Best of Ancient Sanctuary [AST]

Ancient Sanctuary marked the beginning of the end of the era. First of all, it ended the era of dramatically influential cards. Nearly every powerful concept had already been introduced. Secondly, it marked the end of the traditional booster format with 2 SCRs, 10 URs, and 10 SRs, and boosters after this would become smaller, as the US TCG finally caught up with the Japanese OCG. And finally, AST also marked when I gave up Yugioh. Ancient Sanctuary focused on Fairies and Machines. The following list contains the best or most influential cards from the Ancient Sanctuary booster set.

10) Sanctuary in the Sky- The namesake of the set, Sanctuary in the Sky was the critical component for many of the major releases in the set including Archlord Zerato and the Agent cards. Of course, Agent decks never really got to be very popular. However, in the long run, it did give fairies a needed boost.

9) Stone Statue of the Aztecs- 2000 defense had always been a respectable stat in the Yugioh TCG. Combined with the effect of Stone Statue of the Aztecs, it could be was particularly potent. Throw in the effect of Canyon and Fairy box, and it was outright devastating.

8) Draining Shield- Cool card art aside, Draining Shield was an interesting card, which was far better than its predecessor, Enchanted Javelin. Unfortunately, it was not nearly as good as Waboku, regardless of its LP boosting effect.

7) King of the Swamp- King of the Swamp was a massive step forward for fusion decks, filling in for any missing piece, whether it was a specific monster, or a polymerization.

6) Double Coston- Big dark monsters instantly became slightly more playable. For one, it finally made Red Eyes Black Dragon fan-decks slightly more playable – originally, there was virtually no way to justify attributing two monsters for a 2400 attack monster with no effect.

5) Mokey Mokey- Mokey Mokey and its several level 1 friends were all wonderfully cute. They were probably one of the most memorable highlights of the set. Of course, they were never really all that playable, despite the attempts at support in the set. But still…kawaii!

4) Night Assailant- Night Assailant was Man Eater Bug back with a vengeance. It was a dark monster with a respectable flip effect. Its ability to be cycled with discard monsters such as Tribe Infecting Virus was also very potent. Furthermore, it would work excellently in future Dark World decks.

3) Blowback Dragon- Blowback Dragon was in some ways a downgrade from the iconic, but rather unplayable Barrel Dragon. But, Blowback Dragon was actually usable, as it only required a single tribute, and could destroy spells and traps as well. It served well in machine decks.

2) Enemy Controller- I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on the ban list, since I quit just as the actual list was announced (but before it was implemented). But I believe that after the bans, Enemy Controller became a popular card as a pseudo Change of Heart/Book of Moon, which was somewhat powerful when combined with Scapegoat.

1) Zaborg the Thunder Monarch- The Monarchs would come to play a major role in the future metagame in the advanced format. Widely splashable due to their high attack and powerful abilities, they came to be as popular as Jinzo.

Best of Invasion of Chaos [IOC]

Invasion of Chaos was truly the invasion of Chaos into the metagame. Black Luster Soldier, Chaos Emperor Dragon, and Chaos Sorcerer would come to completely dominate the metagame for a very long time after IOC’s release. This set was probably one of the catalysts to the ban list. However, aside from Chaos monsters, the set also gave a boost, to some degree to Insect, Dinosaur, Sea Serpent, and Beast type monsters. The following list contains the best or most influential cards from the Invasion of Chaos booster set.

10) Strike Ninja- Strike Ninja was one of the cooler cards in IOC. Like a ninja, it could stealthily remove itself from the field for a turn to dodge Raigekis, Dark Holes, or Torrential Tributes. It was a great effect in theory, especially when comboed with Return from a Different Dimension or D.D. Scout Plane, but I personally never found the Strike Ninja deck all that playable.

9) Manju of Ten Thousand Hands- Manju was the biggest boost to ritual decks in the history of the Yugioh TCG. Combining Sonic Bird and Senju of the Thousand Hands into a single card was a massive step forward, similar to merging the cellphone with an iPod…okay, fine, it wasn’t that big of a revolution, but still nice.

8) Reload- The fact that Reload carried a card advantage of -1, it was never splashed. But it was very useful in FTK and OTK decks which needed to search for a particular card.

7) Mataza the Zapper- Hayabusa Knight just got a turbo kit, and became Mataza the Zapper. Still a level 3 warrior, it could still be used in G-bind weenie decks. And now, if it got a clear shot at the opponent, it could deal a respectable 2600 damage, plus any equip bonuses.

6) Compulsory Evacuation Device- For a long time, there was debate over which was better: Compulsory Evac Device or Sakuretsu Armor. I, personally, was a believer in the Evac Device, simply because it had a cooler name, and in general, a more flexible effect by being able to save your own monsters.

5) Manticore of Darkness- The new infinite draw combo involved Manticore. To pull it off, you’d have one copy of Manticore of Darkness in hand, one in graveyard, and Card of Safe Return active. Hello, Exodia!

4) Dark Magician of Chaos- DMoC was an extremely popular card from IOC. It was definitely a very novel monster, especially with its ties to the Dark Magician. Its effects were respectable too, allowing an instant recycling of something useful like a Raigeki or Monster Reborn. Removing defeated monsters from play was nice too. Since I’m vehemently opposed to the Chaos monster, I’ll say that DMoC was the coolest card from the set...but I’m probably biased by the forbidden-fruit effect since I could never afford to buy myself a copy.

