You know, I’ll go ahead and admit it—the first time I saw Security Orb, another of the world-debut TCG exclusive cards in Gladiator’s Assault, I wasn’t impressed. I had thoughts like, “Ultra rare? I’m gonna be so annoyed if I pull that instead of Enishi,” and, “Didn’t they downgrade the rarity of Mirror Gate in Tactical Evolution?” I went down a checklist in my head and came up with about half a dozen monster control traps I’d rather play before I’d even consider running this one.

It took me a couple weeks to see how wrong I was. This card actually does some really cool stuff, and like most of the TCG-only material, it’s totally unique. Here’s a little recap of Security Orb’s effect:

Trap                                                  

Activate only when your opponent’s monster declares an attack. Change the battle position of that monster. When this face-down card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by the effect of a Spell or Trap Card your opponent controls, destroy 1 monster on the field.

Its first effect is a lot like Enemy Controller, but since Controller is a quick-play spell (while Security Orb is a trap that can only be activated when your opponent attacks), you’re giving up a lot of the Controller’s versatility. In return, you gain a second effect that smacks of Dark Coffin. Taken at face value, neither of these effects is enough to match similar options like Sakuretsu Armor or Widespread Ruin, but together, they create a card that’s more than the sum of its parts. Security Orb does a lot of unique things, the first of which is teching some major matchups.

Dust Tornado Just Got a Lot Worse

For years, the classic move of activating Dust Tornado or Mystical Space Typhoon in the opponent’s end phase has been a hallmark of the skilled duelist. Eliminating a freshly-set trap before it can be activated (and doing so at a time when the opponent can no longer set another card to protect him- or herself) has been a game-winning move since the early days of dueling.

But Security Orb’s second effect doesn’t require you to activate it—it’s essentially a trigger effect, so it’s not restricted by the “you can’t flip traps the turn you set them” rule. If you set Security Orb and end your turn, and your opponent tries to be clever by flipping Mystical Space Typhoon or Dust Tornado, he or she is going to lose the card and a monster to your Security Orb, a trade that leaves the opponent a card and a normal summon behind. This play works simply because very few people are actually running Security Orb right now—you can virtually guarantee that if your opponent has a chance at an end-phase Tornado or Typhoon, he or she is going to take it, and that gives you a big advantage.

Decks that depend on Dust Tornado for added removal in order to clear the way for their attacks are really hurt by Security Orb. Sure, most skilled players will activate spell and trap removal before they start summoning, but decks like Zombies almost always have at least one monster on the table—it’s just a side effect of their strategy. While no major archetypes are main-decking Dust Tornado as reliably as Zombies are right now, we all know that a lot of people splash Hydrogeddon, Dust Tornado, and other aggressive stuff into just about anything. Security Orb punishes one of the format’s three big decks right now, and it also protects you from a frequent personal preference pick that we see a lot.

Speaking of Hydrogeddon . . .

Just about any deck that profits from Enemy Controller and uses it to set up punishing plays can use Security Orb instead. Hydrogeddon is the big pick for this, as Security Orb can defend it or you from a Monarch and then expose that Monarch to an attack, letting you special summon another Hydro. It also works with similar cards like Sage of Silence, Sage of Stillness, and even Aquarian Alessa—it’s an important card for anyone beating their head against a wall trying to get the latter to work.

It Doesn’t Target                

As small of a factor as this may be, Cyber Phoenix does still see play, and while it’ll stop Sakuretsu Armor, it can’t protect itself (or any other Machine-types) from being blocked by Security Orb.

Speaking of owning Machine-types, Security Orb does a number on Jinzo with its second effect. Sure, some players won’t bother activating spell and trap removal when they have Jinzo on the field, but many will, especially if you’ve set multiple cards. After all, you can’t chain your trap cards, right? It’s easy pickings.

Wrong! Security Orb’s second effect is worded exactly like Dark Coffin, and it works the same way. Since its effect triggers in the graveyard, not on the field, Jinzo can’t do anything to stop it. You can still destroy a monster with the Orb, and you can even take out the trap-proof android himself. Kinda cool, huh?   

Sets Up Big, Ambiguous, Dumb-Looking Plays!   

One of the cool things about Security Orb is that it punishes good plays traditionally considered to be skillful (like the end phase Tornado or Typhoon) while actually bolstering stuff that looks terrible. For instance, if my opponent had two monsters out and I set three cards to my back row, I would normally look like a desperate, inexperienced player. However, if those three cards were two copies of Security Orb and, say, something like Call of the Haunted with Card Trooper or Sangan as a target, my horrible-looking move is actually a very good one. Heavy Storm in this case will result in my opponent losing three cards (Storm and his or her two monsters, courtesy of Security Orb’s second effect), while I lose three and then claim one from my deck thanks to Call. Again, this kind of ambiguity is easy to set up strictly because no one is thinking, “I wonder if he has Security Orb.”

In fact, the most important thing about Security Orb’s second effect may be the ramifications it has for Orb’s utility. Think about it: if you have a set Sakuretsu Armor or Widespread and you draw a second piece of defensive monster removal, are you going to set it? Probably not. Conventional wisdom says that setting a second redundant card is just exposing yourself to Heavy Storm, and will only be profitable if your opponent summons a second monster to try and press through an attack. He or she probably won’t since you’ve now set two cards. While that latter point has value in and of itself, it’s rather unreliable since some opponents will press anyway, and the threat of Heavy Storm looms over you.

That’s not true in the case of the Orb, though. If you draw another copy while you have one set, or even draw one while you have Mirror Force or another trap down, you can set the Orb and fear nothing short of Mobius the Frost Monarch. And yeah, the astute amongst you probably noticed that nobody is playing Mobius right now. Security Orb is going to be a live card more often than any other defensive trap, and that’s pretty cool.

All in all, I think two major strategies can benefit from playing main-decked copies of Security Orb. Gadgets are already packing a ton of removal traps, but can often falter when faced with Dust Tornado: it lets the opponent get a couple of attacks in that he or she normally wouldn’t be able to make, giving the opponent a foothold in the duel and letting him or her build momentum. A skilled read and a well-timed Security Orb will eliminate that problem. The Gadgets are big enough to take down most monsters turned to defense mode on the following turn anyway. If you’re playing a Hydrogeddon Gadget variant, then you’ll like it even more, since you can send Hydro to go and exploit a weak monster you turned to defense mode.

Burn decks will also like Security Orb, especially in game 1 when the opponent won’t see it coming. Lots of players will blindly activate removal to target a burn duelist’s face-down cards, hoping to flush out copies of Dark Bribe and Solemn Judgment before making more significant plays, or aiming to eliminate Dimension Wall. The great thing for the burn duelist is that everyone and their mother stacks monster after monster onto the field when they play against burn. They have to in order to ensure that they can take a win when they activate Heavy Storm. However, when they do, Security Orb can take out important members of their amassed horde, crushing their chance at victory and giving the burn player time to recover.

Though Security Orb may be underwhelming at first glance, there’s a lot more going on here than you might suspect. I really wouldn’t be surprised if it gets a few duelists into Day 2 at future Shonen Jumps simply because no one is expecting it. If it does, then we’re going to have to rethink a lot of what has come to be considered common knowledge.