Now, these are cards that I consider are pretty standard and can work in any Deck and just provide either counters to opponent's cards or open up plays for yourself. Additionally, these are cards that I have experience with and that I know. There may be other, or better cards out there, but these are the ones I generally throw in anything that I build.
10. Mystical Space Typhoon
MST should be a card that most players know about. It's been in the game basically since Day 1. It' perfectly legal so you can have up to 3 copies in your Deck, but you only want 2 copies, max. Pretty simple effect. It allows you to pop your opponents back row. For those that don't know what "pop" means in this context, it means destroy. You can also destroy Field Spells with it and, with Pendulum's being a thing thanks to Arc V, you can also destroy Pendulum Monsters in the Pendulum Zones with it (because they are considered to be Continuous Spells). It can't negate, except for Continuous and Semi-Continuous effects, and your opponent can chain to it so it's not as good as Night Beam, but it gives you an out to a lot of things. For example, if your opponent activates Call of the Haunted, you can chain MST to Call and destroy it. Normally, it wouldn't negate the effect, but since Call is Continuous, it can only be active as long as the card is on the field so the monster your opponent would've summoned stays in the Graveyard. Another example is you might have MST set because you're saving it for something like Vanity's Emptiness or some other difficult spell or trap card, or a field spell. Point is, you're saving it for something. Your opponent activates Dust Tornado and targets your set MST. You can chain MST and destroy a card. Targeting Dust Tornado would be kind of pointless because they both end up destroyed anyway so you might target a card they have set, you might target a Field Spell, particularly Harpies' Hunting Ground which can be very problematic to play against. MST just has so much versatility.
9. Mind Crush
Decks these days revolve around searching cards to the hand. Mind Crush is a trap card that stops that and just ruins your opponents day. They search Judgment Dragon. Mind Crush. Gone. They search Mask Change. Mind Crush. Gone. They search BLS. Mind Crush. Gone. It just has so many uses and is underrated by so many players. As an added bonus, you get to look at your opponent's hand to make sure they don't have another copy in there because they have to discard all copies in their hand, and because Mind Crush is perfectly legal, you can activate another Mind Crush and they go at least -2. Awesome card and it should at least be Side Decked, if not Main Decked.
8. Number 101: Silent Honor ARK
101 is an Xyz monster that most players already use. It's really easy to summon as you need only 2 lvl 4 monsters and its effect just gives you so much advantage when you use it right. It allows you to take an opponents special summoned monster, as long as it in Attack mode. Obviously, the easiest targets for this card are your opponents Xyz and Synchro monsters because they have to be special summoned. So that allows you to get rid of Beelze, Stardust, BLS, Tiramisu, Number 88 and C88 (instant win conditions), and Nekroz monster. It just allows you to get rid of cards that would be problematic normally. And, if 101 would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can detach that monster to protect 101. This card can easily annoy your opponent and ruin their game if you take their beat stick off them.
7. Mind Control
This is one of the few cards that allows you to take control of your opponent's monster and isn't banned. Yes I know, there's Creature Swap but as good as that card is, it has a downside and can backfire. Mind Control can't backfire and it has no downside. Mind Control allows you take an opponent's monster for one turn. It can't attack or activate its effects, but it doesn't need to. You can Xyz with the monster. You can Synchro with the monster. You can tribute the monster. There's so many options you can do with it that you don't need to attack with it. It just allows you to push for game and as long as the monster can be targeted, because some can't, you get rid of your opponent's beat stick or wall in the process.
6. Dark Bribe
Pretty standard Counter Trap card. When your opponent activates a Spell or Trap card, you can activate this card and it negates that activation and destroys the card. Only downside is that your opponent gets to draw a card, but you might want that. You might have a Hand Destruction just waiting to go and that draw adds the second card that they need. It's basic in what it does, but it can really help you out. I usually run 2 copies, but I can get away with one sometimes.
5. Raigeki
Oh Raigeki, how I love you. Raigeki was banned, but it's now limited to 1. Might end up on the banned list again in July I think is when the next list comes out. I think it comes out quarterly. Anyway, that's a tangent. Raigeki is a Dark Hole that just hits your opponent and it is so good an satisfying when you use it correctly. Excellent card to use against Gem Knights, against Masked Heroes, against Shaddolls because those decks just rely on summon after summon after summon so you can just go through and wipe their field. Have Dark Bribe ready to go just in case they try and negate it with Wiretap or something. Another useful combo is to use Magician of Faith's effect when you've already used Raigeki because Faith will add it back to your hand. Love this card, but it will probably get banned again. Hope not though, because we need it.
