Welcome to the first installment of my new biweekly column, The Light of Play. The focus of this column is cards that don’t often see tournaments play, but likely should—the underplayed little gems that you can’t really learn about by studying net decks.

All veteran duelists have their favorite signature cards—ones they’ll run in virtually any deck, even though other duelists consider them incongruous choices. Even in the days before the Advanced format, Yu-Gi-Oh! was all about personal style to those who really understood the game. Look at Shonen Series champion John Umali’s winning deck and compare it to Gerard Ramires’s fifth place deck. The difference is only a handful of cards. Those few choices, however, some of which were unconventional for Hybrid Chaos (such as Dark Magician of Chaos), were one of the big reasons that Umali took home the Cyber-Stein. Individual cards, and individuality itself, can make or break a duelist, turning a mediocre player into a good one or a good one into an astounding powerhouse.

This brings us to Cannon Soldier.

No single card has ever gotten me so many sidelong glances and looks of disbelief. When asked what my favorite card in the game is, my answer is always the same. Cannon Soldier has won me literally several hundred games, and to say that I’m absolutely nuts about it would be an understatement. People often ask me why I run it, as many players don’t understand (or even pause to give thought to) how many different ways you can use this card. Keep in mind that I’m not talking about running Cannon Soldier in Machine decks (where it is a staple), nor in Burn decks (where it is arguably outpaced by other burn options). I’m talking about running Cannon Soldier in Beatdown, Chaos variants, Fiend, Control, and other archetypes.

So, I’m writing this article, hoping that some who read it might also develop an affinity for my favorite card. At the very least, give it the respect it deserves.

The most apparent reason to run Cannon Soldier is its ability to juice the highest potential amount of damage out of all of your monsters. Sure, for the same normal summon, you could have a 1900 ATK monster instead of a 1400 ATK monster, which is 500 extra net damage. However, Cannon Soldier can launch himself, which means that a Cannon Soldier and a Gemini Elf can each deal 1900 damage in a single turn. Once you start adding more monsters to the mix, though, you’ll see bonuses from Cannon Soldier. Alone, two Gemini Elfs can deal 3800 damage in a single turn. One Gemini Elf and one Cannon Soldier can deal a total of 4300 damage. Once you start seeing bonuses in the 1500–2500 range, you’ll understand how Cannon Soldier can win games. Cannon Soldier often deals the coup de grace required to turn a near-win into a total victory.

I don’t generally reference the Japanese environment, because I feel that North American play styles vary to the point of making Japanese trends irrelevant (the explosion of Fire Princess being just one example of a huge Japanese metagame trend that we never saw). However, around the release of the first few expansions, Beatdown decks with Cannon Soldier dominated the tournament scene through their ability to reliably make crushing wins on turn 2 or 3. The decks focused on making a full-out attack, and then launching all of the attacking monsters with Cannon Soldier. It’s something I use a lot myself in the North American environment, and it works exceedingly well. Though it was easier to press a win in the early game before effect monsters were so prevalent, it’s still quite doable. Though Warriors or lucky topdecking are often seen as the only way to force a win by turn 3, Cannon Soldier can give a deck an edge in the early game.

Cannon Soldier turns Change of Heart and Snatch Steal into monster removal. Just resolve the spell, claim your opponent’s monster, and chuck the monster back over the wall in the second main phase (instead of giving it back at the end of the turn or giving the opponent 1000 life points each standby phase). It’s even more entertaining when the monster required an investment—a Metamorphosis’d Thousand-Eyes Restrict, a Jinzo, an Airknight Parshath, or a Vampire Lord—something your opponent was really banking on to not get used as slingshot ammunition.

Often, deck builders encounter a difficult choice when considering whether Book of Moon or Enemy Controller is best. Cannon Soldier gives you a strong reason to use Enemy Controller over Book, and it can make good use of Controller’s defensive capabilities, too. Unlike a year ago, there are now many great, high utility defensive cards that can keep Cannon Soldier on the field. Enemy Controller is one of the strongest of these options because of its many uses and high utility.

