Anime Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Essays

[Domon]

[COLOR=Indigo]I have decided to make a new Essays Of The Cards thread, so as to talk about some JP cards, as well as English cards. Post a card that you think is deserving and then discuss its pros and cons and then I hope we can have some decent conversation among ourselves about our own opinions of certain cards.

Today for Essay #1 I will introduce Marshmallon, a card from Premium Pack 6.

[IMG]http://www.cardhaus.com/images/pp6-001.jpg[/IMG]

Stats (translations courtesy of Edo)

[B]PP6-001
MARSHMALLON
Light/Angel/4/300/500
The controller of a Monster that attacks this card while face-
down received 1000 points of damage after Damage Calculation.
This card can't be destroyed as a result of Battle. (Damage ic
calculated normally.)
ULTRA RARE[/B]

Okay, now this card is very impressive in the sense that it has a semi-better effect than that of Spirit Reaper. I say that because of its nasty effect of your opponent losing 1000 life points just for attacking it while it was in face down defense position. Another good point is that its a defense wall for a good amount of time. Another good thing is that this thing doesn't blow up if you use a magic card on it.

Now for the downside. This card can be taken controll of and used against you, in the context that a player could Snatch Steal this card from you, tribute it, and then proceed to smack you around.[/COLOR]

Rating 4.5/5 This card is a pretty good defense wall and has a nasty effect, though I really doubt 1000 LP damage to a JP player is worth that much since they had been using such cards as Confiscation and Delinquent Duo for so long, until DD got banned. But anywho, I really think this card is pretty neat.

[DeathBug]

[color=indigo][size=1][font=comic sans ms]Marshmallow is a very good card which will, naturally, be compared to the Spirit Reaper in many ways. Basically, they're both stall cards. However, Marshmallow lacks the Reaper's weakness to targeting magicc ards. He doesn't have the discard-ability, either, but that's a small price to pay, IMO.

The burner effect given by the Marshmallow is kind of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, kicking your opponent for 1000 LP is always good, particullarly in the late game. However, putting Marshmallow face-down makes it vulnerable in many ways. First, your opponent might simply choose to not attack it, or, even worse, attack with an effect-negating monster, and there goes your wall. It's also vulnerable to Nobleman of Crossout in this position, as well. On the other hand, summoning it face-up in attack mode obvioudly leaves you open for some damage. Think wisely when you play it.

When used properly, however, Marshmallow is a super-annoyance to your opponents, and has a lot of support in the next english set. He's an Angel, and works well with the Sanctuary m onsters. He's also a light-elemental, which makes him Chaos-fodder. He's a good card all around. I give him a solid 4/5.

By the way, there's also a Magic card called Marshmallow Glasses. while it's on the field, your opponent must attack your face-up Marshmallow. I really do'nt think M. Glasses is any good, though, since you can simply choose not to attack. The Marshmallow's strong enough without that card.[/color][/size][/font]

[QUOTE][i][b]Homestar Runner and your Opponents[/b]
I hate that freakin' Marshmallow....[/i][/QUOTE]

[Domon]

True. That's why I like Marshmallon, he's an Angel/Fairy type and then he's LIGHT attribute which makes him leathal in Light decks, when the massive swarm of Angels hit the field in July in Ancient Sanctuary. So yeah he tis pretty good.

Now, I'm sure with the releas of IOC everyone was scrambling for Chaos Emperor Dragon and Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of Creation. But one good Ultra Rare that came out was this, and I'm only using a broad generalization when I said everyone, because a majority of duelists went straight for either Dragon or the Soldier.

[IMG]http://www.cardhaus.com/images/ioc-065.jpg[/IMG]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Stats for card.

[B]Dark Magician Of Chaos (aka Black Magician Of Chaos)
Spellcaster/8/2800/2600 [/B]

Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned or Special Summoned successfully, you can add 1 Spell Card from your Graveyard to your hand. A monster that is destroyed by this monster as a result of battle is removed from play instead of going to the Graveyard. When this card is destroyed or removed from the field, it is removed from play[/COLOR].

[COLOR=Navy][SIZE=1]Okay, now this little jewl is worth a thousand words, but due to time constraints, you'll have to suffer my short rantings!!!

