“They are the Destiny Heroes. Their power brought the Elemental Heroes to their knees. How do you think you will fare?”

Enemy of Justice was a good introduction to the Destiny Heroes, but Power of the Duelist truly shows their muscle. A wealth of new support cards and an expanding team of monsters are certain to please any Destiny Hero fan.

Today we begin a look into the second wave of Destiny Heroes.

Let’s start with Destiny Hero - Defender, a Level 4 monster with a staggering DEF. Such protectiveness comes with a penalty though. “If this card is in face-up Defense Position during your opponent’s Standby Phase, your opponent draws 1 card.”

So you have a protector that can stand up to almost every monster commonly used in tournament play, but during your opponent’s standby phase, he or she will draw a card from his or her deck. So when using this card, you have three choices:

1. Accept that the opponent will draw an extra card and learn to work around the handicap.
2. Stop Destiny Hero - Defender from allowing the opponent to draw that card.
3. Take advantage of the drawing effect.

Your opponent will not continue to draw an extra card during his or her standby phase if Destiny Hero - Defender leaves your side of the field or is turned face down. You can plan to tribute it or use it to pay a cost before your opponent can take advantage of the effect, but with the right card effects, you can do something even sneakier. By using cards like Creature Swap or Mystic Box to give your opponent control of your face-up defense position Destiny Hero - Defender, you can take advantage of the effect your opponent was originally going to receive. Now you are the player drawing a card, and your opponent has to figure out a way to escape it. He or she could decide to turn Destiny Hero - Defender to attack position to keep you from drawing the extra card, but doing so leaves him or her with a glaring vulnerability. Naturally he or she could decide to tribute it, but with the right card effects, you can prevent this as well.

Giving your opponent control of Destiny Hero - Defender has its own risks, but what if you could take advantage of its effect without having to give up such a strong defensive wall? Appropriate is the solution for both! When your opponent draws a card during his or her standby phase, you can activate your set Appropriate by flipping it face up. From that point forward, whenever your opponent draws a card (or cards) outside of his or her draw phase, you would be able to draw two cards from your deck.

Sometimes a great defense isn’t the answer. With Destiny Hero - Blade Master, you can surprise your opponent with a seriously unexpected ATK boost. The element of surprise is always on your Destiny Heroes’ side with this guy on your team.

“During your opponent's Battle Phase, by discarding this card from your hand, all face-up ‘Destiny Hero’ monsters on your side of the field gain 800 ATK until the end of this turn.”

The ATK boost will benefit every face-up Destiny Hero you have on your side of the field at the time the effect resolves, but it will not help any that are brought to the field after the effect has resolved. You want to play it at the right time so that it benefits the monsters you want.

Some may say that this trick only works once and that your opponent will simply stop attacking. He or she won’t choose to ram into a stronger monster with no hope for gain, right? With a card like Staunch Defender, he or she won’t have a choice. In order to activate Staunch Defender, your opponent must declare an attack. He or she isn’t likely to do this if your monsters are stronger than his or hers, so you can hold back on Destiny Hero - Blade Master and wait until he or she attacks. Then you can use Staunch Defender and choose your strongest Destiny Hero as its target. Once your opponent is forced to attack, you can use Destiny Hero - Blade Master’s effect to make the targeted Destiny Hero even stronger.

If you have more than one Destiny Hero - Blade Master in your hand, you can use each of their effects separately to give your Destiny Hero monsters even more power. Two Blade Masters and a Staunch Defender will really put the hurt on your opponent.

Destiny Hero - Fear Monger has an effect trigger that is similar to other popular self-replacing monsters like Mystic Tomato, but the card has a different agenda.

“If this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 ‘Destiny Hero’ monster from your Graveyard (except a ‘Destiny Hero - Fear Monger’) during your next Standby Phase.”

Unlike most other self-replacing monsters, Destiny Hero - Fear Monger doesn’t want its monster to be special summoned right away. It would rather keep your opponent in the dark until your next standby phase, when you select a Destiny Hero monster from your graveyard and special summon it onto your side of the field. Since the monster Destiny Hero - Fear Monger special summons doesn’t hit the field until your standby phase, you know that it won’t be immediately destroyed in another battle, a fate that often befalls monsters summoned in such a way. It is, however, subject to termination by cards like Bottomless Trap Hole, so there are still threats to be concerned about.

You are free to choose any Destiny Hero you have in your graveyard when your standby phase comes around, as long as it can be legally summoned and is not named Destiny Hero - Fear Monger. Fear Monger is not allowed to special summon itself or any other copies of itself you might have in your graveyard. You shouldn’t let this bother you, however, because you can still special summon some very strong Destiny Heroes like Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude, Destiny Hero - Dasher, and even Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster.

Return here next week for more on the second wave of Destiny Heroes! Until then, send all comments to Curtis@metagame.com