3) Smashing Ground- The newest version of Fissure was very powerful, and served as simple monster removal, capable of shooting down some big ones – mainly CED and BLS. It saw a lot of tournament play after its release, but even more when the bigger monster removal cards got whacked by the ban list.

2) Berserk Gorilla- Berserk Gorilla is my all time favorite Yugioh card. I attribute all of my tournament success to this monster, and during the entire time I played competitively, always ran three copies of Berserk Gorilla in my deck. (I never played Chaos because I couldn’t afford it.) Gorilla was extremely versatile, and the best non-tribute beat-stick available.

1) Chaos Emperor Dragon- EotE / Black Luster Soldier- EotB / Chaos Sorcerer- There is no doubt that Chaos monsters were the highlight of IOC. At their release, almost every player who could afford to purchase CED and BLS were constructing the same cookie-cutter Chaos decks, which preformed undeniably well at tournaments. These monsters were unbelievably overpowered and became the bane of every player who ran anything-but-chaos, and in that way, it polarized the metagame. Even after the original ban list was released, Chaos Sorcerer continued the legacy of the Chaos deck.

Best of Dark Crisis [DCR]

Dark Crisis was a big boost for the fiends, and allowed for a solid and coherent fiend themed deck that could be used competitively. It featured Archfiends which had a per-turn LP upkeep, but offered rather powerful dice-based abilities. The Guardians and their respective equip cards were also released in this set. The set did not do much to change the direction of the metagame, but did open the door to several new deck archetypes, and add several splashable cards to the metagame. The following list contains the best or most influential cards from the Dark Crisis booster set.

10) Terrorking Archfiend- The Archfiends were not a widely played deck type because they depended mainly on one card: Pandemonium. Since Pandemonium was a field card, it was easily removed by HFD, Heavy Storm, or MST, which would cause an Archfiend player to pay huge sums of LP. Nevertheless, the Archfiends were an interesting option. And out of the Archfiends, the Terrorking was the greatest of them.

9) Exodia Necross- Aside from Vampire Lord, the card that I personally looked forward to the most, in Dark Crisis was Exodia Necross. It was just unbelievably powerful, and had that certain unplayable-but-godly-if-pulled-off factor. Unfortunately, due to DDWL, its immunity to death by battle, magic, and trap, ran into a huge obstacle.

8) Tsukuyomi- Tsukuyomi was a nice little piece of tech which could help in a wide variety of situations. It allowed players to reuse flip effects, take down big attack monsters with small defenses, destroy spirit reapers, and more.

7) Skill Drain- Skill Drain decks would become popular whenever the metagame threw an effect-monster-specific deck archetype into the spotlight. Combined with Goblin Attack Force and Giant Orc, and later with Chainsaw Insect and Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast, it made for a potent attack force.

6) Archfiend Soldier- Gemini Elf for everyman. As a mere rare, it was not difficult to obtain a copy of this 1900 attack monster. And unlike Luster Dragon, Archfiend Soldier could be searched for by WotBF. The fact that it was Dark/Fiend also added to its playability.

5) Butterfly Dagger Elma- Possibly one of the most dangerous equip cards in the game of Yugioh, was a seemingly-underpowered Butterfly Dagger. However, when combined with Gearfried the Iron Knight and Royal Magic Library, it allowed the first popularized infinite draw combo. Throw an Exodia set into the mix, and that’s an instant victory.

4) Reflect Bounder- Reflect Bounder was a powerful card which had several applications. First, it would become perfect fodder for Chaos. Secondly, it was great in a machine deck. And finally, it was somewhat splash able with its respectable attack and burn effect which was guaranteed to deal at least 1700 damage if it went off.

3) Sakuretsu Armor- Sakuretsu Armor was not particularly popular until the ban list came into effect and axed many of the ultra-powerful monster removal techniques. But when the bans did come into effect, Sakuretsu Armor was run in multiples in nearly every deck.

2) Vampire Lord- Aside from DDWL, Vampire Lord was the card that I personally feared the most in the Dark Crisis set. It was a painfully resilient monster. If it hit the field, only a few cards in my deck could take care of it permanently (one being DDWL, and the others being Fiber Jar, Jinzo, and Berserk Gorilla.) Vampire Lord was the first card that made Pyramid Turtle truly frightening.

1) D.D. Warrior Lady- D.D. Warrior Lady reinvented monster removal. Not only could it be used defensively to remove an unsuspecting attacker, it could also be used offensively to get rid of problematic monsters like Vampire Lord or Exodia Necross. DDWL also added new depth to the game by promoting aggressive monster removal and sacrifices.

Best of Magician’s Force [MFC]

Magician’s Force greatly strengthened the Sepllcaster type. Many new spellcasters including Dark Paladin were released, as well as a host of spellcaster support cards. A new mechanic introduced in MFC were Union monsters which were basically two-monster combos which pseudo-fused to form a more powerful combo. Another new mechanic was Spell counters which added a counter to eligible cards every time a spell was played. Furthermore, The Amazoness monsters were released, adding yet another possible mini-deck type to the metagame, albeit a little played one. The following list contains the best or most influential cards from the Magician’s Force booster set.

