Gyutaro/Daki Deck List and Guide (Vol. 2) – UNION ARENA
The Gyutaro/Daki deck gets a huge buff in UNION ARENA: Demon Slayer Vol. 2. Below, we’ll be diving deep into some of the deck’s key new cards and how they uplevel the Gyutaro/Daki Purple strategy.
Gyutaro/Daki – key new cards in Demon Slayer Vol. 2
Although Gyutaro/Daki has never been considered a top tier UNION ARENA deck, it can do some serious damage under the right circumstances. Back when the first Demon Slayer UNION ARENA set came out, I took first place with Gyutaro/Daki at a 20+ player tournament. While the UNION ARENA meta is much more challenging now than it was then, it still should be able to compete thanks to a few important upgrades.
Zero-cost Gyokko adds vital early game draw
Before Vol. 2, Gyutaro/Daki lacked a natural third zero-cost character to include. This typically meant you had to run Teoni as your other zero. Vol. 2 gives Purple Demon Slayer access to Gyokko, however, and he is essentially a staple now in those decks. You can also run his Raid form in Gyutaro/Daki, although he fits a little less seamlessly into this build than the Muzan deck.
BP reducing cards Gyutaro and Daki
One really big bummer about Gyutaro/Daki in Vol. 1 was the fact that your Purple Color Trigger was somewhat useless.
Although it was one of the earliest sets in the game, even by the time it came out most removal decks were capable of taking out 4000 BP characters with relative ease. Color Trigger Gyutaro only sidelines 3000 BP characters, meaning it’s only reliable for taking out chump blockers. Now, however, with the two new cards this deck gets in Vol. 2, Gyutaro is able to take out 4000BP+ characters reliably.
Using one-cost Gyutaro and four-cost Daki, you can put opposing characters well within Gyutaro’s removal effect. However, it’s still not without its own drawbacks. First, you have to combo it just right to make this possible – and that’s easier said than done with a two-AP character. Second, Gyutaro doesn’t come in active when he is played, putting him at an inherit disadvantage to other removal characters like Roy Mustang or Mechamaru. Although at least his lower energy cost makes him easier to curve into.
Additionally, four-cost Daki does have an added effect beyond the “When Played” BP reduction aimed at empowering two-AP Gyutaro. Pay one AP and you can grant Impact +1 to a Gyutaro character on your field. However, this Impact +1 is of limited usefulness as most of the time your opponent won’t want to be blocking Gyutaro anyways as losing to him just means he switches to active anyways.
Raid Daki gets a massive buff
While the BP reduction that turns Gyutaro into an actual removal deck – albeit a limited one – is what strengthen this deck the most, Daki also does get a powerful new Raid mechanic that makes her theoretically far more useful.
Previously, Raid Daki was not all that effective. She primarily was a low-cost (for the time) Raid character that could be used to push aggression on your opponent early in the game. Her “When Sidelined” effect hardly impacted the game as it was limited to having another 3500 BP character around at the cost of a card resource – something that rarely felt worth it.
Now, however, with two-cost Daki, you can bring a Raid Daki back via her ability, and then raid her all over again via your two-cost Daki. It’s a bold move that makes Raid Daki considerably more effective on her own.
Raid Gyutaro remains your strongest attacker
While Gyutaro/Daki gains significant power thanks to Vol. 2 compared to where it was at before, this deck’s strongest character by far remains Raid Gyutaro. In fact, Gyutaro is still so strong even in the current meta that he would be a powerful secondary attacker in just about any deck imaginable. Being able to draw a card when attacking and also not really being able to be blocked without your opponent sacrificing a blocker first for no reason is a solid play. If the rest of the deck were a little stronger, Gyutaro/Daki could be a force to be reckoned with.
However, most of the time players will simply take the hit from Gyutaro, making him little more effective than a regular character with Impact. The only time Gyutaro’s effect really comes into play outside of essentially ensuring your opponent doesn’t block him is at the end of the game when he can take multiple removals via combat as your opponent can’t afford to take the hit.
