Ice Barriers - Revamp

[Tinkerer]

Okay, so I think I've played my IB at locals 6-7 times now.  I'm officially known as the Ice Barrier guy, and I've continued tweaking the deck whenever I'd get new cards.

I've added pulls from the mega tins and traded around quite a bit for things that I figured would help a lot.  I haven't explicitly bought any singles specifically for the deck (though I did purchase AA - Zeus as an ED staple which I slotted in), so the deck probably isn't at the level it could be.  Still, I am extremely pleased with how it ended up turning out, and - surprisingly - no matter what decks turned up at locals, my IB has retained a perfect record of X-2 each time.

Monsters (19)

2 General Wayne of the IB - If opp controls a mons, and you control an IB, can SS self from hand.  On Summon, can search an IB spell/trap.  (Cont. eff) any spell/trap sent to opp's GY is banished instead.

3 Revealer of the IB - Discard 1; SS 1 IB tuner from Deck.  Can banish itself if an IB monster would discard a card.  (Cont. eff) Opp can't tribute summon.

3 Speaker for the IB - Can SS self from hand if you control an IB.  Can banish self from GY to summon an IB token.  (Cont. eff) Opp can't change battle position of def. position monsters.

2 Silent Angler - Can SS itself from hand if you control WATER.  Cannot SS from hand for rest of turn.

1 Warlock of the IB - (Cont. eff) Anti-Spell Fragrance

2 Defender of the IB - (Cont. eff) opp cannot attack w/ monsters with greater/equal ATK than Defender's DEF.

3 Zuijin of the IB - Can tribute self; SS 1 Level 5+ IB monster from hand.  Can SS self from GY by reducing WATER monster's Level by 2.

3 Hexa Spirit of the IB - Send 1 Level 3 or lower IB from Deck > GY, this card becomes that card's Level.  (Cont. eff) -500 ATK/DEF to opp monsters.

Backrow (21)

3 Winds over the IB - Tribute any number of IB; Special Summon same number of Level 4 or lower IB monsters from Deck (no same name).  Can banish self from GY; add 1 IB from GY to hand.

1 Harpie Feather Duster

1 Monster Reborn

3 Medallion of the IB - Search 1 IB monster (no OPT)

1 Salvage - add 2 WATERs with 1500 or less ATK from GY to hand.

1 Called by the Grave - Banish opp's mon from GY negate effs of mons with same name

3 Freezing Chains of the IB - On activation, SS 1 Level 4 or lower IB from GY.  While I control 3+ IB monsters, they are unaffected by opp's mons that were SS'd from Extra Deck.

1 Terror of Trishula - TRAP - If I control an IB Synchro, banish 1 card opp controls.  If an IB Synchro is targeted, banish self from GY; negate that eff.

1 Ice Dragon's Prison - TRAP - SS 1 mon from opp's GY (eff negated).  Then, I can banish 2 mons with the same type from both player's fields.

3 There can be Only One - CONT. TRAP - Neither player can control 2+ monsters with same type.  Cannot summon another monster w/ same type as monster you control.

3 Crackdown - CONT. TRAP - Take control of 1 opp monster.  If mon leaves field, destroy Crackdown.

 

Extra

2 Big Trish - When Sync'd: Banish up to 3 cards opp. controls.  If destroyed by opp card, summon OG Trish, give it an ATK boost, halve ATK of opp's mons, and negate their effs.

1 OG Trish - When Sync'd: Banish 1 from opp's hand, field, and GY.

2 Gungnir - OPT: Discard up to 2; pop that number.

1 Wind Pegasus @Ignister - HOPT: Destroy (1) Spell/trap opp controls.  If card(s) you control is destroyed, banish self from GY; shuffle 1 opp card into Deck.

1 Coral Dragon - OPT: Discard 1; pop 1. If sent from field > GY: Draw 1.

2 Brionac - HOPT: Discard any number of cards; bounce the same number of cards opp controls.

1 Dewloren - HOPT: Return face-up cards you control to hand; it gains 500 ATK for each until end of turn.

1 AA-Zeus - Can be overlayed over an Xyz if an Xyz battled this turn. (Quick Eff): Detach 2; send all other cards on board to GY (not OPT).  If another card you control is destroyed by opp card: You can attach 1 card from Deck or ED to Zeus as material.

1 Drill Driver Vespenato - Can be overlayed on a Rank 4, but cannot be used as Xyz Material. Piercing. If destroyed by opp card, SS 1 level 5 or lower monster from GY.

1 Bahamut Shark - OPT: Detach 1; SS Toadally Awesome from ED.  Cannot attack if you use eff.

1 Toadally Awesome - Omni-Negate by tributing 1 Aqua from hand or field, also Set the negated card on your field.  If sent to GY, can add 1 WATER from GY > hand.

 

Side

3 Mind Drain (Side)

3 Heavy Storm Duster (Side)

1 Silent Angler (Side)

 

Cards traded for/received today

Mind Control, Solemn Warning, Lost Wind, Borreload Dragon, Mistar Boy, Knightmare Phoenix/Cerberus, Cross-Sheep, Puzzlomino

 

Strategy:

When I first built the deck, there was no good option for going first.  Now... it's still not great, but TCBOO and Crackdown make for excellent turn 1 power setups.  Going first, the play is usually to set up with one of those + Toad, or try to slow down the opponent's ability to respond by using something like Warlock of the IB.  Really though, the turn 1 board is variable; it is entirely dependent on what you have and what deck you're facing.  While I still like having extra options going second, I am becoming more willing to choose to go first with this deck.

Going second, plays are typically more obvious, as long as you have a decent understanding of what you're facing.  Break the opponent's board if you are in a position to, try to set up a lock if you aren't.  For the latter strategy, Defender of the IB is the MVP of the deck.  Given IB's status and people's expectations, opponents are usually willing to set up for the OTK and enter the Battle Phase before realizing they cannot attack because of Defender.  Since Defender is a continuous effect, it can sometimes be amusingly difficult for opponents to get around it, especially if you have the full lock (Defender + 2 IBs + Freezing Chains).

Thanks to Revealer of the IB, the deck has a pretty high rate of turning trash into Trishula.  Breaking the opponent's board is usually not too difficult if you have Revealer, however getting past hand traps or negation effects is the difficulty.  I can't really give any more advice here, but do everything you can to bait out opponent's stuff.  If you know the opponent's deck and what they likely have/can do, use that to your advantage as much as possible, because they likely won't know what you can do.