Combined CoTDs 20/8 & 21/8 - The Ultimate Shooting Star! (I)

Sorry for the delay, but since I was too busy preparing my exam yesterday, I didn't have time to do my CoTDs and other stuff =( As a compensation, I decided to do a combined CoTD today, featuring two of the evolutions of the most useful Synchro Monster in the game - Stardust Dragon (Oops, spilt my beans for a topic I'm about to do).

Today we are going to do Majestic Star Dragon and Malefic Stardust Dragon. Here comes my shooting star:

MAJESTIC STAR DRAGON
Lv. 10



Synchro
Lore: "Majestic Dragon" + "Stardust Dragon" + 1 non-Tuner monster
You can Tribute this card to negate the activation of an opponent's Spell Card, Trap Card, or Effect Monster's effect and destroy all cards your opponent controls. Once per turn, you can negate the effect(s) of 1 face-up monster your opponent controls until the End Phase. Also, if the negated effect can be activated, you can activate it once as this card's effect. During the End Phase, return this card from the field to the Extra Deck, and Special Summon 1 "Stardust Dragon" from your Graveyard.
ATK 3800/DEF 3000

First of all, a kind warning to those who are intending to buy the Majestic Star Dragon tin - You won't be adding this card into your Extra Deck. Why? Let's look at its most vulnerable weakness - its Summoning conditions as a beginning.

Majestic Dragon would be really hard to get to your hand from the Deck except by three commonly used conditions - 1. Asspull it as shown in the anime; 2. Sangan and 3. One for One. Since I guess you would be using method 3 to get your Level 1 non-Tuner Monster, you would not be getting this card except through methods 1 and 2.

The Level 1 non-Tuner Monster, as stated above, can be searched through One for One, but would you be willing to use so much hand advantage to search for a one-turn surviving Monster when you could just plan on other strategies? Which leads us to its second weakness - its effects.

Okay, Tribute to destroy all cards on the opponent's Field? Having used so many cards to Summon this card, would you have any more Monsters to launch a direct attack as your opponent's Field is empty? Besides that, Starlight Road can negate this effect thoroughly, even little Kuriboh can defend your opponents from your attacks. Ok effect, but not good enough. Checked.

Second, negate an opponent's effect and use it as its own. That's the only and best part of this card - effect copy. This card can potentially copy the effects of useful cards like Red Dragon Archfiend, Black Rose Dragon, DAD and Ancient Fairy Dragon... wait, Ancient Fairy Dragon!? Summoning this card just to Summon another Level 4 or lower Monster from your hand? I would rather use the actual Monster's effect. Nah, this effect is a little situational.

Third, and the most WTF effect that pulls this card to absolute nowhere. It must be returned to the Extra Deck and Stardust Dragon is summoned. What's the point? You have used so many cards to summon this card and in the end, you have to repeat everything all over again!? Which reminds me of the first duel I used this card, where my Stardust Dragon was nuked by a DAD a turn later. Bad job for Konami for creating this card.

All in all, I would really not recommend you to put this card in your Deck except for collecting. Neither is it valuable. Such an awesome card in the anime being undervalued due to its drawbacks is unfair. No wonder Konami created Shooting Star Dragon.

MALEFIC STARDUST DRAGON
Lv. 8

Lore: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned, except by removing from play "Stardust Dragon" from your Extra Deck. There can only be 1 face-up "Malefic" monster on the field. Field Spell Cards cannot be destroyed by effects. Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. If there is no face-up Field Spell Card on the field, destroy this card.
ATK 2500/DEF 2000

Alright, simple Summoning conditions (in fact a lot simpler the Majestic Star Dragon), but its drawback is still its effect. FTW. This card, for the information of people who wishes to put this in their Decks, only works as a beatstick, but without a Field Spell Card, you lose this card away. And Stardust Dragon is removed from play. Except that isf you want to play Return from a Different Dimension, you lose two cards. FTW.

