More Dark Magician

     Hey there Duelists! Coach Muramasa is back again. As promised, here is the other half of our look into the Dark Magician. Slip on your bathing suits, because we're diving into the spellcaster's pool. Last time, we looked at the Dark Magician, and some of his intimidating forms. Now, let's see if we can find some cards that will help him blast your opponent away to the shadow realm.


     First up is the teacher's pet, or Dark Magician Girl. This Level 6 Spellcaster-type has 2000 ATK and 1700 DEF. With her special ability, she gets stronger for each Dark Magician or Magician of Black Chaos is in either graveyard. She draws strength from her master, and also lends some to him at times as well. Like the Dark Magician, she can be on the frontlines in a Spellcaster-type deck. (5/10)

     Skilled Dark Magician is a Level 4 with 1900 ATK and 1700 DEF. His special ability allows him to Special Summon a Dark Magician in exchange for tributing him with 3 Spell Counters. He gathers a Spell Counter each time a Spell Card is activated. If you have to draw him on your opening hand and at least three Spell Cards, you can have a Dark Magician in your first turn. Keep in mind that when you Special Summon the DM, you can pull him from your deck, hand or graveyard. This card can lead to a variety of monster recycle decks. If you use him, go ahead and slip three of him in your deck. (9/10)

     Magician of Black Chaos is one of the oldest Ritual Monsters. By using the Spell "Black Magic Ritual", you can sacrifice monsters from your hand and field whose levels total 8 or more, and Special Summon this card from your hand. This card doesn't have any special abilities, just really decent ATK power. (4/10)

     Dark Eradicator Warlock is the Dark Magician with a special ability. Each time a Normal Spell Card is activated, your opponent gets slammed with 1000 points of Effect Damage. Between this and the 2500 ATK chunks taken out of their Life Points, you could have the duel won on your second or third turn. (9/10)

     Next up is Magician's Valkyria. This monster acts as a Spellcaster-type shield for your other heavy hitters. Your opponent can only target her if there are other Spellcaster-type monsters on your field. You'll want to power her up or protect her with something, otherwise she's just a one trick pony. (5/10)

      Now, let's move on to Spells for a Dark Magician deck. Thousand Knives is a good card for taking out something stronger than the DM. If he is in play when you activate this card, you can stick it to a monster your opponent controls. Use this on that Blue-Eyes White Dragon that a Kaiba wannabe might be tempted to use against you. (7/10)

     Everyone who has ever watched the original Yu-Gi-Oh! knows of the DM's signature attack. Dark Magic Attack is a Spell that allows you to wipe out your opponent's Spells and Traps if you control a face-up Dark Magician. Use this to take out those annoying stall traps, like Gravity Bind or Swords of Revealing Light. I really like the art on that card. (9/10)

     Magicians Unite allows you to combine the might of your Magicians' force and let one of them have 3000 ATK during that turn. The catch is, only that single Spellcaster-type may attack that turn. Use this on a monster that has the ability to deal direct damage or piercing damage. (6/10)

     Mage Power is an Equip Spell Card that grants a 500 ATK and 500 DEF boost to a monster for each Spell or Trap Card you have on the field. This gives you a maximum boost of 3000 ATK and 3000 DEF. Stick this on DM, and the duel could easily be over. Just make sure you clear your opponent's Spells and Traps first. The last thing you want to happen is for a nasty Mirror Force or something worse to pop up and ruin your duel. (9/10)

     Now let's look at a couple of Trap Cards. Magic Cylinder is a good trap to block a lethal attack, and give your opponent the damage instead. Use this to crush them if they attack with a 3000+ ATK monster. (7/10)

     The final card of the day is Pitch-Black Power Stone. This card is good if your Spellcaster-type deck uses a lot of Spell Counters. You get 3 Spell Counters that you may move to other cards once per turn. Slip three of these in your deck and use them with Skilled Dark Magician, and you'll get DM in play in no time. (6/10)

     That does it for another lap around the Dark Magician pool. I hope you consider this card for your Spellcaster-type deck, or even an all around deck. Coach Muramasa is signing off for now. Hit the showers!

