U.A. Deck Discussion

by **Tiger Soldier** Wed Dec 03, 2014 5:37 pm

Ultra Athlete archetype discussion
Article by Technomancer Jericho

Ultra Athlete, or U.A, are the lesser known TCG Exclusive that debuted in Duelist Alliance. At first they went unnoticed due to the other TCG Exclusive deck, Burning Abyss, being tons better. But then in New Challengers, they got the support that finally made them noticed. They’re one of the few good budget decks right now, and even though they won’t win big events, they’re still cheap to make and excellent for new players, utilizing a duel style using control, and a control deck with options at that.
While I won’t be providing a full decklist, I’ll provide some helpful hints to get you started. Let’s start with an analysis of each of the Athletes themselves.

BATTER UP!
U.A. Mighty Slugger is one of the more important Athletes, as he will be your main beatstick. Think of him as a mini Armades, Keeper of Boundaries, that you can Special Summon with more ease. When he attacks, your opponent is left almost defenceless, as they can no longer activate their oh-so helpful Traps! Because of this he’ll be your main (and more than likely only, depending on the build) attacker! I recommend running 3!

STRIKE!
U.A. Perfect Ace is less important, but he’s still needed. After attacking with Slugger, you’ll need to retreat into this guy. He’s not so important, but if your opponent activates a Soul Charge to try and shift control of the game, then this guy is your backup! With a swift overarm, he will negate the activation, with only the discarding of a card! He’ll help you keep the control while it’s your opponents turn! I recommend running 3!

BACK OF THE NET!
What a goal! U.A. Midfielder was a god-send from Konami, the first Level 4 Ultra Athlete. (You’ll see why that’s important soon!) This guy’s effect is not something you’ll use often, but this guy is there for a search off of U.A. Stadium, return your Ace’s for Sluggers, and then return for the Slugger you searched for. I recommend running 3!

TOP NOTCH SAVE!
U.A. Goalkeeper may seem flashy, but you won’t use him as often as you’d think, depending on the build. He’s the only Level 6 Athlete, but not that means much. He’s there incase your opponent can get over him or Ace, in which case you chain his effect to save them from death, just like saving a goal and the last minute. I recommend running 1-2!

State of the art equipment!
An Athlete is only as good as his equipment, so by running a state of the art U.A. Stadium, you can power up your Athletes with some home spirit! This field card will let you search for a U.A. when you normal summon Midfielder (or any other U.A.) and gives a once-per-turn 500 ATK boost when you Special Summon an Athlete, not to mention it’s stackable! But you’ll also need to sport your teams colours with U.A. Powered Jersey! This is quite the Equip Spell. It gives the equipped U.A. 1000 ATK, and when he attacks a monster and deals battle damage, it’s doubled and when they destroy an opponent’s monster by battle they can make a second attack. The only downside is that the equipped monster is banished in your next Standby Phase. Not that it matters, because when the equipped monster is returned to your hand, this card returns with it. This opens up allot of OTK potential with Slugger, if you have 2 of both this card and Slugger of course, which makes the deck even better! I recommend running 2-3 of both the Field and the Equip.

Cheerleaders and Mascots!
What good is a sports team without cheerleaders and mascots? Why not put Warrior Lady of the Wasteland on your cheer squad to search for your Ace’s, Goalkeepers and Midfielders. Effect Veiler can be used to negate the effects of opponent monsters (duh) and open up options to Synchro in the extra deck. And why not have some shenanigans with mascots? Giant Rat works just as well as Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, albeit a bit weaker, and Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders can be used as a medical assistance unit to revive your dead U.A.s!

Fundings?
Of course, every sports team needs to be funded, so we need draw power and searchers! Reinforcement of the Army can search out Midfielder and Terraforming can search for Stadium, letting you set up with ease. Making deals with the corporate funders like the Upstart Goblin will let you set up with ease when you need a +1, and Slugger can knock that 1000 extra Life Points down in no time! But every Athlete has a flashy car, and that’s why Cardcar D could be a good choice too!

Adoring Fans!
Every sports team has that “one fan” who would throw themselves at the chance to help the team, but in this case they’ll have no choice but to Tribute themselves for the Athletes! Using cards like The Monarchs Storm Forth and Mind Control can make your opponents monsters become instant glory supporters and Tribute them to bring out an Athlete! Or you can use Battle Fader to negate an attack and be used as Tribute fodder!

Origins of Sports?
Did you know the sports that the Ultra Athlete’s train in sports originally created by the ancient tribe of warriors known as the Battleguard? Okay, that was absolute bulls**t. But the two traps Battleguard Howling and Battleguard Rage can be used to fend off opponent monsters with the downside of sending them back to the hand, and Feast of the Wild LV5 can be used to get instant return material for your Ultra Athletes.

Extra Deck? Where we’re going we don’t need no Extra Deck!
While you should have an extra deck filled with Rank 5’s and a few Rank 4’s (and some Synchros if you’re running Veiler) don’t rely on it too much, else it will be your doom!
Only dip into it in times of need! If the move is needed for game, like GaGaGa Cowboy, then go for it, but if you can win with Slugger, it’s a better choice than going for a Rank 5 to try and push for game. Not to mention it totally breaks your U.A. returning chain!

Play Style
As I said earlier, U.A. are more or less control, but they can be used as beatdown too. Ace and Goalkeeper fend off enemies push for control, Slugger is used to deal max damage as possible to your opponent without having to worry about backrow and cards like Battle Fader. Midfielder is your basic searcher, as you’ll only really need him when Stadiums out. So, push for game your turn, stop your opponents plays, sounds easy right? It might seem difficult at first, but you’ll get the grasp of it really quickly, and in no time you’ll be playing this deck like it was second nature! But a downside I must point out is

Homework
Please note this is not mandatory homework, just a free project. If you post a screenshot of you winning with U.A. in reply to this then you get 25DP! I’d rather people built their own U.A. decks for this, but if you already have one then that’s great! I am also selling one in my store, and you are likely to see them pop up in other shops!