We have a pretty variant metagame down here, from the self-proclaimed pros at the game who obviously grasp the basics from other card games or from their own self-appointed knowledge, to the lowly scrubs, who all play Fire/Something with Rothus.

While playing today alone I got a good chance to test against every type, at least more than twice. You get used to seeing certain repetitive plays from the same colors. Not always the creatures or deck design, but mostly the spells. So I decided I’d go a little bit into the spells. For those of you trying to build on a budget, know what spells to get and what color to stick with as the game progresses. Hopefully, you’ll be able to mass some store credit or booster pack prizes from local tournaments and build off that.

I’ll admit, it is hard to compete with the former Magic guru who has hundred dollar bills to casually flaunt into boxes of Duel Masters, and show of pages full of every card imaginable. And when you have to face them in a tournament with your slightly revised Starter deck or cool common combo deck, it’s usually a massacre. But in reality, they can shine all the foils they want and it won‘t mean a thing. If you pack yourself with the spells to support your deck, even the most mediocre creatures can annihilate their shields. Still though, some decks that use 80% rares and maybe some good uncommons or commons thrown in will just trounce you if you don‘t know how to play against them, and can leave you spellbound as you stare at your disappearing board.

That’s how I decided that this week I’d go over what spell cards you’re going to need to assist your deck. I also have some opinions on which colors the budget deck players should try to stick to, if possible.

Nature is probably going to be, and going to stay, the most scrub-friendly color in the game. Why? Nature’s overall game plan is to play dudes, and swing (attack). Nature doesn’t go too in depth with strategy like the other colors, so it’s a perfect color (civilization) for new players to get into and have fun with. And while rare cards will help your deck out, most of Nature’s best cards will be Uncommon or Common, allowing younger kids to get a hold of them. This should demonstrate itself nicely in the next set, with some evolution craziness.

So Nature’s a good pick if you’re unsure of how much cash you want to invest in Duel Masters, or if your just getting started, but might find yourself becoming a heavy competitor later on. Don’t think this means Nature isn’t a good type though. It’s probably also the best assisting color in the game. Natural Snare is going to be the big Nature spell to insure right now. Four Natural Snare is going to be nearly mandatory for mono-Nature deck, and quite a few will emerge in a month or so. 2-color decks will probably throw in a few as well, creature removal is creature removal. These will probably be the only mandatory rares to pick up. Dimension Gate is nice for Combo decks and also an important piece for the new player who wants to search out their one super bomb creature they were lucky enough to bust out of a pack.

Most people might think I’m crazy, but Pangaea’s Song might show up in some decks soon. A lot of people think it’s the worst card in the set (and I did for a while as well) because you could just play it as mana anyways. Well, if you’re able to play a creature, like Poisonous Mushroom or Bronze Arm, you can use the mana you fetch to play the Song, which will accelerate you by quite a bit ahead of your opponent. As better cards come out, Pangaea’s Song could act like a Chrome Mox, netting you card disadvantage but gaining you massive tempo advantage.

Ultimate Force is probably too slow to see much constructed play. If you think of it, it is a form of Green card draw through, since you’d probably play two cards as mana anyways. While I do believe it’s one of those important cards to have in the archives, I don‘t think it would see a heavy amount of play. Aura Blast is a nice pump spell for swarm decks, but a certain evolution creature will give all your creature this ability anyways, so don’t be in too much of a rush to fist four of this thing.

Fire is also fairly scrub-friendly. You blow up stuff, mainly your opponent’s creatures, their shields, and mana (often your own). And fortunately for you, all of Fire’s spells will assist you in blowing things up.

Tornado Flame and Crimson Hammer are only Uncommon and Common respectively. They’ll destroy creatures, granted they’re under a certain power level. While this means they can only destroy small package creatures, it will give Fire an edge in the early game, with eight instances of pinpoint creature removal, half of which could shield trigger.

Rothus the Traveler and Magma Gazer are really the only two rares to be overly concerned with getting. I say Rothus, because it’s mainly used as a Diabolic Edict for those of you who play Magic, forcing players to choose one of there creature to sac, while you just toss Rothus, or off one of your little dudes, acting more like a spell than a creature. Magma Gazer is nicely costed and gives you a lot of options as far as what you want to do. You can double the pain with double breaker or give your little guys that burst to smash a fattie off the field.

