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GeneralZorpa on Yugioh
RE: What the Tech?
July 23, 2008

Here's Another One

Well here is another installment of cards you should be considering for competitive play but aren't. Burn is a rather underestimated deck type. But what about cards that can burn as well as going aggro on an opponent? I am talking about Reflect Bounder of course. Decent stats, Honestable and it even does massive burn damage when attacked.  The next card on today's list is  Des Koala, the thunder from down under. Third is Zoma the Spirit, a rather underestimated trap monster. Fourth is Chain Disappearance, which likes to do magic tricks with the Joker on Weekends. Lastly we have Reckless Greed, a card I hate but am looking at due to popular request.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall....

Reflect Bounder is one of those cards that people have come to think has lost it's luster and kicked the bucket, kind of like DD Assailant and Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer. Well, they would be wrong. Reflect Bounder has never been more useful. The reason being the cards that are on everybody's mind, Royal Oppression and Prime Material Dragon. These two cards when working in harmony create a world in which battle is the king. And Reflect Bounder loves battle. Your opponent will take at least 1700 when they attack it, possibly more, and all you lose is standard damage from a 1700 beater just like Gladiator Beast Darius.

Even ramming a useless monster into the Bounder is going to be painful, as they take Battle Damage as well. Seeing as how people burn through lifepoints these days with both Solemn Judgment and Royal Oppression, not to mention 800 for both Brain Control and Premature Burial, and we have a situation in which 1700 damage from a single card is a lot of damage. Combine that with other naturally aggressive decks that like to attack a lot (Gladiator Beasts) and you have a recipe for disaster.

I mentioned earlier that Reflect Bounder is Honestable. Why would you want to waste a perfectly good Honest on a monster that is probably going to die anyway? The answer is simple. Take a standard scenario. Gladiator Beast Laquari attacks Reflect Bounder. You Honest, and suddenly that is 3500 LP right in the keister and they lose their Gladiator. If they played an early Solemn Judgment, then all it would take is a well timed Ceasefire to end the game. An aggressive deck packing Honest, Prime Material Dragon and even Jowgen the Spiritualist can cause some massive damage when played right.

Death By Koala

I wish they would have kept the name Death Koala, but oh well. He really is an amazing card. 1800 DEF is pretty good, and 1100 is excellent, especially on a level 3 monster. Being a beast doesn't hurt at all, since he works well with both Rescue Cat and Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest. If you haven't been hiding under a rock then you probably know that the Japanese are using a DARK Beast Synchro deck that simply owns face. Rescue Cat gets Des Koala and the DARK Beast tuners, and Presto! Instant synchro summon.

Koala is good on his own too. A standard player has anywhere from 2-6 cards in hand at any given time with an average of 3. This means an average of 1200 damage from a little flip, and whatever Battle Damage they took from attacking into your defensive beast. Setting a monster nowadays usually  means one of 3 monsters, Gravekeeper's Spy, Gravekeeper's Guard or Legendary Jujitsu Master.  All of these cards are rather painful to attack into, so Koala could end up sitting on the field for a while as it is mistaken for one of these more potent cards. Then it is elementary to flip, deal damage and then proceed to ownage phase by sacking for a Monarch (including honorary Monarchs Prime Material Dragon and Jinzo).

Des Koala also works well with a version of Baburn that is slowly creeping it's way back into the dueling consciousness. The idea is to use Koala and various other Beast monsters including Rescue Cat to get the Baboon to the field really early. A 2500 ATK monster that won't die is very annoying and rather dangerous. Not to mention that Des Wombat and Des Kangaroo can be used as well. You can even use a fusion element with Master of Oz, using fusion substitutes and such.

This Guy Should Have His Own Horror Film

 
This is not because the card looks scary, but because the effect is scary. It not only gets you a beatstick at flash pace, it has an effect that is very similar to Reflect Bounder. As such, the card is both an offensive and defensive powerhouse. 1800 also trumps Bounder's ATK  and the fact that you can surprise tribute it off for a Monarch can make this card a number one pick in a format which has been defined by Solemn Judgment. Half of your lifepoints is a lot, and if you are giving up 1800 just to destroy your opponent's monsters, that is going to lose you the game very quickly.
 
Zoma the Spirit does have the weakness of being a trap monster, as it can be destroyed by both spell and trap destruction as well as negated by Jinzo and Royal Decree. These two cards have kept it out of the spotlight, but since Jinzo is MIA and Royal Decree use is sparse and far between, it might be safe for Zoma to poke it's head out of the netherworld. Gladiator Beast Bestiari is this card's worst nightmare. as Special Summoning it out will kill Zoma and the Gladiator Beast deck is playing 3 of them, not to mention multiple copies of Dust Tornado.
 
