Untreated Parasite

[-Griffin]

So, this one isn't YDF, but after reading how the meta (at least on Duel Portal) has stopped using many trap cards, aka interacting with each other or playing something significantly different from solitaire, I decided to make a card blatantly overpowered against Decks with no backrow, which should be very few of them in a healthy gamestate. I'm interested in what discussion it will create. 

 

Untreated Parasite

WATER/Insect/Level 5/Effect

1900/2400

During your opponent's End Phase, if they control no set Spell or Trap Cards and you have not destroyed any Spell or Trap Cards this turn: You can banish 1 monster your opponent controls; Special Summon this monster from your hand. 

 

So, it can be countered by something as simple as setting a Spell Card, but it at least encourages your opponent to have the courtesy to play that mind game with you. It intentionally banishes instead of destroys, because from what I gather, Regiki isn't having a huge impact this meta since nothing cares about destruction. The banishment is also a cost, and doesn't care about Parasite's Summon being negated. It requires you haven't destroyed a S/T for two reasons. The obvious is so it isn't joke-easy to set up with MST/Dust Tornado/ect. The second is so that it isn't overly broken in control Decks that try to shut down absolutely everything your opponent does, since stuff like Dark Bribe also destroy the negated card. 

 

Huge potential to be a dead card against any Deck that's playing a two-player game, huge punishment to Decks trying to play solitaire. I might have overtuned this one, but that's kinda the point of something intended to shake up the meta. Suggestions on versions that are more finely balanced for a less silly meta are welcome. 

[Cirrus]

This card directly counters Denkosekka. Good job. I'm not sure how I feel about that. (Is this intentional? Gathering from your design notes it doesn't seem to be.)

 

As you said, I specifically don't like how this card is either huge boom or huge bust. Very good side deck card for decks that are getting blown out by Denkosekka right now, and not nearly as impactless on the non-DP game as one might believe because of that.

 

Slight tangent: I think the DP metagame is such because people don't always place enough emphasis on /not/ playing solitaire; that is, actually making cards with counterplay or the ability to be reacted to. My 2c, though - I'm sure this isn't the case for every DP archetype, nor is it necessarily intentional. Oh yeah also the availability of defensive Traps in the TCG is basically a joke.

[-Griffin]

Honestly, had never seen that card before. Looks like cancer. Totally stops people interacting outside of the (thankfully more common now) quick-effects on monsters and quick-discard effects. I'd be happy to counter it, or more hopefully for it to be banned since that's the only way things are removed from the TCG. 

[Cirrus]

It's actually less cancerous, at least in my opinion, than stuff like BA. I expect it to be an antimeta card that drifts in and out of popularity depending on the state of the game. It's not like it's a deck by itself (other than, uh, Denko Dolls, but much of that is also Shadoll doing work). As the game evolves, so does how advanced the rockets are (with which, as we all know, players play rocket tag), and thus new floodgate cards have to be introduced.

 

Unfortunate cycle, but it is what it is. (I don't disagree that in a vacuum - or even not in a vacuum - it's not a dumb card. But it still only has 1700 ATK and no other protection.)

[-Griffin]

I just had my first proper look at the full BA lineup: Seriously why does anyone still play this format. Konami gave up on card design a long time ago with this stuff. 

 

Yeah, Konami enjoys a very silly power creep cycle, but when it's at the point players don't use a backrow, problems have happened, and we can at least try to get some Decks which aren't playing solitaire to be more worth using. If we hit a few of the dumbest Decks with decent roadblocks, it can help drag them in line, at least a little.