YGO: Individual Card Discussion

[Frostweaver]

It said normal summon, otherwise it'll be special summon. The only thing this card can do is to immediately plop a high level normal monster right off the bat type of thing.

 

[Alter Ego]

Actually, I checked the rulings on this thing. Cry Havoc!'s effect is indeed like a special summon that's not officially a Special Summon, similar to Ultimate Offering, meaning you can use that effect as many times a turn as your graveyard and available field space can support. It says nothing about getting to summon anything without tributes, though, so five stars and up you still have to pay for as usual.

It's...actually not half-bad as vanilla supports go, especially since it lets you keep on swarming even with the ever-popular Royal Oppression up. But yeah, the fueling is a bit of a hitch since short of using Heart of the Underdog, you'd have some problems keeping those cards coming, and with Heart of the Underdog, you'd need a monster heavy lineup.

 

[Gymnotide]

Lightsworn deck + Blasting the Ruins = Fun failure.

Blasting the Ruins
Normal Trap
You can only activate this card if there are 30 or more cards in your Graveyard. Inflict 3000 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points.

 

[Alter Ego]

That is quite possibly true.

Blasting the Ruins itself, however, should not be underestimated. It was, after all, the finisher card of the old Life Equalizer OTKO, which remains one of the - to me - most interesting builds to date. This is a very, very demanding card, but being able to burn for 3000 points is quite a formidable effect too and we do have ways to mill through our deck at a ridiculous pace if we choose to do so. Magical Merchant in a monster-heavy lineup (heck, why not of Lightsworn?) could do it, as that way we avoid dumping any precious copies of Blasting as we rip through. Hitting any Wulfs or Necro Gardnas along the way would just act as bonus, and hey, you might just get a Judgment Dragon online fast too if you want. Since triple Honest would be a given for that, the monster-oriented lineup would hopefully not leave us with too many dead draws either.

Of course, the question remains whether or not Lightsworn would be better of just going 'screw Blasting' and aiming for kill through brute swarming (judging by competitive decklists, the answer to that one seems to be 'yes'), but I find the notion of such a deck entertaining at the very least. Besides, since Thought-Ruler and Solemn are all the rage, it's not all that hard to drop your opponent into a state where one shot of Blasting is an OTKO. Since no-one expects burn or sides for it specifically, you would probably get away with your shenanigans too. Basically, what I'm talking about here is some form of burn deck with enough Lightsworn to make it pass for a standard Lightsworn swarmer at first glance, but where the real aim is triggering Blasting. It could work with the oft-maligned Trap of Darkness too, circumventing the need for self-mill, though how an even semi-stable deck of either concept would look, I have no idea. XD

Actually, hold that thought. Life Equalizer puts both players at 3000 LP, amirite? And what's the maximum LP you can still activate Trap of Darkness at? Ahyup, 3000. SO all we need is a suitable draw/LP tweaking engine and we'll be set to do the old Equalizer OTKO all over again, except without having to mill 30+ cards for the pleasure.

Yeah, just musing here. Carry on. I have this sudden urge to make a decklist for that, though. XD

 

[Gymnotide]

Life Equalizer-Trap of Darkness was my idea long before yours :P
My only concern is that if I use Lightsworns, I might mill the cards before I get to them.

Hows about Destiny Draw + Allure of Darkness + Upstart Goblin + Hand Destruction for a draw engine instead? :D
That way, you can disguise it as a Tele-DAD :P

...Okay, I lied. The other concern is that since everyone is so fond of paying life points and halving their own, it may be hard to get that crucial 8000 point difference to proc Life Equalizer.

edit2 lol, how about Appropriate + Destiny Hero - Defender + Solemn Wishes?

edit I hate smileys.

edit3
And since I've been posting oh, SO many cards here, this will be the last one for a while.
It's my new fancy.

Tempest Magician
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Spellcaster-Type monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned, place 1 Spell Counter on it. Once per turn, you can discard any number of cards to place 1 Spell Counter on a monster(s) you control for each card you discarded. You can remove all Spell Counters on the field to inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each removed Spell Counter.

