Standard Chaos Warriors
While I've been piloting the archetype for a long time, I found I still had plenty to learn at Goat Grand Prix Avon. Special thanks to Bryan, Eric, and Matt (InFlow) for giving me mirror match sideboarding pointers during the event. Thanks also to my buddy pkx for working with me off and on with the "Zoo + BLS" project over the years, or as we liked to call it "good cards win."
Why Warriors?
Warriors are a successful archetype with many tournament wins under their belt. The deck finds solutions to threats played by rogue decks, while offering a formidable run at the format's control decks. If you draw poorly against Warriors, you can expect the game to be a short one. Warriors offer their pilot a stream of strong monsters that can be played immediately and solid removal that stops the opponent in their tracks.
While the mainboard is reliable against a variety of threats, Warriors struggle without their sideboard to hurt Panda Burn and don't have the best matchup against Chaos Turbo if they can't keep a Kycoo The Ghost Destroyer in play. Warriors can also be out-aggro'd, as is the case with Zombies and decks that sideboard Berserk Gorilla. Chaos Control has a good matchup against Warriors, but Goat Control lately has been lacking in threat density and isn't difficult to overwhelm, even recent variants that run Royal Decree; it seems counter-intuitive, but a Decree means that the Warrior player is now free to summon and attack without fear of any of the format's formidable Traps. Shutting down Solemn Judgments, Trap Dustshoots, and Sakuretsus seems awesome, but without field presence it can backfire and lead to a premature conclusion for the Goat Control player--this is despite most Warriors' vulnerability to Tsukuyomi.
While the mainboard is reliable against a variety of threats, Warriors struggle without their sideboard to hurt Panda Burn and don't have the best matchup against Chaos Turbo if they can't keep a Kycoo The Ghost Destroyer in play. Warriors can also be out-aggro'd, as is the case with Zombies and decks that sideboard Berserk Gorilla. Chaos Control has a good matchup against Warriors, but Goat Control lately has been lacking in threat density and isn't difficult to overwhelm, even recent variants that run Royal Decree; it seems counter-intuitive, but a Decree means that the Warrior player is now free to summon and attack without fear of any of the format's formidable Traps. Shutting down Solemn Judgments, Trap Dustshoots, and Sakuretsus seems awesome, but without field presence it can backfire and lead to a premature conclusion for the Goat Control player--this is despite most Warriors' vulnerability to Tsukuyomi.
Warriors have been an "answers" deck since Legacy of Darkness, using specialized Effect Monsters that often function as removal alongside actual pieces of removal to secure victory over slower or brickier decks. No matter the threat, there is a Warrior that can put it in jeopardy, and it's usually level 4 or lower. There is little more reassuring than having a Reinforcement of the Army in your hand, and little worse than seeing it drop onto the opponent's field.
As for why a Chaos variant became the dominant form of the deck rather than not, other than the immense power of Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning: most of the best offensive Warriors are LIGHT Attribute anyway, meanwhile there are plenty of good DARK monsters to choose from. A good Warrior deck can be made without Chaos monsters, however, it just so happens that the majority of the winners are using one or more of them. At the end I will show an example of a casual Warrior build that doesn't use the Envoy.*
As for why a Chaos variant became the dominant form of the deck rather than not, other than the immense power of Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning: most of the best offensive Warriors are LIGHT Attribute anyway, meanwhile there are plenty of good DARK monsters to choose from. A good Warrior deck can be made without Chaos monsters, however, it just so happens that the majority of the winners are using one or more of them. At the end I will show an example of a casual Warrior build that doesn't use the Envoy.*
The 33:
Don't worry, we'll get to the 55, but since we're discussing a standard version of the deck first, I figured that's where we should start. The 33 cards almost every Chaos Warrior player will agree on.
The Key
Reinforcement of the Army (RotA) is the Warrior engine. This Spell is what makes Warriors Warriors, and it's so effective that it allows Warriors to be splashed into other archetypes, like Goat Control or Soul Control. By functionally replacing a Monster, RotA allows the pilot to run fewer actual Monsters if desired. This card is your ace, it is your problem solver, it is not to be wasted.