10) Amazoness Swords Woman- Amazoness Swords Woman was probably the most powerful of the Amazoness monsters. However, even then, it wasn’t too spectacular. Nor was the rest of the Amazoness set. However, they were a big part of MFC.

9) XYZ Dragon Cannon- The XYZ Dragon Cannon pieces and the other fusions were the most playable set of union monsters to come out of MFC. As machines, they were also combo-able with Limiter Removal for big explosive power.

8) Magical Merchant- Magical Merchant would be a useful option in Chaos Decks for pouring dark and light monsters into the graveyard quickly. The fact that it was a light monster in itself also helped. However, it came with the risk of dropping a CED or BLS into the graveyard as well.

7) Skilled Dark Magician- Dark Magician was finally playable competitively, or at least it came close. Getting three spell counters on it was not too difficult, since it had some staying power with its 1900 attack. The sibling card, Skilled White Magician’s ability to bring out Buster Blader was also appreciated in fun Dark Paladin decks.

6) Apprentice Magician- Apprentice Magician would be excellent in Chaos decks and in Phoenix control decks. It could search for a host of useful monsters including Hand of Nephthys for Phoenix decks and Magician of Faith for a quick light-dark combo in the graveyard.

5) Poison of the Old Man- Poison of the Old Man was a great card to have in the side deck for sudden death instances, because it would mean an instant win. However, it is important because it replaced virtually all other quick-and-dirty LP gain and LP burn spells.

4) Giant Orc- Giant Orc was a poor-man’s Goblin Attack Force. However, its importance went beyond offering a cheap alternative to GAF, as it was a fiend, which made it perfect fodder for Dark Necrofear.

3) Tribe Infecting Virus- TIV was a great monster removal. It not only destroyed decks themed on a single monster type, but was just great in general in destroying monsters, particularly fields full of scapegoat. Combined with Chaos, it could put dark and light monsters in the graveyard. Combined with Sinister Serpent, it offered virtually free monster removal.

2) Breaker the Magical Warrior- Breaker was an amazingly splashable card. First of all, it was a 1900 attack monster. But if you didn’t care for a beatstick at the time, it also served as an alternate MST, and another vital piece of spell removal. And even without its spell counter, 1600 attack in a metagame still dominated by Tomato Toolbox and low-attack control monsters was quite respectable.

1) Magical Scientist- Magician’s Force did not release any real game-changing cards. But the most influential card, if forced to choose, would be Magical Scientist. For one, it gave rise to the moderately popular Magical Scientist + Catapult Turtle OTK deck. Furthermore, it was rather splashable in Tomato Toolbox decks as tech. However, the main reason it was so influential is that it brought back the use of competitive fusion decks, as it gave players an actual reason to carry around those purple cards.

Yugioh Abridged Episode 4: Lord of the Cards [Review]

Review: Little Kuriboh is a genius. There is just so much random comedy thrown together into a single four minute episode. Yet it all seems so coherent, and still manages to capture the important parts of the episode. The characters are all very unique and well developed by this point, in a way that no other imitator abridged series has managed to replicate. Episode 4 of the Yugioh Abridged series encapsulates their arrival on the island, Pegasus’ opening convocation, up through Yugi’s duel with Weevil. The most important part of this episode was probably the introduction of Yugi’s catchphrase “super-special-awesome” which would be refined and featured in later episodes.

Best Punchline: [Discussing phallic imagery.] “What are you talking about, Tea. There isn’t anything remotely suspect about this duel.”
Lamest Punchline: “Let me assure you this tournament is 100% genuine and is not in any way an elaborate ruse thrown together at the last minute so I can get my hand on an ancient Egyptian artifact.”
Notable References: Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Flies, Snakes on a Plane
Character Exposition Summary: It is clearer than ever that Rex and Weevil are Beavis and Butthead. Mirroring LoTR, Bakura has an evil ring, and Yugi is a Hobbit. Tristan is merely a sidekick. Bakura is definitely not a main character, and is undeserving of screentime. Tea can have explosive moments of rage.

Yugioh Abridged Funny Quotes From Episode 4:

Yugi: You wouldn’t have caught that cold if it hadn’t been for Weevil.
Joey: Actually I wouldn’t have caught it if you hadn’t been a naive moron and handed him your most powerful cards.

Yugi: And let him cut into my precious screentime? No way!

Duelist A: But where’s the reigning champion Seto Kaiba?
Duelist B: Didn’t you hear, he was barred from the tournament because his name wasn’t stupid enough.

Pegasus: Let me assure you this tournament is 100% genuine and is not in any way an elaborate ruse thrown together at the last minute so I can get my hand on an ancient Egyptian artifact.

Joey: I can’t wait to win this tournament and get the prize money.
Yugi: So you can pay for your sister’s operation right?
Joey: What operation?
Yugi: The one your sister’s getting.
Joey: What sister?

Tea: [In reference to horns, thrusts, and piercing] Wow. Look at all the phallic imagery.
Joey: What are you talking about, Tea. There isn’t anything remotely suspect about this duel.

Tea: [In response to Mai calling her a virgin] Bitch I’ll scratch your eyes out.

Yugi: I activate deus ex machina.
Weevil: Hey no fair. You can’t use spell cards during my turn.
Yugi: Tell it to the writing staff.