Dark Magician

     Hello again Duelists! Coach is here to talk about one of the oldest and greatest monsters of all time. He was Yugi's ace, and my personal favorite Spellcaster-type monster. I'm talking about that purple menace, the Dark Magician! This Level 7 monster has 2500 ATK and 2100 DEF. While he doesn't have any special abilities, he has a variety of cards that support him as the ace in a deck. Today, we're gonna take a look at some of the Dark Magician's various forms achieved through Fusion and other Special Summoning methods.

     First up is Dark Sage. This Spellcaster-type is a Level 9 monster with 2800 ATK and 3200 DEF. To call forth this heavy hitter, you have to tribute a Dark Magician that has been successfully affected by Time Wizard. Also, when this happens, you can pull a Spell Card of your choice from your deck. That will come in handy if you need to pull that one card to turn things around for you, or to ensure a win if you already have the advantage. (6/10)

     Next up is Dark Magician Knight, who pulls a change-up and goes from being a Spellcaster to a Warrior. His stats are the same as Dark Magician, but he gains a special ability that allows him to destroy any one card on the field at the time. Wipe out that face down Mirror Force, or even a continuous Spell Card or Trap Card like Gravity Bind. You could just as well take out a high ATK or DEF monster is that's what's standing in the way of you winning or losing the duel. This card sees a lot more play than Dark Sage, and is easier to summon. All you have to do is play Knight's Title in order to summon him. (8/10)

     Here we have Dark Paladin with 2900 ATK and 2400 DEF. By Fusing Dark Magician and Buster Blader, you get a powerful Spellcaster-type that can negate your opponent's Spell Cards by discarding a card of your own. This card also has an ability that grants it an extra 500 ATK for each Dragon-type either player has in the graveyard. This card is a good choice for taking on Dragon-type decks. (8/10)

     Last, and certainly not least, is Dark Flare Knight. Dark Magician switches to a Warrior-type again by Fusing with Flame Swordsman. While this is a step backward being a Level 6 monster with 2200 ATK and 800 DEF, its special ability will make up for it. No matter what you are fighting, you will not take any damage from a battle that involves this card. On top of that, if this card is destroyed, you get to Special Summon a Mirage Knight from your hand or your deck. As long as you don't have your monster's ability negated, you can use this card to block a heavy hit from your opponent. (5/10)

     That's all for now folks. We dipped our feet in the Dark Magician's pool. Next time, we'll look at some cards that support this master spellcaster. Until then, it's time to duel, somewhere...

Elemental Heroes, Part 3

     Welcome back Duelists! The Coach is here to give you some more duel fuel. Today is the third and final installment on the Elemental Heroes. We're gonna take a look at some of the most useful Spell and Trap Cards to round out an EH deck. You have the basic monsters and the fusion monsters, so let's pick out some tools to help them out.


     First off, let's consider Field Spells. Skyscraper allows an Elemental Hero monster to get a 1000 ATK boost in order to take down an opponent's monster that has higher ATK. This card works well with EH Flame Wingman, allowing you not only to defeat an opponent's monster, but to deal decent effect damage as well. Be careful, because if your opponent is also playing an EH deck, you can get served a defeat by the same card. (9/10)

     Skyscraper 2 - Hero City is another Field Spell to consider. During each of your turns, you can Special Summon an EH monster from your Graveyard. This is a good way to quickly Fusion Summon, as you can also Normal Summon a monster from your hand in the same turn. You could also bring back an EH fusion monster like EH Flame Wingman or EH Shining Flare Wingman. You've got multiple options with this ace up your sleeve. (10/10)

     This is perhaps the most important card to have in an Elemental Hero deck. Polymerization combines 2 or more monsters to create a stronger one. This is how all of us old school duelists used to do things. While there are a lot of other cards used for Fusion Summoning, this one is still a fan favorite. Bring all the heavy hitters to the field such as EH Flame Wingman, EH Shining Flare Wingman, or EH Thunder Giant. (10/10)

     Now lets change gears and look at some personal Spell and Trap cards for certain Elemental Heroes. Feather Shot allows EH Avian to attack a total number of times equal to the number of monsters you control when you activate the card. The tradeoff is that you cannot attack directly, and none of your other monsters may attack this turn. Give EH Avian some kind of ATK boost before using this card, if you want it to be of any use to you. (5/10)