On the bright side, this card is an extremely useful addition to the Earthbound Immortal Protector series, besides Earthbound Linewalker. This card protects any Field Spell Card from being destroyed, and yes, any. Which means Earthbound Immortal Chalcu Challhua can stay on the Field as long as this card is not destroyed by battle, while skipping your opponent's Battle Phase and dealing 1200 damage to him/her each turn.

But, this is reality. No one plays Earthbound, and if you play it, you are one of those people who don't love Quick GLADs or Synchrons and go for the vintage Blue-Eyes White Dragon Deck. Except that Blue-Eyes White Dragon can now be easily countered by some beast called Colossal Fighter or Black Rose Dragon (or what some old fan say, BUSTER BLADER!!!). FTW.

Anyway, a bad choice for those who wants a "free" Stardust (in fact, this card is not even used by Yusei, so I don't count it as a Stardust). Nothing is free in this world. Go for the two Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode and Shooting Star Dragon, debuting next Episode.

(Ouch,. crappy Network... Pic for Malefic Stardust Dragon coming tomorrow)

Team 5D's vs Team Ragnarok: The Tale Begins

THE DUELISTS WITH THE RUNE EYE!!!

A new episode of Yugioh 5D's that was shown yesterday introduced us to Team Ragnarok and the Three Polar Gods - which are three horrible Synchros from the Norse Mythology: Odin, Thor and Loki.



So, the tale being here. Ok, Harald was a pilot of an airforce, Brave a thief, and Dragan an adventurer? Hmm... I could see some interesting plot starting from here...



Now, here's the origin of the Polar Gods. Harald wielded a rune eye, which saved him from an air attack. But his general was unsatisfied because of some sort of conflict, hence Harald left the airforce? Ok.



Then, he was reading a book, probably about the Gods and Rune Eye one day under a tree (which I named it Yggdrasil after the Ragnarok story), and the card Odin suddenly sprang out! Now that's a plothole I was dissatisfied with. Who hid the card in the tree? How did Harald got hold of the book? What magical powers did the book have?



And he went to Dragan's sickly father, who told something to him and asked him to open his drawer. Inside there's the Thor. And again, Harald used his Rune Eye to save Dragan from danger and gave him this Thor card.



Some time later, Harald went to an ancient forest and found Brave. Brave showed him another Yggdrasil and this time he found the Loki God.



Then Brave stole Loki and ran away. Harald chased after him and found out that he was the third man with the rune eye (the second being Dragan). Then, Harald said something to Brave and he joined them to form Team Ragnarok. End of story.



But before that... what???



Dragan DUELLED Jack before!?

I would need to wait for subs to understand this story, but I would make an assumption of the whole plot first.

The Rune Eyes are marks just like the Crimson Dragon signs but they are keys to the Three Polar Gods hidden within three trees in Europe (because it is based on Norse Mythology). Now the story divides into three parts -

Harald's story: Harald, who wielded the Rune Eye, was a pilot in the airforce. . One day, he was reading a book about the Three Polar Gods which led him to Yggdrasil. Harald's Rune Eye unlocked the tree, giving him Odin's card.

Dragan's story: Dragan and his father found the Thor card in another Yggdrasil, but due to some accident there, Dragan's father becomes sick. Dragan, in order to earn money, accepted Rex Goodwin's invitation to Neo Domino City, where he would pretend to lose to Jack in order to make him the King. Before he left, he entrusted Thor to his father.

Dragan lost and returned to Europe. He was too embarrassed to see his father due to his loss. In order to make him stronger, his father talked to Harald and gave him Thor, on the condition that Harald would help him give this card to Dragan.

Brave's story: Brave lived in an ancient forest where he found the last Yggdrasil but did not know how to unlock it. Then Harald came and unlocked it. End of story.

Ok, so Harald is the center of the story. He would become one of those guys who, like Jose, acts as the leader of his group, and lead Team Ragnarok to victory. Guess I really have to wait for subs to know more then. Next Episode, "Team 5D's vs Team Ragnarok II: The First Battle", don't miss it!

