|
Doomkaiser Dragon
Card# CSOC-EN043
Doomkaiser Dragon's effect isn't just for Zombie World duelists: remember that its effect can swipe copies of Plaguespreader Zombie, too!
Click here for more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
| |
Bill: Okay, Tom. In response to your Heavy Storm, I’ll chain with Scapegoat to special summon a bunch of sheep tokens. Fear my small, furry sheep, because you know you can’t beat them.
Tom: Awesome. Thanks for giving me the victory, Bill! I appreciate it, man. I’ll summon Asura Priest and equip it with Big Bang Shot. That’s 8100 points of damage dealt to your life points after I smack all four of your sheep tokens.
Bill: What? You have got to be kidding me, man! I lost to an equip spell card that nobody plays?
Tom: Don’t feel too badly, Bill. I mean, you could have lost to a Spirit monster that isn’t known as Yata-Garasu . . . oh wait, Asura Priest is a Spirit.
Bill: I’m sorry, but weren’t you just defeated by Mike’s Yamata Dragon deck a few days ago?
Tom: Ouch . . . my pride!
Welcome back to Bill and Tom’s Binder. With the Los Angeles Shonen Jump Championships coming up and the new Advanced format only a few days away, duelists have been testing decks like crazy so they can compete for their very own copies of Cyber-Stein. I’m busy testing decks, too! After all, who can resist a shiny, much-desired card that was released in Japan years ago and wreaks lots of havoc through its combo with a certain high-level Fusion monster and Megamorph?
 Unfortunately, one card that has been irritating me in testing is Scapegoat. It’s easily one of the most abusable quick-play spells in the tournament environment—abusable enough for me to feature cards that punish the sheep tokens and the duelists who summon them. Today’s article will go over the first of three cards that can not only punish the use of Scapegoat, but also have a variety of other uses.
If there is one kind of deck that many Yu-Gi-Oh! veterans look back on, it’s the old Spell Ruler deck that abused cards like Maha Vailo and Axe of Despair. Upon the release of Pharaoh’s Servant, equip-spell decks gained some more valuable weapons. Not only did the decks receive the swift Hayabusa Knight, but they also received the unique equipment spell Fairy Meteor Crush. This equip spell triggers Maha Vailo’s ATK increase and gives the Spellcaster the ability to deal damage to an opponent even when attacking a monster that’s in defense position.
Even though equip-spell decks were put away when card advantage and conservative play became more important, the concept behind Fairy Meteor Crush is still being applied to new cards. Today’s featured equip spell card has the same effect as the Pharaoh’s Servant spell, an ATK-boosting ability, and a drawback that can be turned into a benefit. Today’s card is Big Bang Shot, a unique and powerful rare spell card from the Magician’s Force set.
The Basic Breakdown
The rules for using Big Bang Shot are typical for any equip spell card. The spell can only be equipped to a face-up monster, and if the equipped monster leaves the field or is flipped face down, Big Bang Shot will be destroyed. A monster equipped with the Shot has the same ability that Fairy Meteor Crush offers, plus the monster’s ATK value is boosted by 400 points. However, the Shot’s downside may be difficult to get around—if Big Bang Shot is removed from the field while equipped to a monster, the equipped monster is removed from play. That being said, turning this drawback into a benefit isn’t too difficult, because Big Bang Shot has a variety of uses.
Combos and Counters
When it comes to equip spell cards, the basic rules are pretty self-explanatory. However, combos with equip spells can be a bit complex, and Big Bang Shot can be used in a wide variety of ways.
As of right now, Scapegoat is typically seen in almost every tournament deck. It’s understandable why the quick-play spell is so popular. You can activate the card at any time, and it gives you four small monsters that can be used as tributes for effects or other combos. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sighed when I saw Scapegoat activated, because the card usually disrupts my attack, is used with Metamorphosis to summon Thousand-Eyes Restrict, or is switched to attack position and given to me with Creature Swap. Really, I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me. I’ve lost count!
 Big Bang Shot can easily punish duelists who abuse sheep tokens too much. A player who activates Scapegoat may end up staring down a copy of Masked Sorcerer or Don Zaloog equipped with the power-hitting spell card. Whenever your monster equipped with the Shot smashes through an opponent’s monster, you’ll decrease his or her life points no matter what position the defending monster is in. Plus, the defending monster is removed from the field. With Don Zaloog’s ATK value increased to 1800, you can threaten a variety of popular effect monsters.
