Magician of Faith has led an interesting “life”.  When she first came out, you’d usually want to run at least two and many times three copies of her.  Why?  Because many of the best Spells that were Restricted or Semi-Restricted.  Then Jinzo and Nobleman of Crossout came along.  These really hurt flip effects: the classic strategy was to use a protective Trap to allow you to get the Flip Effect without losing the Monster that gave it to you, then make use of the reclaimed Spell and unless it was Dark Hole, use Magician of Faith to pay for Summoned Skull’s Summon.  This was a simple combo that often culminated in the opponent losing at least 2500 Life Points.  Eventually though, Flip Effects came to be seen as too slow for the game, and largely were.  Magician of Faith use plummeted, waning and waxing opposite Nobleman of Crossout use.  Then Metamorphosis became a loose staple and Magician of Faith came to be in most decks irregardless of the prominence of Nobleman of Crossout.  After all, now not only could she get a precious Spell back, but she could also be flipped back down with Book of Moon or Tsukuyomi or ‘morphed into Thousand-Eyes Restrict.  Hitting your opponent with a double Delinquent Duo or using a double Pot of Greed was fantastic.  Additionally, there were enough other Monsters being set that Nobleman of Crossout could scarcely keep up.

 

Now, Magician of Faith finds herself restricted to one per deck.  Why?  Well simply put, Yu-Gi-Oh has a big problem: most Spells lack any significant cost to them, especially considering their potency.  Additionally, Cyber Dragon often means you can Special Summon it, then Set Magician of Faith, so you aren’t even losing much momentum.  While it pains me to say this, it is true especially if the other “problems” in the game aren’t addressed: Magician of Faith may need to go.  I could be reading the situation wrong, as I no longer attend all the big tournaments, but when I am dueling I know that so often I am counting on Magician of Faith being their so I can “double up” a Spell.  A deck that doesn’t use a lot of Remove From Grave effects can easily keep itself going with a Magician of Faith, Pot of Avarice, and four other worthwhile Monsters.  Simply put, Yu-Gi-Oh plays like a gross parody of itself: the basic idea is to have your Monsters battling it out with your opponent’s, augmenting them with Spells and Traps.  The reality is you use your Spells and Traps to jockey for position and when it’s safe bring out your Monsters t smash a defenseless opponent.  Part of the reason for this is the abundance of mass removal: its not limited to a specific Attribute of Type of Monster (where other Attributes and/or Types could have their own, equally powerful countermeasure) and often, it is quite low cost (Heavy Storm for Spells, Torrential Tribute and Mirror Force for Traps), so there is little point in dedicating Monsters or Spell/Traps to the field, since they can be so easily obliterated.  It’s like running a race but everyone has to casually jog because the instant someone bolts for the finish line and is in first place, the other racers are allowed to shoot at him!  Sound ridiculous? Well it is, but that is pretty close to how the game is played: jog towards the finish, but don’t risk really racing until you’ve crippled the opposition and are thus safe yourself.

 

When using Magician of Faith, look for opportunities to Set her without losing momentum.  That used to be hard, but with so many ways to Special Summon in decks now, it is a lot easier.  Additionally, with things like Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute still legal, there are many times you’ll have to slow down anyway, so you can’t lose momentum if you’re already stopped.

 

Ratings

 

Traditional       : 3/5-Much riskier here.  Change of Heart and plenty of true Monster removal mean that while it’s Chaos Food and a shot at some of the most broken Spells in existence, it can backfire utterly.

 

Advanced        : 3.5/5-A great card you’ll be hard pressed to find a reason to avoid.  Sound low for how much I built it up?  Think of that as a base score.  Now count the number of Spells in your deck, and add 0.05 to the score for each.

 

Summary

If the game ever gets its act together, maybe Magician of Faith won’t be so strangely powerful.  Then again, she can still fit so easily into most decks.  Hmmm…