How often when you were about to go off has your opponent played Maxx “C” against you, and faced you with the most difficult question of the game? “Do I keep going and let him draw more cards? Or do I stop, and leave myself vulnerable to what he has?” Hello, I’m Robert Vissa, and I’m here to talk to you today about the card choices this format, and opposed to what they could look like after the new set, Order of Chaos, or even the new Forbidden & Limited Card list.
“You can activate this effect during either player's turn by sending this card from your hand to the Graveyard. This turn, each time your opponent Special Summon a monster(s), draw 1 card. You can only activate "Maxx "C"" once per turn.”
This card has seen a lot of play recently due to the most popular deck, “Synchrocentric”, being so explosive in nature. When played at the right time, you’re able to activate this card’s effect, causing your opponent either to continue doing what they were doing, while netting you card advantage, or cause them to stop dead in their tracks, allowing you to break through their resources, and take away a lot of cards that they would need to make their plays. A lot of players won’t continue to Special Summon while under the restriction of Maxx “C” because they don’t want to let you gain card advantage. Often times, even when a player knows that he could make a push that could possibly even win him the game, he doesn’t want you to draw too many cards, because of fear of Gorz, Emissary of Darkness or Tragoedia, both of which are commonly played cards. Even if the player does not fear either of those cards, he also does not want you to draw any of YOUR power-cards, such as “Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning.” A strong example of this card gaining advantage, while making his opponent end his turn, happened in one of my friend’s games in Round 9 of YCS Columbus. His opponent had Reborn Tengu on the field, and then plays One for One, discarding Dandylion. My friend chained Maxx “C” to the One for One, letting him draw 1 card off the summon of Glow-Up Bulb from One for One, and then another card off of the tokens Dandylion gave him! His opponent immediately ended his turn, fearing the cards to be drawn off Maxx “C” through mandatory summons of Reborn Tengu if he continued to synchro.
Effect Veiler
“During your opponent's Main Phase, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard to select 1 face-up Effect Monster your opponent controls. Negate the effect(s) of that monster until the End Phase.”
This card used to be very widely played. It used to be in every deck, waiting for the moment most important to your opponent to strike. This is actually the opposite of what currently is the norm, Effect Veiler was played in 2s, and sometimes even 3s, while Maxx “C” earned a spot in the side deck, or sometimes, even on the bench. That Veiler in your hand could be crucial when it comes to a Caius The Shadow Monarch that's about to remove from play your Stardust Dragon, or a Fabled Raven that is about to discard 3 or 4 Dark World monsters. It's also the difference between drawing a lot of cards through the effect of T.G. Hyper Librarian, and not drawing any with it. I cannot tell you how many times my Hyper Librarian was Veiler’d at Nationals. This card used to be extremely powerful, stopping the infamous XX-Saber Boggart Knight from recruiting a buddy from the hand, making Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier discard for nothing, and limiting the effect of Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier to only being able to a hit a card from your hand. It recently has not seen as much play as previously, with many decks playing only one, if any. “Synchrocentric” scoffs at an Effect Veiler, as almost all of it’s Monster effects happen in the graveyard, and since that is what the majority of decks are now-a-days, this card has been more than underwhelming. Veiler has also been much less useful due to the fact that a lot of decks are playing Enemy Controller, using it to take advantage of Veiler’s target having to be on the field when Veiler resolves in order for the effect to be negated. In general, this card has seen a lot less play recently due to underwhelming conditions in the format.
Maxx “C” versus Effect Veiler: The Future.
Maxx “C” has seen a lot of play over Effect Veiler recently because as it has been shown that the popular deck is not hurt by Effect Veiler as much, because many effects take place in the graveyard, essentially dodging Effect Veiler. After Order of Chaos, I honestly predict Effect Veiler to see a lot more play over Maxx “C” because of the new, and extremely popular, archtype Inzektors. The key mechanic in the Inzektors archtype is to equip monsters to each other, much like Dragunity. The difference is that the deck does not Special Summon extremely often, and even when they do, it’s usually only once. Effect Veiler would prove much more useful against this archtype, allowing you to prevent them from equipping their key cards to each other, and even prevent them from making a game-changing play. Also coming out in Order of Chaos is more Wind-Up support, which will make the deck very powerful. The deck is a lot like “Synchrocentric” but is more geared toward summoning Xyz Monsters, and depleting your opponent’s hand count. Both Effect Veiler and Maxx “C” are powerful cards versus this deck, but Effect Veiler will stop it dead in its tracks, while under Maxx “C”, the deck holds potential to special summon so much that Maxx “C” and maybe a “Card Destruction” could mean game over for you. A card that is also seeing a lot of play right now is “Tour Guide from the Underworld.” As many people know, this card is extremely powerful in the sense that it can bring out a Xyz monster for one card, or even on the opening turn, Special Summon Sangan from the deck, allowing them to search for almost any card they wish when Sangan is sent to the Graveyard. In this situation, if you played Maxx “C” versus the Tour Guide, then your Maxx “C” would cycle if they pass, and net you a card if they decide to Xyz. If they end their turn, then they’d be left with a Sangan and still gain a card in the end, where if they Xyz they probably are trying to get rid of a Key Card you have on the field. If you had Veiler in this scenario, you would be stopping that Sangan from coming out, and preventing a key play they probably had in mind or the next turn or two.
The New Forbidden & Limited List
As many of us know, every 6 months there is a format change in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world that causes new cards to be able to be played, and some cards no longer able to be played. Most notably this most recent Forbidden & Limited List was the legality of the card Black Luster Soldier – Envoy the Beginning. Let’s take a look at him real fast. His summoning is inherent, meaning you don’t know when it’s going to happen for sure. Maxx “C” is useless when it comes to this powerhouse, where Veiler could be the difference between winning and losing when it comes to Black Luster Soldier, either protecting one of your Monsters from being Banished, or protecting both of your monsters from being destroyed by battle. I cannot tell you how many times my opponent has summoned the Envoy against me, and I desperately wished that the Maxx “C” I was holding was an Effect Veiler instead. When the new Forbidden & Limited List comes in March, 2012, more cards susceptible to Effect Veiler may become legal again, and many decks that are popular now may lose key cards to their engines, causing Maxx “C” to become much more underwhelming that it is in the current game.
In conclusion, I believe that right now, Maxx “C” has taken the stage when it comes to the current game, being one of the best play disruptors, and gaining you card advantage while doing so. Veiler still sees some play, as it should because it can take care of cards Maxx “C” just can’t hit. After Order of Chaos Comes out, Veiler may come back to being very popular, with the rise of Inzektors and Wind-Ups, and possibly even more after the new Forbidden & Limited List. Until next time Yu-Gi-Oh! players of the world, this is Robert Vissa reminding you to Play Hard or Go Home.
Rochester, New York
Millennium Games and Hobbies
Robbie Vissa
Latest posts by Robbie Vissa (see all)
- Maxx “C” and Effect Veiler: The Better Hand Trap - December 13, 2011
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