Bill: Hmm . . . Freed the Brave Wanderer and Chaosrider Gustaph. I guess they aren’t bad. I prefer my Berserk Gorillas, but whatever.
Tom: I don’t like either. Where’s the hand destruction effect? Where’s the skipped draw phase? Why can’t a new Pharaonic Guardian be released?!
Rob: Why don’t you guys shut up and try them out? Ugh . . .
Bill: Something . . . not 1900 ATK? Sure, I’ll try them out in a deck.
Tom: Count me out. These cards aren’t seen in tournaments, so why should I bother using them?
Bill: Hmm . . . let’s see. The two monsters combined have monster removal and ATK boosting. These might not be so bad after all!
Invasion of Chaos, similar to Labyrinth of Nightmare, introduced a new collection of cards that rely on the removed from game (RFG) pile. Normally, duelists considered the RFG pile to be where all useless cards would go. In fact, the RFG pile has been the true afterlife of all cards in any card game. However, the masterminds behind the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG added an interesting twist to the game’s mechanics, which actually included the RFG pile to be used throughout the duel. The game mechanic is an interesting one, and it can be tough to play against.
Last time, I explained the effects of Strike Ninja and D. D. Scout Plane. Both monsters are involved with the RFG pile, and both can prove very useful. Today, two more monsters will be covered that involve removing cards from play. Freed the Brave Wanderer, the younger version of Freed the Matchless General, has the ability to strike down looming evil with his effect. Chaosrider Gustaph adds great power to his attacks through the removal of spell cards. Both have decent effects already and can be combined with some nasty cards that will help you leave many duels triumphant.
The Cards’ Breakdown
Freed the Brave Wanderer is a 1700 ATK Light Warrior. It doesn’t have 1900 ATK, but its ATK is high enough to punch through many of the popular monsters used in tournaments, such as Don Zaloog, Breaker the Magical Warrior, and Tribe-Infecting Virus. Its effect can also prove useful in a common situation: your opponent brought your field down to no monsters, and he or she has some massive attackers out on the field. At the cost of removing two Light monsters from your graveyard from play, Freed the Brave Wanderer can destroy a monster that has a higher ATK than Freed itself. Monsters like Jinzo, Airknight Parshath, or even Black Luster Soldier- Envoy of the Beginning can easily be overcome with this effect. Of course, continuous usage of this effect requires you to run a good number of Light monsters along with Freed the Brave Wanderer. This isn’t too hard with some D. D. Warrior Ladies and some Shining Angels.
Chaosrider Gustaph is also a Warrior, but is a Wind-attribute monster. Its ATK begins at 1400, which is quite possibly the worst ATK you can have in a tournament. That strength can only destroy monsters like Witch of the Black Forest and Sangan, and it can be destroyed by something like Don Zaloog. Even worse, the opponent can use monsters like Mystic Tomato to kamikaze into Chaosrider Gustaph, allowing him or her to not only destroy your monster, but to summon another monster in its place.
Fortunately for you, that will rarely happen when you summon Chaosrider Gustaph. Similar to Bazoo the Soul Eater, this monster gets a 300 ATK increase for every spell card it removes. As an advantage over Bazoo the Soul Eater, this card only removes spells, where Bazoo removes monsters. This can be more advantageous to you if the effect of a Fiber Jar goes off or if you don’t run any Magicians of Faith—you most likely won’t be using those spells again. The downside is that Chaosrider Gustaph can only remove two spells per turn, making it a possible 2000 ATK Warrior. That’s pretty good, but Bazoo the Soul Eater can remove up to three monsters, making it a possible 2500 ATK monster. However, Chaosrider Gustaph can fit into other decks and can be easier to summon. Its ATK is low enough to let Sangan or Flying Kamikiri #1 special summon it, but it can become as strong as a Berserk Gorilla.
The Cards in the Metagame
Freed the Brave Wanderer and Chaosrider Gustaph are greatly respected and loved across the country. Duelists use them everywhere, believing that the exalted Freed is much better to use than Magical Scientist. Expert duelists look at Yata-Garasu and sneeze on the card. However, when they come across the godly Chaosrider Gustaph, they bow down to the amazing monster card . . .
