Easy Traps

Greetings, friends.

Today we're going to talk about some not so popular Trap Cards that, most in commmon, has no requirements to meet or cost at all and even though they can give some headaches to your opponent, most people see no use for them. In these days, if you can't negate your opponent's cards nor you can't protect your own, every card of yours should be able to activate at any time.

Let's start with Compulsory Evacuation Device:

This card don't have a specifc time to be activated, as long there is a monster on the field (lets hope that your opponent has at least one). Because of that, it can be used like a swiss army knife to both offense and defense tatics. One reason that makes me suggest this card, besides it's versatility, it's because we really get annoyed how pretty much everyone in the TCG Meta uses Dimensional Prison. Sure, DP handles the monsters in a way that guarantee pretty much no return, unlike CED, which the monster targeted can be easily summoned again (unless it goes to the Extra Deck).

The main use of this card is to be chainable to pretty much everything. Shall your opponent attempt to destroy it, just get rid of one of your opponent cards. This is somewhat, convenient when dealing with Inzektors, as the monster formelly equipped with Hornet won't be able to activate it's effect. If Torrential Tribute activates, save one of your monsters, if you must. CED also makes itself a nice Dimensional Prison, as a monster usually doesn't get summoned from the hand at the Battle Phase.

However, this card needs some practice to make good use of it. The Main Phase it's the hardest part to use this card, specially with some easy summon monsters, like Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, Machina Fortress (unless your opponent's hand is empty), Judgment Dragon, most Lv 4 or lower monsters and Dark Worlds (not easy-summonables, but incredibly useful while in hand). Since almost everything can happen in this phase, it's hard to determine when you should activate the trap, or even if you should at all.

Let's say your opponent is using Dino-Rabbit and you have this card Face-Down. Shall your opponent summon two dinosaurs with Rescue Rabitt, depending of the situation, you should activate CED either before or after the XYZ summon of an Evolzar. Because this deck almost have more Forbidden Lance than any other in the current Meta, your opponent will have the option of chain this Quick-Play to your card and protect his monster. Doing that, there'll be a Spell/Trap zone that won't be used, meaning a more effective play if you target a card with Mystical Space Typhoon or Night Shot, most likely forcing him to waste his overlay materials if he/she makes Laggia. After that, you'll be able to destroy it more easily, if possible, with a non-monster effect, as summon-negating traps and Fiendish Chain/Effect Veiler are widely seen.

Now a card that most of the OCG players is already used to:

This may be the card that every Hero-Beat player should use. With this trap, there's no such thing as a Dead Draw (if you don't set the card). Despite having a cost that isn't that pleasant, let's face it: Every deck, these days, can have a card or two going to the graveyard with no problem at all, as monsters (specially LIGHT and DARK ones) can be used later and some spell or traps just don't have any uses against some types of decks.

Now, for the effect: destroying any card on the field can mean a lot. Acting both offensively and defensively and by the fact that almost nobody in these days negates a trap with cards aside Solemn Judgment (and, perhaps, Shi En) this card can be exactly what you need to get rid of any of your opponent card in the field, specially during a chain, as some cards will miss the timing. The fact that destroys anything on the field make this far different from Mystical Space Typhoon, as setting by setting any of them would be an easy target of a MST of your opponent. With any of the two being target, you can it, but what if the opponent don't have any Spell or Trap in the field to target with your Quick-Play? If he has at least a Monster, however, you can target it and destroy it with your Trap.

We must make it very clear that Raigeki Break should not be a substitute of MST. We're just saying that we can't rely on this Spell anymore to destroy any opponent card in their own turn, not ginving him/her a chance to chain with the target card. Besides, the time to activate MST should be almost always in your turn.

The OCG players are far more used with this card. Even though their concept of Meta is different from the TCG, many of their discoveries and habits can be applied in the ocident and, most likely, vice-versa. Altough the OCG Meta don't interfere with the card value in the TCG, sometimes it's just because some pro players see something that the others don't and use it to win tournaments it's what makes some cards that expensive.

Next time we're going to talk about unsual Spells and, later, Monsters and Traps that should be in the Side Deck almost all the time. Luckly, those can't be considered expensive as they had many reprints. Play with your brain, not with your money. See you around.