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Pojo's Duel Masters Card of the Day
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Image from
Wizards Duel Master site |
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Trox,
General of Destruction
DM04
Card 3
Date Reviewed: 12.23.04
Constructed Average Rating: 3.15
Limited Average Rating: 4.15
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ... average.
5 is the highest rating. |
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Lee Sandow |
Trox, General of Destruction
I've gone
ahead and typed Trox's review for the
COTD in advance. I don't know if that's
standard procedure, so if I'm doing
anything wrong here, please let me
know. Actually, could you go ahead and
send me an e-mail describing how most
reviewers go about sending in their
reviews, so I can make sure I'm doing
everything right? Thanks. Anyways, the
review starts below the line.
_____________________
Today’s card
is Trox, General of Destruction. Let’s
see what this surly little Demon Command
has in store for us…
Trox,
General of Destruction
Cost: 7
Civilization: Darkness
Card Type:
Creature
Creature Class: Demon Command
-
When you
put this creature into the battle
zone, your opponent discards a card
at random from his hand for each
other darkness creature you have in
the battle zone.
-
Double
breaker (This creature breaks 2
shields.)
Flavor
Text: “Say
goodbye to the daytime.”
Power: 6000
Mana
Generated: 1
Rarity:
Very Rare
Card
Number: 3/55
Oh, no!
He’s going to cause the light to go
out! How does he plan to do that? Is
he going to discard the sun? 0_o
I’m in the
process of developing the process I plan
to use to evaluate future cards of the
day, so for now, I’m going to use this
one.
First, I’ll
comment on each of his stats
individually. Then, I’ll compare his
cost to his abilities and power level.
Finally, I’ll sum it all up in my final
score. I’ll then just state anything
that makes him better/worse in draft
below that. That being explained, let’s
get started!
Civilization/Race:
He is a member of the darkness
civilization, and he is a Demon
Command. Demon Commands have a lot of
support, and they have one of the
meanest evolutions in the game. His
abilities (which I’ll get to in a
minute), fit in well with other themes
in the Dark Civilization.
Cost:
Seven mana is a bit steep, but it’s not
unrealistic if the power and abilities
are good enough.
Abilities:
His discard ability can be wicked if
timed correctly, but it can be iffy.
Late game (seven mana is late game,
IMO), your opponent might not have a
hand to discard. Also, if you summon
this guy without having any darkness
creatures in the battle zone, this first
effect is useless as well. However, if
you pull this off with a field full of
Darkness creatures, your opponent could
lose their whole hand.
He is also a
double breaker, which is always a sweet
deal. There’s really nothing special to
say about this ability.
Power:
6000 is strong, and can take down most
commonly played creatures. Barkwhip,
Crystal Paladin, and most blockers fall
to this kind of power, so he won’t lose
too many battles. Crystal Lancer and
Fighter Dual Fang can defeat him, and
Valdios can suicide. His power is
decent, but higher would have been
nicer.
Ok, now that
I’ve reviewed these stats, let’s see how
they stack up.
Costructed overview:
His cost is very reasonable for what you
get. Demon Commands tend to be big,
pricey creatures, and at lest in this
case, you get what you pay for. His
first ability is worth all the mana you
spend for him if you use it right, and
it’s icing on the cake if you only nail
one card. His double breaker ability is
nice, assuming he lives long enough to
break shields. His power is a little
weak, but Trox had to make up for his
abilities somewhere.
Still, his
first effect can be a complete dud at
times, and this late in the game, he
might not live long enough to get off an
attack. If you are just using him for
the discard, use Lost Soul. You get rid
of everything, no questions asked for
the same cost. If you are using him for
attack power, go with Zagaan or
Deathliger. If you are using him to
evolve into Ballom, go with Photocide or
Vashuna.
Basically,
what I’m trying to say is this. Trox is
a good card, but he is simply eclipsed
by other cards that do their jobs better
than he does. He’s useable, but there’s
nothing that is be-all-end-all about
him.
Out of five,
I’d rank him 3/5.
Limited
overview:
He’s a big double breaker that can
destroy most cards in this set with a
single attack. If you draft a lot of
darkness cards, he might be able to do
some real damage with his first effect.
It is unlikely that any spell or
creature effect will destroy him, so you
can plan on him staying for the long
haul. Most creatures that COULD destroy
him are evolutions (and evolutions are
TERRIBLY unreliable in Shadowclash
draft). He’s a tank in limited. I had
to go up against one, and the only way I
won that game was by making a wild
shield rush. I couldn’t destroy him.
All big hitters are nice in Limited, and
Trox is no exception. The only gripe I
have about him is that he comes very
late in the game, and if your opponent
is able to weenie rush you, he might not
ever hit the field. 4.5/5
Happy
dueling everyone!
|
cecillbill
(Top 4 at
2004 GenCon - Indy
Championship) |
Trox, General of
Destruction
Sorry I’ve been absent from the review section for a
week. I’m working on some things for you all, which
includes Duel Masters So Cal Championship topics.
