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Pojo's Yu-Gi-Oh Card of the Day

Dark Driceratops
Rare

Dinosaur / Effect Monster
When this card attacks with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of your opponent's Defense Position monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points.

Type - Earth / 6 / 2400 / 1500
Card Number
- IOC-073

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being 
the worst.  3 ... average.  5 is the highest rating

Date Reviewed - 8.23.04

ExMinion OfDarkness Monday:
Dark Driceratops

Trample's best friend outside of Enraged Battle Ox.

Jinzo's ATK score in a one-tribute (which is getting more and more common), exactly Witchable defense, and trample. No one really plays Gaia Power...or Dinosaurs. So it'd just be used for themeless Trample where someone didn't want to have to have Spears switching into Defense position.

There's not much more to say; if Airknight is failing against a Beatdown, and your opponent doesn't run enough traps to warrant Jinzo, I guess this would be a good alternate.

2.75/5 
Tranorix Dark Driceratops

Why they couldn't just spell it "Triceratops", we'll never know; but we're starting this week off (a bit late) with a very underlooked Rare from Invasion of Chaos, Dark Driceratops. The stats are, simply put, good. 2400 ATK is decent for a one-tribute monster and 1500 is the highest Witchable DEF. Being EARTH gives it some support, and being a Dinosaur makes DD one of the only playable Dinos we have.

It has trample. Pretty simple, right? If you attack a DEF monster with Driceratops, he'll be taking, most likely, a big amount of damage. I believe Dark Driceratops is the highest ATK monster in the game with the trample effect (unless you count Aitsu + Koitsu…), so it's definitely not a bad choice for a second or third tribute monster. One nice thing about it is that you can use Ultra Evolution Pill (tomorrow's card) to Special Summon Driceratops more quickly, by sacrificing Sinister Serpent or something.

That's basically all there is to say about Dark Driceratops. It's a monster that'll probably see some more play after the new ban list hits, and rightfully so. (For anyone wondering, my reviews will always be based on how the TCG currently stands).

Typical tournament deck: 3/5
Trample deck: 4/5
OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5 
Otaku

Welcome to what is apparently Dinosaur week.  Let me preface this by saying that I am somewhat annoyed and perplexed that there are both Dinosaurs and Dragons in Yu-Gi-Oh.  Why is that?  Simply put, they are one and the same.  The term dinosaur originated in 1841, if I recall correctly.  Before then if you described a huge reptile to someone, what do you think they’d have called it?  Now I know, not all “Dinosaurs” in the TCG are big reptiles.  Mad Sword Beast is a Dinosaur, for example.  Still, the term Dragon often is used to describe things that look nothing like a Firedrake (the stereotypical 4 legged, long necked, long-tailed, winged, fire-breathing European dragon).  Note how there are many beasts that are fantastic in nature, but we didn’t get a special category for them... anyway, on to the review.

Stats: Dark Driceratops is big Dinosaur.  This is probably for the best-it means it faces little competition, and aids in justifying a deck around it.  As a Level 6, it will probably only see play in its own deck, or one desperately in need of it’s effect.  It is an Earth Dinosaur, which is pretty common, and means there is some decent support for it- nothing major, but don’t underestimate a simple Gaia Power.  Moving on we see a solid 2400 ATK.  This is more or less the baseline for Level 6 monsters with any sort of effect, so we shouldn’t expect anything too strong from it.  The last stat to touch upon is the perfect “beatstick” Defense of 1500.  Since this is meant for attacking, this is as high as it can get while still being a legal target for the effect of Witch of the Black Forest.

Effect(s): In a word: trample.  In more words, for those not familiar with the term (probably a new player, at least when it comes to anything before PSV), when Dark Driceratops attacks a DEF position monster that is weaker than it, you do damage like you would if the defender was in ATK mode.  Anyway, this has become a neglected effect.  I personally feel that every deck should have a Trampler, or else run extra Burn (cards that directly damage life points).  All in all, a good effect, if a little vanilla.

Uses/Combinations: This may very well be the best “big” Dinosaur card in the game, so if you want a Dinosaur deck, forget Dinosaur Ryuzaki’s (Rex Raptor) stuff and look here.  Check tomorrow’s CotD for one of the huge advantages Dinosaur cards have, and later in the week well feature some other good support.

