Divine Wrath, the forgotten 1-4-1 ?

[turkeyspit]

I must say, my opinion has changed concerning this card.

I, like many people, discounted this card simply because it required a discard. Since then, I've played around with a deck that can benefit from a discard (mainly Chaos and Zombies) and running cards that act as almost free discards (Treeborn, Night Assailant, etc..).

After racking my brain over how to counter Sorcerers / Monarchs (BTH isn't enough, as the player gets prority to activate it's ability) I played some 10 year old at my local tourney, who ran Divine Wrath. (this is proof that you shouldn't insult "kids" because of their youth, as they are quite capable of teaching us old farts a thing or two).

I was running Chaos at the time, and he mistakenly tried to activate it against Jinzo. Once Jinzo was off the field though, I knew what his trap was, and it seriously hampered my strategies.

I couldn't summon Sorcerer and use it's ability.
I couldn't Special Summon Cyber Dragon
I couldn't summon Zaborg

So how is Divine Wrath a 1-4-1?

Well, as I see it, it works like this:

Opponent: Tributes Treeborn for Zaborg
You: Activate Divine Wrath, discard 1 card from your hand.

Result: Opponent loses Zaborg (+1), you lose Divine Wrath and discard (-2) and you SAVE one of your monsters (in my book, that's a +1). If your opponent tributed something other then Treeborn or Sangan, then you've created a +1 with Divine Wrath

Let's try it again, only with Chaos Sorcerer

Opponent loses Sorcerer (+1) you lose Divine Wrath and discard (-2) and you save one of your monsters from being removed from play (again, a +1)

What about Mobius?

Opponent loses Mobius (+1), you lose Divine Wrath and discard (-2) and again, save 1 S/T (a +1)

As you can see, Divine Wrath can become a 1-4-1 (well, really a 2-4-2)

I'm sure many people will disagree with my interpretation that preserving one of your cards counts as a +1...because you keeping a card isn't the same as your opponent losing one...but that's how I feel about it.

Needless to say, I'm going to be using at least 1 copy, if not 2 in my next Deck ;)

Anyone else agree with me? :o

[eviljay33]

Saving cards that would be lost in no way shape or form constitutes card advantage

[ShadowID]

Your first calculation of Divine Wrath was correct. You spend 1 card (Divine Wrath) and 1 Discard which totals 2 cards. Yes, you may save the possible destruction of your card but that card doesn't counted as cards that have been spent.

Consider your Chaos Sorcerer Example. Imagine an opponent summoned Chaos Sorcerer and you activate Bottomless Trap Hole. Your opponent removes your face up monster from play and Chaos Sorcerer. So you lost 2 cards (Bottomless Trap Hole and your face up Monster). Compare that to Divine Wrath. You discard 1 card and send Divine Wrath to the grave. You used up 2 cards to destroy your opponent's Chaos Sorcerer. It's still mathematically a 2 for 1. However, your 2 is now the field and hand instead of 2 off the field.

Therefore, Divine Wrath is better if you wish to maintain field presence. The key is that the advantage "gained" is not in total card advantage but field presence. Is field presence better? Maybe. That's another discussion. If you'd like my opinion on that, I'd be glad to spill it.

Also, consider this, Divine Wrath helps you gain field presence when your opponent is using Chaos Sorcerer, Zaborg, Mobius, etc. However, does it really work for Cyber Dragon? Compare Bottomless Trap Hole to Divine Wrath in the case of Cyber Dragon being special summoned. Cyber Dragon is removed by Bottomless Trap Hole. It's a 1 for 1. However, with Divine Wrath, Cyber Dragon is sent to the grave (chaos food) and you spent 2 cards to destroy your opponetnt's 1 Cyber Dragon. What did you discard? A Smashing Ground? A Nobleman? Also, with the case of Cyber Dragon, you maintain the same field presence with Divine Wrath AND Bottomless Trap Hole.

That's how I see it. I hope it shed some light. Maybe I'm just being nitpicky.

[Wildfire]

Saving cards doesn't = Gaining cards. If you Solemn a Heavy Storm when you have 5 cards down you didn't get a +4.

[E-Hero Clayman]

Just step away from advantage for a moment. This card can be a meta-breaker. Think about the big hitters in this format. Chaos Sorcerror, Mobius, and Zaborg all get stuffed here. In fact, I belive that Spirt Reaper's discard is a trigger, isn't it? This card can definitley see some play.

[Zayrinoke]

Well. It can. If the monster you saved can provide advantage.

[Xtremeduelist195]

Just step away from advantage for a moment. This card can be a meta-breaker. Think about the big hitters in this format. Chaos Sorcerror, Mobius, and Zaborg all get stuffed here. In fact, I belive that Spirt Reaper's discard is a trigger, isn't it? This card can definitley see some play.
Hmm.... Forced Back? Solemn Judgment? Umm.... something that doesn't require a discard? Compulsary is even better than this card, but ONLY because it will deal with the situation a lot faster than Divine Wrath. Granted, Zaborg may still get it's effect off, but 8 times out of 10, Compy will be better than Wrath. Period. Stay away from discard effects. If you can benefit DIRECTLY from the discard AND the card is not dependant on the discard for it to work. If it can stand alone, then it is good.