Hello loyal Pojo goers, and welcome to yet another new series that I’m trying to pump out. While I haven’t given up on my “Looking at the Past” series, it’s taking a much-needed break while I recuperate and attempt to get back into the writing mood. As explained in my “Excuses” article, I’ve been absolutely swamped at work and haven’t found much time for writing, let alone doing tons of research on each format and accumulating them into one article that is cohesive, coherent and not redundant to the point of lunacy. We’ve reached a point in the “Looking at the Past” series where the “Past” is slowly creeping up on the “Present,” and we’re at a format that many duelists will remember well: the total domination of the DDT build (and, by extension, the Perfect Circle). But we’ll discuss that at a later date, shall we?

For now, I’m going to be pumping my own series out: “The Trade Book.” In each article, we’ll be looking at two different cards, and exploring all the different options that one has with said cards. Today’s first card (as you can judge by the title) is none other than that beauty of beauties, Necroface. Let’s explore its stats a little bit, shall we? First, the introduction to the card:

Necroface

DARK

4 Star

1200 ATK/1800 DEF

When this card is Normal Summoned, shuffle all removed from play cards into their owner’s decks.  This card gains 100 ATK for each of those cards.  When this card is removed from play, both players remove from play top 5 cards of their deck.

The first thing I think of when I see this card is just how synergistic it can be in certain decks, and how to incorporate it in said decks. The main one that comes to my mind is Strike Ninja. Without the use of Return from the Different Dimension, the Strike Ninja build is severely lacking in the “bring cards back and reuse them” category and Necroface is a great card that can fix those worries. It combos well with the deck, allowing Strike Ninja users to utilize certain cards to their maximum effectiveness as well as continually giving Strike Ninja fodder so he can wreak his havoc.

Another great build that this can go into is Macro Monarch, a deck that I’ve been playing for some time now. Oftentimes I find myself with too many tributes and not enough fodder, and Necroface can definitely help out with that. Because Macro is reliant on cards being removed from play (in the form of your opponent’s big threats being removed and non-accessible), this card is a tit-for-tat kind of card. On the one hand, it allows you to beat face again with your Monarchs, but on the other hand your opponent could possibly have access to some of their strongest cards that you were ecstatic to get rid of the first time around. It’s definitely not its best deck to be tossing it into, but in a dedicated Necroface Macro build it will work wonders.

The key to this card is knowing when to use it and when not to use it. Obviously this is not an early-game card; just because it has a Pot of Avarice-like effect doesn’t make it Pot of Avarice. It’s a separate card that must be treated as such, and too many people have made the mistake of playing it way to early for it to be effective. You’ll want at least 15-20 cards that have been removed from play to make him an effective fighter, but his ATK boost isn’t where he really shines. When he becomes removed from play, you remove the top-5 cards of both players’ decks to the Graveyard, which is actually a huge portion of his effect because Mill decks just got a huge boost.

Think about it: you have the ability to not only discard the top 5 cards from your opponent’s deck, but totally and effectively remove them from play. In a Macro Mill build, this card would be an incredible addition, but his limitation to two-per-deck hurts his playability somewhat in the sense that you can’t utilize a combo of three to maximize his effectiveness. If you haven’t already noticed, his most effective place is in a Macro-oriented combo deck or Strike Ninja. It really doesn’t belong anywhere else, and for him to be a Zombie is just odd indeed, because he has no place in modern zombie builds (interesting decks, to be sure). In any case, his place is in Macro or Strike Ninja, and that’s where he needs to stay. At the end of the day, he has a lot of skill, but it’s localized. Make sure you’re playing a good solid RFG build if you’re going to tech him in.

The second card we’re going to be looking at is an oldie-but-goodie, and certainly one of my all-time favorite cards. She was a hero of the first-ever banlist, often being run in packs of two (sometimes even three), but her effectiveness has lagged as of late, for reasons that many people seem to think lie in her stats. But I beg to disagree, and I’ll show you all why:

Airknight Parshath

LIGHT

5 Star

1900 ATK/1400 DEF

When this card attacks with an ATK higher than the DEF of your opponent's defense position monster, inflict the difference as battle damage to your opponent's Life Points. When this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent's life points, draw 1 card from your Deck.

I’m sorry, but did I just see a Fairy-Meteor-Crush and a “when you inflict damage draw a card” effect? This card is beastly on so many levels, but I want to take a quick trip back to 2004 before we go forward. This card used to see play in so many builds it wasn’t even funny. Back when Scapegoat was being run in threes, Book of Moon and Enemy Controller were running rampant, and pierce-effects still meant something, Airknight was the bell of the ball. She would run over goats, deal 1900 damage and take a card, adding insult to injury. She was perfect in Chaos builds because you could sacrifice Sangan to bring out Airknight, drop a Black Luster Soldier and immediately beat face, and that was a combo that I actually used quite extensively after the banlist was enacted.

But nowadays, Airknight Parshath is seeing less and less play, and many people think it has to do with the fact that she’s a Level 5 1900 ATK monster, nothing more. Well, that’s not the problem. I’d run her in three’s if I thought it would speed up my deck, but it doesn’t. The reason why Airknight is seeing virtually no play right now is because she’s slow. She doesn’t have a Special Summon side effect, and her main effect only gives you two things to go on: damage and drawing, which in this metagame aren’t enough to win the match. You need speed and versatility from your monsters, because now Combo builds are coming back with a vengeance. From Gladiator Beasts to Zombies to Lightsworn, it’s all there in a nice little package: an ultimate combo that will ultimately spell doom for many decks that splash Airknight.

But that’s not to say that Airknight is a bad card; no, far be it from me to call this card terrible. Just because her splashability has gone down tremendously over the past couple of formats doesn’t mean that she can’t see any play whatsoever. The best place for Airknight at this point in time is either Counter Fairy or something closely resembling it. She needs to rely on larger Fairy monsters to protect her while she’s out taking lives from small, helpless low-DEF monsters and giving it to you – and drawing cards in the process. A Counter Fairy build that is heavy on Book of Moon and Enemy Controller should do the trick nicely, because you’ll be swapping your opponent’s Battle Positions all day long. Earthquake should combo well also, and anything else that can switch your opponent’s Battle Positions and keep your Airknight in attack mode.

Overall, these two cards belong in their own decks. They aren’t incredibly splashable, but they’re definitely useful in certain situations and can come in handy in their own respective decks. Keep Necroface in Macro and Airknight Parshath in Counter Fairy and you’ll be sitting pretty. Maybe one day we’ll see these cards become splashable, but for now relegate them to the trade binder unless you’re playing Macro or Fairy.

As always, you can e-mail me at anteaus44@hotmail.com. The Create-A-Card contest is over, and my Friday Deck Fixes are on hold for now, so I won’t be accepting either of those. Create-A-Card Contest winners can e-mail me their decks at any time.

Thanks,

Anteaus