Synchrons, Part 3

     Welcome back duelists! Coach Muramasa here with the exciting conclusion to our tour of the Synchrons. In part one, we looked at Synchrons used for specific Synchro Summoning. In part two, we looked at wild card Synchrons. Today, we're gonna give the Synchrons some added support.

     First off, let's look at a few monsters that work well with the Synchrons. Synchron Explorer is a Level 2
monster with the ability to recycle a Synchron monster from the Graveyard, by negating the monster's effect. Junk Servant is a good choice if you're favoring Junk Synchron as the ace of your deck. If there's a Junk monster already in play, you can Special Summon this card. Consider putting 3 of these in your deck, and you'll have a field full of monsters in no time. If you need protection from a direct attack, consider using Junk Defender. Like all Defenders before this one, the DEF is pretty good. In addition, this card can gain an extra 300 DEF once per turn, until the end of that turn. Junk Forward is a nice monster to lead off with. Its special ability allows you to Special Summon him when you are without monsters. Our last monster is a bit unique among the others. He is a Synchro Synchron (try saying that three times fast) by the name of Formula Synchron. It is a Level 2 Synchro, with the ability to Synchron Summon during either player's turn.

     Let's get some Spell support for the Synchrons. A good start is Swords of Revealing Light. This is more of a stall card, stopping your opponent's attacks for three turns. This will give you some time to fill your field with monsters and pull off a Synchro Summon or two. Next up is United We Stand. This is a good way to give a monster a serious ATK and DEF boost. Double Summon will grant you the power to Normal Summon twice in the same turn. That's ideal for a quick Synchro Summon.

     There are a number of Traps for supporting your Synchrons. The top choice has got to be Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. Not only does it negate a single attack that turn, but it can used once per turn. This is a good card to have three of, in case one gets destroyed. Spirit Force is another negation card. Unlike Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, this is used and disposed of, but allows you to return a Warrior Tuner from your Graveyard to your hand. This will pull your Junk Synchron back to be used again. Another nice option is Mirror Force. Wipe out all of your opponent's monsters in attack position when one of them attacks.
 
     I'll give you my rate of approval on these cards:

  6/10     Synchron Explorer
10/10     Junk Servant
  8/10     Junk Defender
  9/10     Junk Forward
  5/10     Formula Synchron
  9/10     Swords of Revealing Light
  9/10     United We Stand
  7/10     Double Summon
10/10     Scrap-Iron Scarecrow
  8/10     Spirit Force
  8/10     Mirror Force

     There you have it! Synchrons have their place in the world of dueling. You don't have to be Yusei Fudo to win with these gems. In a future post, I'll give you a couple of decks to look at and consider for yourself. Until next time, this is Coach Muramasa telling you to keep on duelin'!

Greed

What's up duelists? The Coach is back to make you run your laps around the duelist field. Today, let's talk greed. How many of you out there love to draw cards outside of your draw phase? I'm sure it's more than half of you, and I'm happy to admit I fit in that crowd as well. There are a few cards that give you extra drawing power. We're gonna take a look at some of those cards in what I call the Greed archetype.

Pot of Greed was the first card to give you extra drawing power outside of a draw phase. With this card, you can draw a couple of extra cards if your hand is empty, or you just need a couple of extra cards.

Shard of Greed is a good edition to a deck. When you activate it, it stays on the field, collecting counters on it during each of your draw phases. After two of your turns, send this card to the graveyard to draw two extra cards. Consider slipping three of these in your deck if you need extra cards for discarding due to other card effects.

Moray of Greed is a good choice for a WATER attribute deck. It's kind of a double edged sword, since it calls for the return of two WATER monsters from your hand to your deck in order to draw three cards. Play this only if you are hoping to get something better in your hand.

Greed Grado is a good card if you are up against a Synchro deck. Destroy an opponent's Synchro monster by attacking it or using a card effect, and chain this Quick-Play Spell Card in order to draw two cards.

 Jar of Greed is a good follow-up to Pot of Greed. While it only lets you draw a single card outside of your draw phase, you are not restricted to one of these like you are with Pot of Greed.

 Reckless Greed allows you to draw two cards, but the catch is that you skip your next two draw phases. Use this card if the duel is towards the end, and you need an extra card or two to guarantee victory.

The Gift of Greed is a card that gives your opponent a pair of cards outside of their draw phase. Use this if you are trying to empty their deck for a win.

