My reasons for getting into the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG were similar to those of many other duelists. A small part of my interest came from being an avid gamer with some exposure to trading card games. I was also a huge fan of animation, particularly Japanese animation. Yu-Gi-Oh! happened to be a Japanese animated program based on a gamer, and within months, I was hooked.

As a duelist and an avid fan of the television show, I always enjoyed seeing cards from the animated series released in the sets. Examples of these cards go back to Dark Paladin and XYZ-Dragon Cannon. When Ectoplasmer was released in Soul of the Duelist, it was safe to assume that I was ecstatic. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ectoplasmer from the animated series, this continuous spell was used by Arcana, one of Marik’s rare hunters, in an attempt to finish off Yugi. It was also used later in the series by the dark side of Bakura, the beloved villain.

This overlooked continuous spell card is more than just an anime favorite. Ectoplasmer also has the potential to be central to a deadly deck theme. Today’s article will show you how much fun soul launching can be!

The Basic Breakdown

Ectoplasmer is by far one of the most remarkable cards to be released in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. It’s a continuous spell that triggers at the start of each player’s end phase. The turn player is then forced to tribute one face-up monster on his or her side of the field. The tribute isn’t an optional effect, but the turn player is at least inflicting damage equal to half of the original ATK of the tributed monster.

You may be wondering what part of Ectoplasmer’s effect should be the focus. Let me clarify that Ectoplasmer’s direct-damage effect doesn’t matter that much. The true strength of this spell lies in its tribute effect. Unless the turn player doesn’t control any face-up monsters, he or she must offer up a monster with no questions asked. If your opponent has a face up Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning and a face down Magician of Faith, he or she will lose the game-wrecking Envoy. Be careful though, because Ectoplasmer affects your field as well. Of course, there are a variety of ways to get around this effect. We’ll be getting to those later.

One of the most important things to know about Ectoplasmer is that monsters sent to the graveyard as a result of this card are not destroyed. Instead, they are offered as tributes. It’s also important to know that this is a standard effect and not a costed effect like you see on many other cards that tribute monsters. The player with Vampire Lord or Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys can revive these monsters when they’re destroyed by card effects, but Ectoplasmer will shut both of them down. A card like Lava Golem that requires presence on the field is also quickly ousted by Ectoplasmer. All of these things make today’s featured card one of the ultimate methods of field control.

Even though the damage you receive from an opponent’s tributed monsters may be minor, this card could cost you the duel if you’re not careful. Ectoplasmer is a difficult card to play perfectly. Be warned that this card will require you to watch your life points and field options carefully.

Combos and Counters

I started to respect Ectoplasmer because of veteran duelist Robert Smith. He’s been fond of Ectoplasmer since its release, and his playtesting revealed one of the best monsters to use with multiple copies of the spell. When combined with Ectoplasmer, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 is one of the most useful tribute monsters in the game.

Because Ectoplasmer’s tribute effect isn’t a cost, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 is unaffected by your own continuous spell. If Horus is the only face-up monster you control, you won’t have to tribute it to Ectoplasmer’s effect! That will certainly hurt your opponent, because he or she will have a hard time maintaining field presence while your spell is active and Horus is shooting down any remotely decent monsters.

Scapegoat needs another way to be abused, right? Because Ectoplasmer only triggers once during the end phase, sheep tokens can be used as tributes while still acting as protective walls. Plus, you can abuse any leftover sheep tokens with cards such as Enemy Controller and Creature Swap. Speaking of Enemy Controller, its second effect is even better with Ectoplasmer. With Enemy Controller, you can tribute a sheep token, take control of an opponent’s monster, destroy another one of your opponent’s monsters with the monster you just took, and tribute the controlled monster to Ectoplasmer during your end phase. If you can pull that off, your opponent will be in a crippling situation, taking damage from Ectoplasmer and losing two monsters in the same turn! This combo will usually give you a two-for-two advantage, but if done right, Enemy Controller can net you a two-for-one advantage over an opponent.

One of the more entertaining Ectoplasmer combos is with Malice Doll of Demise. This combo is self-explanatory—you can tribute Malice Doll to Ectoplasmer each turn and then special summon the Fiend during your standby phase. This combo is a lot of fun, and it’s even better when combined with a Zombie deck and Card of Safe Return so you can draw into more options as each turn goes by.

Your best answer to Ectoplasmer would be any form of spell removal. If you have access to the right traps or quick-play spells, you should save them until your opponent tries to remove your cards from the field. This is generally a good idea, because your opponent can lose his or her soul-launching card while wasting other options. You can use your removal in response to the triggering of Ectoplasmer’s effect. Since Ectoplasmer will no longer be on the field when its effect tries to resolve, the originally triggered effect won’t have an impact. This is a good general rule to remember about the resolution of continuous spells and trap cards.

An excellent strategy to use against an Ectoplasmer player is to find advantageous moments to blitz your opponent with an army of monsters. Your goal is to reduce your opponent’s life points to the triple digits, allowing your required tribute to finish him or her off during your end phase. Even if your opponent doesn’t lose the duel after one rush, he or she is bound to lose when you tribute another monster during your next turn. This forces your opponent either to remove Ectoplasmer from the field or lose the duel. That’s not a situation that anyone wants to be in, so exploiting this strategy is one of your best bets.

Final Thoughts

Ectoplasmer is a tricky card to run effectively, because it requires serious planning and deck construction. You should take note of every possible combo with the card so you can get the most out of it. If you can unlock Ectoplasmer’s full potential, there’s a good chance that you’ll be a dominant tournament force.

Next week marks the start of Metagame’s sneak peeks at cards from The Lost Millennium. Check in every day to see a new card from the next booster set, and be sure to check out the events during The Lost Millennium Sneak Preview Weekend!

As always, if you have any questions or comments about today’s featured card or any deck theme, feel free to email me at Mrosenberg@metagame.com. I’ll try my best to answer all emails I receive.