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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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 Welcome to this week’s edition of Bill and Tom’s Binder. Unfortunately, Bill and Tom can’t join us because they’re returning from the Shonen Jump TCG Championships in Las Vegas. Don’t worry, I’m positive they had their butts handed to them!
Since the “Joey Wheeler” duelists of this article can’t be with us, we’re going to jump straight into this week’s underrated card. This Fiend was immediately tossed into trade binders when it was released. I’m talking about the latest Shonen Jump promo known as Archfiend of Gilfer. Some duelists may recognize the name “Beast of Gilfer,” which was Archfiend of Gilfer’s name in numerous Yu-Gi-Oh! video games. The name change was necessary for Archfiend of Gilfer to be used with Archfiend monsters. The monster’s original name was “Gilfer Demon,” and it once triggered all the Archfiend effects in Japan. Does this affect its playability? Certainly . . . it makes Archfiend of Gilfer even better!
The Basic Breakdown
For a level 6 monster, Archfiend of Gilfer has solid ATK and DEF values. However, while its 2200 ATK can stand up to Berserk Gorilla, most level 6 monsters and Goblin Attack Force can destroy Archfiend of Gilfer. That being said, the Fiend’s 2500 DEF can withstand any attack from a level 6 monster as long as that monster doesn’t have a stat boost.
Looking only at Archfiend of Gilfer’s stats misses the point. The fiend is valuable because of its optional trigger effect. If Archfiend of Gilfer is sent to the graveyard, the monster can become an equip spell. When you equip Archfiend of Gilfer to an opponent’s monster, that monster’s ATK is decreased by 500. Decreasing a monster’s ATK may not look important, but the effect can make a big difference. Most monsters played at tournaments have ATK values ranging from 1500 to 2000. If you equip Archfiend of Gilfer to an opponent’s Berserk Gorilla, the Gorilla can easily be destroyed by your weaker monsters, such as Breaker the Magical Warrior or Command Knight. In addition, Archfiend of Gilfer can weaken one of your opponent’s high-level monsters so that even Berserk Gorilla can destroy it easily.
What happens if Archfiend of Gilfer is destroyed while it’s equipped to a monster? The fiend goes to the graveyard, its effect triggers, and it can be equipped to a new monster! This lets you weaken or even destroy multiple monsters with Archfiend of Gilfer’s effect. Archfiend of Gilfer is a great answer to Spirit Reaper, which is one of the most annoying monsters played in Advanced format tournaments.
You should keep in mind that Archfiend of Gilfer’s effect is optional. Some of you may be wondering what an optional trigger effect is and how that might hurt the Fiend’s playability. To answer these questions, we’ll need to get technical.
The Not-So-Basic Breakdown
 An optional trigger effect is a trigger effect that you can choose whether or not to activate. This ends up hurting Archfiend of Gilfer’s ability, because an optional trigger effect can only be activated if it is the last thing to resolve in a chain. The trigger for that optional effect (in this case, sending Gilfer to the graveyard) has to be the last thing that happens in any effect or chain. For example, Card Destruction and Cyber Jar send Archfiend of Gilfer to the graveyard before those cards’ effects are completely resolved. You can’t interrupt another effect’s resolution so you can decide to activate Archfiend of Gilfer’s effect. In other words, you can’t activate an optional trigger effect in the middle of a chain or another effect. If Cyber Jar sends Gilfer to the graveyard, you won’t have a chance to activate the Fiend’s effect.
Are you confused yet? I am, a little, and I’m writing this!
To sum this up, Archfiend of Gilfer being sent to the graveyard has to be the last thing to happen in an effect or a chain, since effects cannot be activated or triggered in the middle of a chain or effect. The same issue applies to cards like Peten the Dark Clown, which are also trigger effects. Be sure to read a card carefully to make sure it does not say “you may” before the effect in a card. If it has the words “you may” before any sort of effect, it’s most likely an optional trigger effect. Good luck explaining this to your friends.
Combos and Counters
Archfiend of Gilfer can be splashed into any deck that uses a lot of Beatdown monsters. The Fiend can also be useful in a Control deck. Needless to say, Archfiend of Gilfer has great synergy in an Archfiend deck. The non-battle destruction of Gilfer triggers Pandemonium,allowing you to bring any of the powerful level 4 Archfiend monsters, like Terrorking Archfiend, from your deck to your hand. The fiend works well with Archfiend’s Roar, if it benefits you to have Archfiend of Gilfer destroyed. Special summoning Gilfer with Archfiend’s Roar and then destroying Gilfer at the end of the turn triggers both Pandemonium and Archfiend of Gilfer’s effect. However, Pandemonium doesn’t trigger when Archfiend of Gilfer is destroyed while Gilfer is equipped to a monster, because Gilfer’s treated like an equip spell card in that scenario.
Archfiend of Gilfer is a blessing if you’re running a combo deck with Morale Boost and Fire Princess. Because Gilfer can be treated like an equip spell, the Fiend’s effect triggers Morale Boost, which in turn triggers Fire Princess and burns your opponent.
If you’re playing against Archfiend of Gilfer, be sure to send it to the graveyard in the middle of an effect or chain. Card Destruction and Cyber Jar send Gilfer to the graveyard before their effects completely resolve, thus ending the Fiend’s threat to your monsters. Your other option is to send Gilfer to the graveyard when you don’t have face-up monsters on your side of the field. If your opponent decides to activate Gilfer’s effect, he or she will have to use the card on one of his or her own monsters.
Final Thoughts
I’m surprised that Archfiend of Gilfer was ignored when it was released. Gilfer is a powerful monster that can torment your opponent throughout an entire duel. You should test Gilfer with the Archfiend support in Dark Crisis, because the fiend enhances the playability of that deck type.
Be sure to come back next week, when I’ll be talking about XYZ-Dragon Cannon. Thanks for the suggestion, Philip!
Got any questions, comments, or requests? Would you like to discuss the awesomeness of Tsukuyomi? Send me an email at Mrosenberg@metagame.com. I’m more than happy to respond to email!
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