Plus, once you’ve inflicted damage, you’ll trigger the abilities of some of your effect monsters. Don Zaloog disrupts your opponent’s hand or destroys your opponent’s deck, and Masked Sorcerer allows you to draw more cards. In fact, a copy of Don Zaloog equipped with Big Bang Shot has the same ATK value and abilities as Mefist the Infernal General, the higher-level, tribute-monster form of Don Zaloog with a built-in Fairy Meteor Crush effect!
Punishing your opponents with disruptive monsters like Don Zaloog is one thing. Punishing opponents who activate Scapegoat by defeating them in one foul swoop is another, and a cruel benefit of running Big Bang Shot. This equip spell is devastating when combined with the underrated Spirit monster known as Asura Priest, a super rare from the Legacy of Darkness booster set. The boost that Big Bang Shot gives to the Fairy Spirit increases its ATK value to 2100. The Priest’s newly gained ability to deal damage while attacking defense-position monsters allows you to slice through all four of your opponent’s sheep tokens. Because sheep tokens have 0 DEF, and Asura Priest can attack all four of them, you can inflict a game-ending 8400 points of damage simply by attacking token monsters with a Spirit!
Big Bang Shot’s drawback may have quite a few players feeling concerned. Losing your monster when the equip spell is removed from the field is an incredibly steep drawback . . . or is it? This so-called drawback can be turned into your opponent’s worst nightmare. There’s no rule that prevents you from equipping an opponent’s monster with Big Bang Shot. If the spell is removed from the field while equipped to an opponent’s monster, you’ll remove a threat and turn the Scapegoat-hating spell into a versatile form of monster removal. Big Bang Shot and Giant Trunade make a great combo against an opponent’s monsters, and Emergency Provisions combos nicely with the Shot as well. Gaining life points and removing an opponent’s monsters is certainly powerful, and these combos give you the ability to control the tempo of the game and the actions of your opponent.
It’s a royal pain to play against and around Big Bang Shot. If an opponent has already given you the “wonderful” opportunity to experience the equip spell’s drawback on one of your monsters with the Giant Trunade combo, you will at least know what to expect. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot you can do. It’s very difficult to plan around an equip spell that acts like Fairy Meteor Crush and gives an ATK boost. However, saving your spell removal may be wise, especially if your opponent equips Big Bang Shot to one of his or her own monsters. You’ll trade one of your removal cards to destroy not only an annoying spell, but also an annoying monster. In terms of card advantage, you’ll be ahead of your opponent with this trick. The trick also shows one of the risks that duelists take by running this versatile spell.
 Another way to protect your monsters is to save quick-play spells and traps that can destroy the Shot until your opponent activates the card. When an opponent targets one of your monsters with Big Bang Shot, you should activate a card like Mystical Space Typhoon. If you destroy Big Bang Shot before it resolves and is equipped to your monster, neither the card’s ATK boost nor its removal drawback will trigger.
Your other option when on the receiving end of the Big Bang Shot removal combo is to have cards like Dimension Fusion or Return from the Different Dimension ready. There isn’t a better way to say “thanks for removing my monsters” than to summon an army with a single card effect. It’s a real blast!
Final Thoughts
Big Bang Shot is easily one of the most underrated equip spells in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. This equip spell not only gives you access to Fairy Meteor Crush’s effect in a Scapegoat-happy environment, but the card also provides you with some efficient monster removal. In the best-case scenario, you’re slicing and dicing sheep tokens with a copy of Asura Priest equipped with Big Bang Shot, or you’re using Giant Trunade and the Shot to remove multiple monsters on your opponent’s side of the field. The worst-case scenarios are that you’re only smashing through sheep tokens with a basic monster, or you’re trading two cards to remove one monster from play. Seeing as how the primary purpose of Big Bang Shot is to assist your own monsters, turning the card into a piece of removal adds to the spell’s versatility. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw Big Bang Shot make its way into successful tournament decks over the next six months.
As a general reminder, the Los Angeles Yu-Gi-Oh! Shonen Jump Championships will be held in Pomona, California, on April 2. The event will last for two days, consisting of the Championships and many side events as well. Whether you’re playing in the main event or the side events, you’ll have a chance to win a Cyber-Stein card. The event will be a lot of fun, so be sure to stop by, even if only for a few hours or a few side events.
Do you have any questions, comments, or requests for me to cover an underrated card? I love hearing from readers, whether you want to send in your favorite combo, a request for deck advice, a rulings question, or just a simple greeting. You can reach me by email at Mrosenberg@metagame.com. |
| |
| Top of Page |
|
|
| |
|