Pharaoh’s Servant (PSV), the fourth Yu-Gi-Oh! set, has brought some interesting new factors to the game. The set features a wide variety of new traps that add variety, as well as new recursion cards, which basically give people two extra copies of Monster Reborn. One of the most notable aspects of Pharaoh’s Servant is that it is the first set to have two secret rares that are commonly used and desired in today’s tournaments. After all, people enjoy hearing, “All right, I pulled a Jinzo!” much more than “Aw rats, I pulled a Serpent Knight Dragon . . .”
Anyway, let’s get started with the analysis.
Time Seal: The commons in Pharaoh’s Servant are hardly notable, but a few stand out from the rest. Time Seal adds to Magic Ruler’s wrath of hand destruction by causing the opponent not to draw during his or her next turn. The effect may seem unimportant, but in fact, it can easily slow down the opponent’s strategy. It’s also chainable off of cards like Mystical Space Typhoon and Heavy Storm, making it more versatile. After activating your second or third Time Seal, your opponent will probably want to strangle you.
Harpie’s Brother: Another beatstick has entered Yu-Gi-Oh! Harpie’s Brother provided the Wind type with its attacking force and provided Harpie decks with a hope of standing up against the common Beatdown decks seen in tournaments. It’s the raw power of level 4 monsters for Pharaoh’s Servant, with the exception of one other monster.
4-Starred Ladybug of Doom: The flip effect of this monster should be very easy to understand. Basically, it rips through generic Beatdown decks with ease. La Jinns, 7 Colored Fishes, Gemini Elves—all of those will fall to this seemingly friendly insect.
DNA Surgery: This trap card is unique. Changing all monsters on the field into a specific type seems like a bizarre effect, but it can be useful. Many cards affect a specific type, for bad or for good, and DNA Surgery allows a duelist to use those cards to their full potential. Insect Barrier, for example, is a good wall when combined with DNA Surgery.
Solemn Wishes: The life point gain from this card can prove useful if it's not destroyed. It’s great for decks that constantly pay out life points, such as Toon decks. However, a special card from Labyrinth of Nightmare makes this card rather deadly. It’s called Fire Princess, and if left alive with this trap, it can eventually burn your opponent’s life down to 0.
Hayabusa Knight: The swift and nimble Hayabusa Knight made weenie rush decks very popular. In combination with Magic Ruler’s many equipment spells, Hayabusa Knight can become a high-attack monster that could wipe the opponent out in one turn if used properly. As with all one-turn kills, though, it's very difficult to pull this off, especially with spell and trap removal being popular. Nevertheless, Hayabusa remains a classic Gravity Bind monster.
Gravity Bind: Speaking of weenie rush, the little monsters relied heavily on this rare trap card. Gravity Bind is a pure nuisance to Beatdown decks, as most of their monsters are level 4 beatsticks. After Pharaoh's Servant was released, the controller of Gravity Bind could build up the strength of his level 3 Hayabusa Knight with equip spells so that it could devastate the opponent. It also provided Exodia decks with a shield against attacks. It’s still one of the key cards in stalling for time.
Mad Sword Beast: Pharaoh’s Servant was the set that introduced the mechanic of damaging the opponent through battle even if the defending monster was in defense mode. Mad Sword Beast was the first monster with this effect built in, and it’s quite a handy effect, too. With a few power-ups, this beast literally rips Nimble Momongas, Magicians of Faith, and Sangans to shreds. It might not stop monster effects, but the damage it can deal is quite good.
The Shallow Grave: This spell is one of the first revival cards outside of Monster Reborn and Spear Cretin. The advantage is that it allows the reuse of flip effects, and the easy summoning and reuse of Witch of the Black Forest and Sangan. However, if your opponent has any monsters—specifically flip effect monsters—this may be very easily turned against you.
Monster Recovery: In the event that your hand, to be blunt, sucks, Monster Recovery can help fix that situation . . . as long as you have a monster on your side of the field. However, this gives you field disadvantage, and you may end up with a bad hand once again. Monster Recovery has its uses with cards such as Serpentine Princess, but other than that, it may be best just to stick with Pot of Greed.
