Mind Crush: Why yugi used it, and you should main it.

I. Why is Mind Crush so great?

"Mind crush!" is what Yugi said to Kaiba in the very first Yu-Gi-Oh episode, and shortly after he collapsed in dispair. Unfortunately, we don't have a super special awesome ancient pharaoh living inside of us so we have to turn to the next best thing: the children's card.


I bet you're asking how this card is so good, and what makes it so great that it deserves to go in your main deck. Well let's start by looking at its effect:


This card allows you to get rid of key cards your opponent has in their hand. You could get rid of a Monster Reborn without having to pay 2000 life points, a Royal Oppression without having to pay 1000 life points, or a Giant Trunade without having to pay half your life points.

Not only that, but when you guess correctly or incorrectly you get to look at your opponent's hand to verify that they are not lying which gives you a huge advantage. But I bet you're saying "But wait, we're not mind readers so how are we going to know what's in our opponent's hand?!" Simple, our opponents will tell us what's in their hand for us. How? Well let's take a look at some of the key cards of the format.

I. What can I use Mind Crush against?


.:Shien's Smoke Signal & Gateway of the Six:.
Used by Six Samurai.
Six Samurai is arguably the top deck of the format, and these cards are key in setting up a Legendary Six Samurai Shien. So what do these cards do?

Gateway's Effect:
Each time a "Six Samurai" monster is Normal or Special Summoned, place 2 Bushido Counters on this card. You can remove Bushido Counters from your side of the field to apply the following effects.. ● 4 Counters: Add 1 "Six Samurai" monster from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand.
Gateway's Key Effect:
Add 1 Level 3 or lower "Six Samurai" monster from your Deck to your hand.

Both these cards search out player's decks in order to get key cards such as Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki to tune. The wonderful thing about this is that your opponent must show you which card they added to their hand which is when you strike with mind crush. You will mess up their strategy, and have to make them wait longer to set up their big push which is when you have time to make your own push.

A normal Six Samurai deck runs about three copies of Shien's Smoke Signal and one copy of Gateway of the Six which means the odds of Mind Crush being a dead draw are low.

.:Gravekeeper's Commandant:.
Used by Gravekeepers.
Gravekeepers are another top deck in the format, and the reason they are so good is because of Necrovalley. Necro shuts down the graveyards and gives all GK monsters a 500 ATK and DEF boost making it very hard for them to run over. Commandant is a key card in setting up the Necrovalley lock down.

Commandant's Effect:
You can discard this card to the Graveyard to add 1 "Necrovalley" from your Deck to your hand.

This card is another searching card for Gravekeeper's key card Necrovalley. When discarded your opponent will be allowed to add it to their hand and this is when you activate your mind crush. You will leave their weak Gravekeeper's vulnerable since their ATK without necrovalley is 1500 or less. Your graveyard will also remain available for cards like Monster Reborn. Your opponent will also be unable to activate Royal Tribute making it a dead card in their hand. Most Gravekeeper decks run three copies of Commandant so your mind crush should not be a dead draw at all.

.:Gravekeeper's Commandant:.
Used by Gravekeepers.

Gravekeepers are another top deck in the format, and the reason they are so good is because of Necrovalley. Necro shuts down the graveyards and gives all GK monsters a 500 ATK and DEF boost making it very hard for them to run over. Commandant is a key card in setting up the Necrovalley lock down. Gravekeeper's recent success is also in part due to their new searcher Gravekeeper's Recruiter. Another target for Mind crush

.:XX-Saber Darksoul:.
Used in X-Sabers.
We're no strangers to X-Sabers and the damage they can do. We all know how they set up their big plays and they mainly do it by searching for cards like XX-Saber Faultroll with the effect of Darksoul. Just like all the searcher cards above Mind Crush will render Darksoul useless forcing your opponent to wait longer to make their big push. X-Saber decks usually run three copies of darksoul so your mind crush should be handy if you draw it early or late.

