Apr 15, 2011
There was once a time when no one played Counter Traps. Every Spell, Trap, and Summon went through unopposed and the key to victory was to carry the biggest monster you could feasibly Summon, or Yata-Garasu. Now, everyone runs Counter Traps. Whether it’s Solemn Judgment, Solemn Warning, Seven Tools of the Bandit, Infernity Barrier, Musakani Magatama, or even Magic Drain, almost every Duelist has to care about his opponent’s capacity to counter his moves.
The only Duelists who don’t need to worry, are the ones using Dodger Dragon.
Dodger Dragon does a lot of things for many different Duelists. It’s a 1900 ATK, Level 4 Dragon. There aren’t many monsters like that, and most of them have some kind of drawback attached to them. Dodger Dragon has no drawbacks at all and has 2 great effects. First, you cannot negate its Normal Summon. Solemn Judgment and Solemn Warning are incapable of stopping the monster from hitting the field.
After you Normal Summon Dodger Dragon, your opponent can’t use Counter Traps for the rest of the turn. That means that Solemn Judgment and Solemn Warning aren’t going to stop any of your other Summons this turn, and you don’t have to worry about any of the other commonly played Counter Traps stopping any of your Spells, Traps, or monster effects.
Dodger Dragon’s second effect works even if it’s not on the field anymore, so you can remove it from play to Summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Summon another Dragon with its effect, and play all the Stamping Destructions you want without fear of Counter Traps.Dodger Dragon is really great in Dragon Decks, but you can use it in any Deck that needs a strong Level 4 monster and doesn’t like it when the opponent plays Counter Traps.
Try it in a Deck that uses Rekindling to prevent your opponent from negating Rekindling. Summon it first in your Lightsworn Deck, then follow up with Judgment Dragon to ensure your victory. Any Deck that uses an extremely powerful Spell or Trap Card, or has an extremely powerful boss monster to Special Summon from the hand can use Dodger Dragon to make sure that their winning play can’t be negated. You can even use it as a Synchro Material Monster for your Duel-winning Synchro Summon!
Now, it won’t stop cards like Bottomless Trap Hole or Dimensional Prison, but remember thatDodger Dragon’s effect is one-sided. Your opponent can’t use Counter Traps, but you can. Use your own Seven Tools of the Bandit or Solemn Judgment and you can protect your monsters from the non-Counter Traps your opponent might have. You can also try Forbidden Lance as long as you don’t mind giving up 800 ATK for the turn.
Even if none of the above applies to your Deck, you still might want to use Dodger Dragon in your Side Deck. A Counter Fairy Duelist went undefeated throughout the Swiss Rounds of last weekend’s YCS Anaheim, and I’m sure any of his opponents who read this will wish they had this card available to them.
Your first chance to get Dodger Dragon is at the Extreme Victory Sneak Peek on April 30th, May 1st! Don’t miss it!
