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Hey guys. The CotD schedule got a
little messed up, but to this point we should be
through three civilizations. Fire today and Nature
tomorrow will conclude the series. Unfortunately I
wasn’t able to make the regular tournament at GQ
last weekend. That means no report, so instead you
get to read my lengthy ramblings here...
Introduction:
FIRE is perhaps the most improved civilization
recently. A few months ago red exploded onto the
scene in dominant decks featuring it alongside Water
and Darkness in control. This was in large part due
to a handful of explosive cards known for having
major impacts on the field quite abruptly. There are
currently 106 regular Fire cards plus a few
exclusive promos. That breaks down to the standard
85 creatures and 21 spells.
Fire’s main ally is the Darkness
civilization as far as the Duel Masters war goes.
They are enemies of Water, and don’t particularly
get along with Nature or Light. This is generally
true in the card mechanics as well. You should
always keep the M:tG color wheel in mind when
building decks.
Top Cards:
This section contains the beef of my review. I will
point out top creatures, spells, themes, strengths,
and even weaknesses associated with the Fire
civilization. You might want to get comfy before
diving into this.
- Kooc Pollon
(3.50)
- Pyrofighter
Magnus (4.17)
- Rothus the
Traveler (3.64)
- Armored Blaster
Valdios (3.50)
- Twin-Cannon Skyterror
(4.75)
- Bazagazeel
Dragon (4.00)
- Crimson Hammer
(3.00)
- Searing
Wave (4.60)
- Burst
Shot (3.80)
- Apocalypse
Vise
(4.33)
The numbers besides each card come
from previous Card of the Day rankings. The highest
score is of course a five, with the lowest being
one. I generated ratings for any cards that have
never been reviewed before. All together the top ten
red cards combine for an above average 3.93 score.
Strangely, 3.93 is also average score for the top
six creatures and top four spells.
Field destruction is perhaps Fire’s
most valuable asset. There is a myriad of available
kill cards. Some like Crimson Hammer and Meteosaur
can target only single creatures at a time. This can
be useful for handling pesky Cyberlords or things
like Horrid Worm.
Other options like Searing Wave and
Apocalypse Vise can potentially wipe out your
opponent’s entire field. This is great for landing a
devastating blow to that field full of weenies your
opponent was building up. Either way you can’t go
wrong by gaining board advantage.
Speed Attackers: Some of the nastiest
creatures out there, who we’ve all come to both love
and hate. Unrestricted by summoning sickness, these
can beasts start swinging the moment they hit the
field. A staple in rush and aggro-control,
Pyrofighter Magnus is possibly one of the top
creatures in the game of Duel Masters. Others like
Twin-Cannon Skyterror and Bazagazeel Dragon cost a
bit more. They also come with a nasty combo of speed
and raw power. These bad boys single handedly assure
that chump blockers will always be a part of the
game.
Despite these two incredible
abilities evident in the Fire Civilization, they are
a couple glaring flaws. One is the lack of solid
mid-game card. The majority of red seems to be
centered either on early speed or dealing out
punishment later on. Several cards also sacrifice in
one area to gain in another. Take Volcanic Arrow for
example. The effect is great for such a cheap cost,
until you get to that part about destroying your own
shield. Finally, rush often faces a huge challenge
with maintaining any hand at all after turn five or
so. Just some words of caution.
Underrated Picks:
The following cards are ones that I believe could
easily see more play than they currently do. That
doesn’t mean they are godly by any means, just that
you might want to give em a shot sometime for fun.
- Cocco Lupia
- Doboulgyser, Giant Rock Beast
- Rumble Gate
I
mention Lupia to bring up the topic of Dragons in
general. So far the monstrous race has been
disregarded and left to less experienced players for
the most part. That will all change on October 20th
with the release of set eight. As many of you
already know, our next expansion unleashes powerful
dragons, their evolutions, and altogether
dragon-friendly cards. Look for things like
Bolmeteus to suddenly become much more playable.
Back on the subject of underrated cards, Doboulgyser
and Rumble Gate both have field control potential,
though they may not be the most potent choices.
Overall:
In my opinion Fire just edges out Nature as the
third best civilization, though both are good
support choices. Look to use Fire for about 8-12
cards in control, namely the destruction and
finishers. Red also is the foundation for almost
every rush deck. Use the cheap, aggressive attackers
in combo with almost any other civilization for a
solid rush strategy. Overall standings now
completed:
1. Water (blue)
2. Darkness (black)
3. Fire (red)
4. Nature (green)
5. Light (yellow)
Make sure you check back tomorrow
when we wrap things up. I’m always open to chat on
AIM, especially during the weekends. Drop me a line
if you have a question, want to do some practice
duels, or whatever. Till next time...
Steven Cantrell
Smcman7@aol.com
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