CoTD 19/8/10 - Rainbow Powerr!!!

RAINBOW DRAGON
Lv. 10



Lore: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned, except from your hand while you have 7 "Crystal Beast" cards with different names on the field or in your Graveyard. This card cannot activate its effects the turn it is Special Summoned. ● Send all "Crystal Beast" monsters you control to the Graveyard; this card gains 1000 ATK for each card sent. You can activate this effect during either player's turn. ● You can remove from play all "Crystal Beast" Monster Cards in your Graveyard to return all cards on the field to their owners' Decks.
ATK 4000/DEF 0

When Crystal Beasts stormed the tournament some long time ago, this card was feared by many including the Elemental Hero Swarming Decks and some others for its dangerous effects and high stats.

But, since the launch of The Duelist Genesis, this card has become almost useless in the eyes of Synchro players. Why?

First of all, this card cannot activate its effects during the turn it is Special Summoned. With so many Synchro Monsters that would potentially clear the Field in just one turn such as Brionac, this card cannot hold a straw at it. Sure, its Attack is horrible, but when it returns to your hand? Ok, it returns one turn later, but Jutte Fighter combined with Goyo Guardian steals it from you.

What about Bottomless Trap Hole and Torrential Tribute? Mirror Force if it attacks? Its effects disgusts Stardust Dragon, but Karma Cut combined with a card in hand removes it away from the game.

All in all, I can see the fall of Crystal Beasts unless Konami decides to expand it like what Amazoness did in Duelist Revolution.

CoTD 18/8/10 - The Holy Defender!

EFFECT VEILER
Lv. 1



(Tuner Monster)
Lore: During your opponent's Main Phase, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard to select 1 face-up Effect Monster your opponent controls. Negate the effect(s) of that monster until the End Phase.
ATK 0/DEF 0

Debuted in the OCG in April and the TCG yesterday, this card would see the fall of OTK/FTK Decks along with another holy defender, i. e. Battle Fader. With the effect of able to negate the effect of the opponent's Monsters, it stops Judgment Dragon from clearing the Field, Dark Armed Dragon from destroying your Monsters, and even Stardust Dragon's card-negating effect!

What would this benefit to you? First of all, Frog Burn Decks can't even touch you during the first turn, giving you the chance to Synchro Summon Blackwing Dragon during the next turn and counter-burn. Like mentioned above, this would stop Stardust Dragon from activating its effect, such that you can destroy it with a Quick Trap like Raigeki Attack.

However, the flaw of this card is that it cannot stop effects from activating in the Graveyard, which means that cards like Colossal Fighter, Ronintoadin would have an opportunity to revive and revive again. It also cannot stop cards such as Cyber Dragon from being bounced onto the Field.

That's all for today's CoTD. It's your turn to comment!

CoTD 17/8/10 - Duelist Revolution!

Yeah, I know. The Duelist Revolution for TCG is coming out today, and congrats to all players of the world! Of course, today's CoTD must be very much related to this new pack as a celebration, so I chose this TCG-exclusive:

STYGIAN STREET PATROL
Lv. 4



Lore: When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's Level x 100. You can remove from play this card in your Graveyard to Special Summon 1 Fiend-Type monster with 2000 or less ATK from your hand.
ATK 1600/DEF 1200

In fact, I was rather in a dilemma as to whether or not to do this or do the other TCG-exclusive, A.O.J. CYCLONE CREATOR, since both have great effects and would surely see some daylight in future tournaments. However, as we already have Catastor and Field Marshall as A.O.J.'s signatures, I chose another Archetype that was more ignored for the past few months or so, and that is Ushio's Stygian Monsters.

Ah, another typical 1600-ATK Monster. Just like Lancer Archfiend and Twin-Sword Marauder, this card also packs a burning effect, which I don't think would cause much damage to your opponent unlike the other two cards mentioned above, but what's great about this card is its second effect.

