Common Wonders - Motoaki ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:34:27 -0800 Hey everyone, this is my first time writing an actual tip, despite me having been an avid reader of Pojo's Duel Monster's site ever since the release of Duel Monsters. First and foremost I would like to tell you all a little about myself. My Japanese name (although I am not Japanese) is Motoaki. How did I get this name you ask? Well you see I am half Chinese and half Mexican, which, yes I know, makes me a Secret Rare human, but that doesn't quite explain my Japanese name does it? Lets go back to a time long ago, around 2 years or so. For about 2 and a half years I have been attending the Japanese Language School at downtown Sacramento known as Sakura Gakuen, and although I am a student and 16 years old, I am a part of the Historian Committee (Yeahhh! Go Moto!). My first sensei (teacher) was a funny little old lady with a funny little old voice. After a semester of being in that funny little old class, I decided it was time I advance (seeing as to how it was full of many youngsters, except for myself and a few other). Okay, I'll get straight to the point. One of my sensei's was astonished that my name was, as they would say, "Akumi," because my actual name is Acme (wow like Looney Toons? YES). I was curious as to why, and so she told me. "Akumi" sounds much like "Akuma" which apparently means like evil demon bringer of death-going to kill Japanese people sort of name (except not quite as exaggerated). So for my last semester with her I asked her to name me. A year later (woah), long after she had moved back to Japan to help both of her sick parents, she named me Motoaki. The End. Well now that you know my life's story it's time to write about the Common Wonders of Duel Monsters. What does this mean, you ask? Well, there are many, and I mean MANY, no seriously, MANY MANY, common cards which are usually over-looked, farted-on, flushed-down, rejected, pitied, despised, and other demoralizing things, that actually can do a lot of damage. I care so much for these commons because, well, although I'm not poor, I get much money. I know a lot of people have trouble dealing with this money issue as well, so why not write about common cards? They are very easy to afford (I just bought maybe 12-15 commons I think I can do much with online). Hmmm... Lets see... I will talk about three common cards today. They will be Reasoning, Ojama Trio, and (looks though binders) Solar Flare Dragon. First I will discuss the almighty, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnivorous Ojama Trio. Ojama Trio [Trap Card] Special Summon 3 "Ojama Tokens" (Beast-Type/LIGHT/2 Stars/ATK 0/DEF 1000) in Defense Position on your opponent's side of the field. The tokens cannot be used as a Tribute for a Tribute Summon. When an "Ojama Token" is destroyed, inflict 300 points of direct damage to the controller's Life Points. Now, if your opponent is using a straight Beat-Down deck or umm, other decks with just summon and destroy, they Hallelujah, OJAMAS GO! You see, you can lock your opponent with just two of these. If you go first, and you have two Ojama Trios in your hand, then your opponent is going to have a VERY difficult time summoning monsters. Why? Well, you set an Ojama, you do whatever else you must to protect your life points (set a monster with a nice effect or set a trap) and end your turn. During your opponent's turn if they try to destroy your Ojama Trio Trap Card via Breaker, Mystical Space Typhoon, anything else that destroys M/Ts, just activate it. Now their field is limited to two monsters. From my experiences using Ojamas, it is difficult to duel with only two monsters. Not only that, you are psychologically damaging your opponent. Imagine, what if it was you with annoying Ojama Tokens on your side of the field? You keep asking yourself how you will destroy them so that you may summon more monsters. It's really a mind game in itself, those Ojama Tokens. Lets look at the Ojamas this way. Lets view them as a trap cards only looking at their last effect. "When an 'Ojama Token' is destroyed, inflict 300 points of direct damage to the controllers Life Points." 300 is that it? YES! This is good ladies and gentle duelists, very good. Imagine Poisen of the Old Man (Quick Play Magic/Spell card which either allows you to inflict 800 points of direct damage to your opponent or allows you to gain 1200). In a Direct Damage Field Controlling Deck, you don't care about gaining life points (as long as your opponent is hurting more, you'll win, right?). With the Ojama's they will lose 900 (once all the tokens are destroyed), which is great! They are limited to two monsters and if they destroy the tokens they lose 900? Now all you need to do is activate another Ojama (as soon as your opponent has only 3 Ojama Tokens on his/her field) and they are locked. With 5 Ojama Tokens (which cannot be tributed for tribute summon, they have nowhere to go). Also, Metamorphosis anyone? Nope, not unless you have some 2 starred fusion monsters. There are some cards which can destroy Ojama Tokens though... such as... Enemy Controller, Creature