 

[Forci Stikane]

Tempest Magician
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Spellcaster-Type monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned, place 1 Spell Counter on it. Once per turn, you can discard any number of cards to place 1 Spell Counter on a monster(s) you control for each card you discarded. You can remove all Spell Counters on the field to inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each removed Spell Counter.

The first card that the Counter trick brings to mind is Breaker, turning those oh-so-abusable discards into S/T destruction. The burn is decent enough with all of the cards that can gather counters, and the full-field range also ruins any possible Spell Counter shenanigans the opponent might try to pull (if any). However, looking at this card as a stand-alone self-fueling burn, I have to say that Snipe Hunter is still far more efficient at getting results out of discards, not to mention less difficult to summon.

...Wait, I just realized something: this would be a relatively cheap way to help fuel Mega Ton Magical Cannon for a complete field wipe. A somewhat difficult finisher to pull off, but the idea of being able to wipe the opponent's field completely clean is more viable with this card out.

 

[Alter Ego]

...Okay, I lied. The other concern is that since everyone is so fond of paying life points and halving their own, it may be hard to get that crucial 8000 point difference to proc Life Equalizer.

If the opponent is that eager to burn themselves down, you can just skip the equalizer and go straight for Blasting the moment they hit 3000 points. Besides, nothing's preventing you from using a Trap of Darkness on Life Equalizer too if it comes to that. Very handy card that Trap of Darkness. ;D

Also, Trap of Darkness is the only card that you would really have to be concerned about milling away, since one of the combo pieces (Blasting) is supposed to go there in the first place, and the other can - as already stated - be emulated by a second copy of trap.


Anyway...tempest? You know, Icha, with the amount of spell counters Mega Ton requires, you could already toss 5000 points of damage straight at your opponent's face through Tempest Magician's effect. More often than not, that would already be your finisher right there; not a dead draw at any point of the game, either. =P

Also, the summoning of Tempest can already be achieved by a simple, two-card combo. Summon Magical Exemplar, activate Foolish Burial to pitch Night's End Sorcerer, revive Night's End with Exemplar and synch up. Night's End does some free graverobbing for you in the process too. Magical Exemplar is already a huge Spell Counter storage bin to begin with as well, so you'd be running it in threes for the deck regardless. Dedicated spellcaster really has no problem getting tempest into play, and every spell you use = 1000 burn for every Exemplar you have on the field when use it. Plus, every card in your hand equals 500 more burn. It's quite easy to make magical numbers with that, I'd say.


So yeah, I wouldn't dis Tempest's ability as a burn finisher, especially when Solemn Judgment sees such frequent use. We have quite a few spellcasters that can hoard those counters up too. :x

 

[Gymnotide]

osnp. I forgot Trap of Destruction could proc Life Equalizer too :P
Actually, this is interesting. So all we need is 3000 LP or less and some way to get and successfully activate two Trap of Destruction. Eh, how are we gonna pull that off?

Yeah, Tempest Magician is actually those two cards you named.
Appearance of Magical Exemplar with different robes & Night's End's weapon. Eheh.
edit oya and those bat things are Night's End's too.

edit2 So, after scrounging around, I found this card.
It'd work wonders with Tempest Magician & Mana Seize. Seeing as how Tempest Magician is so sickeningly easy to summon, I think I'll have a shot at this decktype when the cards come out in English.

Magical City Endymion
Field Spell
Each time you or your opponent activates a Spell Card, place 1 Spell Counter on this card. If a card with a Spell Counters(s) on it is destroyed, place a number of Spell Counters on this card equal to the number of Spell Counters that were on the destroyed card. Once per turn, if you remove a Spell Counter(s) from your side of the field to activate the effect of a card effect you control, you can remove the Spell Counters(s) from this card instead. If this card would be destroyed by a card effect, you can remove 1 Spell Counter from this card instead.

^ invulnerable to most forms of destruction, save for Giant Trunade / other Field Spells. Regenerates counters against Heavy Storm / MST & eats Dust Tornadoes. A Field Barrier + Magic Reflector would be nice.

