Monarch

What is Monarch?

​Monarch (sometimes also referred to as "Soul Control") is a Yu-Gi-Oh! Goat Format deck distinguished by its use of monarch tribute monsters: Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, Mobius the Frost Monarch, Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, and/or Granmarg the Rock Monarch. There are many styles of Monarch decks, varying in terms of the number of tribute monsters and also how aggressive the deck is. The most notable Monarch support cards are Soul Exchange (hence the name "Soul Control") and Brain Control, but Creature Swap, Enemy Controller, and Metamorphosis can also make for a good tribute fodder with appropriate deckbuilding.

How Does Monarch Work?

Monarch decks live and die by their ability to effectively tribute summon monarch monsters to apply pressure to their opponents. Most Monarch decks opt to max out on Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch because its effect almost always live, unlike Mobius and Granmarg, which can sometimes hit chainable cards sets. Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, on the other hands, requires the opponent to control multiple monsters in order to combo with Soul Exchange or Brain Control, which does not happen often.

Since it is not possible to build a deck with just monarch monsters and spell support like Soul Exchange, players have to decide what other support engines they are going to play. This is where the variety in Monarch decks comes from. Some players prefer to just play a bunch of good flip effect monsters (such as Dekoichi, the Battlechanted Locomotive), which will provide a good tribute fodder once they are flipped. These monsters need help to survive in battle, which is easier said than done. Because of that, some players decide to take another route by playing defensive monsters such as Big Shield Gardna, Spirit Reaper, Legendary Jujitsu Master and Gravekeeper’s Spy which can better survive attacks. The latter two can even gain card advantage while doing so. Scapegoat combined with Metamorphosis, Creature Swap, or Enemy Controller is another way of providing tribute fodder for the Monarch player.

Goat Control and Chaos Control decks are quite popular in Goat Format, and they almost always play 2 copies of Tsukuyomi. You will notice that Tsukuyomi can single-handedly kill every monarch, which is a big problem. Most Monarch lists answer this problem by playing many battle traps like Sakuretsu Armor, which also happen to work really well with the flip effect tribute fodder strategy. Trap Dustshoot has also been tried as a means of combating Tsukuyomi.
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Monarch Example Decklist

https://www.duelingbook.com/deck?id=3822321

Why Monarch is Viable

While Goat Control and Chaos Control decks might not be the deck’s easiest matchups, Monarch is able to perform well against both of them if build and handled properly; answering Tsukuyomi is the key. On the other hand, Monarchs are really strong against Anti-Meta Warriors due to the power of cards like Mobius the Frost Monarch and Gravekeeper's Spy (even if only sided) in that matchup. Monarchs have done well in GoatFormat.com’s ranked ladder, helping me stay ranked in the top3 with the "Master!" medal throughout 2019.
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Do you have any questions about Monarch or want to share your own Monarch decklist? We’d love to hear from you in the comments. Want expert help to construct your own Monarch deck? Then join our Discord server.

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Siwski

​Siwski is a player from Slovenia who prefers setting Magical Merchant and Book of Moon than playing current format Yu-Gi-Oh! His current format career lasted from 2015's Nekroz format to the introduction of link monsters. He was frequently topping regionals at that time but also enjoyed playing Goat Format with his friends. He joined the online Goat Format community with the launch of GoatFormat.com's discord server and has been an active player since. Other than setting Merchants, he enjoys reading a good book, watching cat videos, and lifting weights.