Also of note is the fact that Cannon Soldier can be pulled with Mystic Tomato. This means that not only does he have synergy with many decks, but he’s also very easy to gain access to when you need him. On top of that, you’re adding an option to the deck. This is important, because it means that you get more out of both cards without changing your play style or any of the deck’s major components. If you’re playing any deck other than Warriors or Exodia, the appropriate Metal Raiders self-replacing monster is pretty much a must. Shining Angel, Mystic Tomato, Giant Rat, Mother Grizzly, and UFO Turtle provide unparalleled security in the Advanced format, and are obviously important sources of monster search, as well.

If you’re playing Tomato, then running Cannon Soldier can add a whole new level of depth to your deck. I run one or two of each in any Beatdown, Control, or Hybrid deck I build, and I find that the synergy between Mystic Tomato and Cannon Soldier gives me many options that opponents won’t see coming. It’s great in the late game, where you only need to deal another 500 or 1000 damage to claim victory but can’t, because your opponent has a big hitter that you can’t get around. Slam a Tomato against it, pull Cannon Soldier, and tribute from your side for game. It might sound a bit contrived, but it’s exactly the sort of move an opponent won’t anticipate. There are many things a Tomato can pull that an opponent will be familiar with, such as Spirit Reaper, Newdoria, and Don Zaloog. However, being an older card and one not commonly seen outside of Machine decks, players often overlook Cannon Soldier. Having readily available direct damage is invaluable, and you really have to play it to understand its full worth.

Of course, a big part of that worth is circumventing cards that prevent you from attacking. If your opponent has a Gravity Bind or a Level Limit - Area B in play, or if you know that your opponent has a set of Magic Cylinders or Sakuretsu Armors, attacking is often out of the question. However, with a Cannon Soldier, you can turn one of these stalemate situations (which are usually to the opponent’s advantage) on its head by dishing out large quantities of damage. As an extra bonus, Messenger of Peace (another common lock card) does nothing to stop Cannon Soldier. Cannon Soldier can slip right under Messenger of Peace’s effect and deal a quick 1400 damage if the opponent has no monsters. Again, this is far more useful than it sounds. As mentioned above in relation to Mystic Tomato, it can also be useful to circumvent the need to attack.

On rare occasions, you will want to send monsters from your side of the field to the graveyard. Whether you need to prevent damage from Nightmare Wheel or Mask of the Accursed, or just need to make sure that an Ekibyo Drakmord or Flint doesn’t get to the nastier part of its effect, sometimes you really, really need to get your own monster off the field. Another popular candidate for destruction, just for the sake of getting it out of the way, is Jinzo. In a game a few weeks ago, I won by tributing my Jinzo to Cannon Soldier and then activating a Limiter Removal. One Ring of Destruction for 3700 damage and one exploded Mechanical Chaser later, it was game over without an attack. The same often applies to face-down flip effect monsters that were, at one point, a boon to have down, but have since become a threat. Ever play down a Cyber Jar or a Fiber Jar as a precaution, but then find it’s become a liability because of a sudden swing in board control? In such a situation, it’s often a good idea to get the card off the field before your opponent can press an attack, force the card to flip through battle, and activate the effect at an inopportune time. Cannon Soldier gives you that option.

Our gunheaded buddy also combos really well with Torrential Tribute. Often, even when control of the field is contested and neither player is at a particular advantage, destroying everything with Torrential and taking a free swing at your opponent can be an excellent play. In a situation like this, though, tributing all of your monsters will mess with your opponent’s head and dish out some major damage. Heck, if you already had the Cannon Soldier down, you could always tribute everything and then trigger Torrential yourself with Sinister Serpent or Peten the Dark Clown. That’s pretty good when your opponent has you outmatched in the mid-game and a summon doesn’t seem likely to occur on his or her side of the field.

