#mathmech

So first off, let me clarify that this friend was being hyperbolic: Tri-Brigade this is not. Mathmech’s not exactly Salamangreat either, though it is something like a mix of both. If you looked at the Synchros, you’d probably be convinced that this is a going-second deck, and if you looked at everything else, you’d probably think it’s a grindy setup-based deck. In short, it’s midrange (and so is Salamangreat, for the record): it has proactive and reactive options, isn’t helpless going second, and has solid engines for card advantage that let it play a longer game if need be. It also has plenty of space for hand traps.

Let’s start with the key cards: Mathmech Superfactorial is the reason for comparison to Tri-Brigade. It’s much like Tri-Brigade Revolt, one of the best cards in the format, except it leads to a lot less advantage because none of the Mathmechs float. In exchange, it leads to potentially better disruption since the card it summons, Primathmech Laplacian, sends up to two cards on field and one in hand to the GY. This deck’s going-first play will usually always be to set up Superfactorial and search it if necessary, which can be done via Primathmech Alembertian.

Cynet Mining is a natural 3-of in any Cyberse deck. Similarly to Salamangreat, this card can efficiently put two cards in a useful place if you send Sigma to activate it, or you send a level 4 Cyberse and then search and summon Division.

Geomathmech Final Sigma is a Virtual World tech is a powerful option in simplified game states, since it puts the burden on your opponent to out a big unaffected monster. Final Sigma also has some other interesting quirks: double battle damage helps to close out games, and since it’s unaffected by everything except Mathmech cards, you also don’t have to tribute it off of your own copy of Nibiru, the Primal Being, so it’s not a bad card to sit on either. Most decks will have to make a vulnerable Link-4 to out this, so Nibiru, Infinite Impermanence, and potentially Effect Veiler could prevent your opponent from doing so.

What about that advantage engine? Cyberse Wicckid is a rarely-played card outside of @Ignister, but in this deck, it searches three of your best maindeck monsters: Sigma in case you don’t have it in GY, Diameter as a follow-up play after your first turn, or Nabla if you don’t need either for some reason. It also can’t be destroyed by battle or card effects, so it tends to stick on the board, and the search is a Trigger Effect, so if you can summon to a zone it points to on your opponent’s turn and your own turn, you can search twice. And guess what, Superfactorial means this deck can do that.

So the gameplan is to set up Superfactorial into Laplacian going first with Cyberse Wicckid in the EMZ if available. Once your opponent’s committed to a play, you’ll flip Superfactorial, sending at least two of their cards to the GY and ideally stopping them from playing further. If you have Wicckid, you can search as well. What are the simplest combos that can lead to either of these?

Superfactorial needs three Mathmech names in GY in order to summon Laplacian, so naively it would require that you see three different named Mathmechs, at least two of which can Special Summon themselves. Nabla doesn’t summon itself, but if you manage to summon Nabla during the combo, that can account for two of those names, so let’s start with Nabla plus a way to get a Mathmech on board. That would include these combos, the result of which we’ll call half combo for now:

Nabla (or any way to search it that isn’t Alembertian) + Addition/Subtraction/Sigma

Cynet Mining + Sigma/Nabla

All of these combos end on Linguriboh + a set and live Superfactorial. Furthermore, if you draw the Superfactorial, any method of making Alembertian with at least one Mathmech monster works, since Alembertian can search Nabla and then summon it from hand. In either case, this is the weakest possible combo that achieves the goal, and every subsequent card in your hand that summons itself, summons something else, or goes +1 will leave you with an extra card on field at some point during the combo. How you apply this card depends on the hand, but in general, any extenders that don’t use a normal summon should be used as early as possible because an early Linguriboh can protect your plays, and the cards that go +1 generally need to be protected in order to ensure they resolve. Before I enter a discussion about those, though, extensions to this combo should look like this:

Combo with a +0 extender (we’ll call this “full combo”): Wicckid + Linguriboh + Superfactorial set with 3 names including Diameter + one search off of Wicckid

Combo with Parallel Exceed: Can either be full combo, OR Wicckid + Superfactorial set with 3 names + Laplacian made once*, OR Final Sigma + Superfactorial set with 3 names

Combo with Parallel and a +0 extender: Wicckid + Linguriboh + Superfactorial set with 3 names + Laplacian made once + one search off of Wicckid

*This combo only works if Nabla summons Sigma and Sigma later summons itself from GY, so Sigma cannot be your extender in this case

That final combo is basically 4 cards so I’m stopping there. You can probably end on Wicckid pointing down to I:P with Superfactorial for 3 if you have a perfect hand that resolves every +1 in your deck. Speaking of which...

