Zaborg the Thunder Monarch: With Soul Control’s reign of power threatened by Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World and Silvva, Warlord of Dark World, competitors are looking for a replacement for Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch. This weekend, many players who performed admirably experimented with Zaborg, including Top 8 competitor Jonathan Navarro.

Zaborg isn’t as easy to use as Thestalos—if it’s the only monster on the field when you summon it, its effect will actually destroy itself. Unless the opponent controls two monsters, you probably don’t want to use it with Soul Exchange because Zaborg will eat his nearest compadre. But despite the potential awkwardness, he’s well worth running. With Nobleman of Crossout limited to one copy per deck and Spirit Reaper seeing so much abuse, face-down monsters are a huge problem. Zaborg can deal with face-down and face-up threats, so it’s ideal for the monster-heavy environment.

In addition, with Jinzo seeing so much play, those three copies of Smashing Ground often won’t be enough to provide insurance should he hit the field. Players usually don’t consciously hold on to Smashing Grounds on the off chance that they may see Jinzo on later turns, and trap cards like Sakuretsu Armor are obviously ineffective. Zaborg gives a duelist yet another method of taking down Jinzo, and the fact that it basically turns a small monster that normally wouldn’t be able to withstand the android’s might makes it a useful trade option to have.

Nobleman of Extermination: While Dust Tornado has been most players’ spell and trap removal of choice right behind Mystical Space Typhoon and Heavy Storm, many duelists were experimenting with Nobleman instead. There were some good reasons to do so.

Though Dust Tornado is chainable and can hit cards in the end phase, it can’t be played the turn you draw it, so it’s potentially weak in the late game. It also isn’t very good when you’re locked down and need spell or trap removal sooner than later. It’s brutal against Mobius the Frost Monarch and can provide pre-negation, but it just doesn’t have the raw speed that Nobleman has.

In addition, Nobleman is just a great answer to Sakuretsu Armor or Widespread Ruin if you’re running very few of them. Hitting a single copy with Nobleman removes all of the copies a player owns, aside from those already in the hand or set on the field, so if you can’t pick up any Widespreads in your area but your rivals have them, Nobleman of Extermination can be quite strong. In addition, if you’re playing some sort of locking strategy yourself and aren’t prioritizing trap-based one-for-one monster removal, then Nobleman slips right into your deck and gives you an offensive edge.

It also can’t be stopped by Jinzo, which is a pretty big deal in an environment where Jinzo is rotating back into fashion. People ran him when the standard trap count for most decks was just five cards. Now that it’s double that, Jinzo is set to make a resurgence—a trend we saw in the Top 8 decklists this weekend.

Bazoo the Soul-Eater: Not only did Bazoo play a starring role in Paul Levitin’s winning deck that claimed Des Volstgalph for him and Team Scoop, it’s also good in other decks. Its size is impressive; the standard ATK for a tribute monster doesn’t exceed 2400 anymore, and that makes a 2500 ATK beatstick invaluable. Again, Bazoo is a solid answer to Jinzo, but it also takes down Zaborg, Mobius, and Cyber Dragon with ease. While it’s not an early-game card and can’t be used as freely as it once could, it rewards skill and careful decision making.

And yes, it’s amazing with Return from the Different Dimension. A single turn’s worth of Bazoo action can remove three monsters from your graveyard to bring back with Return, and even if Bazoo is sucked into a Trap Hole or Bottomless Trap Hole, you can still use its effect with priority when it first comes into play. The only things that can stop its removal effect and that also see a lot of play are pre-negation and Solemn Judgment. Remember, though, that Skill Drain stops Bazoo dead in its tracks. It’s one of many reasons why Drain might be a good choice in the near future.

Gravekeeper’s Spy: Gravekeeper’s Spy made it into three Top 8 decks this weekend, including the winner’s. They’re great for fast defense and swarm attackers, and their high DEF value allows them to suck up hits from Smashing Ground to draw removal away from your more important monsters. They punish conservative play, reward patience, and are a perfect fit for the current environment. Field control is the absolute focus of the current format, and any field advantage you can gain is precious. While most players have focused on maintaining field presence or attacking the opponent’s field presence, Gravekeeper’s Spy is a fast, splashable way to build your own field presence at a wholly unnatural rate.

All four of these cards are bound to see continued play over the next several months, and each is well tuned for current play conditions. They’re all pretty splashable, so give some thought to whether or not they might be able to help your deck. They worked wonders here at SJC Los Angeles, and they can wreak some havoc in your metagame, too.