     Another EH Avian exclusive card is Feather Wind. This card can only be activated if EH Avian is on the field when a Spell or Trap card is activated. It's one of many negation cards in the game, and probably not the most effective. It still fits in an Elemental Hero deck just the same. (5/10)

     Burst Return is a card made for EH Burstinatrix. This is a good card to clear your field of your other EH monsters if you have the plan of changing your line-up or want to keep EH monsters from being destroyed in battle. Follow this up with Polymerization or one of the other Fusion Summoning Spell Cards. (6/10)

     Here's a nice useful card for EH Sparkman. It's called Spark Blaster, and gives you the opportunity to change the battle position of a monster a total of three times. It's good for switching a heavy hitter your opponent controls to DEF or take a monster with decent ATK and give them a chance to strike. (8/10)

     Clay Charge is for none other than EH Clayman. This Trap Card allows him to take an opponent's monster with him when he is attacked. The added bonus is, your opponent will get dealt 800 points of effect damage. This is really good to use on a monster that would destroy EH Clayman anyway. A good tactic to turn the duel around if it's not going as well as it should be. (6/10)

     Elemental Hero Wildheart gets a pretty intense Spell Card. Cyclone Boomerang gives him a 500 ATK boost, and if he is destroyed by a card effect, this card wipes out all Spell and Trap Cards in play. This can help or hurt you, depending on what you have in play. Don't wipe out your Skyscraper by mistake if you can help it. (8/10)

     Bubble Shuffle is exclusive to EH Bubbleman. This card grants him the ability to switch himself and an opponent's monster from ATK to DEF mode. On top of that, you can tribute EH Bubbleman to Special Summon another EH monster. Use this effect to get that EH monster you need for a Fusion Summon or to finish off your opponent. (7/10)

     Hero Signal is a Trap Card that allows you to summon an EH monster from your hand or deck if another of your monsters is destroyed. This is another card that's good for getting the right EH monster for a Fusion Summon, or a quick defense. (9/10)


 

      Are you looking for some payback? If so, use Hero Counterattack. This card can be activated if a monster you control is destroyed by battle. Your opponent will pick a card you have in hand, and if it is a monster, you get to wipe out one of their monsters, and Special Summon yours. This works well against heavy hitting monsters, and it's best used if you have a hand full of monsters. (5/10)

     Hero Barrier is a good shield of a Trap Card. If you have an EH monster in play, you can negate an attack from your opponent. Save this for a monster your opponent has that's really powerful and would cause you some real damage. (9/10)

     Fake Hero is another good way to get a Fusion Material Monster in play. Since you can't attack with the EH monster that is Special Summoned, use this card after you Normal Summon another EH monster. (9/10)

     H - Heated Heart is the perfect card to use on EH Flame Wingman, EH Shining Flare Wingman, or even EH Bladedge. The selected monsters gains 500 ATK, and the ability to inflict piercing damage to your opponent. The catch is that the effect is only good for one turn. Save this card for an easy win. (8/10)

     E - Emergency Call allows you to pick out an EH monster from your deck. Use this card to pick the right hero for the job, or pick the EH monster you need for a specific Fusion Summon. (10/10)

     R - Righteous Justice allows you to wipe out a number of Spell and Trap cards based on the number of EH monsters you have in play. This is another card that can work for or against you. Make sure you time it right, so you don't wipe out that Skyscraper. (9/10)

     O - Oversoul. allows to return an EH monster from the Graveyard to the field. Combine this with the Spell Cards E - Emergency Call and Fake Hero to quickly fill your field with monsters. Save this card for bringing back an EH monster such as Flame Wingman or Shining Flare Wingman. (8/10)

     The last card we'll take a look at is HERO Flash!! This card requires H - Heated Heart, E - Emergency Call, R - Righteous Justice, and O - Oversoul to be removed from your Graveyard in order to activate it. Once you do, search your deck for a normal EH monster and Special Summon it. In addition, all of your normal EH monsters can attack directly during the turn this card is activated. Get five EH monsters in play, and deal some serious damage to your opponent. There you have it, the icing on the perfect Elemental Hero cake. There are a number of possibilities for a good EH deck. Consider all of these cards and others when getting your game on. Until next time, rev it up! (9/10)

Elemental Heroes, Part 2

     What's shakin' duelists? Today is part two of our look at the Elemental Heroes. Last time, we took a look at the basic EH monsters. Now, let's take a look at what happens when they join together to become much stronger. All of these fusion monsters have pretty good special abilities that can combat anything your opponent can throw at you. I should also mention that they have pretty cool looking art as well.

