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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: Ha-ha-ha! I’m going to defeat you, Rob, with my mighty Jinzo that’s powered up with a United We Stand!
Rob: Don’t be too sure, Bill. Your overconfidence in your Beatdown deck always gets you in trouble.
Bill: Oh, please, Rob. Your deck is weak and feeble, and you have only a decrepit Skull Servant. It can’t beat my Jinzo, since Jinzo has 3200 ATK.
 Rob: I’m going to summon this Spirit monster, which will flip Jinzo face down. Then I’ll play Nobleman of Crossout on your face-down Jinzo.
Bill: Wha . . .
Rob: I’ll then play Monster Reborn on that Berserk Gorilla of yours and attack with my monsters to win this duel, and the match as well.
Bill: . . .
Rob: Guess my deck’s not so weak, huh?
Tom: Are you just going to sit there and take your loss without words? Where’s your Beatdown spirit?
Bill (softly, and depressed): . . . He crossed it out . . . I have no spirit anymore.
Tom: Geez. You’re hopeless, dude.
It’s not a secret that Chaos is so popular right now in the Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament environment. Around 90 percent of the decks at the Yu-Gi-Oh! National Championships during Origins consisted of Chaos monsters. Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning and Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End completely dominated the competition. Unfortunately, the powerful Chaos monsters overshadow many other potential deck themes and monsters. Fire Princess is easily overpowered by the apocalyptic effect of Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End. Exodia the Forbidden One can be countered by control cards such as Delinquent Duo and Yata-Garasu (although Exodia gained a slight boost with the release of Emissary of the Afterlife in Ancient Sanctuary). Gearfried the Iron Knight and his powerful Butterfly Dagger - Elma are no match for the brute strength of Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning. All decks fall to the power of Chaos.
However, there are a few cards out there that can still compete against Chaos decks. In fact, some of these cards can also aid Chaos (as though there aren’t already enough things that aid Chaos). This particular Spirit monster can be either an ally or a weapon against the Chaos monsters. It can fly, but it’s not a bird, and it doesn’t “peck” at the opponent’s life points (it’s not Yata-Garasu). Believe it or not, there are other Spirit monsters out there in the realm of Yu-Gi-Oh! This Spirit monster’s name is Tsukuyomi, and it’s an expert duelist’s Swiss Army Knife.
 Breaking Down Tsukuyomi
Tsukuyomi’s stats are pretty low for a level 4 monster. Its ATK is only 1100, which isn’t even enough to take out Witch of the Black Forest. Its DEF is 1400, which won’t be enough to stand up against Beatdown monsters, like Berserk Gorilla. With these below-average stats, why would you even consider using this Spirit monster in a deck? Tsukuyomi’s effect, along with its stats, makes the decision pretty simple.
When Tsukuyomi is summoned or flipped face up, its mandatory effect activates. You must flip one monster on the field into face-down defense mode. Suddenly, monsters with much higher ATK than Tsukuyomi are flipped face down, making their DEF values lower than Tsukuyomi’s ATK. This allows Tsukuyomi to destroy many commonly played attacking monsters, or commonly seen monsters with low DEF and powerful effects. This list below is an example of some cards Tsukuyomi can destroy if its effect targets them:
Tribe-Infecting Virus
Breaker the Magical Warrior
Berserk Gorilla
Gemini Elf
Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
Reflect Bounder
Reflect Bounder is the most notable card on that list, followed by Breaker the Magical Warrior and Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer. Reflect Bounder is a powerful monster that actually encourages stalling out your opponent instead of directly damaging him or her. Your opponent will usually be hesitant to destroy Reflect Bounder in battle, as he or she will usually lose almost one-quarter of his or her starting life points. Tsukuyomi solves this problem by flipping Reflect Bounder face-down, which will successfully prevent Reflect Bounder’s effect from going off.
Breaker the Magical Warrior will be summoned at times just to be a standard 1900 ATK monster. Tsukuyomi punishes this foolish play by flipping Breaker face down and destroying it in battle. Even if your opponent manages to prevent Breaker from being destroyed, the spell counter that was once on Breaker is removed once it is flipped face down. Breaker will lose 300 ATK and the chance at destroying one of your spell or trap cards.
