Back again with a deck profile is everyone's favorite mod, NotSoGallantGallade~

Last time, I wrote to all of you about the very anti-meta Rock Stun, and in a way I'll be continuing the trend of control decks with this article. If you couldn't guess from the title, I'm gonna be profiling some Dinos, but not ones that align themselves with cellphone-carrying rodents. No, these are Evols I'm looking at here, the archetype that created the behemoths known as Laggia, Dolkka and Solda. Or, alternatively, "Annoying."

With the new format looming and the Big Three (Dino Rabbit, Wind-Ups and Inzektors) seemingly poised to dominate everything, people are ragequitting the game like no other time after a banlist, and some think there's no hope until September, when Konami presumably rains down some restrictions on the decks. Well, I think that come May, there'll be a very solid answer to those decks, and to Dino Rabbit, it's fighting fire with fire... literally.

First, let's look at the good and the bad (not the ugly, there isn't one here ) of the deck.

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-Evolzars. 'Nuff said.
-Ability to control the game from turn 1 is top-tier.
-Several monsters with high ATK/DEF in the main deck
-Instant Xyz'ing
-If you jump on the bandwagon now, you'll still be pretty hipster.
-Other than some Extra Deck cards, the deck is very budget-friendly right now.
-Nobody expects them very much.

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-If your Xyz play is countered, it can definitely be hard to recover.
-2600+ monsters are difficult to deal with without techs (which is why I run Mole).
-Drawing into Evolsaurs can suck.
-Hasn't gotten full TCG support yet.

I'm sure Laggia would much rather hang with his cousins than a rabbit and some distant, bland (as in Normal ) relatives, so... yeah. I dunno, maybe if you believe in karma that's a plus. Anyways, on to a sample decklist, the one I'm running with at the time I post this article. Cards listed under the image mirror the order in which they appear:

Spoiler:

Now, there are a lot of things going on in this deck, so I'm just going to go through basic key cards, plus a combo or two to get started. In another article, depending on how the poll goes, I may expand further on these lovable creatures.

First of all, let's focus on a pair of GAOV cards.

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Diverse Evolution
Spell / Normal
Add 1 "Evoltile" or "Evolsaur" monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only activate 1 "Diverse Evolution" per turn.

Hells yeah, Evols are getting a ROTA. This has two main uses:
1. Bringing an Evoltile to your hand to set up a play by way of Lagosuchus, Najasho, etc.
2. Bringing an Evolsaur to hand to set up a play by way of Odonto or Elias.
Usually, it'll be the first option, but either way, this card adds so much consistency to the deck, it's... well, actually, it's pretty funny when you win. It'll basically be an automatic 3 in your deck after it's released.

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Evoltile Lagosuchus
Fire / Level 3
Reptile / Effect
1200 ATK / 500 DEF
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can send 1 "Evolsaur" monster from your Deck to the Graveyard. When this card is flipped face-up: You can Special Summon 1 "Evoltile" monster from your Deck.

Yep, they get a Foolish Burial too, or an easy way to get to Westlos or Najashos. Likely the best use for his effect is sending an Evolsaur to the grave, then SS'ing Evolsaur Vulcano with an Evoltile or Evo-Force to revive the 'Saur and overlay for Rank 4. His overall utility is why he's a great one-of in the deck once he's set loose upon the TCG.

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Now, obviously you're not getting these cards for a few months, but fear not! The deck is potent for sure right now, as Michael Smith-Grant proved with his top 32 finish at YCS Atlanta with Evols. It mainly boils down to two Evoltiles in particular, Westlo and Najasho, the latter a TCG exclusive.

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Evoltile Westlo
Fire / Level 3
Reptile / Effect
700 ATK / 1900 DEF
FLIP: Special Summon 1 "Evolsaur" monster from your Deck.

Just looking at his DEF, you can tell that he can stick around if he wants to. Thunder King? HA!
He's also a Level 3, which is compatible with himself or Lagosuchus for a Zenmaines or other Rank 3 Xyz, or for level boosting via Darwinos into a Rank 5.

