In any given Duel you’re able to destroy your opponent’s monsters with Trap Cards. For common scenarios, everyone has an answer. They Summoned a monster? Bottomless Trap Hole and Torrential Tribute will do the trick. They’re attacking you? Mirror Force and Dimensional Prison get the job done. And of course, you’ve got monster destruction ready for when they play a Spell Card, right?

Wait, you don’t? Well that’s probably because you forgot all about That Wacky Alchemy! from Abyss Rising! If a face-up Spell Card is sent from your opponent’s Spell & Trap Card Zone to the Graveyard, That Wacky Alchemy! can destroy any face-up monster.

Does that mean it works when you destroy Dimensional Fissure with Dust Tornado? It sure does. And can you use it after taking out Necrovalley with Breaker the Magical Warrior? You bet. You can do all that and more, but if you’re only using it when you destroy an Equip, Continuous, or Field Spell, you’re missing out on what That Wacky Alchemy! can really do. How quickly we forget that Normal and Quick-Play Spells are face-up Spells too!

When resolving a Chain, any activated cards will remain on the field until the whole Chain finishes, then they’re sent to the Graveyard. That means any time your opponent plays a Normal or Quick-Play Spell, you can use That Wacky Alchemy! to destroy a monster after the Chain!

This opens up a ton of awesome moves. Most opponents are expecting traps to respond to their Summons or their attacks. Reacting to Spells is something mostly unheard of though, and your opponents won’t be prepared for it. While That Wacky Alchemy! can be used after any Normal and Quick-Play Spell, there are some especially cool possibilities to use with it. Here’s just a few:

-When your opponent plays Emergency Teleport or Instant Fusion, destroy their other monster to block their Synchro or Xyz Summon, and they’ll lose their Special Summoned monster in the End Phase.

-Punish their Pot of Duality by destroying a monster while they cannot Special Summon.

-Exterminate Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World after one of the many “draw then discard” Spells a Dark World Duelist uses resolves, even if other effects also activate!

But that’s not the only nasty surprise That Wacky Alchemy! lets you spring on your opponent. Think back to Continuous and Equip Spells for a second. Destroying them isn’t the only thing that sends them to the Graveyard. Costs, either due to payment or lack of payment, can land face-up Spell Cards in the Graveyard. Deciding not to pay for a card like Messenger of Peace, for example, will land it in the Graveyard. But the most relevant example of face-up Spells going to the Graveyard is when they’re sent there to pay a cost by cards like…

When your opponent activates a Fire Fist monster’s effect by sending a Spell to the Graveyard, you can Chain with That Wacky Alchemy! to knock the offending monster into next week. The weakness of the currently popular Fire Fist Decks that also use Rescue Rabbit is their extremely low monster count. Every monster is precious, and every monster that is destroyed unexpectedly is a setback. That’s why they play so much Spell/Trap destruction along with Forbidden Lances.

But remember, the activation condition for That Wacky Alchemy! is “if a face-up Spell Card(s) in your opponent’s Spell & Trap Card Zones is sent to the Graveyard:” If, not when. So the following Chain is possible:

Chain Link 1: Bear’s effect, sending Fire Formation – Tenki to the Graveyard.
Chain Link 2: Your Fiendish Chain.
Chain Link 3: Your opponent’s Forbidden Lance, targeting Bear.
Chain Link 4: Your That Wacky Alchemy!, targeting Bear.

End result? Bear and your monster are destroyed. But your opponent is down a Bear, it didn’t search for the next Tenki, and they have, at most, 2 left.

You might not think about it often, but face-up Spell Cards go to the Graveyard all the time. Don’t forget that you can take advantage of it with That Wacky Alchemy!