Reinforcement of the Army searches the deck for the following useful targets:
MAIN -Blade Knight -D.D. Warrior Lady -Don Zaloog -D.D. Assailant -Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke -Exiled Force -Mystic Swordsman LV2 ---------------------------------------------------- SIDE -Cliff the Trap Remover ---------------------------------------------------- OTHER -Zombyra the Dark -Goblin Attack Force -Blindly Loyal Goblin -Gearfried the Iron Knight -Command Knight -Sasuke Samurai #4 |
There is healthy overlap in removal function between many of your Warriors.
Good against face-up attack position monsters: -D.D. Assailant Good against face-up defense position monsters: -Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke Good against face-down defense position monsters: -Blade Knight -Mystic Swordsman LV2 Good against monsters regardless of their battle position: -Exiled Force -D.D. Warrior Lady |
The Toolbox
There's a lot to say about these specialized Effect Monsters that share the best tutor in the format. The Warrior Toolbox exists to poke holes in the opponent's defenses so you can begin or resume attacking.
Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke: has the highest base ATK in the deck among your RotA targets and might be fetched for that reason alone. The Grandmaster's main job is to defeat Gravekeeper's Spy and Spirit Reaper. Often worth running a second copy. Some have even gone so far as to run three. Not bad for running over Tribe-Infecting Virus or a spent Breaker the Magical Warrior either. If someone summons Chaos Sorcerer in defense mode, please punish them.
Mystic Swordsman LV2: for the many FLIPs that Goat Control and Turbo Chaos like to play. Often worth running a second copy, at least sideboard one if you can. Not too shabby against some Burn configurations either. Gets under Level Limit-Area B, Gravity Bind, and Messenger of Peace. A Warrior toolbox staple. If your opponent has a Trinity piece in grave and they Set a monster with no backrow: RotA for MSLV2 and go to town. If you have both Nobleman of Crossout and MSLV2 in hand, try to use the MSLV2 first in case they have Sakuretsu Armor, that way you can still NoC what they're protecting.
Don Zaloog: the real importance of Don shows when fighting combo decks, as his ability to discard cards from the hand keeps our opponents from setting up. In GGP Avon, I thought it'd be cute to tech a Bazoo Return sideboard, so I had a Return From the Different Dimension face down and a Bazoo the Soul-Eater in hand--can you guess what my opponent topdecked? The RotA that got him the Don Zaloog that won him the game! if your opponent ever passes turn with an open field and you have a RotA in hand, punish them. Don't use Don's second effect, too many decks are empowered by cards hitting their graveyard. Don's 1500 DEF is sometimes worth utilizing, as damage inflicted that way still triggers Don's effect. Fear recruiter monsters and Dekoichis, as either one can crash. Don is much better when backed by Sakuretsu Armor or Dust Tornado and is himself an excellent test of whether or not your opponent's Set cards are battle traps or not.
Exiled Force: for the price of a Normal Summon, you can destroy any monster that can be targeted. Often treated as a third copy of Nobleman of Crossout. You can't use Exiled while King Tiger Wanghu is out but you can tribute Exiled for the cost to activate its effect, which resolves in the graveyard, while Skill Drain is out. Outstanding target for Premature Burial or Call of the Haunted. Benefits also from being in a Sanganbox. I have had the improbable turn where one Normal Summons Exiled to destroy a monster, then uses Premature on Exiled to destroy a second monster, and then flips Call for a third. The ceiling on this card is as high as the giant it brings down.
D.D. Warrior Lady: relying on a Battle Phase to achieve removal makes DDWL less reliable than Exiled Force, but unlike Exiled Force, DDWL can function while a King Tiger is in play. As with D.D. Assailant, DDWL's effect does not target, giving one a rare out to a King Dragun or Chaos Command Magician. She's also one of the few ways to neutralize a Sangan, a recruiter like Mystic Tomato, or a Sinister Serpent. DDWL's effect and stats make her well balanced in an offensive role or defensive role, and is one of few monsters you may consider Setting more often--not that that's always a good idea since Warrior deck design normally leaves Nobleman of Crossout dead in their hands. If you're running D.D. Assailant as well, you can afford to be aggressive with DDWL since their effects somewhat overlap.