Anyways, the major upsides of this card is its effect, I mean yes just a flat out 2800 hitter is good, but it can still get smacked by BEWD, Tyrant Dragon, Invader Of Darkness, etc. But I'll talk about that later. The effect of this is sheer brilliance, I mean think about it, you dump this guy either via Cheerful Coffin, Painful Choice, or Graceful Charity and you can revive it and get a good magic card back from your graveyard. The reason this card was restricted to one in Japan was due to this combo.

Dump 3 of this guy in your graveyard with Cheerful Coffin, Painful Choice, or Graceful Charity.

Take Monster Reborn and get 1st Magician back.

Get Monster Reborn back due to Magician's effect.

Repeat step three until the other two are on your field.

Then get either HFD or Raigeki and wipe out anything your opponent has waiting for you and then kill them for 8400.

Now, to that's just cheaper than CED in soooo many words.. I mean good lord you get three out and its ouch time in like maybe three or so turns, granted you have the correct cards in your hand.

Moving onto the downsides of this card. When it dies, it goes out of play and stays out unless you have Miracle Digs in your deck to save this card. Also, there was some questions in Japan about this card and the text. When he is removed from the field, that refers to such things as Penguin Soldier, Cyber Jar, and yes Fiber Jar will remove this guy in a heartbeat too.

All in all I have to give this guy a 4.9/5 he's almost too good to be true, and his last part of his effect proves it. I definetly suggest this card for Dark Magician deck users, Spellcasters, or just plain out beatdown, just to annoy the hell out of your opponent when you remove their Sangan, Witch, and even Sinster Serpent ^_^[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[DeathBug]

[color=indigo][size=1][font=comic sans ms]Ah, the Black Magician of Chaos, the two-tributew monster in the current game. It beats Tyrant Dragon, the Blue Eyes, the Invader, and even the dark Magician.

The single downside of this card isn't really a downside, because you don't want this getting turned around on you. The ability to remove other cards from the game is always a plus, and to see it on a beast as strong as this guy is rare in the game. (Previous 'Remove from play' monsters were either easily destroyed, like Kycoo or DD Crazy Beast, or were one-for-one trade offs, like DD Warrior Lady.) As Domon said, you could get rid of enemy Witches, Sangans, or any other game-breaking effect monster.

The Magic-revival ability is amazing. Get whatever you need to launch an attack [i]right then[/i]. Get back Regeki to clear the field. Get back Change of Heart to convert your opponent's defenses. Use Pot of Greed to increase your hand size. Get Harpies' feather Duster to remove opposing traps. Or just get Monster REborn for more beatdown fun.

Now, how's this card rate in terms of support? Pretty well, actually. Using Dedication Through Light and Darkness, you canh ave this guy out by turn two. Here's what you do: Get the Dark Magician onto the field by any means, usually by either Dump/Revive or Skilled Dark Magician. Attack with the Dark Magician for 2500 damage. tHen, activate Dedication (It's a Quick-Play magic, so you can use it during your attack phase), tribute the Dark Magician for the DMoC, revive a Magic card, and proceed to attack for 2800 damage. That's over half your opponent's life-points right there. (If you'd alreadt set a Destruction Ring, that's game.)

In the furture, we'll also have Double Ghost, which serves as two tributes for a dark-type monster, in addition to Dimension Magic, which is similar to DTL&D, but with a broader effect.

If you want to run a deck built just for this guy, I'd recommened running one of him, two Dark Magicians, a trio of skilled Dark magicians, and a pair of DTL&D, along with plenty of spellcaster support. However, this card is powerful enought to work in many other deck-types.

Two disclaimers, by the way: First, this card [b]does not count towards dark Magician Girl's effect.[/b] (She only powers up from the older version of this card, the Ritual Monster not yet released in the US). Second, the combo Domon mentioned will become obsolete soon, as DMoC will soon be restricted to one, as it is in Japan.

Overall, I give the Dark Magician of Chaos a very well-earned 4.5/5. [/color][/size][/font]

[Domon]

[quote name='DeathBug][color=indigo][size=1][font=comic sans ms] Second, the combo Domon mentioned will become obsolete soon, as DMoC will soon be restricted to one, as it is in Japan.[/color][/size'][/font][/quote]

[COLOR=Navy][SIZE=1]Sooo true. I mean I was totally shocked when I saw the restricted list, and the fact that they hadn't restricted this guy yet.. *fwaps the idiots at Konami* I guess they are going to dance around until Ancient Sanctuary comes out in July, but until then enjoy using three of this bugger ^_~[/SIZE][/COLOR]