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!

Cyber Dragon

What's shakin' duelists? The Coach is back, and today, we're gonna Dragons. Actually, we're gonna discuss Cyber Dragons. Technically, they are Machines, but they are really cool looking mechanical dragons. This archetype was made famous by Zane Truesdale from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX era, and I became quite fascinated with it myself. Cyber Dragon is one of the most versatile monsters in the game, and is used in a variety of decks because of its ability to quickly get more powerful monsters in play.

This card isn't bad for a Level 5, with 2100 ATK and 1600 DEF. Its special ability allows to Special Summon him if your opponent has monsters and you do not. For example, if your opponent goes first in the duel, this card can even the odds, and give you some options. Here are some of your choices for making full use of Cyber Dragon:

- You could Normal Summon a Tuner monster after Special Summoning Cyber Dragon for a Synchro Summon on your opening turn.
- You could offer Cyber Dragon as a tribute to Normal Summon a stronger Level 5 or Level 6 monster.
- You could activate a Spell card that calls for a tribute of a monster such as Cyber Dragon to resolve its effect.
-You could tribute Cyber Dragon to summon a Blackwing monster, and then Special Summon other Blackwings in the same turn due to their effects.

These are some of the many options you have for this one monster card. I'll let you choose which of these might work for you, and also let you figure out some of the other options that are out there. Now let's take a look at some of Cyber Dragon's other forms. These can be achieved by Fusion Summoning, or by the activation of certain Spells and Traps.

Cyber Barrier Dragon is a Level 6 monster with 800 ATK and 2800 DEF. This card is Special Summoned by "Attack Reflector Unit". If you Special Summon it in ATK mode, its special ability will negate one attack during each of your opponent's turns. If you Special Summon it in DEF mode, its 2800 DEF will protect you from a fair number of attacking monsters. (6/10)

Cyber Laser Dragon is another Cyber Dragon variation. This monster is a Level 7 with 2400 ATK and 1800 DEF. Its special ability allows it to destroy a monster each turn with ATK or DEF equal to or higher than its ATK. Combine this with attacking a monster on the same turn and wipe out your opponent's monster in half the time. (8/10)

Next up is Cyber Twin Dragon, which is a fusion of two Cyber Dragons. It has the special ability to attack twice during each of your Battle Phases. Combine this with 2800 ATK, and the duel could be over sooner rather than later. Slip a couple of these in your deck for a guaranteed victory. (8/10)

Cyber End Dragon is a fusion of three Cyber Dragons. This 4000 ATK powerhouse can inflict Piercing Damage during an attack. Combine this with a Twin Cyber Dragon or two and you've got the duel in the bag. (10/10)

Moving on to cards that support Cyber Dragon, we start with Evolution Burst. This card allows you to destroy a card your opponent controls, providing that you have a Cyber Dragon in play. Use this to wipe out a stronger monster than yours, or to take out a face down card. There are better cards than this with a similar effect and not in need of another card for activation. (5/10)

Cyber Valley is a Level 1 monster with 0 ATK and DEF. It has not one, not two, but three special abilities. You can use it to end a Battle Phase early, banish it along with an opponent's monster, or banish this card and one in your hand to recycle a card in the graveyard back to the deck. It's good to have options. (6/10)

Next up is Cyber Dragon Zwei. This card gains 300 ATK during damage calculation. It can be treated as "Cyber Dragon" until the end of your turn if you reveal a Spell Card in your hand. It is also treated as "Cyber Dragon" while in the graveyard. This is good for Fusion Summoning if you pull materials from the graveyard rather than your hand or the field. (4/10)

Cyber Ouroboros is a low level monster whose special ability allows you to draw a card when this card is banished. The only catch is you must send a card from your hand to the graveyard. Combine this with Cyber Dragon Zwei or another Cyber Dragon and you'll perform a Fusion Summon a lot quicker. (5/10)

Proto-Cyber Dragon is another low level monster that can be treated as "Cyber Dragon" while it is on the field. It only has 1100 ATK and 600 DEF, but can be another option for Fusion Summoning Cyber Twin Dragon or Cyber End Dragon. (4/10)

Cyber Eltanin is a Level 10 monster whose attack is determined by the number of LIGHT Machine-type monsters used to summon it. In order to summon this card, you must banish all LIGHT Machine-type monsters from your field and graveyard. So, the more monster you can banish at the time, the this card will be. Cyber Eltanin gets 500 ATK and DEF for each monster, so this will add up pretty fast. Get at least 16 banished, and score a one hit knockout against your opponent if there field is bare. That's easier said than done, but I'll give some pointers on that topic in a future post. (10/10)

The last card we'll be looking at is Power Bond. This card is a real game changer, if you play it at the right time. I prefer using it at the end of a duel to guarantee victory. This card allows you to Fusion Summon a Machine-type monster with double its normal ATK value. The catch is, at the end of your turn, you take damage equal to the original ATK of the monster summoned by this card. This is a another good way to get an 8000 ATK monster such as Cyber End Dragon.

Once again, this concludes another installment brought to you by Muramasa the Coach. Until next time, keep those Machine-types in tip top shape.

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!

Elemental Heroes, Part 2

What's shakin' duelists? Today is part two of our look at the Elemental Heroes. Last time, we took a look at the basic EH monsters. Now, let's take a look at what happens when they join together to become stronger. All of these fusion monsters have pretty good special abilities that can combat anything your opponent can throw at you. I should also mention that they have pretty cool looking art as well.