Mystic Swordsman LV2: for the many FLIPs that Goat Control and Turbo Chaos like to play. Often worth running a second copy, at least sideboard one if you can. Not too shabby against some Burn configurations either. Gets under Level Limit-Area B, Gravity Bind, and Messenger of Peace. A Warrior toolbox staple. If your opponent has a Trinity piece in grave and they Set a monster with no backrow: RotA for MSLV2 and go to town. If you have both Nobleman of Crossout and MSLV2 in hand, try to use the MSLV2 first in case they have Sakuretsu Armor, that way you can still NoC what they're protecting.
Don Zaloog: the real importance of Don shows when fighting combo decks, as his ability to discard cards from the hand keeps our opponents from setting up. In GGP Avon, I thought it'd be cute to tech a Bazoo Return sideboard, so I had a Return From the Different Dimension face down and a Bazoo the Soul-Eater in hand--can you guess what my opponent topdecked? The RotA that got him the Don Zaloog that won him the game! if your opponent ever passes turn with an open field and you have a RotA in hand, punish them. Don't use Don's second effect, too many decks are empowered by cards hitting their graveyard. Don's 1500 DEF is sometimes worth utilizing, as damage inflicted that way still triggers Don's effect. Fear recruiter monsters and Dekoichis, as either one can crash. Don is much better when backed by Sakuretsu Armor or Dust Tornado and is himself an excellent test of whether or not your opponent's Set cards are battle traps or not.
Exiled Force: for the price of a Normal Summon, you can destroy any monster that can be targeted. Often treated as a third copy of Nobleman of Crossout. You can't use Exiled while King Tiger Wanghu is out but you can tribute Exiled for the cost to activate its effect, which resolves in the graveyard, while Skill Drain is out. Outstanding target for Premature Burial or Call of the Haunted. Benefits also from being in a Sanganbox. I have had the improbable turn where one Normal Summons Exiled to destroy a monster, then uses Premature on Exiled to destroy a second monster, and then flips Call for a third. The ceiling on this card is as high as the giant it brings down.
D.D. Warrior Lady: relying on a Battle Phase to achieve removal makes DDWL less reliable than Exiled Force, but unlike Exiled Force, DDWL can function while a King Tiger is in play. As with D.D. Assailant, DDWL's effect does not target, giving one a rare out to a King Dragun or Chaos Command Magician. She's also one of the few ways to neutralize a Sangan, a recruiter like Mystic Tomato, or a Sinister Serpent. DDWL's effect and stats make her well balanced in an offensive role or defensive role, and is one of few monsters you may consider Setting more often--not that that's always a good idea since Warrior deck design normally leaves Nobleman of Crossout dead in their hands. If you're running D.D. Assailant as well, you can afford to be aggressive with DDWL since their effects somewhat overlap.
The Beatbox
Complementary to the Warrior Toolbox, is the larger Beatbox, where the biggest monsters and strongest removal cards that don't conflict with the game plan are alotted to the deck. The Beatbox is there to be enabled by the Toolbox, and there can be functional overlaps between cards assigned to either group. The line is blurrier in a deck that is Warrior-focused but it's still present.
You're always going to want triple Blade Knight, triple Solemn Judgment, and triple Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer. Though you can get away with double Blade Knight or Kycoo, the consistency difference is most notable when you're staring down Dimension Fusion Turbo and really hoping you have another Kycoo somewhere. Our default beater and primary FLIP-negator Blade Knight has incredible synergy with Solemn, allowing you to Set more Spells and Traps from your hand and protect them from Heavy Storm while Blade Knight gains 400 ATK.
Solemn Judgment answers anything you can't handle, and often stops the opponent's final play before you swing for game. It is very easy to overpay with Solemn Judgment, so it's important to note what answers your deck has left before using it. I've seen the wisdom passed around that a card is worth about 2000 LP (if you know who to attribute that thought to, let me know please) and I can agree with it after using cards like My Body As A Shield and Seven Tools of the Bandit, so bear that in mind before using a Solemn. Always weigh the likelihood you will draw an answer to their threat before you Solemn something.
