Right now, the Los Angeles Shonen Jump Championship is the only big tournament that has used the current Advanced format Forbidden and Limited lists. The second big event will be taking place this weekend in Houston (be sure to check out Metagame.com for complete coverage), so the Los Angeles Shonen Jump Championship is the major reference for duelists who are trying to understand what will work in the current format.
One of the most talked-about and studied decks from Los Angeles is none other than “Soul Control,” a nifty little concoction from veteran duelist Evan Vargas. It’s no wonder that the deck did so well—it exploits numerous cards in order to reduce the number an opponent’s options . For example, Evan’s most noticeable combo is to use Soul Exchange on an opponent’s monster, which will be tributed to summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch. This combo costs Evan only one card while the opponent loses two. The combo is also the reason why Evan’s deck is called “Soul Control,” as Soul Exchange is easily one of the most versatile cards at his disposal. Heck, before seeing Soul Control, most duelists probably forgot that Soul Exchange existed! I certainly did until I saw Evan running an earlier build of his deck at the Las Vegas Shonen Jump Championship.
As a spell card that has gone from the binder to the commons pile to a successful tournament deck, Soul Exchange is the focus of today’s edition of Bill and Tom’s Binder. Believe me when I say that this card is certainly worth a look. I can’t tell you how many times this card and Soul Control as a whole have seriously smacked Bill and Tom around in playtesting lately.*
The Basic Breakdown
Soul Exchange’s effect looks simple enough. During the turn that this essence-controlling spell card is activated, you may tribute a monster on your opponent’s field in place of one of your own. While skipping your battle phase may seem costly, there are many times when you wouldn’t be able to attack anyway. For example, if your opponent has a large monster (such as Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys) on the field that you can’t deal with using standard removal, you probably wouldn’t be attacking that turn anyway.
Soul Exchange allows you to exchange the cost of a monster on your field for the cost of one of your opponent’s monsters, and all the effect costs you is a battle phase and a spell card. That being said, keep in mind that even though you can use an opponent’s monster as a tribute, you can’t tribute that monster for effects such as the one on Exiled Force. With Exiled Force, you must tribute the monster itself to activate its ignition effect. Soul Exchange only allows you to tribute an opponent’s monster for a tribute summon or an effect that lets you tribute any monster on your field.
It’s important to remember that while Soul Exchange is often used in the context of tribute summoning, the scope of this spell goes way beyond that. Soul Exchange also allows you to use an opponent’s monster as a tribute to fuel such things as monster ignition effects, spell cards, quick-play spell cards, and trap cards.
Combos and Counters
Let’s go over a few key combos that include Soul Exchange. After all, the whole point of playing Soul Exchange is to tribute an opponent’s monster, so trading one card for another isn’t much of a combo. The most direct combo, which involves combining Soul Exchange with the Monarchs, was shown to duelists everywhere by Evan Vargas at the Los Angeles Shonen Jump Championship. While Evan focused on Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch and Mobius the Frost Monarch, that doesn’t mean Zaborg the Thunder Monarch and Granmarg the Rock Monarch are bad choices. All of the Monarchs can provide you with card advantage when they’re tribute summoned, and Soul Exchange allows you to deplete your opponent’s resources at the cost of, well, depleting your opponent’s resources. Where’s the downside to that?
As someone who has known Robert Smith as a duelist for a few years, Ectoplasmer has grown to be one of my favorite spell cards. While Soul Exchange will cost you a battle phase, you’ll be able to tribute an opponent’s monster for Ectoplasmer’s effect. Not only will your opponent lose one of his or her strongest monsters, but he or she will also take a small beating from the soul of the lost monster! If your opponent loses one more monster to Ectoplasmer’s effect, the continuous spell has done its job and claimed multiple victims on your opponent’s field.
While Enemy Controller may not provide you with actual card advantage, when combined with Soul Exchange, the quick-play spell can provide you with field advantage by removing so many of your opponent’s monsters. For example, if your opponent has a monster like Berserk Gorilla or Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning in addition to another monster, Enemy Controller will allow you to remove two of your opponent’s threats. With Soul Exchange, you can use an opponent’s monster as a tribute for the cost of Enemy Controller’s second effect, which will then allow you to temporarily control one of your opponent’s monsters. If you can’t tribute it for a monster such as Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, you can try to remove it from the field, especially if the monster is Berserk Gorilla or the insanely powerful Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning.
When combined with Soul Exchange, Metamorphosis allows you to tribute an opponent’s monster instead of your own to special summon a Fusion monster. If an opponent has any level-8 monsters out such as Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, you’ll be able to morph it into the field-clearing Gatling Dragon. If your opponent decides to morph a copy of Thousand-Eyes Restrict onto the field, you can tribute the dominating Fusion monster to create one of your own, which could also absorb one of your opponent’s remaining monsters and provide you with card advantage. Either way, this combo allows you to remove an opponent’s monster to summon a monster outside of your normal deck so you can conserve your standard monsters for future use.
If you’re playing against the increasingly popular Soul Control deck and are forced to fight against Soul Exchange, consider Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell as a strong side deck option. Not only is it a great answer to the annoyingly popular Scapegoat, but it also shuts down future abuse of Soul Exchange. Horus and Silent Swordsman decks also have some relatively strong main deck options for dealing with Soul Exchange.
Your main counter to Soul Exchange is to remove the targeted monster when an opponent activates the soul-swapping spell. Your opponent will lose the ability to tribute your monster while still losing their battle phase for the turn. That way, your opponent will be more cautious about abusing Soul Exchange’s effect, and you’ll be less likely to be overwhelmed by cards like Metamorphosis or the hand-burning Firestorm Monarch.
Final Thoughts
Soul Exchange is indeed an abusable spell card. It has been abusable since its release, and it’s becoming more abusable in the current tournament environment. Did I mention that you can abuse this card? Evan Vargas proved that point well enough in Los Angeles. I have to admit that, like many other duelists, I’d underestimated the card for far too long. Soul Exchange is truly a powerful spell, and it has become even better since Change of Heart was forbidden in Advanced format tournament play.
Do you have any questions or comments about today’s card, a ruling, or a different card or deck? I’d be more than happy to help you out or hear criticisms about this column. You can drop me a virtual line at Mrosenberg@metagame.com.
* For the record, Bill and Tom are not real human beings. But then again, some people didn’t think Toby Wachter existed until they saw him in real life.