 

[Frostweaver]

Except only spellcasters use spell counters, and if you're running spellcasters... imperial order (aka, secret village of the spellcasters) is far more deadly, lol. It's nice if you're really rushing it on the counters I suppose, but so far by this card alone without looking at other cards of the set, I'll take village any day since it's always helpful, and not situational at all. You don't have to fear heavy if they can't play heavy to begin with.

 

[Alter Ego]

osnp. I forgot Trap of Destruction could proc Life Equalizer too :P
Actually, this is interesting. So all we need is 3000 LP or less and some way to get and successfully activate two Trap of Destruction. Eh, how are we gonna pull that off?

Oh come now, there's an abundance of outlets for that. Psychics and their support cards, Solemn Judgment, Mirror Wall, and Wall of Revealing Light are all handy ways to shave your LP down in a hurry and there are lots more where those came from if you go looking for them, I'm sure. The remaining question is really which of those options work best. :3

Except only spellcasters use spell counters, and if you're running spellcasters... imperial order (aka, secret village of the spellcasters) is far more deadly, lol. It's nice if you're really rushing it on the counters I suppose, but so far by this card alone without looking at other cards of the set, I'll take village any day since it's always helpful, and not situational at all. You don't have to fear heavy if they can't play heavy to begin with.

Well, Spell Village can be bypassed by monster effects (which is actually the most prominent form of effect destruction in the current format) and there's always the chance of your opponent topdecking that Breaker to ruin your fun. For dedicated spell counter hoarding, I actually would consider Endymion over Village since it would be nigh-indestructible in that kind of deck. That counter hoarding ability does some pretty crazy stuff with Arcanite Magician too.

Y'know...this little guy? :D

Arcanite Magician
Spellcaster/Synchro/Effect
7 Star/Light
400 Atk / 1800 Def

1 Tuner Monster + 1 or more Non-Tuner Spellcaster-Type Monsters

When this card is Synchro Summoned, place two Spell Counters on it. This card gains 1000 Atk for each Spell Counter on it. By removing 1 Spell Counter from your side of the Field, destroy one card your opponent controls.


In a spell counter hoarding deck, this guy is like DaD on steroids. One Apprentice Magician summon or other spell counter trick (say Tempest Magician's?) and he becomes basically indestructible by battle too. Plus, 400 base Atk means he's fair game for Limit Reverse once he bites the dust, so he pop back up at virtually any time to turn those counters into more destruction. Pretty scary stuff when you think about it.

 

[Gymnotide]

Oh, no I didn't mean that the 3000 LP would be hard to get. I meant getting the two Trap of Destructions.
I'm not so fond of kitties.

- - - - -

With Magical Exemplar out, any Spell card also says "Destroy 2 cards your opponent controls." Basically.
Not to mention, Arcanite Magician's effect basically is a Mega Ton Magical Cannon if you have 10 counters... Only that you can use as many as you'd need.

(This is the other card I've been secretly enamored with for the past few days.)

I'm wondering if Assault Mode would be worth it.

 

[Frostweaver]

After doing some update on the OCG, Endymion is actually its own set in a way in the form of the newest spellcaster structure deck. Since most monster require Endymion to be out as the field card, you really can't use secret village anyway. As much as monster destruction is all the phase, you only get there by using spells to dump all your lightsworn or get out some d-draws... or at least that's how we do it in TCG.

OCG's card pool is a lot more different, especially since there's more cards that use spell counters, such as Mage Knight Defender and so on.

I did say my review didn't include looking at rest of the cards in the set D:

 

[Alter Ego]

I'm not so fond of kitties.

Oh really? :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 ;3

...okay, that's getting a bit too obnoxious even for me.

Oh, no I didn't mean that the 3000 LP would be hard to get. I meant getting the two Trap of Destructions.

