Returning to the Metagame.com scene today are none other than Bill and Tom!
Bill: My goodness, Tom! It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you! How have you been, man?
Tom: Not too bad. I’ve been playing a little Vs. System instead of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and I’ve been a bit busy falling behind in class. Yourself?
Bill: Not much going on with me. The writer of this article thinks I’m not important enough to talk about. Thanks a bunch, Mike.
Mike: Hey now, be quiet you! I’ve been very busy lately and I’m trying to keep up with a lot of issues in my life.
Toby: Whatever, you’ve just been lazy.
Mike: Um, what’s that over there? **Runs away**
I’ve returned to Metagame.com after a small vacation and a few changes to what I wanted to write. This article has kept its card-analysis theme but now has a nifty title called “Bill and Tom’s Binder.” Isn’t it cool? OK, it’s not exactly cool, but it’s what the article series will be called from now on. The point of this article series is to introduce you to a bunch of cards that you usually find in a duelist’s trade binder (hence the name, “Bill and Tom’s Binder”). Over the next few weeks, I’ll introduce you to cards that could be competitive in Advanced Format tournaments. These cards can boost an existing deck theme or even be central to a deck. Today’s pair of overlooked cards can do both. The two cards I’ll be looking at are KA-2 Des Scissors and its larger cousin, Needle Burrower. These cards are from the Ancient Sanctuary set, which that many players think was designed to be tossed into a trade binder.
The Basic Rundown
KA-2 Des Scissors and Needle Burrower should not be judged too harshly because of their weak ATK values. KA-2 Des Scissors is a level-four monster with 1000 ATK, while Needle Burrower, a level-five monster, fizzles out with 1700 ATK. However, there are several ways to overcome the weak stats on these burrowers. Both monsters are Machines with Dark attributes, so they can help duelists special summon Chaos monsters. In addition, because both monsters are Machines, duelists can increase their stats with Limiter Removal. This quick-play spell doubles the current ATK of all Machine-type monsters on your side of the field, so playing multiple copies of Limiter Removal can ruin your opponent. Your 1700 ATK Needle Burrower can pump-up to a gargantuan 6800 ATK!
You’re probably wondering why you would waste a monster slot on smaller monsters when you could play powerful Machines like Mechanicalchaser or Blowback Dragon. I’ll tell you why: both KA-2 Des Scissors and Needle Burrower have an important effect. Whenever they destroy a monster and send it to the graveyard as a result of battle, your opponent suffers 500 points of damage multiplied by the level of the destroyed monster. This effect may seem unimportant, but the damage adds up. Let’s say an opponent attacks your KA-2 Des Scissors with Berserk Gorilla, and you flip Mirror Wall. While both monsters will be destroyed, your opponent will take 2000 points of direct damage. Now let’s say your opponent attacks your Needle Burrower with Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, and you flip Limiter Removal. Your Needle Burrower’s ATK races up to 3400, wrecking your opponent’s Envoy and reducing your opponent’s life points by a whopping 4400 (400 points of breakthrough plus 4000 points from Needle Burrower’s effect). Congratulations, you’re more than half-way to victory after just one turn.
Combos and Counters
Most combos with Needle Burrower and KA-2 Des Scissors are straightforward because what the cards need most are ATK pump-ups and cards that decrease the ATK values of your opponent’s monsters. Riryoku does both and can help you do serious damage to your opponent’s life points (unless your opponent has an answer). When you throw in the extra damage from KA-2 Des Scissors and Needle Burrower’s effects, you could be dealing at least 3000 points of damage. Each monster can usually destroy a level-three monster without the help of stat-changing effects.
Limiter Removal is another ATK-boosting option, and you should have three copies of it in a deck built around KA-2 Des Scissors and Needle Burrower. Limiter Removal can be played during the damage step when only stat modifiers and counter traps can be activated (such as Injection Fairy Lily’s huge ATK-boosting effect). This lets you bide your time until your opponent doesn’t have any responses (such as Sakuretsu Armor) to your attack with Needle Burrower. If your opponent doesn’t try to stop your Machine, you can activate Limiter Removal and increase your monster’s ATK. Rush Recklessly is also a great combo with KA-2 Des Scissors and Needle Burrower.
Playing Riryoku is a strong move during your turn, but the card can’t be played during an opponent’s turn because it’s a normal spell card. While Limiter Removal is a powerful and effective surprise to play on an opponent’s turn, it’s better to use it during your own turn when you can attack with all the face-up Machine-type monsters you control. Rush Recklessly works just as well during your opponent’s turn as it does on your turn, but if you want to mess with your opponent’s head, play a trap like Mirror Wall (an underestimated and game-changing card). Not only can Mirror Wall help Needle Burrower and KA-2 Des Scissors destroy an opponent’s attacking monster, but the trap also gives you some defense if an opponent’s monster manages to destroy your monster. If you’re taking a direct attack, Mirror Wall can keep you alive to see another turn and you might pull off a come-from-behind victory if you have a Limiter Removal.
Playing Staunch Defender can help Needle Burrower and KA-2 Des Scissors avoid attacks by your opponent’s larger monsters. In the best-case scenario, if your opponent happens to have a few goat tokens when it’s your turn, activating Staunch Defender might win the game for you. Of course, Staunch Defender is a difficult card to use and will likely require you to have a stat modifier ready in case something goes wrong. However, with the addition of Mirror Force to the forbidden list, Staunch Defender is a great way to wreck your opponent’s entire field in one powerful combo.
If you’re on the receiving end of Needle Burrower and KA-2 Des Scissors, your main goal is to get those burrowers off of the field before they scorch you to defeat. Try not to attack them if your opponent has any face-down cards. While some duelists like to throw a monster at an opponent to force him or her to waste a trap card, trying that against Needle Burrower or KA-2 Des Scissors might be the biggest mistake you make in a duel. You can’t rely on Jinzo to protect you because it can’t touch Limiter Removal.
Divine Wrath is one of the best weapons against Needle Burrower and KA-2 Des Scissors. If the Machines try to deal damage to your life points as a result of destroying a monster, Divine Wrath will negate that effect and destroy the offending burrower. In addition, Amazoness Swords Woman and Amazoness Fighter are great answers to Needle Burrower and KA-2 Des Scissors. While you’ll probably get burned with 2000 points of damage no matter what, at least you’ll protect your life points from Limiter Removal’s effect.
Final Thoughts
You could splash Needle Burrower and KA-2 Des Scissors into a Machine deck, but that would probably make them less useful. Their ATK values are weak, and most of the stat-modifier cards you need to combo with Needle Burrower and KA-2 Des Scissors (except for Limiter Removal) aren’t as effective when played with other Machine-type monsters. Needle Burrower and KA-2 Des Scissors should be played in a deck built around their effects. Your opponent should take their effects seriously, so even if you don’t have any stat modifiers available, try setting a card or two face-down as a bluff. Your opponent will either avoid attacking or waste valuable spell/trap removal cards. If your opponent destroys one of your key cards, you should have at least another copy of Needle Burrower or KA-2 Des Scissors you can use. Playing some monster recursion cards would also be helpful. If all goes well, you may discover that these underrated Machines can win tournaments. Sometimes it’s worth sacrificing stat strength if a monster’s effect is powerful enough.
Be sure to come back next week when I’ll be looking at Yu-Gi-Oh!’s version of loaded dice, Second Coin Toss.
Got any questions or comments? I’m open to any suggestions from Metagame.com readers. Even if you just want to email me and talk about how awesome Tsukuyomi is, I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line at Mrosenberg@metagame.com!