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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!
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James was horrified. His usual bag of tricks had so far proven ineffective in this duel. All of his copies of Nimble Momonga were destroyed by Dark Ruler Ha Des, and he wound up taking damage for each copy of Magician of Faith that he had out when his opponent activated Ceasefire. Setting Spirit Reaper face down on the field, James ended his turn. His opponent, Nick, summoned Gemini Elf and declared an attack with it. Nick asked James, “Do you want to activate anything before my attack goes through?” James shook his head, but then he looked up when Nick said, “Fine, I’ll chain a card to my monster’s attack. I activate Gorgon’s Eye.” As Gemini Elf’s attack connected, and James’s Spirit Reaper flipped face up, Nick’s trap negated Spirit Reaper’s effect, allowing the twin Spellcasters to destroy Spirit Reaper in battle. Looking at James’s crestfallen expression, Nick said, “Your move.”
 We’ve all lost duels because of card effects that our opponents played on us at critical moments. Whether Fiber Jar reset the game on you, or your opponent got back a spell card because you attacked his or her face-down Magician of Faith, you know that effect monsters can make or break the game for you. Today, I’m going to talk about some cards that you can use to counter opponents who play with such sneaky abilities.
The first card that I’m going to highlight is Ceasefire. The trap is limited to one copy per deck, and with good reason—Ceasefire reveals the entire field by flipping up all face-down monsters in play. Plus, Ceasefire negates the effects of any flip-effect monsters turned over by the trap’s effect. The nasty part is that your opponent takes 500 points of direct damage for each effect monster on the field. In an age when flip-effect monsters like Fiber Jar, Cyber Jar, Night Assailant, and Magician of Faith are running rampant, Ceasefire makes sure that your opponent can’t access the abilities of these monsters. As a side note, this trap card also does wonders in protecting your face-down monsters from Nobleman of Crossout, which is another spell that’s maindecked by most duelists. Since Ceasefire flips all monsters face up, your opponent’s Nobleman of Crossout will resolve without having anything to target.
Speaking of monsters, there are two great monsters that come to mind when it comes to stopping effects: Dark Ruler Ha Des and The End of Anubis. Even though both cards are tribute monsters, their abilities and formidable ATK values are well worth the effort. If you have Dark Ruler face up on the field, the Fiend negates the effects of monsters destroyed in battle by Dark Ruler or any other Fiend that you control. If your opponent’s Mask of Darkness is destroyed by one of your Fiends, he or she won’t get a trap from the Mask’s flip effect. If Sinister Serpent is destroyed, then your opponent won’t be getting it back on his or her next standby phase.
With The End of Anubis, you can deny your opponent access to any monster effects that activate in the graveyard—elemental battle searchers such as Shining Angel and Giant Rat will turn into 1400-ATK monsters with bull’s-eyes painted on them. Plus, Vampire Lord and Dark Necrofear will stay in the graveyard as long as The End of Anubis is in play.
Of course, we can just dispense with the setting of monsters to avoid the mind games that ultimately ensue when monsters are placed face down. You can accomplish this by using Light of Intervention. If your opponent relies a lot on flip-effect monsters, playing this trap will probably make him or her stammer incoherently for a few minutes. An added bonus is that Book of Moon, another popular quick-play spell, can’t be activated while Light of Intervention is out on the field.
 Final Attack Orders works well with Light of Intervention. If you have both of these cards in play, and if your opponent wants to bring out Fiber Jar or Magician of Faith, he or she is going to have to summon it out in attack position, which isn’t ideal for either of those two monsters. If you relish a clean battle without an overemphasis on effects, using the traps will let you better control the tempo of a duel. Your opponent will have to adapt to your strategy.
With all the copies of Spirit Reaper, Apprentice Magician, and D. D. Warrior Lady that your opponent might be running, you may be hard pressed to get through such tricky defenses. But let’s look at Gorgon’s Eye, a common card from Soul of the Duelist. This little trap’s effect only lasts for one turn, but that may be a pivotal turn in the duel when you can devastate your opponent. When activated, Gorgon’s Eye negates the effects of all defense-position monsters for one turn. What most duelists forget is that when a face-down monster is attacked, it flips up and remains in defense position. When Gorgon’s Eye was active, I’ve seen my Magical Scientist destroy a defense position Spirit Reaper in battle. When such monsters are in defense position, they might as well have had the text of their effects erased. If you know that your opponent has D. D. Warrior Lady face down on the field, you can easily destroy it in battle by attacking with Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning and then swinging again at your opponent’s life points for the win. Of course, this only works if you activated Gorgon’s Eye earlier in the turn.
 Keep in mind that you can’t activate Gorgon’s Eye during the damage step when face-down monsters are flipped up. When attacking a monster that’s face down, ask your opponent if he or she has a response—whether or not your opponent responds, this is the time when you can activate Gorgon’s Eye. Of course, you can activate the trap earlier in the turn if you wish, depending on the situation you’re in. Another important thing to remember is that Gorgon’s Eye doesn’t work if a monster’s effect activates in the graveyard, so be sure to carefully time the use of this trap.
In closing, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the granddaddy of effect stoppers, Skill Drain. For the bargain-basement cost of 1000 life points, all effect monsters on the field will stop working. If Skill Drain is active and in play, even the mighty Jinzo will become a 2400-ATK snack for Summoned Skull. The ultimate equalizer, Skill Drain forces an opponent to play around it. If your opponent’s deck is heavy with field-activated effect monsters, he or she will usually start hoping to topdeck Heavy Storm or Mystical Space Typhoon.
Thank you for reading, and check back here at Metagame.com for more tips, strategies, and discussions about your favorite cards! |
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