Stats                : D.D. Assailant is a Level 4 Earth/Warrior.  Level 4 means it’s an easy no-Tribute Normal Summon.  Earth has some spiffy tricks, though they aren’t often played.  Warriors have even spiffier tricks, and they are heavily played.  All in all, these traits are a very solid foundation.  D.D. Assailant has a solid 1700 ATK and 1600 DEF.  Both stats mean that it won’t be killed in battle except by dedicated beatsticks or Tribute Monsters.  Obviously these stats would be sub-par on their own, so let’s check the effect (for that new player who has never seen this card before).

 

Effect(s)            : When D.D. Assailant is destroyed in Battle, it automatically removes itself and the Monster it did Battle with.  This is a great effect: the only things that will stand it its way long are Monsters with protective effects (like Spirit Reaper) and creatures with very high DEF scores (otherwise you’d just suicide into it).  This means its one of those Monsters that will easily break even (in terms of card count) and usually pull ahead (Summon, attack and kill a Monster, and then cost the opponent Monster removal or their next beatstick).

 

Uses and

Combinations  : This is a great card, though not quite as useful as D. D. Warrior Lady.  The latter is more searchable, has a slightly more useful attribute (Light), and a better “remove from game” effect, which easily offsets D.D. Assailant’s slightly higher ATK score.  Though more Monsters can kill D. D. Warrior Lady in Battle, its okay since they still get removed and she can remove defensive Monsters that D.D. Assailant can’t.

 

That isn’t to say that D.D. Assailant is bad.  I am of the opinion that these both D.D. Assailant and D. D. Warrior Lady are over-powered, to the point that at least eventually they should be banned.  The “remove opponent’s Monster from game” mechanic, in this instance, had its value grossly underestimated.  Yes, you basically eat up a Normal Set/Summon with them, but the combination of being searchable and just strong enough to hold off so many non-beatsticks put them over the top.  Many players I know have D. D. Warrior Lady in their deck by default, and D.D. Assailant in their virtual decks by default as well.  There’s nothing like someone’s carefully laid plan backfiring because it runs into a “D.D.”

 

Oh, and for those wondering, D.D. Warrior is fine, primarily because he must remove when he engages in Battle.  The lack of an option makes all the difference in the world: D.D. Assailant is big enough to press the advantage, as can D. D. Warrior Lady (though not as well).

 

Ratings

 

Traditional       : 3/5 – Due to the increased mass Monster removal, I don’t think the D.D. cards are as effective here.  Still a solid Monster, though.

 

Advanced        : 4/5 – Though not as potent, D.D. Assailant is still a great Monster and you generally need to find a reason to not run it.

 

Limited            : N/A – Currently only available from a video game.  It’d be a top pick if it were re-released into a set.

 

Summary

A great card you should generally assume you’re running until you find something of critical importance for the deck and you must cut this instead.  However, that’s probably going to be a rare occurrence.  Yes, that Special Summoned Cyber Dragon will often “cancel” it out but your opponent still burned a resource doing it.