Karakuri Synchro: deck recipe

“Karakuri” is an archetype of EARTH Machine-Type monsters that was originally released in Valiant Souls and that has now, after several months, finally received further support.

“Karakuri” monsters have quite unique effects: as long as they are able to, most of them, with the exception of the Synchro monsters, are forced to attack and, when they are attacked, they change their battle position.

Ninishi is a Level 3 Tuner that, once per turn, allows you to Normal Summon a “Karakuri” monster in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. You can Normal Summon Ninishi and then Karakuri Merchant mdl 177 "Inashichi" or, if you don’t have another monster in your hand, you can use Karakuri Cash Cache to search it by switching Ninishi into Defense Position. When you Normal Summon it, Inashichi’s effect will trigger and you will get to add a “Karakuri” card from your Deck to your hand.

You would normally want a 0 ATK monster to stay in Defense Position, but the issue here is that Ninishi, when attacked, will be switched automatically back into Attack by its effect. If it’s the 1st Turn of the Duel, then you can Normal Summon Ninishi and leave it as it is, but, if it’s not and your opponent has any monsters on the field, you would be forced to crash into them.

This is just something you need to keep in mind when you are playing “Karakuri” monsters. Ninishi is obviously something you Summon and use right away to get Armades, Keeper of Boundaries or Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei" on the field, but, since all of your Main Deck monsters function in the same way, I thought it would be a good idea to say it in primis.

Karakuri Komachi + Karakuri Merchant = Armades, Keeper of Boundaries

Karakuri Komachi mdl 224 "Ninishi"

Karakuri Soldier mdl 236 "Nisamu"

Armades, Keeper of Boundaries

Having access to Armades is a great thing for any deck: thanks to Karakuri Cash Cache, you are able to search Inashichi after Summoning Ninishi, which makes it easier to get to the Level 5 Synchro.

Armades is a great answer to backrow-heavy decks with its ability to shut down cards like Wall of Disruption, Drowning Mirror Force and even Sphere Kuriboh.

Karakuri Komachi + Karakuri Soldier = Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei"

Karakuri Komachi mdl 224 "Ninishi"

Karakuri Soldier mdl 236 "Nisamu"

Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei"

At first glance, Burei may not seem that powerful: its ATK doesn’t even allow it to get over Masked HERO Anki, which is definitely still a relevant card in the current meta, but its ability to once per turn, change the Battle Position of a monster on the field, can be surprisingly helpful.

First of all, when Burei is Synchro Summoned, it allows you to Special Summon a “Karakuri” monster directly from your Deck: assuming you are able to clear the opponent’s backrow with a Hey, Trunade! or a Cosmic Cyclone on Turn 2 and destroy whatever monster they have face-up on the field with Offerings to the Doomed, Summoning Nisamu would already be enough to OTK your opponent.

If you think about, even when you are not considering Karakuri Anatomy, changing the Battle Position of a monster on the field is not a bad effect at all: Masked HERO Anki, Cosmo Brain, Koa'ki Meiru Maximus and Silent Magician LV8 would all become vulnerable to an attack from Burei after being switched into Defense.

Karakuri Komachi + Karakuri Merchant = Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei"

Karakuri Komachi mdl 224 "Ninishi"

Karakuri Merchant mdl 177 "Inashichi"

Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei"

Thanks to Level Augmentation, you can Normal Summon Ninishi, Normal Summon Inashichi, add another Inashichi to your hand and then increase the Level of one of your two monsters by 2. Now you have thinned your Deck, you have a play available for your next turn and you can Special Summon a Level 7 Synchro from your Extra Deck.

Karakuri Komachi + Karakuri Merchant = Stardust Dragon

Karakuri Komachi mdl 224 "Ninishi"

Karakuri Merchant mdl 177 "Inashichi"

Stardust Dragon

Stardust Dragon is great for certain matchups: it can deal quite well with Yubel Fire King and it can even be useful against Vampire and Koa'ki Meiru.

Normal Summon Ninishi, Normal Summon Inashichi, add another Ninishi to your hand and increase the Level of one of your monsters by 3: you can now Special Summon a Level 8 Synchro.

Karakuri Anatomy allows you to draw up to 2 cards, it has synergy with Karakuri Cash Cache, Karakuri Strategist mdl 248 "Nishipachi" and Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei", but you can also get Counters on it whenever one of your monsters is attacked.

“Karakuri” monsters seem to lack removal; you could run Trap Cards such as Mirror Wall or Widespread Ruin to get rid of problematic monsters, but that you’d have to wait for your opponent to attack you.

Offerings to the Doomed provides immediate removal, it can enable OTKs and you really don’t have to care about its drawback: thanks to Karakuri Anatomy, Karakuri Cash Cache and Inashichi, even if you are not able to finish off your opponent, you are hardly going to miss that draw.

I’ve already explained how you can use this Skill to Summon a Level 7 or 8 Synchro using Ninishi and Inashichi. It’s a great Skill, the only drawback is being limited to a “once per Duel” use.

With a 500 ATK boost, Burei is able to get over Blue-Eyes White Dragonand even Koa'ki Meiru Maximus. Pair this Skill with Cosmic Cyclone, if you want to have direct access to it.

• Like many other decks, Karakuri doesn’t have a reliable Turn 1 play: it’s quite easy to OTK this this deck and Offerings to the Doomed can turn out to be completely useless against Koa'ki Meiru. Sphere Kuriboh is very effective against any version of Koa'ki Meiru, except for the The Tie that Binds one.
• Without Hey, Trunade!, Paleozoic Canadia and Floodgate Trap Hole can shut down your combo by flipping Ninishi face-down.

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