Who You Gonna Call?

I'm really upset at the approach Konami has towards the releasing rulings whenever a new set comes out. As part of their attempt to prevent spoiling the TCG exclusives, they avoid displaying the rulings for them in their official set rulebook. Thus, many players are left in the dark when it comes to rulings towards the new cards. Skull Meister, one of the exclusives in Starstrike Blast, is just one of the many cards for which this has been an issue as of late.

The main issue with this card was whether or not it could be played during the Damage Step, when effects like Mystic Tomato would activate. Without a ruling saying otherwise, players would be unable to stop the effects of standard recruiters—a fact which would vastly reduce the potent of the card.

Fortunately, this issue has been resolved thanks to a statement released by Konami employee Jerome McHale: 

An update for everyone: Skull Meister's effect CAN be used during the Damage Step. This will be added to the Starstrike Blast Rules Booklet on the official website in the very near future.

I'm really hoping these kinds of issues can be resolved more efficiently in the future, but who am I to complain? I'm sure the process of determining the appropriate rulings for cards can be quite hectic especially for the world's #1 trading card game.


Remember players, the game ends with you.

Making a God-King Bleed

When Konami first advertised Droll & Lock Bird, many players including myself were expecting it to turn out to be a sort of Effect Veiler for searching effects. While the actual effect isn't too far off, there are several reasons it failed to live up to our expectations. As the case with Appropriate, a player needs to wait until the opponent uses an effect that would add a card(s) from the deck to their hand in order to activate it. Also, instead of negating that effect, it prevents future occurrences of searching effects until the End Phase. So unless your facing a Gemini Stun, Hero Beat, or Lightsworn deck the odds of your opponent using multiple search cards in a single turn is quite slim. Most of the time, however, a simple Thunder King Rai-Oh will get the job done. Of course there is one major impact D&L Bird will cause: the death of Exodia decks.

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Jeff Jones

Why does it seem like everyone uses this guy as their source when it comes to set spoilers?

Granted if this rumor of a new Rock-type Koa'ki Meiru monster is true I'll be thrilled, but still everyone doesn't need to treat him like some kind of prophet. Sheesh.

Remember players, the game ends with you.