From: Midge [mailto:demideviluk@yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 1:39 PM

Subject: A glance at Spell Negation - By Demidevil

Welcome back to the mystical and fairly random world of Demidevil, today's tip/article is all about Spell Negation and the cards that you can use to disrupt some of the most threatening cards in the game.
Since Nobleman of Crossout has returned from the restricted zone and is hanging around in the semi-restricted zone of the current ban list, it has made a serious impact on how the game is being played and many players have been throwing these ideas around in the Shonen Jump Championships.

Our first stop is Magic Jammer but I don't think it deserves much in the way of detail because it is so simple. The card text reads:
Discard 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard to negate the activation of a Magic Card and destroy it.
Fairly obvious what you have to do, you discard any card from your hand with the activation of Magic Jammer and negate and destroy the activation of your opponents spell card, resulting in a 2 for 1 trade in their favor. Not the most useful of cards in my opinion, the market has several other cards that do a better job and most of them are just as common.

Next up is Spell Shield Type 8, a card that looks very similar to Magic Jammer and is better and worse in some ways.
Anyway back on track, this one is mainly focused at stopping that pesky Nobleman of Crossout due to its first activation requirement that reads:
Negate the activation and the effect of a Spell Card that targets 1 monster on the field and destroy the Spell Card.
As you can see, this card can be activated to negate and destroy a spell that targets a monster on the field, meaning that it provides a 1 for 1 trade off that protects your monsters from a card such as Nobleman of Crossout, Brain Control or even Book of Moon.
However it also has one more, magic jammer like, activation requirement that could be used if need be:
Send 1 Spell Card from your hand to the Graveyard to negate the activation and the effect of a Spell Card and destroy it.
This one is another form of "hard" negation aimed towards spells, but this time to lose a 2 for 1 trade you have to discard a spell card. This can prove to be a problem for many because most spells are put in a deck to be used and not discarded, however try to think of a way round this if you like, after all cards such as Magical Blast do come back to your hand when needed.
Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell also acts in a virtually identical fashion as that of Magic Jammer in the way you have to discard a card to negate a spell card. However it is far more useful than that:
Discard 1 Spell Card from your hand to negate the activation and the effect of a Spell Card and destroy it. Your opponent cannot activate Spell Cards of the same name (including the Spell Card that is destroyed by this card's effect) during the rest of this Duel.

First of all, it requires a spell card to be discarded in the same way as the alternative effect of Spell Shield Type 8 which could cause you more problems than it causes your opponent. However this cards key ability is to shut down other cards of the same name that your opponent may choose to play in this duel.
Do you hate seeing Nobleman hitting your important face downs or even a Smashing Ground hitting an all important face up monster? Well with this card, you can shut down any multiple copies that your opponent may be running. In addition, if you use it on a game breaking card such as Heavy Storm, you effectively remove that card from the game as Magician of Faith could retrieve it but they wouldn't be able to use it. This can also lead to a dead draw for your opponent, and everybody loves to see their opponent draw into useless cards don't they?


The last card of today is something slightly different from the above 3 cards as it does not offer any form of "Hard" negation and gives your opponent a chance to "buy" their way out of the problem. This card is known as Magic Drain, a card that provides instant 2 for 1 advantage without taking into account of the effect that the activated spell card might do.
Magic Drain's text reads as:

You can activate this card when your opponent activates a Spell Card. Your opponent can discard 1 Spell Card from his/her hand to negate the effect of this card. If your opponent does not, negate the activation of the Spell Card of your opponent and destroy it.

In the late game, this card becomes a nightmare for your opponent, netting a 1 for 1 trade in almost every instance due to the lack of cards in each player's hands. At this stage in the game, its not likely that a player will have 2 spell cards in their hand at any one stage as they will have likely been used in an attempt to over extend and win the game on earlier turns, this means that Magic Drain becomes a form of "Hard" negation against any threat that is likely to come up.

Unfortunately, Magic Drain also falls down in the early game or against a player who always has a large hand because the odds that the player can bypass the negation are significantly increased, although not 100%.
An example of this is when your opponent plays a Smashing Ground and you activate your Magic Drain in return. Your opponent will gladly (and I believe is forced to) give up a spell card from their hand in order to crush your monster, which ends up with a 2 for 2 trade that your opponent probably isn't that bothered about anyway, after all in a format that loves to be an aggressor, another card lost in an over extension that will win you the match doesn't matter because you have just won. Just remember that if you do try to play around with this card.

Well that rounds up our little trip around the land of disrupting your opponents spells, it's a useful ability to have and a surprising one at that, each card is worth a look at and you should experiment with them when you can, who knows when they might save you?
If you have any queries or criticisms, or even a deck that you want to be fixed/analyzed (since I want to have a look into this article type), then feel free to contact me at:
Demideviluk@yahoo.co.uk

See you later people,
Demidevil