Everyone can argue until they're blue in the face about which is the best Trap, or why you should or shouldn't play Beatdowns, or why Upperdeck is or isn't a dofus. Just to lighten things up, I present my Top Ten Favorite Pieces of Card Art. These are my opinion only, and the ratings are in no way applicable to the value or strength of the cards. Basically, I just think that these look wicked cool. :)

1. Summoned Skull- Everything about this card screams "major bad-@$$ monster". You don't want to meet him in a dark alley, that's for sure. Tick this guy off, and he'll rip off your arm and beat you to death with it, and that's just the type of atmosphere a strong Demon should give off.

2. Zombrya the Dark- I'm a comic geek, and Zombrya is clearly inspired by American comic heroes. (Isn't he in the original manga? The Greendale Zompire?) Anyway, this guy looks like a cross between Batman and Spawn. I can see Frank Miller writing for this guy; he's a tortured anti-hero with the face of a monster and the soul of a champion. What was my point? I like this pic.

3. Metalmorph- Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto! I'm not even sure what the metalic thing pictured on the card actually is, but I wouldn't be surprised if it played in a movie opposite Arnold Schwarzenagger. Remember this guy; once MetalDevilZoa is released, "he'll be back."

4. Hungry Burger- ......I don't even know where to start....Let's see, Relinquished, Crab Turtle, Skull Guardien, Perfeormance of Sword, Dokurorider and the Masked Beast, these ritual Monsters all gave off appropriate feelings of dread and intemidation. This guy....does he have a power-up called "Super Size Fries"? He's zany, and wacky, and...I can't do him justce. All hail the Burger King!

5. Tyrant Dragon- This is just awesome. This is what a dragon card should be. what's more, you could putt his picture on the cover of almost any fantasy book with a dragon, and no one would bat an eye. Kudos to whoever drew this; in a game no know for "Serious" card art, this is a notch above the rest.

6. Jinzo- Look, kids! It's the laser eye surgery of the future! Poor Jinzo; male patten baldness may make him look cool, but you know deep down he wishes he had a pompador. Anyway, you have to give props to any monster secure enough to wear a...wierd green dress/robe thingie. Uh...yeah...Hey, Esper, there something you want to tell us?

8. GraveRobber- Isn't this a nasty little dude? This refugee from a Tim Burton kid's flick perfectly sums up the card: You rob your opponents grave. He reminds me of Smiley Bone.

9. Red Eyes Black Dragon- Sure, his stats suck, and sure, he's over-hyped, but if I were a dragon, I'd look like him. This monster looks sleek and jet-black. I love sleek, jet-black things. And I like that his eyes are red. However, this dude has one advantage over the "almighty" Blue Eyes White Dragon: he's actually black. Blue Eyes are blue, not white! Why? Dunno.

10. Bark of Dark Ruler- The year is 1993, and Marvel Comics has decided to ruin once-promising Spider-Man villain Venom by giving him his own series, as an anti-hero. They stick a sub-par scribe to do the job, but in a fit of cosmic irony, place up-and-coming superstar Marky Bagley, (currently penciling Ultimate Spider-Man) on the book. The cover of the book is awesome, and completely distracts from the crappy story inside. What does this have to do with anything? On the cover to this abomination, Venom has a perfectly penciled jawline. On this card, Ha Des has the exact same teeth. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe a Yu-Gi-Oh/Marvel crossover is in the works! Yeah! I can't wait to see Wolverine exercirate the Beaver Warrior! And the final showdown between Nightcrawler and Kuriboh....