Invasion of Chaos Draft has been a side event at the Regional tournaments for two months now, and the best of the set for Limited play have come to assume their rightful roles as the rulers of Chaos. Some cards demanded this spot immediately (Chaos Emperor Dragon), while others took the throne in a surprise takeover (D. D. Borderline). The time has come for the best of the best to be crowned.


Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning: The end of the beginning. Black Luster Soldier functions well as both an offensive powerhouse and a piece of monster removal. The person that drafts this card and gets it into play will dominate his or her match. Few cards in the set will stop it once it has begun its assault. It can be countered with the Chaos End spell card, but the odds of an opponent having drafted it and drawn it at the appropriate time aren't good, and he or she would also need to have seven cards removed from play.

Chaos Sorcerer: Working in a similar fashion as Black Luster Soldier, Chaos Sorcerer is a more likely draft pick due to its position as a common. Its effect is disabled by set monsters, which shift Chaos Sorcerer into an attacker. This card can stop some of the burn strategies revolving around Balloon Lizard and Bowganian and the revival ability of Manticore of Darkness.

Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End: The beginning of the end. The luckiest draft pick of all is the card most likely to win the game. Even if its effect is not used, the card still serves as a powerful attacker. Its only weakness will be in its owner's draft—if no Light monsters are drafted, the card will be unplayable. Don't hesitate to draft Ojama Yellow and Ojama Black if you need the Light monsters.

Berserk Gorilla: The beast of offense. Berserk Gorilla is an easy-to-summon, reliable attacker. The monster's drawback is almost a non-issue because of the few surprises that could be lying in wait for it when it's attacking.

Soul Tiger: The Tiger's 2100 DEF can be tough to get around unless the opponent's draft favored him or her with high-ATK, single-tribute monsters or a good monster removal card. Soul Tiger's defensive strength can work as part of a stall strategy, or the Tiger can be used as a reliable tribute, since most monsters in the set will not be able to destroy it. It's weak against Hyper Hammerhead, but even this is of minimal concern, unless your opponent has amassed an army behind it.

D. D. Borderline: It's the ultimate stall card—few cards in the set can do anything to stop it. The card's only main weakness is human error, which is often not an issue. Combined with any good burn strategy, this card can easily win you the game. The only cards with any real chance of stopping it are either rare (Chaos Emperor Dragon and Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness with Cannonball Spear Shellfish) or need to already be in play when the card is played (Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell). This, combined with the fact that it's a common card, makes it a likely card to see in a draft.

Stealth Bird: The card serves purposes in several themes. It works best in a D. D. Borderline stall deck, where its effect can quickly put an end to the duel. It can be used well in decks involving the removal of Light and Dark monsters for the Chaos monsters, which can also take advantage of its effect. As a Winged-Beast monster, it can also mix well into a deck using Manticore of Darkness.

Balloon Lizard: Stalling your way to victory. The 1900 DEF is tough for most monsters in the set to get around, and when it's combined with D. D. Borderline, Balloon Lizard will slowly grow into a source of near-instant victory. Once you have amassed enough counters, you only need to run your Balloon Lizard into a stronger attack position monster of your opponent's to end the game.

Bowganian: Another useful burn card, this one also works quite well with D. D. Borderline. Dealing 600 points of damage during each of your standby phases can finish the duel in seven turns. Bowganian is also a Dark monster, which works well with monsters like Chaos Sorcerer.

Destruction Ring: A quick way to deal 1000 damage. While it will destroy a monster you control, it will also accomplish one fourth of your goal in a Limited duel in a single blow.

Chaos Necromancer: The late-game surprise. Draft enough accompanying monsters, and this card can become a real powerhouse. It will be a bad card to draw in the early game, especially if you find yourself topdecking, but the payoff in the late game is a very strong monster. Seven monsters in your graveyard will give you the best starting point, with 2100 ATK. The ATK value will only continue to grow as monsters are added to your graveyard. The card is ineffective against stall/burn decks.

Compulsory Evacuation Device: Banish that pest from the field. It works well as a counter to tribute summon monsters, Chaos monsters, and the irritating Balloon Lizard. For use against Balloon Lizard, wait until it's nicely loaded with counters, and then return it to the opponent's hand, forcing him or her to begin the process again and lose precious time.

Dark Driceratops: The single-tribute powerhouse with a built in "Fairly Meteor Crush" attack. With 2400 ATK, most monsters you will face in draft will not be able to out-muscle it. Turtling tactics that can often result from card selections in draft will fall hard to this card. It's certainly true that you could run into the wayward Gale Lizard, but in all honesty, few monsters from Invasion of Chaos will offer anything to damage your Dark Driceratops or stop its attacks.

Giga Gagagigo and Terrorking Salmon: Two of the best non-Effect monsters in the set for Limited, they work very well due to their high ATK for a single tribute. They work best in Constructed with A Legendary Ocean, but do not let this stop you from selecting them in a draft. They will easily overpower most monsters in the set.

Ryu Kokki: Another good single-tribute monster, Ryu Kokki also has the added benefit of an effect that works against eleven monster cards in the set. In all honesty, Ryu Kokki out-muscles most of the monsters in the set as it is so the effect is somewhat unnecessary, but it might save you from a Black Luster Soldier a fortunate opponent has drafted.


Until next time . . . when in doubt, discard Kuriboh.


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