The newest Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG booster pack, The Dark Illusion, is packed with all kinds of awesome new cards—from Dark Magician support, to new Performapals, to new cards like the Metalfoes—there’s something for everybody no matter what strategy you use!

Pot of Desires

If you had to name some of the most infamous cards on the Forbidden List, Pot of Greed would be one of the first cards you’d hear. Drawing two cards absolutely for free is good, no matter how you look at it! The new Pot of Desires still gives you two cards, but this time with a twist—you’ll have to banish the top ten cards of your Deck face-down!

That may sound like a hefty cost, but it’s actually a fair deal. You probably didn’t know what those next ten cards were going to be, and, unless the Duel is taking a really long time, you usually won’t end up running out of cards. In that case, banishing the top ten cards isn’t too much different than if they were just on the bottom of your Deck and you never drew them.

As long as you’re not using a strategy that relies on certain specific Limited cards to achieve victory (such as the Exodia Deck) you likely won’t feel the sting when you pay the cost of Pot of Desires. You’ll just get the benefits of drawing cards, essentially for free!

In most cases, the cards you banish with Pot of Desires are just gone for that Duel because face-down banished cards aren’t recognized as any particular kind of card. With PSY-Framelord Omega (from High-Speed Riders) you can actually access these cards and move them over to your Graveyard! The best way to take advantage of this is with lots of cards with effects that are activated by banishing them from the Graveyard. Move one back to your Graveyard on your opponent’s Standby Phase, then temporarily knock a card out of your opponent’s hand by banishing Omega. When your turn rolls around, you’ll have Omega back and a card you can use from the Graveyard!

Cosmic Cyclone

Since the early days of Dueling, Mystical Space Typhoon has been a reliable choice to handle all sorts of Spell and Trap Card situations. It safely takes out face-down cards and key Continuous or Field cards before they can be utilized. As a Quick-Play Spell Card, it can even be played out of the hand the same turn it’s drawn. Now, The Dark Illusion is bringing some cards that rival Mystical Space Typhoon!

With Cosmic Cyclone, you get all the standard removal of Mystical Space Typhoon with a bit more “oomph.” At the cost of 1000 Life Points, choose any Spell/Trap Card on the field and banish it! You’ll mostly use Cosmic Cyclone the same way as Mystical Space Typhoon, but it has a few major advantages.

First, it’s a much better answer to Pendulum Monsters. While destroying your opponent’s Pendulum Scales is nice in a pinch, you’ll usually regret it when those monsters end up in the Extra Deck to be Pendulum Summoned again later. Use Cosmic Cyclone instead, and banish those problematic Pendulums!

Next, Cosmic Cyclone is a great choice to counteract the many Spell and Trap Cards that have effects in the Graveyard. It’s a much stronger choice to hit a face-down Breakthrough Skill, for example. Cosmic Cyclone wrecks Continuous Spells like Hysteric Sign, Equip Spells like Noble Arms, and Field Spells like Mausoleum of White or the new Triamid Field Spells.

You can only find Pot of Desires and Cosmic Cyclone in The Dark Illusion , available on August 5th!