Yugioh Abridged Episode 3: My Cards Will Go On [Review]

Review: The style of Little Kuriboh’s Yugioh Abridged Series becomes firmly established by the third episode. This episode covers Yugi’s decision to go to Duelist Kingdom and their trip on the boat. For the first time in the series, this episode includes a famous musical interlude, which was very funny, although it could probably have used a sound check. The biggest focus in the episode is Tristan’s very random line about the sun coming up. This episode had several very funny parts, and other slower parts, but was still great viewing.

Best Punchline: “Who cares? He’s not even a main character.”
Lamest Punchline: “…but first I should probably figure out how to get down from here.”
Notable References: Loreal Shampoo, Metal Gear Solid, Titanic, Celine Dion, “It’s a Trap”
Character Exposition Summary: Joey and Tristan loved tormenting Yugi. Serenity is blind. Tristan is an ADD fool. At one point, Yugi was heroic and saved Joey from bullies. Bakura is not a main character. The Guard has very big hair. Mai Valentine is a skank. Tea is a pretty useless character.

Yugioh Abridged Funny Quotes From Episode 3:

Serenity: [Blind and in hospital] See you later…or not.

Yugi: [In reference to Pegasus] It’s a shame rich megalomaniac are immune from the law. Otherwise we could just call the police.

Guard: Attention duelists…my hair is telling me…

Mai: Is that a lifeforce sword in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Tristan: In another few hours the sun will rise.
Tea: What the f**k does that mean?

Tristan: Who cares? He’s not even a main character.

Yugi: You’re clearly evil, but I see no reason not to trust you. [Weevil throws Exodia pieces overboard.] Holy cow, I never even saw that coming.

Joey: Must…risk life for cards.

Tristan: [Regarding Serenity] If she’s going blind, I might actually have a chance with her!

Tea: I’m not even sure why I bothered coming.

Best of Pharaonic Guardian [PGD]

Pharaonic Guardian had three mini-themes: the undead, the gravekeepers, and the Dark Scorpion tomb raiders. All three dealt with myths regarding the Egyptian pyramids. Zombies definitely received the first big boost to playability with Book of Life and Pyramid Turtle. The Gravekeepers would receive little assistance from future boosters, and the critical components were mostly encapsulated in PGD. And the Dark Scorpions never really went anywhere. One of the interesting mechanics added was the reusing of flip effects ever turn as seen as the mildly popular Guardian Sphinx, Swarm of Scarabs and Swarm of Locusts. However, the real contribution of Pharaonic Guardian was the completion of the puzzle for control decks with Don Zaloog and Spirit Reaper. The following list contains the best or most influential cards from the Pharaonic Guardian booster set.

10) King Tiger Wanghu- While not a spectacular card in the grand scheme of things, it upset everything that control decks stood for, preventing the summoning of over half of the monsters in those decks: Yatagarasu, Don Zaloog, Mystic Tomato, Spirit Reaper, Sangan, WotBF, and all those other little tech cards. It was highly popular in side decks.

9) Necrovalley- Gravekeepers never really got popular, and even when Chaos came, the archetype still never quite became mainstream. However, Necrovalley was the basis for the GK decks, and served as a decent anti-chaos card for the paranoid.

8) Sasukue Samurai- While Sasuke Samurai would become outdated, at the time of release, it was great tech against cards in defense mode. Unfortunately, its low attack generally meant that it would not stay on the field very long.

7) Pyramid Turtle- Pyramid Turtle was a very competent recruiter, which was an essential piece in Zombie decks. In the future, it would be able to bring out extremely powerful monsters like Vampire Lord, Ryu Kokki, Lich Lord, King of the Underworld. But at the time, Patritian of Darkness would have to do. An extra perk was that it allowed monsters to be special summoned in defense position.

6) Reckless Greed- When two or three copies of Reckless Greed were played on the same turn, you would get to draw 4 extra cards at the cost of two draw phases, since they staked, which made it very popular in the card-advantage conscious metagame. However, once restricted, Reckless Greed became useless.

5) Book of Moon- Book of Moon was a great tech card. Flipping monsters back to face down was not only a good defensive technique, but also allowed players to reuse flip effects, and destroy high-attack monsters such as Jinzo.

4) Spirit Reaper- Spirit Reaper in some ways was better than Don Zaloog. Reaper was able to be recruited by Mystic Tomato and Pyramid Turtle, and it was more versatile than Don Zaloog since in a pinch, it could also serve as a very resilient wall against attack. And with a clear field (which was when Don Zaloog usually attacked anyway) Spirit Reaper had the same hand control effect.

3) Mirage of Nightmares- Mirage of Nightmares can attribute its popularity to netdecking. It was not particularly the easiest card to use, since you would have to wait for a MST or Imperial Order before playing it, or pray that you picked one up in the five cards that you drew. But in a pinch, the huge card advantage it provided was indisputably powerful.

2) Ring of Destruction- RoD was an indispensable trap. It offered very flexible use as offensive monster removal, direct LP damage, and as a defensive card. Although it was somewhat hard to get a copy, it was definitely one of the best traps of its time.

1) Don Zaloog- Don Zaloog was the final piece of the puzzle for control decks. Capable of being recruited by Mystic Tomato, it could quickly be deployed to wreck havoc on an opponents hand in preparation for the crow. Control decks now ruled supreme.

