For those of you who checked out last week’s article, you already know what card I will be talking about today, and it’s a heck of a lot more exciting than Dark Dust Spirit. The fiery behemoth Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi has the largest ATK of all of the Spirit monsters, and its effect is a strong representation of its power, as well as its mythological history.

However, Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi isn’t the only two-tribute Spirit monster in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. The second (and often lesser-known) fiery Spirit monster is Yamata Dragon. Both of these commonly discarded monsters have tremendous effects that are just now being supported by the newest cards.

The Basic Breakdown

You don’t get much more brutal than Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi. For those of you interested in where the inspiration for this card came from, the monster Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi (and the many Spirit monsters in the game), are based off of the gods and other deities in Japanese mythology. Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi is based off of the fire god Hinokagutsuchi from Japanese mythology, but is also known as Kagu-tsuchi or Ho-Masubi. His mother—Izanami the goddess of creation and death—died from burns when giving birth to the fiery spirit. This led his own father to chop him into eight pieces, which became eight mountains, and the spirit’s blood spawned eight gods. Can anyone now describe to me why Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi is a level 8 monster?

Yamata Dragon is also known as the Yamata no Orochi, or eight-headed serpent. While there was no obvious interaction written between the two big spirits, the Orochi was a menacing figure in the mythological stories that devoured the daughters of an old couple in the Izumo province. Susanoo, who was banished from the heavens, agreed to save their last daughter if he was permitted to wed her, and the couple agreed. The Yamata dragon met its end by being lulled to sleep through an offering of sake for each head from Susanoo, and he slew the beast while it slumbered.

For more information on Japanese mythology, as well as the background behind cards such as Tsukuyomi (based off of the god of the moon), please refer to Wikipedia. They’ve got some interesting history on Japanese culture, and go into detail about Susanoo and his relation to the country’s mythology.

While it appeared in card art such as Last Turn, there doesn’t appear to be any significant struggle between Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi and Yamata Dragon. Perhaps they’re just fighting in that art because they are competing for the level 8 spotlight.

This fiery monstrosity requires two tributes to be normal summoned, and as per the rule on Spirit monsters, it cannot be special summoned. It compensates for this hindrance with an overwhelming 2800 ATK and an effect that will have a lasting impression on your opponent’s position in a duel. Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi forces the opponent it damages to discard his or her hand before drawing a card next draw phase. This effect is absolutely brutal, and allows for one of the most powerful early game starts available.

Yamata Dragon, on the other hand, is a slightly weaker level 7 monster.* The Dragon Spirit only stands (or slithers) at 2600 ATK, but has a beefy 3100 DEF that trumps both of Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi’s ATK and DEF values. The DEF value of Yamata Dragon marks it as the exact opposite of Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi. Yamata Dragon’s ability triggers in the same way as Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, but its effect gives you more cards and life in a duel instead of burning life away from your opponent. Dealing damage with Yamata Dragon allows its user to draw until he or she has five cards in hand. Unlike Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, whose effect is meant to be used early in order to destroy an opponent’s options quickly, Yamata Dragon is a late game card that can replenish your lost cards in the middle of an intense battle against your opponent.

However, is it really worth summoning one of these monsters through fair methods? Two tributes is tough to pull off in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, and it sometimes feels like you’re cheating yourself when the monster you tribute summon goes back to your hand at the end of the turn. While neither of these Spirit monsters makes a good fit in an average deck, a couple of decks can cater to both Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi and Yamata Dragon specifically because they are tribute monsters with worthwhile effects.

The one deck that easily breaks open tribute summoning ease is the Macro Cosmos deck. When your three copies of D.D. Survivor and three copies of D. D. Scout Plane become more abusive versions of Treeborn Frog, you have room for creativity in what tribute monsters you use. Being able to tribute two of those monsters so you can empty the opponent’s hand with Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi is amazing when the two monsters you tributed come back at the end of the turn.

As for the use of Yamata Dragon in Macro Cosmos decks, I think a little example will show off its power well enough.

One player at an Anaheim Regional tournament a couple of weeks ago ran a Macro Cosmos variant with Yamata Dragon in the side deck. During one of his late round games, he had sided in the eight-headed serpent and got into a situation in which he could summon it. His opponent had no spell or trap cards and the Macro Cosmos user was able to set a few spells and traps, until his hand was empty after tributing two monsters for Yamata Dragon. The fiery serpent crashed into one of the opponent’s monsters, and the Macro Cosmos player drew five brand-new cards. One of those cards was a Solemn Judgment, and it pretty much solidified his win. He finished 6-3 at this Regional tournament, placing in the Top 32.

While Macro Cosmos decks allow for easy use of the two pyro-happy Spirit monsters, some players have tried to run decks in the past based solely on using their effects. Kevin Hor, a winner of two side-event Cyber-Stein prizes, tried out a deck at a Regional tournament that was solely meant to use Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi’s effect around eight months ago, and it nearly placed him in the Top 8. He used monsters such as Flame Ruler and Nimble Momonga to speed up the spirit’s summoning, and would use Giant Trunade to clear the opponent’s spell and trap cards off of the field. The resulting impact of Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi not only decimates what is in the opponent’s hand, but almost all of the cards on their field, due to Giant Trunade! Unfortunately, Yamata Dragon never saw this kind of play.

Final Thoughts

I happen to love the Spirit monsters. In fact, a lot of people like them. Asura Priest continues to see on and off play in Top 8 tournament decks, and Tsukuyomi has seen constant play since last April. While Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi and Yamata Dragon are not as easily splashable, their effects always have a tremendous impact on the games in which they are summoned. They’re both a good example of the reward you get for the two tributes you give away. If Macro Cosmos sees more play in the future (which it should, and if you have not tested the deck, I recommend that you do so), you can definitely expect these two big bruisers to see some serious tournament play, at least in a Macro Cosmos side deck.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this or any previous articles of mine, feel free to email me at Mrosenberg@metagame.com.

*There isn’t any particular reason as to why the Dragon is only level 7. Perhaps Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi took up so much space as a level 8 monster that the Orochi just wasn’t big enough to be the same level.