Mystical Space Typhoon

For all the new players out there who don't know what Mystical Space Typhoon(MST) does here you go:

Mystical Space Typhoon
Quick Play Spell Card
Target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy that target.

So its cost is to target 1 spell or trap card on the field, other then itself, then you destroy that target.

Here is a link to the wiki: Mystical Space Typhoon

So this is going to be my very first post on my new blog. Today I'm going to break down the multiple ways to play MST and give some pointers on how to make the decision of how to play it. Lets start with some background on MST for those who don't know it. It was released way back in 2002 as part of the set Spell Ruler, originally Magic Ruler. It was limited way back when in April of 2005. It eventually came up to 2, and finally in 2011 came back to 3. MST has always been a very versatile card, but it was overshadowed a little by the big backrow removal cards. Cards like Heavy Storm, Cold Wave, and even Giant Trunade. This doesn't mean that players did not see MST as a good card, it just was not considered to be the main way of dealing with backrow. MST was considered spot removal by many players. The card used in between mass wipes. Well enough with some basic information, we'll get on to breaking down the ways to play this card.

There are 3 main ways to play Mystical Space Typhoon(MST). They are the "Blind" play, The "Bait" play, and the "End Phase(EP)" play. We will start with the "Blind" play. The Blind play refers to using your MST to destroy a random backrow, when your opponent has more then 1 backrow. Lets say your opponent sets 2 cards to the backrow, then during your turn you decide to MST 1 of them. This play can work out, but it can also leave you at a very bad break even. If you MST a good card randomly it is a decent 1-for-1. If you hit a bad backrow spot, or even a bait card, you are left with a not so good 1-for-1. Your chances of hitting a good card with a Blind MST are even worse when they have more then 2 backrow. In today's format, with the lack of Heavy Storm, backrow doesn't have to be so afraid. You can set 3 without worrying about a potential Heavy Storm giving your opponent a free +2 off your bad play. So this makes your MSTs extra important, especially if MST is one of your decks few backrow removal cards. So now that we have addressed the negatives lets move on to the positives. The Blind MST can be a strategic play. I know you're probably thinking I am an idiot right now, but follow with me, okay? So this gets much deeper, now we are getting into the psychology of the players. I want you to think about how you set your backrow...... done? Okay good. Did you realize that you set your necessary cards in a specific order? Some people set the card they need first, some set it last, and some set it in the middle. So when we get into psychology most players are going to point out "How are we supposed to know how they play their backrow?". That is a valid question. The answer is simple, there are two ways to figure out your opponent's way of setting backrow. You can study them and their previous games,  but this is usually only useful if you know you are going to play them, aka high end tournament players like Billy Brake. The other option is that you can watch closely during their first game. The human mind does a lot of decisions at a subconscious level. This is what forms why people do what they do. This decision process is what makes player X set cards in a specific way, and it is what makes you Blind MST in a specific way. By identifying how you and your opponent play you can adapt to play better against them. And in the end adapting quickly on the fly is a good way to become a high-end player at Yu-gi-oh.

The second play is the "Bait" play. The Bait play is an alternative to the Blind play. The Bait play is when your opponent has more then one backrow and you don't know which one is the best to MST. Instead you can attempt a play to make them play one of those cards, then MST the other. Lets say its a Mirror Force and a Solemn Warning set. If you were to make a big summon, your opponent would most likely play the Warning, allowing you to MST the mirror force. However if you just summoned a monster with more ATK then theirs, you could bait the Mirror Force and MST the Warning. The advantage of the Bait play is that you can force your opponent to use their weaker cards to deal with what you play, then destroy the more powerful cards they were saving. This can net you great advantage by leaving your opponent missing that defense, or offense, they were counting on. The disadvantage to this play is that you might have to take some not so great 1-for1s or maybe even a -1. The other disadvantage if when they have more then 2 backrow. When they have more the 2 and you bait 1, you are still Blind MSTing a backrow card. Sometimes you also cannot afford to bait cards without putting yourself at a potential disadvantage. The other negative is that it is entirely possible that they will play their power cards first. So instead of playing the weak card and letting you hit the good card, they play the good card which nets them more advantage, and you are left hitting just the weaker card. However this does not make the Bait play bad in any regards. The bait play can be used to completely throw off opponents and net you huge advantages. I would suggest this play or the third play if you think that the Blind play just doesn't fit the situation, which it usually doesn't.