You see, when this card you control is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can remove it from play anytime during your Main Phase to Special Summon a Fiend-Type Monster with 2000-ATK or less from the hand. Yes, anytime. That means during your Main Phase, you can Special Summon a Legendary Fiend without any Tributes, possibly combo it with a Swords of Revealing Light, and you'll have a beast with 1500 + 2100 = 3600-ATK after the Spell wears off.

Besides that, you could use it to Special Summon another copy of this card from your hand, or a Level 4 Fiend-Type Tuner Monster and Normal Summon a Quillbolt Hedgehog for Goyo Guardian; even a Max Warrior for Stardust Dragon!

So, which Archetype would benefit the most from this card? You know it, and you're right. Dark World. Dark World. The famous Fiend-Types of the Yu-Gi-Oh universe.

All in all, this card would be a great addition to your Deck provided you have an ample supply of Fiend-Types in it, giving you an opportunity to counter-attack or protect your Life Points from your opponent's brutal strategies.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Blogpost Schedule - August to October Plans

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this on the inauguration of my blog: The schedule for the types of articles I would post.

Why do I need it? Because my school exams are drawing near and I can't possibly go online everyday and talk big about Yu-Gi-Oh. Need to concentrate on my studies. Rest assured, there will be CoTDs daily, but for the Deck Strategies and Card Lists, please refer to the timetable below:

This table follows a double-week cycle.
Weeks 1 & 3:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays: CoTDs (Sometimes I would also throw in a random article =>)
Wednesdays: CoTD, maybe Anime Express/Blockbuster Review
Fridays: CoTD, Deck Strategies
Saturdays: CoTD, Any 2 types of articles from the pool of options
Sundays: CoTD, Card Lists

Weeks 2 & 4:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays: CoTDs (Sometimes I would also throw in a random article =>)
Wednesdays: CoTD, maybe Anime Express/Blockbuster Review
Fridays: CoTD, either Deck Strategies or Booster Pack Review
Saturdays: CoTD, Any 2 types of articles from the pool of options
Sundays: CoTD, Blog Regular Clean-up

For the information of those who don't know what my "pool of options" are, here's it:

Deck Strategies: You've seen it. i would either create an original Deck for casual playing or review on some of the tournament-winning Decks.

Next Episode would be "World Championship Winning Deck: Frog OTK", up on Friday; "Banlist Comment" this Saturday.

Booster Review: A comment on some of the latest additions to the OCG/TCG. Note that I would rarely do this, probably on the Fridays or Saturdays.

Next Episode would be "Duelist Collectors Tins 2010 ~Wave One~", up before 31/8.

Card Lists: I would gather information from all reliable sources and do a writeup sort-of based on a specific topic, like "the Best of..." or "the Worst of..." etc.

Next Episode would be "10 Best General Synchros in the Game", up this Saturday.

Blockbuster Review: Note that I would do this even less than Booster Reviews, most probably when I feel either frustrated/satisfied with one episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Next Episode would be "???"

Anime Express: This is the more frequented version of "Blockbuster Review" you would see on this blog. In the midst of a protagonist's battle with another character, I would comment on their Decks/Strategies, or simply predict what the anime would be like in the future etc.

Next Episode would be "Team 5D's vs Team Ragnarok: The Tale Begins", up on Wednesday.

Oh, I forgot to mention, these are the winners for the World Championship:

Champion - Galileo de Obaldia (Panama, Frog OTK Deck)
Runner-Up - Vincent Paglia (USA, Blackwing Deck)
Second Runner-Up - Kei Kuwano (Japan, Herald of Perfection Deck)
Fourth Place - Tae Woo Kim (S. Korea, Blackwing Deck)
Other Top 8 Finalists
Stefano Sluis (Netherlands, Infernity Deck)
Hideki Kawai (Japan, Frog Monarch Deck)
Aaron Noel (Canada, Blackwing Deck)
She Wei Hao (Taiwan, Frog Monarch Deck)

Congratulations to all winners!

I think I would do a follow-up on this event maybe on Friday, so please be patient!

