Steelswarm Support

[AsianGuy1137]

I still play with Steelswarms casually every now and then, and I love the Monarch-like effects they have, but they're just not quite as consistent or efficient as Monarchs with the limited support they have. Monarchs have Treeborn Frog that's essentially a free tribute material each turn alongside the Frog engine, Hand Traps/Tribute fodder, utility tribute support a la ECon and Soul Exchange and access to other fatties such as the Egyption Gods, Dusk Spirit, LADD, and Dark Dust Spirit/Jinzo, etc...

Steelswarms require the tribute of a Steelswarm monster thus the only form of inherently recurrable tribute fodder they have is through Steelswarm Scout with the occasional Steelswarm Cell and Recurring Nightmare. I propose the following cards to make Steelswarms as competitively viable as Monarchs were in their golden age.

[b]Steelswarm Skirmisher[/b]
Monster | DARK | ** | ATK: 200 | DEF: 0
Fiend | Effect: At the start of your Main Phase 1: If you control no Spell/Trap Cards: You can Special Summon this card from your Graveyard. You cannot Special Summon monster(s) except Fiend-Type monster(s) the turn you activate this effect. While this card is face-up on the field: It cannot be Tributed except for the Tribute Summon of a Fiend-Type monster.

[b]Embodiment of Corruption[/b] [b]- Nephilim[/b]
Monster | DARK | Rank 6 | ATK: 2500 | DEF: 2000
Fiend | Effect: 2 Level 6 DARK monsters.
Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card and apply one of the following effects.
* Target 1 monster on the field; send it to the Graveyard.
* Target 1 DARK monster in your Graveyard; add it to your hand.


[b]Infestation Dispersion[/b]
Spell | Normal
Tribute 1 face-up "Steelswarm" monster you control and target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; take control of that target until the End Phase. The targeted monster is treated as a "Steelswarm" Fiend-Type monster. You can Normal Summon a Fiend-Type monster in addition to your Normal Summon this turn.

[b]Creeping Corruption[/b]
Spell | Normal
Send 1 Fiend-Type monster from your Deck to your Graveyard and apply one of the following effects.
* Discard 1 Fiend-Type monster from your hand; draw 2 cards.
* Tribute 1 Fiend-Type monster you control; draw 1 card.

This would help speed up the archetype immensely as well as it more versatile, possibly enough to make it competitively viable with faster grave-setup and selective dumping for more utility from Recurring Nightmare and access to Dark Dust Spirit and Caius, among other possibilities.

[AsianGuy1137]

Weekly bump.

[AsianGuy1137]

Weekly bump.

[ekko1990]

Skirmisher is quite nice indeed (what scout should have been). Was a bit worried at first when I saw it let any kind of fiend monster be special summoned that turn, but it should be ok since it can only be tributed for the summon of a steelswarm.

Nephalim on the other hand might be a bit too strong for it's effects considering that it has both 2500 atk, which will usually kill any xyz monster, and it has a banish effect which can get rid of absolutely any troublesome monster this card would normally face.

I'm a bit on the fence when it comes to Infestation Dispersion. On one hand you have a steelswarm only enemy controller, which is kinda meh. However, on the other side it can be used to get rid of a monster the same turn you normal summon a monster (either through tributing it or xyz'ing with it) and you can do that after you've attacked with the monster you stole as well. If it wasn't possible to attack with the stolen monster I guess it would be an ok card, but as it is, I'm a bit unsure.

Creeping Corruption: NO, just no! Dark World does not need another card that lets them +1. It can work however if changed a bit.

[AsianGuy1137]

Oh cool, a reply!

[quote name='ekko1990' timestamp='1356994060' post='6107551']
Skirmisher is quite nice indeed (what scout should have been). Was a bit worried at first when I saw it let any kind of fiend monster be special summoned that turn, but it should be ok since it can only be tributed for the summon of a steelswarm.
[color=#ff0000]Actually, it can be used for the tribute summon of any Fiend-Type monster. That allows for the splashability of Caius, Dark Dust Spirit, etc... which I think is fine as Monarchs are barely competitively viable as they are. I'm trying to make Steelswarms a real thing here. Not as ridiculous as Mermails, Fire Fists, Wind-Ups, etc... but a real thing.[/color]

Nephalim on the other hand might be a bit too strong for it's effects considering that it has both 2500 atk, which will usually kill any xyz monster, and it has a banish effect which can get rid of absolutely any troublesome monster this card would normally face.
[color=#ff0000]Definitely possibly overpowered. Quick rush design on my part to include a little more content than just the other cards. Maybe if I were to change the clause from target card to target monster, it'd be better? As it is, it's a less generic Ptolemys with an excellent removal effect.[/color]

