The Catapult Turtle Conundrum

Recently, a major errata was made to the OCG Catapult Turtle. It's effect has been changed to activate once per turn now. Most speculation points towards the Pendulum Summon mechanic being to blame, and this being an effort to curb OTK's based off of it in the future, but that's only speculation, given our limited knowledge of Pendulum Summoning. 

I'd like to step aside from Catapult Turtle for a second, and discuss a recent trend in the OCG. The rules were recently changed so that the player going first does not draw, to balance out the inherent advantage that comes with going first. The rules for field spell cards was also changed, so that both players can have a field spell active. These are interesting changes that go against over a decade of history -- very similar to the change in Catapult Turtle's effect. It's unknown at this time whether of not the TCG will make similar changes, so our discussion will remain in terms of the OCG. 

The point of interest about all these changes is that, for the most part, card design is much more interested in balance nowadays. Compare cards like Pot of Greed to Pot of Duality, or Pot of Acarice and Pot of Dichotomy. As a general rule, restrictions and conditions are placed on newer cards, as opposed to the unfettered cards that ran rampant back in the early days of the game. 

If the OCG is willing to add a restriction to an older card to prevent it from being misused, then it stands to reason that the same could be done to other cards -- specifically, cards on the Limited and Forbidden List (known as Limit Regulation in the OCG). Many of these "broken" cards are only there because they lack a "once-per-turn" clause, or a restriction like "except this card." Potentially, every single card could be balanced in time, and the F & L List would only be something needed until the cards on it are balanced for next format. 

Realistically, this won't happen. But that begs the question: why not? It doesn't seem very fair (or ethical) to only go back and change one card, when there are dozens that could benefit from such treatment. In the end, it could result in a healthier game, with a larger card pool. 

In the end, my opinion is this; it's all or nothing. If one card (that's been out for many years) is going to be changed, then all of the "unbalanced" cards should receive the same treatment. It seems silly to me to only change one card. If that's the case, I'd honestly prefer it was forbidden (or Semi-Limited, Limited, whatever the case is). 

The Ravishing Reptilianne Vaskii!

Tired of this?

(Disclaimer: This post was drafted when Dragon Rulers were a tournament warping strategy. With the recent resurgence of Rank 7 Mermails however, I felt this would have some relevance. Aside from that, a card as ridiculously powerful as Dracossack will find a way to break the game again someday.)

Well, today's your lucky day! There's a special somebody out there who's got the solution to your problems. Let me introduce you to...

Reptilianne Vaskii is a complicated woman. She'll only grace you with her presence if you can offer her two gifts -- monsters with 0 attack. After that, she'll destroy a face-up monster once per turn in gratitude. Since Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack summons two tokens with 0 attack when it's summoned, your opponent fulfills Vaskii's summoning condition for you! This means that when you summon Vaskii, your opponent will lose both Mecha Phantom Beast tokens, and then lose Dracossack to Vaskii's once-per-turn destruction effect. After that, you're free to make an attack with Vaskii's sizable 2600 attack points. 

If that sounds as good to you as it does to me, you'll want to throw a Vaskii in your side-deck immediately! But there are better ways to utilize her than as a "throw it in my deck and hope I draw it at the exact moment I need it" card. It's important that you can get to her when you need her, since your opponent can make her un-summonable by simply tributing one of their tokens for Dracossack's effect, and Dracossacks aren't as common as they were a year ago. I have two strategies that make sure Vaskii's always there when you need her. Here's number one.

This strategy is slower, but has the most payoff. Offering to the Snake Deity lets you destroy one of your reptiles, and two of your opponent's cards. Reptilliane Gardna activates when it's destroyed, making it a perfect partner for Offering. It lets you pull out a Reptilliane from your deck, meaning you can grab Vaskii. By taking a page from the Blackwing and Harpie playbook, you're able to give up two cards in order to destroy two of your opponent's, and search out a solution to Dracossack. 

Sometimes, you just don't have that much room. 

...that's where one of my all-time favorite cards comes in! 

King of the Feral Imps has a strong attack score, and a better effect. Our favorite Rank 4 royalty will let you grab any Reptile -- no stipulations on level or attack, or anything -- straight from your deck and add it to your hand. While we could go on for days about that implication in strategies like Worms and Aliens, it's King's uncanny ability to convince Vaskii to come out and play that we're here for. Conveniently, you can call in the King with any two Level 4 monsters, meaning that a King/Vaskii engine could be splashed into any deck that can consistently make Rank 4's. Because King's effect is a  main phase search, you'll never come out with less cards after making him. In decks like Gadgets, King of the Feral Imps can search out other key players, like Kagetokage. Kagetokage also provides another target for Offering, making a small engine like Gardna and Offering more consistent.
If you choose to play Reptilliane Gardna to search out Vaskii, you can use King to search out Gardna's for Offering to the Snake Diety, after you've already got Vaskii. 

Bottom line? Reptilliane Vaskii can be a one-card solution to Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack. It has a narrow function, but makes up for it by having two different ways to search it, and by being extremely effective. As long as Mermails continue to dominate, you should keep Vaskii in mind every time you build a side-deck.