If played early in the game, Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer’s effect can rip Chaos decks to shreds. It can also derail other strategies that rely on the graveyard. However, its defense is below average, and Tsukuyomi can easily smash through a face-down Kycoo. As a tool to use with Chaos monsters, flipping Kycoo face down allows you to remove monsters from your graveyard. Kycoo’s effect can then be removed without wasting monster removal or giving up an attack with a Chaos monster this turn.
Tsukuyomi’s DEF is actually perfect for defending against Control deck monsters, like Don Zaloog and Mystic Tomato. Their ATK matches Tsukuyomi’s DEF point for point. Your Tsukuyomi will survive the attack, and the attacking monster will most likely be flipped face down.
Aside from its usefulness against commonly played monsters, Tsukuyomi also acts as both an offensive and defensive tool against your opponent when combined with a variety of spell cards and monsters of your own. I’ll get into that later.
Tsukuyomi in the Metagame
As with many underrated cards, Tsukuyomi is hardly seen in tournaments. There were duelists who mentioned seeing the card in tournament play at Yu-Gi-Oh! Nationals 2004. This rumor is unconfirmed, and even if this was the case, it’s evident and unfortunate that the decks using Tsukuyomi didn’t make it far amid the sea of Chaos decks that were seen at Nationals.
One important thing to note about Tsukuyomi’s appearance in the tournament environment is that it was in Chan Wan Hang’s side deck during Worlds 2004. Hang was Hong Kong’s champion for 2004, and placed second at Worlds 2004. While there was no sign of Hang actually using Tsukuyomi in his final duel, he had used it in Hong Kong during one of his last matches, which may have been the finals in Hong Kong. Yes, Tsukuyomi actually appeared in the finals of a tournament at one time, and its appearance in that game was . . . short-lived. It’s a Spirit monster, and it returns to the owner’s hand quickly. The important thing is that Tsukuyomi actually appeared, and that alone spells hope for its future.
Or perhaps it’s just me thinking, “Gosh, golly, gee, it would be neat-o super-duper terrific if Tsukuyomi was played more, so I’ll plug it in the Metagame section of this article.” Seriously, there’s a chance Tsukuyomi may see more play, especially in the Forbidden Card format coming on October 1 of this year. There’s a good chance that a certain bird Spirit monster may be deemed forbidden, so it’s always a smart idea to keep other Spirit monster options in mind.
Countering Tsukuyomi
Normally, I like to cover the combos and uses of a card before covering the counters to a card, but for this week, it’s best to switch these around. Let’s get the counters out of the way, since there are a lot of combos and uses for Tsukuyomi.
 Tsukuyomi’s ATK is just high enough to have Ancient Relic players destroy it with Trap Hole. While on the field, it’s vulnerable to all methods of monster removal, such as Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute. The fact that Tsukuyomi returns to the owner’s hand at the end of the turn makes it even harder to kill off permanently. D. D. Designator, already a counter to Yata-Garasu, can also be used against Tsukuyomi. As long as you can endure Tsukuyomi once to ensure that it’s in your opponent’s hand, you can activate D. D. Designator and declare Tsukuyomi. This will remove the pesky Spirit from play once and for all. The problem is that unlike Yata-Garasu, Tsukuyomi is unrestricted, meaning the opponent can have three or more in a deck.
“The best defense is a great offense” may be a popular quote, but following this maxim against Tsukuyomi is going to have you hanging your head in shame after losing to the spiritual Spellcaster. If you’re playing with high ATK monsters, make sure that they have a relatively decent DEF as well, like Archfiend Soldier does. Any monster with a DEF of 1200 or more should be sufficient to keep Tsukuyomi from destroying it easily.
If you don’t want to jump into an opponent’s trap of using Tsukuyomi combined with his or her spell cards, set up a strong defense with your own spell and trap cards. Standard monster removal and negation should suffice. Your opponent won’t be able to summon Tsukuyomi in attack mode if there’s nothing on the field, as its mandatory effect will flip it into defense position. If your opponent does set Tsukuyomi, be sure to destroy it quickly during your turn. You can deal with its effect one last time if it means at least one Tsukuyomi lands in the graveyard.
Tsukuyomi’s Usage and Combo Potential
The first spell card you want to consider when using Tsukuyomi is Nobleman of Crossout. Tsukuyomi easily makes this into instant removal during your turn, even if your opponent didn’t set his or her monster during his or her turn. Who needs your opponent to play into your hands when you can force the situation into your favor with Tsukuyomi? By summoning Tsukuyomi, you can flip your opponent’s stronger monsters face down, making them prime targets for your Nobleman of Crossout. This is especially useful when you’re up against annoying or extremely powerful monsters, such as Jinzo and Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning. Unless your opponent runs Dimension Fusion, those monsters will, for the most part, be permanently gone from the duel.
