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John Rocha |
Every format has a card that has been around
awhile that gets a rebirth. Compulsory Evacuation
Device is such a card. In a format that is heavily
into Xyz summoning, Compulsory does amazing things.
We are seeing this card being played in more and
more top tier decks. Not only does it wreck your
opponent’s plans, but it can also be used to save
your own monsters.
Let’s take a look at what Compulsory does against
the top tier decks. Dino Rabbit’s get popped back to
the hand, has one of the summoned monsters get
popped back to the hand, or get the Xyz monster
taken out. Wind-Ups loose their Xyz monsters
including Zenmaines. Inzektor’s do not get any
effects off. Dragons loose fusion and Xyz monsters,
and one of the two pieces to their lock in ether
Lightpulsar or Red-Eyes. Ryko and Lyla also become a
non-factor.
Compulsory also saves your own monsters from being
destroyed, snatched, or banished. Compulsory does
have its down side. It does not negate a summon so
if the summoned monster has a trigger effect or an
effect that can negate trap cards then your in bad
shape. It can also be a negative one as it returns
the monster to the hand.
If you can find the room in your deck for another
trap card, then I would recommend playing Compulsory
Evacuation Device. Especially in a deck that used
Creature Swap.
Traditional: 3/5
Advanced: 4/5
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Angelic Nightmare
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Today we have a trap card that
has picked up a lot wind this past format. With
cards like Gachi Gachi Gantetsu and Wind-up
Zenmaines running around with a built in
self-preservation ability cards like Compulsory
Evacuation Device are needed.
Compulsory Evacuation Device
Normal Trap
“Target 1 monster on the field;
return that target to the hand.”
The effect is so simple, clear,
and great. This old card has finally seen the
spotlight that it has deserved. This card was
overlooked by many back in the good ol’ days where
you had your basic Cookie Cutter decks that were
your basic toolbox. When this card was originally
released it was overlooked because we had Bottomless
Trap Hole running around a similar timeframe. At the
time Synchros and XYZ monsters were no such thing.
This card’s versatility is
being used more as people realize how good this card
is in most of the meta. With Ignition Priority gone,
saving your Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the
Beginning or Dark Armed Dragon from a Bottomless
Trap Hole or Torrential Tribute might be a good idea
with a well timed Eject Button! Bouncing back
Synchros like Stardust and XYZ like Zenmaines or
Acid Golem have become important in today’s game.
Pros: Spot Removal
Cons: Allows your opponent to
reuse that monster in the future.
Advanced: 4/5
Traditional: 3/5
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Philosophical
Psycho
The "Psycho" in "Philosophical
Psycho" is short for "Psychological." "Philosophical-Psychological" is short for something else as well... |
EVACUAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!!!!!
CED has perhaps the most one of the most reactive
and efficient effects out there, being very
comparable to Book of Moon. It is extremely
disruptive to send your opponent's monster back to
the hand. Many important monsters are Normal
Summonable, and in the meta, the most powerful
monsters are the ones that are not difficult to
summon, but CED, despite not being a permanent
solution such as Bottomless Trap Hole, still wastes
the opponent's Normal Summon and can throw a wrench
in the plans.
This nifty little Trap is most ideal for
effortlessly eliminating your opponent's Synchros
and Xyzs they worked so hard, especially those with
built-in protection effects (I'm looking at Stardust
Dragon, Zenmaines, Maestroke, Gentetsu, Utopia). CED
is also especially painful, given its costless
nature, against Synchros and Xyzs that were
particularly difficult to summon, such as Shock
Master (simply respond to its summon, or if you drew
CED after it got summoned, just set it down and use
it at the start of your opponent's turn). This
showcases how the easy, costless CED cleanly boots
any monster you want right off the field,
potentially allowing your opponent to be open to
brutal assaults and/or protecting your own monsters
all at once.
CED can be chained to an opponent's powerful effect
that requires them to have a monster (theirs or
yours) faceup on the field. (In a tighter situation,
you can also anticipate a move they would do and
activate CED prematurely as a precaution.) Also,
like Book of Moon, CED can also help to disrupt the
opponent's Synchro and Xyz plans. Of course, like
Book of Moon (perhaps even better than BoM), you can
use this as a (albeit situational) way to shield
your own monsters from destruction from the likes of
Dark Hole and Mirror Force.
CED is usually pushed aside in favour of more
popular and splashable Spells (Mystical Space
Typhoon, Book of Moon) or more offensive Traps
(Bottomless Trap Hole, Dimensional Prison). Although
you might find deckspace cramped or you might prefer
one of the more violent splashables I just
mentioned, I can assure to you that CED's
versatility means that it will rarely cause you
disappointment. Simple effects are usually the best!
What CED lacks in sparing a monster's life, it makes
up for with pure versatility and chainability. Think
of it as a cross between Dimensional Prison and Book
of Moon, both good cards in their own rights.
Trad: 2/5 (good at disruption, but Traps are slow
and granted you could use Makyura or Temple of the
Kings but those are used for FTKs anyway)
Adv: 3.8/5
Aesthetics: 3/5 It looks like Giga Gagagigo had to
go-go to the bathroom really bad. That's just the
thought I have. I picture a mechanical hut forming
around the target monster rapidly and launches it
straight upward as if it were Team Rocket blasting
off again.
Philosophy Corner: I'm guessing the majority of our
audience here at Pojo's Yu-Gi-Oh branch is probably
male, mostly the preteen age group, after that
probably casual teenage players age 16 and up with
some tournament-level players at college age, and
finally, perhaps some middle-aged adults that still
take the game seriously (a number of people working
here at Pojo.com are married with kids). I believe
that out of all the people that know that Pojo
exists, most of them are high-level players, but out
of most of them, most do not bother checking
Pojo.com out because they feel much safer relying on
their own instincts on judging a card (that said, I
feel most of Pojo's card reviewers are world-class
duelists, but the CotD reviewers that have more
experience, IMO, do tend to rate cards a lot more
strictly). Anyway, the rest of the people that go on
Pojo.com, I believe, are casual players that are
just generic YGO fans or are seeking to start a
career in playing in localized tournaments (former
writer Michael Lucas discussed this in our 2006 YGO
magazine, stating locals are one step below regional
tournaments). *to be continued tomorrow*
abc_at_123.com@hotmail.com
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