Mechanical Hound offers a very powerful effect but at the price of keeping your hand empty: it prevents your opponent from playing Spells.  It has a solid 2800 ATK and passable 1500 DEF.  Of course, there are two other Monsters that do interfere with Spell play as well: both are end form LV Monsters and are sometimes harder to get into play than Mechanical Hound, a Level 7 Monster.  Then again, often they are much easier to do the support available.  Silent Swordsman LV3 is pretty easy to search out (Last Will, Reinforcement of the Army, Sangan, Shining Angel) and since its effect just triggers in the Stand By Phase, its perfectly well to let the opponent slay a Shining Angel so you’ll have Silent Swordsmen LV5 Special Summoned from your deck (at which point it’s a direct attack or Level up! away from becoming Silent Swordsman LV7).  Silent Swordsman LV7 is also a 2800 ATK Monster, but only has a 1000 DEF (not a huge issue, but I might as well be thorough).  Silent Swordsman LV7 negates the effects of all Spell cards on the field, which means stuff already in play are rendered useless, as is anything once its been played, so only Spells with an effect that triggers when they aren’t on the field (Ojamagic since it triggers when sent to the Graveyard from hand or in play) would work.  Remember that Normal and Quick-Play Spells do come into play: you activate them from hand, place them in an open Spell/Trap Zone, and then they get their effect, so of course Silent Swordsman LV7 negates them.  Mechanical Hound just keeps the opponent from playing Spells, so a Spell already in play won’t be affected, and if its one that has an activated or triggered effect, it can still kick in (Wave-Motion Cannon, for example, will both still build counters and can be launched for damage).  Mechanical Hound still lets you us Spells, though, one of its few advantages over Silent Swordsman LV7.

 

Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 is also capable of negating all Spells.  In this case, it only negates and destroys the ones you choose, which will undoubtedly be all of your opponents’ and none of yours.  It’s also a 3000 ATK 1800 DEF critter, making it larger Mechanical Hound and thus a little more stable.  Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 may be unsearchable, but it also just needs to destroy one Monster in battle to “level up”, and Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 can do cool tricks like ignore your own Level Limit-Area B (and “levels up” by simply destroying a Monster in battle as well).

 

So, although Mechanical Hound has a powerful effect, there are two other Monsters with similar effects that are well worth playing instead.  What Mechanical Hound has going for it over them is mainly that it is a Machine, enabling it to protect itself with Heavy Mech Support Platform.  Add a Royal Decree into the mix and your opponent is in for quite a pounding.  I can’t say I’d use it seriously, but like most of this weak, it begs to be tried in some kooky “Cyber” themed deck (even if the name doesn’t quite match) because it would be the “powerhouse” of the deck  In the end though, such a deck is limited because of the scope of removal in this game: even using Hound to shut down the opponent’s Spells and Royal Decree to shutdown their Traps, they can still break the “lock” with Breaker the Magical Warrior, D.D. Assailant, D.D. Warrior Lady, Exiled Force, Mobius the Frost Monarch, and Zaborg the Thunder Monarch.

 

Ratings

 

Traditional: 1/5

 

Advanced: 2.75/5