     First up is Elemental Hero Flame Wingman. He is fused from two of the weaker EH monsters, Avian and Burstinatrix, but is stronger than both of them combined. His 2100 ATK can take down most Level 4 and below monsters, and with the right spell cards, he can become strong enough to take down a fair amount of Level 7 and 8 monsters. His special ability moves him towards the top of the EH list. In addition to smashing the monster and dealing some battle damage to the opponent, he also gets to inflict effect damage in the amount of the destroyed monster's ATK once it lands in the Graveyard. Give him the power to inflict piercing damage, and he could quickly end the duel for your opponent. (9/10)

    Next up is Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman. Combine EH Flame Wingman with EH Sparkman. Think of him as an upgrade of EH Flame Wingman with his 2500 ATK and 2100 DEF. This powerhouse comes with not one, but two special abilities. His first gives him a 300 ATK power boost for each EH monster in the Graveyard. Now, if you are the kind of duelist that doesn't recycle, reclaim or remove their monsters from the Graveyard, he would most likely have at least 3700 ATK when you put him into play. As he gets stronger, your second special ability would most likely win the duel for you. EH Shining Flare Wingman can also inflict effect damage like EH Flame Wingman. (10/10)

     Elemental Hero Thunder Giant is a titan of a monster with 2400 ATK and 1500 DEF. Combine EH Sparkman and EH Clayman, and you get a heavy hitter with a very interesting special ability. By discarding a card, you can instantly destroy a monster on the field with original ATK that is less than EH Thunder Giant's ATK. Think of it as a good way to get rid of annoying monsters that cannot be destroyed by battle like Marshmallon. EH Thunder Giant would work very well in a deck with EH Shining Flare Wingman. (9/10)

     Here we have Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster, made by fusing EH Burstinatrix and EH Clayman. This solider of justice has 2000 ATK and 2500 DEF. Its special ability allows it to attack while in DEF mode, but only for half of its ATK power and only if your opponent has no monsters. This isn't as effective, but at least you can attack from behind a wall. Use your other monsters to destroy your opponent's defenses, and then score a free hit with EH Rampart Blaster. (8/10)

     Next is Elemental Hero Steam Healer, made from EH Burstinatrix and EH Bubbleman. While it has a low 1800 ATK and 1000 DEF, its special ability makes up for it. It does the opposite of EH Flame Wingman and EH Shining Flare Wingman. Instead of giving your opponent effect damage, it gives you effect healing equal to the ATK of the monster destroyed and sent of the Graveyard. (7/10)

     Elemental Hero Wild Wingman is a fusion of EH Avian and EH Wildheart. His ATK of 1900 and DEF of 2300 is a bit low for a Level 8 monster, but his special ability isn't bad. For the cost of discarding a card, you can destroy a single Spell or Trap Card in play. So you can either sabotage your opponent or trigger a combo on your side of the field. This one isn't as useful as the others, but you can judge for yourself and use him for a duel or two. (6/10)

     Next up is Elemental Hero Wildedge, made from EH Bladedge and EH Wildheart. This Level 8 monster has 2600 ATK and 2300 DEF, with an ability that allows you to attack your opponent's entire line of monsters during each of your Battle Phases. Making him strong enough, and he could wipe out your opponent's monsters in one turn, and allow your other EH monsters to possibly finish off your opponent in the same turn. (8/10)

     The final monster we'll be looking at is Elemental Hero Tempest. This Level 8 heavy hitter is made by fusing EH Avian, EH Sparkman and EH Bubbleman. Weighing in with 2800 ATK and 2800 DEF, his special ability allows you to send a card you have in play to the Graveyard, and at the same time protect one of your monsters from being destroyed in battle. This effect would do well to keep EH Flame Wingman or EH Shining Flare Wingman in play a lot longer. (9/10)

     Well, there you have it. Some of the powerhouses of the Elemental Hero family for your consideration. The only thing left to make a good EH deck is some Spell and Trap cards. Next time, we'll take a look at these, and build a really good deck. Until next time, get you game on!

