Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Review: Photon Veil

As i was looking through photon shockwave, i was picking out cards that i would probably review in the coming few months. Photons look to be an interesting group of cards to play around with when the set is released. A few of their cards however, can be splashed in other LIGHT decks since they do not specifically refer to Photon cards.

One of them is the spell card called Photon Veil

This spell card allows you to return 3 LIGHT monsters from your hand into your deck. Then you can add up to 3 level 4 or below LIGHT monsters from your deck to your hand. If you choose 2 or more monsters, they must have the same name.

The main reason why i am reviewing this card is because of Lightsworns. They are going to be big this format with Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning at 1. One problem with Lightsworns is the Consistency issue. For a Deck to win a YCS, they must be able to consistently win 11-12 rounds of swiss to even get into the Top 32. When lightsworns work though, they are almost unstoppable.

This card can help with the consistency problem. You can return LIGHT monsters like Wulf back into your deck and get monsters you can actually use. It means your starting hand is better and you can focus more on milling and setting up, rather than trying to get out of a terrible hand of Necro gardna, Glow up Bulb, Plaguespreader and 3 Wulfs (It happens more often than you think). It means you can return monsters like Judgment dragon and Black Luster Envoy when you cannot summon them at that present time.

However, this card has more problems than its worth. First off, you need to have 3 LIGHT monsters in your hand before you can even think of activating this card. That means 4 specific cards in your hand. Also, you need to be able to handle the inherent -1 that this card makes. You activate the card (-1), return 3 to the deck (-3), and add 3 to your hand (+3), and thats if you add 3 to your hand.

Also, the the best way to make use of this card is to have 3 cards of the same name in your deck. Decks like Lightsworns focus more on having many different monsters in your deck. The only monster that might be played at 3 in there is Wulf. But with the way the deck needs to be at the moment, 2 wulfs is considerably better and frees up a deck slot.

The card is meant to be used with Daybreaker, which when special summoned through Photon lead (Which i might review), allows you to special summon all 3 of them from your hand, allowing for a Rank 4 xyz summon.

But the way this card supports a whole attribute, it might get rarity bumped all the way up to Ultra rare. If it did end up a holo though, the artwork would look superb.

Yu-Gi-Oh Card Review: Evolkaiser Lagia

Hello readers. It's been a while since I've done a card review. In addition, this post is my 100th post on this blog. Crazy stuff.

Anyway, today's card for review is Evolkaiser Lagia

Lagia says "no"

This Xyz monster requires 2 Level 4 Dinosaur-type monsters to summon it and hits the field at 2400 attack and 2000 defense points. That's pretty decent once you take a look at it's potent effect.

You can detach 2 Xyz materials from this card to negate the normal/special summon of a monster, or the activation of a spell or trap card, and destroy it.

Right off the bat, you can relate the effect of this card to Solemn judgment. The only difference is that this card does not cost half your life to use it. Like Solemn judgment, you cannot negate special summons from a card effect, like an X-saber special summoned by XX-Saber faultroll or a monster summoned by Call of the haunted etc.

But this card's effect puts some severe pressure on your opponent. The next card they play will most likely be negated so it depletes your opponent's resources pretty quickly. That means that bringing this card out later in the game will probably seal your victory. There are many cards to negate this format (I'm counting about 5 staple spell cards if you count the Pot of duality reprint, but that's my opinion). It negates your opponent's summon, so it can stop most floaters like Tour guide from the underworld and Reborn Tengu upon summon.

But thats not the icing on the cake. Its got legs. Once its effect has been used, it can go toe-to-toe with monarchs and puts pressure that way too. It really is one of the best control cards ever created.

Konami obviously tried to balance this card a little by needing 2 level 4 dinosaurs to summon it. However, there are ways to acquire 2 very easily. If you look at my previous post, i made a decklist around this card. The two main ways are Jurracs and Rescue rabbit. Either method allows you to make Lagia with only 1 card in your hand.

This card is by far the best xyz in Photon Shockwave, unless some broken TCG exclusive finds its way in there. I can see this card hitting £30/$45-$50 once its released in November.

Rescue Rabbit Jurracs

A thought came to my head. What happens when a rabbit with a whistle crosses the road with a bunch of dinosaurs?

They turn into dragons, obviously.

