Why does special summoning (at least when your opponent does it) get you down? The few actions that are limited to once-per-turn are usually quite valuable. The “one normal summon per turn” rule tends to shape the general tempo of a duel, limiting the amount of damage and field development a player can accomplish. Any effect that lets you special summon breaks that rule, and can get you an edge. Special summons accelerate tempo, create swings in momentum, and most importantly, can inflict big damage. Simply put, they help win games, which makes them some of the most feared cards in a given format. Thousand-Eyes Restrict and Scapegoat? Both special summons. Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning and Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End? Special summons! Chaos Sorcerer defined the last format, and Cyber Dragon often defines this one. Cut your opponent off from special summoning and the advantage is significant.

Both of the cards I’ll be previewing block special summons, and I’m going to start off with a card that looks a little bit familiar. It’s a counter-trap that is rather specialized, but what it does, it does well! Let’s take a look at:

Black Horn of Heaven

Negate the special summon of an opponent’s monster and destroy it.

Name remind you of anything? Good! This card works very much like the older Horn of Heaven, but without that annoying cost. How about that? You can negate a special summon and send the monster packing, without having to tribute anything from your side of the field. It’s a counter-trap as well, which makes it spell speed 3.

Stated that simply, it sounds too good to be true, so bear in mind that the same guidelines that dictate what can and can’t be stopped by the original Horn of Heaven apply to this card as well. You can refresh your knowledge of Horn of Heaven by reading over the single card FAQ, but if you want a quick litmus test for what it will or won’t do, ask yourself the following question.

Does this special summon involve the activation of an effect?

It can be a spell card effect, a trap card effect, or a monster’s effect. If it does, like the activation of Premature Burial on the field or the activation of Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys’s effect in the graveyard, then Black Horn of Heaven can’t negate it.

If, however, the special summon you wish to negate simply involves a monster moving from your hand or deck to the field for free (via an effect that is simply “there,” like Cyber Dragon’s or Gilasaurus’s) Black Horn of Heaven can negate its summoning and blast it straight into the graveyard. That means you can shut down cards like Gilasaurus, Dark Necrofear, or the elemental spirits like Fenrir, Silpheed, and Gigantes. All of those cards have seen increased play in the current Advanced format (especially Gigantes), but the main attraction here is the opportunity to put an end to his shiny highness, Cyber Dragon. Black Horn of Heaven punts the Dragon into the graveyard when your opponent tries to bring it out, helping ensure that you keep the field control you’ve worked towards. It’s no secret that Cyber Dragon is one of the best comeback cards in the format, and Black Horn of Heaven offers you a simple card-for-card trade that lets you say “no Dragon please” and move on with the duel.

“Hey!” you might be thinking. “I can already do that with Bottomless!” And you’re right. Bottomless Trap Hole can offer the same type of trade, and take out a lot more monsters. But Bottomless Trap Hole is spell speed 2, remember? Because Black Horn of Heaven is a counter-trap, it can’t be chained to with anything other than another spell speed 3 effect. And those, my friend, are other counter-traps. Since Enemy Controller isn’t getting any less popular, you run the risk of having your Bottomless Trap Hole stymied on the chain. If the opponent special summons Cyber Dragon and you flip Bottomless, the opponent can chain to tribute his or her Dragon for Controller and grab your biggest monster. If the opponent nabbed a Monarch or something of equal size, you’re either losing a monster, a lot of life points, or at the very least, your monster and a removal trap. If he or she took D. D. Assailant, Newdoria, or D. D. Warrior Lady you’re in even more trouble, and if the opponent has something to tribute summon in hand, you’re losing your monster for good. Bah!

You run the same risk with Dark Necrofear and Deck Devastation Virus,

Gigantes and Spiritual Earth Art - Kurogane, Fenrir and Spiritual Water Art - Aoi, and . . . well, you get the picture. Bless that spell speed 3! None of those cards can be chained to Black Horn of Heaven. They’re total non-issues, because you’re escalating the speed of the current chain.

If you’re a Traditional player (I know there are some of you out there reading this), then this card is even more important. Black Horn of Heaven will negate a monster’s summon before that monster’s controller can make use of priority to activate an effect. That means Black Luster Soldier and Chaos Sorcerer won’t ever get to remove a monster, and Chaos Emperor Dragon won’t get a chance to blow up the world and everything in it. If we’d had this card four months ago, the last format might have been very different. I’ll give you a few moments to fantasize about it.

Ready to move on? OK. To focus on the current Advanced format, the deck that will definitely get a boost from this card is Counter Fairy. Though possessing a toolbox of counter-trap answers to just about any threat, Bountiful Artemis and her friends still lacked a good answer for Cyber Dragon. Aggressive builds of the deck are exceptionally good at keeping the opponent from having any sort of field presence—Banisher of the Radiance can keep recruiters and Treeborn Frog from claiming their effects, while Freed the Brave Wanderer wanders in bravely, destroying anything big that might stick around. Forced Back bounces monsters away and is especially good against Monarchs since it will negate their effects, but the one card it can’t deal with is Cyber Dragon. That’s a problem, because if you’re trying to keep your opponent off the board, watching him or her plunk down a free 2100 ATK beatstick that doubles as Jinzo tribute fodder is not encouraging. Previously, the deck’s best answer to Cyber Dragon was to a) take the beating it might hand out and then b) send out Freed the Brave Wanderer the next turn to try and destroy it. If the opponent had Book of Moon ready to chain, then Freed would have to try to clear that Dragon out in battle, which could be a risky proposition. The other option was to negate Cyber Dragon with Solemn Judgment—effective, but costly.

Black Horn of Heaven changes that. It offers this underrated deck a solid solution to its one big problem monster. Go ahead and negate the special summon and draw a card with Artemis while you do! It’s simple and effective, and it’s not as if running a pair of Black Horns is going to leave you with dead cards. I don’t know what people are playing where you are, but everywhere I go they seem to like Cyber Dragon cards by the threes, and because of the Dragon’s special summoning requirements, it’s pretty easy to see when the opponent might bring it out. Is his or her field clear of monsters? Do you control a monster? Set the Horn. If the opponent busts out a Cyber Dragon you’ll be ready, and if he or she doesn’t, you’ll probably continue the game in your controlling position. There’s always some sort of powerful, self-powered special summon out there, so Black Horn of Heaven always has a use.