Happy Fourth of July!  It looks like we get to review my favorite card today, Solemn Judgment.  I reviewed this for a Dealer’s choice day last Thanksgiving, so this will be an update of that review.

 

Stats                : While being a Trap has always had something of a negative image (you have to Set it and wait until after the End Phase of that turn to activate them and Jinzo proved quite popular and potent), that’s the trade off for being able to use them on either players turn once (once legal to activate).  Solemn Judgment is not just a Trap, but possibly the most elite of Traps in the American game, the Counter Trap.  Counter Traps are Spell Speed 3; this means that they chain to any other card (in the proper situation) and most other cards are too slow to chain to them.  These are excellent stats, in my opinion.  Since being a Quick-Play Spell card (for example), would lower its Spell Speed, I really think this is the perfect way for this card to do its thing.  What is “its thing”?

 

Effect(s)            : Negation.  Nearly everything in the game can be negated by Solemn Judgment, but at the price of half your Life Points.  Of course, early game this tends to be terrible, but late game, it’s often a bargain.  Also, the halving rounds up, so if you have one Life Point left, it’s free! XD So, what cannot be negated by Solemn Judgment?  When a Monster is Special Summoned by the effect of another card, said Monster’s Special Summoning cannot be negated.  You can, however, negate any Spell or Trap card used in the Special Summoning, so for the most part this is a mere technicality.  Similarly, you can’t negate an effect like Kuriboh, as it is used by discarding said card from hand.  You cannot negate the effect of a Monster card.  Remember though, you can negate the Summon of a Monster, and if that would negate the effect, the effect is negated.  For example, if you negate the normal, Tribute Summon of Mobius the Frost Monarch with Solemn Judgment, it doesn’t get its effect, as it was never Summoned.  There are also two annoying Monsters that luck out at the wording of Solemn Judgment.  Since it says to “destroy” the card, if you use Solemn Judgment to negate the initial Summons of Dark Necrofear and Vampire Lord, their secondary effects will still kick in.  At least they are still considered to have never been properly Summoned and are thus illegal targets for revival (aside from their own effects).  You can’t negate the effects of a Field Spell, though you could negate said Field Spell when they attempt to put it into play (whether directly from hand or activating it from a Set). 

 

Right now, this card is sounding pretty bad, due to all the exceptions, eh?  Remember, anything more or less “normal” can be negated by Solemn Judgment.  I will explain further in the Uses and Combinations section.

 

Uses and

Combinations  : Using this card requires quick math and a quick evaluation of the game current status.  For example, if my opponent activates Ceasefire and my Life Points are lower than [the known number of effect monsters in play multiplied by 500], then I should most definitely negate that, or else I lose. ;) That is usually the obvious timing for the card. If you are going to win if the attack goes through, and they have nothing set or in hand, you negate the Waboku for the win.  Again, there is no question there.  Less obvious is when your opponent goes to use Waboku but has other options as well.  Do the math and evaluate the scenario.  If they have cards in hand, ask yourself “How likely are they to run Kuriboh?”   If you think they run Kuriboh, ask yourself “How likely are they to have Kuriboh in hand?” followed by “How much will it hurt me if I negate Waboku and then they use that Kuriboh?”  As long as you aren’t making yourself extremely vulnerable, in this scenario, it would still be worth negating the Waboku.  Remember to adjust for obvious exceptions (they run Chaos but you haven’t seen BLS yet).

 

As of now, I haven’t really gotten into why to run Solemn Judgment.  After all, there are other cards for the scenarios I mentioned.  Why run such an expensive card?

 

First, notice that it replaces multiple cards.  That’s why I started running it back in the day: even in the days of Metal Raiders, who had room for even two each of Magic Jammer and Seven Tools of the Bandit?  It also functions as a Horn of Heaven you always have the option of using: you can always pay to negate (though you may not always want to).  It’s a very versatile card.

 

The second reason to use it is summed up in a single word: fear.  Most players I know, good or bad are always weary of running into Mirror Force.  Why?  Because it can ruin your entire offense.  Mirror Force is only a single card!  The odds were pretty low that it would be the only thing set.  Still, we fear it.  Solemn Judgment is similar.  When you run at least one, your opponent will always worry that you can negate something important.  Imagine setting up a complicated combo, only for the key component to be negated, rendering the rest useless.  It’s the stuff of nightmares.  It also matters when, as stated, a single card is all that stands between victory and defeat.  Since it is Spell Speed 3, it does usually end the chain.

 

If you run multiples and are smart enough to know when to play them, people will fear them.  From personal experience, I have found that while I am really just an “average” player with a penchant for running decks that aren’t the current “thing”, people who remember me fear the Judgments… what, it’s been a while since I went to an actual tournament (ban list protest), and I change decks so much online.

 

Now, to finish this section, let me quickly mention that this actually combos with certain cards to really be the backbone of most decks.  First we have Suicide Beatdown, which purposely burns most of its LP because it knows how to capitalize on that-primarily Megamorph.  Last Turn decks also benefit from Solemn Judgment to lower Life Points rapidly.  Finally, some life gain decks will love it with Life Absorbing Machine; two and you may break even for negating something on your turn; three and it can get quite sick.  Imagine negating a Waboku for 4000 LP, and then next turn gaining 6000LP.

 

Ratings

 

Traditional       : 3.75/5-I really believe this card should see more play.  Do I think every deck needs three?  No.  I do think every deck should main deck one and most should have another one or two side-decked.  There are so many powerful single cards that having a single means of negating any one of them is potent.

 

Advanced        : 4/5-Even more potent here.  Traps have finally become a common sight again (though still the least played group).  Big “power” Monsters are on the rise again as well.  Finally, what spell doesn’t seem potent that is commonly played?

 

Limited                        : 5/5-If you are somehow pulling this in Limited, it’s great.  You can almost always make use of it (it negates Summons, after all), and if they did pull a nice Monster, Spell, or Trap, imagine their face when it is negated.  Yes, it is expensive, but in a Limited event, top decking their single good pull can completely reverse the game.

 

Summary

Great power at a great price.  Note that the second “great” is being used in terms of size: half your Life Points is usually pretty hefty.  Still, you are getting an incredibly versatile card that can negate all but an annoying handful of cards in the game.  Since it has so many uses, it means running fewer cards in the deck, and a smaller deck makes most players happy.  Just remember to do the math to know whether to negate or not.  Winning or at least not using is always worth it. ;)