Speaking my mind...Rai-Oh Contradictions.

Everyone who knows me knows how I feel about this matter. I have said my opinion concerning this matter various times on Pojo, but it's either ignored or everyone else who shares this opinion gets called a "bad player."

However, it's curious to me. All the players in the Gadget thread seem to think that Rai-Oh is a staple, yet it's contradictory to the whole Gadget engine and theme.



Here are the pros and cons concerning Rai-Oh:

Pros:
-Negates Special Summon
-High Attack
-Negates Searchers and Recruiters (Reinforcement of the Army, Charge of the Light Brigade, Sangan, among others)
-Compatible with Oppression themes.

Cons:
-Blocks your Gadgets from searching each other when used in a Gadget deck(most people would simply respond by saying "learn when to summon Rai-Oh" but let's have some sense here, it's a GADGET DECK and you are running something that contradicts the very name of the deck).


Now, while it does have more pros than cons in this matter, it doesn't quite apply in a Gadget deck. Yes, it locks your opponent and prevents special summoning...but there are other cards that can do that without hurting the searchability of Gadgets.

Now, I have a theory as to why many believe it's a staple in this kind of deck, and it's a theory I simply call "The Player X Effect."

This theory states that because one player (I assume it's the very Player X) does very well at a SJC event (don't remember the story quite well, but I believe he topped with Gadgets or got near to doing so) with his Gadget deck, then everyone in the thread tries to copy his deck as much as possible. He has become the leader of the Gadget community (again, based on observations...nothing personal Player X, just trying to add my experiences in the thread to my argument) and so, all of his followers have closed off their ideas and only do what Player X does.

One of these things is the use of Rai-Oh in a Gadget deck. It has gotten praise, yet people seem to forget how contradictory it is to the theme. Yet, instead of thinking outside the box (like what I did with Vanity Gadgets due to budget reasons) and making new Gadget Decks that work, I have been flooded by the same deck again and again.

Ironically enough, this is the best I could have found in the opinions concerning the contradictions between Rai-Oh and Gadgets in the thread, still in favor of the combination:

"Yeah. It's just like thunder King vs Gadgets, even though it clashes it's effect is too good to miss out on."

I see the point, but doesn't it bother them that Rai-Oh actually clashes and contradicts the very theme? This is why I write it here in my blog instead of Pojo, somebody is bound to listen to reason. Now, there are many that agree with this statement. And I have managed to find supporting arguments from those who agree on this matter:

The whole point of the gadget deck is: summon gadget, search gadget

not summon t king, no more gadget searches until your monster dies

what part are you guys not getting?

Also, the more you don't summon gadget, the higher the chance of drawing multiple gadgets, which is absolutely terrible

Also what purpose does Rai-oh play in the deck?
Every card must serve a purpose. And "negating a special summon" isn't good enough. There are better cards to do that

Quote from DoctorNik on Pojo

While DoctroNik's post was the one that mostly summed up my opinion, most people being on the "Pro-TK Side" argued their side in a different manner:

LOL at people suggesting that Rai-Oh is bad in Gadgets. Guess what: "Player X" is using it in his build. The majority of the Gadget thread run Rai-Oh.

Rai-Oh is amazing for shutting down opposing Goblin Zombie/Charge/Black Whirlwind/ROTA, and it shuts down boss monsters (DAD/JD/Synchros/Gyzarus). Who cares if you lock your own Gadgets down if you can slow your opponent down? It's not as if Rai-Oh will be on the field all the time. Plus if you are playing right, Rai-Oh doesn't conflict with Gadgets too much.

This statement shows 2 common things:
1- The theory of "Player X" as mentioned before (changed real name to hide the identity) and appealing to authority on this issue.
2-Stating the obvious reasons of what Rai-Oh does, along with showing evidence of the contradiction in strategy and not caring that it does.

Another argument found on the pro side:

Anyone who doesn't play Rai-Oh in Gadgets this format is going to lose, and therefore, is bad.

Most of the arguments on the pro side were launching statements like this. In other words, "if you don't run Rai-Oh in Gadgets you are deemed a bad player and are destined to lose." Now, I'm no SJC/Regional Champion to be telling people what to do so they can mindlessly follow, but I do have some common sense. If you are playing a strategy where one of your ace cards contradicts the main theme, then shouldn't you play that card in a place where it does fit?

Thunder King Rai-Oh is an excellent card for Anti-Meta decks, but it just has no place in Gadgets. It ruins their synergy and even though it is meant to slow the opponent down, you can find yourself slowed down when all those Gadgets pile up in your hand and find yourself in a tougher situation.

I may get flamed for this article, but I just had to speak my mind concerning this issue. It may even cost me some of the credibility I have created amongst some peers on the board. But to this I say, I don't care. I will speak my mind on this issue and many others.

Hopefully, this article has made you see things from a different perspective and could possibly give some thought about how to use certain cards properly. To all the Gadget players, open the doors to new ideas, because there are tons of Gadget decks that have yet to be discovered that could have some serious potential. To those flamers who are going to give me some serious heat for this article, don't go insulting me. I would prefer you just ignore this and move along.

Thank you for reading this first real article.