Monsters - 19
3x Rescue Rabbit
3x Sabersaurus (1900 attack normal dinosaur)
3x Kabazauls (1800 attack normal dinosaur)
3x Jurrac Guaiba
3x Jurrac Velo
2x Effect veiler
1x Gorz, the Emmisary of Darkness
1x Sangan

Spells - 13
1x Dark hole
1x Monster reborn
1x Heavy storm
2x Pot of duality
3x Mystical space typhoon
3x Fossil dig
1x Book of moon
1x Pot of avarice

Traps - 8
1x Solemn judgment
1x Starlight road
2x Spiritual fire art - kurenai
2x Bottomless trap hole/Solemn warning
2x Call of the haunted

Extra - 15
3x Evolkaiser Lagia (The heart and soul of this deck)
1x number 39: Utopia
1x Stardust dragon
1x Trishula, dragon of the ice barrier
1x Ally of justice catastor
1x Scrap dragon
Other synchros and xyz of your choice.

The main win condition in this deck is to summon Lagia. Its power to negate almost anything means its more broken than shi en really.

If you're super rich, then run 3 tour guides in this deck alongside sangan. that allows you to go into Leviair the sea dragon and use its effect to special summon a banished rescue rabbit and get a monster from your deck. Then you can use rescue rabbit to special summon Lagia. 2 xyz monsters (one that solemn judgments your opponent) all from one card in your hand and one in your banished zone. Thats pretty broken.

Heavy Storm and 3 MST

I'd like to do a short discussion on one of the biggest things to hit Yugioh in a long time. That is the inclusion of Heavy storm and 3 Mystical space typhoons.

This has caused a large contrast to this format, which has been known for being really heavy on backrow. You could essentially summon a monster and set 4-5 trap cards. That in itself creates a very steep uphill climb for the person going second. Because of that, this format has been called a "dice roll format" by many.

If you have watched the best decks this format, they all have their own way with dealing with backrow efficiently. Six samurai have shi en, Tengu plants can pick away at your opponent's backrow with stuff like Tengu and Ryko, and T.G. monsters can replace themselves in the end phase, plus they run Tengu too.

It meant cards like Horn of the Phantom beast suddenly become popular. It shot from a 25 cents card to a 3-5 dollar game changer. Cards such as that thrive in formats like this, where it gets you deeper into your deck and +2s (Provided you activated it at damage calculation).

But Konami, Specifically Kevin tewart, Decided to flip the table on what was beginning to become a normal routine and travel to the other side of the spectrum. He decided to unlimit heavy storm, and take MST off the banlist.

Now im a heavy storm fan myself. I think that with cards such as Starlight road around, it requires a little bit less "Herpa derp" than its brother Giant trunade. By that i mean, if you do use it and run into a starlight road, then you have dug yourself a pretty deep grave. Players complained that when heavy storm does successfully go off, it puts you in a really nice position to overextend and your opponent cannot just reset the traps from his hand.

As mentioned above, Starlight road is going to play a big part in decks this format. With Dark hole and heavy storm in every deck, this card has a lot of leverage to be able to fit in most decks, regardless of the playstyle. Gravekeepers may be able to stay afloat this format, provided they run 2-3 of them to protect their field spell.

However, Konami also decided to unlimit MST. This move is in my opinion, one of the worst decisions that konami has done in a long time. With mst at 3, traps are almost pointless. You will be unable to set anything and get its effect (unless its chainable) and Starlight road will have trouble keeping on the field to get you your free dragon.

But the main problem is that having MST at 3 means that so many decks (Think about diversity) become obselete. Gadgets rely on their backrow, as well as T.Gs and Gravekeepers. It means the game will become faster than it was already, and the only way to survive this format is to stay on the offensive constantly. This normally means overextending and trying to overpower your opponent as quick as possible. This also means that the best decks of next format are going to be the decks that can produce the most amount of power and advantage in the quickest time possible.

Now in context of myself, i plan on playing Lightsworns this format (see the video i posted a couple of days ago). With MST at 3 and Judgment dragon at 3, this deck can be incredibly fast simply because there is almost no resistance.

But with this change, many cards suddenly become a lot more playable. Battle fader might play a really big part this format since it will rarely get warning'd anymore and it can stop a huge push, allowing you to push over their push and win the game. Effect veiler suddenly becomes a lot more interesting now (it was already, but theres even more reason to run it now). I can see it being ran in 3s in some decks.

In conclusion, i feel that Konami went just a little overboard on backrow removal on the banlist. If they kept MST at 2, then it would have been fine.

