One of the first things you learn when you start playing Sealed and Draft with Battle Pack 3: Monster League is the importance of battle outcome changers. A “battle outcome changer” is a card or effect you play during the Battle Phase that turns the tide of battle by either changing the ATK/DEF of a monster, somehow rendering it unable to attack, or leaving it in a more vulnerable battle position.

There are a lot of monsters in Battle Pack 3 that are clustered together in the 1700-1900 ATK range, so even a small boost like Master Craftsman Gamil can mean the difference between victory and defeat in any given battle. If you can force a trade with one of your weaker battle outcome changers like Gamil or the 400 ATK boost from Skill Successor for one of their stronger outcome changers, say something in the 700+ range, then all the better. Even if you don’t win that particular battle, the next one is more likely to go your way because you’ve saved your better cards for it – essentially, losing one battle but giving yourself a better chance to win the war. There are three basic types of battle outcome changers in Battle Pack 3: Monster League:

• Fixed ATK/DEF changers
• Variable ATK/DEF changers
• Battle position changers

Fixed ATK/DEF Changers

This group is the most common. It consists primarily of Spell and Trap Cards, like Inspiration or Forbidden Lance, that have a set amount of ATK/DEF that adds or subtracts from a monster every time they’re played. The brand new Ghosts from the Past also falls under this category, but it’s a special case because it always sets the opposing monster’s ATK to 0.

Variable ATK/DEF Changers

Variable ATK/DEF changers consist of cards that change the ATK/DEF of a monster, but the amount that it changes varies depending on the situation. The new Trap Card Unbreakable Spirit, for example, adds the ATK of your opponent’s weakest monster to the ATK of your monster. That number isn’t fixed until the card is resolved, so if the conditions on the field change due to Chained effects, the result of your Trap Card may vary.

While you can never be certain what the result of these cards will be, they tend to be extraordinarily powerful and can grant way more ATK than any of the cards from the first group ever could. As a result, these cards are harder to find and more coveted during a draft.

Battle Position Changers

Battle position changers come in many varieties, but they basically all do the same thing: switch Attack Position monsters to the normally weaker Defense Position. Some of them affect one monster, some affect all monsters, and others only affect your opponent’s monsters. Many of them also have secondary effects, like Enemy Controller or Kunai with Chain, and some can even flip monsters face-down, robbing them of any Equip Spells they might be powered up by.

These cards are easier to come by than the variable ATK/DEF changers, but not as easy to find as fixed ATK/DEF changers. It’s possible to draft an entire Deck built around switching the battle positions of monsters!

Draft Strategy

When you’re drafting, you’ll want to pick up at least 10–12 battle outcome changing cards along with 20 or so monsters. Monsters are the backbone of any Deck, but to keep them around to defend your Life Points and help you win, you’ll need them to win battles, often against monsters that are naturally stronger or that have Equip Cards.

Battle outcome changers can flip the script on any Duel, so don’t forget to pick them up with Battle Pack 3: Monster League!