Magic Cylinder is one of those odd cards that are “kind of” overpowered, but before I delve into what I mean by that I’ll cover the basics.  Magic Cylinder is a Normal Trap, but since it has a specific activation requirement (when an opposing monster attacks) it won’t enjoy the versatility such cards otherwise enjoy.  The effect is two fold: negate the attack of the monster that enabled you to activate Magic Cylinder in the first place, and then inflict damage to your opponent’s Life Points equal to the ATK of said monster.  The general rulings for it are that the negated attack is still considered to have attacked and can’t change its Battle Position, though a monster with multiple attacks is just considered to have used up one of them.  Monsters such as Goblin Attack Force, Spear Dragon, etc. will not have their positions changed because apparently their attack has to reach the Damage Calculation for that effect to trigger.  The damage is equal to the monster’s current ATK, and while that’s still a bit ambiguous I think that means at resolution: if something is chained to Magic Cylinder that chances the ATK of the monster targeted by Magic Cylinder that could still lower/raise the ATK in time to alter the damage done by Magic Cylinder.  This is further supported by the last ruling: if something gets rid of the attacking monster (destroys, bounces, etc.) then Magic Cylinder does no damage.  It doesn’t state what happens if the monster if flipped facedown: I’d think that’s also work since you technically can’t check its current ATK and they normally don’t have you “remember” that kind of information.

 

Now, Magic Cylinder is a card that can end a game: it does actual damage!  It can do significant damage by turning some behemoth your opponent tries to slam you with back against them.  I’ve blown a sure win before showboating and crashing into this card when I thought “no one” ran it.  1000 points of damage isn’t a horrible return for a card and you aren’t likely to stop anything smaller than that.  Indeed, quite a few monsters tip the scale at the 2000-3000 ATK range anymore.  The problem is that many of the biggest monsters won’t ever have to worry about this card.  Some have built in protection from effects (targeted, Trap, or in general).  Some have destruction effects that allow them to nuke this before it can go off.  Most decks run ample Spell/Trap destruction or Trap negation, and usually to protect something big and powerful that is the focus of the deck.  All these reasons can make getting it off hard, but then again don’t stop people from running other Traps with similar timing restrictions.  That is what actually hurts this card the most: it’s bumped out of decks in order for said decks to run even more potent cards.  If it is this or Mirror Force, I am running Mirror Force.  Even ignoring “super Traps” like that, more mundane ones like Bottomless Trap Hole, Dimensional Prison, and Sakuretsu Armor are just a little bit better.  Why is that, when they don’t have the capacity in and of themselves to win games while Magic Cylinder does in the same circumstances?  Early game Magic Cylinder falls flat: your opponent looses one attack and loses LP that they can afford to lose, that they might even have been willing to pay to have saved that monster from one of four pieces of monster removal I just listed.  Mid to late game is when Magic Cylinder is suddenly worth running, when your Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute are already in the Graveyard and your opponent is getting a bit more brazen to push for the win, that is when Magic Cylinder shines as your opponent loses not their monster but their remaining LP and the duel.

 

Ratings

 

Traditional: 1/5 – Too much destruction and Ring of Destruction is legal here.

 

Advanced: 3.25/5 – I say the card is practically broken and yet I barely score it above a three.  The reason comes from all the monster destruction I consider to be even more overpowered.

 

Aesthetic: 3/5 – My main regret is that it is a general card: I really wish this was Spellcaster support (fitting its use in the show) in which case my one concern that it would become a staple “burn’ card in the absence of monster destruction would be soothed.

 

I am still selling my former collectables on eBay.  I’ve had a lot of hobbies over the years, so at various times I’ll have comic books, manga, action figures, and video games on the auction block.  You can take a look at what’s up for bids here.  Just a reminder, Pojo is in no way responsible for any transactions and was merely kind enough to let me mention the auctions here. ;)