Lightsworns (Sept. 2011) V1.0

Comment on what i should change in the deck:

Deck - 42 (Want to get it down to 40-41)

Monsters - 23

3x Judgment Dragon

1x Lumina

1x Garoth

1x Jain

2x Lyla

2x Wulf

2x Ryko

2x Celestia

1x Ehren

1x Aurkus

1x Honest

1x Card Trooper

1x Gorz

1x Effect Veiler

1x Necro Gardna

1x Plaguespreader Zombie

1x Glow-up Bulb

Spells -14

3x Solar Recharge

1x Charge of the light brigade

1x Heavy Storm

1x Dark hole

1x Monster reborn

2x Mystical space typhoon

1x Monster Reincarnation

1x Book of moon

1x Foolish burial

1x Gold sarcophagus

1x Pot of avarice

Traps - 5

2x Beckoning light

1x Royal Decree (Might take it out for a 3rd Beckoning, or anything else)

1x Solemn judgment

1x Mirror force

The NEW Official September 2011 OCG Ban list

When i say OCG, i mean that there's still a chance Reborn Tengu could get hit.

Here it is! (Source http://shriek.twoday.net/)

Forbidden Cards 「禁止カード」:

Fishborg Blaster「フィッシュボーグ－ガンナー」
Mind Master「メンタルマスター」
Giant Trunade「ハリケーン」
Royal Oppression「王宮の弾圧」

Restriction Cards 「制限カード」:

Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning「カオス・ソルジャー －開闢の使者－」
Debris Dragon「デブリ・ドラゴン」
Lonefire Blossom「ローンファイア・ブロッサム」
Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En「真六武衆－シエン」
Tech Genus Hyper Librarian「ＴＧ　ハイパー・ライブラリアン」
Formula Synchron 「フォーミュラ・シンクロン」
Heavy Storm 「大嵐」
Primal Seed「原初の種」
Shien's Smoke Signal「紫炎の狼煙」
Pot of Avarice「貪欲な壺」

Semi-Restriction Cards 「準制限カード」:

Summoner Monk「召喚僧サモンプリースト」
Tragoedia「トラゴエディア」
Necro Gardna「ネクロ・ガードナー」
Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier「氷結界の虎王ドゥローレン」
Destiny Draw「デステニー・ドロー」
Swords of Revealing Light「光の護封剣」
Mind Crush「マインドクラッシュ」
Call of the Haunted「リビングデッドの呼び声」

No longer restricted 「準制限」:

Judgment Dragon「裁きの龍」
Spirit Reaper「魂を削る死霊」
Overload Fusion「オーバーロード・フュージョン」
Mystical Space Typhoon「サイクロン」
Megamorph「巨大化」
Gravity Bind「グラヴィティ・バインド－超重力の網－」
Icarus Attack「ゴッドバードアタック」

Offering Gadgets (Post GENF)

Hey everyone. I'm sorry i've been away for a month. I just want to apologise to my regular readers who might have wondered where i have been and thought i was gone forever.

However, that is not the case.

I've theorised a gadget deck, but with the machinas thrown in there too (They are just so darn good not to).

Deck 41
Monsters - 19
3x Machine Gearframe
3x Machine Fortress
1x Machine Force
2x Green Gadget
2x Red Gadget
2x Yellow Gadget
2x Thunder King Rai-Oh
2x Effect veiler
1x Blackwing - Gale the whirlwind

Spells - 12
1x Monster reborn
1x Dark hole
1x Limiter removal
1x Book of moon
2x Smashing ground
2x Mystical space typhoon
1x Giant trunade

3x Pot of duality

Traps - 11
3x Ultimate offering
2x Dimensional prison
2x Solemn warning (or Bottomless trap hole)
1x Solemn Judgment
1x Seven tools of the bandit
1x Mirror force
1x Torrential tribute

Extra deck
3x Number 39: Utopia
3x Steelswarm roach
1x Trishula, Dragon of the Ice barrier
1x Chimeratech fortress dragon
7 other generic synchros

So the general idea here is to use Ultimate offering to Xyz summon up to 4 Xyz monsters in a single turn using ultimate offering and the gadgets. I have seen many decks trying to make this but have some really stupid cards in there like Marauding captain (I refuse to use trashy cards like Gurensaurus). This deck still needs some tweaking (like a couple of Pot of dualities for consistency) so give me some ideas about what to change.