Your overall monster count should be relatively low, as that enables your Blade Knights more frequently by making your hand composition more likely to consist of Spells and Traps which can be Set. Kycoo prevents opposing Chaos summons and has enough ATK to be considered a beatdown-style creature; as a DARK Attribute it's perfect for our own BLS and while you may wish Kycoo wasn't a Spellcaster but was a Warrior instead, when Cipher Soldier (aka Kinetic Soldier) or Tribe-Infecting Virus hit the board you end up feeling differently. While statistically inferior to something like Skilled Dark Magician or Berserk Gorilla, as long as Turbo Chaos is a deck, Kycoos will show up in Warriors' mainboard and the sideboards of many other decks.
Solemn Judgment answers anything you can't handle, and often stops the opponent's final play before you swing for game. It is very easy to overpay with Solemn Judgment, so it's important to note what answers your deck has left before using it. I've seen the wisdom passed around that a card is worth about 2000 LP (if you know who to attribute that thought to, let me know please) and I can agree with it after using cards like My Body As A Shield and Seven Tools of the Bandit, so bear that in mind before using a Solemn. Always weigh the likelihood you will draw an answer to their threat before you Solemn something.
Your overall monster count should be relatively low, as that enables your Blade Knights more frequently by making your hand composition more likely to consist of Spells and Traps which can be Set. Kycoo prevents opposing Chaos summons and has enough ATK to be considered a beatdown-style creature; as a DARK Attribute it's perfect for our own BLS and while you may wish Kycoo wasn't a Spellcaster but was a Warrior instead, when Cipher Soldier (aka Kinetic Soldier) or Tribe-Infecting Virus hit the board you end up feeling differently. While statistically inferior to something like Skilled Dark Magician or Berserk Gorilla, as long as Turbo Chaos is a deck, Kycoos will show up in Warriors' mainboard and the sideboards of many other decks.
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning: is simply one of the strongest cards in the format. It can run over anything, is a Special Summon, can banish almost anything, gets a double attack, it's just an obviously busted card. So of course we plan to use it. Be careful that you don't play into an opponent's Snatch Steal of course, but the best advice is to end the game the turn you summon him. And beware of Ring of Destruction!
Tribe-Infecting Virus: necessary to help clear clogged boards of aggro monsters or sheep tokens, or even just to clear one threat in a less efficient manner. Very dangerous in the mirror match, since there's risk of friendly fire. This card is Lightning Vortex on a stick and is a tempo-setter. It's less optimal without discard fuel like Sinister Serpent, Thunder Dragon, or Night Assailant, but in the Warrior mirror you can turn dead NoCs into dead Warriors at least.
Breaker the Magical Warrior: is probably the best utility card in the format, better than Book of Moon for our deck because he enters the field as a 1900 ATK beater and packs his own Mystical Space Typhoon. Definitely an aggro card. Your best friend when it comes to getting rid of floodgates or Royal Decree. I've seen it described on Discord as "Exiled Force but for Spells and Traps", and while I would sooner compare it to Tribe just because they stick around after their effect with a 1600/1000 body, it's not the worst way to think about Breaker either.
Tribe-Infecting Virus: necessary to help clear clogged boards of aggro monsters or sheep tokens, or even just to clear one threat in a less efficient manner. Very dangerous in the mirror match, since there's risk of friendly fire. This card is Lightning Vortex on a stick and is a tempo-setter. It's less optimal without discard fuel like Sinister Serpent, Thunder Dragon, or Night Assailant, but in the Warrior mirror you can turn dead NoCs into dead Warriors at least.
Breaker the Magical Warrior: is probably the best utility card in the format, better than Book of Moon for our deck because he enters the field as a 1900 ATK beater and packs his own Mystical Space Typhoon. Definitely an aggro card. Your best friend when it comes to getting rid of floodgates or Royal Decree. I've seen it described on Discord as "Exiled Force but for Spells and Traps", and while I would sooner compare it to Tribe just because they stick around after their effect with a 1600/1000 body, it's not the worst way to think about Breaker either.