Mathmech’s only archetypal +1s are Diameter and Sigma, but Division is the best way to get duplicate names out of hand, so it’s not exactly a plus, but it does let you use a card that wouldn’t be useful otherwise. This card is probably the worst Mathmech I’d say you have to play since loses the hardest to targeted negation (and can never be protected with Linguriboh), but it also enables lines of play that lead to double Laplacian. Diameter is obviously good just for going +1, but the negation effect it gives your monsters means it protects your plays going first and adds to your disruption going second. Seeing it first turn isn’t super rewarding without Cynet Mining or extenders, but it’s not like those hands don’t happen, and it’s the best card to search off of Wicckid hands down.

Mathmech’s built-in extenders are Addition, Subtraction, and Sigma. None of the other cards in the deck Special Summon themselves. If you noticed that Sigma is listed as both an extender and a +1, it’s because it is, just never both in the same turn.

Any other desirable extender for Mathmech would be a Level 4 Cyberse monster that summons itself, or any card that summons one from the deck. Parallel Exceed is actually both, and is automatically one of the best cards in the deck for that reason. Apart from that, there are 40 maindeck Level 4 non-Ritual Cyberse Effect monsters in the game, but the only ones that come close to helping here are Balancer Lord and Salamangreat Fowl, and neither of them improve hands with a single normal summon and no extenders, so we’ll have to think outside of the box. I present Unexpected Dai as a solution: it’s really not great since it necessitates a brick, but it’s superior to all the above because it doesn’t require playing a useless card in extra or getting your entire play stopped by Veiler/Impermanence. Starting your turn with Unexpected Dai and getting ashed (which rarely happens) means next to nothing for most hands, but the extra monster can lead to a lot more, since the Leotron it summons can go directly into Linguriboh, protecting the rest of your plays from Impermanence and other backrow alike. Having to normal it yourself if you draw it sucks and you will occasionally see hands with both Dai and Leotron, but double Fowl or double Balancer Lord isn’t actually any better.

All of the engine cards discussed so far add up to 30 cards if we play one Leotron, one Division, one Foolish Burial (for Sigma and Diameter targets) and three of everything else. Three Pot cards of choice makes 33, so let’s pick one. Extravagance isn’t even remotely on the table, so it’s down to Prosperity and Desires, and there’s a case for both: Prosperity is more consistent in decks with unique named combo pieces, like this one, but Desires nets an extra card, this deck is short on +1s, and it cares a lot about doing damage quickly. Additionally, while Desires could brick your hand by removing the single copies of Leotron and Division from your deck, you have three Cynet Mining and three Nabla to get Division out of your deck when you need it, and banishing Leotron only matters if you then draw Unexpected Dai afterwards. As a result I’m partial to Desires.

That leaves 7 open spaces to make 40 cards, and with Desires, it’s fine to go over by a bit. 9 hand traps makes 42, so let’s go with sets of Impermanence and Nibiru as mentioned before, and throw in three Ash Blossoms because it’s easily the best handtrap remaining. This leaves us with:

And here’s a ygoprodeck link to the above deck with a basic side added.

Notes on the extra:

14 cards in extra because there’s one easy flex spot. Light Dragon @Ignister and Topologic Trisbaena are prime candidates. Splash Mage is the least essential card here if you’d like to cut another.

The second Linguriboh is not optional; many combos make both in one turn.

Link Spider turns a Nibiru token into a Cyberse monster, which lets you extend a tributed board into a Wicckid.

The Mathmech cards in extra are the bare minimum required for 4 turn games. Most games don’t go much longer than this, but for ones that do, a third Alembertian might be helpful.

Update Jammer isn’t technically necessary for the Accesscode OTK if you can get to Nabla, but it’s still worth the slot for enabling 3-card OTKs and cheesing random rogue strategies.

Transcode Talker is the only completely essential card here that prevents you from summoning non-Cyberse cards from anywhere but your Extra Deck. Technically that means you could play Dogmatika cards, but it doesn’t really pair with the deck’s gameplan (also I realized it late into writing this post and don’t have time to develop the thought further).

Geomathmech Magma is strong enough to play for its effect alone, though it is also used to help make Final Sigma with Sigma and any extender. Incidentally, this takes exactly 5 summons.

Finally, things to look out for. If the following cards are ever released, this deck should get a fair bit stronger:

Any unconditional Level 4 Cyberse extender

Decode Talker Heatsoul

Any other Cyberse Rank 4 with a playable effect

Any good Cyberse Fusion monster should be accessible easily too.