E-Ava's Guide to [Trap] Monsters - Part I

Aa, everyone knows about Continuous Traps; be it the Robbin' Goblin from the Starter Deck, the plain old-school Gravity Bind, or Stellarnova Wave from Duelist Alliance, Continuous Traps have been a part of Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game from generation to generation. Some might also remember about those weird Continuous Trap Cards that can be Special Summoned as monsters. These kind of Traps are generally called Trap Monsters, and this guild will be written to give pointers on those kind of Traps.

Trap... Trap... Trap? Some anime fans that also plays Yu-Gi-Oh! might automatically link that word into a certain term - A Trap character.

What is a Trap character? Trap character is a term used in anime for a male character that looks like a female. Traps are distinct from bishonen from the fact that bishounen are just feminine-looking males and are usually universally known as "male", thus the "pretty boy" nickname, while traps are outright girl-looking and usually confuse the characters in-universe. Females that looks like males are called Reverse Traps. There's a genre that specified in telling the slice of life of a trap, called "Otoko no ko" in Japan.

Okay, back to Yu-Gi-Oh!...

Got the point? Yes, those Trap Monsters are just like trap characters - One may looks like a monster, but it's actually a Trap! ... Okay, that's a rather bad pun.

At first, Trap Monsters are released with the main purpose of being attack barriers, supporting beaters. However, as the game progressed, Trap Monsters gain more unique, diverse, and a bit more complex effects and usages, until finally two Trap Monsters are released that actually make the Deck more viable by tying together the card type: Tiki Curse and Tiki Soul, which were released in the Storm of Ragnarok booster.

So why is this guide?
Some people might think as to why I made this guide. Well, the reasons are: (1) I love Trap Monsters. (2) I love writing things like this. (3) The deck type lacks a comprehensive guide.

In this three-parter guide, I will tell you about these unique monsters, their play style, and recommended cards if you want to build a Deck around them. For the part one, I'm gonna tell you about the basics of playing Trap Monsters.

Let's begin~

I. Pros and Cons, Weakness and Resistance

In Yu-Gi-Oh!, some Decks are weak to others, thus making it like a Rock-Paper-Scissor thing. This is called Deck Matchup. This matchup depends on the weakness and strength of the corresponding Decks, and there are lots of them. And let's not get into Side Decking and Smokescreening...

These are the Pros/Cons and Weakness/Resistance of Trap Monsters:

PROS:

1. Cheap to Summon monsters

Trap Monsters are spammable and very easy to bring out, though you'd need to wait for your opponent's turn to do be able to do it.

2. Easy Synchro and Xyz

Due to being able to be swarmed easily, Trap Monsters make quick Synchro and Xyz Materials for their respective Summons, including Number 101: Silent Honor ARK and Black Rose Dragon, among other things.

3. In the Graveyard
Once a Trap Monster hits the Graveyard, it's treated as a Trap Card immediately. What does that mean? Monster effects that state something on the line of "If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard" don't activate! However, this is also a double-edged sword, see one of the cons below.

CONS:

1. Weaksauce Weakness

The greatest weakness of Trap Monsters aren't long complicated combos and large boss monsters; instead, a simple Royal Decree and even Trap Stun can ruin any day.

2. In the Graveyard

Once a Trap Monster hits the Graveyard, it's almost certain that you won't be seeing it again. Trap Monsters are treated as Trap Cards while in the Graveyard, so monster recovery cards cannot be used on them. No, not even the mighty Soul Charge. However, this con can be turned into a pro during certain circumstances, if you read the pros above.

3. Exhausted Hands

Trap Monsters lack resource replenishing effects. If you had vomited your hand earlier, then lose field presence with and empty hand, you're virtually defenseless. And you can't rely on Graveyard recovery either, due to the point above...

WEAKNESS:

1. Anti-Trap

Cards like Royal Decree, Trap Stun, Jinzo and Denko Sekka are the main weakness of this Deck. They shuts the Deck down, unless you can do something to it.

2. Double Removal

Most Trap Monsters are treated as both Monsters and Traps. This means that they can be destroyed by battle, Dark Hole, or even Mystical Space Typhoon- simple as that.

3. Zone Lock

Most Trap Monsters eats 2 Zones upon Summon (1 Monster and 1 Spell/Trap), so field locker like Number 57: Tri-Head Dust Dragon and Ojama King can hold this Deck down, harsh.

4. Anti-Special Summon
About 94% of this Deck revolves around Special Summoning. That means cards that hate Special Summon are dangerous. These cards include the infamous Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo, and the ironically-a-Continuous-Trap Vanity's Emptiness.

 

RESISTANCE:

1. Return to Hand

Trap Monsters can be set again from the hand to be used again next turn, so returning them into the hand does not change much, if at all.

2. Dead Hand
While using Trap Monsters, most of your monsters can be Set down immediately, even the Level 10s. This makes them hardly a dead draw, and you can vomit 3 fresh monsters from your hand as Set cards, much like the Artifact do, except that Trap Monsters don't trigger upon destruction. Be wary of your resources, though...

II.General Rules
This section will inform you the general rules of Trap Monsters. These rules apply to all currently released Trap Monsters, except stated otherwise.

1. Trap Monsters are treated as both a Monster and a Trap.

2. If a summoned Trap Monster is affected by an effect that would flip it face-down like Book of Eclipse, it is Set into the Spell/Trap Zone, and is treated as just being Set during that turn.

3. If a summoned Trap Monster had its Trap Effect negated by cards like Royal Decree, it would be moved into the Spell/Trap Zone, sitting there face-up meaninglessly. Even after the Royal Decree is removed.

4. If a summoned Trap Monster had its Monster Effect negated by cards like Skill Drain, it would still stay there, but that card's monster effect (Such as Tiki Soul's protection) would be negated.

5. A Trap Monster is only treated as a Monster while it is still face-up on the field. Otherwise, it is treated as a Trap Card.

III. Mindset

This section will tell you about how to play Trap Monsters in a good way. It's recommended that you play them this according to this mindset, since Trap Monsters are actually rather tricky for beginners...

1. Be a Ninja!

It's not recommended to Summon your Trap Monsters during your Main Phase, unless absolutely needed or you want to make a push with beatdown or Extra Deck summon. Your Traps are precious and limited, and until the deck gets an in-theme recovery, it would be very risky to just slap a Trap Monster randomly.

2. Disrupt!

The main portion of most variant of this deck type involves disrupting your opponent's pushes with your Traps. We have a selection of tools to disrupt your opponent, including non-Trap Monster Continuous Traps that fit in this Deck very well!

 

3. Play Safe!

Even though you can spam those Traps into your opponent, don't exhaust your Traps just for a move! That way your opponent would know your shady presence and it would be more difficult for you. Just flip needed Traps, don't overextend, remember that your resources are very limited

4. Prioritize the Traps

Even though you are able to overlay or Tribute, it's always good to think about it first. Do you need to Tribute now? Is it safe to Xyz now? It'd be really bad for your Raiza to be Wing Blast'd (and it's ironic too) or your Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon to be Bottomlessed! Only summon non-Trap Monsters when the situation calls for it.

5. Be Proud of Your Deck!
This is a generic state of mind, not only for Trap Monsters. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Don't let your Hope Fall! Be proud of your Deck, and try to convince yourself that you feel honored to play this kind of Deck. Remember that the core is to have fun!


Well, I guess that's all for the basics of Trap Monsters, next time we'll go through for the cards! 
Thanks for reading this guide, I hope you have fun~


Until next time,
Neoxys