Underrated Tech
Alright, it's been quite a while since I've done a Netrepâ„¢ Article, and even though I'm more widely known as a moderator, i'm also an article writer. Today, I'm going to discuss some underrated tech cards. Alright, let's get started, shall we?
First off, let's go with Masked Sorcerer. This bad boy is a 4-star 900/1400, but whenever he deals damage, you draw a card, so 1 attack will net you +1 card advantage. Granted, you may need to pump his stats with some other card to inflict damage, but it's well worth it, as that still nets a +1 for you, since you use up the stat pump to kill their monster, and STILL draw a card. Masked Sorcerer is Sangan-able, which adds to his playability. His Spellcaster status also allows him to enjoy the benefits of Magician's Circle and the as-of-yet unreleased Magician's Valkyria. Him being Dark also allows Mystic Tomato to search him out, as does Last Will. Masked Sorcerer is truly a card that you can essentially access at any time you want, as long as you run the means to get him out.
Banisher of the Light
I know, you're thinking, WTF? No one plays that. Well, just wait, when Dark World takes over, expect this guy to become net-teched. He completely shuts down all the strengths of a Dark World deck, and his 2000 DEF allows him to hold off all the Dark World monsters except for Sillva, Warlord of Dark World and Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World. Banisher of the Light also forces the rare discard decisions to become even harder, as there are nowhere near as many easily playable ways to recur cards from the RFP pile. Granted, you have Return from the Different Dimension, which is seeing a massive rise in play due to Paul Levitin's victory with a deck that abuses it. Banisher of the Light also indirectly shuts down that deck's single biggest monster, Bazoo the Soul-Eater. With no monsters ever hitting the Graveyard, how can Bazoo pump himself? The simple answer, he can't. Banisher of the Light is searchable by Shining Angel, Sangan, and Last Will, and his 2000 DEF makes him worth more than a quick glance.
Rush Recklessly
Ahh, Rush Recklessly. This gem of a common/regular rare is actually worth considering. This card is a free 700 ATK boost, and granted that's normally a -1, if it allows the pumped monster to take down a monster that it could not normally take down, then you've broken even in card advantage. And the magic words "Damage Step" prevent almost all forms of negation from being able to kill it. Don't forget Rush Recklessly also makes for spectacular s/t removal bait as it is chainable and lasts the entire turn. Comboing this card with an effect like Masked Sorcerer or Don Zaloog allows for quick advantage. This card is also handy in allowing any monster with a half-decent ATK value to go head-to-head with Cyber Dragon or just plain destroy it.
Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
This old monk might go back to becoming beatstick material. He still stops the reign of Chaos, so he can still accomplish what he used to accomplish. Now; however, he accomplishes another major purpose. He stops the Bazoo abuse cold. Those RftDD decks wither down and die without removal engines to fuel their big final hit. Kycoo also, as stated before, can remove key Lights and Darks from your opponent's graveyard, so even if they remove the Kycoo from the field, they still have to rebuild the Light/Dark counts in their graveyard. Also, Kycoo also prepares for Zombies, as he forces those who read Book of Lifes to go on strike, so the Zombies will not be coming back anytime soon. Since the opponent is unable to remove a monster in your graveyard from play, they cannot activate Book of Life. Kycoo also shuts down Strike Ninja decks that make appearances every now and then, as they prevent Strike Ninja from allowing for massive field presence. Also, his 1800 ATK allow him to go head-to-head with D. D. Survivor, and also eliminate any other D. D. monster.
The End of Anubis
Yeah, I know. This tech is for those duelists who truly hate and abhor Dark World madness. He has 2500 ATK, which makes him an insanely nice beatstick, except for his 0 DEF, which can make him suspectible to an Otohime with a Silver Bow and Arrow attached to it. It could happen, unlikely, but it could. The End of Anubis; however, provides a level of option restriction on par with Necrovalley. The only difference between the two is that The End of Anubis allows monster removal from the Graveyard, which Necrovalley prohibits, but The End of Anubis stops all cards that have to be in the graveyard to resolve properly, like Sangan, Mystic Tomato, and Amazoness Chain Master. The End of Anubis' Fiend status allows you to recur him with The Puppet Magic of Dark Ruler, in addition to Premature Burial or Call of the Haunted. The End of Anubis also serves like a Jinzo for graveyard effects, so to speak, because if you chain to the effect with, say, Call of the Haunted to return The End of Anubis, The End of Anubis' effect will be applied once Call of the Haunted resolves and it will negate what it was chained to. That's your rulings lesson for the day.
