My first article regarding the new Forbidden list referred to the changing nature of trap lineups. Traps are the foundation that determines the rest of your deck, while monsters are the backbone that pushes through damage to achieve victory. Compared to these concrete elements, spell lineups fulfill a far different role. Your spell selections can be described as icing on the cake, because spells themselves do not promote synergy—all the best spells in the game fit in all types of themes and have all types of effects.
Prior to the new Forbidden list, spell lineups could be categorized as either Scapegoat-dependent or anti-Scapegoat. There was no middle ground between the two, mainly because there were about twelve staple spells that went into every single deck, regardless of that deck’s theme or function. Of course, the new Forbidden list has done a lot to change this lack of diversity.
Almost half of the staples of the prior metagame’s typical spell lineup are gone. We’ve lost the trinity (Pot of Greed, Delinquent Duo, and Graceful Charity), Nobleman of Crossout, two copies of Scapegoat, two copies of Book of Moon, two copies of Metamorphosis, and possibly Lightning Vortex, with only Dark Hole and perhaps Confiscation stepping up to fill that gaping hole. As there were typically sixteen to twenty spells in every player’s deck prior to the new Forbidden list, the loss of seven to nine cards from each deck type will have a huge effect on the new Advanced format.
Pick Up the Pieces and Put Them Together
This hole has created a need for a few replacements. The loss of Tribe-Infecting Virus, Nobleman of Crossout, Lightning Vortex, Mirror Force, Ring of Destruction and Metamorphosis has resulted in a general lack of monster removal. And while Dark Hole is the champion among cards that provide field control, other options are necessary.
The choice for the early metagame appears to be Smashing Ground. It’s a solid choice that will always create a one-for-one trade, removing one of your opponent’s monsters for one of your cards in hand. You can expect to see duelists running up to three copies of this card in almost every deck, mainly because monster removal is necessary and Smashing Ground has no drawbacks, unlike Hammer Shot and Fissure. Play it, destroy a monster, and move on.
More creative players will seek to continue using Lightning Vortex, which hasn’t been forbidden—but it almost appears to be, due to all the users that have abandoned it so swiftly. There are a few good choices left that can help cut down on discard costs: namely, the sole remaining copy of Night Assailant and the always-thrifty Thunder Dragon. Being able to clear a full field multiple times is an advantage that’s difficult to ignore.
Finally, certain decks have a distinct advantage over others, due to their ability to search for options that take the place of newly forbidden or limited cards. For example, the loss of Nobleman of Crossout appears to make face-down monster removal a very difficult thing to find. Yet Warrior decks have access to two copies of Reinforcement of the Army, which can dig out almost any answer for the situation, and Machines are able to summon Drillroid, which handles any defensive monster with frightening efficiency. We can expect the Warrior Toolbox deck that was unveiled at the Seattle Shonen Jump Championship to take control of the metagame in the early stages of this new format.
Shoring Up the Lack of Defenses
The other component that’s missing is spell-based defensive support, because of the losses of Scapegoat and Book of Moon. Resourceful duelists have decided to fatten their trap lineup to take care of this deficiency, but many spell-based sources of defensive support are still feasible in the Advanced format.
The obvious choice for a new spell staple is Swords of Revealing Light, which is a card that’s seen a dramatic rise in play with the new end-of-match procedure unveiled at US Nationals. It single-handedly takes care of the four turns that take place when duelists are tied, and it slows the game down in a resource-draining environment, which lets you recover cards in hand. Clearly this card will see play in a majority of decks, regardless of theme.
In the same vein, we should see the inclusion of certain continuous spells that can dominate the game in subtle ways. I’m referring here to two separate defensive approaches. The first is the traditional form, with Messenger of Peace locking down the board as long as you require. Messenger of Peace provides a great deal of control in a format that places less emphasis on spell or trap removal, and it also has great synergy with commonly played elemental searchers like Giant Rat and Mystic Tomato.
The other game-changing spell card reminds me of the phrase, “the best defense is a good offense.” The famed Wave-Motion Cannon has started to see play in numerous decks, mainly for its ability to put constant pressure on your opponent and end the game immediately. This card also takes advantage of the lack of spell or trap removal present in the game, but it does so in a way that puts the game on a distinct timer.
Of course, other stalwarts like Enemy Controller exist to work with the sole copy of Scapegoat. Enemy Controller seems to contribute to a general theme of switching opponent’s monster positions (which works great with the aforementioned Warrior and Machine builds), and taking your opponent’s monsters to clear the field. To achieve this end, a card like Brain Control will probably also see a rise in playability in a D. D. Assailant-dominated metagame.
It’s Time for Themes to Gleam
In his announcement about the new Forbidden list, Kevin Tewart put every player on the same page, letting us know that the intended goal of the new format is a themed metagame where cohesive decks like Gravekeepers and Zombies can truly shine. The gap in spell selection has made the excellent support cards for certain subtypes even better, bringing them almost to the point of being some of the very best spell cards in the game.
The aforementioned Reinforcement of the Army is unquestionably one of the best spell cards in the game, providing hand disruption (through Don Zaloog), face-down removal (through Mystic Swordsman LV2), face-up removal (through any of the D. D. monsters or Exiled Force), or even a Cyber Dragon killer (through Goblin Attack Force). For Zombies, on the other hand, Book of Life has always been one of the best spell cards in the game—but given the lack of other viable spell options, it’s become even stronger.
These are perhaps the two strongest examples, but look around and you’ll see that numerous themes have gained some new tricks. My initial Strike Ninja build debuted with a single Dimension Fusion that was suddenly forgone by the necessity to pack two Nobleman of Crossout in every deck. This reduced its efficiency because my opponent’s removed-from-play monsters could simply create a defensive wall. However, Dimension Fusion can now be put into the Strike Ninja deck again, creating an almost invincible field advantage for the cost of 2000 life points. Fiend decks, as well, can use removed-from-play cards as a theme. The restriction of Nobleman of Crossout has created a window of opportunity for these types of cards to rise to the top.
In addition, field spell-based decks have received a boost. Previously, the sheer over-abundance of spell “staples” made it very difficult to find space in a good field-spell–centric deck. Now the Water decks, Gravekeeper decks, Fire decks, and many other themes have more than enough room to gain an advantage over standard cookie-cutter builds. Themed decks have a key advantage over non-themed decks, in that their spell selections work far better with each other and fill more room to boot. After all, my article on trap lineups shows that many duelists still prefer the Royal Decree route, which makes a deck with ten spells and ten traps still somewhat risky.
Obviously, these are just a few examples within a vast sea of new spell combinations to try out. However, taking a look at the changes that have been made with regards to overlooked spell cards in the previous format is essential to mastering the metagame. In short, you can expect decks in the metagame to either follow the themed route or the route that simply makes up for all possible deficiencies. Because spell cards don’t form the basis of a deck, they might be splashed in, often without rhyme or reason. Don’t fall into this trap—the metagame is designed to reward players who can create new and effective combinations. After all, if Smashing Ground was so broken, it would have seen more play in the previous Advanced format.