Subject: Limiter Removal combos and general Machine deck tips --
Creon316

These are a couple of combos/tips I stumbled upon while trying out my new Machine deck for the first few times, listed by card. Most have to do with Limiter Removal, of course. It's lots of reading, but I put a lot of thought into this and would like to share it.

<Limiter Removal> Thank you UpperDeck for un-restricting this one. Unfortunately, I still only own two. However, this seems to work just fine. I would almost recommond against three unless you're going for pure draw power. Powering up Jinzo to 19,200 is just showing off, anyway. You've already won, don't rub it in.

<Limiter Removal + any powerups/Fields> Double your pleasure. Just remember to activate the equip powerup first. And remember to send me an Axe of Despair, I don't even have one and tried Mask of Brutality in its place. I'm trying to run Luminous Spark right now, using Gradius, Options, Guardian of the Throne Room, and Roulette Cannon as the grunts.

<Limiter Removal + some Machines + Catapult Turtle> Activate Limiter, attack with the machines, then fling them with Turtle for their base attack. Don't forget you can fire Turtle itself for 500. Also, it's Aqua type and will not be killed by Limiter. It's got 2000 DEF, and now that your machines are piles of rust that could help--if you can get it into DEF mode in time, that is.

<Limiter Removal + Ring of Destruction> If your LP can sustain it, after activating Limiter and attacking, blow one up for lots of damage. I dare you not to win with this move. Just don't try it with Jinzo--lose him w/ Turtle or Cannon Soldier first if you have to. And make sure you won't cause a draw- -do the math first.

<Limiter Removal + Fairy Meteor Crush> Got a pesky Spirit Reaper, or a mysterious face down card? Do lots of damage anyway. You may be thinking Cyclon Laser. Well, let's compare. Laser works only on Gradius, and gives a
+300 boost. FMC: No boost, but works on any monster. Much more
+versatile.
Heck, equip it to that Spirit Reaper to kill it, then get a direct attack in with the machines. Bwahahahaaha!

<Last Will + Limiter Removal> Have I mentioned you're going to lose your machines anyway? Activate Last Will with Limiter Removal, and get something back. Just DON'T pick a Machine--anything else will do. Don't forget you can Set it...maybe set a Magician of Faith and get your Limiter back next turn. Just don't plan on attacking, because it'll be activated at your end phase.

<United We Stand + Gradius + Options> Not since Scapegoats have we seen this level of mayhem. If you can get Gradius and 3 Options out, equip the Gradius with United We Stand, you get a 4-card army with 4400 ATK each. It's a bit clunky to get all of them in hand, but all the monster cards are searchable by Witch and Sangan. But I don't recommend running 3 Options.

<Gradius' Option + Gravity Bind> Remember, no matter what Option's attack climbs to, it's still 1 star. If you go up against a Gravity Bind, this can still hurt. You can still activate that Limiter and dish out the one turn kill.

<Cannon Soldier> Not quite as lethal as Turtle, but easier to summon and can still win you the game. Remember you will lose your machines at the end of the Limiter run, so get some last bang out of them with Soldier's effect. Remember, it's a machine too, so he becomes 2800 ATK and should be fired off to his own effect as well. If this scenario doesn't spell game, you didn't plan ahead and I pity you.

<Cannon Soldier + Last Will> Works in any deck really.
*cough*magicalscientist*cough* Activate Last Will, have Soldier fire anything or even itself, bada-bing there's that Gradius you need. Or Witch so you can hurry up and search Jinzo. Or Magician of Faith to get that magic card you need.

<Cannon Soldier/Catapult Turtle + Change of Heart/Snatch Steal> Works in any deck too. Quick fix for monster removal--nab that monster and then fire it off, never to be seen again. Just don't be hasty...do you REALLY want to squander those spell cards? Save this for a kamikaze run. Hey, if you get a strong enough monster, a Turtle shot could end the game. 1875 for a Gate Guardian! Hey, just thought of something...pump up their monster for them with your United We Stand, then fire it off via turtle. Say you take that Gemini Elf, then equip her with United while you have 4 monsters out...it's 2950 damage from Turtle. Of course Ring of Destruction is much quicker, but watch your life points.

<Shining Angel> This is the Tomato of Light monsters. You can use his effect to special summon a Gradius. If you bother with Options, this will help get them out really fast. Roulette Cannon also works.

<Ultimate Offering> In a deck where you can pull off kamikaze runs that do
8000+ damage in one phase, wouldn't it be nice to fill up your field
instantly? Get another to pump up United We Stand? Get out that Catapult Turtle or Jinzo in one turn? Maybe you already summoned and hit a Cyber Jar, and pulled a few Options...you can then get that Gradius out on the field and special summon away. You won't need those 500 points, the game will be over in a second! In this deck, I had some success...but more often it just sat there useless. Worth mentioning though.

<Painful Choice + Backup Soldier> I DON'T recommend this one...just trying to be creative. Use Painful and get all those Gradius in the graveyard. Then BS them back to your hand. 3 of your semi-key cards are now in your hand ready to be abused. I pulled this off once, but don't even deck them anymore.

<Michizure> I don't recommend this one either. I thought it would help in general battles, or combined with a Limiter genocide, or Cannon Soldier/Turtle. But it didn't. Every time I played it, it sat there like a Dark Coffin or a used Spellbinding Circle and never did any good. Trap Hole would have been better.

<Dimensionhole + Limiter Removal> Ehh...it works. You can rescue one monster from a Limiter end phase, and they come back on your next turn, their 2x attack intact. Could clinch you the game if you powered up well. I just didn't bother with this one, my monster/M-T ratio was way off and it didn't make the cut.

Finally, the best tip I have for any Machine deck:
<Solemn Judgment> I have avoided this card like it was Great Long Nose since I began dueling--but now I see its true power. When playing my Machine deck in tournaments, 3 cards ruined Limiter Removal runs and lost me duels again and again: Mirror Force, Waboku and Imperial Order. You can't destroy Wab and IO first because they'r chainable. Now, 7 Tools can stop those and is cheaper, both with life points and purchasing one. However, when you deal with one-turn kills, paying half your life points doesn't matter if it means you can win the duel right there. And, Judgment can negate many more things than 7-tools, so even if you're not using it to pull off the game-winning move, it can get you out of many tight spots. Don't forget you can use it to negate the summone of Jinzo. I have seen the light. Bandit Keith even used it, and he knows his Machines. (Of course he was possessed at the time.) So even if you just powered up your Winged Dragon of Ra by 7998 points, you can still activate Solemn Judgment. Now THERE'S Turtle fodder.

creon316@att.net
AIM: crooner316