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.