The Spell lineup
The Spell lineup, other than two RotA is standard goodstuff: Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity, and Delinquent Duo need no introduction. Nobleman of Crossout is always run as a pair in an aggro deck, as it is only punished by Big Shield Gardna or in the mirror where it's often dead weight--due to the abundance of Warrior decks in the metagame, maining one NoC is sometimes correct while siding the other one, but I would not personally recommend it. Heavy Storm helps simplify the game and can allow for a big push, every deck needs it (except for Burn, where Giant Trunade is usually more appropriate). Mystical Space Typhoon is one of your best bets against Snatch Steal and Royal Decree, don't play it blindly to hit a random backrow unless you are painfully low on monsters and have already seen the opponent's Snatch. Premature Burial gives access to a Special Summon, which is huge for a tempo-reliant deck like Warriors.
The Trap lineup
You'll find copies of Mirror Force, Ring of Destruction, and Torrential Tribute in almost every deck, with Call of the Haunted also usually making the cut. The Solemns have already been discussed, which leaves the Sakuretsu Armors. You'll always want a minimum of two Saku because removal is a Warrior's best friend. Battle traps protect your monster while opening the board for damage, which greatly speeds along the Warrior game plan. It is not uncommon to see three Saku in the mainboard and even some copies of Widespread Ruin, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
The 55: or really, the 22.
This list is based on what I learned after running Warriors in GGP Avon, in addition to what I've picked up watching JDZ's interviews with moxies, LaBounty, sdlkilla, and in observing recent top lists and discussion in the GoatFormat.com Discord server.
Mainboard
The Savage Seven
This build is monster heavy: aggro decks still win using those cards, right? Something to think about, aggro decks do lose when they run out of gas.
I opted for a D.D. Assailant in main in order to improve my matchup against Zombies. Ryu Kokki and Vampire Lord both fold to DDA and since DDA banishes itself after losing a battle it doesn't make the opponent's Book of Life live. DDA also improves our game versus Warriors, Dimension Fusion Turbo, and rogue Monster-centric strategies like those around Horus The Black Flame Dragon LV8 and King Dragun. DDA is one of the most solid monsters in the game, with respectable stats and an effect that almost guarantees an opponent will have to lose a card to remove it. Its EARTH Attribute is unfortunate here, but tolerable. DDA could be omitted for another removal Spell or Trap, to get your Monster count lower if needed.
A second Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke was added to help deal with GK Spies in Chaos Turbo and game 2/3 of the mirror, and raise the LIGHT count to six.
A third Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer was added to hedge our bets against Chaos monsters and Bazoo the Soul-Eater while raising the DARK count to five. Kycoo also blocks Book of Life.
The Trap line-up gained a Dust Tornado, which can set up plays with Blade Knight and Solemn Judgment and protects us from Snatch Steal. S/T Removal is necessary for the mirror, just to have a hope of penetrating their defenses. A third Sakuretsu Armor was added also to improve our odds against superior forces.
I opted for a D.D. Assailant in main in order to improve my matchup against Zombies. Ryu Kokki and Vampire Lord both fold to DDA and since DDA banishes itself after losing a battle it doesn't make the opponent's Book of Life live. DDA also improves our game versus Warriors, Dimension Fusion Turbo, and rogue Monster-centric strategies like those around Horus The Black Flame Dragon LV8 and King Dragun. DDA is one of the most solid monsters in the game, with respectable stats and an effect that almost guarantees an opponent will have to lose a card to remove it. Its EARTH Attribute is unfortunate here, but tolerable. DDA could be omitted for another removal Spell or Trap, to get your Monster count lower if needed.
A second Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke was added to help deal with GK Spies in Chaos Turbo and game 2/3 of the mirror, and raise the LIGHT count to six.
A third Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer was added to hedge our bets against Chaos monsters and Bazoo the Soul-Eater while raising the DARK count to five. Kycoo also blocks Book of Life.
The Trap line-up gained a Dust Tornado, which can set up plays with Blade Knight and Solemn Judgment and protects us from Snatch Steal. S/T Removal is necessary for the mirror, just to have a hope of penetrating their defenses. A third Sakuretsu Armor was added also to improve our odds against superior forces.
