306-056 CHAOS EMPEROR DRAGON -MESSENGER OF THE END- Dark/Dragon/8/3000/2500 This card cannot be Normal Summoned. Remove 1 Light and Dark Main-Type Monster in your Cemetery from the game to Special Summon this Monster. Pay 1000 Life Points to place all cards in each player's hand and on the Field and in the Cemetery. Do 300 damage to your opponent for each card placed in the Cemetery by this effect. Secret Rare

This particular Card of the Week deals with master of "ouch," Chaos Emperor Dragon (CED for short).

Pardon me while a shudder, then I'll get one with the Card of the Week.

Originally released in the Japanese Controller of Chaos set (this card will appear in the next English set), it wasn't long before RAMPANT abuse of this card flooded both regular games and tournament circles. Konami [somewhat] quickly released a restricted list -- and the only card that was updated on it was of the Card of the Week that you are reading right now, which was limited to one per deck.

So, what the hell makes this card so damn strong? Well, there are a few factors.

First of all, this card can't be Normal Summoned. Special Summoning it is what makes CED incredibly strong. While Special Summoning is supposed to have a restrictive requirement to offset the fact that you can do multiple Special Summons in one turn, this card exploits it.

All CED requires is the removal of two Monsters from your Cemetery -- a Light Main-Type and a Dark Main-Type. Constructing your deck to simply get this card out is astounding. Most decks will run Twilight Zone Female Warrior and Demon Soldiers (along with a handful of other appropriate Monsters) to power this effect.

If that wasn't bad enough, its attack strength is 3000 and defense strength is 2500 -- identical to Blue Eyes. So, it's a Special Summon Monster, with incredible attack strength. Based on that alone, this card is a wonderful attacker.

So, what if we throw in an effect to do massive damage to your opponent, and only your opponent?

By paying 1000 Life Points, pull ALL cards on the Field and in each player's hand into their owners' Cemeteries. Add up the total, multiply it by 300, and do that much damage to your opponent. One strange thing is that I have gotten e-mails about CED's effect, and whether it includes the CED ITSELF. Yes, CED puts itself in the Cemetery, too; ALL means ALL.

If you need an example, let's say that each player has three cards on the Field (mix of Monster/Magic/Trap) and three cards in his or her hand. If one player uses the effect of his or her CED on the Field, it puts all cards into their owner's Cemeteries: six cards for each player, for a total of twelve cards. Now, multiply it by 300 to get 3600 damage. If used AFTER attacking, it could add up to astronomical damage in one turn. And, no, CED's effect CANNOT be used during an opponent's turn -- only during your own Main Phase 1 or 2, people.

The REAL abuse of CED comes when combining it with Black Forest Witch or Critter. You need to have either of them on the Field along with CED, and not have done your Normal Summon for the turn. Activate CED's effect, and after resolution, use the Witch/Critter's effect to put Yatagarasu from your deck into your hand. Normal Summon it and attack. GAME OVER.

Unlike Berserk Dead Dragon, Black Magicians Knight, etc., CED CAN be Special Summoned from a Cemetery, so long as it was legally Special Summoned by its effect in the first place. This adds power to an already powerful card.

For those that are wondering, the use of Priority can also be applied to CED, since it's a Cost/Activated Effect. There are some examples, as follows:

• After Special Summoning, if you use CED's effect immediately because of Priority, your opponent CAN use Bottomless Pit Trap on this card. Though it won't negate CED's effect, it will remove the CED from the game. As well, since Bottomless Pit Trap is removed from the Field, both won't count for the number of cards put into the Cemeteries.
• As for Destruction Ring, similar to above, it can destroy the CED and do damage to both players. However, it still won't negate the CED's effect. As well, Ring and CED won't count for the cards placed in the Cemeteries.
• Sub-Space Matter Transfer Device CAN remove CED from the game once its effect is activated. CED's effect will still go off, but will not be counted toward the total damage. CED will then return to the Field at the end of that turn.

Truthfully, there are very few true "counters" for CED. Declaration of God, but there are few competitive decks that make use of that card. That leaves Ascending Horn, which most players won't even touch. So, what else? Try and discard it from your opponent's hand when he or she gets it, but by the time your opponent HAS it, your opponent will summon it. This card is hard to counter.

Oh, and yes, CED is the very definition of "cheesy." To quote a term I heard many years ago:

"Do I smell swiss?"

Edo's Rating: 4 out of 5. CED is simply amazing in either the competitive environment or casual. Massive damage for little drawback is too much. Though not a "broken" card, CED is definitely VERY overpowered. It's a card that you should try to get at least one of, if you're serious about playing. The good news is that an upcoming Japanese collector's tin is supposed to have an Ultimate Rare version of the CED in it.