As every deck shifts to the new changes in the Advanced format, players see changes to many old favorites such as Monarch control. Some formats allow for monsters to safely exist on the field, while other formats are so heavily packed with monster removal that relying on a fragile lower level monster can be a dangerous strategy. This current format heavily favors the latter: if you look at the Top 8 decklists of Shonen Jump Championship Seattle, you will notice that nearly every player ran the maximum number of Exiled Force cards between his or her main deck and side deck. The decks that chose not to run Exiled Force were Monarch control decks, and frankly, you have bigger issues to worry about when playing against that kind of deck, since they also have access to cards like Brain Control (which is effectively removal in the Monarch decks) and Old Vindictive Magician.

To be blunt, monsters aren’t exactly safe right now. The current Advanced format has taken a few lessons from the Advanced format from one year ago, where players ran up to three copies each of Sakuretsu Armor and Widespread Ruin, two copies of Exiled Force with their two Reinforcement of the Army cards, and perhaps even some Smashing Grounds or Bottomless Trap Holes. Players don’t like monsters in this format. The card that can take the most credit for prohibiting strategies centered around or powered by a single monster is Exiled Force. While Sakuretsu Armor and similar cards require monsters to be face up to destroy them (often with additional restrictions beyond that), Exiled Force can simply destroy anything. That makes it very hard to play around.

Many duelists should be familiar with Exiled Force, since it has been a part of this game for well over three years now. Exiled Force is recognized as one of the most powerful Warriors to search for with Reinforcement of the Army because of its raw monster destruction power. Since the introduction of the new Advanced format, Exiled Force has also been changed from Limited (one per deck) to Semi-Limited (two per deck). What does this mean for tournament players? And what does Exiled Force do to the format in general, when its popularity places it in almost all of the Top 8 decks from the last Shonen Jump Championship?

Exiled Force, as I mentioned, is a form of monster removal built into a monster that can attack. This gives it versatility in destroying monsters, and it can also attack in order to help win you the game. The removal effect of Exiled Force is also incredibly powerful, since it can destroy practically any monster with its effect: face up, face down, it doesn’t matter. When you consider that a deck can have two copies of Reinforcement of the Army and two copies of Exiled Force right now, you’ll realize that most monsters are not safe until you can bait your opponent into using both of his or her Exiled Force cards.

That brings me to today’s points: how do you best use Exiled Force, and how do you best deal with monster removal on its level? As Jason mentioned in his last “Trends ’N’ Tactics” article, players have been making a common misplay of simply using their Exiled Force to destroy any face-down monster. The problem with this play is that you might destroy a monster like Sangan or Treeborn Frog. Unless you intend to simply push for damage with monsters you already have out, this play often backfires, since destroying a Sangan with your Exiled Force costs you a card and your normal summon (and hence, some tempo). This means that, unless you have information on what is in your opponent’s hand, tributing Exiled Force to destroy a face-down monster can be very, very risky.

While there are plenty of deadly face-down threats that can be destroyed by Exiled Force (such as Apprentice Magician), a good player can simply attack into the face-down monster anyway. If the attack goes through (which it typically will, since someone will very rarely activate Sakuretsu Armor to stop his or her Apprentice Magician from being destroyed through battle), then you can summon Exiled Force in main phase two to clear away whatever the opponent searched out with his or her little Spellcaster. This gets rid of one of the Apprentice Magician cards in the opponent’s deck and an annoying flip effect monster.

What does the Exiled Force user lose by committing to this play? If that monster is a Sangan or a Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive, then the opponent gets to replace the card he or she lost, but will be down tempo since the opponent’s actions taken last turn would be nullified. If the monster that the Exiled Force player destroyed through battle was Treeborn Frog, then the opponent is still going to be hurting even if he or she has a Monarch to summon and no spell or trap cards on his or her side of the field. The difference is that you’ll at least have an answer to the impending Monarch with your Exiled Force. The point is that saving your Exiled Force for the right time to use it is crucial if you want to do well at a high-level tournament such as a Shonen Jump Championship. Knowing how to recognize what your opponent may be playing and when to tribute off Exiled Force takes practice to learn, but the payout is high if you pick up on these strategies.

Now, perhaps you’re annoyed at the sight of two Exiled Force cards. If you’re playing a standard deck from the Seattle decklists or a Monarch deck, then there’s not a lot I can tell you other than, “I hope you set a Treeborn Frog when the opponent doesn’t have a Nobleman of Crossout.” That is about the only way you can deal with Exiled Force at least once, though to be blunt, you still have 2400 ATK tribute monsters that can swing a game into your favor the moment they are summoned. I wouldn’t worry about Exiled Force that much.

However, if you really want to play against what everybody else is playing, I would recommend looking back to a deck similar to this from an earlier article of mine. That stasis/control burn deck may fare decently in this format, as long as you run a full set of Compulsory Evacuation Device cards. On the subject of Compulsory Evacuation Device, that card is incredible if you are just trying to keep your crucial monsters alive, chaining to Exiled Force’s effect. Being able to return your Des Lacooda to your hand in response to something that would destroy it can set you up to draw a lot of cards when your opponent no longer has an answer to it. This strategy is also beneficial right now when most decks are running multiple copies of Sakuretsu Armor, since cards that affect attacking monsters will typically never affect you. It’s like your opponent starts the game with only four cards in hand if he or she draws any cards like Sakuretsu Armor, since their effects are basically blank for the match!

Another option is to just ignore monsters that need to stay on the field when building a deck. Cyberdark Impact released some incredible cards for aggressive burn decks, such as Chain Strike and Accumulated Fortune. The important thing to remember when playing in this Exiled Force-infested environment is that if you intend to rely on a single monster’s power for more than a turn, then you must have a way to protect it from the removal of this environment. Your best strategy is to play something that does not involve attacking to win the game. Just remember that if you think a single monster can win you the game, it is just as vulnerable to Exiled Force if it has to be on your field during the opponent’s turn. Exiled Force is a dangerous monster, and your opponent can always summon one as easily as you can.

On the subject of the chain cards from Cyberdark Impact, I’ll be looking at those for the next few weeks, so be sure to check back and see what gems are in the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG set.