Zombyra the Dark
Ah, our old friend Zombyra the Dark. The largest playable 4-star without a terrible drawback. Put it this way, he stays in ATK mode. Heh. And his 2100 ATK is a great opening play, as it can go head-to-head with Cyber Dragon. Combining Zombyra with one of my earlier pieces of tech, Rush Recklessly, allows for Zombyra to become a monster removal monster for that turn, and all at the cost of 200 ATK off. Not a bad trade-off, in my opinion, as it still results in an even Exchange. Zombyra also beats on attack mode Spirit Reapers like no one's business, and punishes players who decide to go aggressive with Don Zaloog and Spirit Reaper.
Greenkappa
Heh. A personal favorite of mine. A searchable mini-Mobius. Yep, that's right, he's a Warrior, so he can be searched out by Reinforcement of the Army. His stats are nothing to brag about, but his effect can generate an easy +2. He also destroys s/ts in the Damage Step if attacked, so let's see them chain those. Granted the cards have to be face-down, but most set cards are either bluffs or cards like Widespread Ruin/Sakuretsu Armor, so Greenkappa should have plenty of food to eat.
Wave-Motion Cannon
The epitomy of tech for a slow meta. This meta can be dealy slow once the game comes down to top-deck wars, and Wave-Motion Cannon shines late game, where most s/t removal options were expended during the middle and early game. This card is also a psychological key to your opponent's mind, as they are normally forced to find a way to get rid of it, or risk losing to it. This can also force rash decisions and lead your opponent into summoning without thinking, trying to push through necessary damage, so Wave-Motion is a great bait card to play alongside Torrential Tribute or Bottomless Trap Hole.
That's all the tech for this time.
-John Kilbourne (chaosruler)
Alright, it's been quite a while since I've done a Netrepâ„¢ Article, and even though I'm more widely known as a moderator, i'm also an article writer. Today, I'm going to discuss some underrated tech cards. Alright, let's get started, shall we?
First off, let's go with Masked Sorcerer. This bad boy is a 4-star 900/1400, but whenever he deals damage, you draw a card, so 1 attack will net you +1 card advantage. Granted, you may need to pump his stats with some other card to inflict damage, but it's well worth it, as that still nets a +1 for you, since you use up the stat pump to kill their monster, and STILL draw a card. Masked Sorcerer is Sangan-able, which adds to his playability. His Spellcaster status also allows him to enjoy the benefits of Magician's Circle and the as-of-yet unreleased Magician's Valkyria. Him being Dark also allows Mystic Tomato to search him out, as does Last Will. Masked Sorcerer is truly a card that you can essentially access at any time you want, as long as you run the means to get him out.
Banisher of the Light
I know, you're thinking, WTF? No one plays that. Well, just wait, when Dark World takes over, expect this guy to become net-teched. He completely shuts down all the strengths of a Dark World deck, and his 2000 DEF allows him to hold off all the Dark World monsters except for Sillva, Warlord of Dark World and Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World. Banisher of the Light also forces the rare discard decisions to become even harder, as there are nowhere near as many easily playable ways to recur cards from the RFP pile. Granted, you have Return from the Different Dimension, which is seeing a massive rise in play due to Paul Levitin's victory with a deck that abuses it. Banisher of the Light also indirectly shuts down that deck's single biggest monster, Bazoo the Soul-Eater. With no monsters ever hitting the Graveyard, how can Bazoo pump himself? The simple answer, he can't. Banisher of the Light is searchable by Shining Angel, Sangan, and Last Will, and his 2000 DEF makes him worth more than a quick glance.