The only addition to our Spell count was a pair of Smashing Ground. Smashing Ground is a straightforward removal Spell that has the benefit of not targeting the monster it destroys, bypassing effects like King Dragun. The card often forces an opponent's Book of Moon during your Main Phase which is better than during your Battle Phase. Save it for monsters that your opponent has to put effort into summoning, something powerful like a Thousand-Eyes Restrict or Chaos Sorcerer. Smashing allows you to regain tempo and solves most of the problems facing Warriors; it removes bigger monsters while being live under Decree. At this point, I am not sure that three Smashing would be incorrect.
Smashing Ground Smashes:BLS, Chaos Sorcerer, King Dragun, Dark Magician of Chaos, Mobius and friends, Thousand-Eyes Restrict, Berserk Gorilla, Gravekeeper's Spy (face up obviously), Spirit Reaper, Don Zaloog, Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, Bazoo the Soul-Eater, Skilled Dark Magician, Jinzo, Airknight Parshath, Ryu Kokki, recruiters like Shining Angel, Zombyra the Dark, DDA, DDWL...almost nothing face-up is safe.
Ground Smashes Back:Dark Balter the Terrible, Tsukuyomi, Asura Priest, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8, Vampire Lord, Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, Twin-Headed Behemoth....Set Monsters.
Plus Opportunities:-Successful removal is always uptempo.
-You destroy a Jinzo or suboptimal Monarch and they didn't tribute a floater. -You follow up with a hit from Don Zaloog to neg your opponent. -Your opponent uses Book of Moon to save one monster but they have another face-up monster. |
Sideboard
The monster heaviness proceeds to an extreme degree here, and if this proves too unwieldy: a D.D. Assailant, a Gravekeeper's Spy, and a Mobius the Frost Monarch can be cut from the sideboard, in exchange for two more pieces of S/T removal (Dust and Trunade) and one piece of monster removal (third Smashing or third Widespread). We will proceed as though our current trajectory is the correct one, until proven otherwise.
D.D. Assailant: a second copy really helps stick it to aggro strategies, especially Zombies. Side your D.D.s out when fighting a Return deck.
Gravekeeper's Spy: at this rate these will be appearing in Warrior mainboards soon. Spy walls the Warrior mirror and buys time to set up a powerful Mobius summon. Cards like Nobleman of Crossout are often sided out during the Warrior mirror, so sneaking in a set of two to three of these is beneficial. The card itself is aggressive on a switch, summoning another copy from the deck in Attack Mode against an open field for 2400 damage. IIRC: AJTBLS in the GoatFormat.com Discord proposed siding in a single copy of GK Spy against Panda Burn, walling them until they can resolve an Ojama Trio...seems good. Someone correct me if I'm misattributing this idea.
Cliff the Trap Remover: a tutorable Mystical Space Typhoon that depends on a Battle Phase, Cliff slips under floodgates to eliminate them and is a lifesaver during some Burn matchups. Like Don Zaloog, Cliff can also force early backrow activations.
King Tiger Wanghu: a necessary counter to Ojama Trio and Scapegoat, two nightmare cards for Warriors. Prevents Exiled Force activations and Thousand-Eyes Restrict summons. Slows down recruiters and Gravekeeper's Spy as well. Bring him in vs. Goat Control and Panda Burn.
Mobius the Frost Monarch: 2400 ATK puts Mobius out of reach for Warriors and most aggro decks, while the backrow destruction is helpful in that matchup; it is vital for taking out opposing floodgates in Burn decks.
Brain Control: helpful in the mirror and helpful against Chaos decks, Brain Control is also an excellent transition into a Mobius.
Lightning Vortex: for when you need a Tribe-Infecting Virus but don't want to lose a Normal Summon. Vortex makes it into almost every sideboard I build, sheep tokens and rival aggro decks are such a problem.
Swords of Revealing Light: with so much Royal Decree running around it makes sense to have Spell-based offense and defense at the ready, and there is no better defense than a one-sided floodgate. Buying yourself the turns or forcing your opponent to use S/T removal on it instead of your Solemns, either trade is a good one.
Dust Tornado: a second copy was needed for the Burn and mirror matchups.
Widespread Ruin: a fourth and fifth copy of Sakuretsu Armor, mostly, but has the benefit of being able to remove a King Dragun since they do not target. Widespreads are brought in for the mirror match or aggro matchup as complement to your other battle traps to prevent your opponent from gaining any ground on you.
