Yes I'm stalling on making the banlist thoughts article. Sue me.

Okay, so most of you will realise at this point that the meta right now consists of Shadoll, Satellaknight and Burning Abyss. Sure, there are a couple of decks you might be able to spot being played around, but the main three I've just listed. And it's come to my attention that a LOT of people have NO CLUE what they're doing when it comes to fighting these decks off, short of the Mirrors. Hell, a fair few people don't know what they're doing when it comes to siding at ALL. So let's not stall any longer, shall we? And no, I'm STILL not talking about the banlist article.

Different Dimension Ground

So as it stands, any deck that has access to Macro Cosmos, Dimensional Fissure and Soul Drain's pretty well off at the minute. Shadoll's so terrifying because their monsters trigger when sent to the graveyard via card effect, so if they don't get sent to the graveyard at ALL, that puts a damper on just how effective they can be. On top of that, banishing Shadoll Fusion is an easy way to guarantee that it's not going to come back and bite you AGAIN, should you kill the monster they summon using it. Burning Abyss effectively stops working altogether if you stop their monsters hitting the graveyard and triggering, and even if the cards don't hit Satellaknight as hard as they would the other two, they're certainly going to start giving you looks if you keep banishing Deneb.

The reason that such cards DON'T see much play this format (And indeed the last format, as well) is that they're double-edged swords, and they can really, REALLY sting if they backfire. As much as you want to stop Scarm or Shadoll Falcon working properly, chances are you're going to be running a similar strategy, and you don't want to be put on the spot either. Almost every deck in the current meta needs graveyards in some way or other, so traditional floodgate cards like Macro Cosmos can't really see any play, because they don't help you, they just make things more awkward.

So how can you play around this? Is there any way you can banish your opponent's monsters, but keep a hold of your own, without running Shadow Mist and Mask Change?

Different Dimension Ground's effectively a turn with Dimensional Fissure on the board. Just the one turn. This means that you can use it at an appropriate moment, then on your next turn go about your business, enjoying the perks a graveyard provides. You'll generally use it on your opponent's turn, anyway, meaning it'll have little effect, if any at all. It can be an effective stun trick, shutting your opponent out of the game or otherwise scaring them away from committing to a play, but probably it's most effective use is using it in response to something that would cost your opponent card presence. Using this in response to Mathematician or Armageddon Knight is good, but responding to Foolish Burial or Sinister Shadow Games is better. And using this against a Shadoll Fusion is potentially lethal, turning two Shadoll monsters they wanted to launch for 1-for-1 trades into a crippling minus that leaves the Shadoll player scrambling to build their graveyard up, whilst you retain everything you had. And if you didn't have an XYZ monster, they may well have to banish every creature they had left in hand and on field...

The card's seen little play outside of the Shadoll mirror match so far, but honestly, I'd say it's worth playing in almost any deck, including Burning Abyss, and easily Satellaknight this format. Give it a try!

Full House

So why play this card in a format where Fire Fist and Madolche aren't seeing the light of day? Well the format currently consists of Shadoll, Burning Abyss and Satellaknight. And the current best cards to side-deck would appear to be Light-Imprisoning Mirror and Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror. This is a pretty efficient way of wiping your opponent's defences, and taking care of the play-stoppers they have to boot. This is also a good way to ditch that Vanity's Emptiness you have on field, or the one THEY have on field, as most meta decks are maining three copies this format. There are plenty of ideal situations to use this, ESPECIALLY against a backrow-heavy deck like Satellaknight, and honestly, it's a worthy tech in a LOT of decks at the minute.

Karma Cut

So this is another great one against Satellaknight. Hitting Deneb can REALLY sting, and hell, Altair can be just as bad if done at the right moment. But Scarm, Tour Guide, a select few Shadoll cards and Dante can get hit just as easily, and they're a sure-fire way to make your opponent sweat. It's more of a late-game card, and there might be one or two better choices to pick up, but this can certainly be a devastating card, especially in Burning Abyss, where the discard can get you a free summon or search to boot.