. . . Okay, I’m lying through my teeth here. Both cards aren’t popular at common regional tournaments. In fact, I’ve never even seen Freed the Brave Wanderer used in any local or regional tournament. I’ve seen few people actually acknowledge both Chaosrider Gustaph and Freed the Brave Wanderer as good cards. Many will merely shrug off the effects of the two. This is mainly due to fear of lacking targets for cards such as Monster Reborn and Magician of Faith. However, another fear of using these effects is due to Fiber Jar.
How to Use or Counter These Cards
Before I go into detail on some combos with Freed the Brave Wanderer and Chaosrider Gustaph, I’d like to make note of something that applies both cards. Do not overuse these effects if you know your opponent is running Fiber Jar unless you know what to remove. If you remove key cards or power cards in your deck, such as Raigeki, Pot of Greed, Black Luster Soldier- Envoy of the Beginning, and so on, you’re going to cripple yourself if your opponent activates Fiber Jar’s effect. Be sure to remove cards you know won’t make or break the duel for you, such as Mystical Space Typhoon or Shining Angel. Not only will this keep your deck relatively thin when Fiber Jar is activated, but these cards aren’t necessary for you to turn a duel around. Mystical Space Typhoon might be useful, but it’s rarely going to cause you to lose a duel if you don’t have it. Mirage of Nightmare is another good choice for removal if you ended up removing a Mystical Space Typhoon. Shining Angels are meant to thin your deck anyway, so they’re good candidates for Freed the Brave Wanderer. Remember that removing cards from your graveyard can help you win a duel, but doing so can turn the duel against you as well. Use these effects with caution.
Freed the Brave Wanderer has very few combos to use with its effect. The main one is to use Shining Angel, which is practically useless once its effect has been used and it is sent to the graveyard. Freed the Brave Wanderer will be able to make use of the Angel’s Light attribute. The one major advantage Freed has is its average 1700 ATK, which is lower than most monsters used in a standard tournament environment. It’s just enough to destroy monsters like Breaker the Magical Warrior, and its effect will be able to destroy monsters like Jinzo and Berserk Gorilla, as stated earlier.
Chaosrider Gustaph’s spell removal effect is actually a little more useful with many cards in the Invasion of Chaos set. Removal of your sub-par spell cards gives you an advantage once Fiber Jar is flipped. This thins your deck in case of the effect of Fiber Jar being activated, giving you a greater chance at drawing needed cards, such as Raigeki and Imperial Order. Chaosrider Gustaph also works well with an annoying stall card in Invasion of Chaos known as D. D. Borderline. By using Gustaph along with D. D. Borderline, you’ll be keeping your opponent from attacking. Even if your opponent destroys D. D. Borderline, he or she will need a monster such as Jinzo or Goblin Attack Force to punch through Chaosrider Gustaph’s 2000 ATK without losing any other cards. Berserk Gorilla’s only going to be a kamikaze against Gustaph, and equipping monsters with cards like United We Stand can be an unstable strategy if your opponent has any removal ready. The best option against Chaosrider Gustaph in this situation is to take control of it via Change of Heart or Snatch Steal, where you can also use its power-up effect. Chaos End is another good choice to go along with Chaosrider Gustaph. If you’ve removed about four or five spell cards during the duel, removing a few traps or monsters won’t be too hard to accomplish. Once you reach the minimum removal requirement of seven, your Chaos End becomes a common Dark Hole, which can be very threatening with two or three in your deck. The best part about Chaos End is that if you’re drawing them too early, you can use them for discarding through Graceful Charity and Tribe-Infecting Virus, leaving them as sacrificial bait for Chaosrider Gustaph.
The strongest way to counter these monsters is with Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, which completely shuts down their removal effects. Cards like Soul Release will also remove all possible cards for Freed and Gustaph’s effects. Other than that, typical monster removal and Fiber Jar should be good enough to keep the use of Freed and Gustaph down.
Are These Cards Overrated or Underrated?
Both Freed the Brave Wanderer and Chaosrider Gustaph are underrated. They aren’t the best cards to be chosen for any deck, and both of them require some dedication to the removal theme (Freed needs a dedication to the Light attribute for true effectiveness). They’re definitely worth a try in a fun deck, and perhaps in a tournament deck.
Well, two simple cards have been covered. Next time, I’ll be covering the beautiful but deadly Amazoness warriors, as a special request from Mark Wolanski. Thanks for the suggestion, Mark!
As always, got some questions, comments, or suggestions? Direct them to my email at Mrosenberg@metagame.com.