Anyone who’s ever lived in or visited Pittsburgh around this time of year knows that from November through May, we’re supposed to be snowed in as part of our charming* local weather pattern. This year, however, things have taken an interesting turn. Rather than snow and ice, we’ve been seeing rain, wind, and days that could almost be called “nice.” I immediately launched an investigation** of this interesting phenomenon and came to the following conclusion. Our lack of snow and ice is being caused by one of two things: it’s either global warming, or it’s the huge spike in the use of Mobius the Frost Monarch.

It’s generally agreed that global warming is a bad thing, and since the lack of crappy weather in Pittsburgh this winter is a good thing, global warming obviously isn’t causing it.*** That leaves the rampant use of Mobius as the source of these sunny days, and as such, I’ll be doing my part to keep things this way with this week’s deck—which I like to call, “All Snowed In.”

Monsters: 20

3 Mobius the Frost Monarch

1 Exiled Force

2 Cyber Dragon

2 Skilled Dark Magician

1 Sangan

1 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer

1 Magician of Faith

3 Apprentice Magician

2 Old Vindictive Magician

2 Drillroid

1 Injection Fairy Lily

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

Spells: 8

1 Dark Hole

1 Snatch Steal

1 Heavy Storm

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

2 Cold Wave

1 Monster Reincarnation

1 Scapegoat

Traps: 12

3 Anti-Spell Fragrance

3 Sakuretsu Armor

3 Widespread Ruin

1 Magic Cylinder

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Magician’s Circle

What we have here is a deck that combines the special summoning capabilities of Spellcasters with the lockdown properties of Anti-Spell Fragrance and Cold Wave to reduce your opponent to relying only on monster effects and combat to squeeze out any advantage. Of course, Cold Wave and Anti-Spell Fragrance might only cause a slight delay in your opponent’s ability to use spells and traps. That’s why I’m using three copies of Mobius the Frost Monarch to t wipe the field of all those nasty spells and traps before your opponent ever gets a chance to use them.

As always, Mobius is pretty big in its own right. Once you get one out, you’ve got a nice big threat that your opponent is going to have a tough time shutting down without Reinforcement of the Army, Exiled Force, or Smashing Grounds. Traps? Not a problem, because if you have Mobius then you’ve probably just destroyed them. At this point, I think just about everyone knows what Mobius does . . . so allow me to introduce you to the lesser-known cards that are making an appearance this week, which are Cold Wave and Anti-Spell Fragrance.

Anti-Spell Fragrance is a continuous trap that forces both players to set all spells they would want to play and wait until their next turn to activate them. There are a few things you need to remember about this strategy in order to play this deck effectively. First, you can’t chain Anti-Spell Fragrance to an opposing spell and expect your opponent to be forced to set that spell instead of playing it. Anti-Spell Fragrance needs to already be face-up on the field before the opponent would want to play his or her spell in order for him or her to be forced to set it. That means that you’ll have to reveal the Fragrance during your opponent’s draw or standby phase in order to block him or her from playing any non-quick-play spells. The other important point to remember about Anti-Spell Fragrance is that it stops both players from activating the spells they set until their next turn. That means that even if your opponent sets Mystical Space Typhoon or Enemy Controller, he or she can’t activate it in your turn because the Fragrance is forcing him or her to wait until his or her next turn. This restriction also applies to you, so you’ll need to be good at planning ahead as well as thinking on your feet in order to properly carry out your strategy.

The other obscure card I’m using today is Cold Wave. It had a “wave” of popularity back when it first came out in Pharaoh’s Servant, but I highly suspect that at this point most people have forgotten how it works. Cold Wave has to be activated as soon as you enter into your first main phase, and after it resolves, neither player can activate or set spells or traps until your next turn. This card is almost always devastating to someone when it’s activated, but to get the most out of your Cold Wave, you’ll need to keep the following things in mind.

The biggest misconception that people have with Cold Wave is that they can still set spells and traps, as long as they don’t activate them. A quick glance at the card reveals that this is not true, but if you know this and your opponent doesn’t, you stand to generate some serious advantage. This card also forces you to think ahead a couple of turns before you play it, because leaving yourself unprepared for your opponent’s turn can leave you in serious trouble—unless you’ve totally wrecked them with your attacks. Cold Wave is a tricky card, but to play this deck to its full potential, you’ll need to master its use.

