“I only wanted to believe. I no longer have that luxury.”
The Alien invasion of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is ongoing. They joined up with the Reptiles and took arms in their own special ways, abducting enemy monsters and weakening the strength of opposing monsters in battle. Over the past few expansions, they have received a continuous supply of tools to add to their decks, and sometimes, these tools lead to a bit of confusion.
This week we examine the Alien monsters.
It Came from Outer Space
Cosmic Horror Gangi’el is not itself an Alien monster because it does not have “Alien” in its card name. Despite this little technicality, it definitely earns a place on the team.
“If you’re Tributing a monster on your side of the field that is owned by your opponent, this card can be Normal Summoned with 1 Tribute. Once per turn, you can place 1 A-Counter on a monster on your opponent's side of the field. (If a monster with an A-Counter battles an “Alien” monster, it loses 300 ATK and DEF for each A-Counter during damage calculation only.)”
Cosmic Horror Gangi’el normally requires two tributes for a successful tribute summon, but with its ability, you can get away with only one tribute if you can tribute a monster on your side of the field that your opponent owns. How you accomplish this is entirely up to you, but the Alien monsters have their own cards you can use that serve this purpose. Cards like Snatch Steal, Brain Control, and Creature Swap work well enough. Even a card that revives one of your opponent’s monsters from his or her graveyard and places it onto your side of the field, like Monster Reborn or Autonomous Action Unit, will work. As long as the monster is owned by your opponent and has somehow found its way under your control, it’s a worthwhile tribute.
After you bring Cosmic Horror Gangi’el into play, once per turn, during your main phase, you can activate its ignition effect and place one A-Counter on the target of your choice. What you do from there is up to you, but you are certainly free to use any A-Counter card interactions you may have at your disposal. Just remember that you can’t place the A-Counter on a face-down monster because that is not a legal action.
You could use the A-Counter in conjunction with one of our next cards.
Mommy Dearest
Monsters with A-Counters fear the Alien Mother in all her terrible glory.
“If this card destroys a monster with an A-Counter by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, Special Summon the destroyed monster to your side of the field at the end of the Battle Phase. When this card is removed from the field, all monsters that were Special Summoned by this card's effect are destroyed.”
Anytime Alien Mother destroys a monster with an A-Counter in battle and sends it to the graveyard, that monster will be yours to command at the end of the battle phase. However, there are some restrictions to keep in mind. The monster you destroy in battle has to actually be sent to the graveyard and the Alien Mother needs to survive the battle. This is the same sort of condition Hydrogeddon’s effect is subject to.
The monster you destroy in battle must be able to be legally special summoned from the graveyard. Monsters with special summon restrictions cannot be special summoned by Alien Mother. For example, if she stomps on Dark Ruler Ha Des while he has an A-Counter, he won’t be special summoned because he cannot be special summoned from the graveyard. It probably won’t come up all that often, but it’s a good thing to know.
As the duel progresses, Alien Mother can assemble a small team of monsters, but their careers will be short lived if Alien Mother is somehow removed from the field. When Mother falls, she takes her brood with her. It doesn’t matter how it happens. A tribute, Compulsory Evacuation Device, or a deft blow from a stronger monster will ensure the removal of not only the Alien Mother but also any monster on the field that was special summoned through her effect.
Alien Mother isn’t exactly a pushover, however. Those A-Counters placed on her intended victims make them weaker against her in battle because she is an Alien monster. This ties right into her effect, allowing her to destroy stronger opponents and then assimilate them afterward.
Can you make them chicken dance?
Our final card for the day is Brainwashing Beam. What self-respecting Alien doesn’t have one of these lying about?
“Select 1 monster with at least 1 A-Counter on your opponent’s side of the field and take control of that monster. During each of your End Phases, remove 1 A-Counter from that controlled monster. If all A-Counters are removed from that monster, or that monster is destroyed, destroy this card.”
The basic idea is fairly simple. You pick a monster with at least 1 A-Counter on your opponent’s side of the field and take control of it. While you control it, you can do with it what you want, just as you would when taking a monster with Snatch Steal. Afterwards, during each of your end phases, you remove an A-Counter from that monster until the A-Counters run out, and then you relinquish control of it.
Confusion sets in right around the time someone decides to use Brainwashing Beam on a monster his or her opponent took with Snatch Steal, or some other combination of variables. Oh, how players love to do that! They don’t even need a reason: nothing gives judges wrinkles like a Yu-Gi-Oh! monster square dance.
When dealing with these dilemmas, typically the most recent change of control becomes dominant. If your opponent takes control of your monster with Snatch Steal and you use Brainwashing Beam to reclaim it, Brainwashing Beam will be the dominant card until the A-Counters are exhausted. When the A-Counters are all spent and the Brainwashing Beam is destroyed, Snatch Steal will again become dominant and retake control of the equipped monster.
The Alien invaders aren’t finished yet. Expect the fun to continue in Force of the Breaker. You’ll see how when you attend the Sneak Preview event next weekend! Until next time, send all comments and questions to Curtis@metagame.com