Cannon Soldier also makes great bait. Much to my surprise, many people think that playing a Cannon Soldier means you’ll be easy pickings. A lone Cannon Soldier on the field is generally excellent for making an opponent overextend in the early or mid-game, and you’ll often be waiting with a Magic Cylinder or Sakuretsu Armor. By the same token, a Cannon Soldier often makes a terrific decoy. Some players get suspicious when they see atypical cards being played in typical decks (like Beatdown or Control), and if you play up the card as a threat, the opponent will often hurry to attack it—so much so that he or she may lose site of other elements of the game that should be primary concerns. Though I certainly feel bad using a poor little Cannon Soldier as decoy material, I must admit that he’s really great at it. People seem to have a thing for stomping on him.

Another big advantage that Cannon Soldier can bring to a deck is surprise factor. Most people don’t stop before they make a play and think, “Hmm . . . what if my opponent has Cannon Soldier?” One of the greatest, fastest, most challenging duels I’ve ever had was at Madison Square Garden, at the 2003 World Championship event. I unfortunately don’t remember my opponent’s name, but he played a very unorthodox Beatdown deck against my equally unorthodox Beatdown deck, and he played it incredibly well. Eventually, he took control of the field and attacked my face-up Witch of the Black Forest with his Jinzo. The attack brought me down to 300 life points, but he was at 400. I pulled Cannon Soldier for the game.

Getting to the finer technical points of Soldier’s surprise power, remember that summoning a monster means you have priority to use Cannon Soldier’s effect (since it is an ignition effect). Cannon Soldier does not have to be the monster summoned in order for this to work, so you can often trip up an opponent with complicated timing. This isn’t particularly useful in a strict play sense, though it’s a neat trick with which you might pull out a win. It’s more of a head game than anything else. Not only can you mess with an opponent’s head by declaring the intent to use a complicated timing maneuver that he or she didn’t see coming, but if the monster you summoned does not have an ignition effect, an opponent may jump the gun by thinking that you have nothing with which to declare priority. That, in turn, can draw moves from an opponent who currently has no technical ability to make them, thus giving you intelligence you shouldn’t have. Shady? Maybe, but it’s a great way to legally run circles around a duelist who lets his or her impatience overtake knowledge of game procedure.

Okay, so I did make the statement that it can be “a neat trick with which you might pull out a win.” I feel like I should back that up. Remember what I said earlier about Torrential Tribute? Well, Cannon Soldier can also tech against Torrential to some extent. Because of the way priority works, you can summon a monster and then tribute it off via the Soldier’s effect . . . if the opponent gets overzealous and immediately flips Torrential before you announce that you’re passing priority. Note that you can’t chain against the Torrential, and if the opponent asks if you’re passing priority, then you’ll have lost this potential advantage.

Lastly, Cannon Soldier is a Machine, which means that it fits especially well in Machine decks. In a dedicated Machine deck, Cannon Soldier is invaluable for its ability to look innocent and unassuming, bait an attack, and then become a 2800 ATK (or 5600 ATK or 11,200 ATK) powerhouse once the attack has been declared and the opponent cannot retract it. Machine Beatdown decks are seeing a lot more play, and for those of you who run one, you know the value of this trap. Cannon Soldier is also useful for the synergy it provides on your turn with Limiter Removal. Since Limiter Removal destroys all the Machines on your side of the field during your end phase, Cannon Soldier’s effect makes a wonderful candidate for profitable disposal of your Machines in the second main phase. Machine decks also provide Cannon Soldier with some potential protection from monsters with higher ATK values—a Heavy Mech Support Platform bumps Soldier to a respectable 1900 ATK, and both monsters can benefit from Mystic Tomato’s search capability because they both carry the Dark attribute.

Hopefully, this extensive list of reasons to try Cannon Soldier is enough to convince you to give it a shot. Yu-Gi-Oh! is often pigeonholed as a game of cookie cutter decks, but in reality, you can generate a great deal of advantage by trying new things. The top notch player is often the one with the most open mind. For me, Cannon Soldier has been one of the most rewarding cards I’ve ever played, and hopefully, it’ll be the same for some of you. Check back in two weeks when we look at another card that doesn’t—but should—see the light of play.

-Jason “Rabid Cannon Soldier Fan” Grabher-Meyer

Want to get in touch? Have a favorite card that you feel is underplayed? Email me at Jason@metagame.com.