Archive for the ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!’ category

Hey all,

In my last post, I did a brief overview of field spells in YuGiOh.  In short, field spells are cards that will provide a universal effect to a game.

Considering that field spells tend to be risky since they affect both players, there has to be a way to break the symmetry.

Of course, there is–the way is through Earthbound Immortals.

Earthbound Immortals are 10-star dark-attribute creatures that require a field spell in play.  Should that field spell be removed, the immortal will be sent to the graveyard.

Being gods also means  not having any other Earthbound Immortals in play.  After all, there can only be one.

While having some steep requirements, these Earthbound Immortals pack plenty of power.  Each individual immortal has a unique ability that can swing game momentum in your favor.  As a whole, Earthbound Immortals can’t be selected as the target of an attack.  Plus, these Earthbound Immortals are capable of directly attacking and have a high attack (most are between 2500-3000), meaning that they can end the game in 2 or 3 turns.

While there are 8 in total, I’ll only be covering 4 for now.  Stay tuned for next post to see more Earthbound Immortals.  Without further ado, here are four of them:

Earthbound Immortal Uru – The spider immortal is a favorite of mine since it is an insect.  As an insect, the easiest way to cheat it into play is Pinch Hopper.  One cool trick to do is use Limit Reverse to bring back a Pinch Hopper at the end of your opponent’s turn, then switch it to defense mode to destroy it and bring in Uru.  Uru itself is a powerful card, packing 3000 attack and being able to tribute a creature to take control of an enemy’s creature (like Enemy Controller).

Earthbound Immortal Cusillu – Being able to halve your opponent’s life points is a powerful effect, and the first card that comes to mind when considering how to do so with this monkey is Shrink.  Besides that, he’s literally a beast, so give Beast Soul Swap a shot if you’re up for sneaking him out for twice the damage.

Earthbound Immortal Ccaryhua – Considering how much effort it takes to put an  Earthbound Immortal down on the field, it sucks to have one of them removed.  Ccayrhua takes this into account by clearing the field when he’s destroyed by a card effect.  Note that the controller of the effect doesn’t matter, so feel free to destroy your own creature if the situation arises.

Earthbound Immortal Aslla Piscu – This card just screams to be played with Ojama Trio.  When the tokens are destroyed by this card’s effect, this card will inflict a total of 3300 damage to your opponent.

That’s it for now.  Stay tuned for the other four immortals next time.

Hey guys,

Check out field cards.  Here are the basic rules on them:

• There can only be one field card in play at a time.
• They are denoted by a four-pointed star in the top right corner.
• If a field card would enter play with another one in play, the original field card is destroyed (unless protected by Field Barrier) and replaced by the new field card.
• Each player may only have one field spell, either set or active, in play.

Field spells are global effects that affect both players.  Effects include boosting creature attack or defense, reducing creature level, or allowing forcing all creatures to attack each turn.  Here are a look at some field magic cards:

Clear World

Ancient Forest

Think of field cards as a double-edged sword.  While they will either provide a positive benefit to you or a negative effect to your opponent, they’ll also provide the same effect to you.

The key to using field magic spells is to use the effect more effectively than your opponent, otherwise known as breaking the symmetry.  Usually the opponent will be unable to benefit from the field spell, however, to further put you at an advantage, you should use creatures and spells that benefit from the field magic card.

There is also a tutor for any field spell.  It is known as Terraforming.  While it will thin your deck by one card, the deck thinning is minute and not worth using for only that effect.  It also shuffles your deck after searching.

If the field spell card plays an essential role to your deck, run 3 copies of the spell card as well as 1-2 copies of Terraforming.  As your dependency on the spell card lessens, Terraforming becomes less necessary.

One creature group requires the usage of field spells.  Despite their handicap, they are capable of ending games, able to attack directly as well as not being able to attack.  Stay tuned for more information on those next time.

Till then,

Hey,

Check this card out:

This card has the potential to destroy any card on the field at the cost of one card from your hand.

Of course, any card that can produce that card of 1-for-1 advantage has some sort of catch.

Whenever you activate his ability, you must roll a six-sided dice.  Should the result be a 1 or 6, the effect does nothing.  That means success occurs on a 2, 3, 4, or 5.

Probability-wise, here’s the percentage breakdown:
Success: 4/6, or 66.66%
Failure: 2/6, or 33.33%

The probability for succeeding is a little over 50%, meaning that it is slightly in your favor; however, it’s not by much.

Compare it to Brionac, a card who has the same discard cost, but a guaranteed return-to-hand effect.  While the effect is guaranteed, realize that the effect is temporary.  Even if the card is a tribute summon, that card can easily be summoned another turn.

Snipe Hunter’s effect is permanent though, placing the targeted card into the graveyard upon a successful roll.  Also note that Snipe Hunter requires no synchronization to summon, making it a great answer to a potential threat from an opponent.

While Snipe Hunter’s lack of guaranteed destruction may look like a downfall to the card, it also is a valid answer to Stardust Dragon.  Stardust Dragon’s ability can only be activated when there’s a guaranteed source of destruction; Snipe Hunter is not one.

Besides the ability to destroy things, Snipe Hunter is also useful for getting cards into your graveyard.  Need one more creature to summon a Dark Armed Dragon?  Use Snipe Hunter.  Need two more fairies to get out your Archlord Krystia?   Call the man with the number gun.  Snipe Hunter serves as a reliable way to get creatures in your graveyard.

