It’s Getting Cold in Here

Let’s start by taking a look at one of the most underestimated cards in the game, Cold Wave. A common card from the days of Pharaoh’s Servant, it was overlooked while many players were searching for the powerful secret rares available in that set. Cold Wave is a very tricky card to play, since its effect of shutting down spells and traps applies to both players. Of course, if you are crafty enough to put it in your deck, then hopefully you’ll be crafty enough to know how to play around it.

Remember that the only time you are allowed to play Cold Wave is at the very beginning of your main phase 1. If you activate an effect like a spell or trap, or summon a monster, then you have indicated that you are going through the rest of your main phase and therefore cannot activate Cold Wave this turn. Ideally, you should be going first and then, by playing Cold Wave, you will nullify at least half of your opponent’s options on his or her turn.

If you choose to be aggressive, you definitely want to summon a very big monster here, like Goblin Elite Attack Force. If you wish, you can play it “cool” and set a monster like Sangan, Treeborn Frog, or Spirit Reaper and not worry about it getting nailed with Nobleman of Crossout. Hopefully, on subsequent turns, you will be able to tribute that monster for something big and mean, like Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, blow up something, and attack. Of course, if you happen to have another copy of Cold Wave, then go ahead and use it first to ensure that your opponent’s spells and traps will be unable to stop your attack. Don’t be discouraged if you lose some duels in the beginning; just practice using it, and I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with the results.

Non Aggression Equals Max Annoyance

As my esteemed peers on Metagame have pointed out, how a player chooses to utilize the one normal summon or set entitled to him or her can either set up a win, or, if misused, can lead to defeat. The normal summon of a monster is the bread-and-butter tactic in the realm of Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG strategy. Denying your opponents their normal summon is generally bad news for them. It’s even worse news if they can’t special summon or set, which makes Non Aggression Area not only an annoying card, but a deadly one as well.

With all the Cyber Dragon and Chaos Sorcerer cards flying around, it’s not surprising that players on the receiving end become demoralized since they are usually rushed by a flurry of special summons from their opponent. Throw in the fact that many duelists use Call of the Haunted and Premature Burial, and you can see why those deck types do so consistently well: they are able to use the special summon mechanic to their advantage to sweep the field and the win. With Non Aggression Area, we can make the average Chaos player’s life extremely uncomfortable by shutting down his or her ability to special summon anything on the next turn. You should capitalize on this and try to hit your opponent as hard as you can at this point, since chances are that he or she won’t be able to bring out a monster to attack or defend. Feel free to laugh evilly if you like.

Of course, there’s a price to be paid for putting such a nasty restriction on your opponent. You have to discard a card from your hand to activate the effect of Non Aggression Area. It’s okay though. That’s why cards like Thunder Dragon are made. You also have a very limited window of opportunity to activate Non Aggression Area, namely your standby phase. Thoughtful planning is required if you want to use this card successfully. These downsides shouldn’t stop you from trying it out though. The rewards can be extremely satisfying.

Hear Me Roar!

So far we’ve discussed ways to stop your opponents from using their spells and traps, and even how to stop them from summoning (at least for a turn). Now we’ll look at a card that prevents your opponent from attacking. I’m sure you’ve seen it before, since players who favor a lockdown strategy usually employ it in their arsenal. No, it’s not Thunder of Ruler, but that was a good guess.

Threatening Roar is a wonderfully versatile trap that carries no activation cost. In some ways, it’s even superior to Waboku. While Waboku will protect your life points from the attacks of opposing monsters, it will not stop them from actually hitting your monsters and flipping them face up if they happened to be face down. Sometimes, you don’t want them to force flip your Magician of Faith, because you were planning to use that Graceful Charity in your hand twice next turn (yes, I’m one of those players who won’t immediately use Graceful Charity if he gets it in his opening hand). In this instance, Threatening Roar is the card to go with. Your opponent will seethe with frustration at being unable to even declare an attack. Please note that you want to activate this trap before he or she actually declares an attack, because if you activate this in response to an attack, that attack will go through—it has already been declared. So wait for your opponent to announce that he or she is leaving main phase 1, and then announce that you are playing Threatening Roar.

Another wonderfully annoying thing about Threatening Roar is that it can be chained to just about anything. Players summoning Breaker or Mobius usually get very surly when they hit a Threatening Roar that was just chained. This card is also great bait for luring out Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, and even Dust Tornado. If you really want to irritate your opponent to no end, than I strongly recommend that you give it a try.

Well, that wraps up this article. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it. As always, you can email me at baldnbeautifuljudge@yahoo.com if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Take care, and happy dueling!