As of right now, there are no more Yu-Gi-Oh! sets out in America for me to review. These card analysis columns are what I'm going to be writing to replace them (at least for now). In this series, I'll analyze one or more cards each week, talking about their strengths, weaknesses, combos, and uses in the metagame.

The best possible choice for my first card analysis is none other than the infamous crow, Yata-Garasu. If you have read my Legacy of Darkness and Invasion of Chaos set reviews, you've probably become familiar with two characters I have used in a "duelist's excerpt," Bill and Tom. Bill best fits my own character, as he gets . . . annoyed by Yata-Garasu. However, today's script will be a little different for Tom, who relies on annoying Bill with Yata-Garasu's incredibly deadly effect.

Bill: Okay Tom. I have no field, and you just hit me with Yata. Are you done?

Tom: You bet I'm done, and there's no way you can win with only two cards in hand! You're finished, not that I didn't see that coming.

Bill: You overestimate Yata's strength. I'll play this spell card, and declare the card Yata-Garasu.

Tom: What?! How can you remove my Yata from play? He's invincible! I quit!

Bill: It looks like I finally got my revenge . . .


It's pretty simple to describe, but despite how much I dislike its constant use in many tournaments, Yata-Garasu is still a strong and, in the right decks, broken card. Despite this obvious fact, Yata-Garasu remains off the instant victory list. There are many reasons for this, due to Yata-Garasu's weakness.


The Card's Breakdown

Yata-Garasu has unimpressive attack strength, and its defensive strength cannot survive the attack of a Skull Servant. However, its effect is one of the most annoying in Yu-Gi-Oh! Yata-Garasu's effect can completely lock the opponent, preventing him or her from being able to do anything. If the opponent has no hand or field when Yata-Garasu attacks, he or she will basically have to end his or her turn immediately upon starting it. With no new options or ways to fight, the opponent effectively loses the duel no matter what the life point totals are. Yata-Garasu's Spirit monster effect, which states that it cannot be special summoned and that it returns to its owner's hand during the end of the turn in which it is summoned or flipped face-up, actually enhances its ability. Even if the opponent had cards in his or her hand, monster removal or monster attacks will never affect Yata-Garasu since it returns to the safety of the player's hand. While it's still vulnerable to hand destruction cards such as Card Destruction and Delinquent Duo, this ability gives Yata some built-in defense.

One method that duelists thought could counter Yata is to wait the duel out in hopes of Yata's controller decking out. However, unless the duelist using Yata only has about five cards left in his or her deck, or if the duelist taking Yata's attacks has over 7000 life points, that strategy is pretty pointless. In a serious Control deck, you'll most likely find a Monster Reborn, Premature Burial, or Call of the Haunted remaining in Yata's controller's deck. If those recursion cards have been used up, he or she may wait for a Drop Off or Time Seal. If all of those options are gone, the user of Yata can weaken the defender to a low amount of life points and then immediately trample through the rest of the defender's life points with a beatdown monster.


The Card in the Metagame

To quote from my old review of Yata-Garasu, "Be nice to your opponent and don't use this card, especially when you have the choice of so many other great cards in this set. Be merciful". The number of people who have taken that advice, though, are vastly outnumbered by the duelists who have elected to use the crow to make their opponents squirm. In fact, since its release, and since World Championships 2003, Yata-Garasu has been more played than any other card since the release of Legacy of Darkness, excluding staples such as Raigeki and Pot of Greed.

The problem with Yata-Garasu seeing so much play is that it's appearing in many decks that it shouldn't be anywhere near. For example, I have seen Yata-Garasu running rampant in generic Beatdown decks at various tournaments, including Regional tournaments. Those decks rely on brute strength to defeat the opponent, and Yata-Garasu is not meant to be a vicious attacking force of superior strength. There's something very wrong with seeing Yata-Garasu out with a Goblin Attack Force. Technically, Yata-Garasu was designed to be part of a Spirit deck. Unfortunately, you'll hardly ever see a Spirit deck in large tournaments, since Spirit monsters don't provide effective field presence, due to their effect that returns them to the owner's hand at end of turn. Yata-Garasu still runs rampant in tournaments, where many duelists might run a Delinquent Duo, Forceful Sentry, and one or two Don Zaloogs with it. This is usually referred to as a "modified Control" deck.

