One of the biggest questions facing a Dino Rabbit Duelist comes up in nearly every Duel: Laggia or Dolkka?  The Dino Rabbit Deck is built around Rescue Rabbit: you can banish the Rabbit to Special Summon two Normal Monsters with the same name from your Deck.  Dino Rabbit Duelists play the Dinosaur-Type monsters Sabersaurus and Kabazauls, so they can use the monsters they get with Rabbit to Xyz Summon Evolzar Laggia or Evolzar Dolkka.

It’s a pretty great deal, but sometimes it’s tough to decide with Evolzar you should Summon.  Laggia’s effect is activated by detaching both of its Xyz Materials, and it can negate the activation of a Spell or Trap, or the Normal or Special Summon of a monster.  It’s powerful, and it packs 2400 ATK, but that effect can only be used once.  Dolkka has 2300 ATK, but its ability detaches just one Xyz Material to negate the effect of a monster and destroy it – since it has two Xyz Materials, Dolkka can negate two effects.  They might both be Evolzars, but their abilities are hugely different.  Let’s talk about how and when to play them.

Since Laggia can negate almost anything but monster effects and Flip Summons, it’s a great way to keep your opponent from using their most powerful Spell and Trap Cards.  Laggia’s especially powerful at the beginning of a Duel, because it can stop your opponent from activating Heavy Storm.  Set a bunch of cards to your back row to defend Laggia, and Laggia defends your back row in turn.  It can make your opponent waste some of their best cards likeDark Hole, or stop them from defending themselves from an early attack with Mirror Force orTorrential Tribute.

Laggia’s effect is also great in the late game, when both Duelists have very few cards left.  When there aren’t many cards kicking around, being able to negate one of them for free often means victory.

If your opponent’s deck is based around bringing out big monsters one at a time, like a basic Beatdown strategy, Laggia’s a great choice.  It’s also perfect for when you want to press for a fast win.  If you have a first turn Rescue Rabbit, Summoning Laggia is probably your best move.

…But the deck you face could change that!  If you have the cards to defend it, Evolzar Dolkkacan devastate many strategies, especially ones that play very few Trap Cards.  Agent Decks have a really tough time getting off the ground if you open with Dolkka, because their entire strategy usually requires the effects of The Agent of Creation – Venus and The Agent of Mystery – Earth.  Agents have lots of high-ATK monsters they can Special Summon, likeMaster Hyperion and Archlord Kristya.  They can all attack over Dolkka, but without a Graveyard full of smaller Agents and Mystical Shine Balls, those big attackers never get off the ground.

Most Inzektor and Wind-Up Decks rely on their monster effects to clear the opponent’s field (Inzektors) or hand (Wind-Ups).  They Special Summon a lot of little monsters in order to use them as Xyz Materials for bigger Summons.  They both have a really tough time if you playEvolzar Dolkka early, because it stops their effects and leaves them with no way to make bigger Summons.

Decks like Synchrocentric and opposing Dino Rabbit strategies can get caught up in an early game Dolkka as well, but those Decks are better at powering over a Dolkka early on.  Synchrocentric has the ability to defend itself until it can Special Summon so many monsters that it can take control of the Duel.  Dino Rabbit Duelists have plenty of Level 4 monsters they can Summon, and lots of Spell and Trap Cards that can rid the field of Dolkka. Cards likeForbidden Lance, Dimensional Prison, and Smashing Ground make Laggia the pick for that matchup on turn 1, because Laggia can defend itself from them and Dolkka can’t.  If Laggia doesn’t use its Xyz Materials to negate anything, then you can follow up with a Dolkka next turn to make sure monsters like Night Assailant and Snowman Eater don’t get the best of you.

Learning when to summon the right Evolzar is a skill Dino Rabbit Duelists learn with time and practice.  If you play Dino Rabbits yourself, always make that choice really carefully.  When the Deck first debuted with the release of Photon Shockwave, Laggia was the default play.  But as time passed, the high-risk high-reward nature of Dolkka has shone through.  Don’t just make your decision based on the cards on the table: try to think ahead to what your opponent might do on their turn, too.