Chaos Strike is nice, but doesn’t do enough to justify the card itself being cast. Fire is meant to be played quickly, and if you’re combining two types, you probably won’t have room for it anyways. It is a nice spell card though, and if sideboards are allowed in Duel Masters in the future, it would be a nice addition. Burning Power also just seems to do too little to justify having the card in your deck. 2000 is meager compared to 4000 and double breaker, even at the low cost of one.

Light is about on par, both being friendly to new players and teaching them cool mechanics, and rewarding pros for going the extra mile to pocket some money rares.

Light is about blockers and tapping creatures and attacking them, turning the “Tap Spells” into removal spells. And it’s even better since Light Blockers can attack creatures, at least all of the one’s out right now. Solar Ray is a common, and does it well. Moonlight Flash is an Uncommon, and does the job better. Holy Awe is a Rare, and can dominate the board in your favor. Tapping creatures is a pretty wide-ranged ability that, in turn, can give you a lot of play options. If can tap the threat and you can attack it, using it as creature removal. You can use it to disable their Blockers and punch through to the shields, or formerly protected critters like Candy Drop. You can also Shield Trigger Solar Ray and Holy Awe to stop incoming attacks for the rest of the turn.

Light also gets Sonic Wing and Laser Wing, while Laser Wing might see play as it’s cheap enough, Laser Wing seems unfair, since Holy Awe (in effect) makes all your dudes unblockable for one more mana. And that’s it for Light’s cool little effects as of now. If you see yourself playing Light in the future, pocket some Holy Awe now while you can. Three seems like the ideal number right now, it could go up to four though, so if you can get a fourth on the cheap, do it, otherwise, browse around a bit at what other colors have to offer. Like…

The only thing that keeps Darkness from earning the top slot of Noob unfriendly colors is Death Smoke, a simple creature removal spell that can prove devastating at a low four mana and a common slot, meaning even little noobs can pack some. It ends there however, since very few common Darkness creatures, or for that manner, barely any Darkness creatures can survive on their own without proper support of other civilizations or without a specifically designed deck.

Terror Pit is Death Smoke’s older brother, who does things better. Two more mana lets you deal with any creature, not just untapped nonsense. And you can Shield Trigger it. Try to get as many as you can if you plan on Darkness in your later days of this game, since creature removal will be just as important later as it is now.

Creeping Plague is like Chaos Strike. Nice, but doesn’t do enough to justify the space in your deck. Dark Reversal might see some play in reanimation or other combo decks. Aside from that it’s like Creeping Plague and is hard to fit into a deck. Ghost Touch is horribly overrated. It’s a nice card, and the randomness is nice, but the reason discard is good in other games is because you either get to look at their hand and choose, or get more than one card, giving you all important card advantage. Ghost Touch just doesn’t do enough, and while it might see play now for lack of anything better, “Better” will show up in the next few expansions, so don’t worry. It couldn’t hurt to nab a playset though, since they’re only common.

Why does water hate new players? Well, it doesn’t. It’s just not as tolerant as the other colors are of peasant players. Water is a very weak type on it‘s own right, but it gets powerhouse bombs and card advantage that will eventually win it the game.

Unfortunately, the rare Teleportation, along with younger brother Spiral Gate are needed in maximum quantity to give Water is full frontal edge. Bounce is simply that amazing in this game. If you want to play Water, get four Teleportation as quickly as possible, before decks running four of it start popping up.

Brain Serum is good, but two cards for four mana doesn’t seem like a whole lot. There should be better cards, or effects to draw you cards. Crystal Memory is the real deal, fetching any card you want. While I will agree at any lower cost would make it broken, four is a hefty price tag to pay then play the card you want. Shield Triggering it is insane. Once again though, it’s rare, so snag a few if you like water.

Last but not least (though very close) is Virtual Tripwire, an overcastted Light effect that popped up in Water. Water blockers can’t attack creatures yet, so they can’t abuse tap effects like Light can. It’ll probably see little to no play, as there are much better things to cast.

Well, that about wraps it up. I hope those of you who are looking for what cards to trade for take some of this advice to heart, it should reward you in the future. Until next time…

-Hydromorph