May 25, 2010
Welcome to the first Great Debate! In this new feature, two writers will each discuss a major topic in Yu-Gi-Oh! strategy. You readers at home will get a chance to have your say too, and some of the best comments will be posted right here on the Strategy Site! If you want to take part, read both sides of the debate, and then send an email to us-ygorules@konami.com with your comment!
Starlight Road is one of the most powerful new Trap Cards we’ve seen in a long time, and many Duelists have reacted to it in different ways. While lots of Duelists have decided to stop using cards that Starlight Road can negate, cards like Heavy Storm, Lightning Vortex andIcarus Attack, I’m here today to tell you that you can still use them and not lose out to one Yusei’s strongest cards.
If you want to keep using your strongest cards, you’ll need to play around Starlight Road.
To recap, Starlight Road is a Trap Card that negates and destroys any card that would destroy at least 2 cards you control. If that wasn’t enough, you get to Special Summon aStardust Dragon for free after you’ve protected your cards! It’s a powerful card indeed, but while you may already be using 1 or 2 copies in your Deck, your opponent will be doing the same, so you’ll need to play around it to make the most of your strongest cards.
Some cards are just too good not to play.
There are lots of cards out there that are extremely powerful, but can be negated by Starlight Road. Heavy Storm destroys every Spell and Trap Card on the field, and can get rid of all your opponent’s defences at once. Mirror Force stops the attack of one of your opponent’s monsters, and destroys any and all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls.Torrential Tribute destroys every monster on the field as soon as another one is Summoned, often taking down several monsters at once. These cards have been in people’s Decks for several years now and it’s easy to see why. Not using these cards just because Starlight Road exists will actually make your Deck a lot weaker than it is right now.
If you take down your opponent one card at a time, Starlight Road can’t stop you.
Lots of Duelists use Starlight Road in their Main Decks, and many more use it in their Side Decks. Resolving it successfully frequently results in a win, and consequently, having it used against you frequently results in a loss. This is why some people have decided to completely remove every card from their Deck that can be negated by it.
If you take a look at the Feature Matches from Chantilly, you’ll see that lots of Duelists were using cards like Smashing Ground, Dust Tornado and Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter. Why you may ask? It’s because these cards only destroy 1 of your opponent’s cards, stopping them from hitting you back with Starlight Road.
The thing is, Dust Tornado and Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter can also destroy Starlight Roaditself. Since most Duelists only use 1 copy of Starlight Road, you’re free to use your more powerful cards, like the ones mentioned above, or similar ones such as Judgment Dragon, XX-Saber Hyunlei, Black Rose Dragon and Gladiator Beast Gyzarus to obliterate your opponent! So why remove them from your Deck? There’s no reason to, so don’t.
If you can’t destroy Starlight Road while it is Set, negate it when your opponent activates it instead.
Sometimes you might not be able to destroy that Starlight Road that’s blocking your path to victory, but you might be able to negate it. Lots of Decks use Royal Oppression these days, since it’s a great card to use against almost every Deck you come across. While Royal Oppression is great at preventing Special Summons, it also has another benefit: it can negateStarlight Road. If you’re using Royal Oppression in your Deck and you have it Set, you can activate your Mirror Force, Icarus Attack or Lightning Vortex without fear! Even if you’re not using Royal Oppression, you can still negate Starlight Road with Solemn Judgment and Dark Bribe.
Even in the worst case scenario where you fail to destroy Starlight Road before it’s flipped and you can’t negate Starlight Road, you can still prevent the Stardust Dragon from being Special Summoned. Starlight Road can only Summon a Stardust Dragon if it negates and destroys a card, so if you can destroy your card before Starlight Road does, your opponent gets no Stardust! The best way to do this is with Mystical Space Typhoon.
Let’s say you activate Heavy Storm and your opponent Chains Starlight Road. You can now Chain Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your own Heavy Storm. Since Heavy Storm is already in the Graveyard thanks to Mystical Space Typhoon, Starlight Road can’t destroy it. Your Heavy Storm will still be negated, but at least you won’t have to take down a Stardust Dragon. It’s not an ideal solution, but it works. Sometimes stopping the Stardust Dragon from being Special Summoned is an absolute game-saver.
Starlight Road is a powerful card indeed, but it is a card to be respected, not feared. If you can play around its activation requirement, your most powerful cards can take down your opponent with devastating force.
