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'!

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!

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!

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

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

Strategy #2

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

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

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!