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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!
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Bill: Wow, I can’t wait to see what I got in these three packs of Invasion of Chaos!
(Bill opens the packs.)
Bill: Let’s see here . . . hrm . . . junk, lame, boring, not 1900 ATK . . . Strike Ninja! Awww . . . I didn’t want a bad ultra rare! What a rip off!
Ted: Hey there. I’ll trade you a Mad Dog of Darkness and an Archfiend Soldier for that Strike Ninja!
Bill: Uh, okay. I don’t know why you would want such a bad card, anyway.
Ted: Thanks. Ninja vanish!
(Ted runs off.)
Bill: Weird. I don’t know why he’d want that Ninja. At least I got some 1900 ATK monsters out of it. Who needs that effect, anyway? I can only use it with almost . . . every monster . . . in . . . my . . . deck . . . Hey, wait! Come back here!
 Invasion of Chaos is recognized mostly for its Chaos monsters, which include the amazingly annoying Chaos Emperor Dragon. Not many duelists pay much attention to the other cards, which is really a shame, since some of those overlooked cards are actually very powerful.
Dark Mirror Force, Dimension Fusion, and Insect Princess all lead to some useful combos, but Strike Ninja is one of the most unique monsters in the set. This monster is often looked down upon, since it's a level 4 monster that doesn't have 1900 ATK. However, Strike Ninja’s effect is useful in many situations. By removing two Dark monsters in your graveyard from the game, Strike Ninja can perform a “Ninja vanish”—it removes itself from play until the end of the turn.
Not too far away from Strike Ninja’s rarity is D. D. Scout Plane. When this monster is removed from the game, it gets special summoned to the field at the end of that turn. What kind of combos can be created combining these two cards, and how good are they alone? That’s what today’s Card Analysis is about, as we analyze Strike Ninja and D. D. Scout Plane, the summoning combo of infinite possibilities.
The Breakdown
By removing two Dark monsters in your graveyard from the game, Strike Ninja can remove itself from the game until the end of the turn. This effect can only be used once per turn. At first glance, duelists will look at this effect and ask themselves, “Why would I ever use this?” If you look at Strike Ninja’s effect in a different way, the card can easily counter any card that targets it. Strike Ninja’s effect is spell speed 2, meaning it can be used during your opponent’s turn at any time, in response to almost any card (excluding the spell speed 3 counter traps, which can’t even be stopped by Jinzo’s effect). Did your opponent activate Ring of Destruction and target Strike Ninja with the effect? Use Strike Ninja's effect and vanish for a turn, leaving Ring of Destruction without a target and sending it to the graveyard without losing a monster or taking damage. Did your opponent chain your Strike Ninja’s attack with Magic Cylinder? Ninja vanish, avoid the damage. Did your opponent play Raigeki? Ninja vanish. Someone went generic and used Chaos Emperor Dragon’s effect? Ninja Vanish, then return it at the end of the turn to smack your opponent around for using that nasty Chaos monster. The effect opens endless possibilities.
 D. D. Scout Plane is special summoned to your field at the end of the turn in which it was removed from play. It’s a pretty easy effect to understand, and its effect leaves you with easy monsters to summon. This card is simply great for making your opponent waste a Nobleman of Crossout, and some duelists have even used this monster with Chaos Emperor Dragon, leavening them with an 800 ATK wall after the effect.
Combine these two monsters together, and you have a very long ongoing effect with Strike Ninja. Remove two D. D. Scout Planes to remove Strike Ninja for the turn, and then use cards like Mass Driver and Cannon Soldier to send them back to the graveyard. However, to make this combo the ultimate summon technique, use your summoned D. D. Scout Planes to summon high level monsters such as Jinzo, Airknight Parshath, or even the deadly Invader of Darkness. This combination is one of the easiest ways to summon high level monsters.
The Cards in the Metagame
Many words can be used to describe Strike Ninja and D.D Scout Plane. They are strong, effective, efficient cards that can give you an easy field advantage. However, such qualities mean nothing to the main tournament duelists at your local regional tournament. You’ll mostly see typical Control decks that utilize Yata-Garasu. The thought of Strike Ninja even being in one of the Top 8 decks is foreign. The same statement applies to D. D. Scout Plane, which can be seen in a winning Regionals deck about as often Skull Servant can be seen played en-masse—and that's just downright silly.
However, I have seen both of these cards utilized at a tournament once. Surprisingly, the duelist was running a full blown Ninja deck, including Armed Ninja, Crimson Ninja, and some Fuhma Shurikin equipment spells. The combination actually saved this duelist from losing a number of times, though the deck had only minimal success. This further confirms that you won’t be seeing Strike Ninja and D. D. Scout Plane too often at a large event.
