A strong Deck consists of not only a powerful set of monsters, but a solid set of Spell and Trap Cards to back them up. Certain Spells and Traps are powerful and versatile enough to fit into a lot of Decks, which means that you need to play around your opponent’s copies while also making the most of your own.  Playing against the same Spells and Traps that you use yourself can get a little tiring,  so why not give your opponents a good reason to not play the same cards you’re using by turning the tables on them with Retort!

Retort is a Counter Trap Card which can negate the activation of any opposing Spell or Trap card, so long as you have one with the same name in your Graveyard. Then as an added bonus you get to return your copy to your hand to use again!

Heavy Storm, Dark Hole, Monster Reborn and Solemn Judgment are all popular cards that that are easy to include in any Deck, and they’re also all limited to 1 copy per Deck. If you’ve used up your copy and your opponent has yet to play theirs, Retort is an extremely powerful card which can all but seal a Duel for you when it pays off.

As an example, let’s imagine you’ve used your copy of Dark Hole already in order to destroy a few monsters, and now control 3 or 4 of your own. Your opponent hasn’t used their copy yet and when they do, Retort will cut off one of their last lines of defence, leaving your monsters safe. In addition, you now get to return your own Dark Hole to your hand, which your opponent will have to worry about for the rest of the Duel. Using a Limited card once in a Duel is devastating enough, but the possibility of using it twice while also making sure your opponent can’t use theirs? That’s a powerful example of how useful a card like Retort can be.

But it’s not just useful for Limited cards. In fact, most of the time you’ll use it against a card that you and your opponent are both playing 2 or 3 of like Dimensional Prison, Compulsory Evacuation Device, Torrential Tribute, Solemn Warning, Mirror Force, and of course, Mystical Space Typhoon. You know how powerful the cards in your own Deck are, and having Retort even just to protect you from them being used against you is good. Getting them back to use again? Crazy good.

While Retort is useful against several extremely powerful cards that you’re likely to see over the course of a day, where it really comes into its own is in mirror-matches. For example, if you and your opponent are playing Wind-Ups, there’s a high chance that you’re both using Wind-Up Factory in your Decks. If both Duelists are playing HEROes then you’re both going to have Gemini Spark, E – Emergency Call and Hero Blast. Gravekeeper Decks will use Necrovalley, Royal Tribute and Gravekeeper’s Stele. Prophecy Decks use a huge suite of Spells, and shutting down an enemy Spellbook of Secrets and retrieving your own can be a real back-breaker.

More often than not, even if you don’t think enough people are playing the same cards as you are, you’ll still want a Retort in your Side Deck for when you run into a mirror match. Your most difficult matchups will be the ones where you and your opponent are using the same Deck, as you both know the Decks inside-out. Any advantage in these matchups will be important to victory, and Retort could be just what you need to one-up your opponent.

For as long as there are popular Spells and Traps used by many Duelists, Retort will be an effective card. It’s also something that can really turn the tide of a Duel when used on the right card, and a card that you should have in your collection almost regardless of what Deck you play.