I'm a bit on the fence when it comes to Infestation Dispersion. On one hand you have a steelswarm only enemy controller, which is kinda meh. However, on the other side it can be used to get rid of a monster the same turn you normal summon a monster (either through tributing it or xyz'ing with it) and you can do that after you've attacked with the monster you stole as well. If it wasn't possible to attack with the stolen monster I guess it would be an ok card, but as it is, I'm a bit unsure.
[color=#ff0000]I guess restricting it to not being able to attack with require more commitement for fear of backrow so sure.[/color]

Creeping Corruption: NO, just no! Dark World does not need another card that lets them +1. It can work however if changed a bit.
[color=#ff0000]Well to be fair, they're either sent to the Graveyard or discarded as a cost so no plusing for them. I guess it could speed them up however. Maybe removing the dumping from deck part would make it more balanced.[/color][/quote]

[ekko1990]

I'll begin with corruption as it will be the quickest to explain. As it is written, "[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]Discard 1 Fiend-Type monster from your hand; draw 2 cards."[/background][/size][/font][/color] is an effect (even with the ; ) as the first line of the card says "[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]Send 1 Fiend-Type monster from your Deck to your Graveyard and apply one of the following [b][i][u]effects.[/u][/i][/b]"[/background][/size][/font][/color]

Nephalim next. The problem with him is actually the opposite. One spell or trap getting removed isn't such a problem. It is the fact that he can kill off (most likely, the monster you banish won't return anytime soon) any monster has a good enough defense (effect or stat) or offense to match or outdo him. Either he has to have a heavier cost to banish, or it has to do something else.

Finally, I remembered that you should add the "This card cannot be used as a synchro material monster" clause to Steelswarm Skirmisher. The problem with letting him be tributed for non-steelswarm monsters is that it takes the focus away from the main steelswarm monsters (as you have Kaius that outshines girastag and mantis, and vanity's fiend alongside dust spirit).

[AsianGuy1137]

[quote name='ekko1990' timestamp='1357340844' post='6111369']
I'll begin with corruption as it will be the quickest to explain. As it is written, "[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]Discard 1 Fiend-Type monster from your hand; draw 2 cards."[/background][/size][/font][/color] is an effect (even with the ; ) as the first line of the card says "[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]Send 1 Fiend-Type monster from your Deck to your Graveyard and apply one of the following [b][i][u]effects.[/u][/i][/b]"[/background][/size][/font][/color]
[color=#ff0000]Irrelevant. You can apply effects but still have activation costs for those effects. There are many cards in today's game that have text written as such. Cyber Valley is a prime example where although it says to activate 1 of the effects, it still has costs that must be paid for the respective effects that are not considered to be part of an effect (i.e. still considered a cost under normal circumstances). The only thing that actually matters is the semicolon because that is the final indication that the activation of the following effects requires a cost to be fulfilled.[/color]

Nephalim next. The problem with him is actually the opposite. One spell or trap getting removed isn't such a problem. It is the fact that he can kill off (most likely, the monster you banish won't return anytime soon) any monster has a good enough defense (effect or stat) or offense to match or outdo him. Either he has to have a heavier cost to banish, or it has to do something else.
[color=#ff0000]Maybe change from banish to just destroy then. That might actually be more appropriate with respect to the symbolism of the contrasting dichotomy between lswarm and Constellars.[/color]

Finally, I remembered that you should add the "This card cannot be used as a synchro material monster" clause to Steelswarm Skirmisher. The problem with letting him be tributed for non-steelswarm monsters is that it takes the focus away from the main steelswarm monsters (as you have Kaius that outshines girastag and mantis, and vanity's fiend alongside dust spirit).
[color=#ff0000]This is where we disagree. Caius is much superior for spot removal, but Girastag can stand up to almost every monster used competitively while Moth could alleviate pressure and potentially +1 or 2 by targeting Extra Deck monsters so they'll still have their place. Dark Dust Spirit will hardly be run as more than a singleton tech, and the same goes for Vanity's Fiend (maybe a 2 of in the side). Monarchs don't even main Vanity because it has no immediate field impact. I think the versatility of the card for all Fiend-Type tributes is really what Steelswarms need to become truly competitive so I personally want it designed that way. The synchro part is hardly relevant as you CANNOT special summon non-Fiend-Type monsters anyway, and last time I checked, there wasn't an abundance of worthwhile Fiend-Type Synchro monsters. Although I wouldn't be against adding the clause I guess.[/color][/quote]

Thanks for taking the time to review this. It gives me hope that at least some people on here are kind enough to check out the designs of others. I've made quite a few threads that have become ignored to the point of almost convincing me to just stop posting, but I've gained renewed hope for the future.