Morphing Jar #2: The one thing Cyber Jar should have taught you is that a card with “Jar” at the end of its name is going to wreak havoc on the field, and Morphing Jar #2 is no exception. It's best used if you have no other monsters on the field, but it can also be used as a one-turn stall. The damage this can do to you and your opponent is quite high, so use it with caution. Of course, this Jar sets up the opponent’s field for a well-timed Nobleman of Crossout.
Nobleman of Crossout: At first, you may think that this is just a basic Tribute to the Doomed or Fissure. However, Crossout proves itself to be far more than that. The chosen facedown monster is removed from play, which stops the effects of cards like Witch, Sangan, and Mystic Tomato. It also shuts down flip effects quite easily, though it may prove risky if you use flip effects, too.
Nobleman of Extermination: As the Crossout for spells and traps, Extermination can prove deadly to everybody. It can easily shut down any Trap Holes, Mirror Forces, or Time Seals, unless the opponent activates a Time Seal first to cause Extermination to lose its target. When this spell loses its designated target, it will go to the graveyard after it tries to resolve. If you can, use Mystical Space Typhoons over this any day.
Magic Drain: Before the release of the Pegasus Starter Deck, Magic Jammer was hard to find. It was an ultra rare from an old set, and it was desired my many people. Pharaoh’s Servant gave people an alternative that, at times, can be more effective than a Jammer. Magic Drain works well in Hand Destruction decks, or when you’re sure the opponent has no spells in hand.
Magical Hats: Pharaoh's Servant provided a new Yugi fan favorite card, Magical Hats. The original Hats seen on the cartoon was a spell card, and it created four hats with one monster hidden inside one of them. The authentic version of this card is now a trap, and it only creates three hats. In fact, one of those hats is your chosen monster, which is placed face down in defense mode, and the other two are two non-monster cards from your deck, which are also placed face down in defense mode. This card is very situational, and many people frown on its use because the cards that came from your deck are destroyed at the end up that battle phase. However, the card can prove to be a blessing, as it searches out any spell or trap in your deck to pretty much discard. It’s great with cards like Magician of Faith, where you can pretty much choose any spell to add to your hand. There’s also Penguin Soldier, if your opponent attacks that. The combo should be seen pretty easily if you think about it.
Fairy Meteor Crush: Meteor Crush is the Mad Sword Beast of spell cards, allowing any monster to gain its ability. If you have a strong beatstick out, such as Summoned Skull, you can equip this spell to it for some unstoppable damage. Add this equip spell to Maha Vailo for some extra fun.
Limiter Removal: Metal Raiders, Magic Ruler, and Pharaoh’s Servant added a variety of average Machine monsters to the game environment. Without any support, they were weak monsters that couldn't be used seriously. Suddenly, the release of Limiter Removal made people think twice about shoving those weak little Machines away. Add a Meteor Crush to one of those Machines, and you can do some serious damage. Add one or two Limiter Removals after that, and you might as well say, “Game Over.”
Dust Tornado: Mystical Space Typhoon adds some good spell and trap removal to many decks. However, some people had problems getting it since it was an ultra rare. Dust Tornado offers those people an alternative in super rare form. It has basically the same effect, except as a trap card.
Backup Soldier: Magic Ruler brought Exodia decks down for the count very easily. The release of Delinquent Duo, Forceful Sentry, and Confiscation was too much for Exodia lovers. However, Pharaoh’s Servant fixed this problem with Backup Soldier. Using alternative methods of putting Exodia limbs into the graveyard, Exodia duelists could activate this card and instantly add three pieces to their hands. Backup Soldier also added support to high defense decks, allowing people to reuse Giant Soldier of Stone, Mystical Elf, and other high-defense monsters.
Mirror Wall: One of Mai’s favored trap cards made its appearance in Pharaoh's Servant. Mirror Wall was an unstoppable force in the cartoon, but it was too broken for the card game. A standby cost was added if someone wanted Mirror Wall to remain active. The cost is quite hefty, even for its effect. Most of the time, you only need one activation for Mirror Wall to turn a duel in your favor. It’s a great way to kill an opponent’s field if you have the monsters to do so.
Gearfried the Iron Knight: Joey’s popular warrior, Gearfried, makes it into Pharaoh’s Servant. Its attack is pretty good for its level, but its effect may hold you back more than your opponent. Sure, your opponent cannot use Snatch Steal on it, but you cannot pump up its attack unless you have quick play spells or continuous spells that do so. With the recent debut of Dark Crisis, many duelists can turn Gearfried’s effect into a one-turn kill that many despise. Let’s just say duelists hate Gearfried, as well as every Butterfly they see, after playing against that combo.