CoTD 16/8/10 - Battle Fader Ver. 2

SWIFT-ATTACKING SCARECROW (Lv. 1)



Lore: When your opponent declares a direct attack, you can discard this card to end the Battle Phase.
ATK 0/DEF 0

The 30/7/10 CoTD I created on Janime Community Forum. Since I received so many replies, I decided to show it off on this blog.

My comments

Ah... Finally one of my most favourite cards in the whole Starstrike Blast set...

For those who can't afford Battle Fader like me may consider this card. It's a common, meaning that it won't be so hard to get one in about 5 packs or so (that's the rate I managed to achieve)

With so many people siding Vanity Ruler or cards that prevent Special Summoning, this card is great for bypassing that limitation. Opponent direct attacks, discard, end. It's just that simple.

Anyway, a good card for Yusei and hopes he get to use it again in the anime...

Wilren's reply

Yusei sure seems to enjoy using scarecrows to fend off attacks...first Scrap-Iron, now this?

In any case, you pretty well covered it: This is to Battle Fader what Darksea Rescue was to Tuningware - the poor man's option. In exchange for not doing quite as much (in this case, not giving you a monster on the field), you get a much better price on it.

All in all, a good back-up plan for those of us on a tight budget.

Looking's reply

I think this is on par with Battle Fader. We may lose the special summon and Allure of Darkness fun, but gain Pot of Avarice and Junk Synchron shenanigans.

Besides, "cheaper alternative" may be a moot point; KDE could easily bump this card up to Ultra when it hits the TCG.

Edit: I misread the effect, so it only cover direct attacks. That kills my anti-Gladiator Beast plans.

A return to my comments
No, Looking, no. Battle Fader also only covers direct attacks. The only difference is that it needs to go to the Graveyard. Besides that, you won't be removing this card from play, unlike Battle Fader, which disallows you to recycle it through Pot of Avarice or Monster Reincarnation.

Anyway, this "poor man's choice" would be a great substitute to the "rich man's choice" - Battle Fader, and I hope it gets to debut sometime in the tournaments =).

CoTD 15/8/10 - Synchro Seal!

MACHINE EMPEROR GRANNEL INFINITY
Lv. 1



Lore: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except from your hand if a face-up monster you control is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard. This card gains ATK and DEF equal to half your Life Points. Once per turn, you can equip 1 Synchro Monster your opponent controls to this card. This card gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of the equipped Synchro Monster(s). Once per turn during your Main Phase, you can Special Summon 1 card equipped to this card by its effect to your side of the field in face-up defense position.
ATK 0/DEF 0

NO...!!! Don't hurt my Synchros!!!

Yep, I see a future for this card. The first ever Level 1 Monster that could have an attack of more than 4000, and besides that, it has a relatively easy-to-achieve summoning condition.

No matter how good this card is, it still fails to protect itself from cards like Divine Wrath, Turbo Warrior and of course, Mirror Force. You will need something more to do that, and it can be easily resolved with its effect. Get a Stardust Dragon, and this card is indestructible, provided that you have a full pool of Life Points. Hell, this Monster is a beast.

All in all, a good card and a bad end to all the Synchros...

Rise of the Anti-Meta Decks

With the Indianapolis tournament ending its 2-day duelist massacre, we see the rise of the Anti-Meta Decks. Yeah, you did not hear anything wrong. When Blackwings reigned the tournaments during 2009 and X-Sabers on the first half of this year, some Decks that are never played too much before actually sprang up and put others into shame. Today we'll be analyzing these anti-meta Decks that are being used in this tournament and for the sake of players like me, make it a more economic Deck to play.

Here's the Decklist of champion Anthony Meier, credits goes to TCGPlayer for providing the info:

Monsters:
3 Banisher of the Radiance
2 Cyber Dragon
3 Doomcaliber Knight
3 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
2 King Tiger Wanghu
1 Spirit Reaper
3 Thunder King Rai-Oh

Spells:
3 Book of Moon
2 Enemy Controller
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
3 Smashing Ground

Traps:
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
3 Dimensional Prison
2 Magic Drain
1 Mirror Force
2 Royal Oppression
2 Sakuretsu Armor
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Starlight Road

Ignore the cards in italics, their Common or Rare counterparts can be bought quite cheaply for $0.50 - $2.

