Going Oldschool

As many of you may have already realized that the prices of classic Six Samurai support cards has increased exponentially since the announcement of new support for the theme. The first of these was True Six Samurai - Kizan, a card that unlocked so much potential to the Samurai that players began hyping them up as the new X-Sabers. I was skeptical at first but when I learned that the archetype was to receive their own set of Tuners and a new Shien Synchro Monster, it was pretty clear that Six Samurai would join the ranks of the other Tier 1 decks.

Speaking of which, I just love how each of the True Six Samurai has a relation to previous Six Samurai cards:

• True Six Samurai - Kizan is a younger Grandmaster of the Six Samurai.
• True Six Samurai - Shien is Great Shogun Shien before he became a ruler. Also, Tenkabito Shien is Great Shogun Shien without his armor. Tenkabito means "conqueror of the world".
• True Six Samurai - Enishi is Enishi, Shien's Chancellor before he joined Shien's court.
• True Six Samurai - Mizuho is a younger Hand of the Six Samurai.
• True Six Samurai - Kageki is a younger Chamberlain of the Six Samurai, before he lost his arms.
• True Six Samurai - Shinai is Spirit of the Six Samurai before it died. Also, based Shinai and Mizuho's effects and art, it's likely they may have been lovers in the past.
• Shien's Yoriko is a younger Shien's Footsoldier. Yoriko means "approaching child" (scout).
• Kagemusha of the Six Samurai is a younger Kagemusha of the Blue Flame. Kagemusha means "impersonator" (body double), and Shien means "blue flame".

A few hours ago I received word of new Spell and Trap support for the archetype, and believe me Samurai fans, you'll be lovin' some of these:

Shien's Smoke Signal (Normal Spell Card)

Add 1 Level 3 or lower "Six Samurai" monster from your Deck to your hand.

Residence of the Six (Field Spell Card)
Each time your Normal Summon or Special Summon a "Six Samurai" monster, place 1 Bushido Counter on this card. Face-up monsters your opponent controls lose 100 ATK for each Bushido Counter on this card.

Ascetism of the Six Samurai (Quick-Play Spell Card)
Activate by selecting 1 "Six Samurai" monster you control. Special Summon 1 "Six Samurai" monster with the same ATK as the selected monster but with a different name from your Deck. During the End Phase of this turn, destroyed the selected monster.

Rokusakani no Magatama (Counter Trap Card)
Activate only if you control a face-up "Six Samurai" monster. Negate the activation of an opponent's Spell Card, Trap Card, or Effect Monster's effect that destroys a card(s), and destroy it.

Their own Reinforcement of the Army, a new Field Spell that has synergy with Gateway of the Six and Six Samurai United, a newer version of Cunning of the Six Samurai, and finally their own Counter Trap...makes me think that Konami should have named this set Storm of the Six Samurai.

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Sword of Legend

In the Duel Terminal storyline, there were a group of 9 legendary warriors called the X-Sabers that allied themselves under Commander Gottoms - Swordmaster in the fight against the invading Worms. Unfortunately the heroes were all killed early in the war. Gottoms, however, lived on and after reformatting himself into a Synchro Monster went on to form the new corps, the XX-Sabers which included the reincarnated forms of his formers allies.

X-Saber..."X" refers to the Roman Numeral "ten", "Saber" to the word "sword". Thus they are 10 swordsmen. However, there were only 9 X-Saber monsters. If you included Gottoms that would be 10, but taking into consideration that it is the same Gottoms in the XX-Sabers, which total 10 monsters in their rank, this does not make any sense. What does Konami do to fix this oversight? They make a new X-Saber: X-Saber Souza.

X-Saber Souza (Warrior-Type/EARTH/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 1600)
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner "X-Saber" monsters

During your Main Phase, you can Tribute 1 "X-Saber" monster to have this card gain 1 of the following effects until the End Phase: ● If this card battles a monster, destroy that monster immediately with this card's effect without applying damage calculation. ● This card cannot be destroyed by the effects of Trap Cards.

Souza is the strongest of the original X-Sabers. However, it was his late arrival was the sole reason for his comrades' early demise. Blaming himself, he devotes his life to avenging their deaths and allies himself with the XX-Sabers. He still wears his battered armor as a mark of his lost pride.

Who knew Yu-Gi-Oh! could have such complex card storylines, XD.

But I digress. The real question we should be asking ourselves is that will Souza really contribute anything to X-Sabers, especially when they've already lost steam with the recent banning of Rescue Cat?

I wouldn't really expect much from it, as it's effects basically give you the option of making it into an inferior Ally of Justice Catastor or Elemental Hero Wildheart. Granted, it's not a terrible card at all, but it just feels lackluster compared to the ridiculous support they already have.