If you haven’t given Snipe Hunter a shot, by all means do so.

And that was an intended pun.

Get in the duel,
http://www.twitter.com/blbrawler

Recently I was putting together a new deck when I came across two cards which seemed to both fit into my deck since they have similar abilities.  Here are the cards:

Star Blast
Normal Spell card

Pay any number of Life Points in multiples of 500. Reduce the Level of 1 monster you control or that is in your hand by 1 for each 500 Life Points you paid, until the End Phase.

Mausoleum of the Emperor
Field Spell card

Both players can Normal Summon or Set monsters without Tribute(s) by paying 1000 Life Points x the number of monstersTribute Summon them. needed to

Whenever two cards are being compared, some sort of measurement, or metric, should be used.  Here are some I would recommend:

• Synergy with other cards: Synergy is how well a card interacts with other cards in a deck.  In addition to both cards being able to summon high-powered monsters, I found Star Blast to work well with synchro summoning.  I was able to reduce the level of some of my monsters, pinpointing the exact star count for the summon.Point:  Star Blast
• Card Independence:  While synergy measures how well cards mesh together, card independence determines how well a card functions on its own.  Even though these two cards help summon monsters, Star Blast works better since the effect is not symmetrical.  To use Mausoleum effectively, you should be able to use the effect without allowing your opponent to do so.  That would require some way to remove the Mausoleum when your opponent attempts to use it.  Star Blast allows you to summon big creatures without risking a large summon from your opponent.Point: Star Blast
• Card Advantage Production: Does the card you’re considering adding set you back in cards?  Or does it help you gain an advantage over the opponent?  Again, since Mausoleum of the Emperor needed to be used safely, Star Blast wins here.Point: Star Blast
• Win inevitability: How much closer does the card put you towards a win?  Also, does the card do anything that may hinder your victory?  Star Blast wins barely here, simply because of the symmetry of Mausoleum.Point: Star Blast

There you have it–in a 0-4 victory, Star Blast wins over Mausoleum of the Emperor for my deck. Whenever you’re torn between two cards for your deck, consider these metrics.  In addition, test the cards to see which one works better for your deck.

Get in the duel,
www.twitter.com/blbrawler

In my previous article, I discuss the importance of special summoning to the game.  The ability to bring out more than one creature per turn is an easy way to overwhelm the opponent by numbers. To prevent the stampede of special summon creatures, players can use cards to prohibit the special summoning of creatures.

The most popular answer to special summons is a trap card.  Since it’s a trap card, it can be run by nearly every deck.  However, it’s versatility comes at a price.  Check out the card here:

Royal Oppression

At the cost of 800 life points, either player can negate the special summoning of a creature.  Note that this is a symmetrical effect, meaning that if you attempt to special summon a creature, the opponent can pay 800 life points to negate that special summon.

What can you do to break the symmetry of this card? The main way is to not use special summons at all.  Use high-powered non-tribute and tribute monsters to hold off your opponent.  In addition, use cards such as Burden of the Mighty and Shrink to take down your opponent’s monsters.

After all, if your opponent can’t keep monsters on their side of the field, chances are they’re going to lose.  Besides Royal Oppression, I’d also recommend these two creatures:  Vanity’s Fiend and Vanity’s Ruler.

Since they are creatures, they are easier to remove than Oppression.  However, they are also able to attack the opponent.  Vanity’s Fiend also works with Allure of Darkness, and Vanity’s Ruler works with Trade-In.

With an attack power of 2400, Fiend is a decent beatstick for the one tribute.  Vanity’s Ruler, while costing two tributes, tops Fiend by a measly 100 attack points.  I recommend Vanity’s Fiend for decks such as Monarchs and STUN.  Monarchs can support the Fiend easily with Brain Control and Soul Exchange.  STUN can use this card in addition to Royal Oppression to hinder the opponent.  I recommend Ruler for Mausoleum of the Emperor and Fairy decks.  However, Archlord Kristya is generally a better choice.

Use the powers of restricting special summoning to give you the edge on your opponent!

Get in the duel,
http://www.twitter.com/burninglandbrawler

On the Yu-Gi-Oh field, there are five slots each player has to lay spells and traps.  All traps are laid face-down, unless some card effect allows the trap to be played from the hand.  Spells can be played face-down or face-up.  Even spells cards that are not Quick-Play can be played face-down and activated another turn by flipping them over.

When you play a card face-down in your trap zone, your opponent has no concrete idea if it is a spell or trap card.  You can give away (or bluff) hints at what you may have face down by the way you react.  At the same time, you can have an idea of your opponent’s hand from seeing how he plays.  Check out the following situations:

• If the opponent attempts to clear your back row, that means your opponent is planning a big play.  Do your best to either counter the attempt or prepare defense for the play.
• If the opponent doesn’t attack, chances are your opponent’s fearing some sort of destruction effect, meaning that whatever cards are left in your opponent’s hand are not strong.
• If your opponent confidently attacks, either your opponent has a backup plan should you be able to counter his attack, or your opponent thinks you don’t have a trap to counter his attack.

Playing Yugioh well requires skill that can be found in poker.  The key is to give as little information to your opponent as possible when playing.  Once that skill is mastered, you can try bluffing your opponent into misplaying.  With enough practice, your bluffing techniques can be as vital as the cards within your deck.

Get in the duel,
www.twitter.com/burninglandbrawler