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SandTrap's SandTrap
The Triangles of the Metagame
August 16, 2005

What’s up, guys? Sand-Trap here with a sexy article for the competitive player to enjoy. This article with explain how I see the YGO metagame right now, and perhaps viewing another perspective can help your own game.

First of all, I must explain the title of my article.
The triangle I speak of is similar to a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Rock beats Scissors, Scissors beats Paper, and Paper somehow covers up the rock and erodes it over centuries of time to beat it. This “triangle” can also be applied to YGO and the current metagame. These triangles show the relationships between a small group of cards and how they interract with each other, outside of other factors. To be capture what I mean, let’s use an easy example.

For example, take a look at D.D. Assailant, D.D.
Survivor, and Tsukuyomi...

Triangle #1: D.D. Assailant, D.D. Survivor, and Tsukuyomi

Remember, these triangles do not take into consideration the effect and impact of other Monster/Magic/Trap cards; the cards in the triangle are in a vacuum by themselves. So, let’s for the triangle. Tsukuyomi will take out a D.D. Survivor, because D.D. Survivor’s DEF is only 200 and Tsukuyomi’s ATK is 1100. Summon Tsukuyomi, put D.D.
Survivor face-down, and attack it to destroy it.

Now take a look at D.D. Survivor. This 1800 ATK Warrior will take out D.D. Assailant’s 1700 ATK because, during the End Phase, D.D. Survivor will come back after being removed by the Assailant. Thus D.D.
Survivor beats D.D. Assailant.

Finally, look at D.D. Assailant. At 1700/1600 a good effect, it is a very solid monster, a monster that Tsukuyomi stands no chance against alone. It’s especially worse the Assailant attacks a face-down Tsukuyomi, it’s just raunchy. So D.D. Assailant beats Tsukuyomi.

Now combine the three parts to form the triangle together. Tsukuyomi beats Survivor, Survivor beats Assailant, and Assailant beats Tsukuyomi. And thus the triangle is complete. Once you understand the concept of the triangle, you can think of other common triangles found in the metagame and apply them to deck construction. With the knowledge of the triangles, you can decide how your deck will interact with other decks and cards in the metagame and adjust it as you see fit.

I’ll give you guys a couple more triangles, using similar cards for emphasis:

Triangle #2: Thousand-Eyes Restrict, Tsukuyomi, and D.D. Assailant

Tsukuyomi beats TER hands-down due to her effect. TER is great against D.D. Assailant, because the Assailant cannot attack TER at all, giving TER control over the Assailant. And again, D.D. Assailant beats Tsukuyomi.

Triangle #3: Thousand-Eyes Restrict, D.D. Assailant, and Book of Moon

TER beats DDA. DDA beats Book of Moon, because a BoM used on a DDA doesn’t get rid of DDA, it simply delays it and makes it worth more than one card in most instances. But Book of Moon beats TER, because it stops TER from sucking up a monster in the first place, and makes it easy for TER to be destroyed.

You’ll notice that I used the “D.D. Assailant --> Tsukuyomi” side of the triangle twice now. Here is where you can further analyze and examine your cards/deck against the metagame, by linking multiple triangles together. Link Triangle #1 with Triangle #2 to factor in other factors besides just the initial three cards.

Speaking of factoring other cards into your triangles, there are other special relationships between cards that can be interjected into a triangle. For example, while Book of Moon sucks against D.D. Assailant, Bottomless Trap Hole works well against DDA. However, BTH is horrible against TER, yet BoM is great against it. These relations can help you realize the strengths and weaknesses in your own decks, and thus will hopefully lead you to making your deck better overall.

There are plenty of triangles and different relationships betweens cards out there. I’ll leave it to you to find your own triangles and ultimately help to strengthen your decks and add another perspective on the game to your own.

And...sigh, I can’t believe I’m doing this, but if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to send in your own triangles, send your e-mail to thesandtrap07@yahoo.com. Please don’t spam it up ;).