There you have it duelists. Greed can be a very good way to win a duel. Make sure you use these cards responsibly. Drawing too fast can lead to your own defeat. Come back soon for your next dose of dueling knowledge. Until next time, keep on dueling!

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.

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.

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 even EH Thunder Giant.

 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.

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.

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 your EH monsters from being destroyed in battle. Follow this up with Polymerization or one of the other Fusion Summoning Spell Cards.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Card Spotlight: Amulet of Ambition

     Hey Duelists! The Coach is back again with your dose of duel fuel. Today we're look at a Spell Card that often gets overlooked in the game. I'm talking about the Amulet of Ambition. This card may seem kinda weak due to the need to equip it to a Normal Monster, but the lower the monster's Level, the more useful this card becomes. Equip this to a Level 1 monster, and you could have a game changer on your side. The effect of this card grants you a 500 ATK boost times the difference in levels between your monster and the monster you attack. Let's take a look at three good uses for this card.

     Scenario #1: Your opponent has a Stardust Dragon (Level 8 / 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF) in play. You play a Cycroid (Level 3 / 800 ATK / 1000 DEF). Equip Amulet of Ambition to change your ATK to 3300. Attack with Cycroid to destroy Stardust Dragon and deal 800 points of damage.

     Scenario #2: Your opponent has Obelisk the Tormentor (Level 10 / 4000 ATK / 4000 DEF) in play. You play Ancient Elf (Level 4 / 1450 ATK / 1200 DEF). Equip Amulet of Ambition to change your ATK to 4450. Attack with Ancient Elf to destroy Obelisk and deal 450 points of damage.

     Scenario #3: Your opponent has Barbaroid, the Ultimate Battle Machine (Level 12 / 4000 ATK / 4000 DEF) in play. You play a Mokey Mokey (Level 1 / 100 ATK / 100 DEF). Equip Amulet of Ambition to change your ATK to 5600. Attack with Mokey Mokey and deal 1600 points of damage.

     As you can see, this card has a lot of potential. In addition to giving some power boosts, this card can return to the top of your deck if it is sent to the Graveyard. Use this card to activate other card effects and recycle it for use in battle at the same time. It works best with very low level monsters. Give it a try and let me know about your experiences. Until next time, this is Coach Muramasa saying, get your duel on!

Crystal Beasts, Part 2

Welcome back duelists! Coach Muramasa here to give you a daily dose of duel knowledge to keep you revved up in the field. Today, we'll take a second look at the Crystal Beasts archetype from the GX era. Last time, we looked at the precious gems that make for a pretty intense team. Now, we're going to look at cards that support this group pretty well.

First up is Crystal Beacon. This Spell Card lets you Special Summon a CB monster from your deck, providing that you have at least 2 Crystal Beasts in your Spell & Trap Zone. Slip 2 or 3 of these in your deck to pull the team of seven together faster for Rainbow Dragon. (8/10)

Rare Value is another Spell Card that requires at least 2 CB monsters in your Spell & Trap Zone. Your opponent will pick one to send to the graveyard, and you will get to draw a couple of cards for your loss. Play this after a "Crystal Beacon". (6/10)

Crystal Blessing a good card for recycling CB monsters from your graveyard back to your Spell & Trap Zone. Use this along with "Crystal Beacon" and "Rare Value" to quickly get your magnificent seven in play in a couple of turns. (7/10)

Crystal Promise lets you move a CB monster from your Spell & Trap Zone to your Monster Zone as a Special Summon. Consider CB Emerald Tortoise for defense, or CB Sapphire Pegasus for offense. (7/10)

Crystal Release is a good Spell Card for giving a CB monster an ATK boost. In addition to this, when it is sent from the field to the graveyard, you get to pull a CB monster from your deck to your S/T Zone. Equip this to CB Topaz Tiger, CB Amber Mammoth or CB Sapphire Pegasus. (8/10)

Now let's take a look at a couple of traps. Rainbow Path is a good card to use, as it not only negates an opponent's attack for the cost of a CB monster in your ST Zone, but it also allows you to pull a "Rainbow Dragon" or "Rainbow Dark Dragon" from your deck. (5/10)

The last card to take a look at is Rainbow Gravity. This trap may be your ace in the hole. All you have to do is get all seven CB monsters on the field or in the graveyard, and then you can pull a "Rainbow Dragon" or "Rainbow Dark Dragon" from your deck or graveyard. (7/10)

That does it for another dueling session from the Coach. Take good care of those of gems, and let shine through in your next duel. Until next time, keep on dueling!

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 signing off for now. Hit the showers!