Let’s be honest—we all learned very early on that tributing two monsters just to get out one is usually not worth the effort, especially in the world of high-level tournament play. This is the main reason why iconic monsters like Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician are usually relegated to the back pages of our trade binders. While a lot of stars on a monster card may reflect its overall power, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s efficient to play. Competitive players have pretty much ignored any monster that’s level 7 or higher if it doesn’t have some sort of special summoning gimmick that requires no tributes, like Chaos Sorcerer.
This is a shame, because there are some awesome monsters out there that, while they might require double tributes, nonetheless possess some very cool effects. The trick is to get them out on to the field in an efficient manner. Enter what I like to call the “double tributers.” These are monsters that count as two tributes if they’re used to tribute summon a bigger monster of the appropriate attribute. Here’s a quick list:
- Kaiser Sea Horse (Light)
- Double Coston (Dark)
- The Trojan Horse (Earth)
- Flame Ruler (Fire)
- Unshaven Angler (Water)
- Whirlwind Prodigy (Wind)
Lights and Darks: The Popular Attributes
I thought I’d start with the bread-and-butter attributes of Chaos duelists everywhere. The two monsters we’ve got here, Kaiser Sea Horse and Double Coston, both have 1700 ATK and 1650 DEF. Their ATK values are respectable, and if you want to go ahead and set them, their DEF is nothing to laugh at as well. However, what we’re really interested in is the bigger monsters that we can bring out by having these on the field.
Double Coston allows us to quickly bring out one of the more powerful double-tribute monsters in the game, Dark Magician of Chaos. For the bargain basement price of just one monster, we have a 2800 ATK beatstick plus spell card recursion upon summoning. For those who love flipping coins, Barrel Dragon is not a bad choice either, since it’s got that nifty ability of being able to destroy a monster if you’re lucky. Then there’s Fusilier Dragon, The Dual-Mode Beast, whose versatility at any point of the game is a natural fit with Double Coston. Since Double Coston is a Zombie, you may just want to stick with that theme and pack a copy of Despair from the Dark. While you could tribute summon for Despair using Double Coston, I’m of the opinion that with Spirit Reaper all over the place, you’ll probably wind up using Despair’s special ability to summon it instead (which is always fun to do).
As for Kaiser Sea Horse, aside from Blue-Eyes White Dragon, we definitely have some very viable picks to try out in a deck. The Creator’s ability to bring back a monster from your graveyard more than offsets its less-than-stellar ATK value. Mystical Knight of Jackal is another solid choice as well, since its high ATK power and its really annoying ability is nothing to sneer at. However, my favorite card to go with Kaiser Sea Horse is the powerhouse Majestic Mech - Goryu. With the ability to do piercing damage with its 2900 ATK power, this Fairy is not to be trifled with. Also, you can get around that pesky condition that sends it to the graveyard if only one monster was used to tribute summon it. Since Kaiser Sea Horse counts as two monsters, a Goryu brought out with it will be sticking around for a while, much to your opponent’s dismay.
Elemental Double Tributers
For Earth-attribute monsters, we have The Trojan Horse. While its ATK value of 1600 is not really noteworthy, the fact that it’s a Beast-type monster makes it worth a closer inspection. There are a number of really nasty Beast-type monsters out there, and I think that Behemoth the King of All Animals would have great synergy with this double tributer. Not only are you just tributing one monster to bring out a monster with 2700 ATK, but you also get to bring one Beast from your graveyard and put it back to your hand, due to Behemoth’s special effect. Since The Trojan Horse has a respectable ATK value, feel free to throw in a copy of Enraged Battle Ox while the Horse is on the field, and your opponent will really start to feel the pressure. Speaking of piercing effects, Elemental Hero Bladedge also combos nicely with The Trojan Horse as well, so all of you Jaden Yuki fans should feel free to try it out.
The double tributers for Fire, Water, and Wind all have the same ATK and DEF values, which are 1500 and 1600, respectively. This means that they can be searched out with the effects of UFO Turtle, Mother Grizzly, or Flying Kamakiri #1 (depending on which kind of attribute your deck is based on). Your opponent is doing your dirty work for you by destroying these battle searchers and enabling you to fetch the double tributer of your choice. On your following turn you’ll be able to summon your really big monster.
For Fire monsters, there is the undying Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. You Phoenix lovers out there have all had times where that Hand of Nephthys is nowhere to be found, and your Sacred Phoenix is stuck uselessly in your hand. With Flame Ruler, you will have another way to reliably summon that monster. Another card that combos well with Flame Ruler is that ultra rare we all have sitting in our binders, Infernal Flame Emperor. You could use UFO Turtle and Flame Ruler in your graveyard to power the Emperor’s effect, and since spell and trap destruction is always highly valued (and dreaded) in this game, I’m sure your opponents will sit up and take notice.
Water monsters have Gogiga Gagagigo. Yes, I know it doesn’t have any special effects, but its 2950 ATK is nothing to laugh at, and it really does have the coolest name, especially if you are only tributing one monster for it. For those who need their monsters to have special effects, you could always tribute Unshaven Angler to bring out a copy of Metallizing Parasite - Lunatite. The Lunatite’s relatively low ATK value makes it eligible for searching with the effect of Mother Grizzly as well, which adds to its versatility. While we are on the whole Water theme, you can always pack a copy of Umi or A Legendary Ocean and use the Angler to tribute for Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo-Daedalus. If used correctly, it can create such a massive shift in tempo that your opponent will probably not be able to recover.
Finally, I have to admit there is a shortage of Wind monsters that can capitalize on the effect of Whirlwind Prodigy. However, if you’re a fan of Harpie’s Pet Dragon, Ultimate Insect LV7, or our favorite green Gate Guardian piece, Kazejin, then by all means go ahead and try it out. After all, that’s one of the joys of deck building—to try out new ideas and see how far we can take them. Who knows? Maybe you’ll stumble upon some combo that will help you win that next tournament!
If you have any questions or comments about this article, please feel free to email me at baldNbeautifuljudge@yahoo.com