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!

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)

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.

Card Spotlight: Delta Crow - Anti Reverse

     Hello Duelists! Muramasa the Coach here with a special look at a Trap Card from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's era. I'm talking about Delta Crow - Anti Reverse. This card requires a "Blackwing" monster to be on your field in order to activate it. With it, you can blow away  your opponent's Spells and Traps to the graveyard. In addition to that, if you have exactly three "Blackwing" monsters in your graveyard, you can activate this card from your hand, as if it was a Spell Card.

     This card can be the centerpiece of a good Blackwing deck In order to make full use of it, let's look at some strategies on how to set up for its use from your hand.

Strategy #1

    Special Summon "Blackwing - Gust the Backblast" using its effect.
    Special Summon "Blackwing - Bora the Spear" and "Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind" from your hand with their effects.
    Synchro Summon "Blackwing Armor Master using "Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind" and "Blackwing - Bora the Spear".
    Tribute "Blackwing - Gust the Backblast" for "Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn".
    Activate "Delta Crow - Anti Reverse".

Strategy #2

    Activate "Black-Winged Strafe" and send "Blackwing - Gust the Backblast" to the graveyard.
    Normal Summon "Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North".
    Special Summon "Blackwing - Gust the Backblast" from the graveyard.
    Special Summon "Blackwing - Bora the Spear" using its effect.
    Synchro Summon "Black-Winged Dragon" or "Blackwing - Silverwind the Ascendant" using your three "Blackwing" monsters on the field.
    Activate "Delta Crow - Anti Reverse".

     That's all folks! Another look into the world of Duel Monsters. Come back next time for another helping of all things Yu-Gi-Oh. Rev it up!

Dueling Styles

     What's shakin' Duelists? Today we're gonna take a look at the different ways to duel. In my personal dueling circle, there are a total of five of us. We each are really good at dueling, but we have our own approaches. We duel one another at least twice a week, and have done so over the last seven years. Sometimes we duel one on one, other times two on two. We've even done three on one duels, and the occasional five duelist free for all. No matter what setup we use, we always have a good time. There are never any hard feelings, and it inspires us to become better duelists. Here is a summary of our dueling styles.

     First up, is me, Muramasa the Coach. I prefer using a deck that favors Synchro Summoning. I have at least three Fusion and three Xyz monsters in my Extra Deck. The other nine spots are always Synchro Monsters. I keep at least one Ritual Monster in my deck at any given time. My deck favors Dragon-type monsters most of the time. When I play by non-tournament rules, I like to use a lot of the forbidden cards. When I play by tournament rules, I use cards that fill my monster zones as quickly as possible to allow for a Synchro Summon in the first or second turn. I get called the Coach a lot, because I volunteer some of my free time teaching newcomers to the game, and giving my circle suggestions and advice on how to improve their own decks.

     Next, there is my best friend, Sentinel the Guardian. He likes to use a more defensive strategy. His deck has a lot of high DEF monsters, and he prefers to counterattack rather than attack. Sentinel loves to Tribute Summon, and then Special Summon the monsters used as tribute back from the graveyard. He also is a big fan of Ritual Monsters, and keeps a fair number of them in his deck. He does a bit of Fusion Summoning, Synchro Summoning, and Xyz Summoning, but only keeps one or two of each in his Extra Deck. He updates his Spells and Traps quite often, and a fair amount of his dueling might comes from that. Sentinel is a good partner, because he always has your back in a duel, no matter how crazy a duel it is.

     The third member of our duelist circle is Venus the Heartbreaker. We call her that because every guy she duels outside of our circle falls in love with her dueling skill. I mean, she's quite lovely as well, but with us, it's more about the skills. Venus loves to Xyz Summon more than anything, and is a big fan of cards that allow for piercing damage. Her deck is centered about Fairy-type monsters and all of those that have "cute, cuddly art on them". She makes for a good partner because of her choice of Quick-Play Spell Cards and Counter Trap Cards.

     Next is Chaos, the Destructor. He is our most hardcore duelist, because when he's done, most of the cards used in the duel end up in the graveyard. He likes to duel fast and loose, and won't hesitate to send cards to the graveyard to get the one or two he needs for the win. Chaos keeps the field clear a lot of the time, using Spells and Traps that either wipe it clean, or send a card or two to be banished from the game. His deck is fairly balanced between Warrior-types, Machine-types, and Spellcaster-types. His Extra Deck is half Fusion and half Synchro, with an Xyz Monster thrown in once in a while.

     Last, and certainly not least, is Serenity the Enlightened. She is the younger sister of Venus, and a real tough cookie in the dueling arena. The monsters in her deck are only Effect Monsters. The same holds true for her Extra Deck. Serenity's Spells and Traps cover the weaknesses that her Effect Monsters can't take care of. When we duel by non-tournament rules, she loves to use Exodia the Forbidden One for a quick win. Although she is a bit younger than we are, she holds her own in a five duelist free for all. She either comes in first or second a lot of the time.

     So there you have it, duelists. I've given you a peek into my dueling world. We've shared a lot of memories over the years, and still look forward to each and every duel we are gonna have. In the future, I'll share with you some specific strategies and combos the five of us use. Until next time, keep on duelin'!