4. Photon Thrasher
A level 4 monster that you can special summon from the hand, as long as your field is empty. Who doesn't want that? Your opponent has nuked the field with Black Rose Dragon? Reinforcement into Thrasher for a direct attack. First move? Synchro or Xyz Thrasher (because he can't attack if you control another monster). Thrasher just has so much versatility that he can fit into anything. He allows you to get out 101 quickly, he allows you to get out Beelze quickly. Just so many uses and he's a 2100 beater as well.
3. Double Spell
Another old card and in today's game it's inevitable that you're going to come across a dead draw at some point. Dead draws are just drawing cards that you have no use for at that point, either because the moment to use it has passed, you don't have the requirements to use it at that point or it's just not useful in your situation. Double Spell helps to some degree but there are two requirements for it. 1) You must discard a SPELL card, and 2) Your opponent must have a SPELL card in their graveyard. I wrote spell in capitals to emphasise that it must be a spell card. You can't discard a monster or a trap, it has to be a spell for a spell. Back when Monster Reborn was legal (which I feel could come back), Double Spell into Reborn into whatever monster you wanted, but that's not an option now. So I usually Double Spell into Raigeki, but you can Double Spell into anything as long as you can use it because there's no point using your opponents "El Shaddoll Fusion" if you're not running Shaddolls.
2. Magician of Faith
This card is as old as MST and just as useful. It's a flip effect monster which is always good. You can use it for Swords of Revealing Light, Raigeki, Soul Charge, any spell card you can think of, you can get that back. Just super useful.
1. Monster Reincarnation
Yes, there are a lot of cards I could've put here. Night Beam, Beelze, BLS, Gold Sarcophagus, Different Dimension Capsule, but Monster Reincarnation beats them all out in my opinion. And this is why. You discard one card and you can return one monster from your graveyard to your hand. Doesn't sound too great I know but when you really think about it, it's highly useful. You can bring back any monster you want. You can bring back Photon Thrasher for a quick Xyz or Synchro, you can bring back a tuner, you can bring back a beat stick. And discarding a card isn't too bad either. If you're running a Dark World deck, those monsters get their effects when they are discarded. If you're bringing back BLS, why not discard a light or dark monster for banishment? You can just use it in so many ways that it beats out all those cards I mentioned before purely because of the plays it generates.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Monday, May 11, 2015
Replays
Ok, so Replays aren't a new thing in the game, they just weren't as common before Zexal and 5D's.
A replay occurs when 1 of 3 conditions are met:
1) The attack target is removed from the field by a card effect
2) A new monster is summoned to the field before the damage step by a card effect
3) The number of monsters on the defender's side changes by a card effect
Obviously, a Replay can only occur during the battle phase and when a replay occurs, you chose to either attack again or not attack at all. If you attack with a different monster than the one that was originally involved in the Replay, you cannot attack with the original monster as it is considered to have already declared an attack. Additionally, Replays don't give your monsters a second attack, they just change the target so if a replay occurs, cards like Mirror Force can't be activated as they miss the timing due to the replay occurring first.
So let's explain some situations where a Replay occurs.
1) The attack target is removed from the field by a card effect
You have "Number 39: Utopia" on the field and you attack your opponent's "Masked HERO Dark Law" but your opponent activates their "Interdimensional Matter Transporter" and removes "Dark Law" from the field. Since "Dark Law" is no longer on the field, you can choose to have "Utopia" attack another monster your opponent controls (if they have any) or attack directly.
The activation of "Interdimensional Matter Transporter" causes a Replay to occur. This means that trap cards like "Mirror Force" or "Dimensional Prison" can not be activated because they miss the timing. In order for either to be activated they have to be Chain Link 1 (the first card activated in the chain). Neither of them are. Chain Link 1 in this case would be "Interdimensional Matter Transporter" forcing "Mirror Force" or "Dimensional Prison" to be Chain Link 2 and therefore, miss the timing. Both cards state "When an opponent's monster declares an attack..." which means that they must be activated in response to an attack first.
Furthermore, you must attack with "Utopia" first if you choose to, but this attack is not considered to be a new attack declaration, it is simply changing the target. If "Utopia" does not attack first when the Replay occurs, it is considered to have already declared an attack and can not attack again this Battle Phase.
2) A new monster is summoned to the field before the Damage Step by a card effect
This is very similar to condition 3, but there is a difference. You control a "Gemini Elf" and you attack your opponent's "Elemental HERO Shadow Mist" with your "Gemini Elf". Your opponent activates their "Mask Change" Quick-Play Spell Card and uses "Shadow Mist" to summon "Masked HERO Dark Law". In this instance, the number of monsters on the field hasn't changed at all, but "Dark Law" is replacing"Shadow Mist" as a new monster and so a Replay occurs.
As with condition 1, "Gemini Elf" must be the first monster to attack if you choose to continue your attack, but you can only switch your attack to a new monster OR you can continue to attack and target "Dark Law" (although you wouldn't because "Gemini Elf" would be destroyed, but you might want that to happen for whatever reason). You can also choose to not attack at all.
