Sinister Serpent
Water, Level 1, [Reptile/Effect]
ATK: 300, DEF: 250
SDD-002, Secret Rare (Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel Promo)

"During your Standby Phase, if a 'Sinister Serpent' exists in your Graveyard, you can return the 'Sinister Serpent' to your hand."

The second review of cards in my most recent deck brings us to Sinister Serpent, which happens to be one of the weakest monsters in the game -- in terms of stats only. Its effect happens to be one of the most fantastic in the game -- automatic infinite Graveyard recursion.

This was one of the first three cards I acquired for my collection, before I had even decided to start playing the Trading Card Game. It came with the excellent GameBoy Advance game, Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition. For a while, I didn't recognize the true value of this card. I wondered how such a weak monster with such an odd effect could possibly be useful. Of course, I very soon became acquainted with all aspects of the game, and I learned that Sinister Serpent is useful for everything, period. Since then, he's been in almost all of my decks, virtual or otherwise.

Among other things, Sinister Serpent is:

• Reusable fodder for both Tribute Summons and effect costs.
• A totally free discard and a counter to hand disruption.
• A self-regenerating defensive wall.
• Great to tribute for Relinquished or Metamorphosis into Thousand-Eyes Restrict.
• A Reptile, which can be evolved into a high-level Dinosaur with Ultra Evolution Pill.
• An incredible tool for bluffing and for making the opponent burn resources.
• An aid to late-game hand recuperation and stalling the opponent.

When you see this many great things one single card can do, that's really all that needs to be said about it. Practically the only thing that can shut down Sinister Serpent is having it removed from play, so it has very little going against it. The biggest negative attribute is that it doesn't contribute to field presence whatsoever. Since putting him into play again requires burning your Normal Summon for the turn, you will have trouble building up your force of monsters. You have to choose the right time to stop laying down the Serpent. Too early and you might end up back where you started. Too late, and your opponent's resources may be even more replenished than your own.

Sinister Serpent is another card that fits in the Great catagory, and this one is rated unconditionally for ALL decks. I think this card can be put into any deck and contribute in most if not all of the fashions listed above. Some people have even called for the Serpent to be banned because of its power and flexibility. This just goes to show exactly how useful it truly is. A well-sustained Serpent loop has the potential to turn a duel around even when decks grossly mismatched in terms of power face one another. It has done this for me, and it can do it for you.