United We Stand
Equip Spell Card
LON-049, Ultra-Rare

For every face-up monster you control, increase the ATK and DEF of the equipped monster by 800 points.

As mentioned on the news page, this card has been on and off the ban list a few times now, and for a very good reason: it's the most ridiculous kind of broken that exists. This card is the Chaos Emperor Dragon of spells.

This card gives an 800 point boost to both ATK and DEF, which on its own is already impressive and will transform a beatstick into a raging monster. But since the effect increases for each monster you have face-up on the field, it gets crazy fast. With no other monsters on the field, this will power up a 1900 attacker to 2700 ATK, making it rival most monsters of twice its level. But with even just one more (and who can't manage two beatsticks, or a beatstick and a flip-effect?), it's now at a frightening 3500 that kills almost anything else in the game and puts a huge dent in your opponent's life points even without the benefit of attacking directly (if you CAN attack directly, you've likely won the game). Now put this on something that's already stronger, like, say Jinzo, or maybe Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, or the Creator, and now you're talking power.

Disadvantages? There aren't many. The worst thing that can happen is probably a Ring of Destruction flip, since it uses current ATK and not original ATK. But that's not a factor at all in Advanced, since RoD will almost certainly be banned forever. Equips can be countered and destroyed, but then you probably haven't lost just because your United was destroyed. If you had the field presence to truly power it, then you probably still have the upper hand, so it's not hurting you much to try playing it. It's a great card to grab with a Magician of Faith flip at almost any time, either to finish off the opponent or to regain lost field advantage.

Speaking of RoD, you can combo it with this card to take down your opponent with direct damage by targeting your own monster. As long as your own Life Points are high enough to survive the burn, or you've got a Barrel Behind the Door ready to go, it's a great and evil way to end a duel. And if you don't have the Life Points, it is also a superb way to manipulate matches in your favor by forcing a draw. Forcing a draw is an advanced tournament-only strategy that can help make up for disasters of luck that occasionally strike even the most consistent decks. By forcing a draw, you can end the current duel and move on to the next immediately, hoping that you'll draw that perfect opening hand, get better top decks, or draw that one special thing from your deck that guarantees you victory.

I don't have to rate this card. You know it's one of the best. I had to pay $15 for it at the Cobra Kai Dojo before I stopped patronizing it, and that was during a half-off sale! I don't believe there's been a lower-rarity reprint of this card yet, and as such, it remains difficult for us low-budget players to acquire. I suggest you save up your money and get it though, because it can make any deck better. It's worth it.