Subject: FWD: A look at Flaming Eternity's heavy hitters by Sean ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: seanslcars@comcast.net Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 21:02:54 +0000 Hey it’s me Sean again. I wanted to talk about the two Flaming Eternity cards that everyone is talking about-Lightning Vortex and Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. Both have received a great deal of hype and talk, and I thought I’d put my own two cents in. First off is Lightning Vortex. Basically, I want to go on the record as officially jumping on the Lightning Vortex bandwagon. This card is well worth the attention it’s getting. It really is the replacement for Raigeki. While it is a watered down version of Raigeki, the drawbacks aren’t severe enough to truly diminish it from it’s high status. The card I like to compare Lightning Vortex to is monster Reincarnation. They are both watered down versions of previous staples. The difference is that Lightning Vortex is an awesome card, and Monster Reincarnation is only mediocre. Lightning Vortex belongs in every deck, traditional and advanced. Next we come to the main point of this article. Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys is basically to Flaming Eternity what Yata-Garasu was to Legacy of Darkness, Chaos Emperor Dragon was to Invasion of Chaos, and Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 was to Soul of the Duelist. Everyone wants one. And like the three mentioned previously, this card is being thrown into every deck around. And like those three, many people aren’t learning to use this card to its full potential. Nephthys doesn’t go into every deck. It’s a very powerful monster, but requires special support. The card that everyone, including myself, is comparing it to is the famous Vampire Lord. Nephthys is superior to Vampire Lord. Putting that on the table now. I expect Nephthys decks to start replacing zombie decks as Vampire Lord lovers start to realize the power of Nephthys. Vampire Lord has a small edge in summoning ability, as it is level 5 compared to Nephthys’s Level and can come out directly via Pyramid Turtle. Nephthys’s special summon requires sacrificing Hand of Nephthys and another monster. However, I may be wrong, but I believe, since you’re not technically tributing, you can use a scapegoat token, which makes it much more playable. Nephthys has a vital 400 ATK boost over Vampire Lord. The recursion effect difference is also essential. Vampire Lord requires an opponent’s card effect. With Nephthys, your own effects work. This card just begs to be used with stuff like Ring of Destruction and Torrential Tribute. Finally, while Vampire Lord just comes back, Nephthys has a built in Heavy Storm combined with it’s recursion effect. However, this can backfire. Which brings me back to the point of whether this card is a staple. Which it’s not. I played a guy in a tournament who was actually running this in a Burn/Stall deck. Yeah. Pretty stupid. I kept destroying his s/t array with his own Nephthys’s effect. Nephthys also has one rather substantial weakness. It’s called "Remove from Game". D.D. Warrior Lady may be restricted, but I don’t believe they’ve touched D.D. Assailant, so that’s four monsters that instantly remove it. And of course don’t forget BLS and Chaos Sorcerer. Add to that Bottomless Trap Hole. As if that’s not enough, don’t forget many people keep a couple of Soul Releases in their side deck to counter chaos. It will work effectively against Nephthys as well. Remember Nephthys is not invincible. Nephthys requires its own deck to operate at premium level. I have taken the courtesy of preparing a prototype deck. Please remember that I put this together in less than ten minutes, so feel free to attack my design. But note that there are a substantial number of traps designed to protect Nephthys against the traps I described. Here you go. Monsters Level 5+: 1 Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys Monsters Level 4-: 12 Hand of Nephthys Hand of Nephthys Hand of Nephthys Apprentice Magician Apprentice Magician Sinister Serpent Sangan Spirit Reaper Spirit Reaper Spirit Reaper Breaker the Magical Warrior Tribe-Infecting Virus Spells: 16 Pot of Greed Graceful Charity Nobleman of Crossout Nobleman of Crossout Swords of Revealing Light Mystical Space Typhoon Heavy Storm Premature Burial Snatch Steal Scapegoat Scapegoat Scapegoat Lightning Vortex Smashing Ground Smashing Ground United We Stand Traps: 11 Magic Cylinder Ring of Destruction Call of the Haunted Torrential Tribute Mirror Force Bottomless Trap Hole Bottomless Trap Hole Solemn Judgment Solemn Judgment Magic Jammer Magic Jammer [NOTE: Hand of Nephthys will be restricted come April 1st - LT] I also strongly recommend keeping a couple copies of Return from the Different Dimension in your side deck. Don’t get me wrong, Nephthys is a powerful monster, and can completely control the game when used properly. A lot like Horus LV8. Don’t underestimate his potential when used properly. But be careful to not simply throw him in a deck that doesn’t support him. Comments? Questions? My email is seanslcars@comcast.net and my AIM screenname is NazGul0010. I’m not one of those people that says "No hatemail please". I love reading that stuff. Until next time-SetoKaibafan13