D.D. Assailant: a second copy really helps stick it to aggro strategies, especially Zombies. Side your D.D.s out when fighting a Return deck.
Gravekeeper's Spy: at this rate these will be appearing in Warrior mainboards soon. Spy walls the Warrior mirror and buys time to set up a powerful Mobius summon. Cards like Nobleman of Crossout are often sided out during the Warrior mirror, so sneaking in a set of two to three of these is beneficial. The card itself is aggressive on a switch, summoning another copy from the deck in Attack Mode against an open field for 2400 damage. IIRC: AJTBLS in the GoatFormat.com Discord proposed siding in a single copy of GK Spy against Panda Burn, walling them until they can resolve an Ojama Trio...seems good. Someone correct me if I'm misattributing this idea.
Cliff the Trap Remover: a tutorable Mystical Space Typhoon that depends on a Battle Phase, Cliff slips under floodgates to eliminate them and is a lifesaver during some Burn matchups. Like Don Zaloog, Cliff can also force early backrow activations.
King Tiger Wanghu: a necessary counter to Ojama Trio and Scapegoat, two nightmare cards for Warriors. Prevents Exiled Force activations and Thousand-Eyes Restrict summons. Slows down recruiters and Gravekeeper's Spy as well. Bring him in vs. Goat Control and Panda Burn.
Mobius the Frost Monarch: 2400 ATK puts Mobius out of reach for Warriors and most aggro decks, while the backrow destruction is helpful in that matchup; it is vital for taking out opposing floodgates in Burn decks.
Brain Control: helpful in the mirror and helpful against Chaos decks, Brain Control is also an excellent transition into a Mobius.
Lightning Vortex: for when you need a Tribe-Infecting Virus but don't want to lose a Normal Summon. Vortex makes it into almost every sideboard I build, sheep tokens and rival aggro decks are such a problem.
Swords of Revealing Light: with so much Royal Decree running around it makes sense to have Spell-based offense and defense at the ready, and there is no better defense than a one-sided floodgate. Buying yourself the turns or forcing your opponent to use S/T removal on it instead of your Solemns, either trade is a good one.
Dust Tornado: a second copy was needed for the Burn and mirror matchups.
Widespread Ruin: a fourth and fifth copy of Sakuretsu Armor, mostly, but has the benefit of being able to remove a King Dragun since they do not target. Widespreads are brought in for the mirror match or aggro matchup as complement to your other battle traps to prevent your opponent from gaining any ground on you.
The Expanded Toolbox (Options)
We can't fit everything into one deck, but you'll perhaps find some of your 22 cards from among these.
Monsters: Asura Priest, Cipher Soldier, Injection Fairy Lily, Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, Goblin Attack Force, The Fiend Megacyber (AlephYa2 shoutout), Command Knight, Sasuke Samurai #4, Chiron the Mage, Abyss Soldier, Sinister Serpent, Sangan, Gearfried the Iron Knight, Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu, D.D. Survivor, Greenkappa, Skilled Dark Magician.
Spells: Big Bang Shot, Giant Trunade, United We Stand, Smoke Grenade of the Thief, Hammer Shot, Mystik Wok, Token Thanksgiving.
Traps: Seven Tools of the Bandit, Magic Cylinder, Ceasefire, Raigeki Break, Light of Intervention, Blast with Chain, Mind Crush.
Spells: Big Bang Shot, Giant Trunade, United We Stand, Smoke Grenade of the Thief, Hammer Shot, Mystik Wok, Token Thanksgiving.
Traps: Seven Tools of the Bandit, Magic Cylinder, Ceasefire, Raigeki Break, Light of Intervention, Blast with Chain, Mind Crush.
*Lack Luster Soldiers
Briefly: Command Knight is run in threes to hopefully stack her effect and also create her soft lock; if there is not a second Command Knight available, often the next best thing to have is a D.D. Assailant, who is a not insignificant 2100 ATK under the effect of one C Knight. This deck is not particularly weak to Tsukuyomi or Book of Moon. There is probably some compatibility to be found between Return From the Different Dimension and a list with 4 D.D.s as well; this would make Soul Release an excellent accompanying sideboard card. Compulsory Evacuation Device could also come in clutch here for offense or defense.