Metagame Science: Photon Shockwave

November 8, 2011

Categories: Frazier Smith, Free Articles

by Frazier Smith

Hello Yugioh! How are you? Today I want to talk about the metagame after the release of the newest set-- Photon Shockwave. This pack has some good cards in it that I’ll be discussing in detail. For all of those attending the next YCS in Kansas City you might want to check this one out.

Wind-up Zenmaines

This is one of the most talked about cards in Photon Shockwave because of its Gachi Gachi Gantetsu style effect and the fact that Tour Guide from the Underworld can instantly summon it. Here is the breakdown of Wind-up Zenmaines:

2 Level 3 monsters

If this face-up card on the field would be destroyed, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card instead. Once per turn, during the End Phase, if this effect was used this turn: Target 1 card on the field; destroy it.

Fire/ Machine/ Xyz/ Effect

ATK/1500 DEF/2100

This card is a great addition to both plant and agent monster-mash decks because of the high number of level 3 monsters played in them. For the plant player, Wind-up Zenmaines adds another out to monsters over 2500 attack such as Master Hyperion, Black Luster Soldier- Envoy of the Beginning, Scrap Dragon, the Karakuri Synchros, Judgment Dragon, and many more. His 2100 defense also makes him a good card to stall with, giving you time to draw into your plant combos and make huge pushes. For the agent monster-mash player you can make an insane first turn move using a combination of Gallis the Star Beast and The Agent of Creation – Venus.

Summon Venus, activate her effect and summon 2 mystical shine balls from your deck (or hand if you have to).
Overlay the 2 mystical shine balls into Gachi Gachi Gantetsu.
Special Summon Gallis the Star Beast by sending the top card of your deck to the graveyard.
Overlay the Gallis and the Venus to summon Wind-up Zenmaines.

The above combo gives you a Gachi Gachi Gantetsu with 2200 defense and a Wind-up Zenmaines with 1900 attack, both of which are indestructible as long as they have Xyz materials. Agents can also summon Wind-up Zenmaines by using Venus and Genex Ally Birdman to bounce a shine ball but more than likely you will just want to summon Trishula if you have those two cards. The fact is, since Zenmaines is an extra deck card, you have more options to address different scenarios.

Photon Sabre Tiger

Level 3

When this card is Normal or Flip Summoned: You can add 1 "Photon Sabre Tiger" from your Deck to your hand. If you do not control another "Photon Sabre Tiger", this card loses 800 ATK.

Light/ Beast/ Effect

ATK/2000 DEF/ 300

This is one of my personal favorite cards from the set for so many reasons. First off, he has 2000 attack power and he is a light beast. Those stats alone give him some great implications. You can combo the tiger with Horn of the Phantom Beast and/or Skill Drain. Coincidentally, both of those cards are played in Tech Genus decks, therefore the tiger could make a great fit. It is a +1 because it searches another copy of itself from the deck and if you can protect it for 1 turn it will stay at 2000 attack. Since Photon Sabre Tiger is a +1 you can play recklessly with them and run into Torrential Tribute and Mirror Force in the early game which will minimize your opponent’s defenses in the late game. The idea of this card in conjunction with Horn of the Phantom Beast is a scary thought because of the tiger’s low attack stat when it stands alone. This will bait players into attacking it early on and crashing right into the horn, netting you a draw, the destruction of his/her monster, and a protected tiger to go with the one that you just searched. Skill drain possesses a similar role in that the tiger will go to its printed attack power of 2000 even if he is the only copy on the field. Lastly, the fact that it is a level 3 monster that searches another copy of itself makes in an easy way to summon rank 3 Xyz monsters like Wind-up Zenmaines, Leviair the Sea Dragon, and Number 17: Leviathan Dragon. Photon Sabre Tiger is surely a card to look out for in the future.

Evolzar Laggia

2 Level 4 Dinosaur-Type monsters

When a monster(s) would be Normal or Special Summoned, OR a Spell/Trap Card is activated: You can detach 2 Xyz Materials from this card; negate the Summon or activation, and destroy that card.

Fire/ Dragon/ Xyz/ Effect

ATK/ 2400 DEF/ 2000

Laggia is one of the most powerful Xyz monsters in the game. His effect resembles that of Solemn Judgment, except you cannot negate flip summons or spell speed 3 cards. With the release of Rescue Rabbit in this set you can easily bring this guy to the field on turn 1 and take control of the duel fairly quickly. Rabbit brings out 2 Sabersaurus or 2 Kabazauls which makes an instant Laggia.

Evolzar Dolkka

2 Level 4 Dinosaur-Type monsters

When an Effect Monster's effect activates: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; negate the activation and destroy it.

