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Dark
Maltos's
Dueling Dome
Well guys, it’s been a while since I last posted, I’m
sure you all missed me, but the truth of the matter is
that between work, school and Stormvortex, the time just
hasn’t been there for me to get back to what I do best,
articles, generally of the Yugioh persuasion. (Anyone
else think we should have a petition to have that
changed to one word?) Anyway, on with my new series of
articles - Welcome to “Cards in Focus”
I’ve had this idea for a while, but it never really
seemed feasible to me until I actually sat down and
thought about it. The idea itself is fairly simple, each
article I’ll take a group of related cards, however that
may be the case, then “test drive” them to see how they
shape up. For the sake of simplicity, this week I’ve
chosen Monarchs.
The Monarchs have been around for a long time, and every
so often a new one is released to us. As it happens, the
long awaited Wind monarch is just around the corner, so
I thought I’d best go back and review this royal bunch.
Monarchs first made their debut singularly in the height of the Chaos era, in the form of Zaborg the Thunder monarch, or to give him his full title “Zaborg-that-monarch-with-the-green-afro-that-maltos-spotted-and-no-one-else-has-ever-bothered-to-mention.” But to save on ink, that was abbreviated to the name we’re familiar with today.
Though light, and one of the few decent lights available
during that era, Zaborg never really saw that much
play. You have to remember, this was BEFORE cyber
dragon. ( to some of you I might be speaking in tongues,
but believe me, it did happen once.) Back then people
had to get by on DDWL and MoF.
As time rolled by we were given 3 more monarchs, Mobius,
Granmarg and Thestalos, none of which made much interest
, at least that was until Pojo’s own, Sand trap got his
hands on them.
Soul control was a simple idea that got the whole
Duelist world thinking. The idea of advantage upon
summoning, and “floaters” revolutionized the western
game and was the forefather to many of the decks that
have exploded onto the scene over the years. Sand trap’s
wisdom gave us all a greater insight into the game that
will probably never been seen again.
Following this uncovered game dynamic the dueling world
accelerated dramatically, with Monarchs being seen as
the old reliable monsters that were fairly easy to bring
out, and abuse if played correctly. With their fifth
instalment ready to burst on the scene within Force of
the Breaker, what better time to take an in depth look
at what has somehow become the epitome of all tribute
monsters? I bring to you
Cards in Focus - Monarchs.
The Monarchs themselves are all fairly similar. For
instance, they are all 1 tribute, 2400 atk, 1000 def
monster that receive an effect upon being tribute
summoned. They pretty much cover all attributes now, and
have a type associated with their respective attribute.
That however, is where the similarities end.
Zaborg ;
Zaborg right now is probably considered to be the
strongest of the monarchs, with an ability to destroy
any monster on th
 e
field upon summoning. That means that no matter how
you’re holding up , one Zaborg can have a big momentum
switch in your favour , depending on what you fry with
his effect, be it an nuisance monster like Spirit
Reaper, or an un stoppable killing machine like a
Chimeratech. Either way, the crazy 1-4-1’s that this guy
pull’s off can always be a deadly move if executed
properly, and for that reason he’s been the monarch of
choice for most professionals for some time now.
Artistically Zaborg is also pretty eye-catching and
instantly recognisable, not only because of the green
afro I keep banging on about, but also because of that
awesome - looking open handed thunder attack he’s in the
process of doing.
In terms of reliability Zaborg is second to none. It has
come to be the case that an opponent, regardless of
other cards should have at least on monster on the field
during the start of you’re turn unless they’re in a top
decking situation. That gives Zaborg more of a
competitive edge I feel, an certainly makes him a top
choice for a quick switch around when you want to go
into attack. If you blow up a monster and manage to
vaporise another in battle , all for the cost of a
returning Treeborn Frog you’ve definitely found yourself
in a fabulous position for your expense, or lack of.
Zaborg has got a lot going on because he’s essentially a
big fat freebie.
Mobius ;
Mobius is an absolute beauty. Upon summoning he’ll
eradicate any back field the opponent has mustered with
one fell swoop by blowing up ,up to 2 s/t’s form the
moment he hit’s the field. The fact that he does a
double-effect of whatever any other monarch h
 as
managed should immediately throw him straight up there
with the big boys, and believe me it does. Mobius is
stall’s worst enemy and aggro’s best friend. No one
really sets more that 2 s/t’s these days anyway., and
that’s why Mobius shines.
It’s annoying enough when the opponent heavy storm’s
you, but to do the same thing again and again with
multiple Mobius is just tear-worthy. You’ve not
experienced a momentum shift until you’ve brought forth
a frost monarch out of no where. Not only to you
obliterate the backfield, you also allow yourself a 2400
beat stick which is just a jugger naught. Unlike Zaborg,
Mobius gives himself protection upon summoning, as any
duelist knows that it’s not what you can see that you
should fear, it’s what’s face down. Nailing 2 s/t’s
guarantee’s a free assault on their monster whatever it
may be. That’s what makes the difference between this
tribute monster and so many others, in one fell swoop
you switch the whole game on it’s head. Mobius ranks up
their with Jinzo and challenged him for the title of
best tribute monster, a debate which has never truly
been decided.
