Sep 29, 2010
A “field wipe” is one of the best ways to swing a Duel in your favor. It’s when you use a card or effect to cause your opponent to go from controlling several cards at once to having nothing, leaving them wide open for attacks. It’s a prevalent strategy, so it’s vital to know how to prevent your opponent from succeeding at it. Here are some ways you can avoid being on the receiving end of a field wipe.
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| Your field can go from full to empty in an instant. |
Most of the cards that can cause a field wipe can be used in any Deck. The most common one is Dark Hole, the previously Forbidden Spell Card that practically every Duelist now uses. Dark Hole is a Normal Spell that destroys all monsters on the field. Torrential Tribute is another common card that does the same thing, but only after a monster is Summoned. Black Rose Dragon can swoop in from the Extra Deck and destroy everything on the field when it’s Summoned, and you can now use up to 3 copies in your Extra Deck. Certain Decks will also have other cards that can do similar things, such as Junk Destroyer, Judgment Dragon and Gladiator Beast Gyzarus.
The key to stopping all of these cards is that every single one of them is trying to destroy your cards, so you can use Starlight Road to keep yourself safe, and get a Stardust Dragon for free! Stardust Dragon can then stop another attempt at a field wipe, but can’t be Special Summoned again as it wasn’t properly Synchro Summoned. Other cards you can use include My Body as a Shield (if any monsters are threatened), Solemn Judgment and Solemn Warning (negating the Summons of any monsters before they can activate their effects). These cards will all protect you from destruction effects, and can be used in many other situations as well so it’s worth considering adding them to your Deck.
One particular card you’re likely to see more than the others is Black Rose Dragon, as there are several Decks out there that can Summon the Level 7 Synchro over and over again. Quickdraw Dandywarrior Decks use Debris Dragon and Dandylion to make for an easy Synchro Summon. After Black Rose Dragon’s wiped the field clean, Dandylion’s effect gives the owner 2 Fluff Tokens, while you still have nothing. If they Special Summon Quickdraw Synchron right after this you’ve got no way of stopping your opponent’s attacks and Synchro Summons.
To stop all of this there are several things you could do. When Debris Dragon is Summoned your opponent will try to Special Summon Dandylion from the Graveyard with its effect. If you can hit back with Solemn Warning or Royal Oppression to negate and destroy the Debris Dragon, the entire combo falls to pieces! You can also discard D.D. Crow from your hand to remove Dandylion from play, or use Effect Veiler to negate Debris Dragon’s effect, leaving your opponent with no non-Tuner to Synchro Summon with. If you can’t stop these then you have to stop the effect of the Black Rose Dragon itself, which you can hopefully do with Starlight Road or My Body as a Shield.
Other Decks can pull off similar combos to Summon Black Rose Dragon too, so these tactics will work against more than just Quickdraw Decks. Salvo Decks use Black Salvo to Summon Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive in the same way as Debris Dragon, but follows up the field wipe with Dark Armed Dragon and other DARK monsters. Blackwings can combine Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind with any Level 4 “Blackwing” monster to make up the 7 Levels needed for Black Rose Dragon. These are just 2 examples, but since Black Rose Dragon doesn’t need any specific Synchro Materials, any Deck can Summon it, to keep an eye out for potential combos at all times.
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| Mist Wurm can clear your field without destroying anything, but Gorz can take it down! |
All of the field wiping methods we’ve mentioned so far involve destroying cards, but there’s 1 very important monster that can clear your field without destroying anything. That monster is Mist Wurm. When Mist Wurm is Synchro Summoned, your opponent can return up to 3 of your cards back to your hand. Since it doesn’t destroy anything, it can’t be stopped with cards like Starlight Road or My Body as a Shield.
The key to stopping Mist Wurm is to either prevent the Summon from taking place (play Book of Moon on the Synchro Materials), negate the Summon (with Solemn Warning, Thunder King Rai-Oh or Royal Oppression) or negate the effect of Mist Wurm itself (with Skill Drain or Effect Veiler). Mist Wurm is harder to Summon than Black Rose Dragon, but you’ll still see it every so often, especially in Infernity Decks.
Finally, if you can’t prevent the field wipe, there are still some things you can do. Since you control no cards, you can Special Summon Gorz the Emissary of Darkness or Tragoedia when your opponent attacks directly. If you don’t have either of these you can also use Battle Fader, which will cancel out your opponent’s attack and end the Battle Phase. Battle Fader stays on the field after this, so you can use it to mount a comeback next turn.
While Summoning several monsters and clearing away your opponent’s cards is often the best way to win Duels, your opponent will be doing the exact same thing to try and take the win for themselves. If you can build up a powerful field and prevent it from being wiped clean though, you’ll always have a greater chance of winning your Duels than your opponent, and today’s tips will help you along the way.