Swap, Ring of Destruction, Mystic Wok, and some others, but I mean, each of those cards will destroy one token. By the time they make ONE opening in your Ojama Blockade, you will have drawn your last Ojama Trio, used the Mask of Darkness to get an Ojama back, or done some other direct damage. It is great to watch your opponents squirm under the Ojamas. AHAHAHAH! (Speaking of Ojama's my nephew, who is 9 and also duels, gave me a counterfeit holographic Ojama Green HAHAHA, he said his cousin found it in a bush. Email me if you want to see it, my site is down!) The next card we will look at is Reasoning. I'll admit reasoning doesnt go in every deck, but it can fit in most. Reasoning [Spell Card] Your opponent calls a Monster Card Level. You then pick up (not draw) cards form the top of your Deck until a monster is picked up. If that monster is the same Level as the one called by your opponent, all picked up cards are sent to the Graveyard. If not, Special Summon the monster that was picked up in face-up Attack or Defense Position and send the remaining cards that were picked up to the Graveyard. Well, well, well. This card saw a lot of use in the Magical Scientist era, but that time is over now. This card works well in decks with many tribute summoning monsters, such as a Dark Magician Deck, Dragon Decks, heck even Zombie Decks. It can also be used in Beat Down Decks, Direct Damage Decks, Gaining Life Point Decks, Dark Paladin Decks, and Fiend Decks. That's a lot of decks isnt it? This card is so great because your opponent basically guesses any number between 1 and 7 (or even 8 or 9) and as long as you have a variety of monsters with different levels, your opponent will almost always be wrong. But what about the Spell/Magic and Trap cards? Well, if one or two Spell or Trap cards are really gonna hurt your deck by them being gone, then you should probably take them out. As I said earlier, as long as you have a wide variety of monsters with different levels (and a good number of monsters), you should be set. This will give you great field advantage. You could do so much damage by your second (or first turn). If you go first, set something to defend your life points with, then end your turn. Once your opponent ends their turn, and it is once again your turn, play all you can to clear their field (which may be a mystical do destroy a trap of theirs; a nobbleman of crossout to destroy their face-down monster, or anything) then prepare for TOTAL ANNIHILATIONA@!JHOIUH!!!!! "I activate Reasoning." Your opponent guesses 4 (which by the way is the most common guess), WRONG, Special Summon Dark Magician! I'll play reasoning again, "Umm, 7" (the dark magician's level), WRONG AGAIN! It is the Dark Magician of Chaos!!! I will get reasoning from my graveyard and play it again. You get the picture? (By the way I'm currently running and building a Spellcaster deck, arghhh I need cards to be delivered to me faster....) The next card is none other than the Solar Flare Dragon. This monster, although common, can mean trouble for your opponent. Solar Flare Dragon (Fire) [Pyro/Effect] ATK/1500 DEF/1000 This card cannot be attacked if there is another Pyro-Type monster on your side of the field. This card inflicts 500 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points during the End Phase of your turn. Get two of these out on the field and you cannot be attacked. Period. Get two of these out and you serve your opponent 1000 points of direct damage every turn. If they don't destroy your dragons, they will lose in 8 turns. That is if you only placed both Solar Flare Dragons on the field and ignored your hand and drew no cards. But you will be doing more and you will be drawing and you will finish them off! These go great in fire decks. They are searchable by UFO Turtle, and you can special summon them with The Thing in the Crater. Add some Backfires (which deal 500 direct to your opponent each time a fire monster on your side of the field is destroyed) and you've got some nice Barbequed Opponent. Keep these strategies in mind when building decks. If you want to use some powerful common cards these are just a few. Don't put strategies in your deck that oppose the rest of your cards. Build your deck theme, then build and evolve the rest of the cards around that. Don't just pick a buncha cool strategies and then put them all together. Well, I'm sorry for this extremely long article-type thing. I promist next time it will be even shorter and with even more useful information, or something! WAIT! Before this slips my mind, I have decided that every Duelist should refer to the "Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game," as Duel Monsters. Thats right! We don't want to play "Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game of an Anime and Manga Series." Mainly because we aren't characters in either the comic or the anime, and the gameplay is so different. Keep this in mind the next time you say you're going to go play "Yu-Gi-Oh!." NO I DO NOT PLAY YU-GI-OH! I play Duel Monsters! Merry Dueling, and have a Happy New Banlist! (Get it? Merry Christmas and have a Happy New-... Nevermind.) -Motoaki