Art-wise, I feel that Mobius definitely has the other’s
beaten. His smooth, medieval design is so much less
clumsy that the other monarchs, and the contrast of the
icicles in the dark very much reminiscent of metal
garurumon from Digimon. Yeah, I watched it….
In terms of reliability, Mobius isn’t the best, which is
part of the reason that he fell from favour in the
dueling world. The temptation will always be there to
hold on until the opponent has 2 s/t’s, or to play him
simply because the opponent has 2 s/t’s. It’s like a
compulsion we have as humans to get the most for our
money, and it’s own gluttony that unfortunately has kept
my favourite monarch off the top spot. Lately Mobius has
lost a bit of his shine, with the emergence of quick
play spells up the yin yang , his power just isn’t what
it used to be when everyone ran Sakuretsu and Bottomless
to death. Now a days , you’re more likely to nail a
Shrink which would just be laughable, making him a 1200
attack normal monster for the turn, with none of the
benefits. Ring of Destruction has certainly played it’s
part in Mobius’s fall from grace, definitely making it
unsafe to assume that a summoned Mobius is a guaranteed
attack. Still, I run him , at least for the time being.
Thestalos :
For a while Thestalos was the most popular monarch. His
ability to steal a card from the opposing hand and send
 it
straight to the grave had proved to be an enormously
effective dynamic, even with the negligible damage it
produced. . Combined with Don Zaloog and you’ve got
yourself a little party. Nothing could stop you from
taking everything away from the opponent, before they’d
even had a chance to use it. That was until Konami
invented Dark World monsters.
Those popular fiends alone prevent Thestalos from
reaching any sort of new heights, as they will always be
popular, and always will be played. Run a Thestalos
these days and you might as well be opening up your
entire deck to be ravaged by the god-like effects the
Dark Wolf monsters are capable of wielding. Of course,
that’s just my opinion.
Thestalos is probably my least favourite art-wise. I
find his anima-like design to be just too awkward, and
it’s a shame because it’s not a bad concept really. But
think about it, when you’ve seen a Thunder monarch like
Zaborg, and a Frost monarch like Mobius , you’d expect
the FIRE monarch (the most destructive element) to have
a little bit more about him. I’m not against the
artwork, but it’s just not me.
Depending on what sort of deck you’re playing, Thestalos can be very effective. There’s nothing like stealing cards from people’s hands, that’s where they keep their best stuff, and odds are , they’ll always be something worth taking whenever Thestalos hit’s the field. With that in mind, Thestalos proves himself to be the most reliable monarch.
Granmarg :
And now that we’ve soldiered through the best of what
the monarchs have to offer we come to the bargain bin of
the bunch, Granmarg,
 with
the ability of destroying a face down when summoned.
A friend of mine insists that Granmarg s the best
Monarch, that’s he’s got a deck all worked out for him,
but I’ve yet to see this deck and why either Mobius or
Zaborg wouldn’t do his job better.
That’s what it all boils down to really, whatever you
want Granmarg to do, Zaborg or Mobius would have done it
better in the situation. If you want to kill face down
monsters, stick in a Zaborg and kill face up one’s as
well. If you want to blow up s/t’s period use Mobius,
he’s not restricted to face down’s.
Art-wise, Granmarg is also lacking. With his bland
brown colour, and huge, unarticulated arms , he looks
like essentially a wall. Still that’s up to personal
preference, if you want to be commanding a giant, robust
block then that’s up to you.
Granmarg’s only benefit is choice. With the other’s
there’s none, no variation. You either do their effect
or not. Granmarg pumps a bit of variety into the mix,
which is a redeeming feature. The choice between monster
and magic is cool, but not cool enough to make this guy
a frost monarch, and as shocking as that joke may be,
it’s nothing compared to the static that gave Zaborg his
‘fro.
Which brings us finally to the new guy on the block;
RAIZA THE STORM MONARCH
Wind/Bird/6/2400/1000 When this card is successfully sacrificed summoned, return a card on the field to the top of its owner's deck.
At first glance, the storm monarc
 h
isn’t exactly Mr Revolutionary. The opponent won’t
actually lose a card, not technically as they’ll be
getting it back their next turn, but lets just think
about that for a second.
That monarch essentially reads : Opponent skips their
draw phase, return a card to their hand. That’s a hand
effect, especially when you’re hitting a trap that’ll
take a turn to be reset, or a tribute monster that cost
the earth to summon. Raiza will make short work of it,
and that’s more than enough for me to consider using it.
He’s a good monster, and definitely up their with the
top 2 of them.
Monarchs are a reliable bunch of tribute monsters, and
you’d be hard pushed if you ever had to come up against
them. They are solid, dependable monsters in their own
right and are just too easy to use to not bother with,
and what is more, they have a great future ahead of them
that we’ll all learn from along the way.
Well that’s it from me for now. If you want to get in touch, my mails ;
Dark__Maltos@msn.com
, or you can find me at
http://www.forumsvibe.com/stormvortex/
Till then, have a good one guys.
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