Masked Chameleon + Pendulum Summon: loophole abuse?

[Pchi]

 

Cannot be Normal Summoned if you control a Level 5 or highermonster. When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 monster with 0 DEF in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target inface-up Defense Position. Its effects are negated. You cannot Special Summon any other monsters, except from the Extra Deck, during theturn you activate this effect.

 

Ever since this little critter was released, in spite of being a versatile and rather powerful 1-for-1 Synchro or Xyz Summon, we've haunted by the unfortunate side effect of its ability, which could easily lead to your play being completely shut-off should anything happen to either it or the monster it targeted; the fact it could be easily Veiled or killed with BTH was the last nail on its coffin, and while that didn't stop MC from being actually used, it certainly made playing it quite a risky move at times.

However, with the introduction of the Pendulum Monsters and their unique mechanic, the Pendulum Summon, this scenario might receive a drastic change: with it, not only is the player able to summon an entire army of monsters from their hand without paying any cost, but also bring back any Pendulum card that would've been sent to the Graveyard from the field, since they're stored in the Extra Deck instead, in this case. That means we no longer have to rely entirely on Fusion Summon with materials either in the hand or the Graveyard, which only few decks are able to do, Instant Fusion or gimmicks like Vayu in order not to waste our turn completely should Chameleon fail.

However, as Pendulum cards and support for them are still scarce to this day, we still can't say for sure if such mechanic will be able to reach meta status; thus, it's still too early for us to be able to take advantage of this loophole effectively.

So, tell me your opinions about this new prospect: what place will Pendulums take in the future meta? How are the aspects related to them going to evolve from now on?

[Azuh]

Too be honest, I dont consider the play you mention to be broken at all, but more it is a GOOD tactical play. Too get your Pendulums in the Extra in the first place requires a bit of setup in itself so

[Ultravires]

There is no "loophole" here, that's simply how Pendulums work. Chameleon wouldn't see play in Pendulum decks in any case, as its targets are extremely limited. Also, the Pendulums we have so far are coasters. The mechanic needs a considerable amount of support that mitigates the inherent -2 syndrome it suffers from to even be considered viable in the meta.

[Pchi]

Too be honest, I dont consider the play you mention to be broken at all, but more it is a GOOD tactical play. Too get your Pendulums in the Extra in the first place requires a bit of setup in itself so

But I never said it was broken... :\

 

There is no "loophole" here, that's simply how Pendulums work. Chameleon wouldn't see play in Pendulum decks in any case, as its targets are extremely limited. Also, the Pendulums we have so far are coasters. The mechanic needs a considerable amount of support that mitigates the inherent -2 syndrome it suffers from to even be considered viable in the meta.

I referred to that as a "loophole" simply because it surpasses the limitations Konami intended to give Masked Chameleon, i.e., you can summon a Synchro of any level, but nothing else. And I admitted it was still too early for us to be able to use this strategy consistently as well.

I don't see why it would be an inherent -2, since you don't  automatically lose your Pendulum cards to perform a Pendulum Summon. Maybe if you opt for summonning monsters from your hand, but...

[Ultravires]

I referred to that as a "loophole" simply because it surpasses the limitations Konami intended to give Masked Chameleon, i.e., you can summon a Synchro of any level, but nothing else. And I admitted it was still too early for us to be able to use this strategy consistently as well.

I don't see why it would be an inherent -2, since you don't  automatically lose your Pendulum cards to perform a Pendulum Summon. Maybe if you opt for summonning monsters from your hand, but...

 

That's implying that Chameleon would even find a place in Pendulum decks when in reality it would reduce consistency.

Pendulums are inherently a -2 because we lose the use of both Pendulum cards when placed on the field. So far their effects have been sub-par, not allowing for an inherent float or plus in the majority of cases. This is why they are seeing zero use in competitive play right now. The mechanic itself needs stronger support to be competitive. Another inherent flaw with the mechanic is that it takes up Main Deck space, meaning that it will only see play if the mechanic itself receives some form of in-mechanic archetype or if Pendulums begin to have generic effects that support gameplay as we knew it prior to Pendulum Summoning.

[Pchi]

That's implying that Chameleon would even find a place in Pendulum decks when in reality it would reduce consistency.

Pendulums are inherently a -2 because we lose the use of both Pendulum cards when placed on the field. So far their effects have been sub-par, not allowing for an inherent float or plus in the majority of cases. This is why they are seeing zero use in competitive play right now. The mechanic itself needs stronger support to be competitive. Another inherent flaw with the mechanic is that it takes up Main Deck space, meaning that it will only see play if the mechanic itself receives some form of in-mechanic archetype or if Pendulums begin to have generic effects that support gameplay as we knew it prior to Pendulum Summoning.

I see your point. But let's wait and see how things will turn out. Many were skeptical of the Xyz in the beginning, when the majority of them were sub-par, but we all know how they turned out in the end. My post was simply especulation about the near future. It's not something to be taken too serious ;) .

IF we get some Pendulum monsters, or Pendulum support monsters or monsters with synergy with specific Pendulum cards which have 0 DEF, then Chameleon may see play. Right now, as you said, it doesn't have much consistency with what we have. If, however, you suggest it wouldn't have any bit of consistency with Pendulums because they are always sent to the Extra Deck when they would be sent to the Grave, I'll have to disagree, because Xyz does exist, and you can always a Foolish-like card or a discard card to fill your Grave with them. But I digress.

[Draconus297]

There's a lot still up in the air about Pendulum monsters, so we can't go making any rash judgments yet.

I mean, because of their storage in the Extra Deck, Magical Scientist (which allows you to bring out any Level 6 or lower Extra Deck monster by removing a Spell Counter, something that is ridiculously easy to abuse) might become the mastermind of the new metagame. We just don't know yet.

 

(By the by, "Magical Scientist"/"Dimensionhole" is so easy to abuse- "Magical Scientist" removes a Spell Counter [thankfully he can only hold one at a time], Special Summons, say, "Thousand-Eyes Restrict", then you activate "Dimensionhole" . . . which protects Restrict from being destroyed at the end of the turn by "Magical Scientist", and puts another Spell Counter on "Magical Scientist".

[Ultravires]

There's a lot still up in the air about Pendulum monsters, so we can't go making any rash judgments yet.

I mean, because of their storage in the Extra Deck, Magical Scientist (which allows you to bring out any Level 6 or lower Extra Deck monster by removing a Spell Counter, something that is ridiculously easy to abuse) might become the mastermind of the new metagame. We just don't know yet.

 

(By the by, "Magical Scientist"/"Dimensionhole" is so easy to abuse- "Magical Scientist" removes a Spell Counter [thankfully he can only hold one at a time], Special Summons, say, "Thousand-Eyes Restrict", then you activate "Dimensionhole" . . . which protects Restrict from being destroyed at the end of the turn by "Magical Scientist", and puts another Spell Counter on "Magical Scientist".

 

Magical Scientist has been banned since April 2005. It's not coming back. Also, Magical Scientist has nothing to do with Spell Counters. You pay 1000.

[Draconus297]

Magical Scientist has been banned since April 2005. It's not coming back. Also, Magical Scientist has nothing to do with Spell Counters. You pay 1000.

Crap, forgot it was pay 1000. I ran it in a Spell Counter-based Deck once, and got confused. I honestly should've remembered, considering how I also had "Rapid-Fire Magician" and "Magician of Faith" in there, and they have nothing to do with Spell Counters, either.

I had a very inclusive group to work with- we allowed literally every card.

[Neochu-H]

the funny thing is i've used chameleon in a pendulum deck and he works perfectly