May 7, 2010
You might have noticed in the event coverage from SHONEN JUMP Championship Edison that lots of Duelists were playing Smashing Ground and Dimensional Prison in their Decks.Today we’re going to ltalk about why they’re doing that!
First up is Smashing Ground, a Spell Card that destroys your opponent’s monster with the highest DEF.Your opponent’s strongest monsters often have high DEF to go along with their high ATK, which makes them easier to destroy with Smashing Ground. This card was Limited to 1 copy per Deck for a very long time, but Duelists can now use up to 3 of them in any Deck they wish now. This helps out Decks that can’t always take down bigger monsters in battle, Decks like Gadgets and Gladiator Beasts, both of which were successful in Edison.
Smashing Ground also helps out against Decks that use defensive monsters to set up their big combos. Flamvell Cat would be a good example, since it uses either Gravekeeper’s Spy orSuper-Nimble Mega Hamster, sometimes both, to hold off the opponent until they get their Tuners. A lot of Decks also use Legendary Jujitsu Master in their Side Decks, another monster with high DEF that can cause problems.
Finally, Smashing Ground is one of those cards that your opponent can’t negate withStarlight Road, since it only destroys 1 monster. Duelists used to use Lightning Vortex to get rid of several monsters at once, but with Starlight Road around, Vortex becomes a very risky card to use, since it can backfire so easily. What happens if you have a Smashing Ground in your hand and your opponent already has a Stardust Dragon on the field though? That’s where Dimensional Prison comes into play.
Stardust Dragon can beat Smashing Ground, but not Dimensional Prison
Dimensional Prison is a Trap Card that removes an attacking monster from play. Thanks to Decks like Flamvell Cat and cards like Starlight Road, Stardust Dragon is even easier to Summon. Cards like Smashing Ground, Mirror Force, and Torrential Tribute can all be negated by Stardust Dragon, but Dimensional Prison is unaffected, since it doesn’t actually destroy anything. The only ways that most Decks can get around Dimensional Prison are to either destroy it before you can use it, or negate it with Solemn Judgment or Thought Ruler Archfiend, both of which will cost your opponent precious Life Points to use.
Lots of Decks make the most of the Graveyard, but don’t like it when monsters don’t go there!
Lots of Decks can pull off big combos even when their monsters are sent to the Graveyard. Flamvell Decks can use Rekindling to Special Summon up to 5 monsters at once, or send them back to the Deck with Pot of Avarice. Blackwing Decks can combine their monsters withBlackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor or Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North to Summon more Synchro Monsters from the Extra Deck. Even Machina Decks can make use of the Graveyard, since Machina Fortress can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard at any time with its own effect. While all of these Decks have Graveyard-based combos, none of them are able to use any monsters that are removed from play, so once you get rid of a monster withDimensional Prison, you won’t see it again for the rest of the Duel!
Smashing Ground and Dimensional Prison are bothuseful in a variety of situations, and they can fit into almost any Deck with ease. In a big tournament like SHONEN JUMP Championship Edison, you never know what kind of Deck you’re going to play against each round, so having some cards that are useful no matter what is always a good idea.