Oh, there's always the old DaD method of 'search', meaning just rip through your deck like crazy until you have what you want. You've also got your Cats of Ill Omen and Masks of Darkness to get you trap relocation and recursion as necessary. Given how you'd want part of your combo in the graveyard and the other in-hand, discard and draw effects in one package (Dark World Dealings, Hand Destruction etc.) would probably be ideal. Reckless Greed also seems viable since it's good for getting extra cards fast and would mesh with any trap recursion you'd probably want to ensure that you'd get those traps when you need them. Also, do keep in mind that depending on conditions, Life Equalizer may turn out to be a live card without you ever needing to touch a second copy of trap. Heck, depending on your build, you could just slip one each of the original combo pieces in there and make it a deck that's just bent on exploiting Trap of Darkness in general. There are, after all, quite a few other cards you can use to wreak havoc with it. (The Viruses spring to mind here) Ahh...there are so many options available when the cold reality of what does and doesn't work in practice isn't weighing you down, huh?

With Magical Exemplar out, any Spell card also says "Destroy 2 cards your opponent controls." Basically.
Not to mention, Arcanite Magician's effect basically is a Mega Ton Magical Cannon if you have 10 counters... Only that you can use as many as you'd need.

(This is the other card I've been secretly enamored with for the past few days.)

I'm wondering if Assault Mode would be worth it.

The way I read it, Arcanite Magician's effect is basically "Rocks fall. Everyone dies.". Like you already pointed out, a single spell plus Exemplar plus this already equals two cards dead in addition to whatever that spell is doing. And that's not counting Endymion and all the other counter outlets. I asked myself the same question once I realized how crazy this thing is, but my conclusion is 'no'. Thing is, regular Arcantite can precision wipe the field at basically any given time already, so it's not like the /Assaulting actually adds much utility to the effect. On the flip-side, it eats up deckspace that I would rather commit to sumoning Arcantite and hoarding spell counters. As it is, the only /Assault Mode monster I would seriously consider running is Stardust. Since that thing is virtually indestructible once it hits the table.

Heck, let's throw it in here for good measure

Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode
Dragon/Effect
10 Star/Wind
3000 Atk / 2500 Def

This card can not be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can not be Special Summoned except by the effect of this card and "Assault Mode". When the effect of a Spell, Trap, or Effect Monster is activated, you can tribute this card to negate the activation and effect of that card and destroy it. During the End Phase of the turn when this effect was activated, you can Special Summon this card from your Graveyard. When this face-up card is destroyed, you can Special Summon 1 "Stardust Dragon" from your Graveyard.


All I'll say is they're working really, really hard to make these nomis worthwhile and Stardust is pretty much the posterboy of the set. Basically, only way to get rid of it is to nail it from the yard before it revives (at which point it has already eaten at least one card), negate it when it tries to negate something (at which point we again lose a card), or bring in a monster with 3000 or more Atk and smack it down, without using any triggering effects to achieve this setup. Even then, the latter option will still be handing regular Stardust right back. The set also has a number of effects that let you search Buster Mode and use it for effect destruction, and even the /Assault Mode nomis have their own additional use in this little thing:

Assault Teleport
Normal Spell

Return one "/Assault Mode" Monster from your Hand to your Deck to draw 2 cards.


So yes, they are trying this time, but is it enough? Thoughts?

 

[Forci Stikane]

Probably not, but there are at least some useful effects in the bunch. With Zombie World support, Doomkaiser Dragon /Assault can pull any monster in the Graveyard back for a potential game-ending swarm. Endymion also gives some support for Arcanite Magician /Assault, allowing the player to remove counters from Endymion turn after turn to constantly keep the field clean while at the same time leaving the actual monster untouched as far as its 2900-in-practice attack. Yes, the original can already clear the field as necessary with those same counters and has a less strict summoning requirement, but at least this only requires two counters to the original 5+ and also does not need that noted Apprentice or Tempest to take it out of "2800-ATK-kill" range. Of course, this does not make up for the summoning requirement enough to justify a main, but it at least deserves a look as a tech, especially if Stardust Dragon /Assault is already considered.

As for the main Assault Mode support...

