Well, everyone, it sure has been a while, eh? I apologize for the lack of articles lately. I’ve been really busy these past couple of months, as you could probably have guessed. But I’m back today with an all new article, featuring two new cards, both of which are Trap Monster Cards. Let’s begin with a look at the Mobile Fortress Stronghold.

Mobile Fortress Stronghold was released as a V-Jump promo card. VJC-JP006 Ultra Rare. There’s no telling when it might be released in English.

Mobile Fortress Stronghold.. Quite an interesting Trap-Monster Card indeed. It works just like the other Trap-Monster Cards (Avatar of Apophis, Metal Reflect Slime), in that you set it face-down in your M/T Zone, and when you activate it, it becomes a Monster Card in your Monster Zone. Just remember, though, that it’s still treated as a Trap Card when in your Monster Zone, so it can be destroyed by such things as Cyclone (MST). But one of the main differences between this and the other Trap-Monsters is that this one is just a Normal Trap Card, while the others are Continuous.

When Stronghold’s activated, it becomes an Earth/Machine with stats of 0/2000, which of course means it‘s not a card for attacking with, though it can put up a solid defense for you. If you use Stronghold with all of the Gadgets, though, Limiter Removal could be nice to use with it, perhaps turning it into a 6000-ATK Trap-Monster, but it’s not usually too likely that you’ll be able to pull that off. It can also be good to use for a Tribute for a higher-level Monster.

Now, using it with the three Gadgets is when Stronghold becomes most beneficial. When you have a {Green Gadget}, {Red Gadget}, and {Yellow Gadget} (see my news article at the following link for their information - http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/FeaturedWriters/DM7FGD/2004/News-05-03.shtml ) all face-up on the Field along with Mobile Fortress Stronghold, MFS’s ATK becomes a very powerful 3000. With that and the Gadgets alone, it gives you a total attack power of 6900 on the Field. Add a Limiter Removal or other power-up to the mix, and it won’t be very pretty for your opponent. Getting all four of those cards out onto the Field at the same time won’t be easy, though, so it could be helpful to include some cards that can help you get them all out quicker, such as Ultimate Offering. Shield and Sword can sometimes be a fun card to use with this card, as well.

Overall, I see Mobile Fortress Stronghold as being a pretty fun-to-use Trap-Monster Card, but not as beneficial and easy-to-use as Avatar of Apophis and Metal Reflect Slime are. However, when used correctly and to its greatest potential, Mobile Fortress Stronghold outweighs the other Trap-Monsters by quite a bit. It’ll usually just end up being a defender or Tribute-bait for you, though. I give Mobile Fortress Stronghold an overall rating of 7/10.

For the second and final card of today’s article, we take a look at the newly-released Dead Dragon Zoma.

Dead Dragon - Zoma was recently released as a Master’s Guide Promo. MG1-JP001. There’s no telling when its English release might be.

Dead Dragon - Zoma is quite a popular card for Bakura fans, as it is used by him in the Anime. It’s one of the more interesting and fun-to-use Trap-Monster Cards. Like the other Trap-Monsters, it can still be destroyed by Monster or M/T removal.

Zoma has an Effect similar to that of Reflect Bounder’s. The only thing is, if Zoma’s in ATK mode when its Effect goes off, it’ll be doing at least 100 more damage to your opponent than Reflect Bounder would do by its Effect, since Zoma has 100 more ATK than Bounder does. Another benefit that Zoma has over Bounder is that you can use more than one Zoma in your Deck.

It could be wise to have a little bit of protection for your Zoma, since when you first activate it, it’s Summoned in Defense position, and since it only has 500 DEF, it can be easy to get by. But even so, if your opponent destroys it in Battle even in Defense mode, it’s still likely that they’d be taking some hefty damage due to Zoma’s Effect. So it wouldn’t always be a bad idea to leave it in DEF mode, and it’d also be nice to have it in ATK mode, so whatever suits you best in whatever situation you’re in, use it that way.

1800 ATK isn’t bad at all, and it’s the most powerful out of the Trap-Monsters. So if you can keep Zoma out on the Field long enough to get it into ATK mode, it can be a nice card to stall with, as it’s not likely that your opponent will want to destroy it in Battle, otherwise they’d be taking at least 1800 damage to their LP. Meanwhile you could consistently attack your opponent with it, perhaps taking out a few of their own Monsters or a nice chunk out of their LP.

Another benefit when using Zoma is that, like the other Trap-Monsters, it can be used to Tribute for a higher-level Monster. It’s an obvious benefit, but I just had to state it, anyway.

Dead Dragon - Zoma can be a beneficial card to include in Bakura-based Character Decks, as well as Dark and Zombie Decks. It’s an extremely fun card to use, and it’s very capable of doing a pretty good amount of damage to your opponent when used right. You can use it as a stall card, as an attacker, as a burner, or all of the above. Not only that, but Zoma’s got some pretty great artwork, as well, if I do say so myself. I give Dead Dragon - Zoma an overall rating of 7.5/10.