Hello, all! My name is Tej, and I hail from South Jersey. My local card store is All Things Fun! in West Berlin, NJ. I’ve been playing the game (on and off) since the beginning. Due to college, I usually only have time to play during the summers and holidays. During my “off” time, I still keep in touch with some players, and try to stay up to date on the newest cards and deck strategies. But enough about me – on to the article!
The goal of the series “Cards to Consider” is to re-introduce an already existing, yet likely forgotten, card that may deserve a second look when tested against the current meta. Articles of this nature will be formatted in the following ways:
- The Card
- Here I’ll introduce the card, and maybe give a slight history on it (if it has had an impact in previous years)
- The Merits
- A more in depth look at how the card may be useful in the current format
- The Flaws
- Observations on problems one would run into by playing the card
- The Decks
- A short list of the decks that could feasibly house the card, as well as a short reasoning for why running the card would be useful in that particular deck
Additionally, there will be a part II to this series, in which I provide a deck list of one particular deck that uses the card, as well as a small analysis of the result. I will need your help for this!
The Card
Today’s card is…Giant Germ! Here are the details:
Giant Germ, level 2, fiend, 1000 Atk/100 Def
“When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, inflict 500 damage to your opponent. You can also Special Summon up to 2 ‘Giant Germs’ from your Deck in face-up Attack Position.”
Giant Germ originates from one of the first sets, Spell Ruler. It has not had much time in the spotlight barring a small stint in monarch decks (ahh…the days where tribute fodder knew no Treeborn Frog). Giant Germ had always been overshadowed by its light and dark recruiter brethren Shining Angel and Mystic Tomato, but now it’s finally time for this little, cilia-covered ball of mucous to shine!
The Merits
After over 300 words of introduction, I bet you all are dying to hear the justification for this guy. There are two things that drew me to this card.
1) With the release of Synchro and, more importantly, XYZ monsters, the level of a monster has never mattered more. I think you all know where I am going with this. One of the strongest XYZ monsters came from the starter deck that introduced the theme to us in the firstplace. Of course I am talking about the infamous Gachi Gachi Gantetsu! Just in case:
Gachi Gachi Gantetsu, rank 2, rock, xyz, 500 Atk/1800 Def
“2 Level 2 monsters
If this face-up card would be destroyed, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card instead. Face-up monsters you control gain 200 ATK and DEF for each Xyz Material attached to this card.”
With our featured card, Giant Germ, we can easily form Gachi Gachi. Simply set a germ on your turn, let your opponent attack it, and get two more germs that will allow you to XYZ into Gachi Gachi! Giant Germ is a one card route to forming rank 2 XYZ monsters. Aside from Gachi Gachi, this may prove to be useful for XYZ monsters we see in future sets. On another note, if you are more eager to overlay Gachi Gachi, you can summon your Giant Germ and attack into one of your opponent’s monsters. You will usually want to do this if you think your germs would be in jeopardy of being wiped out through multiple attacks on your opponent’s turn. This brings me to the second merit!
2) The second stat that is incredibly convenient about Giant Germ is it’s attack stat. While 1000 attack may not seem like much, it is coincidentally parallel to some common monsters in the current format:
I can’t help but feel as if I’m forgetting one...WAIT A MINUTE!
4. Tour Guide from the Underworld!
That’s right, folks! One of the most commonly seen cards on the competitive circuit conveniently sets you up for a stellar power play. Often times, players will summon Tour Guide and retrieve Sangan from the deck (usually in attack mode). While some players will often XYZ with their two level 3s, the act of leaving both Sangan and Tour Guide on the field is not a rare occurrence. When your opponent does this, you are in great shape! Giant Germ will not only die in battle by attacking Tour Guide, thus netting the Germ’s effect, it will also take the Tour Guide down with it. This stabilizes the +1 your opponent originally created by summoning the Tour Guide. Once you get your two Germs, you have options (it is ALWAYS good in YuGiOh! to have options). You can either trade one of your Germs with the Sangan, then attack directly (creating a 2000 life point swing), or you can simply move into main phase two and form your Gachi Gachi Gantetsu, which is a problem for many decks to deal with. Giant Germ effectively gives you a great 2nd turn play against both Agents (Agent Earth) and Plants (Tour Guide).