Stay tuned…Trox has been referred to as “a Lost Soul
with legs,” and it could deliver more or less than
that signature “discard all” spell depending on the
state of the duel. Let’s take a look:
[Effects]
1. Double Breaker. Trox’s DB status brings something
extra to the table if you can swing with him.
2. Opponent discards a card at random for each other
darkness creature that you have in your battle zone.
There are at least four things I’d like to mention
about Trox’s effect. First, Trox is not included in
the discard count—his effect says your other
darkness creatures. So if he’s your only guy out,
guess what? You’ve paid 7 mana for a double breaker
that’s weaker than the 6 mana Zagaan.
Second, Trox obviously fits best in a mono-Darkness
deck; every creature you manage to keep in the
battle zone is a kindred spirit. So, if you’re
looking for hand discard and a late gamer fattie in
a dual or multi-civilization deck, you may be better
off splitting the two functions and packing Lost
Soul and Zagaan. Playtest.
Third, hand discard can be a powerful asset,
especially when employed over different stages of
the duel. In my experiences with Trox, it’s best to
view him as “the clean up discarder.” Sure, playing
earlier hand robbers like Horrid Worm and
Locomotiver can make the number of cards Trox’s
discard less, but that can be a good thing at times.
That means there’s less in your opponent’s hands to
deal with Trox, so in the event there’s isn’t much
blocker deterence or a kill topdeck then Trox’s
second effect becomes useful. If cards are left in
an opponent’s hand late game, where the mana
buildup’s usually good and your opponent could put a
bevy of cards into play, then you’re adding to the
damage with Trox and netting another hitter in the
process.
Fourth, being late game hand kill dependent on the
field can make it less effective than Lost Soul in
certain duels. Lost Soul chucks everything that
manages to stay glued to your opponent’s hand late
game. If you only have 1 other Darkness creature in
the field when Trox drops and your opponent has 5
cards in hand, then he still has a healthy hand
size. Against certain decks keeping Darkness
creatures out is easier said than done.
Effect Ratings:
Constructed: 3/5. Trox’s discard effect can either
chuck 1 or more cards from your opponent’s hand or
nothing at all. The benefit of being able to discard
and net a somewhat powerful creature in the process
makes him more playable than a lot of other double
breakers with summoning sickness.
Limited: 4/5. Here his double breaker status pulls
him over the top, because fatties are game enders in
Limited. If you Draft him, be sure to pick some
other Darkness selections to amplify his discard
effect. It’s likely your opponent won’t have the
means to kill him or stack his hand too much after
losing some cards to Trox. In Sealed, you’re likely
to be playing some darkness and I’d just grab him
for the double breaker status anyway.
[Power/Cost]
7 mana for 6000 power isn’t the best thing in the
world. But, what you’re losing in power you stand to
gain in card advantage. Versus a Light player, it’s
a pretty bad situation if he’s packing Szubs Kin,
Gran Gure, Ladia Bale, or Syforce—since several of
those blockers can come out before Trox and all can
kill him. 6000 power is decent at best, and it can
deal with a wide range of creatures, but not the
most heavily played DB’s on the block—Fighter Dual
Fang and Crystal Lancer. Hopefully you’ve chucked
those cards out of your opponent’s hands prior to or
when you played Trox.
Power/Cost Ratings:
Constructed: 3/5. Decent hitter in certain decks.
Limited: 3/5. Can kill a lot of things, although
sometimes you don’t see 7 mana buildup in Limited
play.
[Other Considerations]
Evo Bait: Ballom is big and packs a potentially
devastating effect versus anything but the mirror.
Trox is one of the 8 Demon Commands that can help
bring Ballom to the party. Trox is probably going to
see more play than Deathliger, Giriel, Gilliam,
Gamil, and Dark Titan Maginn in the case of evolving
into Ballom (and in terms of discard versus Dark
Titan), but may be passed up in favor of Zagaan,
Vashuna, or Photocide.
Evo Rating: 3/5. One of the things I like about Trox
is that his discard effect could help keep cards out
of your opponent’s hand that would “answer”
a Ballom drop--make an opponent dependent on the
topdeck.
[Where To Deck]
Mono-Darkness. Everything you drop will be dark and
whatever stays on the field until the 7 count helps
Trox eat away at your opponent’s hand. The majority
of Ballom decks out tend to be mono-Darkness, and
Trox is suitable evo bait. I’ve nab some good use
out of Trox in a hand discard deck packing
Marionmancer and Brian Serum as sources of draw. So,
depending on the player, the deck and the meta you
may not have to confine Trox to just black. If
Ballom is not your focus or you’re running other
civs, you’ll most likely make a better last effort
card-ditch with Lost Soul.
[Some Cards To Deck With It]
If you’re looking to go overboard with the hand
discard mechanic, you can try Horrid Worm (which
belongs in just about every Darkness deck),
Locomotiver, and Ghost Touch. If you’re looking to
really annoy your opponent, pack some kill, some
slayers and some draw power for chances to be left
with more options in hand and on the field than your
opponent. If you run Nature in your Ballom deck to
get your Demons out quicker, Trox may still be
useful as late game discard and evo bait.