Best of Legacy of Darkness [LOD]

Legacy of Darkness introduced the Spirit monsters to the game, including the widely loved and widely hated Yata-Garasu. Aside from that, it gave great support to Dragon, Warrior, and Fiend type decks. Therefore, after LOD was released, the metagame saw a surge in theme decks which were able to deviate temporarily from the current beatdown scene. However, classic beatdown did receive a boost with several splashable cards like Tyrant Dragon, Dark Ruler Ha-Des, Injection Fairy Lily and Spear Dragon. The following list contains the best or most influential cards from the Legacy of Darkness booster set. Since there were so many great cards in the set, close runners up like Airknight Parshath and Creature Swap (two personal favorites) had to be left out.

10) Dark Balter the Terrible / Fiend Skull Dragon / Ryu Senshi- These three fusions had no real use until Magical Scientist was released. But when people started running Scientist as tech, this fusion trio became a must-have for every fusion deck.

9) Tyrant Dragon- Tyrant Dragon was the new Blue Eyes White Dragon. It was the two-tribute monster to be playing at the time. While it thrived in dragon decks, if thrown into a beatdown deck, it could offer immense battery power with its ability to attack twice with its gargantuan 2900 attack.

8) Drop Off- Drop off became popular due largely to net-decking. It was never as good as Time Seal, and in fact, was not very good at all, since it was a terrible topdeck. Yet, since it saw widespread play in the 2003 World Championship, especially with three copies in Ng’s deck, it became popular among local players everywhere.

7) A Legendary Ocean- A Legendary Ocean was the first real hope at playing a water deck. While it worked well with The Legendary Fisherman which had been released in PSV, water decks did not have a real chance until Gagagigo and Giga Gagagigo arrived, the latter becoming a no-tribute 2650 attack monster.

6) Spear Dragon- Spear Dragon’s trample ability was the first widely used trample ability used in the game. At 1900 attack, it was a formidable monster, despite its GAF-esque Achilles heel. It gave the dragon type a great boost. And in the near future would be the worst enemy to Spirit Reaper.

5) Injection Fairy Lily- After I quit Yugioh, and sold all my cards, one of the few that I kept was a first edition Injection Fairy Lily. IFL was tremendously popular after its release. At the mere cost of 2000 lifepoints, it could destroy virtually any monster the opponent could throw at you, overpowering it with its very explosive 3400 attack. Unfortunately, its popularity dropped as players realized that 2000 LP was a bit steep.

4) Marauding Captain- The two-captain soft-lock combo was quite popular in the early days, as it prevented the opponent from attacking. However, in general, Marauding Captain was a critical component in a warrior deck, adding some degree of protection to warriors, as well as the swarming ability. However, its popularity later fell, as it became too prodigal in burning off the hand, as control decks rose in popularity.

3) Exiled Force- Exiled Force was the most popular form of monster removal, which never quite became old. Its strength was that it worked against any monster, and had priority in the chain, which prevented it from being stopped. I attribute the decline in its play to Chaos. It wasn’t a light or dark monster, and got put in the back of the binders again.

2) Fiber Jar- This set should have had three SCR cards, and Fiber Jar should have been the third. It was extraordinarily powerful. Fiber Jar allowed a complete restocking of hand and field, totally rebalancing any hand advantage that may have been lost. It was also the single most powerful topdeck available. When flipped on your turn, it completely cleared the opponent’s field for an attack. When flipped on your opponent’s turn, it would end their attack, and leave their monster zones clear if they had already summoned. The Fiber Jar was just ridiculous, and could turn a near-loss to a comeback-victory.

1) Yata-Garasu- The crow. I watched Resident Evil: Extinction the other day, and am totally convinced that crows are evil. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, Yata Garasu was one of the most revolutionary cards in the entire Yugioh TCG. The game creators probably did not recognize its lockdown power until later, but when the players discovered it, and support was available, the entire metagame shifted to Yata-lock decks and combating them.

Best of Labyrinth of Nightmare [LON]

Labyrinth of Nightmare (released March 2003) gave the beatdown deck new fuel, and established it as the dominant deck type in the metagame. LON contained many cards which were based on masks and also introduced the second instant-win condition in the Yugioh: Destiny Board. This set also marked monsters becoming more powerful and more useful, as it contained far fewer low attack normal monsters than the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon booster set. The following list contains the best or most influential cards from the Labyrinth of Nightmare booster set.

10) Fire Princess- Fire Princess decks were an interesting deck type which did not see much play due to extensive monster removal. But when combined with Bad Reaction to Simochi, or Marie the Fallen One, it could deal a decent amount of burn damage if it could stay on the field.

9) Fusion Gate- Fusion Gate had its advantages and disadvantages over using Polymerization. Personally, I’d just go with the Polymerization, but when fusing in bulk, Fusion Gate was an interesting new alternative.

8) Magic Cylinder- When Magical Cylinders was released, it was still quite powerful and widely played with the ability to unexpectedly end a duel. However, as the metagame progressed and more powerful and versatile traps such as Ring of Destruction were released, Magic Cylinder became less popular and were constrained mainly to Yugi or Dark Magician themed decks.

7) United We Stand- UWS was an equip that was widely splashable at the time. Combined with scapegoat, it was phenomenally powerful. However, ultimately, due to the fact that it was an equip, which by virtue made it a worthless topdeck, it eventually dwindled in use.

6) Dark Necrofear- The fiend deck would not be fully ready for play until Giant Orc and Archfiend Soldier were released, but Dark Necrofear was a critical component in the future fiend-deck-in-waiting.