Creature Swap is another valuable spell to use with Tsukuyomi. If your opponent runs flip effects or has a D. D. Warrior Lady as his or her only monster, use Tsukuyomi to flip those monsters face down. Activate your Creature Swap, which will give you a monster belonging to your opponent and let you use his or her flip effect monsters against him or her. At the end of that turn, Tsukuyomi will return to your hand, leaving your opponent with one fewer monster and you with a nice field advantage.
Speaking of spell cards that change control of things, Tsukuyomi can minimize Snatch Steal’s drawback. Normally, if Snatch Steal stole one of his or her monsters, your opponent would gain life points during his or her standby phase. The equip spell factor of Snatch Steal also makes it weak to spell removal, which will leave you with a major field disadvantage. If Tsukuyomi flips down a monster you’ve controlled through Snatch Steal, the Snatch Steal that was on the monster will be destroyed. The monster Snatch Steal was targeting is no longer face up, making it an illegal target for equips. Oh, and by the way, you get to keep that monster while it remains on the field. It’s a nasty surprise to throw into your opponent’s face.
Tsukuyomi’s effect is especially useful with your own flip effect monsters. If you have a face-up flip effect monster on your side of the field, or one you just flip summoned in attack mode this turn, you can summon Tsukuyomi to flip that monster into face down defense mode once again. Using this combo with Night Assailant will destroy one of your opponent’s monsters each turn.
 However, this combo is most deadly with the infamous Metal Raiders Spellcaster, Magician of Faith. Once per turn, you’ll have the option of retrieving and using some of the most powerful cards in the game, including Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity, Heavy Storm, and my personal favorite, Sword of Revealing Light. Imagine constantly activating Swordsof Revealing Light to lock down your opponent unless he or she can somehow destroy the spell card or Magician of Faith. This combo can also be useful if you want to remove your opponent’s monsters from play. Once per turn, you can retrieve either a Dark Core or a Nobleman of Crossout, allowing you to remove an opponent’s monster whether it’s face up or face down. This is definitely a powerful and efficient strategy for shutting down Chaos, since it keeps any Light or Dark monsters from getting close to your opponent’s graveyard.
While Tsukuyomi can be used with Mask of Darkness as well, this combo should be used to do something far more annoying than just re-use traps like Mirror Force. Time Seal is already a great trap card that can be chained to the opponent’s Mystical Space Typhoon, and it’s a powerful tool in hand control decks. If your opponent has no cards on the field or in hand, and you flip summon Mask of Darkness to return a Time Seal every turn and then summon Tsukuyomi to flip that Mask of Darkness face down, you can place your opponent into a lock similar to Yata-Garasu. While the lock requires more cards, time, luck, and skill to pull off than merely summoning Yata-Garasu, it can be an effective win condition for control decks in the Forbidden Card format later this year. This can also be referred to as the Tsuku-lock. If you’re looking for cards to use alongside this combo, try Aswan Apparition from Ancient Sanctuary.
I’m sure that there are many more combos that can be pulled off with Tsukuyomi’s effect. This is just a sample of what the Spirit monster can achieve with a little skill and a little help from some other cards.
Is Tsukuyomi Overrated or Underrated?
Tsukuyomi, as a Spirit monster whose name doesn’t start with Y and have an effect involving the draw phase, is a highly underrated card. Its effect goes from basic to incredibly powerful. The effect and the fact that it’s a Spirit give Tsukuyomi limitless possibilities and combos right now, as well as in use with future cards. In fact, I’d be shocked if Tsukuyomi doesn’t increase in playability once the Forbidden Card format begins in October. It will be a real asset to most expert duelists, so you can expect to see Tsukuyomi making it into the Top 8 deck lists of regional events sometime in the near future.
Got some questions, comments, or flames? I’ll be happy to respond to all of them. Send all emails about these articles to Mrosenberg@metagame.com. If you have any new Tsukuyomi combos I left out of this article, be sure to mention them. Or perhaps you have some Tsukuyomi success stories at your local tournaments. If you have something Tsukuyomi-related to mention, go ahead and email it to me. I’ll be happy to include them in future articles!
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