Subject: Top Ten Beat Down Staple Card List

There are so many powerful cards out there now, how can we possibly narrow our lists down to just ten cards? It's impossible, but if we condense to just the ten staple monsters and ten staple magics and traps, we will have a core deck to work with. And remember that we'll have multiples of some of these. Beat-Down is a common theme, so let's look at the lists:

Monsters:

Jinzo Only one tribute, plus the trap kill bonus
Bazoo Kills Jinzo, sacrifices for Summoned Skull
Injection Fairy Lily Double Barreled Shotgun of Destruction
Yata Garatsu Sneaky little fella
Cyber Jar Flush and reload
Kycoo Exodia killer
Goblin Attack Force Like Dirty Harry's 44 Magnum
Witch of the Black Forest Where's my Jinzo?
Magician of Faith I get to re-Raigeki you!
Morphing Jar Desperate but effective

These cards were chosen because they are cards that can take control of the situation. They force your opponent to take action or lose. They narrow your opponent's options. For example, once you have Jinzo out, your opponent must live without traps or find a way to kill Jinzo. If he isn't playing Double Snare or can't get out a Summoned Skull or equip a smaller monster, etc., it's all over. Many of these cards entail a risk in playing them. Bazoo eats up your graveyard, so you need to think ahead, realizing you might throw away a gem you'd rather Reborn later. Injection Fairy Lily hits hard, but you take a big 2000 life point shot each time you give her a goose. Cyber Jar is a risk - what if you draw mostly M/T and your opponent gets mostly 4-star monsters? Decisions, decisions... Honorable mentions go to Gemini Elf, Mechanical Chaser, Sangan and Summoned Skull, cards that are also capable of quickly changing the tone of the duel. And remember to have a few lower star, lower attack effect monsters likw Hayabusa Knight in your main and/or side deck in case you come up against a Gravity Bind/Messenger of Peace deck.

Magic and Trap:

Harpie's Feather Duster Sweep the zone clean of those troublesome M/T's, then attack!
Mystical Space Typhoon The surprise of a trap in a magic's cloak
Raigeki So you worked so hard to stock the monster zone? Sorry!
Delenquent Duo Great Yata set-up card
Premature Burial Get back to where you once belonged
Monster Reborn Get'em again, Jinzo!
Swords of Revealing Light Have a seat while I pound your life points...
Magic Cylinders You dare attack??? Back atcha!
Mirror Force You dare attack??? Bye-bye monsters!
Imperial Order Your magics are feebleized.

Again, these are cards that quickly change the tempo of a duel. Imagine having a Gemini down on the field, with Raigeki, Harpie's, Delinquent Duo, Goblin Attack Force and Yata in your hand. Game over. Mystical Space Typhoon's speed makes it a must. These cards are game-enders, plain and simple. How many times has Magic Cylinders delivered the finishing touch? Many! The honorable mention list of M/T is very long. It's sometimes impossible to decide how to prioritize, so I recommend leaving much of your side deck space for M/T, maybe 60 to 70%. You'll want a few situational cards in there and all the near staples like Ceasefire, Call of the Haunted, Pot of Greed, Dark Hole, Forceful Sentry, Snatch Steal, Nobleman of Crossout, Heavy Storm, Trap Hole, etc., that aren't in your deck. And a couple of Double Snares for the ubiquitous Jinzo. And don't forget the best equips: Axe, Mage and United...

I think one of the most important guidelines is to try to cover as many angles as is possible within the main focus of Beat Down, which is speed, power and a relentless attack, while not leaving yourself vulnerable to other competitive deck themes. And don't grow too sentimental about old favorites. New cards come on the scene every few months and if you don't adapt, you're outta there!

Insults and kudos welcome at:
jmccoy@dow.com
Jeff sez "Happy Dueling!"