Now, let’s look at the deck itself. I’ve heard a lot of complaining recently from people who think that the current Forbidden list takes the skill of the player out of the equation during a duel. I disagree, and to support my point, I offer up this deck. Dueling either with or against this deck forces both players to draw upon their knowledge of the game and the opposing deck in order to determine the best course of action during each turn. Investing too few resources for future turns can lead to a quick defeat at the hands of a swarm of monsters, while investing too many resources can lead to Mobius the Frost Monarch (from either player) wrecking both your strategy and your life points.

As the player of this deck, your ideal opening gambit should be a face down Apprentice Magician or Skilled Dark Magician, along with Anti-Spell Fragrance and another spell or trap, preferably something defensive. At the start of the opponent’s turn, you should immediately reveal Anti-Spell Fragrance to start the chess match. At this point your opponent can either summon Breaker the Magical Warrior or chain to the Fragrance with Mystical Space Typhoon in order to be able to do as he or she pleases. However, the odds are against this, however, and your opponent will probably end up setting a monster and then two spells or traps. If this is the case, you’re in luck and you can enjoy a nice two-for-one at the expense of the spells or traps that your opponent was looking to play in the next turn.

If you attack at this point, there’s a very high chance that you’ll hit either Spirit Reaper or D.D. Assailant. However, you’re going to want to do it anyway. If you hit Spirit Reaper, then that’s great for you—you’ve still got Mobius and you also have Drillroid and Exiled Force to take it out. D. D. Assailant is a problem, as it’s one of the few answers that your opponent might have in his or her monster zone that can take care of Mobius once it hits the field. If this is the case, you’ll have to rely on a defensive trap to take care of the monster that will be inevitably summoned to attack you in the next turn. Assuming that you do so, the field will be clear for a direct attack next turn, and your opponent will be forced to broadcast his or her plans based on how many cards he or she sets against your Anti-Spell Fragrance.

It’s handy at this point to have Cold Wave waiting for the start of your main phase. You won’t have the effect of Mobius to clear out the opponent’s stuff this turn, so the next best thing is to stop him or her from using it and setting anything else for the next turn. If your opponent is hurting for monsters, this is an excellent opportunity to punish him or her for it, especially if he or she only set one card face down. If that one card isn’t Sakuretsu Armor or Widespread Ruin, and your opponent can’t bring out a monster that’s strong enough to beat yours, you’re on the way to a quick win as he or she can’t set anything during his or her turn or even flip that face down card.

Do you see what I mean when I say that playing this deck is like being in a chess match? You have to anticipate what your opponent is going to try to do and prepare accordingly in order to win. As such, I would recommend that if you try to play this deck, do so only after careful study of the decks you think you’ll be facing and a lot of practice time. If you try to take something like this lightly, you’re bound to get burned by something that you weren’t prepared for.

However, as long as you know what you’re doing, you’ll probably have a huge advantage over your opponent in game one. Most players aren’t prepared for this sort of thing, and unless they’re some amazing super player who has seen this deck many times before, they’re probably going to make some costly mistakes. You, however, have no room for mistakes. If you start screwing around, you’re liable to lose the first game regardless of any advantages that you may have. You can also run into the problem of drawing a hand full of nothing but copies of Anti-Spell Fragrance and Cold Wave. This will make you lose, but honestly, it shouldn’t happen if you shuffle properly—so don’t let this unlikely prospect turn you away from a pretty sweet deck.

Opposing Cyber Dragons are also pretty obnoxious, considering that they let your opponent escape the one-card-per-turn prison that you’ve worked so hard to put them in. Cyber Dragon is an ideal monster to use a trap on, especially if that trap is Magic Cylinder. If you’re playing well, you can quickly decimate your opponent’s life points, and Magic Cylinder is an excellent way to seal the deal. Finally, remember that Magician’s Circle is absolutely killer against most decks, so use it if you’ve just got it to add injury to injury. Just remember that you can’t use it while Cold Wave is active.

The next time you feel like it doesn’t matter how good you are at this game, give this deck a shot and put your skills to the test. Until next time, play hard, play fair, and most importantly, have fun!

Jerome McHale

Jcmchale AT Andrew DOT cmu DOT edu

NEXT WEEK: December also heralds the coming of finals for college students everywhere. Are you having difficulty understanding the nature of chemical bonds? Drop by next week as I deliver a crash course in “Chemistry 101.” Who knows? Maybe you’ll learn something.

*And by “charming,” I mean crappy.

**Actually, I didn’t do anything of the sort, but bear with me here.

***This may or may not be true. It remains to be seen.