Cyber Valley
Machine / Effect
Light / Level 1
0 ATK / 0 DEF
You can use one of the following three effects:
* When Cyber Valley is selected as an attack target by an opponent‘s monster, you can remove it from play to draw a card and end the battle phase.
* You can remove Cyber Valley and a face-up monster you control from play, and draw two cards.
* You can remove Cyber Valley and a card in your hand from play, and put a card from your graveyard on top of your deck.

That’s right. No introduction, no drum roll, nothing. You were either going to skip ahead to the card text anyway, or would have had to spend enough time reading and thinking about it that any prelude would be forgotten. Cyber Valley’s quite a monster: boasting absolutely no ATK or DEF, it’s clearly meant to be exploited via one of its three effects.

The card’s text can be a bit confusing, so let me take a moment to explain what it means. You can activate the first effect when it’s selected as an attack target by an opponent’s monster or activate either of the ignition effects when the timing is correct to do so. That effect then resolves as any triggered or ignition effect normally would. The first line of text just means that you are given the choice on which effect to activate. Since all three involve removing Cyber Valley from play, it’s impossible to use more than one.

This card has earned quite a bit of hype in the time leading up to Phantom Darkness. After one format was torn to pieces by Machine Duplication, it seems duelists can’t wait to feel the satisfaction of busting out two monsters for the cost of one spell card. Although Cyber Valley lacks the means to destroy an opponent the way Card Trooper could, the ability to pump three self-replacing monsters in defense position on the field still allows for good deck thinning and lots of extra defense.

It’s the first effect that keeps Cyber Valley from becoming a liability. Since you can remove it from play, having to summon it to get it face up isn’t much of a problem. You won’t be taking battle damage, so if you don’t have another monster, your opponent won’t suddenly have an easy way to hit your life points. Of course, this is only the back-up plan. The main goal is to use one of the other two effects.

The second effect is pretty cool. Being able to draw two cards at a time wins games, and Cyber Valley provides that with minimal drawbacks. Removing a flipped monster like Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive or Magician of Faith means that you traded the Valley for two cards. Using opposing monsters is even better, allowing you to draw cards and take care of opposing threats. Enemy Controller with Treeborn Frog and Brain Control are the best cards for accomplishing such a task. Macro Cosmos players will also find a use for Cyber Valley, as removing D.D. Survivor or D.D. Scout Plane is just fine with them.

The third effect is the gold mine. Creative and combo duelists behold: any card from the graveyard can be placed on top of the deck! This means that combos are easier to build, and cards like Magical Merchant, Reasoning, and Monster Gate help out combo decks a lot more. I can only begin to think of the ways people will use this. Archfiend’s Oath lets you grab the card instantly, which opens up another set of doors. Cyber Valley really rewards deckbuilders who spend lots of time thinking of weird combos. With Foolish Burial, Cyber Valley, and Good Goblin Housekeeping, any monster can be moved to the bottom of the deck in two turns. If you played very few monsters, you could special summon the one you placed on the bottom with Monster Gate, thus sending your entire deck to the graveyard. Someone will figure out how to turn all these cool things into a win condition one day, hopefully sooner rather than later.

For the competitive duelist, Cyber Valley brings a lot to the table. Cosmos players will enjoy being able to remove D.D. Survivor to draw two cards from their decks, and should be able to generate a lot more speed in terms of dropping Monarchs and capitalizing on weak opponents. In the average strategy, Cyber Valley is never really a dead card. It can simply be summoned to sit there until it’s turned into a card from the top of your deck. Of course it can be destroyed by your opponent, but then it’s diverting important pieces of monster removal away from your more important cards.

The third effect will be useful for a lot of duelists who find themselves helpless against rogue decks. Many rogue decks have a problem card they can’t handle more than once. Against those strategies, Cyber Valley is essentially a win card, allowing for multiple uses of your most powerful cards in the matchup. The second effect will be used primarily as a method of removing opposing monsters that have been taken under your control. Enemy Controller and Brain Control are the two most reliable methods at the moment.