5) Bazoo the Soul Eater- Before the eratta was corrected, Bazoo was the single most broken and overpowered monster in Yugioh, and was highly-sought after. In mid to late game, it could become a massive non-tribute 2500 attack monster which made Gemini Elf almost obsolete. Fortunately, eratta was fixed, which shill allowed Bazoo to be a competent monster, but eliminated its utter brokenness.

4) Skull Lair- Now, nobody runs Skull Lair. In fact, its popularity dropped to virtually zero after the card eratta was fixed. It was as broken as Bazoo. However, when the misprint allowed the removal of any type of card from the graveyard (as opposed to only monsters,) it was extremely popular as mid to late-game monster removal.

3) Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer- Kycoo was a solid monster in itself with good stats: Dark/Spellcaster/4/1800/700. But its ability really made it special. Not only could it help counter Bazoo at the time of release, it would become the anti-chaos card, stripping the opponent’s graveyard of BLS and CED fodder.

2) Torrential Tribute- Torrential Tribute was one of my personal favorite traps. It offered the ultimate form of field clearance, and could totally ruin the opponent’s setup. Who needs Trap Hole now?

1) Gemini Elf- People argued for a long time over the importance of an extra 100 attack (or 50 more for those who owned a Mechanical Chaser) and whether it was worth the investment to pick up this secret rare card. The truth is that Gemini Elf was revolutionary. It set the new benchmark for no-effect level 4 monsters, and ushered in the new wave of beatdown.

Yugioh Abridged Episode 2: Rocky VII [Review]

Review: Episode 2 of Little Kuriboh’s Yugioh Abridged Series contained fewer epic catchprases than the first episode, but started including more pop culture references. And while I probably didn’t catch all of them, there definitely were quite a few. Notable events in the episode included: Yugi stealing all of Joey’s good cards while pretending to be his friend, the introduction of Weevil and Rex, and the shadow game between Pegasus and Yugi, after which Pegasus steals Grandpa’s soul. But mainly this episode was just summary entertainment with a bit more character exposition. While not one of the funniest episodes, it was still very well done, especially with the improved audio quality.

Best Punchline: “It’s almost as good as the watching-paint-dry-channel.”
Lamest Punchline: “You better not have been using my credit card to buy duel monsters merchandise off Ebay again.”
Notable References: Different Strokes, The Ring, 24, Rocky
Character Exposition Summary: Grandpa has a secret love affair with Black Luster Soldier. Yugi got all of his good cards including Dark Magician from Joey. Bakura is a pointless character. Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood are modeled after Beavis and Butthead. Pegasus is very ambiguously camp.

Yugioh Abridged Funny Quotes From Episode 2:

Yugi: Sorry Bakura, main characters only.

Grandapa:[in reference to training Joey] It will require hours of vigorous offscreen practice.
Joey: What? I don’t even get a training montage?
Grandpa: “Who do you think you are, Rocky Balboa?”

Grandpa: I just hope it is not one of those cursed video tapes that are all the rage these days.

Yugi: “What you talking ‘bout Pegasus?”

Yugi: You’re just using this monologue to stall for time! ...Hey everybody! Pegasus is a big stinky cheater.

Joey: Man I love the card game channel.
Yugi: It’s almost as good as the watching-paint-dry-channel.

Yugioh Abridged Episode 1: Pilot [Review]

Review: Little Kuriboh’s Yugioh: The Abridged Series all started with this episode. The quality in the episode is not quite what we have become used to at this point in terms of high quality audio coming beautifully through stereo channels. But, the quality in terms of content is all there. This TAS episode perfectly captures the essence first episode of the anime in under 4 minutes, and instantly captured my attention. It flowed extremely quickly and fluidly, and I was literally laughing throughout the piece. What really got me addicted to the Yugioh TAS was how accurately Little Kuriboh portrayed the card game and the show. It was very clear that he wasn’t just some Joe Schmo who was out to make a parody, but he was actually a fan of the TCG and anime, and actually knew a little bit about it.

Best Punchline: “Screw the rules! I have money.”
Lamest Punchline: “Talk to the Hand”
Notable References: None
Character Exposition Summary: Tea is a kleptomaniac. Tristan wants to get a voice change. Joey has a Brooklyn accent. Kaiba is a filthy rich. Grandpa is extraordinarily senile. Yugioh is a children’s card game that makes no sense.

Yugioh Abridged Funny Quotes From Episode 1:

Kaiba: Curses, foiled again.

Grandpa: That kaiba kid needs to get laid…
Tristan: …Big time.

Kaiba: [In reference to Grandpa writhing on the floor] I dueled him into submission

Grandpa: For some reason, playing a card game has caused me to be severely injured

Kaiba: Shut up and duel me.

Kaiba: [In reference to Yugi’s new deep voice.] Did your testicles just drop in the last five seconds or something?

Yugi: Wait…did you just summon 3 monsters in one turn? Isn’t that against the rules?
Kaiba: Screw the rules! I have money.

Yugi: My grandpa’s deck has no pathetic cards Except maybe for kuriboh!

Kaiba: Exodia! It’s not possible! Nobody has ever been able to summon him.
Yugi: Really? Is that because it’s so rare?
Kaiba: No, it’s because this game makes no sense.

