Subject: New Card Classifications - Tiger

Usually cards are classified as monster, magic, or
trap.  I use a different classification system when I
build decks that helps me focus on what a want the
deck to accomplish.  There are seven main categories
of cards, with an eighth provisional category.  Here
they are:

1.  Attack Cards
Designed to attack opponents' monsters and/or life
points.  These include 4-star beatdown monsters like
La Jinn and 7-Colored Fish as well as direct damage
cards like Ookazi, Tremendous Fire, and Just Desserts.
  I include offensive equipment cards here as well (Axe
of Despair, Malevolent Nuzzler, Black Pendant, etc.)

2. Defense Cards
These are specifically meant to protect your life
points.  Monsters like Giant Soldier of Stone and Aqua
Madoor belong here.  So do defensive equipment cards
like the Horn of Light.  Cards like Messenger of Peace
are classified here too.

3. High Level Monsters
Yes, this is a separate category.  The reason to
separate them is the tributing.  It slows your deck
down - not that this is bad.  It's just that the
number of high levels you have is a big reflection of
your strategy.

4. Destroy or Remove Monsters
The category with the widest variety.  Monsters like
Man-Eater Bug and Hane-Hane go here (I also place Wall
of Illusion here, but it fits in defense as well).
Trap cards like Trap Hole and Mirror Force go here.
Magic Cards like Raigeki, Dark Hole, and Fissure go
here.  Cyber Jar goes here.  Anything that directly
removes a monster, your opponent's OR yours.

5. Add or Save Monsters
A bit of variety here too.  Monster Reborn and Last
Will are obvious (Premature Burial would go here too).
  I classify Ultimate Offering here as well.  Also
included is Waboku.  Some might put it under "Defense"
because it protects your life points, but in Yu-Gi-Oh,
having a monster advantage is more important than
having a life point advantage, so because Waboku also
protects all your monsters, it goes here.

6. Gain Card Advantage
Anything that puts cards in your hands, takes them
away from your opponent, or gives you more power over
which cards you've got in your hand.  Recovery cards
like Magician of Faith and Mask of Darkness go here.
So do Card Destruction, Confiscation, and Deliquent
Duo.  Masked Sorcerer and Robbin' Goblin are included.
  And the Big Eye, even though it doesn't acutally put
cards in your hand.  Get the idea?

7. Destroy or Remove Magic or Trap
Pretty obvious.  Magic Jammer, Seven Tools, Heavy
Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, etc.  I'd also put
Giant Trunade here (kind of a Hane-Hane for M/T).

8. (PROVISIONAL)  Add or Save Magic or Trap
Sometimes cards in Destroy M/T can fit here too.  Like
if you activate Trap Hole, your opponent activates
Seven Tools, and you activate Solemn Judgement, your
Solemn Judgement is both destroying his Seven Tools
and saving your Trap Hole.  Dust Tornado from
Pharaoh's Servant could go here, but it also destroys
an opponent's M/T, so it could fit in category 7 too.
This is a sketchy category.

That's it.  Sometimes cards can go two different
places, but the trick is to ask yourself, "Why am I
including this card?"  Masked Sorcerer is in my deck
so I can draw a card when I attack.  Therefore, he
goes under "Gain Card Advantage," not "Attack."  Wall
of Illusion is in my deck because a card that attacks
it leaves the field.  So it's under "Destroy or Remove
Monster" not "Defense."

When you break your deck down along these lines, one
or two categories should dominate.  Otherwise, you are
probably playing with an aimless deck, and I'd bet
more focused decks tend to beat yours.  My deck has 21
out of 41 cards in the "Destroy or Remove Monster"
category.  You could just as easily build a burner
heavy in attack or an Exodia heavy in Defense and Card Advantage. 
 But your deck should be heavy in something.

If you're trying to make decisions about including and
dropping cards, this system will help tremendously
because it really allows you to identify the primary
goal of each card and weigh it against cards with
similar primary goals.  Making card decisions is tons
easier when you're looking at your deck in this
breakdown.

Well, that's the system.  Happy dueling, e-mail me
with questions or comments!
Tiger - samtiger54@yahoo.com

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