The flipping of “Torrential Tribute,” the devastation caused by “Judgment Dragon,” or the losses cause by a well-timed “Icarus Attack” can all end a Duel you thought you were winning without you even realizing why. One of the biggest reasons this happens so often is because it’s almost second nature for many Duelists to play as many monsters as they can in order to maximize the damage they’re dealing. This isn’t always the right approach to take, however, and that is why it’s important to understand the power of doing nothing.

Often times your opponent is going to play a reaction game, waiting to see what you do and countering your moves accordingly.  This is mostly done when they have cards that can destroy multiple monsters at once, like “Torrential Tribute,” “Mirror Force” or “Judgment Dragon.”  Holding off with Summoning their own monsters gives you more time and incentive to Summon monsters and attack. This is just what your opponent wants, because they have cards that will wipe out more than one of your monsters, and when they unleash them you’ll be in a really bad position.

Playing into these kinds of traps is how you go from being in a good position to a bad one.  For example, let’s say I’m playing against a Lightsworn player and I start off by playing “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer.”  My opponent sets a monster and a Spell or Trap Card and passes.  Let’s say those two cards are “Necro Gardna” and “Torrential Tribute.”  What should I do?

While it’s tempting to play “Breaker the Magical Warrior” to destroy your opponent’s Spell or Trap card, summoning another monster could be what your opponent is hoping you’ll do

While it’s tempting to play “Breaker the Magical Warrior” to destroy your opponent’s Spell or Trap card, summoning another monster could be what your opponent is hoping you’ll do

If I summon another monster I’ll lose both monsters to “Torrential Tribtue,” while my opponent will only lose “Necro Gardna,” who he wants in the Graveyard anyways.  I’ll be left with no monsters and my opponent will have a Gardna in the Graveyard.  That’s a pretty bad position for me.  However if I just attack I’ll destroy the Gardna in battle, leaving my “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer” on the field.  Now I’m in a much better position.  Kycoo is threatening to remove the Necro Gardna next turn, which means my opponent will have to play something to destroy it or at least Summon a monster to defend himself.  If he Summons a monster it is vulnerable to his own “Torrential Tribute” and my Kycoo. 

The rule of thumb when it comes to attacking without making any other moves is to do it when you have a monster on the field that survived from last turn.  This means your opponent was unable or unwilling to destroy that monster under the current conditions. Why start up more plays and risk allowing them to escape that bad spot?  Simply attack and deal some Battle Damage.  Now your opponent is in the same bad scenario, only with less Life Points.

You have nothing to lose by making this play.  If your opponent decides to respond to the attack you can still reinforce your field by using your Normal Summon or Set in Main Phase 2.  If your opponent doesn’t respond, you can pass and leave them to look down the exact same troublesome scenario at last turn.