Wiretap was also a card I put some thought into reviewing last week. Cards like Raiza were the beginning of an era that showed us it can be just as good (if not better) to recycle, than destroy. Wiretap is quite the interesting Trap. We do play certain cards that aren't necessarily dead draws, but are better draws at certain times than others. Wiretap doesn't require a cost, it just lets you negate the activation of a Trap, and return it to the Deck, assuming you were successful. Honestly, I don't see this as a bad card at all. If you're successful, you're breaking even, although yes the opponent could redraw the Trap, but even so, even the next turn, they're still set back a draw. That's the important factor here. Early to mid game, I think this card is quite good. More cards in the Deck, more time to lose it, maybe you won't see it again. Late game this thing could be a gen, say 5-10 cards, getting rid of the game winning Trap, and winning on your own. I wouldn't be surprised to see this guy catch on.

Ratings:

Traditional: 2/5
Advanced: 3/5
Art: 4.5/5

Wiretap
Counter Trap
When a Trap Card is activated: Negate the activation, and if you do, shuffle that card into the Deck.

Wrapping up another week of Dragons of legend cards we have Wiretap, a card that appeared in the very first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds by Trudge and was never played again

Wiretap is a Counter Trap with a simple effect, if a trap is activated; you negate the activation and shuffle that card into the deck. Personally I would prefer the trap card destroyed instead of just postponing it, but it is still a nasty effect. The opponent may never draw it, or it might become a dead draw, it would increase their deck size therefore reducing the chances of them drawing something they really need. Of course the fact that there is no cost/disadvantage does help

Overall, while it doesn’t destroy the trap, it could still annoy your opponent and the lacko f any bad for you does help.

Traditional: 3/5
Advanced: 3/5

Crazy busy week for me, but thankfully the one review I can write this week is for Wiretap, one of the more entertaining cards out of the Dragons of Legend set.

Wiretap is very similar to Seven Tools of the Bandit, but the downside to this is instead of paying 1000 LP, you give the trap back to the opponent by putting it back in their deck. This may have an upside; let your opponent pay 2K to play warning, only to have it go back to their deck for later. Late game it could very well become a dead draw, giving you that much more momentum.

Another great use is to stop other Counter-Traps, specifically deck-unique ones. Imperial Tombs comes immediately to mind immediately, along with Infernity Barrier, Retort, and Gladiator Beat War Chariot. You can also of course just use it to stop battle traps, giving you a clear path to the opponent. Stopping any inconvenience, from Mirror Force to Safe Zone, will give you an advantage in the long run.

Some may compare Wiretap to Trap Stun; they both have their perks. Trap Stun can be activated on your own to negate everything before you take any action, though it can be countered and responded to. Wiretap has to lie in wait for a trap to be activated, but is harder to chain to. It really comes down to the type of deck you play; if you need a fast OTK or big swing then Trap Stun is your tool. Activate it in your main phase 1 and don't worry about anything the rest of that turn. If you're playing a slower, more grinding deck like Bujins, Gravekeepers, even Firefist, you might consider Wiretap. It's certainly a decent card, and a good trap to keep in your toolbox.

Traditional: 2/5
Advanced: 3/5
Art: 3/5

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

We are ending this week with a card that has seen significant play within the meta since its release recently in Dragons of Legend. Wiretap is a counter trap that can be activated in response to an opponents trap activation, you can negate the effect and return the card to their deck. The deck is then shuffled. 

The first thing you might notice is how similar this card works to Seven Tools of the Bandit, an old card from one of the very first sets of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG that has remained relevant up until now. Even though Seven Tools negates and destroys the trap instead of sending it back into the deck for just 1000 lifepoints paid, Wiretap has quickly become the superior option because of way the current meta has shifted. 

There are currently a handful of cards that cost lifepoints that are considered "staples" (or necessities) in meta decks that cost significant amounts of the players lifepoints in order to activate. Solemn Warning was the first with a mandatory cost of 2000, but now Soul Charge has quickly joined the ranks as a must run card at 1 to 2 copies in mostly all decks that run monsters without special summoning restrictions from the grave. Also less of staples but very necessary side deck options and worth an honorable mention are the Drain family of cards including Skill Drain, Soul Drain, and Mind Drain which all cost 1000 lifepoints to activate. Because competitive players can now burn through more than half of their own lifepoints by self activated card effects, lifepoints have become a hotter commodity than in the past and as such, they are now being conserved more than ever. For this reason, duelists are not so willing to give up 1000 lifepoints to activate Seven Tools of the Bandit.

Overall, Wiretap does exactly what Seven Tools used to do for duelists who needed to negate trap activation's. Even though the card is sent back into the opponents deck rather then being destroyed, a majority of the time this effect is more than crippling enough and a well timed wiretap can be instrumental to foiling the enemies plot.

Ratings:

3/5 Traditional 
3.5/5 Advanced
Mechanic Design: 2.5/5 (Somewhat of an unnecessary card since Seven Tools exists and has a very similar effect. An example of blatant power creep. Wiretap is a powerful card, with an unoriginal effect.)
3/5 Art

Wiretap

With the American NSA controversy it's a little bit of coincidence that "Wiretap" is being released now, but the main point here is that it's a great trap card that's definitely worth adding to your collection. Unlike Royal Decree and Trap Stun, it won't undermine your own trap line-up. And being a counter trap, it's much more reliable and harder for the opponent to prevent.

Immediately comparable is Seven Tools of the Bandit (another counter trap that negates a trap and destroys it if you pay 1000 life points). 1000 life points is quite a cost. Not something huge, but in a meta with lots of anti-trap options, you would be more inclined to want to save your life points.

Not all is dandy with Wiretap though. By returning it to the deck, you let your opponent use it again. If you negate Torrential Tribute, you still have to worry about them trying to kill your swarm again. And if you are using it against a devastating trap like Macro Cosmos, you are just enabling it to come back again.

All in all though, it's a very well rounded option to negate traps. It's by no means an example of power creep, though some may consider it a step up. One of the best cards in the new set and it's likely to stay with us in our meta for years to come.

Traditional – 1.5
Advanced – 4.0

Let me start by saying Wiretap is a good card. Good and strong.

Now why did I start with that? Simple. Did a card like this need to be made? It completely overshadows cards like Seven Tools of the Bandit, and other such counters by being so flatly better. This is free negation, which I don't feel is right. If you're cautious of traps, you should probably max out on this since there is no cost or anything to using it. Apart from just providing negation, this refills the opponent's deck, and in this game you want your deck to be anorexic, not bulimic. By all means, do use this card. Slap it into any deck that you think would run afoul of traps, there are no consequences to doing so, after all.

Advanced: 3.5/5
Traditional: 2/5