1st Place - Floowandereeze Deck Analysis and the things I've realized

Hey RespectYGOers! Arcknight here and today, we'll talk about my recent tournament report that took place 11/20/21 where I used Floowandereeze. This is the 2nd time I piloted this deck and has been successful with it but I have some eye opening realizations. Before that, let's dive in to the round report!

FT Duel Grounds OCG

Deck used: Floowandereeze

Format: Swiss 4 rounds (Oct 2021 Banlist Applied)

Round 1: vs. Eldlich O X O WIN

Insights:

 This deck is a touch match-up for me as Eldlich controlling Skill Drain game 1 could end the flight. ('cause birbs). Good thing I managed to control the field with Barrier Statue of Stormwinds on the field with Eldlich unable to special summon Eldlich Traps and the Golden Lord itself and that sealed the game.

Round 2: vs. Subterror O O WIN

Insights: 

Another stun deck in the journey of the birbs. Floowandereeze has a great advantage being able to do chain block preventing Subterror Fiendess from negating the correct card. This strategy was maximized further with the help of Floowandereeze and the Journey Preparations allowing you to banish another small birb ready to protect your main bird from being responded to.

Round 3: vs. Kaiju Luna O O WIN

Insights: 

Oh god, not the Kaiju lmao. I made sure he sees Barrier of Statue of Stormwinds everyday to prevent the Kaiju from landing only to be eaten by a random The Winged Dragon of RA - Sphere Mode ( Which tells me to not put 3 or more monsters next time unless I'm going for game ). 

Apparently, being tributed by Sphere mode doesn't hurt so much in Floowandereeze ( compared to the end board of Brave Token Link with Enforcer) because of Floowandereeze's great mid to late game strength and I can always use Sphere mode as a tribute fodder. The barrage of big and sml birbs proved to be overwhelming and Mist Valley Apex Avian attacking for game with Forbidden Chalice resolving in damage step sealed the game. ( With that 'not so fast' vibe ).

Final Round: vs. Altergeist X O O WIN

Insights: 

Losing the die roll is a huge hit if you're against a deck that can throw a bunch of backrow specifically Imperial Order and Anti- Spell Fragrance. I also drew Oracle of Zefra most of the time which is quite underwhelming. Game 2 and 3 are quite game breaking as I was able to set-up the basic Robina ➡️ Empen + Statue with City and used Evenly Match twice when I went second. 

Result: 4-0 WIN

Ranking: 1st Place

Here's my decklist:

Deck Overview:

✔️ This time, I decided to focus on consistency ensuring that I can always access Floowandereeze and the Magnificent Map which will open the door for my combo as it can search every Floowandereeze that I need. 

✔️ I tried to include Set Rotation and Oracle of Zefra to search the field and block Evenly Match.

✔️ 3 Pot of Extravagance for draw power and hand advantage. It also forces Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring most of the time.

✔️ Side deck now includes Forbidden Chalice AKA the cheap Forbidden Droplet for monster floodgates or negation. Solemn Judgments adds to that 'NO' factor ensuring that going first is an absolute win most of the time. ( Or no ).

Realizations:

❎ Set Rotation is bad. There are more scenarios where you have Oracle of Zefra in hand than the ideal scenario. Most of the time, you already have the field spell even before Set Rotation comes.

In my experience, Terraforming and Floowandereeze and the Journey Preparations are more than enough. There also situations where you have the field and the quick play but no single small birb which is a pain. I might switch back to Gold Sarcophagus.

❎ I wish I have a second Empen. We know that negating Eaglen is more painful than Robina as Eaglen is the one that searches your game breaking big birbs. There also times where you already searched Empen and the rest and you have nothing to search for Eaglen making it a dead card. Floowandereeze X Empen is searchable by Floowandereeze and Journey Preparations which will come in handy in case you weren't able to resolve Eaglen successfully. 

❎ DO NOT forget that your field spell allows you to extra normal summon on your opponent's turn. Considering using it first all the time and save your city. 

❎ Always save at least 1 banished Level 1 Floowandereeze monster for chain block purposes and always prioritize returning Floowandereeze X Robina back to hand if possible. Floowandereeze X Robina can search any birb you need including Eaglen or Barrier Statue of Stormwinds.

❎ A second copy of Floowandereeze X Stitch will always come in handy as a monster that can extra summon that is unaffected by Ash. 

Summary:

I really had fun with this deck so far and it did rekindle my good ol' stun playstyle ( for those who read my previous article since 2014, I really like the Anti-Meta strategy). With lots of testing and real life duels, that is how you can see which tech cards will work and which cards will not. 

I like Floowandereeze as it has searchable Floodgates like Empen and Barrier of Statue Stormwinds. With this fast-paced meta, this is my major out to the current meta. Will I continue using Floowandereeze? Definitely yes! Will I use this in my next tournament report? That's something that you'll find out soon. For now, this is a deck that this format should watch out for. 

January 2022 Limited & Forbidden List is almost here and we're in the midst of maximizing what we have including the present engines. Floowandereeze is the deck that I can see that will surely avoid it and in case of a format reset this January, we'll see what journey is prepared for these birds. I hope that you enjoyed today's feature and I love that I'm back in writing stuff. Thank you so much for reading 'til the end. I'll see you next time!

~Arcknight