Becoming a Better Duelist 3: Staple Spells
This edition is coming a little later than I'd like, and I apologize for that. I'd say blame college, but the truth is my laziness and the time I've spent getting my partying done before school assignments stack up are much more to blame.
For this entry, we're going to focus on staple spell cards. The term "staple" is a bit of card game jargon that refers to cards that are so important that there is no true replacement for them, and that they are splash-able--meaning there is no specific requirement your deck must meet in order to use them--so they find their way into every deck. This isn't to say you HAVE to use them, so don't feel boxed in by this, but it does put you at a significant disadvantage if you don't, so be aware of what your chances of winning are when you do not. Anyhow, here we go.
One of the oldest, and most versatile spell cards in this game. It's effect is self-explanatory, but it's power cannot be underestimated. While there are other cards that can accomplish the same thing, none are quite as fast, and none are as difficult to stop.
As a spell card, it can be activated instantly, unlike a trap card which must remain set for at least a turn. (Meaning the soonest you can use a trap after setting it is your opponent's turn.) It's benefits extend beyond that ability, however. The lightning bolt in the top right hand corner indicates it's a quick-play spell, meaning it can be set on the field and activated on your opponent's turn. This means if your opponent has no targets you can currently hit, it can be set as both a bluff and as a way to stop a set trap card before your opponent can activate it. Even better, if your opponent misplays for some reason, and sets to their spell/trap card zone (also called a "backrow") before destroying what they can of yours, then attempts to play his own MST, this card can still be activated, taking one of your opponent's spells or traps with it to the grave. This is called chaining, and it is an advanced move that beginners often over look.
Lastly, MST's biggest strength is found in what some players will see as a weakness. It is a one-for-one destruction card, meaning you use one of it to destroy one of your opponent's cards. Many duelists prefer cards that can do more damage to their opponent's field than that to give themselves a bigger advantage. Setting aside the fact that cards like this tend to get banned because it offers too many pluses (card advantage, I'll get into that later), there's another problem with cards like that. See, as a one for one destruction card, MST is JUST weak enough to slip under your opponent's radar.
What I mean by that is, there are few things in this game that cannot be countered. Attacks, effect monster effects, destruction, banishing--all of it can be negated. Heck, even negation can be negated. But there's no such thing as costless negation--often it forces you to discard a card, or let your opponent draw a card, or more than one card has to be destroyed in order for you to activate it. With one for one destruction, the benefit you're getting generally outweighs what your opponent would gain by negating it, so they're often forced to allow the effect to go through. Or, failing that, telegraph their play when they negate something as simple as an MST because you picked a set card that is most likely a powerful destructive trap card.
The new banlist has left this card unlimited, meaning you can run a maximum of three in your deck. Unless your deck is already stuffed with destruction, after reading this the number of MSTs you should be running is hopefully obvious. (If not: Run three. Trust me.)
Here we head into the area of "cards that should be banned, but since they aren't..."
Monster Reborn is just plain busted. It WOULD be fair if all it did was special summon a monster from your own graveyard, but that's not the case. Monster Reborn is a one-time license that lets you jack a monster from your opponent's graveyard, with no cost other than playing the card itself.
If Konami were in the habit of fixing it's mistakes, they'd release another version of this card that said, "Special Summon a monster from your graveyard to your side of the field". Then they'd ban this card forever, so we wouldn't have games where people won by stealing their opponent's boss monster out of the graveyard and using it's broken effects to dominate. But alas, Konami has never done this before and doesn't seem to be leaning towards doing this in the future, so we're stuck with this card. It spent some time on the banlist before I got back into the game last year, but it's back and limited.
Don't be afraid, or ashamed, to run this card at one. It's game-breakingly powerful, and while there are many other cards that "sort of" do what this does, none are quite as good at it. And none that combo with this next card as well.
The effect for this spell card is self-explanatory. Yes, all monsters DOES mean your monsters as well, and it matters not whether they're face-up, face-down, in attack mode or defense.
So why use it? Well, no matter how well you build your deck, and no matter how much you playtest, and no matter how consistent your deck is...the fact is, sometimes your opponent will open with the best hand possible, and your hand will be...not the best. They'll have an amazing turn and end up with their deck's ace monster plus a number of high ATK beatsticks, and you'll be left needing a turn to set up...when there's no chance of you getting another turn past the one you have.
This, will help you even the playing field, so to speak, and give you a chance to avoid being hit with a One Turn Kill (OTK). The epitome of lucksacking of course would be to win a game by playing this card and following up with Monster Reborn, reviving the strongest monster in either graveyard and attacking for game, but of course you wouldn't do that, I hope.
Effect is self-explanatory again, so I won't dwell on that. The most controversial spell card--possibly the most controversial card--in this game. It is, almost singlehandedly, the proof anyone would need to proclaim that backrow is more important than monsters. Yes, players win the game through monsters, but spells and traps can get over nearly every monster in this game. In Yu-Gi-Oh, the player that goes second is the player who gets to attack first--but no competitive player WANTS to second, because that means playing around your opponent's backrow.
