Untap List
//play-1
1 Son Goku & Vegeta // Gogeta, Fateful Fusion (bt12-122)
//deck-1
3 Mira, Dimensional Superpower (ex15-05)
1 Pan, Time Patrol Maiden (bt15-155 scr)
2 Furthering Destruction Champa (bt1-005)
2 Super Kamehameha (bt8-104)
3 Supreme Kai of Time, Time Labyrinth Unleashed (bt13-135)
4 SSG Trunks, Power Awakened (bt16-107)
3 Secret Identity Masked Saiyan (bt10-140)
4 Vegeta, True Fighting Spirit (bt12-133)
4 Son Goku, True Fighting Spirit (bt12-128)
4 SS Vegeta, the Prince Strikes Back (bt11-130)
4 SS4 Vegeta, Feigned Greeting (p-307)
4 SS4 Son Goku, Beyond All Limits (p-262)
4 Supreme Kai of Time, Summoned from Another Dimension (p-288)
3 Gogeta, Fearless Fusion (bt12-137)
3 SS3 Gogeta, Marvelous Might (bt12-136)
4 SS3 Gogeta, Thwarting the Dark Empire (p-308)
With the long-awaited ban announcement taking place, GoX (Gogeta: Xeno) looked to be one of the primary targets on the list. Although the hit did take away some of the raw card advantage for the king of thwarting, it still left us with an easy shell to alter. Additionally with ROTG, the archetype picked up such a strong addition with SSG Trunks, Power Awakened.
Just the Beats and Only the Beats, Please.
SSG Trunks truly is a homerun for the archetype that adds a threat that doesn’t have to be played from hand, a 20k Dual Attacker, and a way to easily fuel powerful Over Realms such as Secret Identity, SS4 Son Goku, and SS4 Vegeta. All-around the card is an absolute banger and provides such a high amount of pressure at any stage of the game.
Turn 1, Thwarting
Turn 2, SSG Trunks + Fatty Over Realm
If you’re on the play, how is any opposing deck going to deal with you.. profitably? They’re not.
This is probably the best first two turns you will see from any deck in the format, and GoX is the best at facilitating it. The deck overall may have lost those advantage pieces with Smoke Dragon and Trunks 3 being banned, but the deck added the fattest beats to make up for that loss.
Unison Adjustment
Mira is the boy. The ability to tick up to warp a Trunks or a piece needed for fusion is exactly what this deck wants/needs. Additionally, the -2 ability is something the opponent always has to be concerned about as the game goes on. Again we’re losing that raw advantage from Smoke, but we’re picking up a value generating Unison that creates tension.
A Lesson Learned
As with every archetype I test and attempt to master, there is always a lesson to be learned and passed onto future Matt. With the game of DBS changing so much over the last year, we too must evolve and learn that the rules of engagement must change as well. DBS last year was definitely focused on maximizing the power level of your deck, whether it be offensively or defensively, within the first 3 turns of the game. This meant that you’d sacrifice card quality in some spots in order to reach critical mass at the appropriate time and establish control of the game.
DBS now is wildly different. With the amount of bans put in place, floodgates available, and checks within a given format; games now are going to go to turn 4 and beyond, almost always. What this means is that your deck must consist of absolute bangers across the course of the game, or have ways to consistently draw bangers every single turn. When you look at decks like Soul Striker and GoX, there is such a low number of cards that you’d hate to draw on turn 4 and beyond. This, along with other factors, is why then end up being so strong. They don’t require you to play niche, engine based cards. Instead, you’re left with just.. bangers.
Whereas when you look at decks like King Piccolo and Syn Shenron, and you breakdown each card’s raw power level.. they definitely come up short in those spots. The only difference is that Syn Shenron has a high potential early game, and a turn 6 ability to establish board control. Whereas King Piccolo’s card power level stays medium throughout the entirety of the game with no crazy spikes.
Golden Frieza is interesting because the deck does have high card quality, since it is Yellow. The major difference is that it must play lesser cards to act as a velocity engine to power you through your deck to find your high-powered threats.
This philosophy leads me to believe that Soul Striker, Gogeta: Xeno, and Golden Frieza make up Tier 1. King Piccolo and Syn Shenron end up being a step behind at Tier 1.5.
Conclusion
Gogeta: Xeno would easily by one of my top picks for the fest events coming up. People may be trying to strategize against you, but everything changes when they’re staring down Thwarting and SSG Trunks in the first two turns. I encourage you to test the list as is before making any wild tweaks. In general, I think this shell is a great starting point and provides you with enough power and consistency to show you how good the tandem of Trunks and Thwarting really are. That and you’ll probably be inspired to explore more Over Realm options in the future. Happy testing ❤
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