De-Fusion

This card has your back no matter what it is you're playing. El-Shadoll Midrash can be one of the hardest cards in the entire game to play around. Being immune to destruction, having an extremely restrictive summon limit mechanic built in and adding back a copy of Shadoll Fusion (Or Shadoll Roots, if you already have a Fusion), the card causes an absurd amount of problems ON the field, and doesn't stop once it LEAVES the field, unless it's returned to the Extra Deck or banished. Nephilim can also cause quite a fair amount of problems, and again retains that recycle ability when it hits grave. So it's a given you want to stop Shadoll monsters hitting the grave where you can.

Compulsory Evacuation Device, Dimensional Prison, Battleguard Howling, Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, Breakthrough Skill. These are a few of the ways that current decks have been using to get over the El-Shadoll creatures, or to be more specific, Midrash. They're effective, for the most part, and they get the job done. But is there a better way?

Enter De-Fusion. A quick-play spell card, this thing can push any Fusion Monster on any side of the board back into the Extra Deck, then summon the materials, provided they're all still in the grave. This can be used to dodge something like Dimensional Prison if you're attacking with YOUR Shadoll monster, or it's more obvious and general use: It can get any El-Shadoll monster off the board IMMEDIATELY, without sending him to grave and giving them their Shadoll Fusion back. It can also be used in immediate response to the card they summon off Super Poly, which is huge in it's own right. It's a fast out to some of the most frustrating cards in the entire game, and it can effectively act as a quicker Compulsory Evacuation Device when it needs to, which you can run three copies of. Sold yet? I know I am.

And the Band Played On

This is... debatable. I'm going to keep this one short and sweet, on the grounds that I'm not sure where I stand with it, but I can see why you would want to. All El-Shadoll monsters have different levels. Burning Abyss can't make use of Tour Guide whilst this is on the board, and it can become rather difficult for them to really get the ball rolling well enough to do any damage to you. Combine with El-Shadoll Midrash for an EXTREMELY tough lock to beat.

Chain Disappearance

People don't talk about this card enough...

Tour Guide. Scarm. Shadoll Hedgehog. Shadoll Falcon. Madolche Mewfeuille and Anjelly. Geargiano and Geargiano Mk-II. Bixi and Pualo of the Yang-Xing. Infernity Necromancer.

No, I didn't say that last one with a straight face, but almost EVERY deck in the game can get some mileage out of this card. It's fantastic if you're playing against Burning Abyss, virtually winning you the game there and then if you can flip it against their first copy of Tour Guide or Scarm, and almost anything in the entire game can be hit by this card in some way. It's a definite choice when it comes to side-decks, and I don't remember building a deck WITHOUT it for quite some time.

Hope you've learned something from this. It's been Alice, and think about these suggestions ^.^

(I'll make the banlist article when I want to. Shut it, you.)

Nice article Ally :3

Thanks. Appreciate the feedback!

Different dimension ground

I do believe I have a pretty good knowledge of the game, but I also have to admit I had completely forgotten about this card. Indeed it is interesting and a nice chainable, in the vibe of vanity's. Kinda not really, but yeah.

Full House

I'm not a huge fan of the card. Every time I've tried it, it's just been a dead draw, always. Even with the floodgates you find in every deck, it just never worked for me. When qliphort are coming to the game, I will probably not even think before siding full house. Until then, I'm really iffy about this one.

Karma Cut

I thought it was already a main deck staple in burning abyss. I prefer phoenix wing wind blast, but I've seen many people maining the two. Other than that, yeah, it is a good card in the format. I don't really side it as of yet, but I'm thinking about it.

De-fusion

I laughed very hard when I saw that one, not gonna lie. I really thought I was the only one siding that haha. Glad someone else agrees with that choice ^^

And the band played on

I've thought about that card. I thought it was a really interesting card from the moment it got announced. But the thing is, there are so many better cards to run, this one was never a priority, and in the end I've never had room left for it. So I never ran it. And I never missed it really.

Chain disappearance

I was contemplating the card the moment shaddolls got announced. I stopped hesitating the moment burning abyss got revealed. I love that card.


I also like cursed seal of the forbidden spell. But rather when I am in a more trolling mood. I did cause some pretty satisfying rage quits against some shaddoll players haha. I've also always liked prohibition, but this is more personal and the side deck room is pretty tight ;-; And on the top of my head I have nothing more to add baring some obvious stuff that don't need mentions.

I always love reading this kind of article, I used to write quite a lot myself. But oh well, used to. Anyway, keep up the good work :<