Rush Recklessly
Ahh, Rush Recklessly. This gem of a common/regular rare is actually worth considering. This card is a free 700 ATK boost, and granted that's normally a -1, if it allows the pumped monster to take down a monster that it could not normally take down, then you've broken even in card advantage. And the magic words "Damage Step" prevent almost all forms of negation from being able to kill it. Don't forget Rush Recklessly also makes for spectacular s/t removal bait as it is chainable and lasts the entire turn. Comboing this card with an effect like Masked Sorcerer or Don Zaloog allows for quick advantage. This card is also handy in allowing any monster with a half-decent ATK value to go head-to-head with Cyber Dragon or just plain destroy it.
Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
This old monk might go back to becoming beatstick material. He still stops the reign of Chaos, so he can still accomplish what he used to accomplish. Now; however, he accomplishes another major purpose. He stops the Bazoo abuse cold. Those RftDD decks wither down and die without removal engines to fuel their big final hit. Kycoo also, as stated before, can remove key Lights and Darks from your opponent's graveyard, so even if they remove the Kycoo from the field, they still have to rebuild the Light/Dark counts in their graveyard. Also, Kycoo also prepares for Zombies, as he forces those who read Book of Lifes to go on strike, so the Zombies will not be coming back anytime soon. Since the opponent is unable to remove a monster in your graveyard from play, they cannot activate Book of Life. Kycoo also shuts down Strike Ninja decks that make appearances every now and then, as they prevent Strike Ninja from allowing for massive field presence. Also, his 1800 ATK allow him to go head-to-head with D. D. Survivor, and also eliminate any other D. D. monster.
The End of Anubis
Yeah, I know. This tech is for those duelists who truly hate and abhor Dark World madness. He has 2500 ATK, which makes him an insanely nice beatstick, except for his 0 DEF, which can make him suspectible to an Otohime with a Silver Bow and Arrow attached to it. It could happen, unlikely, but it could. The End of Anubis; however, provides a level of option restriction on par with Necrovalley. The only difference between the two is that The End of Anubis allows monster removal from the Graveyard, which Necrovalley prohibits, but The End of Anubis stops all cards that have to be in the graveyard to resolve properly, like Sangan, Mystic Tomato, and Amazoness Chain Master. The End of Anubis' Fiend status allows you to recur him with The Puppet Magic of Dark Ruler, in addition to Premature Burial or Call of the Haunted. The End of Anubis also serves like a Jinzo for graveyard effects, so to speak, because if you chain to the effect with, say, Call of the Haunted to return The End of Anubis, The End of Anubis' effect will be applied once Call of the Haunted resolves and it will negate what it was chained to. That's your rulings lesson for the day.
Zombyra the Dark
Ah, our old friend Zombyra the Dark. The largest playable 4-star without a terrible drawback. Put it this way, he stays in ATK mode. Heh. And his 2100 ATK is a great opening play, as it can go head-to-head with Cyber Dragon. Combining Zombyra with one of my earlier pieces of tech, Rush Recklessly, allows for Zombyra to become a monster removal monster for that turn, and all at the cost of 200 ATK off. Not a bad trade-off, in my opinion, as it still results in an even Exchange. Zombyra also beats on attack mode Spirit Reapers like no one's business, and punishes players who decide to go aggressive with Don Zaloog and Spirit Reaper.
Greenkappa
Heh. A personal favorite of mine. A searchable mini-Mobius. Yep, that's right, he's a Warrior, so he can be searched out by Reinforcement of the Army. His stats are nothing to brag about, but his effect can generate an easy +2. He also destroys s/ts in the Damage Step if attacked, so let's see them chain those. Granted the cards have to be face-down, but most set cards are either bluffs or cards like Widespread Ruin/Sakuretsu Armor, so Greenkappa should have plenty of food to eat.
Wave-Motion Cannon
The epitomy of tech for a slow meta. This meta can be dealy slow once the game comes down to top-deck wars, and Wave-Motion Cannon shines late game, where most s/t removal options were expended during the middle and early game. This card is also a psychological key to your opponent's mind, as they are normally forced to find a way to get rid of it, or risk losing to it. This can also force rash decisions and lead your opponent into summoning without thinking, trying to push through necessary damage, so Wave-Motion is a great bait card to play alongside Torrential Tribute or Bottomless Trap Hole.
That's all the tech for this time.
-John Kilbourne (chaosruler)