[Format Ratings Overall]
Constructed: 3/5. After getting my feet wet with
Trox in both a Ballom and Hand Discard deck I'm
leaning towards the view that Lost Soul is generally
a better late game discard play unless your aim is
to evolve Ballom. If there’s anything in your
opponent’s hand when Lost Soul is played then it’s
gone. Trox doesn’t always deliver returns on a 7
mana investment like that, and his double breaker
effect may not even pop off due to something as
simple as a Death Smoke. Any effect that depends on
the field has the potential to be weakened by that
dependency, but Trox has a great deal of
playability.
Limited: 3.5/5. As always, fatties are huge threats
in Limited because kill is not rampant. This one has
the bonus of possibly making your opponet discard
soemthing, which can be very damaging in Limited.
|
The Antman |
Trox General of
Destruction - Very Rare -#3(DM-04)
Say
goodbye to the daytime. kjdf man
that is one of my favorite flavor texts. and it
fits this card too.
man this things
power is so good!!! by the time turn 7 comes
around, discarding wont be much of a factor, but
you could eaisly get rid of thier hand. If you
play black green than this thing gets even
better since you can get it out earlier. Sure
it works best in mono decks but if you can sneak
a couple of small blacks like marrow than you
could probably nuke a opponets hand. + this guy
has double breaker to boot so hes not entirely
useless after he hits the field.
Ratings:
constructed- 3/5 not
a bad card, but black realy could go w/o it. I
personaly dont play it, prefer ghost touch cuz
its a trigger
limited- 4/5 it only
got a high rating for it being a 6000 DB, but it
is just too out of charicter in this set for its
ability to be good.
Final Thought- I
know its strange that it got a good limited
rating and a ok constructed, but it realy isnt
needed in constructed.
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|
Jordyce |
Trox, General of
Destruction
Sorry, today's review will be quite short. Christmas
matters, buying presents and stuff. Not to mention
it's a mixed card up for discussion today
- Trox, General of (Hand) Destruction.
First part of my review is the analysis of the card.
As most hand destruction says right now is that your
opponent discards randomly from their hand. That
means whatever you hit in there hand is up to
chance. Good.
The second part is that this thing sends your card
advantage over your opponents' roof. For every guy
you have, that's a card gone randomly.
Useless by himself, with 2 or more guys on the field
when he's played your seeing amazing power. The snag
is that it's not when attacking, but it also means
that Terror Pit won't stop him from activating his
effect.
In terms of strength, I like to divide them into 4
divisions. First division is Horrid Worm level
power. I'm talking 1000-3000, or power that is
killed off by Searing Wave. Next is the mini
evolution, higher cost basic guy, Barkwhip level.
I'm talking 4000-6000 power. These guys are normally
either fast or slow, evolvable or not. The next is
bigger evolutions, the Crystal Lancer level. Talking
7000-9000, this is the section in which the double
breaker with haste reign; FDF, Lancer, Niofa etc...
The last level is my least favorite, the Super Rare
power level in which anything 10000+ is in.
We are talking those high cost Terror Pit bait
cards. Alcadeias, Ballom and co are good but the
rest are just trouble. After reading all of that,
Trox fits into the Barkwhip level but at Crystal
Lancer level cost. Meaning that when you summon Trox,
he will get a hit in then most likely die.
The power is reasonable, the effect is good but hard
to pull of and the picture is just weird. He is
evolvable into Ballom, and I'd have to say out of
the few cards you would want to run in your Ballom
deck this would one of them. Considering some of the
other are just sad.
Constructed: 2.5/5.0 - Truely, this could be better.
In a Ballom/Hand Destruction deck he reigns a 4.5.
Limited: 3.5/5.0 - His effect dosen't really do much
but probably make your opponent lose 1 card because
of lack of playing mono-black. But a fat body and
double breaker isn't worth passing up.
Artwork: 3.0/5.0 - The picture really freaks me out,
but the picture itself resembles what you think this
would like like.
|
|
Knives101 |
Trox
Trox can be devestating. You just need to have two
or three black creatures in play, before you play
him. Doing so can be pretty difficult when you are
facing a good player. The best way to use Trox is to
run a deck that has a ton of darkness creatures.
Trox can work pretty well in a Ballom deck. Just
cast Trox to make your opponent discard his hand.
This way he won't have any spells in his hand to
take out Trox. Next evolve Trox into Ballom. It
works pretty well if you ask me.
Rating: 3
|
Parshathrules
8391 |
Trox, General of Destruction
Finally, a card that I like! 7 for 6000 isn’t very
helpful, but having double breaker adds points to
his score. His effect can be game-breaking provided
your opponent is keeping some hand-advantage. Swarm
with some black monsters, tagged with some removal,
and your opponent will be like X_X when you play
this killer. It’s also bait for Ballom, which means
in back to back turns, you can take out their hand
and field. Nifty, eh?
Trox should get more play, because he can really
turn the tide of a match. He’s even fun to play!
4/5, Lost Soul just got some tires. Really, really,
big tires.
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