Article - The Rivalries

In the world of YGO, there are many different cards with many different attitudes viewed towards them. Some may have better effects than others in the eyes of different people. I am here to discuss three of these so-called rivalries. They are not necessarily cards with the same purpose, but i believe that most duelists respect them in the same way. Please, enjoy.

Drop Off v. Time Seal
This rivalry cannot be denied, as many a people have been arguing over which is better, but I am here to give you the lowdown on Drop Off v. Time Seal and my opinion to which is better.
IMO, the competition isnt even close. Time Seal is hands down the winner. There are several reasons behind this:
-Time Seal is CHAINABLE - It works against all S/T destroyers, and if it is played before the summoning of Jinzo, its effect will not be affected by Jinzo. It can basically work against anything. Drop Off, however, if it isnt played, becomes rather a nuisance to the user. It clogs up an empty S/T zone and It cannot be chained to the effect of MST, Breaker, or anything else that destroys S/T. This, however, doesnt really matter since you would use it immediately after you set it. Unless you wanted to use Time Seal as bait (which i know many who do), this isnt actually that helpful.
-Time seal DELAYS - This is the most important part to this. Time Seal delays the drawing of cards, not allowing them to use that card at all. For example, if I caused my opponent to discard a Jinzo, they could still use it if they reborned it.
There are, however, aspects that benefit Drop Off rather than Time Seal:
- Drop Off destroys - Basically, If they drew a Spell or Trap card rather than a monster, it would be in your favor because they cannot use that card AT ALL (unless they run MoF or MoD). It is a lot more possible to use it on S/T too, since usually players run less monsters than S/T. Great for countering Exodia decks. Now, this also can have a setback - They draw MST, you play Drop Off, they can actually USE MST that turn (Quickplays can be activated at ANY time during your turn).
In conclusion, Time Seal is better because it is better because it allows you to delay them rather than allow them to have the card for a short period of time.

Premature v. Snatch Steal - I simply chose this rivalry because some people say Premature is the best equip, some say Snatch Steal is.
- MST Factor - This may be the biggest problem of both. If you MST either, their effect goes away, but as you can see, this would hurt you more if it was on Snatch Steal, because they would get their monster BACK, but if it was on Premature, no one would get a monster at all. For example, if i Snatch a Luster to sac for Jinzo, but he plays MST, then Im screwed. But, instead, if i used premature on witch, if he MSTed it i would still get its effect, allowing me to get a high attack monster like Goblins or something...
- Order factor - This can also be a problem if the opponent plays IO in response to these two. This goes in favor of Snatch steal, since there was no real payment plus if they do not pay you still get their monster, but if it was on premature, it would actually be negated, but you would still have to pay. I do not yet know whether after IO is activated that premature stays in effect and on field and works after it goes away, but that is just a small complication.
- Payment factor - As Snatch is continuous payment and premature is a single payment, there is no real competition here, but if you had low LP, i wouldnt go for premature over snatch.
Overall, I believe Snatch to be more effective because they lose a monster and you gain a monster, something only other achieved by Change of Heart. Both are extremely good cards and in any deck i advise you all to play them.

Jinzo v. Yata - I will probably get the most criticism on this one, because Jinzo and Yata arent similar at all. I already know this, but they are definitely respected in the same way.
- Stats - No comparison... 200/100 v. 2400/1500 1 trib... Jinzo 1, Yata 0.
-Playability - No comparison again. I strongly advise all decks to have Jinzo. I strongly denounce the placing of Yata in a beatdown.
- Potential - Yet another no comparison, but this one in favor of Yata. Jinzo has little to no stopping power, but Yata stops draws and therefore locks the player. For this reason alone is Yata one of the most feared cards in Duelmonsters.
Overall, I think that in its PROPER deck, Yata owns Jinzo. Otherwise, if placed in the wrong deck, Yata will fall to Jinzo. I still believe Yata to have the best artwork and look the sexiest :-)

So sue me if i didnt say what you wanted me to say...   back