Buster Slash: Losing the /Assault monster brings back the original and hopefully to an open field. Being able to use it during the Battle Phase only makes it that much more useful.
Assault Beast: Good for a beatstick but having to discard it to pull out Assault Mode somewhat ruins that positive side of the monster. Would have been better if it was Warrior and thus RotA-searchable.
Assault Mercenary: A little bit better, but returning Assault Mode from the Hand to the Deck ends up as more of a hindrance, since there is already a lack of ways to dig it back out.
Black-Winged Magician: So we turn Assault Mode into a Spell Card in exchange for summoning a weak monster to the field. I doubt this would see a lot of use even inside the decktype, but still...
Arcane Filo: This would be the main resource for bringing out our central Trap, even if it requires an extra Summon for its use and is not compatible with at least two of our target Synchros. Staple for the Assault Mode setup, definitely, as it still beats out discarding a 1900-ATK beater.
Re-Assault: Now this is a bit abusable. Even if the monster's effect is negated, all this would take is Foolish Burial and sending Assault Mode to the Graveyard to toss out a high-level monster on the first turn. This could even be used with another /Assault to bring another Synchro out at the same time.
Buster Counter: Well, this effectively stops DaD, Judgment, Solemn, and every other form of countering those /Assault monsters under the sun. For no direct cost, no less.
Assault Burst: The burn damage is...decent, I suppose, but for getting burned as well and having to lose that /Assault monster? Easily passed.
Assault Teleport: The best support card out of the set, really, as it makes up for that "Shuffle this card into your deck to draw 1 card" effect that never showed up. Not quite up to D-Draw-level of usefulness, of course, but it at least assists in justifying running Assault Mode monsters.

 

[Alter Ego]

Yes, the original can already clear the field as necessary with those same counters and has a less strict summoning requirement, but at least this only requires two counters to the original 5+

How many times will our opponent assemble 5+ cards on the field, really? Just one shot of Mana Seize with Exemplar out is three spell counters already, so it shouldn't be that difficult to assemble what you need, especially since the opponent will be scrambling for options when everything they put out there goes boom. Also, one crucial difference is that while regular Arcantite can remove counters from anything it pleases, the Assault Mode edition can only use its own. That's a major turn-down in my book.

Assault Beast: Good for a beatstick but having to discard it to pull out Assault Mode somewhat ruins that positive side of the monster. Would have been better if it was Warrior and thus RotA-searchable.

Umm...why precisely does it ruin it? oO This is basically like a field searcher, really. If you're in a "desperately need Assault Mode right now" type situation, it can fix that for you. If not, you drop it down there to smash some face and help keep the field in check. It's big enough to earn its keep in either case, so this would be an instant threes card for Assault mode decks, the way I see it. RoTA searchable would be pretty whack since that would mean that up to 9/10 of our deck is either Assault Mode or cards that can become Assault Mode. And that's not counting Arcane Filo. :x

Assault Mercenary: A little bit better, but returning Assault Mode from the Hand to the Deck ends up as more of a hindrance, since there is already a lack of ways to dig it back out.

...that's pretty much a given if you decide to throw the most obvious outlet out of the window right at the get-go. Getting Assault Mode with up to six cards capable of direct search and three copies of the trap itself in your deck really isn't all that hard; the question on my mind is whether you'd be incurring too many situations of having the trap but not the required synchro (or, optionally, you'd have trap and synchro but be stuck with the nomi in your hand).

Arcane Filo: This would be the main resource for bringing out our central Trap, even if it requires an extra Summon for its use and is not compatible with at least two of our target Synchros. Staple for the Assault Mode setup, definitely, as it still beats out discarding a 1900-ATK beater.

I still don't get why running up to an effective six copies of Buster Mode instead of the usual three, with the added benefit of half these buster mode cards being able to double up as beatstick-size monsters as situation decrees, would be such a horribly bad deal, but okay. o.o

Re-Assault: Now this is a bit abusable. Even if the monster's effect is negated, all this would take is Foolish Burial and sending Assault Mode to the Graveyard to toss out a high-level monster on the first turn. This could even be used with another /Assault to bring another Synchro out at the same time.

