Happy holidays ya’ll. I hope your Thanksgiving was enjoyable. If you waited in line for 7 hours in the cold for Black Friday like I did, I hope you got some great bargains for Christmas. This week, we are going to be reviewing some of the trap cards from Photon Shockwave. First up is Heartfelt Appeal. This common trap has the unique ability to snatch your opponent’s highest defense monster when you receive a direct attack. Normally the highest defense monster is also the highest attack monster, so if your opponent has two or more monsters and attacks with the lowest attack first, you can then block the rest of the attacks with your opponent’s own monster. Then on your turn, you can use their monster for a Xyz, synchro, or tribute summon.
 
The draw back’s to this card is that the monster you took has its effects negated and you cannot attack with it. Of course the other draw back is that you will take battle damage. It is definitely a card that will surprise a lot of opponent’s and can be a game changer. What is nice is that it can be used in almost any deck or side deck. Most decks today ether Xyz or synchro summon and those that do not can side deck this card to use in mirror matches. Gladiator Beast and Elemental Hero mirror matches can gain huge advantages from this card. If you are facing a Gladiator Beast deck you can use this card to keep your opponent from tagging out, then use it on your turn for a summon.
 
One thing to note about this card is that because of the specific activation requirements of this normal trap card, it activates at the same time as a card like Gorz after damage calculation in the damage step. Normally you cannot activate normal trap cards in the damage step; however Heartfelt Appeal specifically states that it does according to the new problem solving text.
 
For a common, Heartfelt Appeal is a pretty powerful card. It is too bad that the monster’s effects are negated, but there are still tons of uses for your stolen monster. Even Monarch decks benefit from this card. At the very least, this card turns into a one for one that blocks your opponents other attacks for one turn. Now all you have to do is find room.
 
Advanced: 2/5 (if you could use effects it would rate higher)
Traditional:  4/5 (If I overrated, it is not by much)

A new week here on Pojo, but not any week, IT'S A TRAP week! General Akbar would be proud. First up is Heartfelt Appeal. An interesting trap card. Appeal says, When you take battle damage from an opponent's direct attack, gain control of one of your opponent's monster with the highest DEF until your next end phase. It's effect is negated and cannot declare an attack. I believe this card has potential, especially if all they have is one monster. Its yours to do with what you almost want. Tribute, synchro, Xyz. It's also a good card to put in your side deck. Try it, you might like it.
 
Traditional: 2
Advanced: 3
Tomorrow: Taste my really hot rings of expression!

A new week, a new card! Yet another common from Photon Shockwave, Heartfelt Appeal!
 
Heartfelt Appeal is a Normal Trap that allows you to take control of one of your opponent's monster with the highest DEF when you take damage from their direct attack. However, this only lasts until your next End Phase and that monster's effect and attack are off limits.
 
Those restraints really suck. Any practical and decent use for this card would be insanely situational which in my opinion makes this card really lack-lustre. The only real use for this card would be to use the monster you take control of for a Tribute/Synchro or Xyz Summon, which is actually rather good. But this card's restraints coupled with the fact that it is slow (due to it being a Trap) makes this card worthless.
 
Assuming Watts don't randomly become Tier 0 (I wish).
 
Traditional: 1/5
Advanced: 1/5
Art: 1/5 

Welcome back! Today we have a trap for the emotional duelist, Heartfelt Appeal!

When you take a direct hit, this trap takes the monster with the highest defense your opponent has until your next endphase. The whole “needing a direct attack to work” kind of doesn’t appeal (no pun intended) to some people, especially since you can’t attack or use the stolen monster’s effects. You can, however, still tribute the stolen monster. A budget Monarch deck might want to try this against Soul Exchange because you’ll still get your battle phase.

The thing about Change of Heart is that it was way too powerful to remain in the game. This is probably one of the few attempts to create a stable remake that actually works. You can’t use the monster against the opponent, but you can still use it as material in summoning and for other monster effects. Just carry around some Wabokus so that the direct attack doesn’t sting and the stolen monster isn’t destroyed.

Traditional: 1/5 (you still have both Change of Heart and Brain Control here, so it’s outclassed)
Advanced: 2.5/5 in general, but 3.5/5 in a deck with a high monster turnover rate
Art: 4/5 (for the emotional appeal)

Monday:

Heartfelt Appeal
Normal Trap
"When you take Battle Damage from your opponent's direct attack: Take control of the 1 face-up monster your opponent controls with the highest DEF, until your next End Phase. (If it's a tie, you get to choose.) Its effect(s) is negated and it cannot declare an attack."

It's General Ackbar's favorite week here at pojo - Yugioh, so hang onto your lightsabers and enjoy the week's reviews.

As for HA, it's not the best card to use. There's easier ways to take control of the opponent's monster and those don't have as many restirctions, not counting Mind Control, of course. The not being able to use any of the monsters effects or attack with it hurt it's usability a good deal, only netting you a tribute if you're lucky.

Traditional: 1
Advanced: 1