But enough with it's faults. Zoma is a card that is an excellent choice for this game. Your opponent will be unlikely to Solemn Judgment it due to the fact that it is seen as relatively harmless. This gives it a huge edge, as it is then able to switch to attack position and then beat face until the opponent destroys it or gets around it by battle. You can even ram Zoma into an opposing monster to get it's effect. An attack position Heraklinos just became your ticket to 3000 points of damage, or 2400 for Gyzarus. Dark Armed Dragon and Judgment Dragon are both harder to beat with Zoma, as they'll clear the field before they attack, and since Zoma is a trap, it needs to be set for a turn to get it's effect.
 
I'll Make this Pencil, Disappear!
 
One card that was very good once upon a time was Chain Disappearance. It will remove a monster with 1000 or less ATK and ALL copies of it from your opponent's deck and hand. WOW. This is not only a gem in combos, but a great follow up in a mirror match after you have used Trap Dustshoot or Crush Card Virus and were unable to neutralize all of their best cards. What are some of the monsters with 1000 or less ATK that we just hate to see? Destiny Heroes Fear Monger, Malicious, Disc Commander, Treeborn Frog, Gladiator Beasts Murmillo and Hoplomus, Exiled Force, Sangan, Lightsworn Ryko and Lumina and not lastly Gravekeeper's Guard.
 
Who wouldn't mind not getting those monsters Special Summoned? I know that Murmillo, Sangan andMalicious have ruined my day more than once, and these are only cards that are commonly played in the top decks. I like to think of this card as a kind of super Bottomless Trap Hole for low ATK monsters. it can be used as 141 removal or to completely dismantle an opposing strategy. It is of the same type of trap as Bottomless Trap Hole, so it suffers from all of the limitations and such.
 
However there is even a combo to use with this card. It is an easy way to get rid of in hand copies of cards that your opponent has also. If you are playing a Gladiator Mirror Match (a common enough occurrence) and you are in control of the field, a Special Summoned Murmillo could be the end of you. So, use your in hand Murmillo to get rid of your opponent's! The same maneuver can be done in any mirror match with the corresponding cards. This is not an ideal move, but more like one where you are willing to waste the summon to get rid of the card. D.D. Crow is an excellent example, especially if you are stalling behind Swords of Revealing Light.
 
But the place where this card shines most is against Lightsworn. Ryko and Lumina both have 1000 or less ATK and they are both used to build and control field presence. The deck loses most of it's teeth when either or both of them are removed form the competitive sphere of the game. Most of Lightsworn's oppening plays and comeback strategies involve either Ryko or Lumina and not only does Chain Disappearance stop the summon of those cards, it removes them from play, where Lightsworn have no access to them.Also Necro Gardna if it is summoned can be removed as well, further removing cards that Lightsworn decks rely on.
 
I Hate This Card
 
There, I said it. I loathe Reckless Greed. Not because it gets played against me, but because people are so willing to grab cards that they would play a relatively bad card in decks that don't need it. reckless is an immediate +1, which is YAY. However, it is an eventual -1 which is NO. Unless you activate them all at the same time. which is a +! overall. When was the last time that you had to have all 3 copies of a card on the field at the same time in order to get a +1? yeah, never. As far as I am concerned folks, the name says it all, it is reckless to play this card.
 
So instead of going off on a tirade about how much I am so disappointed that people would play this card outside of Exodia, I am going to be positive and suggest substitutes for it. Of course there is no substitute for an immediate +1, but I'll try. Good Goblin Housekeeping I have already said is better overall than Reckless Greed, both for combo potential and the fact that you don't have to have all of them on the field at the sam time in order to get it's beneficial effects to go off. Also who wouldn't want a card called Good Goblin Housekeeping in your deck, it's hilarious!
 
The second and third cards that I am going to suggest are really the same card. Jar of Greed and Legacy of Yata Garasu both do the same thing but Legacy is slightly better in that if your opponent has a Spirit monster you draw 2. These cards are generally a 141, which is never really bad. However, if you chain them, you get your opponent's spell and trap destruction out of the way as well as drawing a card.
 
The last card that I am going to suggest is Upstart Goblin. This has already been used in some cool strategies already. 1000 lp is not very much at all, and card cycling in spell form is powerful as Allure of Darkness and Destiny Draw come to mind. The format is so explosive now that it is easy to make up 1000 damage with the extra cards that Upstart can get you, especially in a Dark Armed and Gladiator Beast deck.
 
That's all for this article, I have run out of inspiration for this week. Reach me at raptor1k@hotmail.com in order to ask questions, comment or ask advice. I am no Shonen Jump Champ, but I'll try to give you the best answers I can from someone who has been around the game since you could summon Blue Eyes White Dragon without tribute in the anime.
 
Thanx for reading!
GZ