The bottom line is that Yata-Garasu is one of the most played cards in today's metagame. While it's highly versatile, it doesn't fit well into every deck, or even into all the decks in which it's used. The fact that players still include it in those decks shows how popular, and feared, this crow is.


Ways to Use/Counter this Card

Yata-Garasu is used most commonly when the opponent who is forced to take Yata's attack is topdecking, meaning he or she has no hand when drawing their card for the draw phase. Yata-Garasu preys on poor hand presence by locking the opponent until his or her life points are brought down to 0. Of course, if the opponent maintains good hand management, the one playing Yata can use spell cards such as Delinquent Duo and The Forceful Sentry for hand disruption. Trap cards like Drop Off and Time Seal work to slow the opponent down as well. If you have to choose between the two trap cards, I would personally pick Time Seal. While Drop Off can be used immediately on the opponent's upcoming draw phase, Time Seal keeps the opponent from drawing. Time Seal can also be chained to cards like Mystical Space Typhoon, causing the opponent to lose two cards from his or her hand by the end of his or her next turn. This is true because the opponent wasted a spell and trap removal card on your Time Seal, and on top of that, won't be able to draw during his or her next turn.

One of the more original methods in using Yata-Garasu's effect is to combine it with the mighty Fire Starter spirit, known as Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi. This massive inferno of a monster completely obliterates the opponent's hand during the beginning of the opponent's draw phase if Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi inflicts damage to the opponent's life. With only one card in hand, your opponent will be low on options, leaving Yata-Garasu time to peck away at what remains of the opponent. While this may be a bit difficult to pull off, it's a fun combo that's worth a try. You can speed up the summoning of Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi through the effects of Ultimate Offering, as well as field removal against the opponent, such as Raigeki and Heavy Storm.

However, Yata's effect is easy to understand. Your largest concern will be when you're on the receiving end of Yata-Garasu's attack, which is all too common in today's metagame. There are a few methods that can easily shut Yata-Garasu down.

One of the first ways to kill off Yata for good is to fight fire with fire—use hand destruction spells such as Confiscation or Delinquent Duo against Yata-Garasu and the small amount of hand destruction that is played with it. Since Yata-Garasu is a Spirit monster, the crow will be stuck in the graveyard until someone flips a Fiber Jar.

One of my favorite ways to kill off Yata-Garasu for good is with the spell card D. D. Designator. It's the easiest way to use D. D. Designator as well. Simply wait for your opponent to summon Yata, grin and bear the attack, then during your turn, declare Yata and remove it from the game! As an added bonus, you'll be able to see what your opponent has in his or her hand, giving you a chance to plan out a defense. It also gives you a chance to play a second, or even a third, D. D. Designator with the knowledge of the good cards your opponent currently has in his or her hand.

One of the easiest ways to destroy Yata is to use simple monster removal. Offerings to the Doomed, Horn of Heaven, Mirror Force, Ring of Destruction, Sakuretsu Armor, or even Chain Disappearance will shut down the crow. 


Is it Overrated or Underrated?

Duelists who create their own decks and have a great deal of experience in playing Yu-Gi-Oh! can see Yata-Garasu as a strong card that can be shut down, though it's still something to be feared. Duelists that have skill but lack experience in deck creation, or those that mostly play decks from the Internet, see Yata-Garasu as a god that should be in every deck. Unfortunately for those duelists, they discover that not all decks can support Yata-Garasu, and that adding it to decks not designed for it has the potential to cost them matches.

It's safe to label Yata-Garasu as an overrated card. While the crow has many uses, it's only meant for certain decks. Because of how powerful it seems, the card sees way too much play in the wrong decks.


If you have any questions, comments, or even flames, please direct them to MRosenberg@metagame.com. Stay tuned for my next article, where I'll be analyzing Magical Scientist.