Deck Submission - Elemental Hot & Cold

     Hey there Duelists! The Coach is here to get you champions in the making revved up. Today, I'm gonna share with you a deck idea I was given by a duelist who came across my blog. First let me say thank you to all of you who have taken the time to enjoy this blog. I'm doing this for all the Yu-Gi-Oh! fans out there, and keep it up as long as I see that it is helping you the reader out. I've got most of the cards to simulate this deck, and I've ordered the remainder online. When I get them, I'm gonna try this deck out with my dueling circle, and let you know how it did in a later post. I've kept you waiting long enough, so here it is.

ELEMENTAL HERO HOT & COLD version 1.0

Monsters (20)

2x Elemental HERO Bubbleman
2x Elemental HERO Burstinatrix
3x Elemental HERO Heat
2x Elemental HERO Ice Edge
3x Elemental HERO Lady Heat
3x Elemental HERO Neos
3x Elemental HERO Ocean
1x Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab
1x Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin

Spells

1x A Hero Lives
1x Card Destruction
2x E - Emergency Call
1x Fifth Hope
1x Get Your Game On!
1x Hero's Bond
1x Miracle Fusion
1x Parallel World Fusion
1x Polymerization
1x Skyscraper
1x Skyscraper 2 - Hero City
1x Swords of Revealing Light
1x United We Stand

Traps (6)

1x Change of Hero - Reflector Ray
1x Hero Barrier
1x Hero Counterattack
1x Hero Signal
1x Hero Spirit
1x Mirror Force

Extra Deck (6)

1x Elemental HERO Absolute Zero
1x Elemental HERO Flare Neos
1x Elemental HERO Inferno
1x Elemental HERO Marine Neos

1x Elemental HERO Nova Master
1x Elemental HERO Steam Healer

Cards in red are Semi-Limited
Cards in blue are Limited
Cards in black have no limit

     This is a very interesting deck. Not only does it center around the Elemental Hero archetype, it takes it a step further showcasing the FIRE and WATER attribute EH monsters. This is almost like dueling with both hands behind your back. I personally look forward to trying this deck out myself. While I'm waiting for my new cards to arrive, let's inspect this deck from top to bottom. First, let's start off with monsters. We should note that EH Neos is a LIGHT monster, but is necessary for getting EH Flare Neos and EH Marine Neos in play. On the WATER side we have EH Bubbleman, EH Ice Edge, EH Ocean, and Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin. For the FIRE side we have EH Burstinatrix, EH Heat, EH Lady Heat, and Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab. This is a pretty balanced deck. We've got EH Bubbleman that can draw a couple of extra cards for you if the timing is right. EH Heat gets stronger with each additional EH monster on the field, and EH Lady Heat dishes up more pain at the end of each turn if you have more EH monsters in play. EH Ocean can recycle monsters from the field or graveyard. EH Ice Edge is a bit on the weak side, but his ability to deal direct damage and destroy Spell or Trap Cards will come in handy.

     Next, let's look at the Spell Cards. There are some notable cards among these. E - Emergency Call is good for pulling EH monsters from your deck to your hand. Hero's Bond is a good follow-up, if you already have an EH monster on the field. You can go from one to three monsters in the same turn. This is good for quick Fusion Summoning, or making use of the special abilities of EH Heat or EH Lady Heat. Fifth Hope is a good one if you're in need of some quick cards. If you have at least five EH monsters in the graveyard, shuffle them into your deck, and draw two or three cards depending on what your hand and field are like at the moment. This is good for an EH recycling deck. Get Your Game On! is a very powerful, and very rare card. Most people wouldn't have this unless they attended a certain 2007 tournament. It doubles the power of all EH and Neo-Spacian monsters in play.

