Dark Paladin's Dimension

Article #2 Staples--IS there really such a thing?

1.20.05   Hello duelists!

First off, let me welcome you to Dark Paladin's Dimension. Let me tell you all a little about myself. I am an 18 year old college Freshman in the state of Michigan. I have been playing Yugioh since just after the release of LON. Today I come to you with a very important term--STAPLE!

What is a staple? In Yugioh, a staple is a card that is universal. One almighty card that can fit into any deck and not hurt that deck. This card has little to no drawback or cost, and an incredible benefit. Some people argue Pot of Greed is the ONLY staple today, since the others (Harpie's Feather Duster, Dark Hole, Graceful Charity, Monster Reborn, Raigeki) were all banned. Pot of Greed IS a staple. Allow me to explain. It's effect simply states: Draw 2 cards from your deck. What could possibly be bad about being able to draw? It gives you 2 new cards for NO cost. No cost whatsoever, 2 free cards. The only "cost" is playing Pot of Greed. Are there any decks that are hurt by using Pot of Greed? Not at all...draw power and hand control is a very important factor in the game of Yugioh.

Also, lets go over something else that is very important when deciding if a card is staple material. That single factor ladies and gentlemen is--Rarity! That's right. Just because a card is Secret Rare by no means makes it staple material. Take Gaia the Dragon Champion, Thousand Dragon, or Gate Guardian. Just a few Secret Rares that make us want to vomit. Take Pot of Greed--it ended up being an easily accessed Starter Deck Common. A staple that is yes, a COMMON!

Finally, another influential factor of staples is the current game environment. With the ban list now in effect banning several past staples, people must fine new cards to fill in their "staple slots" from their deck.

Also, other cards that could ARGUABLY (not saying are) be called staple (say MST for one) was restricted to one. A good alternative for Harpie's Feather Duster is Heavy Storm. Premature Burial and Call of the Haunted could also be arguably called staples with Monster Reborn gone. Breaker the Magical Warrior is a great monster for s/t removal. Being an instant Level 4 1900 attacker (Dark also makes him chaos food) Breaker can instantly destroy a s/t by removing his spell counter. Mobius the Frost Monarch is a good s/t disruptor and some people are using him even though he is a tribute monster.

In conclusion, a TRUE staple (such as Pot of Greed) never is called a staple once, and dismissed later as NOT a staple, for whatever reason. Such cards in this category include Magic Cylinder and Ring of Destruction. Both are great cards, but neither can truly benefit EVERY deck, and both sadly see less play as time goes on.

Also, I'd like to point out that just because ONE person or even ONE MILLION people you know say ...... (<---insert card name there) is a staple use it means that you have to. Build and use a deck with some originality, because that is always cool to see in Yugioh.

Feel free to e-mail me about ANYTHING at tsearcy@lssu.edu

Not to steal movie lines but I love Will Ferrell so...

You stay classy...planet Earth