Let's analyze the Monsters part first. 3 Banishers of the Radiance make everything that goes into the Graveyard removed from play, stopping potential threats like Quillbolt Hedgehog or the summoning of Dark Armed Dragon. Combined with Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo and King Tiger Wanghu, an even more solid lockdown combo is created, as almost everything your opponent summons would go to the Graveyard and removed from play.







Thunder King Rai-Oh stops your opponent from searching Monsters due to effects like Mystik Tomato for a counter attack and furthermore, it's a nice 1900 beatstick with almost no drawbacks, on the condition that you yourself would not search for cards in the Deck.



Doomcaliber Knight is evil (not purely evil due to its drawback). It means a 1900-ATK beatstick and a potential destruction of your opponent's Monster effect. However, its strength also means its weakness as you would have to also Tribute this card if your Monster's effect activates earlier, resulting in a -2 advantage.



Cyber Dragon is there to stop Machina Gadgets and to act as a rapid 2100-ATK beatstick. I would recommend Marshmallon over Spirit Reaper since it causes burn damage and no drawbacks.





Spells. Book of Moons, Heavy Storm and MST are staples for any Deck. You know why.

And we have Enemy Controller. You can easily change the Battle Position or even controlling one Monster your opponent controls, on the opponent's turn! That would stop direct attacks easily, allowing you to counter attack the next turn.



I love Lightning Vortex over Smashing Ground, because of its mass destruction ability despite you having to pay one card.

Finally, we have our Traps. I would not like to comment too much on this as most of them are really expensive Traps, excluding Sakuretsu Armor and Magic Drain, sorry for the TCG players who are looking for cheaper Decks.

So, how can we make it more economic?

You would like to pay more for Banisher of the Radiance since it has a good ATK for its Level, 1600 and a nice effect. Or you could simply switch them for Dimensionhole, $0.50 each at the cost of less Monsters.

Fossil Dyna is too costly. Substitute it with Vanity's Fiend, and you will have a 2400-ATK Level 6 beast which also stops your opponent from Special Summons.

Cyber Dragons... Drop it if you want a beatstick since you would already have Vanity's Fiend. Or add it single if you want, as we had so many Monsters...



Marshmallon for Spirit Reaper since it costs the same, plus a burn effect.



Doomcaliber Knight and Thunder King Rai-Oh are really hard to find substitutes for. Save your money if you are really desperate for them. If you need a nice Level 4 with cheap price and over 1900-ATK, then I would recommend Maiden of Macabre and Breaker the Magical Warrior. Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer is also fine.

I would throw in a D. D. Warrior Lady or D. D. Assailant to get rid of problematic Monsters. Add in one or two Tuner Monsters for creativity, preferably the cards I recommended earlier. Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind, X-Saber Airbellum and Psychic Commander if you want to stick to the original theme. No, Junk Synchron, its not your turn yet.

Wait for Starstrike Blast in November for Swift-Attacking Scarecrow. Again, if you have the money, try out Battle Fader.

The Monsters part is complete! Here's the recommended list: (18)

Vanity's Fiend x2
Cyber Dragon x1
Banisher of the Radiance x3
Thunder King Rai-Oh x2/3 (sorry for its great effect, you need to pay more =<)
Marshmallon x1
King Tiger Wang-Hu x2
X-Saber Airbellum x2
Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind x1
D. D. Warrior Lady x1
Breaker the Magical Warrior x3

Spells, Spells, Spells... We would probably untouch them. Save your money for this part. Its a great selection. But if you are desperate for cheap cards, Giant Trunade for Heavy Storm. Lightning Vortexes for the Smashing Grounds. And Dust Tornado for the MSTs. Here's the list: (9)