Best of Pharaoh’s Servant [PSV]

Pharoah’s Servant (released December 2002) contained many trap cards including Call of the Haunted, Ceasefire, and Imperial Order, among several other very influential ones. While PSV did not drastically change the metagame, it did add a handful of splashable cards which would see play in virtually every deck. The following is a list of the best or most influential cards in the Pharaoh’s Servant booster set.

10) Prohibition- Overall, Prohibition was a pretty useless card. However, for a long time, it served as very popular side deck material, which could help stop many card-specific decks. Some players simply ran it to prevent Yata-Garasu from being played. Crow-phobia at its finest.

9) Limiter Removal- Limiter Removal was the card that made the Machine deck. Fully stackable except for the times when it was restricted on-and-off, it could boost a machine to an unholy 8x its original attack. Two Limiter Removals combined with a few machines on the field could be very potent.

8) Magic Drain- Finally, Magic Drain offered an alternative to Magic Jammer. They were both about equally popular, but I had always preferred Magic Drain. Although it wouldn’t always prevent the spells from working, it would do a bit of damage to the opponent’s hand.

7) Goblin Attack Force- Another boost for beatdown came in the form of Goblin Attack Force. A massive 2300 non-tribute beatstick, it was also somewhat splashable as a high-powered field sentry.

6) Gravity Bind- Gravity Bind opened up whole new oppertunities. Not only was it a great card to stall and annoy the opponent with, it also gave birth to Clown Control and Weenie Rush Decks, which, in my opinion, were two of the most interesting deck archtypes in the metagame at the time.

5) Nobleman of Crossout- NoC was a great card, and one of my favorite forms of no-thinking-required monster removal. It would be critical in avoiding threats such as the very-much-feared Fiber Jar, and it’s somewhat less feared sibling, Cyber Jar. If it wasn’t played in the main deck, it almost always appeared in the side deck.

4) Call of the Haunted- CotH was a great card. You know it has to be great if it has a shortened acronym for its name. Not only could it resurrect a monster to add to your offensive force, but it could also unexpectedly recall a monster to stand as a wall against opponent attacks, possibly buying yourself one more turn.

3) Premature Burial- A slightly less potent form of Monster Reborn, Premature Burial offered another chance at using a destroyed monster, further reducing the monster emphasis, and making the shift to spell and trap warfare.

2) Imperial Order- Imperial Order was a very broken card. The LP payment of 700 was of virtually no consequence. Not only could it be played to negate a spell card for a card advantage of 1, the ability to hold your opponent’s spell power at your mercy for several turns was a very powerful ability.

1) Jinzo- For a very long time, Jinzo was the single-tribute monster of choice. It had a very solid 2400 attack, could be searched by WotBF, and had the very practical ability of being able to stop traps, giving peace of mind against Mirror Forces and Magical Cylinders.

Best of Magic Ruler [MRL]

Magic Ruler (released September 2002) introduced Quick Play magic cards, Ritual monsters, and Pegasus’ legendary Toon monsters to the Yugioh TCG. Unfortunately, Toons never were a very playable type, and the early Rituals were nothing to write home about either. The set was later renamed Spell Ruler due to a threatened lawsuit by Wizards of the Coast, which owned the Magic the Gathering TCG. MRL added new possibilities and more diversity to the decks seen in the metagame, particularly giving smaller monsters a boost. The following is a list of the ten best or most influential cards from the Magic Ruler booster set.

10) Axe of Despair- Also released in MRL was Maha Vailo which thrived on equip cards. The most powerful equip by far in MRL was Axe of Despair, which boosted the attack of any monster by a staggering 1000 and could be returned to the top of the deck. While neither effect proved to be particularly useful in the later metagame, at this early stage, Axe of Despair was a very popular and extremely powerful spell card for beatdown decks.

9) Giant Trunade- A slightly “weaker” version of Heavy Storm, Giant Trunade did have some benefits over its big brother (ie: preserving your continuous traps and spells, or your set cards in general,) and was often used as a supplement or replacement for Heavy Storm.

8) Nimble Momonga / Giant Germ- Both of these cards provided excellent deck thinning, increased field presence, a nice defensive wall, and a decent LP bonus to boot. While Momonga was generally more popular, Giant Germ also served as excellent fodder for Dark Necrofear.

7) Rush Recklessly- Although it was not popularly played, Rush Recklessly was an excellent card which gave great support to little monsters, especially Don Zaloog after its release. Essentially, it was a poor-man’s Shrink.

6) Cyber Jar- Cyber Jar is a very versatile monster which could often turn games around with sweeping card advantage changes. A lot of it was based on luck and good timing, but in many occasions, it could really turn a game around with its soft-reset ability.

5) Snatch Steal- Snatch Steal was a pseudo-staple in most decks. Superior to Change of Heart in several ways, it was an excellent way to rid the opponents field of a powerful monster, and not only help clear the field for attack, but also add a monster to your arsenal.

4) Painful Choice- Chaos decks, Fiend Decks, Ninja decks, Exodia Necross decks, World Reverse decks, and many more, thrived on Painful Choice which helped to quickly fill the graveyard with the necessary cards. It was even splashable in many decks with a 1:1 card advantage ratio, and was a useful topdeck in a tough situation.

3) Mystical Space Typhoon- MST is probably the single most played card in the entire history of the Yugioh TCG. Until it was restricted to one copy per deck at the time the ban list took effect, Mystical Space Typhoon was run in trios in virtually every deck, and served as the primary form of magic and trap removal.