You do realize that with that wording, destroying all monsters you control is an activation requirement, right? That means if you don't have any monsters to blow up, this thing is as dead as a topdecked Card of Sanctity. I dunno'...if we want the big beater for a turn approach, isn't Swing of Memories + Blue-Eyes the easier route? It's one card cheaper and doesn't kill any additional field presence. Not to mention that you can use the same card for all your copies of Swing.

Assault Burst: The burn damage is...decent, I suppose, but for getting burned as well and having to lose that /Assault monster? Easily passed.

Concur. Only situation where this would even be sort of beneficial - ignoring the obvious burn finish thing - is if the monster was re-assaulted and set to blow anyway. Half-surprised you didn't mention your favourite Anti-burn card and the words '4000-point burn card' in this context, though. ;D

Assault Teleport: The best support card out of the set, really, as it makes up for that "Shuffle this card into your deck to draw 1 card" effect that never showed up. Not quite up to D-Draw-level of usefulness, of course, but it at least assists in justifying running Assault Mode monsters.

Concur on this one too. Plus, the decktype pretty much needs something to keep /Assault monsters out of the hand so that you can actually summon them.

 

[Forci Stikane]

How many times will our opponent assemble 5+ cards on the field, really? Just one shot of Mana Seize with Exemplar out is three spell counters already, so it shouldn't be that difficult to assemble what you need, especially since the opponent will be scrambling for options when everything they put out there goes boom. Also, one crucial difference is that while regular Arcantite can remove counters from anything it pleases, the Assault Mode edition can only use its own. That's a major turn-down in my book.

...Which is precisely where Endymion comes into play, allowing for the removal of counters from a refillable pool as opposed to the normal limit of two. As for the card assembly, a simple Teleport-Malicious chain can easily bring out two or three Synchros, preferably also adding in a Dark Armed Dragon at some point, leaving only one or two sets to meet that five-card field presence. Still, the number was only an example. How often will a player have less than two cards out and not already be open for defeat?

Umm...why precisely does it ruin it? oO This is basically like a field searcher, really. If you're in a "desperately need Assault Mode right now" type situation, it can fix that for you. If not, you drop it down there to smash some face and help keep the field in check. It's big enough to earn its keep in either case, so this would be an instant threes card for Assault mode decks, the way I see it. RoTA searchable would be pretty whack since that would mean that up to 9/10 of our deck is either Assault Mode or cards that can become Assault Mode. And that's not counting Arcane Filo. :x

Because, as with those field searchers, the effect makes this monster a "one or the other" situation when missing an external revival card. It simply comes across as a waste of resources when we have an effect such as Filo's which can pull out Assault Mode while fulfilling an extra purpose at the same time. Besides, should that "desperately need Assault Mode right now" situation come about after it has already hit the field, there is nothing that it can do to help whereas Filo can still serve the same purpose. Still, I suppose this is personal preference.

...that's pretty much a given if you decide to throw the most obvious outlet out of the window right at the get-go. Getting Assault Mode with up to six cards capable of direct search and three copies of the trap itself in your deck really isn't all that hard; the question on my mind is whether you'd be incurring too many situations of having the trap but not the required synchro (or, optionally, you'd have trap and synchro but be stuck with the nomi in your hand).

Of course returning it from the Graveyard to the Deck would be the clear use of the effect, but then there is also the question of recycling it or using it for Re-Assault along with Foolish Burial as already mentioned.

You do realize that with that wording, destroying all monsters you control is an activation requirement, right? That means if you don't have any monsters to blow up, this thing is as dead as a topdecked Card of Sanctity. I dunno'...if we want the big beater for a turn approach, isn't Swing of Memories + Blue-Eyes the easier route? It's one card cheaper and doesn't kill any additional field presence. Not to mention that you can use the same card for all your copies of Swing.