The most viable solution to backrow for the game is this card. Heavy Storm. It fluctuates between banned and limited because of the power it possesses and it's ability to swing the game entirely into it's user's favor. It's very existence (when you can only have one) forces players to change the way their deck is constructed, just so their hand doesn't become clogged with useless traps they can't play out of fear that this card will destroy them all.
This card offers an unfair advantage because it allows one to destroy the opponent's entire spell/trap card zone, set their own, then proceed to attack over their opponent's monsters or simply attack for game with zero penalty or zero cost other than playing the card itself.
The fact that it is so unbalanced splits players into pro-Storm and anti-Storm camps, though regardless of which side you're on, all players run this card when it's legal. Which it is again. Feel free to run it at one. As a rule, I refuse to because the advantage it offers is just too much, but I still reap the benefits, as most players not only play differently, but build their decks differently when this card is legal, so a rogue player that refuses to use Storm like myself isn't screwed over by the lack of it in his or her deck.
This isn't necessarily a staple, but it's effect is such that I feel people should be aware of it. It's pretty powerful, destroying the opponent's entire monster field (other than set cards) for the cost of discarding one card.
It's a weaker version of a far more powerful spell card from earlier in the game, with a cost added to balance it, but truthfully, the cost of the card is what keeps it from being a staple. You build your deck with the idea of being able to use as many cards in your deck as easily as possible--meaning no matter what you have in your hand or on the field, your topdeck is hopefully something you can use.
The biggest problem with this card is that you're giving up hand advantage for something that is easily negated (Stardust Dragon kills all destruction to begin with), and the fact that the discarding both forces you to give up hand advantage and places a limitation on when this card can be used. To begin with, there aren't many cards that you want to put in the graveyard like this. There are monsters that gain effects off being discarded--but it's rarely when discarded for a cost, like this, so that lost card is just lost. Plus, if you topdeck this when you're in a serious situation and your hand is empty...well, time to scoop. Sorry.
The fact is, you're only supposed to be running 40 cards, 37 or less if you're doing it right, and there are already better ways to get rid of monsters than this (one of which you saw above). Generally, most people don't run this because they simply don't have room.
As usual, this article is running somewhat long, but I'm less comfortable with it because by my count I have at least another nine spells to go. So I'll be splitting this section up into three parts, except I'll try to have parts two and three up this week.
'Til next time.
For this entry, we're going to focus on staple spell cards. The term "staple" is a bit of card game jargon that refers to cards that are so important that there is no true replacement for them, and that they are splash-able--meaning there is no specific requirement your deck must meet in order to use them--so they find their way into every deck. This isn't to say you HAVE to use them, so don't feel boxed in by this, but it does put you at a significant disadvantage if you don't, so be aware of what your chances of winning are when you do not. Anyhow, here we go.
Mystical Space Typhoon - Target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy that target.
One of the oldest, and most versatile spell cards in this game. It's effect is self-explanatory, but it's power cannot be underestimated. While there are other cards that can accomplish the same thing, none are quite as fast, and none are as difficult to stop.
As a spell card, it can be activated instantly, unlike a trap card which must remain set for at least a turn. (Meaning the soonest you can use a trap after setting it is your opponent's turn.) It's benefits extend beyond that ability, however. The lightning bolt in the top right hand corner indicates it's a quick-play spell, meaning it can be set on the field and activated on your opponent's turn. This means if your opponent has no targets you can currently hit, it can be set as both a bluff and as a way to stop a set trap card before your opponent can activate it. Even better, if your opponent misplays for some reason, and sets to their spell/trap card zone (also called a "backrow") before destroying what they can of yours, then attempts to play his own MST, this card can still be activated, taking one of your opponent's spells or traps with it to the grave. This is called chaining, and it is an advanced move that beginners often over look.
Lastly, MST's biggest strength is found in what some players will see as a weakness. It is a one-for-one destruction card, meaning you use one of it to destroy one of your opponent's cards. Many duelists prefer cards that can do more damage to their opponent's field than that to give themselves a bigger advantage. Setting aside the fact that cards like this tend to get banned because it offers too many pluses (card advantage, I'll get into that later), there's another problem with cards like that. See, as a one for one destruction card, MST is JUST weak enough to slip under your opponent's radar.
What I mean by that is, there are few things in this game that cannot be countered. Attacks, effect monster effects, destruction, banishing--all of it can be negated. Heck, even negation can be negated. But there's no such thing as costless negation--often it forces you to discard a card, or let your opponent draw a card, or more than one card has to be destroyed in order for you to activate it. With one for one destruction, the benefit you're getting generally outweighs what your opponent would gain by negating it, so they're often forced to allow the effect to go through. Or, failing that, telegraph their play when they negate something as simple as an MST because you picked a set card that is most likely a powerful destructive trap card.