Fire/ Dragon/ Xyz/ Effect

ATK/ 2300 DEF/ 1700

Dolkka, the brother of Laggia, is yet another powerful Xyz monster with the same summoning conditions—2 level 4 dinosaurs. He can negate the effects of almost any effect monster including popular cards such as Maxx “C,” Effect Veiler, Gorz, Tragoedia, Reborn Tengu, Tour Guide from the Underworld, Sangan, and many others. His effect, although not as all-encompassing as Laggia, is still very unique and has a lower cost because you only need to detach 1 Xyz material to activate it. I personally find him a little more annoying to play against than Laggia because he can negate 2 cards. What also makes Dolkka a scary card is that a player in control of him can go for game against your open field without any fear of Gorz, Tragoedia, or Battlefader.

One Day of Peace

Normal Spell

Each player draws 1 card, and neither player takes damage until the end of the opponent's next turn.

This is by far one of the most annoying cards I have ever seen printed in the game of Yugioh. It allows decks that were otherwise unplayable to have a chance at being more competitive. The decks that come to mind are Final Countdown, Exodia, Burn, and Magical Explosion. It is fairly obvious that this card fits best in Final Countdown and Burn because Exodia and Magical Explosion are meant to be FTK/OTK decks. It allows Final Countdown players to live for another turn while also netting them another card which could be their next defense. The deck only needs to survive through 10 of the opponent’s battle phases which makes One day of Peace absolutely insane for that very reason. The fact that it replaces itself with another card is also extremely helpful because you can keep the string of “whole-turn defenses” going.

Wattcobra

Level 4

This card can attack your opponent directly. When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent by a direct attack: Add 1 "Watt" monster from your Deck to your hand.

Light/ Thunder/ Effect

ATK/ 1000 DEF/ 500

I just want to start off this portion of the article by saying that watts are slowly getting more and more really good support and no one is noticing it. The deck itself is not ready yet but this card is a step in the right direction and its effect is nothing short of amazing. It searches out ANY watt monster, including himself which means that on the next turn you can search out 2 watt monsters if you manage to get in some direct shots. Other than that, the only thing that I can really say about the watt archetype is to wait and see what happens in the future—maybe we’ll get some TCG exclusives.

Dark Smog

Continuous Trap

Once per turn: You can target 1 monster in your opponent's Graveyard; discard 1 Fiend-Type monster and banish that target.

This card certainly helps out the struggling Dark World archetype by giving it another discard outlet and a way to counter the Meta. I am not a Dark World user but I would assume that this makes the plant matchup a lot better. It can remove key combo pieces like Glow-up Bulb, Spore, and Dandylion while also setting off the effects of Snow, Grapha, and Broww. It can also slow down agents by ruining any chance of summoning Hyperion unless the agent user is willing to part with an agent in their hand or on their field. The fact that Dark Smog is a trap card means that you can chain it to monster reborn, debris dragon, call of the haunted, and many other graveyard effects. The ability to discard Grapha on the opponent’s turn is helpful too since his destruction effect can be used to defend your field from incoming attacks and combo-oriented plays. Hopefully Dark World can take some spots in the top32 of the next YCS with the help of this card. Only time will tell.

Wind-up Rabbit

Level 3

During either player’s turn: You can target 1 "Wind-Up" monster you control; banish it until your next Standby Phase. This effect can be used only once while this card is face-up on the field.

Earth/ Beast-Warrior/ Effect

ATK/ 1400 DEF/ 600

Wind-ups are getting some extremely good support in the next set, Order of Chaos, and this TCG exclusive is only the beginning of what could be the rise of the Wind-up archetype. They already have some of the absolute best support cards like Wind-up Factory which is a continuous spell that searches a Wind-up monster from the deck once per turn. With the use of the rabbit, you can activate Wind-up Factory on the opponent’s turn too, meaning a possible search every turn. Also the fact that it’s a level 3 monster helps you to summon Wind-up Zenmaines. This card has massive potential and from the buzz that I’ve been hearing it could be highly competitive after the next set.

Rescue Rabbit

Level 4

This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck. You can banish this face-up card you control; Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters with the same name from your Deck. Destroy them during the End Phase. The effect of "Rescue Rabbit" can only be activated once per turn.

Earth/ Beast/ Effect

ATK/ 300 DEF/ 100

Last but not least and the most controversial and feared card in the entire set-- the infamous cousin of Bugs Bunny himself—Rescue Rabbit! His effect allows for the easy summoning of the aforementioned Dragon Xyz monsters—Evolzar Laggia and Evolzar Dolkka. This card is extremely powerful and will only get better as the game progresses. It has a lot of versatility because it can search out monsters level 4 or lower. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new version of the newly popular monster-mash deck playing this card. The rabbit can create massive swings for damage if given an open shot since most normal monsters that will be played have 1700 or 1900 attack. Also, Tour Guide from the Underworld can combo really well with Rescue Rabbit since it removes itself from play upon activation of its effect and guide summons Leviair the Sea Dragon. If the deck successfully summoned Laggia on the first turn, and has an open shot on turn 2 it can OTK an opponent with 8000 lifepoints:

2400 (Laggia) +1800 (Leviair) +1900 (Sabersaurus) +1900 (Sabersaurus) = 8000

This is Frazier Smith reporting out, until next time Yu-Gi-Oh! world. Play hard or go home!

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