Hmm? With the wording as given, the only actual activation requirement is removing the Assault Mode trap. The /Assault monster can also stay on the field for more than one turn via a single Re-Assault, which Swing of Memories lacks.

Concur. Only situation where this would even be sort of beneficial - ignoring the obvious burn finish thing - is if the monster was re-assaulted and set to blow anyway. Half-surprised you didn't mention your favourite Anti-burn card and the words '4000-point burn card' in this context, though. ;D

"Favourite Anti-burn card"...? ...Oh, I see. Yes, I suppose that could work, but pulling out an /Assault Mode monster would be such a trick already that using those two cards for the sake of possibly hitting the opponent with that much damage is far too situational for too low an output.

 

[Gymnotide]

Hmm? With the wording as given, the only actual activation requirement is removing the Assault Mode trap. The /Assault monster can also stay on the field for more than one turn via a single Re-Assault, which Swing of Memories lacks.

Activate only by removing 1 "Assault Mode" in your Graveyard from play. Destroy all monsters you control to Special Summon 1 "/Assault" monster from your Graveyard, ignoring the Summoning conditions. The effect(s) of an Effect Monster Special Summoned this way are negated. The Special Summoned monster cannot be Tributed, and if it is removed from the field it is removed from play.

Cost > "to" > Effect?

*course, that might just be the translation.

- - - - -

@Trap of Darkness + Life Equalizer + Blasting the Ruins: Wouldn't Magical Hats be more efficient than milling to get Equalizer and Blasting into the Graveyard?

 

[Alter Ego]

OMIGAWDYOUGUYS

Archlord Christia
Fairy/Effect
8 Star/Light
2800 Atk / 2300 Def

If there are exactly 4 Fairy-type Monsters in your Graveyard, you can Special Summon this card from your Hand. When this card is Special Summoned this way, add 1 Fairy-type Monster from your Graveyard to your Hand. While this card is face-up on the Field, neither player can Special Summon Monsters. When this card is sent from the Field to the Graveyard, it is returned to the top of the owner's Deck instead.


...so. Will OCG show some foresight and ban this straight away or will they let it molest the metagame for a while first? Thoughts?

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Ogawd. I know I wanted fairy to get some sort of major pounding stick like this, but that's ridiculous. Counter Fairy can now become top-tier deck, what with three copies of Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter to help dump the requisite four fairies as well as one of Snipe Hunter an the essential three Honest plus a copy or two of Freed the Brave Wanderer for graveyard management... this thing is ridiculously easy to abuse. It has enough attack points to smash its way past nearly anything, and it absolutely shuts down the few monsters that could wipe it out. And it spins itself when killed, so if you've got the graveyard primed all you have to do is get one more fairy in there and...

Limit it right away, please, at the very least. There's a fine line between brokenness and balance that most ace cards walk, but this one does a tap-dance along it complete with several high kicks that threaten to send it careening over the edge.

EDIT: AND you can tribute summon it? Gellenduo FTW.

 

[Alter Ego]

There's a whole lot of things you can do with it, and I'd say the tap dance routine went well over the edge with that self-recursion already. Honest loop, anyone? Christia special summons itself, recurs Honest, uses Honest to dispose of a big beater or just plain hammer through some extra damage and will then be all set to repeat the feat should she be removed from the field by any other method than RFG.

And yes, you can normal or special summon Christia any which way you please too. The special summon is of the 'purely a bonus' variety.

I wouldn't use Ryko for the deck, though, much for the same reason that DaD shies away from it. Dumping our big bad boss monster or overcrowding the graveyard would both be poor options. These being fairies, you can easily use a full recruiter chain of Shining Angel and Summoning Nova to ensure that you can always load the graveyard as much as you like (not to mention that you'll have ridiculously easy access to Honest), alongside triple Honest and Zeradias (heck, even the heralds could be used for such a fairy-heavy deck) to allow plenty of ways to hit the magical number of four fairies and fast, making the only real issue digging your way to Christia, though that's hardly a big issue these days. Once you get that far, you'll probably have a copy of Honest kicking around too, and then you'll be all set to terrorize the field.