Subject: How To Decide Which Cards To Use - DarkMarth


Hello, everybody, and Happy New Year! Sorry that I haven't been writing articles for a while, 
but I haven't really found much to write about. But I finally found something! 

I'll start the article off with a question: What's the difference between Mystical Elf and Spirit of 
the Harp, and which one is better? The answer: Mystical Elf is better. The reason for why it's 
better is the topic of this article.
     
As you can see up top, some cards appear to be the exact same on first sight, but have slight 
differences that could decide a match. For example, let's take Mystical Elf VS Spirit of the 
Harp. The reason why Mystical Elf is better is because of its type. Many people play F/S Beatdown 
right now, which means they'll be using Yami. Say that your opponent has 2 La Jinns out and Yami, 
which are very popular in F/S Beatdown. You have one DEF monster out, and you both have 200 LP. 
He attacks with La Jinn. Say that you chose that DEF monster to be Spirit of the Harp. He attacks 
an 1800 DEF SotH with a 2000 ATK La Jinn, and then puts the finishing blow on you. But if that 
DEF monster was Mystical Elf, the Mystical Elf has 2200 DEF. You just won the game. This may 
seem like a very specific example, but there are many scenarios that can happen like that.
     
There are 4 things that you should take into account when deciding between two similar cards 
(similar means both have no effects and approximately the same stats) to put into your deck: 
1.  Stats 2.  Type (Dragon, Fiend, etc.) 3.  Attribute (Dark, Wind, etc.) 4.  Favoritism 
First you should look at the stats, or rather the stat that you are most interested in (if 
you play Beatdown, look at ATK; if you play Stall, look at
DEF.) If one stat is 300 more than the other, not factoring in effects, take that one. If 
they are within 300 points of each other, then you should look at the type. Maybe one is a 
Dragon and the other is a Spellcaster. Then you should take the Spellcaster, since Dragons 
are weak to Dragon Capture Jar, and Spellcasters get a boost from the popular Yami card. 
If you see no reason to distinguish between the types, then look at the attribute. You 
should take them in this order: Dark, Wind, Earth, Water, Light, Fire. This, of course, 
varies from area to area, because some areas, for instance, might be heavy with Umi decks 
while other areas have none. If you have passed these three steps and neither card seems 
to be better, then you should just decide by which card you like better. Yu-gi-oh! isn't 
all about winning; it's about having fun, and you'll have more fun if you play with cards 
that you think are cool. As always, e-mail at Icewalker89@aol.com if you have questions or 
complaints, as I would love to hear them. I'll try to write more articles from now on. 
It's my New Year's resolution! Happy New Year, everyone!

-DarkMarth