It's the last duel of the match, and the game score is at one win each. You have a set Mirror Force, a face up Vampire Lord, and a set Cyber Jar. Yata-Garasu and Snatch Steal are in your hand. You have 2100 life points left and your opponent has 4200 left. Your opponent has one set monster, nothing else on the field, and one card in hand, which you know is Gemini Elf from using The Forceful Sentry earlier. It's your main phase 1. Your opponent's Fiber Jar was destroyed earlier. You're feeling pretty good right now; you figure that you should be able to pull off the Yata lock for a win. That Gemini Elf isn't going to last long with Vampire Lord on the field, and if your opponent foolishly attacks your face down Cyber Jar, you'll just respond with Mirror Force. The game should be yours!
You summon Yata-Garasu and attack your opponent's face down card with your Vampire Lord. It's Mystic Tomato. Your opponent special summons Magical Scientist to the field. The measley 300 ATK of the Scientist is still higher than your Yata's 200 ATK. Now it's your main phase 2, and you have to decide whether to flip summon Cyber Jar. You choose not to, since you don't want to give up hand and field advantage (and your Yata). You could Snatch Steal the Scientist but figure that just puts a low attack monster in attack position on your side of the field, plus gives your opponent a free 1000 life points. You decide to use Snatch Steal next turn to hammer your opponent. You end your turn.
Sorry, game over. Your opponent wins no matter what card is drawn.
My eight-year-old son describes Magical Scientist as "pathetic." It has a pitiful attack and its effect costs 1000 life points to summon a level 6 or lower Fusion monster to the field--great in a Magical Scientist deck, but that's about it. Worse yet, the special summoned monsters cannot attack life points directly, and the monsters are returned to the Fusion deck at the end of the turn they were summoned.
It's a card that people seem to either love or hate. I think it's far from pathetic. Personally, I think it's an excellent card that seems to have had a substantial impact on the metagame, slowly but surely. This article explains why. Also, if you don't know why you lose in the example given, you will by the end of this article. Enjoy!
The Magic of Magical Scientist
There certainly was a lot of hype over the Magical Scientist deck. However, I believe there is much, much more to Magical Scientist than just a one-turn win. As some describe it, Magical Scientist can be used as a Swiss Army Knife that is handy in many different deck types.
To set the stage, here is a list of the main level 6 or lower Fusion monsters that can be special summoned by Magical Scientist (through the Dark Crisis release):
Dark Flare Knight
Dark Balter the Terrible
Ryu Senshi
Fiend Skull Dragon
Thousand Eyes Restrict
Here's why each is important:
Dark Flare Knight
In the current metagame, Dark Flare Knight is used as a 2200 ATK power monster, or "beatstick"--an effective attacker to dispose of a pesky Vampire Lord, Zombyra the Dark, and the 1900 ATK crowd. Its effect (special summoning Mirage Knight) isn't really being used by most duelists, although I suspect that may change in the future if and when a 2300 ATK, level 6 Fusion monster is released. (Yes, there is such a thing available in Japan).
Dark Balter the Terrible
Dark Balter may be the most important Fusion monster of the group. The key effect is that it can negate the effect of an Effect monster it destroys, similar to Dark Ruler Ha Des. Dark Balter can be called upon to deal with the opponent's face down monster. Fiber Jar, Cyber Jar, Witch of the Black Forest, Sangan, Sinister Serpent, Mystic Tomato, Pyramid Turtle, and D. D. Warrior Lady are but a few of the popular cards whose effects are negated by Dark Balter.
Ryu Senshi
Ryu Senshi can be used to handle whatever set traps, especially triggered traps, the opponent may have. For example, the effect of Ryu Senshi can be used to negate the effect of Mirror Force or Magic Cylinder. Assuming Ryu is on the field, it can also negate Waboku, Torrential Tribute, and other commonly used trap cards. The timing issues related to Ryu Senshi are covered in the next section.
Fiend Skull Dragon
Fiend Skull Dragon's continous effect that negates flip effects can be used when an opponent has multiple set monsters and you don't want (or can't afford) to summon more than one Dark Balter. I find this monster a little too situational when compared to Dark Balter. Using Dark Balter is a much more efficient way to take out a single set monster, since Dark Balter will negate other monster effects as well as flip effects if the monster is destroyed. Still, it doesn't hurt to have the Dragon in your Fusion deck.
Thousand Eyes Restrict
Last but not least, Thousand Eyes Restrict is an all-around monster removal tool. What do you do if the opponent's monster is greater than 2200 ATK or a face up Effect monster with an attack value greater than Dark Balter's? Use Thousand Eyes Restrict to absorb it, of course! At the end of your turn, Thousand Eyes Restrict will return to your Fusion deck, and the absorbed monster will be sent to the graveyard. When and how you use it can be tricky--you just have to remember that once it's on the field, it's the only monster that can attack.
Although Magical Scientist can be expensive to use, the above Fusion monsters provide some valuable tools to handle a variety of situations. Also, level 6, 2100 ATK Fusion monsters such as Punished Eagle, Empress Judge, and Roaring Ocean Snake can also be included for additional firepower.
Protecting Magical Scientist once it's summoned is a difficult task. A 300 ATK monster in face up attack position is no fun and can be downright painful. Some duelists also attempt to save the Fusion monster by using cards such as Book of Moon or Interdimensional Matter Transporter. While legal moves, they seem situational, meaning you're lucky if the stars align to let you have the right cards at the right time.
About Chains and Ryu Senshi
One issue that come up a lot during both Regional and local tournaments is how and when you can respond to the summoning of Magical Scientist, as well how and when you can use the effect of Ryu Senshi.
If Player A declares that he or she is normal summoning Magical Scientist, then Player B can activate a card that negates the summon and destroys Magical Scientist, such as Solemn Judgment or Horn of Heaven.