The third play is the "End Phase(EP)" play. The EP play is when you set your own MST in order to activate it during your opponents End Phase. The advantage of this play is that you can hit that defensive, or offensive, card that your opponent sets before they can activate it. This allows you to deal with problem side deck cards like Gozen Match and others before they can affect you or your field. There are not many drawbacks to the EP play. It can hurt you if you need an open field for cards like Gorz or Treeborn Frog, but it usually will have a viable target in most games. The other drawback, which can also be an advantage is to use the EP play to bait your opponents MST. You set your MST to convince your opponent to MST it. This play can allow you to take a decent 1-for-1 and set you up to set your other backrow safely later. The final drawback of the EP MST is when they have a lot of backrow. When this happens you have to combine the second and third plays, unless you feel like Blind MSTing, where you slowly bait their weaker cards while they save those power cards, then you hit them with that MST.

Well now I have to update because I forgot the part on picking which of the three to choose. Sorry about that, here it is. So your opponent sets some backrow, lets start simple and move from there. So they set 2 backrow. The obvious choice, if you haven't had time to study your opponent, would be play number 2. You want to bait one and hit the other. However if you have studied your opponent, or had a long enough game 1 to pay attention, going for the Blind MST might be better. Now we'll move up to more cards. When they set 3 backrow your choices become smaller. The clear winner in this category is to go again for play number 2. However this setup, with proper studying and memory of what your opponent set, and where they set it, you can easily blind MST your way to an easy victory. This is because of certain psychological factors. First and foremost, you are subconsciously attracted to the middle option, and your opponent is subconsciously pushed away from the same slot. This is because humans assume that the middle option is true. This is why studies that only have 3 choices, small, medium, and large are so biased. If arranged the person is most likely to pick the middle option, because the others are considered extremes. However I can not stress the fact that not everyone can figure people out, but if you can and you study your opponent during your game, you can predict pretty well what they will set where. Lets move up to 4 or 5 backrow. This is where the Blind MST starts to lose almost all its usefulness. When you are facing down that many backrow you should stick to either play 2 or 3. The Blind play starts to have too many variables with that much backrow. However if you have studied someone well enough you might be better off with the Blind play, but this is almost never the case. Using the second play it allows you to get through at least 2 of the backrow, but that involves the MST being semi blind. The third play really shines here. The fact that you can set your MST and backrow allows you to have the odds on your side to avoid a Blind EP MST while increasing your ability to use the Bait play. By setting your MST you allow your opponent more time to play their weaker backrow cards, while you can be ready to hit that one or two they save. However all this returns me to the biggest issue of playing MST. The issue is that every game is different. I can give you some general rules of thumb, but when it comes to playa lot of ing a game there are a lot of different variables. Not to mention not everyone can psychologically analyze their opponent, and even worse if they set 2, then set a third the next turn, it doesn't follow the same base rules as if they set 3 at once. Well I hope I haven't bored you all to death with this giant paragraph of how and why to MST in different ways. The last thing I will say is keep playing, keep learning, and keep adapting. If you can do that you will eventually be able to spot those situations where you want to bait, where you want to MST at the EP, and when you want to blindly MST something.

Edit: A friend of mine reminded me of something I forgot to put in here, and I forgot to put another thing in. Both of these are related to the Bait play. So first the bait play has a lot of extra power this format due to the neutering of power back row cards. This means that your opponent should be saving those power cards for later. This results in MST being a good play. The second thing is that you can chain MST for a technical +1. If you have a set MST and your opponent MSTs your MST you can chain it to hit their other backrow. This results in your opponent wasting a card. So they -. This results in you gaining advantage indirectly.

Well I hope I haven't kept you guys too long with this breakdown. I decided to write this because I read an article by Billy Brake from last year about MST. I personally find it funny that people don't address the psychology aspect of the Blind MST. The fact of the matter is, that sometimes the Blind MST is more powerful then the other two. However most of the time the second and third plays will take the cake.

Well that's all for now my fellow players. Gotta go top deck some JDs and drop some Sephys.

-Kurotaro

P.S. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think. Also I'd like some suggestions for some future reviews of cards, decks, or players. Tomorrow I'll probably look at some good cards in the Meta, maybe do a deck review, and definitely make a review of my current deck. Once again thanks for reading and commenting, I gotta go mill me some more spells and traps. :/