Obviously though, we want him for the effect. Attack into him, or leave him on the field for a turn untouched, and you get a free Evolsaur out of it. Go into Vulcano late-game for an instant Xyz, grab Elias when you have one in hand for instant Solda/Exa-Beetle/etc, or whatever the situation calls for, go Darwinos for Rank 5 or whatever you need, there are a slew of options. That's the wonder of Evols: they're almost as toolboxy as Glads.

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Evoltile Najasho
Fire / Level 2
Reptile / Effect
100 ATK / 2000 DEF
If this card on the field is Tributed: You can Special Summon 1 "Evolsaur" monster from your Deck.

I do believe that this TCG exclusive is the best monster Evols main-deck. His effect is just so abusable, in so many easy ways... he wins games, simple as that.

First off, consider this quite basic move: Your opponent controls a Number 39: Utopia and a Stratos. Set Najasho, activate Enemy Controller to snag Utopia, then SS Evolsaur Cerato by Najasho's effect. Now overlay Utopia Ray from your Extra Deck onto Utopia, destroy Stratos in battle with Cerato, and fish out another Evoltile, then swing with Utopia. Congratulations, you just netted a load of advantage thanks to Najasho and a Spell staple in Evols.

Let's move on now to the real fun: Najasho plus Evo-Force:

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Evo-Force
Spell / Normal
Tribute 1 "Evoltile" monster; Special Summon 1 "Evolsaur" monster from your Deck. It is treated as if it was Special Summoned by the effect of an "Evoltile" monster.

You already see where this is going, don't you?

Scenario 1: Your opponent has two backrow cards.
-Set Najasho, activate Evo-Force and tribute him.
-Special Summon two Evolsaur Diplo, first from Evo-Force then by Najasho.
-Use Diplos' effects to pop both their backrow cards.
-Xyz into your Rank 4 of choice, and beat face.

Scenario 2: You have two Level 4 Evolsaurs in your grave.
-Set Najasho, activate Evo-Force, bring out two Evolsaur Vulcanos.
-Use their effects to revive the Ceratos.
-Xyz all of them for 2 Rank 4's, probably Laggia and Dolkka.

There are a lot of different ways you can go about this, too. Go into Diplo for extra MST power, Vulcano for recycling fun, or Cerato and his then-2100 ATK to run over things, plus off of that, then maybe Xyz. Heck, go into two Elias and overlay for Solda, if that's what works best.

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By this point, you know the strategies of Evols and what makes them so good: they use the Evoltiles as a stepping stone for the big guns, then plus off of that either through their effects or the Xyz's, and essentially just aim to keep control the whole game through these plays. If you're not convinced of their effectiveness, well, this wasn't a persuasive article anyways. But whether you're a fan or not, it's hard to deny that they have serious potential.

Anyways, I have one last thing to show you all for the time being: the misleadingly named Zenmaister loop. All you need is a Set Westlo and an Evolsaur in hand.

-Say your opponent's Tengu attacks Westlo. You flip, SS Cerato, they pass.
-On your turn, swing with Cerato if you can (and bring a Westlo to hand), then normal summon an Evolsaur and overlay into Wind-Up Zenmaister.
-Use Zenmaister's effect to detach a monster and flip Westlo face-down. Since you didn't change Westlo's position, subsequently flip him back up and SS Vulcano.
-Use Vulcano's effect to SS Cerato, then Xyz into Laggia or whatever.
-If your field doesn't change next turn, do it again and have more Xyz happiness. Heck, you can even normal summon Westlo after all that and go into Zenmaines, Giga Brilli-Ant, etc.

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March 2012's format is shaping up to be one filled with controversy and carnage, if the pre-format chatter has anything to say about it. Many expect Dino Rabbit, Wind-Ups and Inzektors to wreck the rest of the field for months, and many others aren't even going to take part in all that, too disgusted by the banlist to play competitively. It's not as if there's no hope, though: Six Sams and T.G. have won the last two YCS's, players who do stay in the game will shift their attentions to stopping the Big Three in one way or another, and a new set hits the TCG in early May. With it will come just what Evols need to hit the big time for real, and I know I'll be there to join that action.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next installment of this probable series. NotSoGallantGallade the Absol, out.