Spotlight: My Body as a Shield

(Shining the light on the hidden gems within the game)

My Body as a Shield
(Click the pictures to see bigger cards and read the text easier)

The long awaited new Spotlight has come and today we will be looking at My Body as a Shield.
A large portion of the Yugioh community still isn't using this very versatile card while a small group of individuals continues to profit off of it's power.

Today we hope to bridge that gap and bring My Body as a Shield into every person's side deck, along with a number of people's main decks.

A bit of history before we start though. This card was originally released in the Magicians Force pack ages ago. Afterwords it was re-released in the well known Dark Revelations 1 pack.
Then it was brought back one more time in Championship pack 1.

It was a common in all three packs so it was pretty easy to obtain. Besides that though there are no other ways of getting this card in the TCG, so I hope people start stocking up on them now while they can.

And without further ado lets finally blow up the card text and see why this card is so powerful in the first place:

When your opponent activates a card that has the effect that destroys 1 or more monsters on the field, pay 1500 Life Points to negate the activation of the card and destroy it.


Some Rulings

1) The only catch or requirement when playing My Body as a Shield is that you have a monster on the field that will be destroyed.

It doesn't matter if other things will be destroyed as well, such as Judgment Dragon which destroys everything.

As long as one monster is being destroyed you can activate My Body as a Shield and it will Negate the WHOLE effect. So Judgment Dragon would be destroyed and all your cards would be safe.

You can also My Body as a Shield a Stardust that uses it's negating ability on one of your monsters, because Stardust also destroys the monster that tried to destroy it by their effect.

The same applies to a Dark Armed Dragon that tries to destroy your monster. Negate the effect and destroy the monster.

2) As far as Flip effects go, cards like Old Vindictive Magician and Man Eater bug can not be negated by My Body as a Shield because they go off in the Damage step. A flip summon is different though, and a flip summon with man eater bug can be negated by My Body as a Shield because you're not in the Damage step then.

3) Also cards that only have a chance to destroy you, like Snipe hunter, can not be negated by My Body as a shield, even if they successfully destroy you. This is for the same reason that Stardust can not destroy a Snipe, simply because it's not a 100% certainty which is a requirement for both My Body as a shield and Stardust.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Insurance and Peace of mind

That is the ultimate and most precious gift My Body as a Shield can give you.
There are so many times when attacking or even summoning seems deadly, but with My Body as a Shield, you don't have to worry about those times anymore.

Cards like Bottomless trap hole were notorious during the Yugioh National Championships, and they stopped a lot of duelists from clenching victory.

A simple My Body as a Shield though would have protected them and pushed the attack, possibly giving them an early victory.

The Duo of Destruction

I'd like to coin Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute as the Duo of Destruction. They bring huge shifts in the game and can turn it around completely if you time them right.

What are people currently playing that stops these cards? Well only 2 cards come to my mind and that's Stardust Dragon and Solemn Judgment.

But do you really want to pay upwards of 2500 or 4000 life points just to stop the Duo of Destruction?

You can't say you won't see these cards in play as almost all decks main them like staples. So what do you do against them? What do you do against one of the most powerful tag teams of all time?

One card is here to protect you, and it stops all fear from summon and attack. When you hold a My Body as a Shield in your hand you don't fear destruction. You don't agonize over what to do or what resources to give up to protect your monsters.

You rise above the fear, you meet the challenge, and you press the attack to victory.
A simply 1500 point sacrifice cuts any counter by the Duo of Destruction and helps keep the momentum on your side.

With the Yugioh tempo and game play as high as it currently is, a single negation can spell victory.

Why do you think so many people run Solemn in 3's? They know that a single negation, regardless of the cost, could give them victory and it's that power that gets Solemn mained at 3.

But why Solemn when most cards you would solemn, like the duo of destruction, can be negated with a My Body as a Shield?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blackwings and Armor Master

I find the best Blackwing decks to be the ones that play My Body as a Shield.
The reason why is simply because Blackwings are a fast tempo deck that need as much protection against destruction as possible to get quick victories.

There remains another reason as well and that's Armor Master. Blackwing Armor Master is one of the most expensive and powerful Synchro's currently in the game.

It cannot be destroyed by battle and it can take down stronger foes with it's wedge counters. It also does not take any battle damage so life points don't matter when you attack to give wedge counters to your opponent's monsters.

It's weakness though is destruction. The Duo of Destruction eats Armor Master for breakfast. So do the powerful Lightning Vortex and Bottomless Trap Hole.

If you could simply find a way to negate those cards and press the attack for 2 or 3 turns, you'd ensure victory and force your opponent into a corner.

That's why My Body as a Shield is so powerful in that deck. An Armor Master with 2 My Body as a shields can usually spell victory by itself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Final Thoughts

In a metagame where destruction is rampant and a turn can lead to victory or loss, My Body as a Shield is crucial.

When so many Solemns are played for that same reason, we have to ask ourselves, why My Body as a Shield shouldn't be mained at one at least.

When nearly every deck runs the Duo of Destruction, what is your answer to their annihilation?
Do you Solemn them and put yourself in a weaker position? Do you just accept it and move on?

Why cripple your field when a single card can protect it?

My Body as a Shield thrives in this metagame and will continue to do so in the future.
As long as massive numbers of destructive cards exist, My Body as a Shield will be your insurance that victory is not very far away.

Try it out, and see what it's like to have peace of mind when you press the attack and go for game. Flipping over that My Body as a Shield, ensuring victory, will feel pretty good.
The Duo of Destruction will no longer be a problem for you and if Crush Card Virus tries to wreck your field, you'll instantly have the answer for it.

My Body as a Shield has been abused for too long now, by the rare few that knew of it's power. Now it's your turn to use it against them and show them who's deck really is the best.

Buy some Insurance, gain some peace of mind, and press the attack, all thanks to My Body as a Shield. Negation never felt so good. :)