May 22, 2010
Quickdraw Dandywarrior was the Deck to beat at SHONEN JUMP Championship Edison, but 2 other Decks joined it in the Top 4. Billy Brake played his “Caliber Cat” Synchro Cat Deck to a Top 4 finish, while Reinaldo Lainez made it all the way to the Finals with Gadgets. While Lainez’s Deck was a slow, controlling grind and Brake’s Deck was an explosive powerhouse, both had one thing in common: Doomcaliber Knight. With so much success at Edison, and a promising future in upcoming tournaments, let’s talk about how you can get the most out ofDoomcaliber Knight.
Doomcaliber Knight’s 1900 ATK means it can take a big chunk out of your opponent’s Life Points, but its effect is the real reason to play it. Sure, you could just use it as a big attacker, but to get the most out of Doomcaliber you’ll want to play it in 1 of 3 ways:
Immediately attack a monster to negate its Flip or Trigger Effect.
his first technique is the fastest and easiest: we saw Brake and Lainez do this alot in their Feature Matches. Faced with monsters like Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, Super-Nimble Mega Hamster, or Card Trooper, they could attack with Doomcaliber Knight, trigger the defending monster’s effect, then Tribute Doomcaliber to negate it. Both battling monsters would wind up in the Graveyard, but the opponent would lose out on an important part of their strategy.
Summon Doomcaliber Knight to stop your opponent from activating an effect later.
By Summoning Doomcaliber and keeping it face-up on the field, you can stop your opponent from Summoning Gadget monsters, Gladiator Beasts, and even big threats like Stardust Dragon and Drill Warrior. Just be ready to defend Doomcaliber Knight from attackers, and watch out for cards like Book of Moon and Smashing Ground.
Attack a monster, then use Doomcaliber’s effect to destroy another card.
If you’re really on the ball you can take that second technique further, destroying 2 monsters with 1 Doomcaliber Knight. If you can attack with Doomcaliber and destroy 1 of your opponent’s monsters in battle, then Doomcaliber can stay on the field to negate another effect later. Eliminating 2 of your opponent’s cards while only giving up 1 of yours is great – do that a couple times and your opponent won’t have any cards left.
It’s not always easy to do, but watch for opportunities when you play against Decks with effects that activate automatically, or that must activate on a regular basis.
-Most Lightsworn monsters have effects that activate in the End Phase, so if you can attack 1 with Doomcaliber Knight and keep Doomcaliber around until your opponent’s End Phase, it could destroy a second monster.
-Attacking over a Gladiator Beast or Infernity monster can create the same situation, because both of those Decks rely heavily on their monster effects.
-If your opponent has to use Smashing Ground or Book of Moon to get rid of your Doomcaliber, that’s just as good: what counts is that they lost 2 cards, while you only lost Doomcaliber.
Be careful though – Doomcaliber Knight is a tricky card, and there are some pitfalls you need to avoid:
Be careful not to destroy your own monster!
If your field is crowded with Effect Monsters, it might not be a good time to SummonDoomcaliber Knight. And if Doomcaliber is already on the field, think carefully before summoning another monster. Give the Knight some room to work so it doesn’t wind up destroying your own monsters.
Watch out for monster effects you don’t want to negate!
If an effect activates in your opponent’s Graveyard, Doomcaliber Knight will be Tributed to negate it. Some opponents will try to use that to get rid of Doomcaliber Knight without losing a monster from their field or hand. You probably don’t want to give up Doomcaliber without destroying something, but you can’t choose which effect you want to negate. Check your opponent’s Graveyard before Summoning, and ask yourself if there could be other nasty surprises waiting for you.
Monster effects activated from the hand can let your opponent destroy Doomcaliber Knight at will.
Certain monster effects might let your opponent get rid of Doomcaliber Knight easily. While your goal is to eliminate as many cards as you can with Doomcaliber, your opponent will try to get rid of it as fast as possible to stop you. Remember that fact when you decide how to useDoomcaliber Knight: if your opponent has lots of cards in-hand, don’t rely on Doomcaliber to defend your Life Points.
With a bit of practice you’ll be able to use Doomcaliber Knight to stop immediate threats, stall your opponent’s strategy, and make your opponent waste cards. Look for the right opportunities, play around the pitfalls, and you’ll have a powerful monster you can play in lots of different Decks.