.:Pot of Duality:.
Used in X-Sabers, Gravekeepers, Dragunity, Miracle Heroes, and just about everything.
Pot of Duality is a card that has become a staple in literally almost every deck. It has made such a big impact on the format that the cost of the real thing ranges from $90-$120 USD. Everyone is familiar with its effect, you draw three cards, show them to your opponent and add one to your hand. This card isn't a searching card, but it still allows you to see which card is added to the hand which is the key factor in activating Mind Crush. Almost every deck that runs it has it at three in addition to other searcher cards which makes your mind crush hardly a dead draw.

.:Reinforcement of the Army:.
Used in Six Samurai, Gemini Heroes, X-Sabers, among others.
Reinforcement of the Army or ROTA as we all know it, has been around for a long time now, and it has been a key card in many decks for many formats. This is why it's at number one in the ban list. This is a great search card because it's not limited to an archtype. It searches for level four or lower warriors making it a great card for the decks mentioned above. In addition to their Darksouls, Smoke Signals, and Pots of Duality they also run ROTA which means they run at least four cards that adds a card from their deck to their hand.

III. Still not convinced?

Still not convinced that Mind Crush should go in your main deck? Well let me show you how many targets Mind Crush has in some of the top decks:

Six Samurai Decks will likely include: 5 cards that add cards hand

• 3 Shien's Smoke Signals
  
• 1 Reinforcement of the Army
  
• 1 Gateway of the Six

Gravekeeper Decks will likely include: 8 cards that add cards to hand

• 3 Gravekeeper's Commandant
  
• 3 Gravekeeper's Recruiter
  
• 3 Pot of Duality
  
• 2 Gravekeeper's Stelle

Dragunity Decks: 6 cards that add cards to hand

• 3 Dragon's Ravine
  
• 1 Pot of Duality
  
• 2 Terramforming

A lot of decks rely on searching out cards in their decks with cards in their hand. Mind Crush can get rid of two cards so it's somewhat of a plus one although you won't gain the advantage on the field. The decks I've mentioned are ran by almost everyone that runs a deck competitively so the question really is why shouldn't you put Mind Crush in your main deck?

IV. What if my opponent doesn't search?

Okay, let's assume I've convinced you and you are going to main your Mind Crush. You're in a duel and you open with it. You're thinking you're set to make your opponent collapse just like Kaiba did in the show. You set it and end your turn, but next turn your opponent immediately activates Mystical Space Typhoon on it! You have the chance to chain it, but if you guess wrong it will be a negative for you so what should you do?

You could try making an educated guess and hope for the best or be prepared for such a situation. You could run a deck like plants where you are likely to have cards like Dandylion or Spore in your hand. Mind Crush's second effect doesn't always have to put you at a disadvantage if it activates. You could keep the cards you want in your grave in your hand while your Mind Crush is set. The key is to play smart with it. There are other cards you could want in your graveyard such as Dragunity Phalanx or a Six Sam in case you have a Double Edged Sword Technique or Monster Reborn. But let's be realistic this scenario is not likely to happen too often so what do you do? Simple. You destroy the card the same way you'd destroy a Mirror Force, Solemn Warning, etc.

Bottom line is that most players use decks that add cards to their hand more than once making Mind Crush a devastating card to any player's strategies. Sure you could side it, but if you are 80% likely to play one of the top decks I've mentioned so far why not main it if you're just going to end up siding it in during game two and three?

This card is just great in this format.I mean so many decks now use gold sarcos and metas with clear pronounced key cards.Also u see opp's hand x] + nice article

I don't necessarily think it's amazing to main, but nonetheless it's it's a great card and good side deck material. Great article man, write some more up.

This song could be good in DW, even if u don't get the right card, you see the opponent's hand, and you may even get to special summmon. Great eh?

