How to play: "Ricardo" Dragon Archfiend 101

This guide is a meme. It covers the lore, history, and fun surrounding RDA, otherwise known as "Ricardo Dragon Archfiend."
"Witness why I am known as the true king!"
"My soul...Red Dragon Archfiend!"

Part 1:Overview

The very soul of Jack Atlas, Red Dragon Archfiend and its variants represent the explosive force of passion, and the commanding presence of a King. Much like his owner, he’s oddly attractive and can pull out wins with power and finesse. Back in the Synchro Era, any synchro toolbox deck was guaranteed to play Red Dragon Archfiend since he was such an effective Beater/removal option. Anytime your opponent decided to stall out the game by going defensive was met with a half-field wipe. Sadly he fell by the wayside like many others, as new and more powerful cards and archetypes were introduced. Over the years however he has received multiple rounds of support, and now leads a solid Table 500 strategy that can even take on the Meta via control/field destruction/beat down.

Part 2: The Meme

In what i'd call "a Happy Accident," I was blasted with Ricardo Milos memes while playing Duel Links and summoning Red Dragon Archfiend. Their Power Poses were extremely similar, and it was very Blursed. At first it was cringe, but now I cannot help but laugh whenever I play this deck. And honestly...it's kinda hot.

Part 3: The Deck List

The deck list has been updated! It is now fully legal and suits a different play style.
Thank you @Daeschle for providing a much needed boost in this deck's performance.

For monsters:
1x Chain resonator
1x Rokket Synchron
2x Synkron Resonator
3x Red Resonator
1x Magnarokket Dragon
1x Metalrokket Dragon
2x Red Sprinter
3x Rokket Tracer
3x Wandering king Wild Wind
3x Witch of the Black Forest

For Spells:
1x Monster Reborn
1x One for One
3x Quick Launch
3x Resonator call
3x Twin Twisters

For Traps:
2x Back to the front
3x Solemn Judgement
3x Solemn Strike
1x Red Reboot

For the Extra Deck:
3x Red Rising Dragon
1x Borreload Savage Dragon
3x Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend
1x Hot red dragon archfiend abyss
1x Hot red dragon archfiend Bane
1x Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend
1x Hot red dragon archfiend king calamity
1x Crystron Halqifibrax
1x Topologic Trisbaena
1x Borreload Dragon


The deck uses Rokkets to stay competitive, as they allow alternative plays should the opponent out your Red Dragon Archfiends. The typical combo is to summon Red Rising Dragon, Special Summon the Resonator used to summon him, and climb into the higher Red Dragon Archfiends. It's recommended that you splash in other dark synchro dragons like Void Ogre or Borreload Savage Dragon to add some negations outside of Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss and the Solemn duo. The typical end board should look something like this:


Another way to play RDA is Guardragon Link. Guardragon link isn’t my forte, but I will add another deck list once I’m familiar with it.

In a battle against Sky Strikers, I managed to get this legendary encounter.

Part 4: Conclusion

While RDA is awesome, there are some notable weaknesses I should mention. Super-Poly will wreck you; Negations/disruptions can stop your synchro climbing; larger Beaters can overpower your dragons, and a card called Stardust Dragon can stop you in almost every way. Overall, RDA in my book is still a force to be reckoned with, and I believe he's worth building a deck around.

Congrats, you've made it through this cursed guide. Be sure to leave a like and a favorite, and feel free to leave suggestions in the comments on what you'd like to see.

Stay safe out there, and remember: No one is faster than "The Master of Faster."

[Daeschle]

@darren.san583 No problem, bro.

[darren.san583]

@Daeschle I tried out your suggestions, and oh boy does it play different! I'll be posting an updated deck list soon, and crediting you for the upgrade. Thanks a bunch!

[Daeschle]

It's an interesting looking deck build, but Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity are both banned and the deck has 41 cards, which lowers consistency.
You should switch out the banned cards for another Twin Twister, which is just fantastic and also consider playing countertraps like solumn judgement or especially solemn strike.
With these changes the deck would also counter Stardust Dragon and would be overall a little safer and more consistend.
Also it would be legal.