Darksoul = Sangan + Witch of the Black Forest
Faultroll = Guardian of Order + Monster Reborn
Emmersblade = Giant Rat
Pashuul = Marshmallon
Fullhelmknight = Blackwing - Shura The Blue Flame + Negate Attack.
Boggart Knight = Marauding Captain
Ragigura = The Warrior Return Alive
Airbellum = Don Zaloog

Souza will be used of course. But seeing as he is Level 7 and has Black Rose Dragon and X-Saber Urbellum to compete with, you be likely to see him being played at 1, if at all.

Sorry Souza, looks like you stepped into the picture far too late to make a difference. *X-Saber Souza makes a sad face*

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Brain Explodes 2

About a week ago I wrote how Necrovalley has been a pain in the neck to explain to people with the number of times the text has been revised. Fortunately (for me), the new Structure Deck happened to come with a guide to using the card:

1) No effect can take a card in the Graveyard and remove it from play. No exceptions!
2) If a card in the Graveyard can add itself back to the hand or Deck. It DOES work.
3) If a card's effect tries to take another card in the Graveyard and put it back in the hand or Deck, it won't work.
4) If a monster in the Graveyard can Summon itself back to the field, it DOES work.
5) If a card's effect tries to Summon a different monster from the Graveyard, it won't work.
6) If a card targets something in the Graveyard, or looks at cards in the Graveyard, but doesn't disturb their rest, it DOES work. (For example, a card that counts the number of monsters in the Graveyard.)

Short, sweet, and straight to the point. What's not to love?

Once again I apologize for the lack of updates. Expect to see a new article up by tomorrow.

Remember players, the game ends with you. 

NOTE: I've been hearing a rumor that Colossal Fighter will not be able to revive himself while Necrovalley is in effect the OCG. However, the source for this statement seems to originate from the Tips Section of the Japanese Wikia. Due to the dubious nature of the source material I do NOT recommend that this should be accepted as truth. I've received no statement from TCG judges that confirms this alleged ruling and as such, doubt its validity.

Brain Explodes

My head hurts right now. On one hand, it's because I have a final exam in three days. On the other hand, it's due to the number of times Necrovalley has been errata'd. The funny thing is that it's only in its fifth errata that the text matches what the OCG rulings for the card imply.

Original Lore: PGD-084: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all effects of Magic, Trap, and/or Effect Monster Cards that involve Graveyards are negated and neither player can remove cards in the Graveyards from play. In addition, increase the ATK and DEF of all monsters that includes "Gravekeeper's" in their card name by 500 points. 

1st Errata Lore: DL3-001: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all effects of Spell, Trap, and/or Effect Monster Cards that involve Graveyards are negated and neither player can remove cards in the Graveyards from play. In addition, increase the ATK and DEF of all monsters that includes "Gravekeeper's" in their card name by 500 points. 

2nd Errata Lore: DR1-EN032: As long as this card remains on the field, negate the effects of Spell, Trap, and Monster Cards that affect a card(s) in the Graveyard, and neither player can remove cards in the Graveyards from play. Also, as long as this card remains on the field, increase the ATK and DEF of all monsters that include "Gravekeeper's" in their card name by 500 points. 

3rd Errata Lore: CP03-EN020: Negate the effects of Spell, Trap, and Monster Cards that affect a card(s) in the Graveyard. Neither player can remove from play cards in the Graveyard. All "Gravekeeper's" monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF. 

4th Errata Lore: TU02-EN014: Negate the effects of Spells, Traps, and Effect Monsters that target a card(s) in either player's Graveyard. Cards in either player's Graveyard cannot be removed from play. All "Gravekeeper's" monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF. 

5th Errata Lore: SDMA-EN025: All "Gravekeeper's" monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF. Cards in either player's Graveyard cannot be removed from play. Cards in either player's Graveyard cannot be affected by card effects, except for their own effects. 

Why should this particular revision be of any concern you ask? Well, from the way it's phrased you'd no longer be able to revive monsters destroyed by battle with Goyo Guardian. The new text also implies that Colossal Fighter would now be able to use it's revival effect while Necrovalley is in play, provided it targets itself.

I'm still analyzing the judges' responses on this particular errata so should any updates occur I'll be sure to post them here once I get some "concrete" rulings.

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Pause, Rewind, Replay

I love digital cable! Ever since my siblings enlightened me to the Free On-Demand Channel I can watch my favorite shows whenever I want. With the power to pause, rewind, and fast-forward, I can always cut right to the good stuff. Truly digital cable is among the marvels of the modern world. But enough of about that, let's go get on with today's topic.

