Stats                : Mobius the Frost Monarch is a Level 6 Water/Aqua/Effect Monster with 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF.  Since Chaos is still the preeminent deck type - not surprising since most decks have between three and six each of potent Light/Dark Monsters – it’d need a new name but would otherwise be a lock for all those CC decks out there.  Of course, most of you reading this already know that Mobius is a common site in most decks/side decks anyway.  So why is it so good even if it’s Water?  Well, it’s Level 6 so it doesn’t get anything more than a minimal attack boost from A Legendary Ocean.  Of course, since its effect is triggered by Tribute summoning it, we wouldn’t want it to be reduced to Level 4 or less).  So Level wise it’s just about right: it even had a few handy Metamorphosis targets back in the day when every deck ran that card.  Being an Aqua Type is mostly meaningless for Advanced, but quite handy for Traditional since it forces Tribe-Infecting Virus to kill itself if it wants to hit Mobius with its effect.  2400 ATK is the practical target for Level 5/6 Monsters with at least a minimal effect.  The only such Monster to exceed that and still see a reasonable amount of play is Dark Ruler Ha Des by 50 points.  1000 DEF is a bit low.  Sure, it means that Witch of the Black Forest in Traditional, but it is such a serious issue in Advanced right now as players can at least recognize the power of some position changing cards.  Tsukuyomi is strong enough to take out Mobius (and all other Monarchs) in battle if she uses her effect to for them into face-down DEF position.

 

Effect               : Clearly, this is what makes the card since many other 2400 ATK single Tribute Monsters with more useful Attributes/Types for the current format go ignored: when successfully Tribute Summoned, he allows you to destroy up to two Spell/Traps in play.  Even Zaborg the Thunder Monarch didn’t catch on as fast as Mobius, and you’d think Zaborg would have given his Light Attribute and Monster destroying effect.  The reason is due to size: the Monarchs, as previously stated, are 2400 ATK Monsters which means they aren’t beaten by many cards that see play in terms of brute force.  So if Mobius survives being Summoned, it takes out the one thing it has to really worry about immediately: Spells and Traps. It hits two, allowing you to break even in terms or raw card count (though not card quality) even if it is destroyed or Removed From Play by a card activated in response to being Summoned.  In fact, the only downside is that since this is a one and done effect, it’s nothing but a big beatstick after its Summoned.

 

Uses and

Combinations  : This is simple one of the generic Spell/Trap removing cards that plague this game.  The large amount of easy to use and/or excessive return removal (Monster or Spell/Trap) is what has shaped this game, and to my chagrin many players, especially if Yu-Gi-Oh is their first or only TCG, have a hard time realizing you’re supposed to have to work for significant card advantage.  Don’t get me wrong, I recognize there are many skilled players in this game, far better than myself.  Its just their skill seems almost wasted: their brilliant combos that should be awe-inspiring aren’t because a player basically has to be bad in order to fail to get a similar return.  So people side or main Mobius since at the very worst it tends to force the opponent to prematurely burn a Spell or Trap, and quite often it will be a clear cut two card advantage in addition to giving you control of the field.  Well, until they use Smashing Ground after Special Summoning a Cyber Dragon, but that applies to pretty much any face-up Monster.

 

There is little reason not to use Mobius.  Even Jinzo has a hard time competing.  As we all know, Jinzo has comparable stats except for being a Dark Type (and thus Chaos friendly).  However, since it has a continuous effect, it can greatly backfire if that Set S/T is a Quick-Play Spell, or if your opponent follows up with a Snatch Steal on his/her turn.  Also, as we know, players rarely will commit more than two S/Ts to the field for fear of Heavy Storm, so Jinzo will just delay them (on his own) if they are Traps, and if he dies, you have to worry about them again.  Mobius, of course, just nukes them so even if he dies right away, at least those S/Ts are gone.

 

Ratings

 

Traditional       : 3.5/5 – Maybe I am wrong, but this is the format with Harpie’s Feather Duster, Raigeki, Dark Hole and Chaos Emperor Dragon getting the combination of a Monster to Tribute for Mobius can be hard.  He’s still useful, but I am not sure how useful.

 

Advanced        : 4.25/5 – If this seems low, understand it’s only because he’s not something along the lines of a Dark/Fiend or Light/Warrior or some other useful combination for contemporary Chaos decks.

 

Summary

Mobius is rather deceptive, as he and the other Monarchs are FAKE theme support.  What do I mean?  Are any Monarchs any more potent for their respective Attribute/Type than they are in a general CC deck?  Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch is close: Fire doesn’t have many options that don’t take over the deck; it does do a little burn (Fire/Pyro’s forte) but really, its Hand Control support, since it lets you discard a card from their hand reliably.  Granmarg the Rock Monarch is generic, but its okay: hitting a facedown card is either very potent (nailing a set Flip Effect or the like) or very risky and all but pointless (targeting a chainable Trap).  Zaborg and Mobius, though, are a bit too potent for general cards.  Mobius doesn’t do much for Water: it adds a strong singe Tribute, but they already have a few of those so it tends to take space away from the on-theme support.  It also blurs the lines: another of mistake of this game is it seems to give a few Attributes/Types everything and the rest nothing.  So Water doesn’t need extra S/T kill.  It’s got some great bouncers and field clearers.  Mobius is a poser, pretending to be theme support when its really just more help for Beatdown and, to a lesser extent, Control.  If Mobius wants to really rule the Water and/or Aqua cards, make it a higher Level, then give it a variable Tribute effect based upon offering Water and/or Aqua Monsters.  Anymore would make this a Create-A-Card entry, so I’ll leave it at that.