Buster Blader: The mighty dragon slayer, Buster Blader, was the strongest warrior monster of its time. If your opponent ran Dragons, Buster Blader was much stronger than you’d expect—the 500 ATK increase instantly made it stronger than Blue-0Eyes White Dragon. If your opponent had a field full of weenie rushers, you could use Buster Blader to make them pay for overwhelming you with little damage. This warrior adds to the usefulness of DNA Surgery and can easily help turn a duel around.
The Fiend Megacyber: Another mighty warrior was released with Buster Blader. The Fiend Megacyber is a level 6 monster with average attack for its level. It couldn't compete with Summoned Skull, but it still had enough power to take out most level 4 beatsticks. The main reason Megacyber can be so good is its effect, which allows it to be special summoned without any tributes if your opponent has the upper hand on the field. This makes it a great monster for massive rushes against your opponent.
Premature Burial and Call of the Haunted: Before Pharaoh’s Servant, Monster Reborn was the only common recursion card used. This set changed that with an equip spell and continuous trap that have been put into almost every Constructed deck since the set's release. Premature Burial, for a small cost in life, can bring back a monster from your graveyard in attack mode. Call of the Haunted, at the cost of waiting until after the turn it's played, can revive a monster from your graveyard in attack mode. Both encouraged strategies involving targeted use of the graveyard through discarding high-level monsters, but both had the same weakness. If someone were to destroy either one via Mystical Space Typhoon, Heavy Storm, or another card of that type, the equipped monster would be destroyed—a small price to pay, though, for quick and easy recursion.
The Legendary Fisherman: This warrior is the very reason someone would play Umi in a huge tournament. The Legendary Fisherman is an irritating monster, as it’s immune to any spells and attacks while Umi is active. Unfortunately, having the Fisherman as your only monster leaves you open to direct attacks. The level 5 that was given to the Fisherman wasn’t a bad drawback after the release of A Legendary Ocean in Legacy of Darkness.
Thousand-Eyes Restrict: Magic Ruler had Relinquished, the spellcaster with the unique ability. Thousand-Eyes Restrict is the Fusion of Relinquished and the “mighty” Thousand-Eyes Idol. It retains the ability of Relinquished, but it comes with an extra ability that could drive anyone insane. Thousand-Eyes Restrict has a powerful stall ability—while it's on the field, no monster can attack except for Thousand-Eyes Restrict. Monsters can't change their positions, either, meaning that monsters stuck in attack mode would slowly get picked off by Thousand-Eyes Restrict. This mighty Fusion monster is the true king of stalling in Yu-Gi-Oh!
Jinzo: Pharaoh’s Servant contained the first two commonly used secret rares. Jinzo is by far the most popular level 6 monster released to this date. Its attack power is very impressive, only falling short of monsters like Summoned Skull and Dark Ruler Ha Des. Its ability is where Jinzo really shines, as it can easily guide your monsters to a win. Trap cards play an important role in Yu-Gi-Oh!, as they are the last line of defense if you have no monsters. With Jinzo on the field, that last line is negated, and your opponent is left without a hope left. The only downside to Jinzo is that you cannot activate traps either, so if your opponent were to destroy it or use Snatch Steal on it, there wouldn't be much you could do.
Imperial Order: The popularity of Magic Jammer was high until the release of Pharaoh’s Servant. Duelists then noticed Imperial Order, a continuous trap that could act as a free Magic Jammer. In fact, it acted not only as a Magic Jammer, but also as a total spell lockdown until you felt like you wanted to get rid of it. Its payment during the standby phase isn’t hard to keep up, so a player can easily keep it going for four to five turns. This card also made Mystical Space Typhoon more useful than it already was, as it could be activated in response to Imperial Order, destroying the trap before it had a chance to activate its continuous effect. One drawback isn’t bad though, since this trap does so much.
The fourth Yu-Gi-Oh! set made traps very popular. It also added some new deck themes, and it made stall more irritating than anything else. Exodia decks finally recovered from Magic Ruler, and Magic Jammer finally saw a decrease in popularity. Pharaoh’s Servant successfully brought many new aspects to Yu-Gi-Oh!