OCG 2015.01 with Nekroz

The OCG 2015.01 Forbidden and Limited List may have hit Nekroz quite hard with the limitation of Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, Senju of the Thousand Hands, The Nekroz Armor of Unicore and Preparation of Rites to 1 each, but Nekroz is far from being obsolete.

With some innovation, the Japanese have found ways to keep Nekroz competitive and relevant in the new format.

Date: 27th December 2014
Number of Participants: 192 players (64 teams)

Source: @Scottish0601

Swiss Round 1: Seeded
Swiss Round 2: Artifact Constellar XOO
Swiss Round 3: Nekroz XO (Team won)
Swiss Round 4: Shaddoll OO
Top 16: Shaddoll OXO
Top 8: Evilswarm OO
Top 4: Shaddoll OO
Final: Nekroz OO

Source: @Scottish0601

With a record of 6-0-1, Scottish’s Nekroz was able to win the tournament for his team. He opted to replace the limited Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, Senju of the Thousand Hands with Gishki Chain. Gishki Chain runs the risks of not hitting any Ritual Monster or Spell Cards, but has the added bonus of being able to stack your next 2-3 draws.

In addition, he ran a set of Tour Guide From the Underworld to fetch Djinn Releaser of Rituals as tributes for The Nekroz Armor of Brionac or even The Nekroz Armor of Trishula. Tour Guide From the Underworld also allows him to Xyz for Leviair the Sea Dragon to bring back Djinn Releaser of Rituals or Schritt, Caster of the Nekroz should the need arise.

Date: 27th December 2014
Number of Participants: 234 players (78 teams)

Source: @miiiiiikunn

Swiss Round 1: Chain Burn OXO
Swiss Round 2: Infernity OXO
Swiss Round 3: Nekroz OXO
Swiss Round 4: Evilswarm OO
Swiss Round 5: HERO OXX
Swiss Round 6: Nekroz XX
Top 8: Shaddoll OO
Top 4: Evilswarm OXO
Final: Nekroz OO

Source: @miiiiiikunn

With an impressive record of 7-2, Miwi-kun (みゐくん) chose to run Deep Sea Diva in his Nekroz. Deep Sea Diva fetching Atlantean Heavy Infantry opens up the option to either Synchro for Herald of the Arc Light, or Xyz for Armored Kappa or Divine Knight Saintaurea.

Herald of the Arc Light sets him up for future plays as it could negate an opponent’s card effect, while still fetching a Ritual card for him. Armored Kappa provides him with answers to opponent’s threats through Atlantean Heavy Infantry‘s effect.

Source: はっちcsのblog

Horohoro (ホロホロ) took a step further by adding Mathematician alongside the Deep Sea Diva engine.

Similar to the Tour Guide From the Underworld engine, Mathematician dropping Djinn Releaser of Rituals generates tributes for The Nekroz Armor of Brionac. Moreover, Mathematician doubles up as an answer to opponent’s threat by dropping Pero Pero Cerberus.

Reports of Nekroz’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. On the contrary, Nekroz remains as a strong contender in this metagame. Unless “Crossover Souls” brings in a new contender, Nekroz is here to stay and you better be prepared for it.