The official rulebook states:

    "After you’ve announced your attacking monster and the attack target monster during a Battle Step, the attack target might be removed from the field, or a new monster may be placed on the opponent’s side of the field before the Damage Step, due to a card’s effect. This causes a "Replay". When this occurs, you can choose to attack with the same monster again, or choose to attack with a different monster, or choose not to attack at all. Note that if you attack with a different monster, the first monster is still considered to have declared an attack, and it cannot attack again this turn."

In a hypothetical example:

My opponent has 3 monsters out: Red Gadget, Green Gadget, and Yellow Gadget.

I declare an attack on Red Gadget with my Gravekeeper's Commandant.

My opponent responds by using Ring of Destruction on his Green Gadget.

After Ring of Destruction resolves, does a replay occur?

Technically speaking the original attack target was not removed nor were any new targets put into play, so any rationale for a replay based on the definition provided in the rulebook would dubious.

However, after conferring with other sources, I've confirmed that a replay would occur and here's why.

In the past I've told players that a replay occurs when the number of attack targets on the defending player's side of the field increases or decreases, even temporarily. However, as Curtis Chang pointed out:

    The official rulebook implies regarding Replay rules that if the number of monsters change on the defending player's field, then a replay would occur. While the explanation doesn't explicitly say so, the diagram in the rulebook implies that a replay would still occur (page 32, if you're looking).

For those of you interested, this is the page Curtis was referring to:

There are also instances in which the number of monsters on the field does not change and yet a replay still occurs.

    You have 4 Sheep Tokens on your side of the field. I attempt to attack directly with Jinzo - Returner. You respond by activating Skill Drain. Since Jinzo - Returner can no longer attack directly, a replay occurs.

    If I have 2 Magician's Valkyrias and a Junk Synchron on my field. You declare an attack on Junk Synchron with Black Tyranno and activate DNA Surgery, declaring "Dinosaur". Since the Valkyrias would now become legal targets, a replay would occur.

    If you declare an attack against Marauding Captain while I control another Warrior-type monster, and I use Book of Moon or Ready for Intercepting on my Marauding Captain, the number of monsters in my control won't change. However, a replay will be generated because that other monster will now become a legal attack target.

    Lets say you control a Shadowslayer, declare a direct attack, and then I activate Final Attack Orders while controlling at least one face-up defense position monster. After my trap card resolves, the number of monster's won't change, but a replay will be generated because the player will no longer be a legal attack target. Likewise, if you attack my only monster and Book of Moon is activated to flip it face-down, a replay will occur because the player has just become a legal attack target.

After all that it should be clear the only criteria for a replay to occur is when the potential attack target(s), whether it be a monster or a player directly, changes or becomes (il)legal.

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Marik Got Game

Looks like the folks at bbs.newwise.com uncovered the contents of the upcoming Marik Structure Deck. Most of it is in Chinese but the English names are also provided.

发售时间：2010年10月19日
Release Date: 10/19/2010

共计收录42张卡
Includes a total of 42 cards

39 平卡
3 金闪
1 规则书
1 游戏垫
1 决斗指南
39 Common Cards
3 Ultra Rare Cards
1 Rulebook
1 Game Mat
1 Dueling Guide

SDMA-EN0?? Gil Garth(基尔·加斯)
SDMA-EN0?? Mystic Tomato(杀人番茄)
SDMA-EN0?? Viser Des(万力魔神 死亡拷问)
SDMA-EN0?? Legendary Fiend(传说的恶魔)
SDMA-EN0?? Dark Jeroid(暗黑胶体人)
SDMA-EN0?? Newdoria(阴间领路人)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Spy(守墓的侦察者)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Curse(守墓的咒术师)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Guard(守墓的番兵)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier(守墓的长枪兵)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Chief(守墓之长)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Cannonholder(守墓的重炮手)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Assailant(守墓的暗杀者)

SDMA-EN014 Lava Golem(熔岩魔神) [Ultra Rare]