Ways to Use and Counter These Cards
Strike Ninja works very well in pure Dark decks, where you constantly have sacrificial bait for its effect. When you control Strike Ninja, there's a good chance your opponent will be thinking over his or her moves very carefully, especially when your graveyard is packed with various Dark monsters or some D. D. Scout Planes. This gives you a chance to utilize the Strike Ninja–Scout Plane summon combo, which helps you summon a high level monster needed for the win. Big Koala is a good choice with Strike Ninja, especially with the Ancient Sanctuary trap card Ninjitsu Art of Transformation. In fact, this trap card is good with a wide variety of ninjas and beasts, and it’s a great way to make use of your low level ninja monsters. Strike Ninja is still the best with this trap card, as it allows you to special summon a Big Koala with ease.
Dimension Fusion is one of the strongest cards to use with Strike Ninja’s effect. In a Dark deck, you can use Strike Ninja’s ability to remove a variety of Dark monsters in your graveyard from the game, such as Terrorking Archfiend, Jinzo, and Invader of Darkness. Once your Strike Ninja kicks the bucket (or if you want to rush your opponent for a quick kill), use Dimension Fusion to special summon all of those removed monsters back to the field. It’s a great way to completely shut your opponent down in one turn.
Strike Ninja is a pain to fight against. If your opponent has Strike Ninja out, make sure you carefully think through every move you make—you don’t want to waste precious spells or traps in an unsuccessful attempt to kill it. Whatever you do, be sure not to use Fiber Jar or Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End when fighting Strike Ninja. The opponent will most likely chain these effects with Strike Ninja's own effect, not only removing Strike Ninja from the game and keeping a monster on the field at the end of that turn, but also most likely leaving you with nothing. This becomes even more annoying if your opponent has D. D. Scout Planes to remove, and that brash move of yours easily becomes a fatal error if it was executed with Chaos Emperor Dragon. If you simply stay on the offensive and continue attacking, your opponent will either have to let the Strike Ninja be destroyed or suffer some massive direct damage. Alternately, Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer can also shut down Strike Ninja.
D. D. Scout Plane is a little simpler to use. Send these machines to your graveyard as soon as possible, and then use effects like Strike Ninja and Soul Release to bring them back to your field for some sacrificial bait. There aren’t too many cards out yet that can utilize D. D. Scout Plane’s field existence, but expect a few good ones in the future. Until then, Horn of Heaven is a great way to use your D. D. Scout Planes, and it’s even better if this stops the summoning of a Chaos monster.
With the release of Ancient Sanctuary, D. D. Scout Planes can be used with the instant spell card Enemy Controller. One combo with Enemy Controller would be to sacrifice a D. D. Scout Plane, gain control of the opponent’s monster, and attack directly. You could also use it in response to Raigeki, giving you control of their monster. When Raigeki resolves, it'll destroy your remaining Scout Planes and their own monster.
There aren’t too many counters to D. D. Scout Plane, except to stop the cards used to remove it from the game. This will prove difficult if you’re dealing with Strike Ninja. However, if your opponent removes them during his or her turn, you’ll be staring down the D. D. Scout Plane's low 800 ATK, which will give you the chance to deal some serious damage to your opponent’s life points during your turn. It won’t be too hard to summon a monster with more than 800 ATK to use against those D. D. Scout Planes.
Are These Cards Overrated or Underrated?
Both Strike Ninja and D. D. Scout Plane are highly underrated monster cards. Their effects are overlooked. The damage these cards can inflict to an opponent’s strategy can help you effectively win a duel. Most Regionals decks will have a hard time stopping Strike Ninja and D. D. Scout Plane. Chaos Emperor Dragon and Fiber Jar are both weak against Strike Ninja’s effect, and typical control cards like Don Zaloog and Delinquent Duo just send your D. D. Scout Planes from your hand to your graveyard, which is exactly where you want them anyway.
The bottom line here is that these monsters need to be seen more in tournaments. They’re great cards, and are definitely worth a shot in competitive play. Who knows? They might just win you the tournament.
Got any questions or comments? Email them to me at Mrosenberg@metagame.com, and I’ll be glad to respond to you. Suggestions are welcome, as well.
Next week, we’ll be looking at some other monsters that have been rejected from common tournament play. Come back to read “Those Poor Neglected Removal Monsters: Freed the Brave Wanderer and Chaosrider Gustaph.”
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