There is one that seemed to get left out-Gilasaurus.  Together they make a potent combination for getting this into play.  Just pack some cards keep the Gilasaurus from benefiting your opponent (Soul release, Fiend Comedian, Necrovalley, etc.).  Now you have a Dinosaur that can be Special Summoned on a whim, to serve as tribute fodder for the big guy. ;)

Ratings

Casual: 4/5-“Terrible Thunder Lizards… commin ta get chaz!  Terrible Thunder Lizaaaaards”  Hmmm, not a fan of Eek, the Cat?  Oh well, this is probably the best big dinosaur out, though there is one that is much harder to use… but more on it later in the week.

Tournament: 3.25/5-So hard to handle Chaos.  On the bright side, it becomes more beneficial running that Graveyard disruption if you team it up with Gilasaurus.

Limited: 305/5-Not the highest attack in the set, but trample is divine here.  If there weren't so many good (at least in Limited) tribute Monsters, this thing could have been king.

Summary

Not sure if it is enough to build a real deck around, but it’s a solid start.  As a card, it is a vanilla, solid, monster.

Tony *sigh*

What's up with these Dinos that trample? First Mad Sword Beast and now this? haha...

This is a Jinzo...with a different (not better) effect. It's stats are basically not too good. Now if this Dino was 2500, whole 'nother story because then it could kill Jinzo. (( you can skip the next paragraph but it's about the "evolution" of trample cards ~but it's reallllly long~...then it's onto the COTD again ))

Let's go over these trample cards. First, it's Driceratop's lil brother Mad Sword Beast. I used to run him back in the PSV times when everyone was running Goblin Attack Force and Nimble Momonga. I was also running 2 Robin' Goblin's. This combo was pretty good back then because there were limited removal for cards like Nimble Momonga and it took cards away from the hand also. Obviously that combo was broken, good, amazing, won games, etc...Then Spear Dragon came out. Spear Dragon or Gemini Elf was the question...I chose neither and went with Zombyra the Dark. It killed Gemini Elf and/or Spear Dragon and then it was still a 1900 attacker. A lot of people chose Spear Dragon over the Zombyra or Gemini because of the Goblin Attack Forces and Spear Dragon IS a good top deck late game. Anyways, then came the Mystic Tomato time. No one wanted to run into one and then have a Witch or Sangan kill it back. Trample also became less relavent because of the constant amount of creatures on the board and more monsters with Higher Defence came out. Don Zaloog for one...more 1900 attackers with higher defences...and Book of Moon was introduced. Also, the Robin' Goblin' phase was gone because of Harpie's Feather Duster and everyone started to run 3 Mystical Space Typhoons (( starter decks made the MSTs popular )). Then Magicial Scientist, Vampire Lord, Tribe Infecting Virus, Breaker the Magical Warrior, DD Warrior Lady etc...all these control monsters came out and no one wanted trample; they wanted field control and honestly, it's was better. But there IS one card that's left that's everyone's favorite; Airknight Parshath. Trample, Draw a card, forces your opponent to kill it quick because Yu Gi Oh is about hand advantage (( since literally 60% of cards deal with field control ~ yes I actually did do the math dxP )) More field control (( m/t destroyers, out of the game monsters/magics~nobleman, kycoo, dd warrior lady, Dark balter, etc...~, traps that deals with creatures effectively... )) took place over the late game damage and eventually made the game into a circle: One dominant deck type in the metagame; from Beatdown, then to hand control, then Field Control. The game's flaw is once one deck does well, everyone else makes the same deck because the game leads to too many top decks. Soo that's a LONG explanation why trample isn't good anymore.........or is it? I believe it's time for trample again, but not using this card. Use cards like Cannon Soldier and Spear Dragon to force through the damage. Why Cannon Soldier? Personally I hate Change of Heart AND Snatch Steal. I wish I could use them as removal instead. Using Cannon Sodlier helps tremendously. Also with the Beserk Gorilla and Airknight Parshath, the games will go quickly (meaning life points will be drained more quickly) leaving them Confiscation, Delinquent Duo, Magical Scientist in hand and forcing them to not use its effects effectively. *shrugs* I'm still working on a good trample deck but I believe we are back to it...You can try this card but I suggest if you do NOT own Royal Decree, Dark Driceratops is not that good.