If Player A summons Magical Scientist successfully, Player A has the right to use the effect immediately, before Player B can respond.
If Player B chains instead with Torrential Tribute, all monsters on the field will be destroyed, and then the effect of Magical Scientist will resolve. Therefore, Ryu Senshi will still be summoned to the field. You cannot use Ryu Senshi's effect until after it has been summoned successfully, so there is no way to use it to negate Torrential Tribute in this scenario.
If Player B does not chain to the effect of Magical Scientist, but waits until Ryu Senshi is summoned, Player B can then respond to the summon of Ryu Senshi with Torrential Tribute or Ring of Destruction. However, the effect of Ryu Senshi is spell speed 2, since Ryu Senshi is a multi-trigger Effect monster. That means you can activate its effect by paying 1000 life points and chain the effect to Torrential Tribute or Ring of Destruction to negate their respective effects.
While all of this may be confusing at first, I believe it is really important to understand. Lately, I have been seeing duelists misplay their responses to Magical Scientist, and it is probably because they are struggling with the timing issues described.
Food for Thought Revisited
Going back to the example at the beginning of this article, here's why the opponent wins:
Opponent's main phase 1:
1. Normal summon Gemini Elf.
2. Activate the effect of Magical Scientist to special summon:
Ryu Senshi
Dark Balter the Terrible
Dark Flare Knight
Opponent's battle phase:
1. Your opponent attacks your face down Cyber Jar with Dark Balter. If you respond to the attack with Mirror Force, your opponent pays the 1000 life point cost to chain the effect of Ryu Senshi to the effect of Mirror Force. The result is that Mirror Force is negated and destroyed. Once Mirror Force is negated, the damage step is entered, and Cyber Jar is flipped. After damage calculation, Cyber Jar is destroyed, and the effect of Cyber Jar is negated by the effect of Dark Balter. Cyber Jar is sent to the graveyard.
2. Your opponent attacks your Vampire Lord with Dark Flare Knight. The result is that Vampire Lord is destroyed and you take a hit of 200 to your life points.
3. Finally, your opponent attacks your life points directly with Gemini Elf for the win.
I hope the example provides you with some thoughts as to how Magical Scientist can be used and brings together a lot of the points made so far in this article. By the way, the example was not made up. It's very close to a situation that actually occurred during a Regional Tournament.
Metamorphosis and Magical Scientist
While it's not a common strategy, some duelists have included Metamorphosis in a deck with Magical Scientist in an attempt to overcome some of its limitations.
For example, the "other effect" of Dark Balter that allows you to negate the effect of a normal spell card cannot be used if Dark Balter is brought out by Magical Scientist since your opponent cannot play normal spell cards during your turn. However, if you use Magical Scientist to bring out any level 5 Fusion monster and then use Metamorphosis, you can special summon Dark Balter. Now, Dark Balter remains on the field for your opponent's turn to potentially be used to negate your opponent's spell cards.
Similarly, Reaper on the Nightmare can't use its effect to attack your opponent's life points directly if it is brought out by Magical Scientist. However, if it is brought out by the Magical Scientist/Metamorphosis combination described, you have a monster that can hit your opponent directly with 800 damage and forces your opponent to randomly discard from his or her hand. It also has all the other characteristics of Spirit Reaper--all in all, very sweet.
Head Games
Should you have a Fusion deck when you don't have any way to summon a Fusion monster? Sure, why not? There is no downside to having a Fusion deck. One duelist in the 2003 World Championship had a Fusion deck with no Polymerization, Fusion Gate, Summoner of Illusions, or Metamorphosis in his main or side deck. Since Worlds 2003 was held pre-Scientist, one can assume he did this just to psyche out his opponents.
As I have seen in the Regional tournaments, there is now a two-fold reason to have a Fusion deck even if you have no way to bring out a Fusion monster in your deck. First, there is the head game. Second, if you have an opportunity to revive or take control of your opponent's Magical Scientist, then you can use its effect to bring out your own Fusion monsters. While it might be unlikely that that will happen, it doesn't change your deck at all to be prepared to seize the opportunity to do so, since you don't have to add any other cards to your deck.
Some duelists in the Regional tournaments have taken the best of both worlds approach. They put Magical Scientist in their side decks and have a fully loaded Fusion deck. That can throw the opponent off as to what to expect. It also gives the duelist the ability to bring in Magical Scientist if needed.
Metagame Impact and Conclusion
Magical Scientist has taken the Fusion deck from the playground to the tournament scene. It also affects the deck building strategies of those duelists that choose to use it. Duelists are counting on Magical Scientist as part of their monster removal, effect negation, and trap removal strategy. For that reason, multiple cards traditionally used for each of those purposes are sometimes replaced with a single Magical Scientist.
For example, it's not unusual to see one or two Nobleman of Crossout in a main deck; however, duelists that use Magical Scientist typically run only one or none. Nobleman of Crossout has certain advantages over Dark Balter when it comes to dealing with face down monsters, such as having no cost and removing the monster (and copies) from the game. The fact that the Scientist can be searched for by Witch of the Black Forest and Sangan, as well as special summoned by Mystic Tomato and Apprentice Magician, makes it a much more accessible card than Nobleman of Crossout. Magical Scientist allows us not only to rethink how we handle an opponent's Effect monsters, but also how we deal with traps and general monster removal as well.
Magical Scientist is not for everybody. It really is hard to protect or keep on the field. Regardless, you can expect to see it more as duelists tap into its potential. Personally, I don't think it matters that it has been restricted to one copy per deck, since that is all people usually run anyways. Hopefully, this article has provided you with ideas on how to use it as well as a Fusion deck in today's metagame.
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