Power and Utility

This article is a necessity because of how often I use these two terms when reviewing a card. Of course, you may already know these two traits by other names, but this article's about the idea behind them, not the semantics. Hopefully, this will make it clear what my (personal) interpretation of these two things is, and thus enable you to have a more enjoyable read when reading my articles.

•  First off, we have "power." A powerful card is capable of creating huge swings in momentum and card presence. For instance, Ojama Delta Hurricane!! is a very powerful card. Delinquent Duo is another example of a powerful card. Book of Moon is NOT a powerful card, as it does little on its own to shift card presence. Power works best when combined with Utility, such as Torrential Tribute.
• The other trait is Utility. Utility is intrinsically tied with Consistency, which also ties into Power. All these traits are co-dependent of each other. Utility is based off of when a card can be activated, the various uses the card or its effect can be used for, and how easy it is to activate. Raigeki Break is a good example of Utility, as it can be activated at any time and destroy any card. Since it is a trap, the first criteria takes a blow in that you can't activate it immediately, though it scores better than a spell version would, since it can be activated on your opponent's turn and yours after that initial set. However, the discard cost impacts the third criteria: how easy it is to activate. Regardless, it is only a single card you need to discard, so it still has high Utility. Looking back to our earlier example of Power, Ojama Delta Hurricane!!, you can see that it requires you to have 3 different monsters face up, all of whom have only 1000 defense, no attack, and have no effects. Thus, Ojama Delta Hurricane!! has low Utility. Book of Moon, while having low power, has incredibly high Utility. It can flip down any monster - yours, or your opponents - is a quick-play spell, and has no costs or activation requirements.

This isn't terribly complex, but I wanted to make it abundantly clear for all my readers. These concepts are hopefully not new to you, as they're something all duelists should keep in mind.