Call of the Haunted
Continuous Trap Card
PSV-012, Ultra Rare

"Select 1 monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon it in face-up Attack Position. When this card is destroyed or removed from the field, the summoned monster is destroyed. If the summoned monster is destroyed, this card is also destroyed."

Today I'll take a slight change of pace and review what is almost certainly a staple card. Call of the Haunted is one of the three principal tools a Duelist has for resurrecting monsters from the Graveyard. The most flexible is of course Monster Reborn. The other is what is more or less a spell card version of this card, Premature Burial. I find I generally have room in my decks to run all three, and doing so can be quite powerful -- in fact, I'd consider it essential for decks that try to rely on certain special monsters to do most of their work.

Call of the Haunted's true power comes from its ability to be activated during the opponent's turn, something that very few other (if any) resurrection effects can accomplish. This card can trigger critical replays, can interfere with chains in some wicked ways, and can just really mess up the opponent.

There are many effect monsters with which this combos well, but the greatest one is inarguably Jinzo. Some amateur duelists naively think that Jinzo can't be summoned using this card. That is false, however. What happens is that Jinzo is summoned through the card's activation effect, his effect taking place as soon as he hits the field. Call of the Haunted's continuous effect is then negated, making it sit there uselessly. Even if it is subsequently destroyed or removed, Jinzo will not be affected. It is also strategic to use this card and then subsequently Normal Summon Jinzo to protect your resurrected monster.

You can also chain this card against trap or magic removal in order to bring back a monster with a destruction effect, such as Sangan or Witch, to get a second free activation. This isn't always the tactically best use for the card, but that mainly depends on the type of deck you are playing and the strength of the monster effect involved (it's definitely great for Exodia).

This card's weaknesses are obvious, of course. It's easy to destroy, so you don't want to set it too early. It's tempting to have it out there ready for instantaneous use, but I find it's usually more wise to wait until AFTER something you really need has been destroyed. Set it that turn or the next, and then spring it on your opponent at the first good chance you get to make their turn-around move evaporate. Another weakness, which it shares with Premature Burial, is the stipulation of Attack Position, which limits what you can do with this card slightly. However, as long as you can build on the momentum this card provides and seize field control adequately, it may not matter (the combo with Jinzo usually achieves this for me). That's why I never really think about the weaknesses of this card when considering it for a deck. For me, they are more than offset by its tactical versatility.

I will award this card an amazing 9.9/10 rating. Sure, it can be done without, but having it provides an array of strategic possibilities that are otherwise unavailable. It can work with ANY deck, and it's absolutely never a bad draw - its value increases steadily as the duel goes on. A staple for sure.

Fun fact about this card: The tombstones pictured in this card's art bear the word "KONAMI" written in Greek letters (Kappa, Omicron, Nu, Alpha, Mu, Iota). Check it out with a magnifying glass ;)