2) Mystic Tomato / Shining Angel / Giant Rat / Mother Grizzly / UFO Turtle- The recruiters were a major part of many decks, and began a marked shift in the metagame from simple beatdown to more advanced use of smaller low-attack monsters. Mystic Tomato would turn out to be the most important of the five, with the ability to search for a host of toolbox monsters.

1) Confiscation / Delinquent Duo / The Forceful Sentry- When these three hand destroyers were released, they were not particularly popular because the item of hand control was not a big issue yet. However, after Yata-Garasu and more support for control decks were launched, this trio became a very popular and fearsome powerhouse.

Best of Metal Raiders [MRD]

Metal Raiders (released June 2002) added several new levels of complexity to the Yugioh card game. MRD was the largest non-reprint set. It not only featured a beaucoup of fusion monsters, but also added many more effect monsters, some of which would have a lasting effect on the card game. The following is a list of the best or most influential cards from the Metal Raiders booster set.

10) Soul Release- Soul Release introduced the game dynamic of removing cards from the game. While it served no practical use in the early metagame, it became more useful later…but equally unused. At least it had cool card art.

9) 7 Colored Fish- Aside from La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp, it was the other big 1800 attack monster in the early metagame. Since beatdown was the only deck type seeing widespread success at tournaments, 1800 monsters were critical.

8) Tribute to the Doomed- Personally, I had always preferred Fissure to this card. Nevertheless, Tribute to the Doomed was a popular form of targeted monster removal in the early metagame.

7) Magic Jammer- Magic Jammer was the only way to stop Magic cards until Pharaoh’s Servant when Magic Drain and Imperial Order were released. When card advantage was not a big deal, Magic Drain was a relatively popular card.

6) Magician of Faith- The small Magician of Faith was a great card in the early metagame. Its effect was almost always activated, and it could recover all sorts of broken magic cards from Pot of Greed to Raigeki to Monster Reborn.

5) Sangan- The little brother of the two searchers, Sangan played a role in nearly every deck after its release. It also provided the first form of support for Exodia.

4) Heavy Storm- The very powerful magic/trap based counterpart of Dark Hole. Heavy Storm was the first popularly used form of magic and trap removal.

3) Change of Heart- Although it was already released in Starter Deck Yugi, the shiny version of Change of Heart held a lot more cachet among players. But, ultra rare or common, a well timed Change of Heart could quickly change the direction of a game.

2) Mirror Force- Mirror Force inspired fear in the hearts of all players when attacking, and led to whole new levels of cautiousness when attempting to strike with all monsters in attack mode. It definitely added a new level of strategy to the game through bluffing with set magic and traps.

1) Witch of the Black Forest- WotBF was played in nearly every competitive deck after its release. With the power to search for virtually every monster in a deck, it was a critical component for efficiency. The nature of its effect also allowed it to be a great tribute. After its release, searchability by “the witch” became a criteria for judging the usability of monster cards.

Best of Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon [LOB]

The Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon (released March 2002) introduced many cards which served as the basic framework for the early metagame. It contained a cornucopia of useless low attack monsters, and many trite magic cards, but it also contained a few critical cards. Some of the most broken cards in the entire Yugioh card game were released in LOB. The following is a list of the ten best, or most influential cards from the Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon booster series.

10) Giant Soldier of Stone- Giant Soldier of Stone would be the single best level 4 and below monster in terms of defense for several years. In fact, since it was level 3, it could attack under Gravity Bind.

9) Exodia the Forbidden One- After Yugi won against Kaiba in the first episode of Yugioh using Exodia, the set of five became legendary. Unfortunately, Exodia wasn’t actually playable until later sets were released providing support cards.

8) Man Eater Bug- Early in the progression of Yugioh, aside from Dark Hole and Raigeki, there were no other ways to deal with flip effect monsters other than to attack them. With no counters, Man Eater Bug was an effective and surprising method for monster removal.

7) Swords of Revealing Light- Swords of Revealing Light was a great card for stalling, and could buy critical time while topdecking. Unfortunately, its popularity waned as magic-based stalling grew less effective, and the pace of the game grew faster.

6) Trap Hole- Trap Hole was the trap to have in the early metagame. With a 1:1 card advantage ratio, it provided solid monster removal, which still remains a viable option today.

5) Fissure- Fissure embodied simple monster removal at its best. It remained the card of choice for single monster removal until Smashing Ground was released.

4) Dark Hole- If you wanted bulk monster removal, you would turn to Dark Hole. Plus, due to the starter decks, it was not difficult to own a copy.

3) Monster Reborn- In late game, Monster Reborn was an extremely broken card which could single handedly change the pace of the game. Also included in the starter decks, it was not an expensive card to own.

2) Pot of Greed- Pot of Greed is to Yugioh as Professor Oak is to Pokemon (but not as broken as Professor Oak.) It not only helped with deck thinning, and gave you a free card, but was arguably the best topdeck ever.

1) Raigeki- The most broken card in the entire history of Yugioh is Raigeki. The only card that could rival its brokenness was Harpies Feather Duster. With the ability to clear the enemy’s field with a 5:1 card advantage ratio, it could not only save you from a field full of powerhouse monsters, but could also clear the path for your massive game-ending onslaught attack.