Introduction to Subterror

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Overview

Subterror is a deck that has been a part of Duel Link's history for quite some time now. Initially releasing all the way back in the Blazing Rose main box, Subterror saw initial success with its first wave of support from May 2019 to September 2019, and has been laying dormant since then.

Until recently! Five and a half years later Subterror has gained a new lease on life thanks to a smattering of support in the Scarred Resonance main box as well as a brand new skill. This new box has given the deck some much needed and vital support which augments the decks control-style of play and brings it squarely into the modern age of Duel Links.

Archetypal Cards - The Little Guys

Subterror are an archetype of EARTH attribute monsters of two halves — first are the low-level Subterror monsters; these are the guys who start your plays, extend your plays, and disrupt your opponents plays. Second are the high-level 'Behemoths'; these guys are the archetypes high-stat boss monsters and they primarily serve as removal, utility, interruption, and as the archetypes big beat-sticks. Almost all Subterror monsters either have effects when flipped face-up, or have effects to do with flipping yours or your opponents monsters face-up or face-down to facilitate plays and disruption. We'll begin this guide with a look at all of the low-level Subterror monsters, before moving onto the Behemoths.

Subterror Guru

One of the two most important monster in the deck, this little guy comes with two effects and is very important for three different reasons. First, he is your main searcher and starter when combined with the the decks field spell, Loading... . By setting Guru face down on the field, you can use the field spell to flip him face-up and immediately get a search of any Subterror card that you need. Most often, the cards you'll be searching for are Loading... or Loading... , both important cards I'll be explaining later.

Second, his second effect allows him to flip himself down alongside another monster your opponent controls. At a base level, this is good for baiting out interaction from the opponent by flipping down cards that have negates attached to them such as Loading... and Loading... , but what makes this really good is that it becomes a quick-effect while you have another Subterror card face-up on the field. This allows you to flip your opponents monsters down on their turn, disrupting their plays and preventing any ignition effects from going off such as Loading... , or preventing certain extra deck plays.

Finally, the last reason Guru is so important is to activate the decks archive skill, Nemesis of the Underground Terror . This skill allows you to reveal a level 4 Subterror monster (and it must be level 4) to set one copy of either Loading... or Loading... straight from your hand or deck, with Final Battle being activatable the turn it is set by the skill. If you set either card from your hand, you also draw a card, and, if only your opponent controls a monster, you can play one level 5 or higher Subterror monster from your hand or deck in face-down defense position that can be flipped face-up this turn.

Subterror Fiendess

Loading... is the other most important monster in the deck and comes packed with two fantastic effects. Fiendess' first effect states that when your opponent activates a card or effect: you to send her from the hand or face-up on the field to then target a Subterror monster you control; negate the activated effect and then change the targeted monster to face-down defense position. Something very important to note is that the omni-negate is NOT contingent upon the flip, the flip is contingent upon the negate. Even if the Subterror monster you control is flipped face-down by some other means or is removed from the field by any other means, the negate will still resolve. This makes Fiendess the most powerful interruption tool in Subterror's arsenal, able to negate any effect and being very easily searchable from Loading... and Loading... . Additionally, by flipping a Subterror face-down, you have the opportunity to 'reset' your Subterror and use its flip effect on your opponents turn (providing you haven't already used it), something particularly useful for Guru to get a search on the opponents turn, and with the Behemoths we'll be exploring later.

While Findesses' first effect is usually the star of the show, her second effect is not to be underestimated. This effect allows you to flip a monster you control face-down to special summon one Subterror monster from your hand or graveyard in face-up or face-down defense position. This acts as extension, allowing you to get multiple monsters onto the board to potentially facilitate extra deck plays such as Loading... and Loading... . Additionally, being able to revive from the grave sets Subterror up to have a very strong grind game, being able to recover any destroyed Gurus or Behemoths and set them immediately into face-down defense position.

Finally, there's one more piece of interaction that is important to note, and it relates to the Subterror Behemoths. All Behemoths share the following effect — "When a face-up monster you control is flipped face-down, if you control no face-up monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your hand in Defense Position". The wording of this effect is extremely important, this effect is a "when... You can" effect; this means that the flipping of a monster face-down must be the LAST thing that occurs in a chain. So, what does this mean for Fiendess? Well, this is where we get into some rules lawyering; it means that BOTH of Fiendess' effects will summon a Subterror providing:

1. Fiendess' first effect is chain link 2 AND NO HIGHER
2. You special summon a monster in face-down defense position with her second effect.