Okay, soo the card Dark Driceratops is nothing special. Sure it's a great late game top deck but ask your self this: what does it do for me in the early/middle game? Does it stop your opponent's important traps? Do you draw cards off of it? Does it force your opponents Dark Hole/Raigeki bad? Does it stop Witch/Sangan/Premature Burial/Call of the Haunted? IT HAS NO BENEFITS IN THE EARLY/MIDDLE GAME and eventually help your opponent achieve hand/field advantage.

See with the MANY tribute monsters that are out, you want to run 1 maybe 2 tribute monsters in your deck. It leads to bad top decks, it gives an useless card against monsters like Yata-Garasu, and in the game of hand/field advantage, you ALWAYS want to do something productive every turn...

You can try it but I believe there are better monsters out there. In Yu Gi Oh, leaving your opponent with less cards than you (meaning useless at the moment), creature field advantage, and knowledge of the chain wins you tournaments. Make sure you carefully choose tributes that will help you.

Ratings
Constructed: 6/10
Limited: 9/10 
MerrilHess Dark Driceratops

Ok, who wouldn't love a creature as big as Jinzo with trample?

Pros:
It's big and got Trample. It's rather easy to bring out. It's earth, so it feeds it's buddy, Gigantes. 1500 DEF is Witch Searchable. It's a Dino, so if you play Dino's, he is the most likely choice to be included. It's Rare, too, so it's is rather common to find.

Cons:
It is a tribute monster, making a bad topdeck. Dinosaurs also don't have much support right now, although they have some. Dinosaurs are often forgotten, too, so many people don't even know this exists. Earth is also a dying deck type. It only has that trample ability, which is good, but I mean the only other worthy trample candidates I can think of are Mefist the Infernal General and Airknight Parshath, both of which have secondary effects that are great.

Overall, I give Dark Driceratops a 7.9/10. It's good to use if you have it, and it can be used as a filler if you don't have a Jinzo or Airknight. 
JAELOVE

Monday: Dark Driceratops

Rated For: Dinosaur Deck

This week will feature cards that work well in a Dinosaur deck. Dinosaurs, the ferocious beasts we all loved while growing up, are one of the most underrepresented subtypes in all of duel monsters. In fact, there are only eleven dinosaurs in the entire game! Out of these eleven, four are instantly worthless (Uraby, Twin-Headed King Rex, Mammoth Graveyard, Crawling Dragon #2). Another, Kabazauls, has 1700 attack, which is weak as well. Three are tributes (Dark Driceratops, Black Tyranno, Guardian Grarl.) And finally, two decent dinosaurs with interesting effects, Gilasaurus and Hyper Hammerhead, round out the pathetic lot. Poor, poor dinosaurs.

Today, Invasion of Chaos's Dark Driceratops (Triceratops perhaps?) bravely weighs in, clocking in at a trample-boosted 2400 attack. Onward with the review then.

Advantage F/H: As we've seen, A BAD system does not treat tribute monsters well in this category because of their extra monster cost. And though Dark Driceratops can make use of a dinosaur-specific summon, Ultra Evolution Pill (which costs a monster in addition to itself to play), you'll still be using 1-2 cards in hand to bring him out. The cost would be worth it if he didn't have such an underwhelming effect; he'll only last for 1-2 turns anyways, so you'll rarely cause much damage. He's simply not worth it for the relatively low advantage he brings to the table. Decent attack though. 6/10.

Best Draw for the Situation: Like most tribute monsters, he's generally a horrible draw in every situation. Generally, tribute monsters have to provide some unique, irreplaceable service to be deck-worthy (i.e Jinzo = trap negation, Airknight Parshath = draw power, etc). Dark Driceratops is simply a trample monster. Decent? Yes. Solid? Yes. Spectacular? No. His tribute monster status really brings him down, though he is a rather good end-game finisher in the right situation. A few points for that.            2.5/10

Attributes/Effect: Recall we are rating him for a dinosaur deck. I've shown that dinosaur decks are starving for options. Accordingly, a 2400 monster with searchable stats and the all-important dinosaur subtype does deserve a high score in a dinosaur deck, even if it's not very great elsewhere.          9/10.

Dependability: He's only going to last a few turns. If your plan is to trample your opponent to death, there are better options (Airknight Parshath springs readily to mind). Why waste precious deck space on an inferior option? Oh, right, you're running dinosaurs! Good luck, buddy.                               5/10.

The Bottom Line: One of the best dinosaurs in the game. Out of eleven, of course.

A BAD Score: 22.5/40=                                   56/100

Cards it combos with: Ultra Evolution Pill.

 

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