Every format has a card that has been around awhile that gets a rebirth. Compulsory Evacuation Device is such a card. In a format that is heavily into Xyz summoning, Compulsory does amazing things. We are seeing this card being played in more and more top tier decks. Not only does it wreck your opponent’s plans, but it can also be used to save your own monsters.
 
Let’s take a look at what Compulsory does against the top tier decks. Dino Rabbit’s get popped back to the hand, has one of the summoned monsters get popped back to the hand, or get the Xyz monster taken out. Wind-Ups loose their Xyz monsters including Zenmaines. Inzektor’s do not get any effects off. Dragons loose fusion and Xyz monsters, and one of the two pieces to their lock in ether Lightpulsar or Red-Eyes. Ryko and Lyla also become a non-factor.
 
Compulsory also saves your own monsters from being destroyed, snatched, or banished. Compulsory does have its down side. It does not negate a summon so if the summoned monster has a trigger effect or an effect that can negate trap cards then your in bad shape. It can also be a negative one as it returns the monster to the hand.
 
If you can find the room in your deck for another trap card, then I would recommend playing Compulsory Evacuation Device. Especially in a deck that used Creature Swap.
 
Traditional: 3/5
Advanced: 4/5

Today we have a trap card that has picked up a lot wind this past format. With cards like Gachi Gachi Gantetsu and Wind-up Zenmaines running around with a built in self-preservation ability cards like Compulsory Evacuation Device are needed.

Compulsory Evacuation Device

Normal Trap

“Target 1 monster on the field; return that target to the hand.”

The effect is so simple, clear, and great. This old card has finally seen the spotlight that it has deserved. This card was overlooked by many back in the good ol’ days where you had your basic Cookie Cutter decks that were your basic toolbox. When this card was originally released it was overlooked because we had Bottomless Trap Hole running around a similar timeframe. At the time Synchros and XYZ monsters were no such thing.

This card’s versatility is being used more as people realize how good this card is in most of the meta. With Ignition Priority gone, saving your Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning or Dark Armed Dragon from a Bottomless Trap Hole or Torrential Tribute might be a good idea with a well timed Eject Button! Bouncing back Synchros like Stardust and XYZ like Zenmaines or Acid Golem have become important in today’s game.

Pros: Spot Removal

Cons: Allows your opponent to reuse that monster in the future.

Advanced: 4/5
Traditional: 3/5

EVACUAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!!!!!
 
CED has perhaps the most one of the most reactive and efficient effects out there, being very comparable to Book of Moon. It is extremely disruptive to send your opponent's monster back to the hand. Many important monsters are Normal Summonable, and in the meta, the most powerful monsters are the ones that are not difficult to summon, but CED, despite not being a permanent solution such as Bottomless Trap Hole, still wastes the opponent's Normal Summon and can throw a wrench in the plans.
 
This nifty little Trap is most ideal for effortlessly eliminating your opponent's Synchros and Xyzs they worked so hard, especially those with built-in protection effects (I'm looking at Stardust Dragon, Zenmaines, Maestroke, Gentetsu, Utopia). CED is also especially painful, given its costless nature, against Synchros and Xyzs that were particularly difficult to summon, such as Shock Master (simply respond to its summon, or if you drew CED after it got summoned, just set it down and use it at the start of your opponent's turn). This showcases how the easy, costless CED cleanly boots any monster you want right off the field, potentially allowing your opponent to be open to brutal assaults and/or protecting your own monsters all at once.
CED can be chained to an opponent's powerful effect that requires them to have a monster (theirs or yours) faceup on the field. (In a tighter situation, you can also anticipate a move they would do and activate CED prematurely as a precaution.) Also, like Book of Moon, CED can also help to disrupt the opponent's Synchro and Xyz plans. Of course, like Book of Moon (perhaps even better than BoM), you can use this as a (albeit situational) way to shield your own monsters from destruction from the likes of Dark Hole and Mirror Force.
 
CED is usually pushed aside in favour of more popular and splashable Spells (Mystical Space Typhoon, Book of Moon) or more offensive Traps (Bottomless Trap Hole, Dimensional Prison). Although you might find deckspace cramped or you might prefer one of the more violent splashables I just mentioned, I can assure to you that CED's versatility means that it will rarely cause you disappointment. Simple effects are usually the best!
 
What CED lacks in sparing a monster's life, it makes up for with pure versatility and chainability. Think of it as a cross between Dimensional Prison and Book of Moon, both good cards in their own rights.

Trad: 2/5 (good at disruption, but Traps are slow and granted you could use Makyura or Temple of the Kings but those are used for FTKs anyway)
Adv: 3.8/5
Aesthetics: 3/5 It looks like Giga Gagagigo had to go-go to the bathroom really bad. That's just the thought I have. I picture a mechanical hut forming around the target monster rapidly and launches it straight upward as if it were Team Rocket blasting off again. 
 
Philosophy Corner: I'm guessing the majority of our audience here at Pojo's Yu-Gi-Oh branch is probably male, mostly the preteen age group, after that probably casual teenage players age 16 and up with some tournament-level players at college age, and finally, perhaps some middle-aged adults that still take the game seriously (a number of people working here at Pojo.com are married with kids). I believe that out of all the people that know that Pojo exists, most of them are high-level players, but out of most of them, most do not bother checking Pojo.com out because they feel much safer relying on their own instincts on judging a card (that said, I feel most of Pojo's card reviewers are world-class duelists, but the CotD reviewers that have more experience, IMO, do tend to rate cards a lot more strictly). Anyway, the rest of the people that go on Pojo.com, I believe, are casual players that are just generic YGO fans or are seeking to start a career in playing in localized tournaments (former writer Michael Lucas discussed this in our 2006 YGO magazine, stating locals are one step below regional tournaments). *to be continued tomorrow*
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