SDMA-EN0?? Drillago(钢钻甲)
SDMA-EN0?? Bowganian(弩弓手)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Commandant(守墓的司令官)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Visionary(守墓的大神官)
SDMA-EN0?? Gravekeeper's Descendant(守墓的末裔)
SDMA-EN0?? Mystical Space Typhoon(旋风)
SDMA-EN0?? Nightmare's Steelcage(噩梦之铁栏)
SDMA-EN0?? Creature Swap(强制转移)
SDMA-EN0?? Book of Moon(月之书)
SDMA-EN0?? Dark Room of Nightmare(噩梦之拷问室)
SDMA-EN0?? Necrovalley(王家长眠之谷)
SDMA-EN0?? Foolish Burial(愚蠢的埋葬)
SDMA-EN0?? Magical Stone Excavation(魔法石采掘)
SDMA-EN0?? Allure of Darkness(暗之诱惑)
SDMA-EN0?? Acid Trap Hole(蓄积硫酸的落穴)
SDMA-EN0?? Mirror Force(神圣防护罩-反射镜力-)
SDMA-EN0?? Skull Invitation(死灵的诱惑)
SDMA-EN0?? Coffin Seller(卖棺者)
SDMA-EN0?? Nightmare Wheel(拷问车轮)
SDMA-EN0?? Metal Reflect Slime(金属反射史莱姆)
SDMA-EN0?? Malevolent Catastrophe(邪神之大灾害)
SDMA-EN0?? Dark Illusion(暗之幻影)

SDMA-EN0?? Temple of the Kings(王家的神殿) [Ultra Rare]

SDMA-EN0?? Mystical Beast of Serket(圣兽 塞勒凯特) [Ultra Rare]

Can't say I'm not surprised to see the Gravekeeper's Visionary, Descendant, and Commandant in here, although Allure of Darkness, Foolish Burial, and Book of Moon were a nice touch. This might just be the second greatest Structure Deck after Machina Mayhem. I'm definitely picking some of these up. ^_^

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Zero Logic

Ruling reversals are one of those things that should never have existed. In the past it was UDE's fault that the appropriate rulings were not carried over from the OCG, but now that Konami runs everything themselves there's really no one else too blame. Ideally they ought to have a section on their website dedicated to rulings for all cards so that players aren't forced to rely on Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia and the delayed e-mail system.

I only bring this issue up due to an issue that occurred at the World Championship this year. The following ruling (among others) was given out to judges during the event as a result of the Japanese EC 2010 Head Judge noticing that we're ruling stuff differently from the way the OCG would rule them.

Previously in the TCG it was ruled that if two monsters in Attack Position with zero ATK battle each other, both of them would be destroyed.

- 0 ATK vs 0 ATK
If two monsters in Attack Position with zero ATK battle each other, none of them are destroyed.

While the matter may seemed to have been resolved, things are never so simple. Julia Hedberg, whom some of you may recognize as the head of the Judge Program, issued this statement on the Adjudication Conflagration discussion board:

Ok guys, correction on this one.

There was apparently some additional information given out at Worlds when I wasn't around.
The 0 vs 0 does not destroy was applied at Worlds, but it won't be applied at other events. Currently the rulebook supports monsters being destroyed, so the monsters are destroyed.

I have inadverntantly contributed to some confusion here, and I'm absolutely sorry for that. Color my face red :)

While the rationale for this move eludes me, it is the ruling that we're forced to work with...for now anyway.

Remember players, the game ends with you.

It's a TRAP!

A while back I posted about how Chain Whirlwind is excellent tech in a format where people spam Mystical Space Typhoon like there's no tomorrow. Unfortunately as time progressed players have begun to realize the potency of Trap Stun to better protect their plays. Running into the occasional Jinzo also completely fazes Chain Whirlwind. Facing such situations I went back and looked at some builds I ran in the past for some ideas to counterattack this situation. It was then I rediscovered this beauty:

Back around the time just before Synchro Monsters were introduced to the TCG I experimented with a deck that focused on cards that punished my opponents when my cards were destroyed. In addition to Dark Coffin I ran cards such as Smoke Grenade of the Thief and Blast with Chain. Gearfried the Iron Knight and Kuraz the Light Monarch made the deck flow nice and smoothly. The ultimate reason I scrapped the deck was because I ran mono-Warriors and it was difficult to search for the appropriate monster in certain situations when Reinforcement of the Army was limited. Another problem was the limited amount of self S/T removal as many of the cards typically used for such purposes (MST and Heavy Storm) were limited at the time. After a few trial runs I took the deck apart and stored them away.

The game has gone through many changes since then. Now we have the newly reprinted Gold Sarcophagus  at our disposal, meaning that a set Dark Coffin that manages to survive destruction for two turns can serve as fodder for Kuraz without having to lose card advantage. DREV also introduced Double Cyclone which can set off Dark Coffin whenever you wish.

Still not convinced?

Well what if I told you that Dark Coffin cannot have it's effects negated by Jinzo, Royal Decree, Trap Stun, Thought Ruler Archfiend, Stardust Dragon, Prime Material Dragon, My Body as a Shield or any Counter Trap?

Not bad now eh?

Remember players, the game ends with you.