A similar thing happens with monsters that can special summon themselves, such as "Guardian Dreadscythe" or "Colossal Fighter", but are not considered Replays. Say "Guardian Dreadscythe" attacks your opponent directly, but they activate "Mirror Force" and destroy "Dreadscythe". You then must summon "Dreadscythe" (because it is a compulsory effect. This will be explained in later posts) back to the field. At that point, "Guardian Dreadscythe" is a considered to be a new monster and so can declare an attack, even though it attacked previously and was destroyed. The same applies to "Colossal Fighter"
3) The number of monsters on the defender's side changes by a card effect
This will be a simple one. You control "Dark Magician" and your opponent controls no monsters. You attack directly with "Dark Magician" but your opponent activates "Scapegoat" and summons 4 tokens to the field. Now your "Dark Magician" can not attack your opponent directly as there are tokens in the way and so you must choose to target a token instead, or not attack at all.
I hope that information clears some things up about Replays for you guys because they can get confusing at times. I'm working on another University Assignment, but I will post again when I can.
A replay occurs when 1 of 3 conditions are met:
1) The attack target is removed from the field by a card effect
2) A new monster is summoned to the field before the damage step by a card effect
3) The number of monsters on the defender's side changes by a card effect
Obviously, a Replay can only occur during the battle phase and when a replay occurs, you chose to either attack again or not attack at all. If you attack with a different monster than the one that was originally involved in the Replay, you cannot attack with the original monster as it is considered to have already declared an attack. Additionally, Replays don't give your monsters a second attack, they just change the target so if a replay occurs, cards like Mirror Force can't be activated as they miss the timing due to the replay occurring first.
So let's explain some situations where a Replay occurs.
1) The attack target is removed from the field by a card effect
You have "Number 39: Utopia" on the field and you attack your opponent's "Masked HERO Dark Law" but your opponent activates their "Interdimensional Matter Transporter" and removes "Dark Law" from the field. Since "Dark Law" is no longer on the field, you can choose to have "Utopia" attack another monster your opponent controls (if they have any) or attack directly.
The activation of "Interdimensional Matter Transporter" causes a Replay to occur. This means that trap cards like "Mirror Force" or "Dimensional Prison" can not be activated because they miss the timing. In order for either to be activated they have to be Chain Link 1 (the first card activated in the chain). Neither of them are. Chain Link 1 in this case would be "Interdimensional Matter Transporter" forcing "Mirror Force" or "Dimensional Prison" to be Chain Link 2 and therefore, miss the timing. Both cards state "When an opponent's monster declares an attack..." which means that they must be activated in response to an attack first.
Furthermore, you must attack with "Utopia" first if you choose to, but this attack is not considered to be a new attack declaration, it is simply changing the target. If "Utopia" does not attack first when the Replay occurs, it is considered to have already declared an attack and can not attack again this Battle Phase.
2) A new monster is summoned to the field before the Damage Step by a card effect
This is very similar to condition 3, but there is a difference. You control a "Gemini Elf" and you attack your opponent's "Elemental HERO Shadow Mist" with your "Gemini Elf". Your opponent activates their "Mask Change" Quick-Play Spell Card and uses "Shadow Mist" to summon "Masked HERO Dark Law". In this instance, the number of monsters on the field hasn't changed at all, but "Dark Law" is replacing"Shadow Mist" as a new monster and so a Replay occurs.
As with condition 1, "Gemini Elf" must be the first monster to attack if you choose to continue your attack, but you can only switch your attack to a new monster OR you can continue to attack and target "Dark Law" (although you wouldn't because "Gemini Elf" would be destroyed, but you might want that to happen for whatever reason). You can also choose to not attack at all.
A similar thing happens with monsters that can special summon themselves, such as "Guardian Dreadscythe" or "Colossal Fighter", but are not considered Replays. Say "Guardian Dreadscythe" attacks your opponent directly, but they activate "Mirror Force" and destroy "Dreadscythe". You then must summon "Dreadscythe" (because it is a compulsory effect. This will be explained in later posts) back to the field. At that point, "Guardian Dreadscythe" is a considered to be a new monster and so can declare an attack, even though it attacked previously and was destroyed. The same applies to "Colossal Fighter"
3) The number of monsters on the defender's side changes by a card effect
This will be a simple one. You control "Dark Magician" and your opponent controls no monsters. You attack directly with "Dark Magician" but your opponent activates "Scapegoat" and summons 4 tokens to the field. Now your "Dark Magician" can not attack your opponent directly as there are tokens in the way and so you must choose to target a token instead, or not attack at all.
I hope that information clears some things up about Replays for you guys because they can get confusing at times. I'm working on another University Assignment, but I will post again when I can.
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