We already know that the new Dark World monsters are some of the best to be printed in recent memory, but the true impact of Elemental Energy rests on a single spell card. I’m talking about the card that I’m calling Pot of Advantage, which is a card that closely resembles the now forbidden Pot of Greed. Depending on whether or not it is limited (or even if it is worthy of limiting after playtesting), this new Pot has the chance to be the best spell card released since Pharaoh’s Servant’s Premature Burial. Yes, it has been that long since a truly game-changing spell of that scope hit a major booster set, and Elemental Energy will bring it to you! We all know duelists love their spell cards, and many spell cards have proven to be some of the best cards ever printed. Does Pot of Advantage have what it takes? Let’s find out!

The Pot’s effect reads, “Add 5 Monster Cards from your Graveyard to your Deck and shuffle it. Then draw 2 cards.” Generally, graveyard and remove-from-game effects never really affect raw card advantage, so you can look at this effect as a two-for-one right off the bat, but throw in the asterisk. You see, this card affects the rest of your deck’s composition in such a drastic manner that it can’t truly be taken as a two-for-one trade with no drawbacks or addendum, like its friendly predecessor Pot of Greed.

A standard deck configuration can be defined as having eighteen monsters, fourteen spells, and eight traps. By the time you have five monsters in the graveyard, there’s an excellent chance that you’ve already drawn many of the good spells and traps in your deck. Shuffling five monsters back into your deck almost ensures that the two cards you draw will be monsters. As a simple example, let’s say you have 21 cards left in your deck, with seven monsters, traps, and spells each. You have a 33 percent chance of drawing a monster, but playing Pot of Advantage will bring the monster count up to twelve. Now, almost every draw will have a 50 percent chance of netting you a monster, skewing the deck ratio dramatically. When you desperately need a monster, that’s when it’s a good time to play Pot of Advantage.

This increased chance of drawing monsters is just about the only potential cost of playing Pot of Advantage. While the negative impact of recycling monsters hasn’t been tested enough, Pot of Advantage can actually provide a huge bonus to certain decks. Exodia loves cycling those monsters back, and anything that uses a toolbox of different monsters, like Warriors (or even Spellcasters) can benefit from a few consecutive monster draws, due to their wide range of effects. Are you using just one copy of a techy monster? Pot of Advantage will let you see it again.

Keep in mind that Pot of Greed in its original form was the best card in the game, and any card that aims to mirror its effect must feature some heavy restrictions that do not involve life points. And thus, Pot of Advantage has two restrictive conditions. The first was already mentioned—it drastically alters your deck composition, since almost no other card in the game features such a huge shuffle-in effect. The second is that you need five monsters in the graveyard as an activation trigger to use it.

However, when the Pot’s effect is triggered, it is quite simply the most powerful effect in the game. Pot of Advantage is the most well-designed drawing engine I’ve ever seen—and, provided its activation requirements are fulfilled, it takes the throne as the most solidly advantageous card in the metagame. Its combination of playability and balance makes it a dramatic step forward for the new Forbidden list.

Maximizing the Usage of Pot of Advantage

While the drawbacks of the card can leave you in bad opening situations, there are numerous ways to speed up its activation requirements. After all, there are several great monsters that immediately send copies of themselves to the graveyard, and almost every type and subtype has some sort of support card that can send multiple monsters to the graveyard in the same turn.

Fiends have Giant Germ, Earth decks and Beasts have Nimble Momonga, new Chaos decks have Thunder Dragon, Zombie decks have Pyramid Turtle, Gravekeepers have Gravekeeper’s Spy, and almost every deck can access Mystic Tomato and Apprentice Magicianto send multiple monsters to the graveyard in the same turn.

Then there are the massive field effects, such as Cyber Jar and Morphing Jar. These cards both cycle the amount of monsters in you deck tremendously, allowing you to reach the activation condition in one or two turns! When combined with self-replacing searchers, you can basically get the effect of Pot of Greed multiple times in the same duel! Throw in other spell and trap cards, like Card Destruction, and it should be easy to take advantage of this new draw engine.

A Side Note for Enthusiasts of the Forbidden One

In the dark days of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Dark Beginnings, Exodia users begged and prayed not to see Exodia the Forbidden One in their opening hands. The reason? Sending Exodia to the graveyard meant certain death—the only way to cycle it out involved some far-fetched combo, like The Shallow Grave and Penguin Soldier triggering in conjunction. And while cards slowly trickled in to help the cause of Exodia, it was not until Dark Crisis (with Des Feral Imp) and finally, Rise of Destiny (with Monster Reincarnation) that it was truly possible to recover the head of Exodia from the graveyard pile.

The new Forbidden list has basically made Monster Reincarnation unplayable, so those who sought to create competitive Exodia decks (such as myself) found it very difficult. Pot of Advantage will be the Exodia deck’s new savior, allowing you to cycle any of the pieces in the graveyard back into the deck and leading to great joy and fun for all. Rejoice, my friends! The all-inclusive designers of our favorite card game wanted this new draw engine to work for everyone!

The Move Towards a More Balanced Game

It’s difficult for hardcore players to not get excited about Elemental Energy. For a while now, they’ve been complaining that the new sets featured underpowered cards and themeless support that didn’t contribute to the metagame. Cybernetic Revolution was a step in a fortunate direction, releasing Machine support and the new, ubiquitous Cyber Dragons, but Elemental Energy continues that step even further.

The Dark World monsters are a legitimate tier-one archetype in and of themselves, and Pot of Advantage is one of the most well-balanced potential “staple” cards I have ever seen. Sure, it would seem great if we could gush on and on about a new Raigeki or Chaos monster that breaks the game apart—but it’s quite clear that the powers that be realize a well-balanced, well-designed game is better for all. Pot of Advantage is not only the next possible staple card; it’s a beacon of hope for those players who love the game for what the show depicts it to be.