     A Hero Lives is a card for Special Summoning an EH monster of Level 4 or less, at the cost of half of your Life Points. This card is really risky and wasteful, especially if you still have 8000 LP at the time. I would drop this and substitute an H - Heated Heart instead. You've got United We Stand and Skyscraper for additional power, Card Destruction for wiping out your opponent's hand, Swords of Revealing Light for stalling, and Skyscraper 2 - Hero City for reviving monsters from the graveyard. The last Spells to look at are all for Fusion Summoning. Polymerization is for textbook Fusion Summoning, Miracle Fusion is for Fusion Summoning from the field or graveyard, and Parallel World Fusion is for Fusion Summoning with banished monsters. Use them in that order, and you have an almost infinite source of Fusion Summoning materials.

     Now let's move on to Traps. There aren't very many, but each can work in the right situation. Hero Signal will replace an EH monster that was destroyed by battle with another from your hand or deck. Hero Barrier will shield an EH monster from attack one time. Hero Counterattack allows you to replace a fallen EH monster, if your opponent randomly picks it from your hand when you play this card. On top of that, you send one of their monsters to the graveyard as a bonus. Hero Spirit can protect you from a lethal attack once, providing you lost a monster in the same turn you play the card. Change of Hero - Reflector Ray is a really nasty card. If an EH Fusion monster is destroyed by battle, your opponent takes damage equal to its level x 300. Since a lot of EH Fusion Monsters have seven or eight stars, that's 2100 to 2400 points of Effect Damage. Our last Trap is none other than Mirror Force. This card is only good if your opponent attacks you. You'll not only destroy that monster, but all other attack position monsters they control at the time of the attack. Save this ace for hitting 2 or more monsters at the same time.

     Our next look is at the Fusion Monsters. There are six to choose from in this deck, and each brings something to the table. EH Steam Healer grants you Life Points equal to the ATK of the monster that it destroyed in battle. EH Inferno gets a 1000 ATK boost if it attacks a WATER monster. This is a good choice for a lot of Ice Barrier and Sea-Serpent decks out there. EH Flare Neos gains 400 ATK for each Spell or Trap in play, for a maximum boost of 4800. The catch is, he returns to the Extra Deck at the end of the turn. EH Marine Neos is good for destroying a random card in your opponent's hand. EH Nova Master is good for drawing a card after it destroys an opponent's monster. EH Absolute Zero gets stronger for each WATER monster on the field, except itself. It also wipes the opponent's monsters out should it be forced to leave the field. All in all, these are good Fusion Monsters.

     Well, that's it for another session with the Coach. I hope you've learned something that you can apply to your daily dueling scenarios. Until next time, keep drawing that card that will turn things around in your life.

Elemental Heroes, Part 1

     What's shakin' duelists! Today, we're gonna talk about one of the backbone deck archetypes from the GX era: The Elemental Heroes. These warriors of justice work together in a variety of ways to quickly take down the competition. In addition to that, you can fuse 2 or more of them together to make even more powerful Elemental Heroes. This archetype has a number of Spells and Traps that work well to power up and protect these heroes. Let's take a look at the basic Elemental Heroes.

     Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix don't seem too powerful at first glance, but you'll want them in your deck anyway. You'll see why in a little bit.

     Sparkman has decent ATK power, and with an Equip or Field Spell, he could be a real damage dealer.

     Clayman is great for stalling with its DEF of 2000. Alone, each of these 4 cards don't seem like much, but their true potential is unlocked when they are fused together, to make much stronger Elemental Heroes.

     Elemental Hero Bubbleman is another seemingly weak Monster, but his special ability gives you the power to draw 2 cards, if he is the only card you have in play when you summon him. Think of him as a Monster version of Pot of Greed.

     Next up is Elemental Hero Wildheart. He's got average ATK and DEF, but his special ability makes him immune to Traps. Power him up, and he'll overtake Sparkman as most useful Monster so far.

     Elemental Hero Bladedge packs a pretty good punch at 2600 ATK. Combine that with his ability to inflict piercing damage, and he's a good choice for offense.

     The final Elemental Hero to consider, has the most heroic look out of the bunch. I'm talking about Elemental Hero Neos! This champion of justice weighs in at 2500 ATK, and I've seen many decks built around this one card. Next time, we'll take a look at how these these monsters work together to take any opponent down. Later Duelists!