The new banlist has left this card unlimited, meaning you can run a maximum of three in your deck. Unless your deck is already stuffed with destruction, after reading this the number of MSTs you should be running is hopefully obvious. (If not: Run three. Trust me.)
Monster Reborn - Special Summon 1 monster from either player's Graveyard to your side of the field.
Here we head into the area of "cards that should be banned, but since they aren't..."
Monster Reborn is just plain busted. It WOULD be fair if all it did was special summon a monster from your own graveyard, but that's not the case. Monster Reborn is a one-time license that lets you jack a monster from your opponent's graveyard, with no cost other than playing the card itself.
If Konami were in the habit of fixing it's mistakes, they'd release another version of this card that said, "Special Summon a monster from your graveyard to your side of the field". Then they'd ban this card forever, so we wouldn't have games where people won by stealing their opponent's boss monster out of the graveyard and using it's broken effects to dominate. But alas, Konami has never done this before and doesn't seem to be leaning towards doing this in the future, so we're stuck with this card. It spent some time on the banlist before I got back into the game last year, but it's back and limited.
Don't be afraid, or ashamed, to run this card at one. It's game-breakingly powerful, and while there are many other cards that "sort of" do what this does, none are quite as good at it. And none that combo with this next card as well.
Dark Hole - Destroy all monsters on the field.
The effect for this spell card is self-explanatory. Yes, all monsters DOES mean your monsters as well, and it matters not whether they're face-up, face-down, in attack mode or defense.
So why use it? Well, no matter how well you build your deck, and no matter how much you playtest, and no matter how consistent your deck is...the fact is, sometimes your opponent will open with the best hand possible, and your hand will be...not the best. They'll have an amazing turn and end up with their deck's ace monster plus a number of high ATK beatsticks, and you'll be left needing a turn to set up...when there's no chance of you getting another turn past the one you have.
This, will help you even the playing field, so to speak, and give you a chance to avoid being hit with a One Turn Kill (OTK). The epitome of lucksacking of course would be to win a game by playing this card and following up with Monster Reborn, reviving the strongest monster in either graveyard and attacking for game, but of course you wouldn't do that, I hope.
Heavy Storm - Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field.
Effect is self-explanatory again, so I won't dwell on that. The most controversial spell card--possibly the most controversial card--in this game. It is, almost singlehandedly, the proof anyone would need to proclaim that backrow is more important than monsters. Yes, players win the game through monsters, but spells and traps can get over nearly every monster in this game. In Yu-Gi-Oh, the player that goes second is the player who gets to attack first--but no competitive player WANTS to second, because that means playing around your opponent's backrow.
The most viable solution to backrow for the game is this card. Heavy Storm. It fluctuates between banned and limited because of the power it possesses and it's ability to swing the game entirely into it's user's favor. It's very existence (when you can only have one) forces players to change the way their deck is constructed, just so their hand doesn't become clogged with useless traps they can't play out of fear that this card will destroy them all.
This card offers an unfair advantage because it allows one to destroy the opponent's entire spell/trap card zone, set their own, then proceed to attack over their opponent's monsters or simply attack for game with zero penalty or zero cost other than playing the card itself.
The fact that it is so unbalanced splits players into pro-Storm and anti-Storm camps, though regardless of which side you're on, all players run this card when it's legal. Which it is again. Feel free to run it at one. As a rule, I refuse to because the advantage it offers is just too much, but I still reap the benefits, as most players not only play differently, but build their decks differently when this card is legal, so a rogue player that refuses to use Storm like myself isn't screwed over by the lack of it in his or her deck.
Lightning Vortex - Discard 1 card. Destroy all face-up monsters your opponent controls.
This isn't necessarily a staple, but it's effect is such that I feel people should be aware of it. It's pretty powerful, destroying the opponent's entire monster field (other than set cards) for the cost of discarding one card.
It's a weaker version of a far more powerful spell card from earlier in the game, with a cost added to balance it, but truthfully, the cost of the card is what keeps it from being a staple. You build your deck with the idea of being able to use as many cards in your deck as easily as possible--meaning no matter what you have in your hand or on the field, your topdeck is hopefully something you can use.
The biggest problem with this card is that you're giving up hand advantage for something that is easily negated (Stardust Dragon kills all destruction to begin with), and the fact that the discarding both forces you to give up hand advantage and places a limitation on when this card can be used. To begin with, there aren't many cards that you want to put in the graveyard like this. There are monsters that gain effects off being discarded--but it's rarely when discarded for a cost, like this, so that lost card is just lost. Plus, if you topdeck this when you're in a serious situation and your hand is empty...well, time to scoop. Sorry.
The fact is, you're only supposed to be running 40 cards, 37 or less if you're doing it right, and there are already better ways to get rid of monsters than this (one of which you saw above). Generally, most people don't run this because they simply don't have room.
As usual, this article is running somewhat long, but I'm less comfortable with it because by my count I have at least another nine spells to go. So I'll be splitting this section up into three parts, except I'll try to have parts two and three up this week.
'Til next time.
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