Pojo's Shaman King news, tips, strategies and more!

Shaman King Home
Message Board
Pojo's Books

Anime
Character Bios

Episode Guide

Card Game
Card of the Day
CCG Strategies
Tourney Reports
Top 10 Lists

Frequently Asked Questions
Errata

Spoilers
Reincarnation

Deck Builder Friendly Spoiler

Chamber Cards Reincarnation

What is a Shaman?

Contact Us

Magic
Yu-Gi-Oh!
DBZ
Pokemon
Yu Yu Hakusho
NeoPets
HeroClix
Harry Potter
Anime
Vs. System
Megaman

This Space
For Rent

Pojo's Shaman King TCG Card of the Day

Surgeon's Implements

Type - Guardian
Card Number - REI-131

Card Ratings
Tournament- 4.25
Casual- 4
Sealed- 4.75

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being the worst. 3 ... average. 5 is the highest rating.

Date Reviewed - 04.27.05

 
 


Dan The
Timid

Surgeon's Implements
Strike
Type: Guardian
Cost: 0/2/0
Stats: 8/4
Effect: If your opponet counterattcks from green zone, gain a red furyoku.
Flavor: "I'll try to make this as painful as possible."

I must admit this card review is a little disapointing for me, why? There a couple cards, atleast 1 for each type, in the first set that I personally feel are above and beyond the rest, "staples" if you will for their respective type as of the first set. I was hoping to do a week of such cards with a card from each type but this card was going to be my guardian card so there goes that plan, oh well. Anyway I think it now goes with out saying that I really like this card, but is my love of this card justified? Lets look:

Pros:
- Massive Defense
- Mediocre but non-punishable force
- Nice effect

Cons:
- Kind of expensive
- Only guardian shaman can use it
- Mediocre force
- Effect will rarely go off

Overview: So based on that breakdown of pros and cons alone your probably thinking "so whats the big deal, this card doesn't seem very impressive". Well at its core its not that impressive. 4 force isn't straight up punishable but it does alow your opponent to dark ascedance, mystic beam, or any of the numerous eco-strikes (including Implements little sister Euthanize). 8 intercept is huge but usually its going to be wasted. While you can never have too much force, intercept isn't neccesarily the same way, a 4 intercept blocks a 4 force strike just as well as an 8 but generally is gonna cost you alot less. 2 yellow isn't horribly expensive but it IS expensive, without some special effect youre going to be getting at most 1 yellow back per turn and you can only focus to get a second yellow by going to your red so you should never count on having extra yellows around. And that effect of gaining a red if they counter in green is nice but its negated easily by them simply focusing in green. And if they have a kanna in yellow...

Deeper Analysis: So why should you even consider this card? Well first off theres the security. You never know when you might need an 8 intercept to block something and if you can't afford it against a small attack you can focus it (unlike previously reviewed smoldering confidence). Its true the effect won't go off to often but in a way its always going off. Think of it as a slightly less powerful version of crack back or blinding foray. Your basically forcing your opponent into his yellow giving him only 2 chances to block and usually gaining yourself a nice replenishment. They still get to focus in green and a 4 isn't that likely to score even if your opponent only have 2 chances to block it but again I never said it was on par with a start in yellow effect, but it is comparable. If they do choose to return in green for some reason gaining a red back is a very nice reward. Still the effect is nifty, the real reason is that its a very high intercept, non punishable force strike and I've found in my experience almost every deck can use atleast a few of such a strike.

Combos/Uses: Well lets see, Taoe En, Spirit of Fire, or Venster Punisher all can have quite alot of fun with that high intercept and make that mediocre force into something to be feared. Punisher can go so far as to make it a 4/8, not bad, not bad at all. For soul users theres also conviction and no quarter. Mind has Fateful Choice though your probably not making the most of your intercept. This is also one of the few cards with intercept high enough to make good use of Jeanne Iron Maiden (which effectively makes it a 5/4 with the same effect for 1 yellow). Then of course we all know how Joco can make any all yellow costing card just unfairly cheap. Needless to say, Implements has alot of support.

Final Stat Breakdown:
Constructed: 4.5/5 (its not a perfect card but it can find a place in pretty much any guardian deck as of the first set)
Sealed: 5/5 (Implements are like gold in this format)
 

andys
island

The Faust returns again. Well, the picture feature's Faust's wife, Eliza. Today is "Surgeon's Implements." It's a pretty crazy card. It's in alot of decks, and let's find out why.

Trait restrictions is Guardian decks. Plan for that when deck building. Also it costs 2 yellows. That's around "average" cost for a strike.

Next this strike has a powerhouse intercept of 8. That's going to pretty much stop anything, even Signature moves. Great card for defensive decks. The 4 force is alittle lacking. Not quite a 5, but an advantage might help that. The Intercept-Force ratio is 2:1, which doesn't make it very balanced. But since it's intercept is so high I don't think it matters. Also puts that Opening Attack to shame.

His effect is also great for you too. If your opponent counter attacks from the green zone you gain a red furyoku. Your opponent should at all costs prevent you from getting an extra red furyoku. That could really help you later on. So with this in mind you won't often get that red, if ever, since your opponent will almost always focus into the yellow zone. This is leaving them with only 2 chances to get a good strike. If you power up "Surgeon's Implements" force even higher, you could have a good chance at scoring a point.

This card is overall great in Guardian decks, even more so if you are playing defensive. Sealed play can really use this card as it's an uncommon. So you will most likely get at least 1 of these. It's a great draft, and there is a bunch of common and uncommon support for Guardians too. The high intercept and forceful effect are also great in Casual and Tournaments. Run a few of these, if you like to be more defensive.

Casual: 4/5
Tournament: 4/5
Sealed: 4.5/5
 

 


Copyright© 1998-2005 pojo.com
This site is not sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise affiliated with any of the companies or products featured on this site. This is not an Official Site.