The Flaws
Giant Germ is a graveyard effect, and it requires that it die by battle. Unfortunately, this means that it falls victim to several cards that currently see play:
b) Scrap Dragon
c) Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
d) Dimensional Prison (and other defensive traps)
Removing or destroying Giant Germ sadly will not allow its effect to activate. Ways to avoid your Germ from being wiped out would be to not attack with it (forfeiting the Tour Guide trade) and to back it up with your own defensive traps (solemn warning, black horn of heaven, dimensional prison).
Giant Germ’s other weakness is that its relatively small attack power will allow your opponent to run over multiple copies of it in one turn, thus preventing you from overlaying Gachi Gachi. Again, this problem is alleviated with the use of defensive traps such as dimensional prison and mirror force.
The Decks!
This is perhaps the most exciting part of the article for me. Deck discussion, preparation, and creativity have always made the game so alluring to me. Here are a few decks that I think can utilize Giant Germ effectively:
a) Agents! These guys already bring out Gachi Gachi to barrage the opponent with HUGE monsters. By implementing Giant Germ, I have been able to bring out 2-3 Gachi Gachi’s in a single game (frequently with 2 of them being out at the same time!)
b) Fiends! A fiend deck has been my recent pet project, and one that I fall back on when I need a break from school work. Giant Germ is a dark monster, and a fiend. When all three die, they instantly set you up for some great boss monsters like Dark Necrofear and Dark Armed Dragon.
c) Dark Worlds! Giant Germ has two reasons to be in a dark world deck. The first is that it creates fodder for The Gates of Dark World. The second is that, by creating Gachi Gachi, you inherently have an advantage in the mirror match (my Grapha is bigger than your Grapha…you mad?)
There are likely a ton of other decks I am forgetting, but you can see the point.
Why I need YOUR help!
I want to put my money where my mouth is, but I will need your help this weekend. Part II of this series will be a discussion on a specific deck running Giant Germ. I would love to have the chance to playtest against you, the Alter-Reality Games readers! This Monday, at 1:00pm EST time, I will be playtesting a deck utilizing Giant Germ. I think I already know which one it will be, but I want it to be a surprise to you all! Ideally, I would love to play several best of three matches against the more popular decks this format (Plants, Agents, Dark World, Rabbit, Karakuri) along with a few others that one would likely see at a regional or YCS event. I will be testing on Dueling Network under the “unrated section.” These will be best of three matches, hopefully with a match where I go first as well as a match where you go first. Please message me (demon99) on there with the deck you’re playing. I would love to play against some of you all! Additionally, I hope to do some one-on-one deck discussions with any of you that I play after our match is over. I would love to include your input in Part II! Again:
Monday, December 12, 1:00pm EST, Dueling Network
Message demon99 with the deck you’re playing.
Final Thoughts
Giant Germ is (hopefully “was”) a forgotten card. It certainly does deserve a chance in the current format, and I hope many of you experiment with it in each of your decks. I have really started to like the card in the few short weeks I’ve been testing it.
Finally, I would like to thank Alter Reality Games for giving all of us the opportunity to write for them. I am also grateful that they have assembled such an all-star lineup as their featured writers. I think anyone who has read the articles on here has likely improved as a player.
Until next time,
Tej T.
Voorhees, NJ
All Things Fun!
Latest posts by Tej Trivedi (see all)
- The Rock Doc’ and Destiny Nurse Aoi - November 12, 2012
- How to Slay a Dragon - May 29, 2012
- Battle Bombs and Epic Picks! - May 16, 2012
Get
Connected