Phoenix Wing Wind Blast isn’t the only card benefiting from this format’s relatively slow pace of play. Burn decks sit at one end of the dominance spectrum and Zombies sit at the other, burn being the most successful conservative deck while Zombies remain at the top of the aggressive heap. Many duelists find this a unique and difficult challenge—since being able to reliably defeat burn often precludes a deck from defeating Zombies and vice versa—but some cards can take advantage of the shared attributes between the two strategies.
Ceasefire is one of those cards. While Zombies play out large numbers of monsters on their side of the field, burn lets you play a lot of monsters yourself, and the result in either matchup is that, at some point, there will probably be a ton of monsters out. That’s good news for any player running Ceasefire, because if you play your cards right, you’ll usually be activating this trap for 2500 damage or more. The key phrase there is “or more” though, because while 2500 damage might be a good bottom line, you’ll often be dealing 3000, 3500, or . . . well, the sky’s the limit. The sheer potential for damage is just one of the many reasons Ceasefire is a strong pick for competitive play nowadays.
Gathering Intelligence
While damage is certainly the most stand-out offering Ceasefire provides, it also flips your opponent’s set monsters, and that can be integral in a format where several decks can win or lose based on when they make big over-extensions. For a Zombie deck, the information Ceasefire gives you will often be enough to let you safely swing for game when you would otherwise have to gamble. Revealing one or two set monsters you can press through lets you pull the trigger and unleash your undead horde, while seeing a string of recruiters, Spirit Reaper, or the soon-to-be-everywhere Marshmallon will let you know to hold back for a while.
Anything running Exiled Force can earn a similar reprieve with the use of Ceasefire. Successful Warrior Toolbox builds in this format are dependant on Exiled Force and D. D. Warrior Lady for offensive removal, clearing the way for big attacks and keeping tribute fodder off the field. However, the threat of Treeborn Frog in the face of Exiled still remains and D. D. Warrior Lady just isn’t too hot when her potential kidnapping victim is Apprentice Magician. There are good plays, bad plays, and utterly wasteful plays in this scenario, and the same can be said for Warrior variants that may use Exiled, such as Big City.
In an era of complicated game states, Ceasefire can do a lot toward turning a game of incomplete information into an utter stomping in your favor. That’s not to be underestimated.
No More Nobleman!
Nobleman of Crossout is an influential card in almost every game it’s played. It also makes a big impact in any format that it’s Semi-Limited in, such as ours. A lot of the top decks in this format have specific game plans for dealing with the possibility of Nobleman of Crossout, simply because they have to do so. To ignore its threat can be ruinous. For instance, take the Card of Safe Return Zombie strategy. A duelist who’s familiar with the archetype will almost always avoid setting monsters (especially important ones like Pyramid Turtle), and that has a huge impact on how the deck runs. If Pyramid Turtle could be played safely in face-down defense, the entire pace of a Zombie deck would be different: opponents would attack more, giving the Zombie player more opportunities for special summoning, while also making the deck stronger against face-up monster removal like Smashing Ground. If the opponent reacts by not attacking, then you can bluff by making risky sets like Zombie Master. Nobleman keeps that situation in check . . .
. . . at least until Ceasefire comes into the equation. Since Nobleman of Crossout can only destroy and remove a face-down monster, a clever Zombie player who opens with Pyramid Turtle and Ceasefire will set both. If the opponent attacks, great: you get a special summon. But if the opponent activates Nobleman of Crossout, you chain Ceasefire to flip Pyramid Turtle and dish out 500 damage. If the opponent special summoned Cyber Dragon prior to activating Nobleman in order to deter you from activating a possible Torrential Tribute (a common play), he or she will take even more damage, and unless the opponent has Smashing Ground available, any attack that player launches at this point will probably be helpful to you in the long run.
Trading your Ceasefire for the opponent’s Nobleman of Crossout is still a card-for-card trade of the type Nobleman was trying to create anyway, but the end result is very different. One leaves your opponent either refusing to attack or committing monster removal early on, while the other sees you losing a key card and not advancing your strategy . . . and you’ll probably take damage, too. The fact that Ceasefire can also cause tremendous amounts of hurt after an over-extension in the mid-game is icing: it saves your opening and early game while making it a lot easier to win if it’s drawn later on.
There are plenty of other decks that would like to set monsters, but often can’t. One of the problems with the Apprentice Monarch strategy in this format is that Nobleman threatens the Apprentice engine monsters: one Ceasefire can do a lot to mitigate that concern. It protects Treeborn Frog, Destiny Hero - Disk Commander, and Destiny Hero - Fear Monger in Perfect Circle as well. Flat out, if your deck would prefer to set monsters rather than play everything face up, you may want to consider Ceasefire.
Flipping Stuff Is Awesome
Going back to the issue of flipping monsters to gain intelligence about the situation, the act of flipping those monsters with Ceasefire can actually be even more significant. First, the monsters flipped don’t get their flip effects, putting the hurt on a number of Monarch variants. Old Vindictive Magician is still just as good now as he was months ago if he can stay on the field, so activating Ceasefire is often a lot better than activating Swords of Revealing Light.
On top of that, Ceasefire exposes set monsters to face-up removal like Smashing Ground and Hammer Shot. It makes them vulnerable to Brain Control, another reason to consider Ceasefire for Monarch strategies. It can even set up a weak flip-effect monster to be turned to attack mode for a big-damage swing via Enemy Controller. Or clear your opponent’s complete field with Lightning Vortex when he or she has gone to great lengths to play around that possibility. Regardless of which of these cards you run, you probably use at least a few, and Ceasefire could be giving them a lot more utility.
And It’s Chainable!
The word “chainable” has carried a lot of weight this format. Sure, it’s great to be able to chain the target of your opponent’s Dust Tornado and cost him or her a card in the process, but it goes beyond that. In a format where complicated game states are more common than they have been in years, chainable spells and traps with a high utility gain value simply because they’re so versatile. If I have a chance to activate Heavy Storm while both I and my opponent have multiple face-down cards set in the spell and trap zone, I’m more likely to activate Heavy if I know I’ll be able to get some use out of my face downs. Beyond that, when it’s my opponent making that same play, I’m going to have a better chance at recovering next turn if the cards I lost were chained and resolved before Heavy Storm destroyed them.
The popularity of Raiza the Storm Monarch and Phoenix Wing Wind Blast is also a big factor. If I can chain virtually every card you try to spin with either of those cards, I’m going to have less trouble adjusting to the tempo you’re working to establish. In addition, I’ll be able to make the possibility of targeting one of my spell or trap cards less attractive to you over the course of the match, meaning you’ll make brasher moves and give me more opportunities to use non-chainables like Mirror Force or Torrential Tribute. If I can basically scare you into spinning only monsters, not cards in my back row, Mirror Force and Torrential become infinitely more valuable.
Currently Ceasefire has made Day 2 six times in this format, but every single time it’s been used in a burn deck. I’m not sure that’s necessary given the direction the format has taken. There are a lot of decks where this card can be useful, and I’d at least side it if I wasn’t going to include it in the main deck.
Try it yourself! It’s just one card slot, and you may find it to be really effective.
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Got a favorite card that you think deserves the spotlight? Let me know by sending an e-mail to JDGMetagame@gmail.com!