It's not that great unless you play other cards to see their hand. So many bad players misuse this card I just wouldn't suggest it for a newer player.

you forgot to mention if they summon kaigeki you can flip mind crush and call kagemusha 8/10 itll hit

also assuming that the dragunity player will only play one duality is silly it ranges from 0-3 with 2 being avg also they can use three teraforming

Please refrain from double posting, if you have something more to add in your post edit it.

Matt6377 wrote:It's not that great unless you play other cards to see their hand. So many bad players misuse this card I just wouldn't suggest it for a newer player.

That's because the card is clearly pro.And you'r right its kinda hard to use it.But irl almost each who run Deck where it can be placed you'll see it.Just the card is great if you have knowledge how to use it.

wow,,
perfect cards for stopping Genex Ally Birdman - Gallis the Star Beast - Koa'ki Meiru Doom loop
lol

Ah... Could also help in the infernities deck. Since even I get the guess wrong, I have a -2 (or -1) hand for most of the infernity cards to activate their effects.

I'm very well aware that there are tons of search cards like Gold Sarc, as well as other cards that add cards from your field/grave to your hand such as Reincarnation, but listing them all in the same article wouldn't really be necessary now would it? 8D

Slim wrote:Ah... Could also help in the infernities deck. Since even I get the guess wrong, I have a -2 (or -1) hand for most of the infernity cards to activate their effects.

Not the best in infernities, because u cant activate Mind Crush with 0 card in ur hand. Ofc for thining ur hand it's always good.

But maining Mind Crush isnt the best choice, because you dont know what deck will u play aganist. So better put it into ur side place, its a perfect side card tho.

I tried what DJD said and I can safely tell you that this card is so hilarious I main it in all my decks now .
Great stuff bro .

Good card is good. Too many cards in the meta that make this card playable.

Artwork: 6.5/10
Effect: 8/10

Yeah, you can't activate Mind Crush when you have zero cards in your hand. I like to main it in my Dark Worlds because either effect is beneficial to me. Not to mention calling the right card with Mind Crush is easy to do with Pot of Duality running around and search cards like Shien's Smoke Signal. Overall I rate it as 9/10 simply because its on the limited list for a reason and that most of the time its easy to read what you're opponent has in their hand if you know what they are playing.

I love this card so much. this card can counter strategies and combos. I use this card in my Gladiator deck along with CED and Grandmole and it rocks.

It's a good card but right now I'm loving Dustshoot over this.

I prefer it as a side. Get to know their deck first game, then use it next game on them.

Wow. Just Realized... Using Dustshoot, seeing their hand, sending 1 monster to deck, then activating Mind Crush...

Insanity...

This move's also known as "Talk to the Hand".

This card works great after an opponent uses Sangan. You can Mind Crush their card as soon as they get it, which is usually a card they need if they used Sangan to get it.

Too bad my main deck has no room for it. It's designed to summon/activate the 5 cards I need ASAP. The 5 cards have the ability to negate monster, trap, and spell effects, as well as attacks, so adding it would just slow my strat down

But building a new deck around using cards like Mind Crush... THAT would be fun

Slim wrote:Wow. Just Realized... Using Dustshoot, seeing their hand, sending 1 monster to deck, then activating Mind Crush...

Insanity...

The move is called CrushShoot. If you open with it you win 99% of the times. But both cards are limited.

Use Mind on Air with Mind Crush. Mind on Air makes the opponent play with their hand revealed.

But it's a level 6 with only 1000/1000 stats... Tomato could summon it.

AmericanWinner wrote:

Slim wrote:Wow. Just Realized... Using Dustshoot, seeing their hand, sending 1 monster to deck, then activating Mind Crush...

Insanity...

The move is called CrushShoot. If you open with it you win 99% of the times. But both cards are limited.

Not if you're playing against Dark Worlds. In that case you'd lose 99% of the time.

There's a much better card than Mind Crush for this type of thing. It's called D.D. Designator. It does the same exact thing, except it REMOVES THE CARD FROM PLAY. This eliminates the chance that an opponent will recover the lost card.