 First up is Elemental Hero Flame Wingman. He is fused from two of the weaker EH monsters, Avian and Burstinatrix, but is stronger than both of them combined. His 2100 ATK can take down most Level 4 and below monsters, and with the right spell cards, he can become strong enough to take down a fair amount of Level 7 and 8 monsters. His special ability moves him towards the top of the EH list. In addition to smashing the monster and dealing some battle damage to the opponent, he also gets to inflict effect damage in the amount of the destroyed monster's ATK once it lands in the Graveyard. Give him the power to inflict piercing damage, and he could quickly end the duel for your opponent.

Next up is Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman. Combine EH Flame Wingman with EH Sparkman. Think of him as an upgrade of EH Flame Wingman with his 2500 ATK and 2100 DEF. This powerhouse comes with not one, but two special abilities. His first gives him a 300 ATK power boost for each EH monster in the Graveyard. Now, if you are the kind of duelist that doesn't recycle, reclaim or remove their monsters from the Graveyard, he would most likely have at least 3700 ATK when you put him into play. As he gets stronger, your second special ability would most likely win the duel for you. EH Shining Flare Wingman can also inflict effect damage like EH Flame Wingman.

Elemental Hero Thunder Giant is a titan of a monster with 2400 ATK and 1500 DEF. Combine EH Sparkman and EH Clayman, and you get a heavy hitter with a very interesting special ability. By discarding a card, you can instantly destroy a monster on the field with original ATK that is less than EH Thunder Giant's ATK. Think of it as a good way to get rid of annoying monsters that cannot be destroyed by battle like Marshmallon. EH Thunder Giant would work very well in a deck with EH Shining Flare Wingman.

Here we have Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster, made by fusing EH Burstinatrix and EH Clayman. This soldier of justice has 2000 ATK and 2500 DEF. Its special ability allows it to attack while in DEF mode, but only for half of its ATK power and only if your opponent has no monsters. This isn't as effective, but at least you can attack from behind a wall. Use your other monsters to destroy your opponent's defenses, and then score a free hit with EH Rampart Blaster.

Next is Elemental Hero Steam Healer, made from EH Burstinatrix and EH Bubbleman. While it has a low 1800 ATK and 1000 DEF, its special ability makes up for it. It does the opposite of EH Flame Wingman and EH Shining Flare Wingman. Instead of giving your opponent effect damage, it gives you effect healing equal to the ATK of the monster destroyed and sent of the Graveyard.

Elemental Hero Wild Wingman is a fusion of EH Avian and EH Wildheart. His ATK of 1900 and DEF of 2300 is a bit low for a Level 8 monster, but his special ability isn't bad. For the cost of discarding a card, you can destroy a single Spell or Trap Card in play. So you can either sabotage your opponent or trigger a combo on your side of the field. This one isn't as useful as the others, but you can judge for yourself and use him for a duel or two.

Next up is Elemental Hero Wildedge, made from EH Bladedge and EH Wildheart. This Level 8 monster has 2600 ATK and 2300 DEF, with an ability that allows you to attack your opponent's entire line of monsters during each of your Battle Phases. Making him strong enough, and he could wipe out your opponent's monsters in one turn, and allow your other EH monsters to possibly finish off your opponent in the same turn.

The final monster we'll be looking at is Elemental Hero Tempest. This Level 8 heavy hitter is made by fusing EH Avian, EH Sparkman and EH Bubbleman. Weighing in with 2800 ATK and 2800 DEF, his special ability allows you to send a card you have in play to the Graveyard, and at the same time protect one of your monsters from being destroyed in battle. This effect would do well to keep EH Flame Wingman or EH Shining Flare Wingman in play a lot longer.

Well, there you have it. Some of the powerhouses of the Elemental Hero family for your consideration. The only thing left to make a good EH deck is some Spell and Trap cards. Next time, we'll take a look at these. Until next time, get you game on!

Elemental Heroes, Part 1

What's shakin' duelists! This will be the first in a trio of posts. Today, we're gonna talk about one of the backbone deck archetypes from the GX era: The Elemental Heroes. These warriors of justice work together in a variety of ways to quickly take down the competition. In addition to that, you can fuse 2 or more of them together to make even more powerful Elemental Heroes. This archetype has a number of Spells and Traps that work well to power up and protect these heroes. Let's take a look at the basic Elemental Heroes.
 

 
Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix don't seem too powerful at first glance, but you'll want them in your deck anyway. You'll see why in the next post.

EH Sparkman has decent ATK power, and with an Equip or Field Spell, he could be a real damage dealer.

EH Clayman is great for stalling with its DEF of 2000. Alone, each of these 4 cards don't seem like much, but their true potential is unlocked when they are fused together, to make much stronger Elemental Heroes.
 

Elemental Hero Bubbleman is another seemingly weak Monster, but his special ability gives you the power to draw 2 cards, if he is the only card you have in play when you summon him. Think of him as a Monster version of Pot of Greed.
 

Next up is Elemental Hero Wildheart. He's got average ATK and DEF, but his special ability makes him immune to Traps. Power him up, and he'll overtake Sparkman as most useful Monster so far.
 

Elemental Hero Bladedge packs a pretty good punch at 2600 ATK. Combine that with his ability to inflict piercing damage, and he's a good choice for offense.
 

The final Elemental Hero to consider, has the most heroic look out of the bunch. I'm talking about Elemental Hero Neos! This champion of justice weighs in at 2500 ATK, and I've seen many decks built around this one card. Next time, we'll take a look at how these these monsters work together to take any opponent down. Later Duelists!