Cybernetic Revolution has a completely different theme from those in The Lost Millennium, but the promo card that was given to participants is just as entertaining as the Sneak Preview promo card before it. Duelists who participated in an event at their latest Sneak Preview weekend received the brand-new Embodiment of Apophis promo card. For those of you who watch the television show, you may recognize Embodiment of Apophis as the central card to Odion’s trap deck*. Odion used three copies of this card against Joey during the BattleCity quarterfinals—and he would have defeated Mr. Wheeler, if it wasn’t for the annoyance that is Jinzo. While Embodiment of Apophis has little relation to the mechanical theme of Cybernetic Revolution, it adds another anime-related card to the available card pool, and it’s one of the more entertaining traps that can be used in a casual deck.

The Basic Breakdown

It’s hard to say if I should be considering Embodiment of Apophis as a monster card or as a trap card. Why is that, you may ask? Embodiment of Apophis is one of the most unique cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game because it has a card type of its own—it’s a trap-monster. When Embodiment of Apophis is activated, it becomes a monster card and is special summoned to your monster zone. Yes, that’s right.

Your trap card will be moved to your monster zone, and it will be treated as a Reptile with relatively decent stats. However, even though Embodiment of Apophis is special summoned to your monster zone, it still counts as a spell or trap card. This means that this unique trap-monster will take up one space in both your monster zone and your spell and trap zone.

I’m sure some of you might be wondering what makes Embodiment of Apophis so unique, as a trap card that is a monster card. After all, it’s just a normal monster with slightly above-average ATK and DEF values. Embodiment of Apophis, as a trap monster card, is affected by cards that affect both monsters and traps. This can be either a blessing or a disaster, but it’s the drawback of being able to summon a monster at spell speed two. When it’s activated, Embodiment of Apophis is not only vulnerable to monster removal (such as Lightning Vortex), it’s also vulnerable to spell and trap removal (such as Heavy Storm). This may make Embodiment of Apophis look less appealing, but it’s a fair drawback for a card that summons a monster at spell speed two.

Why am I placing so much emphasis on spell speed two monster summonings? It’s no mystery that the ability to summon a monster at the same speed as Enemy Controller can be very powerful. Call of the Haunted is a spell speed two, special-summoning trap card that is run in nearly every deck. While Embodiment of Apophis isn’t quite as powerful as Call of the Haunted, it can be summoned in case your opponent destroys any monsters that you may have on the field during his or her main phase. This gives you a backup plan in case a horde of monsters are about to attack you directly. Embodiment of Apophis is also a powerful swarm option. It’s a free summon that can act as either a rush device or as a wall, making this trap . . . erm, trap-monster an effective option for casual decks and competitive decks.

If you’re trying to see how this card works in terms of netting you a greater advantage over your opponent, then you’ll have to see how many cards Embodiment of Apophis destroys as a monster before going to the graveyard. Outside of removal through the forms of Breaker the Magical Warrior, the Monarchs, and Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, most cards will end up trading with Embodiment of Apophis. This generally leaves you at a net advantage of zero, which isn’t bad, but it doesn’t actually bring you closer to winning.

However, when Embodiment of Apophis destroys a monster or helps send a card to the graveyard, then it’s providing you with a +1 advantage—unless Apophis is removed by something, like one of the previously mentioned cards. Seeing as how most spell and trap cards are sent to the graveyard after resolution, Embodiment of Apophis can be very appealing. Generally you’ll lose no card advantage whatsoever with this trap-monster, and you may often end up earning a better net advantage over your opponent. This is what most monsters already do. However, as Embodiment of Apophis is a trap-monster card, it has a lot of versatile options over the other monsters in your deck.

Combos and Counters

While there aren’t many combos that are actually available with Embodiment of Apophis, there are plenty of strategies that duelists can use to make effective use of this trap-monster card.

While Embodiment of Apophis makes an excellent addition to many decks, its true strength can easily be found in the Aggro-Earth deck, which is based on swarming the field with as many monsters as possible. The Aggro-Earth deck can also play it safe around Control decks until opponents leave themselves open for a massive attack. At this point, the Earth duelist can swing in for enough damage to end the duel. Embodiment of Apophis assists the swarming strategy, and can be a much more consistent replacement for cards like Gigantes.

If you’re looking to use Embodiment of Apophis specifically as a method of swarming the field, then it’s great when combined with Dust Tornado. Many veteran duelists know how powerful Dust Tornado can be, due to both of its effects. Instead of risking Embodiment of Apophis by setting it during your turn, you can set Dust Tornado instead. Your opponent can go through the rest of the turn normally, summoning cards and setting traps.

During your opponent’s end phase, activate Dust Tornado to take out any looming threats that your opponent just set face-down before he or she has the chance to activate them. After you destroy one of your opponent’s cards, you can use Dust Tornado’s second effect to set Embodiment of Apophis face-down during your opponent’s end phase. Once your turn rolls around, your Embodiment of Apophis will be considered set face-down for a full turn, allowing you to activate the trap card during your main phase. This gives you a safe and solid method of summoning Embodiment of Apophis to your field, without risking its safety to your opponent’s spell speed one spell and trap destruction.

The counters to Embodiment of Apophis are pretty easy to point out. Anything that can halt the effect of Embodiment of Apophis without netting its user any card advantage or trade-off are your best solutions. These cards include Jinzo, Royal Decree, Breaker the Magical Warrior, and Mobius the Frost Monarch, among many others. Your options aren’t that limited at all, but it’s up to you to decide when to use these options if you’re staring down Embodiment of Apophis as a potential threat.

Final Thoughts

Cards that come from the television show are great. Not only do they add new competitive options for duelists all over the country, they’re also sought-after and enjoyed by collectors and by fans of the animated series. Embodiment of Apophis is an example of one such perfect card. Not only is this trap-monster an interesting and potentially amazing choice as a competitive card, but it’s a card from the cartoon, and is something that fans of the show would love to play with as well. In fact, every promo card that has been released at a Sneak Preview event has fit the category of “perfect card.” Don’t expect this trend to end during the next Sneak Preview weekend when Elemental Energy comes to American shores in November. Casual fans will shout with glee when the card is released. Competitive players will groan, due to how annoying this card can be. Find out why in just a few months!

If you have any questions or comments regarding this article or previous articles, please email me at Mrosenberg at Metagame dot com.

*For those of you who don’t remember Odion, he was an abandoned child who was taken in by the mother of Marik Ishtar. He became one of Marik’s most important friends, and he served for Marik throughout his darker days as the leader of the thief network known as the Rare Hunters.