Subject: Tips for building a strong Toon Deck- New Era Outlaw Greetings. I'm the New Era Outlaw, and in this tip, I'm going to help, in some way or the other, those duelists out there who are trying to build the perfect Toon-based deck. Now, this is really my first time in giving out a tip in this way, but 'live and learn', right? Anyway, before I begin, I'll just relate a little something about 'Toon World' and the perception of that card by many people. The first thing I've noticed about people's perceptions is, that Toon World requires a cost of 1000 life points to activate, and, as such, they think that it's a burden. Personally, I think that this perception is a little bit outdated now. Why, do you ask? Well, for starters, 1000 life points isn't really that big of a deal to pay-unless you're down to a really low number of life points....then you should avoid playing it altogether unless you know what you're doing. Plus, there are cards out there now which could more than cover the cost of Toon World with each passing turn- Solemn Wishes, Dancing Fairy, Cure Mermaid- it depends on which strategy you adopt. Secondly, people are a little bit bothered by the fact that Toon monsters have to shell out 500 LP to attack life points directly. Once again, cards like the ones I've indicated above will help cover this, and besides- if your attack succeeds, look at how much damage you're inflicting to your opponent (providing you have a Toon Summoned Skull or Blue Eyes toon Dragon out, that is.) Last, but not least, there's the little matter of waiting one turn to attack with your ever so wacky Toon monster. As of now, I know no card that can speed this up, but I do know that you can stall your opponent for a bit with the right cards (Messenger of Peace, for example). I've heard that there is a card called 'Quick Play' which hasn't been released that allows all of a player's monsters to attack in the same turn that they are summoned, but that's still left to be seen. Anyway, on to the tips for building a Toon deck. First off, if you want to build a Toon deck, you must have some 'staples', or must-have cards first. Here are a few you should consider: Raigeki Dark Hole Snatch Steal Soul Exchange Change of Heart Monster Reborn Premature Burial Call of the Haunted Solemn Wishes (get at least two) Toon World x 3 (duh....) Imperial Order Giant Trunade (two would be nice, but one is good enough) Magic Reflector x 2 Harpie's Feather Duster As you've probably realised, most of these cards are restricted, as well as darn near impossible to find, but, if you want to have a strong Toon deck, be sure to include these cards. The last three below Toon World are really important cards to the Toon World strategy. I'll explain: Imperial Order: You may be wondering....'Imperial order? But won't that negate and destroy Toon World?' Actually, if you were thinking that, you're a little off. First off, Imperial order doesn't destroy Magic Cards, it negates their effects. So, cards like Messenger of Peace will stay on the field, but they won't do a darn thing while this bad boy is out. Raigeki, though, is a one-shot card, so playing it while Imperial Order's out means that Raigeki's going to be tossed to the graveyard without doing a thing. Anyway, to make a long story short, by activating Imperial Order first, you can then put Toon World on the field, and not pay any life points to use it, since the only effect this card has is: This card is activated by paying 1000 of your life points. And since all Toon monsters require is a Toon World merely being on the field, you can continue to Special Summon them as you like! Plus, Imperial Order on the field adds some protection to your Toon monsters- no De-spell, no Harpie's Feather Duster, and no Mystical Space Typhoon. Yes, the 700 life points is a bit of a drag, but if you have two Solemn Wishes on the field, it won't really bother you that much. Plus, you can get rid of Imperial Order when you're ready at one of your Standby phases, when one of your big, bad magic cards comes along. Giant Trunade: Now, contrary to what you may have heard, Giant Trunade does NOT, I repeat, NOT, destroy Toon monsters by blowing Toon World off of the field. As a matter of fact, it can further add to your opponent's worries. You see, a condition of Toon monster destruction is that Toon World has to be destroyed on the field for all of your Toons to be destroyed. Giant Trunade doesn't do that. It sends Toon World back to your hand, safe and sound. With no more Toon world on the field in this way, you don't have to worry about those nasty De-spells or Harpy Feather Dusters ruining your game, and your Toon monsters can still wreak havoc on your opponent's LP. This card is also handy in stalling your opponent's trap cards for one turn- Magic Cylinder, for example, which can REALLY hurt you if your Toon monster's attack is involved (damage plus the 500 you spent....ouch.) On the downside, you have to re-activate Toon world to summon any new Toon monsters on the field, which means paying yet another 1000. Try to use this card wisely. Magic Reflector: Get this card. Two of them. You must have them. Why? Because this card can really save your Toon World's butt, that's why! Magic Reflector places a counter on any face-up Continuous Magic Card, and if that card is destroyed, you remove the counter and keep the card. So....your opponent will have to play two magic destruction cards to get rid of your Toon World, and, before you ask, that includes Harpie's Feather Duster, too! A must have for a Toon Deck. As a side note, you can place it one your equip magic cards, too, but I have to warn you, once that monster card's destroyed, so's the card (since it's not attached to anybody anymore.) Change of Heart, Soul Exchange, Snatch Steal: You must have these cards in your deck. They'll not only give you a chance to foil whatever your opponent's hatching, but they'll provide some extra summoning power to your deck! Monster Reborn, Premature Burial, Call of the Haunted: Try to put at least two of these in your deck. There's really nothing more disheartening than losing your precious monster, but you can really turn the tide by bringing it back! I suggest putting Card of Safe Return in your deck as well, since it allows more drawing power (as well as more life points when Solemn Wishes is out.) Now, here are the monsters you'll need for this deck to get off the ground, as well as some decent back-up: Blue-eyes Toon Dragon x2 Toon Summoned Skull x2 Toon Mermaid x3 (a must-have....I'll explain why) Jinzo Hysteric Fairy Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer Bazoo the Soul Eater Summoned Skull Giant Soldier of Stone x2 Of course, Toon monsters are a must for this deck, one card in particular- Toon Mermaid. Why? I like to refer to her as the 'source of almost limitless summoning power'....you see, the rules say that Special Summons (which you all know by now, refer to Toon monsters as well) can be done as often as one likes, so if you have three Toon Mermaids on the field, put 'em all down! Plus, if you have a high level Toon monster like Blue-eyes or Toon Summoned Skull, you can summon them in one turn!! Add that to the fact that you still have a normal summon left, and you're gold. You must have some monsters in your defense as well....if your Toon-ified plans fall apart, you always have some monsters for back-up. I've included Kycoo in this deck to get rid of some nasty cards in your opponent's Graveyard that might do harm to you in the future, and also Bazoo to take advantage of cards sent to your Graveyard. And, of course, I've included the almighty Jinzo, which can negate those nasty Magic Jammers and Dust Tornadoes that can destroy Toon World before you set your plans. Just be careful how you play him, since your traps don't work, either. Summoned Skull is there, too, to provide some flesh to your back-up strategy. And, before you ask, yes, my deck is part beat-down, part Toon based. Here's some more cards that you should think about adding to your deck. Your strategy may vary, so try out these and see which works best: Magician of Faith Mask of Darkness Mystical Space Typhoon Dust Tornado Waboku Cure Mermaid Dancing Fairy Fire Princess Messenger of Peace Torrential Tribute Inaba White Rabbit Injection Fairy Lily ( a soon to be restricted to one card) Magic Jammer Mega Morph Delinquent Duo Well, that's it for now. Good luck in constructing your Toon Decks! Ryan Joseph Rodriguez neweraoutlaw@hotmail.com ---------- Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.