SDCC Promo Krillin offers a distinct advantage over the standard Krillin Lvl1.

There is no doubt that a well-made Black deck in the current environment can wreak havoc on your opponent’s best-laid plans. As I explained in our State of the Game – Black Style article, Black style is all about manipulation of a player’s cards in hand and reducing the cards potentially available to them in their Life Deck and Discard Pile. Black Krillin ramps up control another level by teaming manipulation with critical effects on a frequent basis. This is the deck I’m currently running and I find it very strong against some of the more dominant decks in the metagame.

Krillin’s Personality Cards

Krillin’s powers have great synergy with the Black Devious Mastery and compensate for areas where Black style is lacking. I currently run the San Diego Comic Con promo of Krillin’s Level 1 personality to leverage his Level 1 power as long as possible which creates a floating effect that stays active until a card is discarded from a hand. The discard can occur in any fashion, via the Mastery or other card effect. This critical effect can help discard allies or lower an opponent’s anger – anger control which is sometimes lacking within the currently available Black Style card pool.

But Krillin’s higher level powers won’t leave you at a disadvantage. If you are forced up to his higher levels, he has some great powers that disrupt your opponent’s hand.

Style of play

Black Scout Maneuver makes a welcome return in Panini DBZ to help keep your opponent’s future plans in check!

The best way to play this deck is defensively. You need to let your opponent come to you and force their hand, using your turn to regroup and set your board up to wait for the right time to push your advantage.

To play Black well, you need to understand your opponent and the style they are playing. You need to know the threats in each style so you can use cards like Black Searching Technique and Black Scout Maneuver to get rid of future headaches. This makes it very important to research other styles’ strengths and then read your opponent’s play.

Defensive Cards

As Black has a hard time utilising the help of Allies, and has no protection in the form of drills, I play nearly all the blocks available to me in my deck. Make sure you have enough defense to counter your opponent. The stand out Black blocks are Black Finger Block for physical and Black Swipe for energy attacks. Make sure you make the most of your limited defensive resources, as most secondary effects help you manipulate your opponent’s hand in some way. Weigh up your options and choose wisely!

Offensive Cards

Most Black Style attacks have cool effects to help manipulate your opponent. My favourites include Black Energy Web and Black Defensive Burst. If these attacks are successful, they prevent your opponent from performing either energy or physical attacks for the remainder of combat. Sometimes a powerful offense is the best defense!

One of the most powerful attacks in Krillin’s arsenal.

In this particular deck, you should also consider running cards like Krillin’s Solar Flare and Blinding Energy Move. If you find yourself at the losing end of a tough combat, these cards can help you get out of a jam. This deck’s objective is to hit and run, so do what you can and then leave your opponent hanging.

Without a doubt, the most effective card is Krillin’s Destructo Disc. An attack hitting for 5 life cards and 1 stage can sometimes make all the difference, particularly if you’re looking for a critical effect.

This deck shouldn’t rely offensively on physical attacks as Krillin’s power levels are too prohibitive. Aim for attacks with effects that remove cards from your opponent’s discard pile, as most top tier decks attempt to use their discard pile to their advantage.

Try and avoid energy attacks with high costs as they may eat away at valuable stages you need to absorb against a physical beatdown deck.

Rounding out the deck

Many staple cards are obvious inclusions in this deck, including Confrontation, Time is a Warrior’s Tool and Heroic Energy Sphere.

However, there are a few other cards that may help support your plans. For setups, look at Black Searching Technique which allows you to rid your opponent’s deck of two potential threats – whether those threats are attacks, or allies, or setups. Another setup to check out is Visiting the Past where you can pick and choose something from your discard pile that will help you – will an extra defensive card be what you need, or is it time to finish off your opponent with an additional energy attack?

Another fun card to look at is Black Reflection, which can add a whole new level of frustration to your opponent as their attacks are thrown back at them. Your options are limitless!

Need help?

 

Do you need some help tweaking your deck for your local metagame? We’d love to help you out. Feel free to send in your decklists to dbz@tak-games.com.au and we will give you some advice to maximise your potential.

If there are other decks you would like us to cover, let us know via Facebook (TAKGames.au) or Twitter (@TAKGames_au).

Game on!

– Trent (@TAKGames_Trent)