Standard Budget Deck: Murakumo (Weasel Gang)

Assemble!

Occasionally, Bushiroad will gift us with a package that is absolute gold for budget play. This time around, we got the WEASEL GANG.

Aside from being the absolute goodest bois, they have legitimate use. Weasel Red creating an easy-bake board with 30k+ units is neat, especially on turn two. Even if it's at the cost of what's usually going to be your entire hand, this rushdown is well worth it.

Luckily, Murakumo has a decently large cardpool in Standard, and we have access to multiple boss units that we can try out. Since the goodboi engine and triggers take up over half your deck, Weasels are super easy to build, and they're one of the most beginner-friendly decks I've seen in a while.

Starting off our list, we're going to run Mandala Lord as our main ride. Mandala is really efficient, as he can replace multiple Weasels that might have been retired in the previous turn for a low cost. Copying anything from the Shirayuki engine is pure value. Worst case, if you end up with an empty board, he can still be ridden for the Accel marker and then choose himself as a clone target.

Alongside Mandala, we're running Shirayuki at 4. Shirayuki is really the only card in the deck with an actual pricetag, but I don't recommend building the deck without her. Shirayuki makes certain matchups much more winnable, and she's super versatile as a ride target, rear-guard, or defensive piece.

Her support cards are amazing, too. Jakotsu Girl's pseudostitch is a win-win, as you're either going to be dealing a damage or plussing off of her. Rainy Madame recycles Shirayuki, and her blanket pseudostitch is a really easy activation requirement.

Any other G3 choices are pretty limited. HYU-GA and Hyakki need the deck built around themselves to be of much use, and we're not going to bother with that. Ogrespider is some dank meme fodder, though. I run him at 1 because the deck has an extra flex slot, but he can be replaced.

Weasels Red, Blue, and White are all going to be ran at 4. Ideally, you want Red Weasel by your second ride, and Blue and White Weasel are going to be his search targets. I don't really recommend Weasel Yellow. If Yellow also granted intercept from backrow, I'd consider it, but you're never going to want to call Yellow instead of the other Weasels. If you really want, though, I guess the Ogrespider slot could turn into Yellow Weasel, since he's searchable.

As we circle back around, Jokatsu Girl and Rainy Madame are maxed. Both of these cards are free real estate, and just add to the usefulness of Shirayuki. Jakotsu, and Rainy Madame are both cheap and easy to find, and honestly deserve to be RRs. There's not a ton to talk about here, as I already covered them above. Anyone who has used this package knows how strong it is.

The last few slots of the deck are rounded out by Grade 1 PGs. Since there's no really good choices in our last G1 slot alongside Rainy Madame and Weasel White, we can opt out of the expensive Draw PG. Kirifubuki's filter is just another early dig for Weasel Red if you end up riding it, and there's no real reason to not run it.

With draw triggers out of consideration, we have twelve slots for offensive triggers.

This lineup is mostly up to preference, although Fronts should be ran in the greater quantity. Hitting defensive Fronts is super relevant and discourages the opponent from killing off your Weasels. Offensive Fronts are just as valuable, and hitting them when you're riding up to G3 after a Red Weasel turn makes some giant numbers and scales incredibly well.

A handful of crits can keep an opponent honest and makes sure your vanguard still has a bit of critical pressure over your rearguard lanes. I'd recommend anywhere between 8-12 Fronts and 0-4 Crits. Feel free to play around with those numbers.
                                                                                  
Decklist:
NOTE: This is only an example decklist and should only be used as a base. I recommend that you create your own decklist throughout your own testing. I found this decklist to fit me, but it is up to you to find a decklist that fits you.

Grade 3:
4x Covert Demonic Dragon, Mandala Lord
4x Fantasy Petal Storm, Shirayuki
1x Stealth Fiend, Ogrespider

Grade 2:
4x Special Stealth Beast, Weasel Red
4x Special Stealth Beast, Weasel Blue
4x Stealth Fiend, Jakotsu Girl

Grade 1:
4x Special Stealth Beast, Weasel White
4x Stealth Fiend, Rainy Madame
4x Stealth Fiend, Kirifubuki

Grade 0:
1x Forerunner
16x Triggers of Choice
                                                                                   
Effectiveness: 7/10

Price: $30

Competitive: Not especially

Final Words: I'd recommend this deck for someone that's trying to get into the game. The deck is easy to pilot, and helps focus on the fundamentals of Vanguard. It easily converts to Premium, and having Shirayuki makes it easy to build this deck up to full-power Standard HYU-GA. All things considered, the win/lose ratio I've had with the deck has been surprisingly good, and getting to play the absolute best edgy boi Red Weasel is really what makes this game worth it.