While some Duelists gather cards to build their X-Saber and Infernity Decks, something lurks in the deep: a new strategy that mixes Fish cards with Genex monsters.

Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth is the Fish Duelist’s trump card.  You can use its effect to discard a card and Special Summon as many Level 4 or lower Fish monsters as you can from your Deck.  Those Fish can’t attack, but they can be used for Synchro Summons.

-2 Royal Swamp Eel and 2 Level 4 Fish will let you Synchro Summon 2 Level 8 Synchro Monsters.

-2 Royal Swamp Eel, a Level 4 Fish, and Oyster Meister will get you a Level 7 Synchro Monster and Mist Wurm. (Oyster Meister’s effect Special Summons a Level 1 Token.)

Since the Coelacanth itself has 2800 ATK, it’s not hard to put together 8000 ATK or more when you Summon 2 Synchro Monsters.  Since this combo sends at least 4 Fish to your Graveyard, you can use Pot of Avarice to draw more cards – and reload your Fish to use Coelacanth’s effect again next turn. 

This strategy has been around for over a year, but the Deck never took off because it had to rely on Mausoleum of the Emperor to Normal Summon Coelacanth; try to get Coelacanth to the Graveyard and bring it back with Call of the Haunted; or copy its effect with Phantom of Chaos. All of which were tough to set up.

Thanks to The Shining Darkness, its far easier to do these things. In fact, you don’t even need to use Mausoleum of the Emperor anymore because the new cards from The Shining Darknessmake it so easy to send Coelacanth to the Graveyard… and bring it back!

With 3 Nimble Sunfish, 3 Genex Undine, and Foolish Burial, a Fish Duelist has up to 7 ways to send Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth straight from the Deck to the Graveyard.  So what next?

Once the Coelacanth is lurking in your Graveyard, you can use Phantom of Chaos to copy its effect, or Special Summon it with Call of the Haunted.  But that’s not all: Genex Undine gets you Genex Controller from your Deck. It’s not a Fish, but it is a Normal Monster, and that means you can use it with the Spell Card Symbols of Duty to Special Summon Coelacanth.

7 Colored Fish is a Level 4 Normal Monster, so you can use it as part of your Coelacanth combo: you can Special Summon it with Royal Swamp Eel for a Level 8 Synchro Summon, or you can send it to the Graveyard for Symbols of Duty’s activation cost.  All your cards work together, making for an explosive Deck that can Summon 3 massive monsters as early as Turn 2.  With 7 cards to send Coelacanth to the Graveyard, and 7 more cards to Special Summon it or copy its effect, you’ll start nearly half your Duels with some form of the combo in your opening hand.

With all that Graveyard-filling power, you can play another powerful Fish card too: Fishborg Blaster.  When you control a Level 3 or lower Water monster like Oyster Meister or Genex Undine, you can Special Summon Fishborg Blaster from your Graveyard by discarding any card.  Fishborg is a Level 1 Tuner, so it opens up a lot of cool combos.  Tune it to Coelacanth for a Level 8 Synchro Summon, combo it with 2 Level 4 Fish for Mist Wurm, or try this move on Turn 1!

This is a great opening combo: it gets you Genex Controller, and it lets you Synchro SummonArmory Arm, a stronger attacker than Genex Undine.  It also puts Fishborg Blaster in your Graveyard, and if you drew Coelacanth you can discard it to prep all your combos.  If your opening hand has Undine and Coelacanth, this is usually your best move – it even sets you up for an early Pot of Avarice.  Here are some cards this Deck usually plays:

The Genex Fish Deck is flashy, fast, and easy to build.  It’s a lot of fun to play, and it can surprise even veteran opponents.  Try it yourself: one Duel and you’ll be hooked!