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GeneralZorpa on Yugioh
3 Cards That Define Our Game
July 30, 2007

Well, At Least the Ones That Won't Get Banned...
 
In my opinion there are 6 cards that are defining our game right now
 
-Cyber Dragon
-Brain Control
-Card Trooper
-Snatch Steal
-Ring of Destruction
-Raiza the Storm Monarch
 
Of those 6, 2 are sure to be banned and Raiza is a topic for another article. The first three see play in pretty much any aggressive deck that is made this format. Why is that? They are all powerful cards fro sure, but what makes them so darned good that they will go into almost any deck? I have done some research and playtesting in order to find out the answer to why these cards are so good in the current game, and you get to reap the benefits of my hard work :)
 
The Defining Cards
 
Cyber Dragon
 
Many people feel that this card is a no brainer, but I am not so quick to agree. It is a powerful card to be sure, but we must not overlook some decks that have no true need for it. It belongs in Monarchs and Machine decks for sure, just for the tribute power. I have to say that it doesn't belong in a T-Hero deck. I have played around with it both ways, and I find that T-Hero is far more consistent without it. You will pretty much always have monsters on the field thanks to Malicious and friends, so Cyber Dragon is not really needed. I would prefer to use Raiza instead.
 
Now onto why this card is so good. He has 2100 attack for a Special Summon monster. This is huge, as most monsters except for Monarchs and DMoC have less attack. He is generally a positive addition to any agressive deck. My friend Kyle just saw the wonder of Cyber Dragon in his Nepthys Return deck, using the Dragon as a tribute for his Hand of Nepthys. He could not believe he had ever dissed the card. The Special Summon for no cost is pretty much what makes this monster. Every other card has a cost associated with it when they are Special Summoned. Gilasaurus is a perfect example. Gilasaurus can be Special Summoned, but your opponent gets to Special Summon a monster in their grave. Cyber Dragon is pretty unbalanced, but his effect is not quite useful enough to be considered "broken". Hence we'll have to deal with the metal menace for a very long time.
 
Brain Control
 
This card is all about the tempo. It doesn't technically give you advantage, but the swing in tempo is generally enough to win you a game in many situations. Many people consider this card to be the replacement for Change of Heart after it was banned, but this brainwashing titan is a completely different beast. It only does face up monsters, but that is hardly an issue, as most monsters are played face up anyways. The 800 lp is more of a hindrance than a cost, as below 800 lp this card becomes useless.
 
In many scenarios it is not the Brain/Tribute/Monarch play that is most game breaking. It is simply stealing the monster for a turn of massive damage. When combined with Cyber Dragon, Premature Burial and a normal summon, that is usually going to be a game ending play. It is played in 3's for good reason, as even smashing ground cannot provide the versatility and game breakingness of this card. I expect that something MIGHT be done to counteract this card's rise to glory, as it is almost as cheap and effective to use as Snatch Steal.
 
Card Trooper
 
Some people have been calling for this card's semi-limitation, but I don't think that that is necessary. They claim that the Trooper/Machine Duplication combo is broken, but it is not. You must play to be prepared for Card Trooper. Expect that your opponent will often have him as a play and you won't be caught off guard. Most of the decks play only one random duplication, or run 2. Those aren't very good chances of getting the card combo off, and if you survive the onslaught of "Danger Will Robinson!" then they have one dead card in their deck. 
 
The reason that this guy is so good is that he grants you a card when destroyed. The 1900 ATK combined with this make him good, as he will kill anything short of Cyber Dragon and then your opponent will want to kill him in battle. Then he mills your deck towards that card that you need by 4 cards or more (3 for effect, then one draw). In short the power of Card Trooper is the fact that your opponent is forced to make bad trades when associated with him. If you have a good trade (Brain Control and Tribute) in reserve, Card Trooper is fairly insignifigant.
 
 
The Bottom Line
 
These cards are all great, and should be some of the first to consider when making an aggressive deck.
 
Contact me at raptor1k@hotmail.com for a chat, advice or deck help. I love emails, so keep 'em coming!
 
Thanks for reading!
 
GeneralZorpa