Well, we're back
continuing our Top 10 Cards of 2008 countdown, and
let the countdown resume...
#5--Plaguespreader Zombie
Another card reviewed like all of six weeks ago, and
is still one of the very useful Ultra Rares from
Crossroads of Chaos, who is great for Zombies, and
useful even in other places, I'm not sure what
plague is spread here, but this card is a Level 2
Zombie monster, who is also a Tuner with 400 atk and
200 def.
Being a Tuner is just an added bonus for this card,
which makes it almost as important as being a
Zombie. Level 2 is a nice place for a Tuner. Anyway,
by returning a card from your Hand to the top of
your Deck to Special Summon this card from the
Graveyard.
While a return to the Deck doesn't seem all that
great, it can be whatever you want, and even if it's
a good card, you are most likely going to be Drawing
it again next turn. While the Special Summon itself
doesn't seem so game-breaking, it's what you can do
afterward that is so nice.
Synchro Summon, tribute, you have a lot of options
here as to what excellent combo you can pull off
with this guy. I personally wouldn't be surprised to
see this guy on the Banned List somewhere before the
next change.
Ratings:
Traditional: 3.5/5
Advanced: 4.5/5 It is really good, but you need
whatever other cards in your Hand all ready to make
this be truly awesome.
Art: 4/5
General Zorpa
Plaguespreader Zombie
Speak of the devil, coming in at number 5 is the
infamous Plaguespreader Zombie. He doesn't look like
much, with 400 ATK, 2 stars and a DARK Zombie stat,
he is unimpressive. However, his effect is what
makes him the best Tuner on the game. He can Special
Summon himself from teh graveyard without any help,
which is something not even the vaunted Krebons can
do. You simply place a card from your hand on top of
the deck and voila! Instant Tuner!
It gets even better. When you Special Summon him by
his own effect, he gets removed from play. You know
the last card that reliably removed itself from play
was Dark Magician of Chaos, and he is now banned.
This allows you to use Burial From a Different
DImension to bring him back to the graveyard for
recursion for his own effect or by some other means.
With all of the Special Summoning from the graveyard
that Zombies can do, you can use Plaguespreader up
to 10 times in one turn. Zombie decks use this by
having Card of Safe Return and Goblin Zombie on the
field, recovering their lost cards while Summoning
enormous Synchros to the field in the blink of an
eye. If the deck works right, and they go second,
you will never get another turn.
As if that wasn't enough to get this guy in the top
5, he has his own Specific Synchro monsters, 2 of
them! Revived King Ha Des and Doomkaiser Dragon add
an important dimension to the Zombie lineup,
providing power as well as Synchro material when
your opponent is also playing a Zombie deck. Most
decks will either play Plaguespreader or Spirit
Reaper, so you will likely always have a target with
Doomkaiser's effect.
Plaguespreader is so versatile, he can be used in
almost any deck. Lightsworn and Tele-DAD in
particular have a good reason to use him. Lightsworn
can easily dump him to the graveyard, allowing you
to Special Summon him to get access to all of the
Synchro shenanigans that other decks have been
blessed with. Tele-DAD can even dump him to the
graveyard with Grepher, giving you unparalelled
access to Synchros when you need them the most.
This little guy is the most expensive Ultra rare in
the history of the game, so hang on to all o fhte
copies that you can, as his potential lies upwards,
not down.
Traditional-3/5
Advanced-5/5
Jeff Lang
5: Plaguespreader
Zombie
Today’s card is Plaguespreader Zombie. This card
gave Zombies the potential to top at big events
again. With the all of these decks having draw
power, the possible -1 for plague is nothing. He can
even help you out of bad hands by putting your
second Malicious on top of the deck. He can also
stack a spell card on top then summon Diamond Dude.
You can also use Ccv on him. What is not to like
about this guy?
Mr. Random
CSOC-EN031
Plaguespreader Zombie
DARK
Level 2
ATK/400 DEF/200
[Zombie/Tuner]
You can return 1 card from your hand to the top of
the Deck to Special
Summon this card from the Graveyard. If you do,
remove this card from play
when it is removed from the field.
33420078
Ultra Rare/Ultimate Rare
Plaguespreader Zombie can be special summoned back
from the grave by putting a card in your hand on top
of your deck. This is great for Lightsworns because
if they have dead Wulfs in their hand, just special
summon the Plaguespreader Zombie and send that Wulf
back on top. Just as long as you have a Lightsworn
monster to do the sending.
Whenever a TeleDAD player has a 2nd or 3rd Malicious
in hand, they'll use Plaguespreader Zombie to put
that Malicious back on top of the deck. Since that
card is now part of the deck, remove a Malicious
from the grave to basically to special summon that
Malicious from your hand. It also works with Diamond
Dude because you could sned a Normal Spell and
usually get a free Pot of Greed out of it.
This is also great for Zombie decks because it can
be searched by anything and it can be summoned from
the grave without using its own effect. Card of Safe
Return is amazing with this card. It also gives
these decks the ability to Synchro Summon monsters.
Since he is a tuner, sending him back to the grave
to reborn again is a great play and it would create
a lot of advantage for the Zombie player.
Plaguespreader Zombie is Dark monster below 1000 ATK,
so Crush Card Virus has another target.
Many players are madly in love with this card, and
for good reason. The only top player who disagrees
with its status as a one-of staple in Teledad is
Cesar Gonzales. Don't be misled though; that's more
of an indication of his skill with the deck rather
than an indictment of Plague. Believe me, it is a
one-of staple in both Teledad and arguably
Lightsworn. Find one, and play one.
Loading your graveyard with a Plague makes any
topdeck a threat to become either a level 6 or level
8 tuner. So if you summon Grepher and load Malicious
and Plague with a few backfield, you have a threat
of 5500 damage the next turn without even factoring
in any more monsters. This type of power is immense.
Don't forget with Lightsworn and Teledad you can
combo with Plague as well. Put Destiny Draw on top
to summon it then normal summon Diamond Dude and
sync for Goyo. Put Wulf on top and summon a
Lightsworn monster, it becomes free.
When the nerfs to Teledad arrive in March, Plague
will have to be adjusted or Zombies will be far too
powerful.
