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Tom Rogers on Duel Masters
Techno Totem
June 28, 2010
Hey
everyone!
It's about
that time of
the month
again. I've
been getting
a lot of
complaints
about the
TCG players
not being
able to
actually use
the cards
I'm
reviewing.
So for this
week, I've
picked one
that's
something to
check out
for every
format of
the game.
Quote:
Name: Techno Totem
Cost: 4
Race: Mystery Totem
Civilization: Light/Nature
Type: Creature
Rules Text:
(This creature is put into your mana zone tapped.)
While this creature is tapped, each of your other creatures has "power attacker +1500." (While attacking, a creature that has "power attacker +1500" gets +1500 power.)
Instead of having this creature attack, you may tap it to use its Tap ability.
Tap Choose one of your opponent's creatures in the battle zone and tap it.
Power: 5,000
Mana Number: 1
Artist: Katsuya
Rarity: V
Collector Number: 10
Set: Shockwaves of the Shattered Rainbow |
Shockwaves
was such a
great set,
right? It's
probably
because of
all the
other
incredible
cards in
that set
that were
immediately
changing the
metagame
that this
guy went a
little
unnoticed.
The
Basics
I really
don't like
four-cost
guys in
general
because of
the tendency
they have to
widdle your
hand in
multiple
copies, but
Techno
Totem's
ability
makes it
worth the
chances. Get
two of these
guys up and
you're
starting
some pretty
mean field
control --
especially
if you can
manage to
put
something
like Shining
Defense or
Pala Olesis,
Morning
Guardian up
before that
happens.
5000 Power
isn't bad at
all, and the
ability to
tap
creatures is
pretty
handy. When
you flood
the board,
this
basically
becomes a 0
mana removal
engine --
especially
if you stack
Totems to
get rid of
the other
scary
things, or
chump
blockers to
stop
incoming
counterattacks.
My favorite
part about
this guy
though, and
what I
really feel
makes him
shine is
that "Power
Attacker
+1500" he
gives to all
of your
creatures
while he's
tapped.
That's right
-- after he
uses his
ability, he
gives all of
your
other
creatures
one! Now you
may be
thinking "Woah,
Tom. Power
Attacker? I
haven't used
that since
2004. It's
not
something
I'm too
thrilled
about." And
I totally
understand,
but you have
to be aware
of how
significant
the 500 at
the end of
that
increase is.
This means
that in
addition to
winning all
of what
would
normally be
trade
battles,
you're going
to be able
to take out
significantly
bigger
creatures --
still
without
trading!
This kind of
tap-battle,
force-into-conflict
memorandum
is what
suits Techno
Totem best.
I'm
currently
using this
strategy in
the KC Grand
Tournament.
How This
Affects The
Game
This is a
pretty good
ability, so
you’re going
to want to
have some
ways to
combat the
new power
given to the
classic
tap-attack
strategy.
Odds are
your deck
isn’t quite
as prepared
for it as it
used to be,
some not at
all, so
you’ll need
to
re-evaluate
your early
game plan in
order to
remove 5000
power
creatures
outside of
chump
blocking for
time (since
he can tap
those). This
guy’s
usually
running
alongside
either a
small weenie
or
protective
blocker at
this point,
so that’s
where he’s
most
vulnerable.
The best way
to handle a
single Totem
here would
be a
permanent
removal,
reintroducing
classics
like Death
Smoke to
combat a
classic
strategy.
Now the big
problem , as
I said, is
when there’s
two of these
guys on the
board.
You’re going
to need
something
that can
actually axe
one in
battle and
scare off
the other,
giving you
time to deal
with it.
Think “Rutheless
Skyerror”-type
creatures;
they come
out around
the same
time, they
can swing at
a creature,
and they’re
bigger than
the Totem.
However,
double Totem
is still a
significant
problem
because of
that nasty
“Power
Attacker.”
That’s where
you’ll need
the early
removal
(perhaps
some small
bounce , ala
Spiral Gate)
or chump
blocker to
come in.
Ironically,
what hurts
this guy the
most is that
long
forgotten
ability –
Power
Attacker! If
you can
juice out a
creature
that swings
over one in
battle, odds
are it’s
worth losing
the other
creature
(since you
were going
to anyway).
Once you get
the extra
time to get
rid of the
Totem,
considering
now there’s
half the
total amount
of threats
on the board
to respond
to, you’re
likely to
end up with
a stable
advantage.
How This
Affects You
Some of
these
solutions
may not be
the most
practical –
however, I
can see
Techno Totem
sneaking his
way into the
metagame and
worth one or
two pieces
of tech,
perhaps
small good
purpose
cards that
already
could
potentially
see some
play, that
also
accomplish
the task.
Very similar
in the ways
players
originally
dealt with
Petrova,
Chaneller of
Suns upon
release.
So consider
stocking up
a little
more on
those Spiral
Gates,
consider the
Death
Smokes, the
Rothuses,
the Vine
Chargers –
because just
when you
least expect
it, this guy
might come
get ya!
I'm playing
a little
more on KP,
usually
using this
guy, so feel
free to find
me and see
what I'm
talking
about! My
username is
Thomas_Jay.
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