Book of Moon x3
Enemy Controller x2
Giant Trunade x1
Lightning Vortex x3



Traps are a headache. Most probably, two Trap Holes for the Bottomless. Throw in a By Order of the Emperor. Dust Tornado is a cool option for those who don't want MST. Remove the D. Prison to save budget. Wait for Structure Deck: Marik and get your cheap Mirror Force. Drop out Starlight Road and a Royal Oppression. Add in a Sakuretsu Armor since you would not have D. Prison. And here's the result: (14)

Trap Hole x3
By Order of the Emperor x1
Magic Drain x2
Mirror Force x1
Royal Oppression x1
Dust Tornado x2
Solemn Judgment x1
Sakuretsu Armor x3

Extra Deck... You will substitute the Cyber End and Cyber Twin Dragons in his choice to Synchro Monsters, since you'll have your Gale the Whirlwind or Airbellum. Staples are recommended. And here's my usual list of Synchros: (15)

Stardust Dragon x1
Red Dragon Archfiend x1
Black Rose Dragon x1
Ancient Fairy Dragon x1
Black-Winged Dragon x1
X-Saber Urbellum x1
Magical Android x1
Goyo Guardian x1
Blackwing Armor Master x1
Armory Arm x1
Gaia the Force of Earth x1
X-Saber Gottoms x1
X-Saber Wayne x1
Iron Chain Dragon x1
Chimeratech Fortress Dragon x1



Yeah, here's your economic Anti-Meta Deck. Feel free to comment/edit it!

Pick & Mix: Top 10 General Tuners in the Game

As implied from the title, this article talks about 10 of the best splashable tuners in the game, based on my opinions. It may sound a bit subjective, but you are free to criticize my choices and/or post your list.

#10: Psychic Commander



Just pay 500 Life Points and you would have a beast which would die along with your opponent's Rai-Oh? For some people, okay. For me, nah. I would rather use Krebons to defend my Life Points. It wouldn't even scrape the Monarchs.

#9: Dark Resonator



Once per turn, if this card would be destroyed by battle, it is not destroyed!? That's quite a solid defense. It could even make you able to bring out a Goyo, Brionac or Black Rose Dragon on your next turn, giving you the chance to counter attack. But why #9? Because it did not pack a multi-defense ability like Krebons did.

#8: Eccentric Boy



Synchro Summon from your hand, and potentially on the first turn? Combined with Level 3 Monsters, it would give you a beatstick like Goyo Guardian. But its cons? Effect negation. Which means no free brainwash for that Goyo.

#7: Plaguespreader Zombie



Before the banlist, I just love this card when combined with Necrovalley or Imperial Iron Wall. After the banlist, nah. Not something for me to put in my Deck. But still a great card though.

#6: Formula Synchron



Sorry for those who are playing the TCG, you will have to wait 4 more months for this card... But even if Starstrike Blast comes out, I would... not recommend you to put it double in the Deck. Single is good, because the effects are attractive, but how can you bring out and defend the materials for two, when so many overpowering cards are in the game?

#5: Dewdark of the Ice Barrier



1200 ATK direct attack!? That's quite some heavy damage. Inferno Reckless Summon for 3600 damage, anyone? Again, for TCG players, sorry as you will have to wait for Hidden Arsenal 3.

#4: Reese the Ice Mistress



With so many Level 4 or higher Monsters lurking out in the game, this card is the perfect choice for a solid defense to many players. However, its strengths also means its weakness. Red Dragon comes, die. Airbellum comes, die again.

#3: Krebons



Yeah, here's the card. A pretty good ATK for a Level 2 Monster, and a pretty nice effect to defend itself. Nothing more to say.

#3: X-Saber Airbellum



Yeah, here's the card. A pretty good ATK for a Level 3 Monster, and a pretty nice effect to lock your opponent. Nothing more to say.

