Wall of Illusion
Dark, Level 4, [Fiend/Effect]
ATK: 1000, DEF: 1850
SYE-016, Common

"The monster attacking this monster is returned to its owner's hand. The damage calculation is applied normally."

Pushing ever onward with the deck card reviews, today brings two more offerings, this time in the catagory of defensive monsters. The first card is Wall of Illusion, a simple but effective Level 4 defender who can bounce back anything that attacks it. This card has shock value against many opponents, as it tends to be forgotten.

Though Wall of Illusion is just a starter deck common, available in both of the Yugi starter decks in the US, it has good stats and an excellent effect. Dark and Fiend are good, and 1850 DEF is high enough for it to survive a while in some environments. If your opponent runs a strategy consisting of lower attack monsters, such as Weenie Rush or Harpies, this can be very effective. Still, it would be more interesting if a version of this card was made with, say, 2100 DEF. With 1000 ATK, this card can be summoned by Mystic Tomato, but the requirement of putting it in ATK mode places a bit of a hamper on that. Searching it out with Sangan in Traditional format is more useful, though in that case you probably won't want to play it immediately -- maybe bluff with a Sinister Serpent a couple of times to lure your opponent into a false sense of security.

Returning monsters to the owner's hand is a very effective way to limit your opponent's field presence, especially when a Tribute or Special-Summoned monster hits a card like this. It's not as effective at getting rid of Level 4 beatsticks, since those can come right back, but it can still give you critical opportunities to either seize or maintain your control of the field. These kinds of effects are a boon to high-defense decks, since if your opponent can build his forces up too high, he will trample over your defensive wall. By limiting field presence, you give yourself more time to build up your resources and then shift to the attack.

Wall of Illusion receives a Good classification. It isn't a broken card by any means, but it is quite solid, and the fact that it seems to be a relatively forgotten card in the metagame makes it a great surprise for some of the more cocky opponents, especially those kids that think having a Tribute-Summoned Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field means they've won the duel on the third turn.