Kuhb has been testing their latest Yu-Gi-Oh deck for a while now.. it's been stress-tested with a whole lot of matches and effort. Check out this breakdown on Pacman as it continues to evolve and remains a favorite in Kuhb's repetoire.
The Burn Package
Pacman's biggest weakness is that it struggles to close games, giving the opponent inevitability to draw into their good cards for the matchup (Heavy Storm, BLS, etc.). The burn package works to speed up your clock while not detracting from the deck's core game plan.
- Wave-Motion Cannon is multi-faceted. It deals large chunks of damage to end games but also acts as a lightning rod for S/T removal. In a deck that wants to go long, I think Wave-Motion is a big threat.
- Nightmare Wheel/Cylinder offers protection to further the Pacman game plan while dealing valuable chip damage.
- Ceasefire protects from NoC and LV2 while still dealing damage—often in large chunks.
- Stealth Bird is an easy replacement for Locusts. That card is actually just not good. Almost every time I drew it in testing, I wanted something else.
I don't feel the need to add cards like Desserts or Barrel since they don't fit the deck's overall plan, but the small burn package has been very effective.
Morphing Jar
This is a card I only recently considered for the deck. It seems counter-intuitive to include a card that can draw the opponent a lot of cards in a deck built around stripping resources. However, in testing, Jar has been pretty good:
- Sometimes, it acts as a reset button to catch back up if you're unable to establish your setup.
- Other times, you dump your hand and gain more advantage than your opponent—effectively stripping their resources in the process.
- Later in the game, it can help dig for Solemns and other key cards to seal the win.
The card works well here, but I have less testing with it compared to other inclusions.
Book of Moon / Compulsory Evacuation Device
The primary reason? Thousand-Eyes Restrict. Plain and simple, we can't beat that card.
But their utility extends beyond that:
- BoM/Compulse protect your Pacman monsters, which is always valuable.
- There are many instances where I needed to BoM or Compulse a pesky Sangan or LV2 slipping under floodgates.
- This deck can afford to take minuses more often than I initially thought.
- Compulse also offers protection against NoC and battle traps.
- BoM helps against battle traps, allowing you to attack more aggressively.
- Often, you hesitate to attack with Lacooda or Scarabs because trading them for a Sakuretsu is a bad deal. These cards mitigate that risk.
Cyber Jar
I took inspiration for this from a discussion with JCVD about Goat Control siding. This is almost exclusively for Turbo matchups. You lose to Turbo in three ways:
- Snowballing advantage
- Unchecked BLS
- Overwhelming removal (RB, PWWB, MST, Dust, Heavy)
Cyber Jar is one of the few cards that can help fight all of these (except BLS in most cases). It refills your hand while also setting up Pacman monsters. I registered this card mostly on theory due to limited testing, but I believe it's worth considering in the sideboard.
Divine Wrath
This card is kinda nuts, honestly. It has been extremely powerful in testing, and I'm considering increasing the number of copies.
- It answers BLS, Thousand-Eyes Restrict, and LV2—three of the most problematic monsters for this deck.
- Discarding a card to remove these threats is a fair trade, as they must be dealt with.
- As mentioned earlier, this deck can afford to take minuses when necessary.
Curse of Royal
Just side this card in every single non-Decree matchup. I would include it in every Pacman list without hesitation.
Cards to Consider for Future Testing
- Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell
- More ways to combat Turbo snowball (I honestly can't think of any other options at the moment)
- Morphing Jar #2
- Tweaking numbers for BoM, Compulse, Wave-Motion, etc.
This deck still has room to grow, and I'm excited to see where it goes next.