with the bonus of you never taking any battle damage, deterring Piercing attacks as well.
• Kuriphoton - By discarding this card and paying 2000 LP, you get to survive for another turn since you'll take no further Battle or Effect Damage. Yes, I understand it's a hefty price to pay, but people are doing the same with Solemn Warning. So, why not avert getting OTK'ed? Besides, it also sets up Frozen Soul and Hope for Escape too.
• Lava Golem - It Special Summons itself onto the opponent's side of the field by Tributing 2 of their monsters as a cost, making it a form of unstoppable monster removal. As a bonus, its controller takes 1000 damage during each of their Standby Phases, giving you a source of damage as well. Its high stats are usually held off by your defenses, but if they lapse, you'll have to figure out how to shake off a 3000 ATK monster.
• Nimble Momonga - When destroyed in battle, Nimble Momonga grants you 1000 LP while setting up to 2 more copies on the field to help soak up more hits. This eventually gives you 3000 more LP to last longer in the Duel.
• Nightmare's Steelcage - For two turns, neither player can attack. Well, you won't be attacking much anyways.
• Summon Breaker - Opponent trying to Summon a bunch of monsters in one turn? Penalize them by ending their turn. You're largely unaffected since you won't be doing a lot Summoning and don't need the Battle Phase either.
• Solemn Wishes or Golden Ladybug - A steady 500 LP gain doesn't seem like much, but after all your defenses are exhausted, you'll be sporting a nice 5-digit LP total which might take some effort to fully deplete.
• Waboku - An old card with a simple effect - You take no battle damage and your monsters are immune to destruction by battle this turn. It's Chainable, too, functioning as an effective third set of Threatening Roar/Frozen Soul. Impenetrable Attack works similarly, but only gives you one part of either effect and is not as Chainable.
• Draining Shield - Block off an attack from a large monster and gain a large amount of LP in exchange, thus forcing your opponent to expend more effort in taking you down.
• Breakthrough Skill - A two-use Trap with no specific activation timing that negates any monster effect without destroying it. Use it to deny your opponents further advantage or protect your setup from destructive monster effects.
• Pyro Clock of Destiny - If you're playing Final Countdown, Pyro Clock can help advance the turn count and get you a faster victory. However, it's prone to becoming a dead draw without Countdown and can also interact with your turn-based-expiry stall cars like Swords of Revealing Light.
• Scrubbed Raid - By sending a card you control to the Graveyard, you can forcibly end the Battle Phase. Well, use this only if you have cards that can efficiently Chain to the use of Scrubbed Raid's effect, or if you have cards that repeatedly come back from the Graveyard to fuel the effect.
• And if all else fails, Self-Destruct Button makes for a very nice ragequit if you've spent enough effort creating a large enough gap. If you're going to die, might as well take your opponent down with you. The very concept of this ragequit in troll-stall Decks has caused the Big Red Button to get banned in the TCG.

Also, pay attention to these cards since they will wind up as the bane of Stall variants. Any monsters listed under here become priority targets for Lava Golem, if you run it.

• Jinzo and Royal Decree - These two cards will shut down your Battle Phase denial Traps. Royal Decree tends to see more play because it is excellent Side Deck material.
• Light and Darkness Dragon - It's now a problem since Elemental Dragons can bring it out without expending much effort. It'll automatically negate the first 4 card activations (excluding Chain formations and itself), which will force you to waste a number of defensive efforts if you don't take LaDD out. Fortunately, a Spirit will suck all life out of it...
• Number 104: Masquerade - Not only does Masquerade's effect shut down your hand-based defenses like Battle Fader and Swift Scarecrow, it also can activate multiple times per turn and tack on effect damage each time. And as an Xyz Monster, it ignores Level-based locking cards if you still use them.