Here's why "Therions" is the Next Best Deck in the Meta

Hey everyone! Arcknight here and today we'll talk about the newest archetype in town called Therions that will be released next week on Dimension Force (DIFO). This archetype was revealed on the official website here

"The King has arrived!"

Let's begin!

Their main gimmick is that the monsters have the ability to special summon themselves by equipping a Therions monster from the graveyard or monster with their same type. They also gain the (2) effect of the monster they equipped. The cool thing about them is that they are part of the Albaz storyline which means that we'll pretty much get more support cards in the coming set that will strengthen the deck. As this archetype is pretty new and we won't have much data on its impact before its release, we will analyze the deck to see if it has the ingredients to become the next deck in OCG/TCG meta.

First, let's have the PROS

• Consistency - They have their own field spell that can search any Therions monster and can also dump and recycle cards all in one! We've seen this type of card in archetypes like Trickstar, Subterror, Invoked etc. which has proven success previously. Because it is a field spell, you can capitalize on cards that can search it like Terraforming, Planet Pathfinder, Set Rotation and the like which can boost its consistency. They also have a theme searcher for Spell/Traps in the form of  Therions "Lily" Borea and a theme Foolish Burial and The Warrior Returning Alive called Perpetual Engine Argyro System.

• Draw Power - Yes, they got their theme Trade-In in the name of Therions' Charge which can dump Therions monsters sitting in your hand for 2 new cards. What's great is that you can also send another copy of itself from hand to grave to draw cards which is pretty nice in case you're stuck with multiple Therions' Charge.

• Control Power - Therions "King" Regulus is the new boss card of the archetype that can can negate stuff either player's turn. This ensures that your combo will land safely and also allow you to prevent your opponent from resolving their key cards. If you exhaust your Therions' "King" Regulus from your hand, you can regain its negation effect by equipping itself with the first effect of other Therion's monsters. They also have a trap card called Therion's Cross that can negate any monster effect from anywhere on your opponent's possession so long as you control a Therions monster and can even banish the negated monster while you have Perpetual Engine Argyro System in your Graveyard.  Lastly, they have Therions' "Leaper" Fam that can bounce any card on your opponent's field by also bouncing one of your face-up Therions' card in Spell/Trap zone during your opponent's turn. A board with Therions' "King" Regulus, Therions' "Leaper" Fam and Therions' Cross is already a powerful set-up that can put pressure on your opponent in a possible less than 5 summons adding the fact that Therions' mostly get beefy once they have equipped cards and indestructible by battle once while their field spell is present.

• Going 2nd - As Therions' monsters are quite big and Therions' "King" Regulus' negation works either player's turn, you have a good chance on pushing when going 2nd. The additional card that you will draw will also help propel your plays. They also have a monster that can destroy cards during your turn called Therions' "Bulls" Ein.

• Bait power - One thing that sets a Tier 1 deck from others is its ability to bait opponent's negation and cards and this deck has it. This deck definitely doesn't die in a single hand trap and can force opponent's hand traps to prevent your plays from happening.

Now, they definitely look good on paper but let me show you the CONS based on my analysis and testing:

• Prone to Brick - As the monster is reliant to have interaction in the graveyard by ensuring your have the right monster to equip, there are moments that you'll be stuck with no monster to equip making your Therions all dead in the hand. One good thing is that you don't have to successfully equip the monster when it lands but you have to ensure you were able to target first. 

• Needs more consistency - While they have a field spell and monster searcher, it's really not enough. They don't have a card that can stand on its own. Perhaps a card that can let you get a Therions' monster straight to the field from your Deck in the future without the use of Normal Summon? Most of the cards they have are one for one and they don't have any cards as of yet that can generate unfair advantage early game. Perpetual Engine Argyro System doesn't do anything on its own if you don't have any Therions' to summon from hand.

• Resource draining - While most of your monsters can special summon itself from your hand, this also means that you can drain your hand resource really fast. Currently, they don't have a monster that can special summon cards from the deck which can really speed the deck up. They also don't have any one card combos that can lead to a tight 2-3 negation or control factor unless you have the right cards in hand. 

Summary

Overall, the deck really has a potential to be a good contender in the meta but they definitely need additional cards to boost their game play. The deck is pretty new and I'm sure that us creative players have a way to make it stand-out. There are already discussions that this can work pure and though some say that its shines best when used as an engine. For now, let's hope that this deck gets more support in the future so it can really maximize its potential to be the next best deck in the meta! How about you? What can you say about the new archetype Therions? Do they stand the chance?

'Til next time!

Arcknight