How to Beat Dogmatika
October is creeping up fast, and the one thing everybody wants to know is: How do you beat Dogmatika?
Well, I haven't got it entirely figured out yet, but I have some theories that may be of use in the Spookiest YTC of the Year.
Negating Nadir
Without a doubt, Nadir Servant is the scariest card in Dogmatika's lineup, it alone can create lines that are +2 or +3 if allowed to resolve uninterrupted. Luckily, there are a few cards that can stop Nadir's rampage. Very commonly, we are seeing Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, as well as Ghost Belle and Haunted Mansion used to negate Nadir Servant. These are the outs nearly every deck is running. It is also worth considering that Sangan can search both of these cards and is itself, searchable by a plethora of Fiend support.
Moving past the Ghost Girls, cards that prevent searching floodgate-style can also be used to stop both the search and send of Nadir Servant, as the entirety of it is one effect that needs to be able to resolve completely. The best of this category of cards are Thunder King Rai-Oh and Mistaken Arrest. Note that neither of these cards are one-sided, and will prevent you from searching as well. If Mistaken Arrest is chained to Nadir, neither part of its effect will be able to resolve, as it must compare the ATK value.
In a similar vein, cards that prevent sending to GY can stop Nadir Servant in it's tracks. These cards are much jankier though and generally not as good, but there is a good chunk of them. Banisher of the Light, Banisher of the Radiance, Different Dimension Ground, and Dimension Shifter all basically do the
same thing; If Nadir's send is banished, then it isn't in the graveyard. Another interesting, but probably not as good grave attacking card is Earthshattering Event. Earthshattering Event will only prevent Nadir if you can first send a monster to the Graveyard on your opponent's turn. But even if you cannot pull this off, Earthshattering Event prevents some of Nadir's targets from being used; cards that trigger upon being sent can still be used, but Earthshattering will shuffle back cards that need to be activated at a later time, or stay in the GY until a later phase to resolve.
Preventing Punishment
If you have backrow removal, and are fairly certain your opponent set Dogmatika Punishment, fire it off. There is no reason not to, just try to get punishment off the field.
Now, assume you don't have backrow removal, and are in the position that you need to play through Punishment. The previous cards noted that mess with the graveyard can also stop Dogmatika Punishment, but since it targets, we have even more avenues to make this card useless. Get rid of this card's target by any means necessary. It will always be one of your monsters, and while removing your own monsters is counterintuitive, it prevents Punishment from sending, which is often more relevant than the removal. Dark Factory of More Production is an ideal target remover, it gets Punishment's target off the field, and draws you a card as compensation. Another good idea is to use monsters that remove themselves as a quick effect, for some benefit. Generically, Lilith Lady of Lament does this, Many archetypal cards allow for this sort of dodging as well, including much of the Witchcrafter and Rikka archetypes.
While dodging Dogmatika Punishment is a prime play, it is not one you are likely to have all the time. Instead, it can be useful to take advantage of the fact that Punishment is not high quality removal; it just destroys. Therefore, we can play floaters such as Sangan to maintain card advantage, or even monsters
that cannot be destroyed by card effects such as Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons, though typically indestructible monsters require some amount of setup, which Punishment can disrupt in the first place.
Foiling Fleur
Of all of Dogmatika's tools, I find that Dogmatika Fleurdelis, The Knighted annoys me the most. It is a combination of a searchable Effect Veiler and a boss monster, which if used properly, nearly guarantees victory. Most of what makes Fleur so annoying is that it's Summon and effect negation are the same effect that activates in hand. this means that you cannot negate Fleur by conventional means. Personally, I have been running Debunk in my main deck, as a card that can stop Fleur, and the rest of the Dogmatika's summon effects in hand, and also negates Graveyard effects, e.g. the cards that Nadir and Punishment send. Of course, Debunk is just 1 card, it is unlikely that you open it; Gravedigger's Trap Hole has a similar effect, but with less permanence, leaving the card where it was negated. Even still, that is 2 cards, what are you to do?
Well, Dogmatika Fleurdelis has some important restrictions that prevent it from coming down in full force; namely, It can only be Summoned if a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck is on the field. And it only negates the effect of a monster on the field if you control another "Dogmatika" monster. If you know your opponent has Fleur, and there are no Extra Deck monsters on the field, absolutely do not summon one, unless you know that you can still play through a 2500 beatstick and
probably a negate. Often, your opponent will setup the Extra Deck Monster themselves, with a Link-1 or a Fusion before activating any other Dogmatika cards; in this case, If you can remove the Extra deck monster, your opponent will have to summon Fleur in chain or will lose their chance. Similarly, If you can remove your opponent's Dogmatika monster, Fleur will not negate a monster on the field. More than ever, running Spells and Traps that remove Monsters such as Mind Control, Lightning Vortex, and Torrential Tribute may steal games.