For some odd reason, continuous spell cards have always been in rather short supply. Enter Card Trader, a new continuous spell from Strike of Neos.  Here’s what it does.

Each turn, during your Standby Phase, by adding 1 card from your hand to your Deck, and shuffling your Deck, draw 1 card from your Deck.

Helping Card Trader for Combat (or Something Like That)

This card’s effect is most reminiscent of Helping Robo for Combat.

Because its effect works in the standby phase, you can take a look at your draw that turn before you decide whether to ship off a card or not. This is a very powerful effect that is worth considering.

Recall that Helping Robo for Combat had a similar effect attached to its relatively low 1600 ATK/0 DEF frame. Obviously, its effect was considered very powerful to have such rough stats accompanying it. Putting a similar effect into a continuous spell makes the effect far more powerful.

Card Trader might be the first continuous spell card since Mirage of Nightmare to be splashable into many decks. Think of the different deck types that can benefit from its effect.

Bad draws or cards in hand, such as excess Monarchs, unplayable Cyber Dragon cards, and excess spell or trap removal (say, a second Dust Tornado), can be sent back into the deck. This card also helps you fish for the best possible answers to the current scenario, such as a Pot of Avarice when you hit that fifth monster in your graveyard or a Graceful Charity with multiple Dark World monsters. In fact, using this card in conjunction with a complementary card like the Spirit Maharaghi improves draw quality to such a noticeable extent that bad draws become almost impossible!

Optimal Usage of Card Trader

However, it’s even more exciting to note that Card Trader’s best uses are not in the standard cookie-cutter Monarch build. Instead, the card works to devastating effect with a few strategies that I would like to outline.

The first, obvious one is in the Gadget archetype. Basing Card Trader’s effect on multiple Gadget monsters that you’ve gotten through their effects basically draws you an extra card per turn. If you summon a Gadget, dig for another, and activate Card Trader during the next standby phase, you gain a free card! You’ve managed to exchange your Gadget monster for something that might be more useful—especially handy if you have multiple Gadgets in your hand.

Another great card to use with Card Trader (and I’m taking inspiration from Jeff Vertree’s Helping Robo for Chaos build here) is Thunder Dragon. Once you discard for Thunder Dragon’s effect, you simply need to wait two standby phases to get two new cards.  You’ll still have the first Thunder Dragon in the graveyard (for Pot of Avarice or Freed the Brave Wanderer).

Other decks based around combos can be even better with Card Trader. The Chain Strike Burn archetype can dig for the true kill cards it thrives on (like Chain Strike and Just Desserts), while creating a chain link 1 that is easily playable the very next standby phase. Dark World builds can send Dark World monsters back to the deck while searching for the extremely important Card Destruction, Graceful Charity, or Morphing Jar that swings the duel toward victory.

In fact, different combo-based decks such as a lockdown that needs Solemn Judgment, a Dark World that needs the aforementioned cards, or even a Final Countdown build that needs its namesake card, would be well-advised to test a few copies of Card Trader in conjunction with Maharaghi. One of the main goals any opponent has (especially when you play a combo deck) is limiting your options.  Improving them by the kind of drastic amounts that Card Trader allows is downright deadly.

The Most Exciting Part of All!

The boundaries of Card Trader haven’t even been fully explored at this point, and it’s difficult to assess the true impact that the card will have. In many ways, Trader is the spiritual successor to the dreaded Mirage. Its uses are endless—sending an excess Hydrogeddon back to your deck to be special summoned later, for example, or sending different Gadgets back to the deck to reacquire them upon summoning. Improving draw quality has always been underrated, and this hot new card helps those who do not wish to live under the ruthless oppression of the “garbage draw.”

“Dude, Jae Kim! I was in round 7 of the Shonen Jump and drew four Monarchs! How am I supposed to win with a hand like that?!”