|
Doomkaiser Dragon
Card# CSOC-EN043
Doomkaiser Dragon's effect isn't just for Zombie World duelists: remember that its effect can swipe copies of Plaguespreader Zombie, too!
Click here for more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| The Metagame: Single Card Tech |
| Jason Grabher-Meyer |
| September 10, 2005 |
|
|
| |
As always, one of the coolest parts of Shonen Jump Championship Boston was the single card tech. The lone, flavor-heavy cards that form trends during an event are often some of the most high-impact cards of the weekend. They not only determine wins and losses, but they’re often absorbed into duelists’ arsenals after the event. Because these cards are usually highly useful and splashable, they’re great to know about. Ideas are good.
And so, we arrive at yet another installment of tech highlights. East Coast tech blended with some well-loved new arrivals to the game, and the following four cards stood leagues ahead of the pack.
 Different Dimension Capsule: One of the most infamously “East Coast” cards in the game, Different Dimension Capsule has been severely underplayed in the current environment, given its potential. With most players only running two pieces of spell and trap removal in their main deck (Mystical Space Typhoon and Heavy Storm), Different Dimension Capsule will usually resolve, and if it doesn’t, it’s generally protecting your other high-priority spells and traps anyway.
“Going to kill off my Capsule? Sure! One less thing for good ol’ Mirror Force to worry about.”
The Capsule is a great way to get at cards like Pot of Greed or Delinquent Duo that are just generally good, but it’s also nice in a pinch when you need a certain card to save your behind. Its ability to search for anything lets you grab important answers like Jinzo, Lightning Vortex, and Smashing Ground, which would otherwise be relatively impossible to search your deck for with any degree of precision. In addition, it can be great for combo-dependent decks, since it can nab you your key pieces of synergy. Even if you’re in a matchup that key cards in your deck treat harshly, you can run and grab those when they’re needed.
Exarion Universe: The hottest new promo from the 2005 tin sets, Exarion isn’t all that complicated. It’s a Dark monster with 1800 ATK, so it easily slides into existing Chaos decks by bumping out Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer.
It eats Sheep. Lots of them. It’s possibly the hungriest monster in the game, and it prefers a diet of solid mutton. The ability to dish out pierce damage at will is invaluable in the current conservative metagame. There isn’t much out there that won’t be destroyed by 1400 ATK when it’s in defense position anyway, so there’s little risk to dropping Exarion’s ATK when it takes on a face-down monster. Especially useful against Spirit Reaper, Exarion can quickly become a bane to any deck running the little hooded scythe-monkey. Once Reaper hits the field, there’s no easy way to get it off, so Exarion quickly turns it into a liability.
Magician of Faith? Oh yeah, its effect costs life points to use now. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. All those flip effects and “free” defenses from Sinister Serpent are far less sweet when you’re paying for them in quarts of your own blood. Exarion is a completely counter-intuitive monster for the current play style of most competitors, and that makes it a winner.
 Cyber Dragon: Also new, and quickly gaining some love, is Cyber Dragon! Favored by three members of the Top 8 and many, many more duelists who did not find quite such impressive success, Cyber Dragon balances out the problem of being forced to go second. It also returns an element of speed and unpredictability to the game, making for more spectacular comebacks and bigger blind-side beatings.
An integral part of the OTK Cyber-Stein/Cyber Dragon deck which saw some success over the course of the day, it’s an incredibly convenient monster and will probably change the overall face of the North American metagame. Four tribute monsters in a tournament-winning deck? It may become the standard in the near future.
Chaos Sorcerer: Finally, Chaos Sorcerer just keeps fighting for its own existence. Making strong appearances at some Shonen Jump Championships while being completely absent from others, it was out in full force in Boston. Many duelists are thinking about continuing to run Chaos decks after the assumed forbidding of Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning in October, so for some this was just preparation for the next incarnation of the Advanced format.
Though Sorcerer is definitely the weaker cousin of Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, one can’t ignore that a free monster and free piece of removal is a great deal. Will Chaos survive without Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning? That’s yet to be seen. But Chaos Sorcerer is definitely an underplayed and highly powerful card.
These four cards were the standouts of a surprisingly large field of innovative picks. Abyss Soldier, Getsu Fuhma, Thunder Dragon, and more all made appearances here today. For what might be the last hurrah of the current format, Boston has certainly been innovative. Expect a lot of this single card tech and these general trends to carry through into the future of Yu-Gi-Oh! |
| |
| Top of Page |
|
|
| |
|