#2: Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind



Free Shrink per turn!? Now, killing Stardust is not a problem, especially when the effect lasts forever. Can't fight against Goyo, Red Dragon? Sure, there are a lot of Equip Spell Cards out there that boosts this card's ATK. Or you can just simply Synchro out a Blackwing Armor Master and attack.

#1: Junk Synchron



Here's it. My favourite Tuner Monster of all time. It has helped me a lot in difficult situations, especially if I ***pull out this card and Synchro Summon it for a AOJ Catastor or Junk Warrior. All in all, a fantastic Tuner Monster. If only it were a Level 4...

Some of you may ask: why isn't cards like Quickdraw Synchron or Debris Dragon in the list? Sorry, but they are not all splashable, in my opinion. Quickdraw supports only Warriors, while Debris supports just the dragon Synchro Monsters. Players will have difficulty playing the cards if they do not have the respective Synchro Monsters in the Extra Deck.

That's my view on it. What's yours?

p/s: Synchro Monsters next turn. Preview: 1 new Monster from Starstrike Blast will be in this set.

Deck Strategy 14/8/10 - Quillbolt OTK/FTK Deck without Mass Driver

As I have said earlier in the CoTD, Mass Driver would be very likely to see banning in the September 2010 list. And I hope that Dark Strike Fighter would see some daylight (which is very unlikely).

But, even without these two cards lurking around in our Decks, we can still create the Quillbolt Loop and result in a OTK, with just five cards: Quickdraw Synchron, Quillbolt Hedgehog, Necrovalley, Cannon Soldier and Double Summon; combined with some draw power. Here's the Decklist:

Monsters (15):
Quickdraw Synchron x3
Quillbolt Hedgehog x3
Cannon Soldier x3
Royal-Magical Library x3

Spells (27):
Cup of Ace x1
Double Summon x3
Broken Bamboo Sword x2
Golden Bamboo Sword x2
Upstart Goblin x3
Pot of Duality (this is optional again, if you have the money)
Hand of Destruction x3
Dark World Dealings x3
Reload x2
Necrovalley x3
Toon Table of Contents x3
Card of Destruction x1
Tuning x1 (just in case, if you threw Quickdraw into the Grave)

TOTAL: 42 Cards (You may want to throw in a Starlight Road for fun =)

Extra Deck (15):
Junk Archer x3
Nitro Warrior x3
Turbo Warrior x3
Drill Warrior x3
Road Warrior x2
Junk Destroyer x1

*Note: The Extra Deck is optional, if you do not want to Synchro.

So, how to play?
1. Summon Library first.
2. Play all those Spells and draw until you have the right cards. When Library have 3 Spell Counters, just remove them to get 1 free draw.
3. Discard Quillbolt to Special Summon Quickdraw.
4. Play Necrovalley.
5. Play Double Summon, Normal Summoning Cannon Soldier.
6. Have fun with your burning!

This strategy also works with getting the five Exodia pieces.

The Cons:
- Effect Veiler!!!
- Too many cards in the combo.
- Some cards are just expensive.

Don't worry, if the FTK don't work, you can still change your strategy, by adding in the Synchro Monsters above and play Quickdraw Synchro. See? Even without Mass Driver and Dark Strike Fighter, you can still achieve a FTK quite easily.

That's for all today.

CoTD 14/8/10 - Mass Driver

Yeah, I know. The banlist is coming out next week and this card is a hot favorite to be either banned/limited, all because of the OTKs (and also FTKs) it has resulted in.

This card is awesome. Tribute one monster and inflict 400 damage to the opponent. Seem not so much burn damage? However, it can be used more than once per turn! Meaning that, you can use the Quillbolt Loop to create an OTK quickly. What's more, it's a Spell Card, meaning it goes around Cannon Soldier's summoning restrain, your opponent cannot Effect Veiler it, no cards can stop it on your first turn and can directly cause a FTK. Broken?

My opinion is that Konami should really ban this card in the next list and maybe limit Dark Strike Fighter to 1 as it would be harder to get out on the first turn. That's my view on it. Now it's your turn!