Yesterday we looked
at one Counter Trap, today we're going to look
at another, Solemn Judgement.
Card Text:
Counter Trap
Pay half of your
Life Points when your opponent either activates
a Magic or Trap or summons a monster (including
Special Summon) to negate the action and destroy
all the cards involved.
Analysis:
Yesterday we looked
up the word "tech". If you
looked closely enough, you saw at the end of the
definition "Other words to look at",
and one of them was versatility.
We go there, and we find a picture of Solemn
Judgement.
This is currently,
by far, the most versitale card in the English
version of Duel Monsters (and one of the most
versitale in the game period). It
basically negates ANY card your opponent plays
(Magic, Trap, or Monster), but at a very steep
cost. Unlike Jirai Gumo,
this cost is mandatory (if it
had a flip to decide, it would probably be
restricted), and the worst part is, if there's a
reset or this card is negated, the life points
are NOT returned (this is the
same for any other card with a cost, but here it
especially hurts). It is best used as tech
for those situations where you are stuck and
have no other options. This card can
function as an extra Magic Jammer, Seven
Tools of the Bandit and Horn of
Heaven, in case you run out of the
above. The LP cost is not really that
steep late in the game, because, by then, you
have very little LP to lose, and playing Solemn
Judgement may win you the game.
The same counters
that apply to Seven Tools of the Bandit apply to
this card, namely, Heavy Storm,
Solemn Judgement, and Seven Tools. You could
use this card to negate Heavy Storm, but only if
you have other important cards to protect (Mirror
Force, anyone?), unless you want to
throw half your LP out the window (well, you CAN
pull combos with this in future sets *cough*Megamorph*cough*).
Should YOU
play it?
As with Seven Tools,
you should either play 1 and side deck 1 or
maybe side deck 2. Most people will
probably trade this card to you, since they'll
be turned off by the LP cost. It is an Ultra
Rare, so you may have to do some
wheeling and dealing to get this.
Score:
I give Solemn
Judgement a 3.5. It's the
most versitale card in the game, but it has a
fairly steep cost. Excellent tech,
however.