+1 at above post.

Clearly designator is better due to its effect of rfg'ing so the declared card can no longer be abused.

But, since its a normal spell, its limited to your turn. Whereas, MC can be activated in your opponent's turn at the very moment he searches for a card.

I prefer Mind Crush over D.D. Designator simply cause its a trap! You can use it to disrupt so many plays other decks would otherwise get off. My favorite move with crush is to flip it and call honest when they attack my strong monster with a weak light monster

Mind Crush is sex, basically.

SherryLeblanc wrote:Mind Crush is sex, basically.

Indeed. Though i still like dustshoot over it

I don't like Dustshoot as much as I have in the past, since this format is basically set all your backrow first turn format.

Wow Jon you really made a nice presentation there. I never considered MC before..but now ill have to reevaluate that decision. Designator is good for preventing getting the card back but quite frankly isn't nearly as playably useful.

+rep for blowing your minds jk

glad you guys are finding this useful.

and designator doesn't compare -.- your opponent uses rota adds stratos and summons it and you can't do anything because your designator can't be used on the same turn as the turn your opponent used rota. Same with traps and spells with PoD. Without storm they will get set and you will have a dead draw in your hand

Mind Crush > D.D. Crap

Mind Crush - against some decks it's great (Sabers, LSS, Machina gadget, Gravekeepers sometimes Frognarchs), against others is dead most of the time (Plants, Antimeta, often Chaos). Besides, using it in first duel, without knowing opponent's deck, is too risky (unless it's more than obvious what they have - e.g. when they summon kageki, use trunade/trap stun with 1/2 sabers on the field etc.) And drawing it from top deck sux. Siding? If u have slot, then of course. Maining? Rather not, unless meta is full of certain decks.

I think Mind Crush is a great card to side. Incase your opponent doesn't search, which I agree with.

is pretty good to main 1, and its really better then designator

Mind Crush, like other staples (see D.D. Crow, Kinetic Soldier, and the like) cannot be mained. It's dumb. You don't know what deck you're going against, if you're opponent is running an anti-meta build, etc. There are too many variables. It is because of this that Mind Crush, if one decides to give it a slot over other universal cards (Dimensional Prison, Solemn Warning, Pot of Duality, etc.) it has to be placed into the side deck, and then used if the opponent's deck is vulnerable to it. Otherwise, it's a dead draw, and a waste of a perfectly capable slot(s).

i'm seriously going to consider running this card

Slim wrote:Wow. Just Realized... Using Dustshoot, seeing their hand, sending 1 monster to deck, then activating Mind Crush...

Insanity...

I Main both of them: Mind Crush and Trap Dustshoot

And one time i set them in my first turn against a Six Samurai Player...And he A.S.Sed me...

excellent card for hand destruction

mind crush is surely a great card,i love it and i have it in my side.

Frank+ wrote:Mind Crush, like other staples (see D.D. Crow, Kinetic Soldier, and the like) cannot be mained. It's dumb. You don't know what deck you're going against, if you're opponent is running an anti-meta build, etc. There are too many variables. It is because of this that Mind Crush, if one decides to give it a slot over other universal cards (Dimensional Prison, Solemn Warning, Pot of Duality, etc.) it has to be placed into the side deck, and then used if the opponent's deck is vulnerable to it. Otherwise, it's a dead draw, and a waste of a perfectly capable slot(s).

These days there are hardly any decks without some kind of searcher, so a Mind Crush could disrupt a strategy pretty well. I wouldn't recommend maining it either, but it's not always bad.

Definitely something I should look into.

I agree 100% this also works great against Dragunities and you could compus then mind crush. Makes for some fantastic plays.

Mind Crush works great with Dark Designator, D.D. Designator, Confiscation, and Exchange. I use them in a Bakura-themed deck.

Just Exchange, D.D. Designator, and Mind Crush can cripple an opponent if used consecutively.