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Pojo's Yu-Gi-Oh Card of the Day

Solemn Judgment
#GLD2-EN044 

Card Ratings
Traditional: 4.33
Advanced: 4.50

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


Date Reviewed - 07.01.09

Back to the main COTD Page

 

Dark Paladin
Wednesday

Sorry I missed the review yesterday, but today we review Solemn Judgement, a very popular Trap card, and one of my favorites in the game. It likes to negate things...all kinds of things...Monster summonings (to include Special Summon) and Magic and Trap cards...versatility folks.

Solemn Judgement is one of my favorite Trap Cards, just behind Mirror Force, and people play three Solmen Judgements these days in their Deck for a reason. For a while, it was one of those cards, that despite being good, didn't see much play because of certain text..."Pay half of your Lifepoints."

Dark Bribe is a semi acceptable optin for something cheaper, and even My Body as a Shield can sometimes work...but It's an amazing Trap, even though early in the game that cost can be high. You are allowed to negate anything, unless a Solemn or something of sort is chained to your own, which is unfortunate.

I have always loved Solemn Judgement simply because of how versatile it is. It can save your life at any point in the game, especially if your opponent hasn't sprung any deadly cards yet and you know what's coming.

I'm actually fairly surprised Solemn Judgement isn't Restricted or even Banned. It would certainly force players to think outside the box for a while and use something else to try and slow down or stop your opponent. IF for whatever reason you aren't playing one (or even more) keep one in your side deck.

Ratings:

Traditional: 4/5
Advanced: 5/5
Art: 5/5

Jeff Lang
Today’s card up for review is Solemn Judgment. Man is this a good week to review cards, two of my favorite cards back to back! Solemn Judgment is one of the greatest cards ever created, as well as one of the most skilled cards. In this format, if you play a Solemn at the wrong time, you lose. Solemn let’s quite a few decks get the chance to be used, and can either be your best friend, or can lead to your demise.

Trad: 5/5
Adv: 5/5

Freeza
Solemn Judgment ...

Another old fave ... not by ME, of course. Anyone who knows me, knows I prefer NOT to use this card. But i cannot deny its effectiveness ... nor its annoyingness ... gosh darn duelists actually playing with 3 of these ... makes u wanna punch someone in the face, no?

Is it still great? - Well at the cost of Half your lifepoints - u can negate and destroy just about anything that goes down - Trap, Spell, or monster summoning ... although NOT monster effect, which is at least SOME sigh of relief ... What that means is that u have to think a little bit more before activating it ... and that "thinking" is what has caused this card's rating to slip a bit ... Yes, Freeza is saying that Solemn Judgment AIN'T what she used to be!!!

"What'chu talkin' 'bout Willis?" -?? - Well, I'll tell u! - Basically, it's like this - with the emergence of slick new cards and deck themes, the usual go to of "negate big monster" or "cancel out game changing spell" isn't as easy to react to. I summon my Lightsworn Lyla to the field while u have 2 set traps ... what do u do? - Pay half your LP to negate this 1700 ATK 4 star monster and keep it off the field, or wait for her to use her effect and either destroy your set Solemn or whatever else u have face down that u could be protecting. Meaning u just cut your life in half for something that isn't in itself gonna swing the game in your opponent's favor which is what u used to reserve Solemn Judgment for. Blackwings? - same problem. Your opponent summons a Sirroco or a Shura ... do u actiavte Solemn to get rid of it and cut off the potential rush of Bora and/or Gale? Or do u wait for THEM to come out before activating it? Then again - Bora or Gale by themselves may or may not be a HUGE threat depending on if ur opponent is holding Kalut or not ... What do u do?! ... If u had a set Sakuretsu or Mirror Force or even a Threatening Roar, it wouldnt be such a concern.

What i'm saying, by illustrating scenarios with relatively new and popular monsters of which i'm familiar with, is that with these new play mechanics - Its no longer the cut and dry - "my opponent brings out Jinzo? - i snuff him with Solemn" - plays anymore. And that being the case - there are OTHER usable counter measures for these threats that u have access to and may want to employ, instead of something that costs half your life everytime u use it.

Is Solemn still great? - Yes.
Just not AS great anymore.

Traditional: 4/5
Advanced: 4/5

- FREEZA
Parallel Fates Solemn Judgment…. Aside from Mirror Force, this card has probably enjoyed the longest deckable reign in this game. Literally splashable in any deck, and provide the user a huge advantage if used properly.

Against Lightsworn, Solemn can be used to shut down most of their plays. The most common would likely see Judgment Dragon’s summon being negated, however should Solemn be used on a Lumina, Celestia, or even a Solar Recharge, you’ve most likely taken away a lot of their options away. Solemning Solar Recharge can be risky though…if they pitch literally anything aside from a Wulf, you would be better off letting it go.

When facing Gladiator Beast, your Solemn’s main purpose to stop Gyzarus, Heraklinos or a War Chariot. Negating any of those mentioned cards swings the game into your favour as it means that the GB player has already committed cards to their play. Chariot will be used when one of your monster’s effect can change the game’s momentum. Solemn assures that to go through giving you the advantage in the game.

Against Synchro-Cat, Solemn is less usable however. With SynCat playing 2-3 Cold Wave, Heavy, Trunade and MST, the Solemns will likely be rendered useless. And even if you do Solemn one of their plays, it just leaves you in an easier kill-range for Dark Strike Fighter.

Solemn Judgment is a powerful card, but one that comes at a steep cost of ˝ your LP. It’s a card that will literally make or break games. Use with discretion.

4/5

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