Scattershot Hotshot

[weeb 14]

Artwork Source: Red Riding Hood by Arden Rey

 

Scattershot Hotshot

Level 4 | DARK | Warrior/Effect

ATK: 1900 – DEF: 500

Effect:

Once per turn: target 1 face-up card you control; destroy that target, and if you do, destroy all other cards in that same column. This card cannot attack the turn this effect is activated.

 

Design Notes: I’ve always thought cards that play around with the columns and rows are neat, I think the first one that I personally saw (that I can remember anyway) that mentioned columns in its effect was Alien Infiltrator, way back whenever that came out. In an era with Link monsters, columns and rows are more relevant than ever. So, I wanted to make a monster that plays around with this mechanic.

The effect is pretty straightforward. At worst, it offers 1-for-1 removal. At best, it can ruin your opponent’s day; if they have their Extra monster Zone, the main monster zone behind it, and their Spell/Trap zone all full, this 1 card can get rid of all of that with a heavy 1-for-3 removal. It’s also technically non-targeting destruction (you target your card, but not your opponent’s) on top of that. Since you can use Scattershot’s effect to target itself, it kind of reminds me of an Exiled Force on steroids – if you wanted, you could just summon it in front of your opponent’s boss monster and pop both.

Another fun use I thought of with this card is, it can act as a hard “off-switch” for continuous effects that have outlived their usefulness. Back in the day, you could flip Imperial Order on your opponent’s turn, negate their spells, then not pay the cost during your turn so it goes to the Graveyard. Since then, Imperial Order has been errata’d so you can’t do that anymore. But, with Scattershot’s effect, you actually can; just target it, and blow it up, and takedown some of your opponent’s cards with it.

A quick ruling note about the card’s wording that I think is kind of interesting: since the card has an “…and if you do,…” clause, that means Scattershot has to be the one to destroy its target to determine whether it can destroy the other cards in the column. So, if you target a face-up Spell or Trap you control with Scattershot, and your opponent chains Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy that face-up Spell or Trap, Scattershot’s effect doesn’t resolve correctly because its target is gone. Unfortunately, Scattershot’s “Cannot attack this turn” effect still applies. So, it turns out MST can negate after all. Who knew?

Anyways, I think this is a fun card, hopefully you like it too. When I designed this card, what I really wanted was to make a simple tech card that does only 1 thing, but does it (hopefully) well, and in a balanced way. So, what are your thoughts? What decks do you think this card would find a home in?

 

[Sleepy 211]

The card is plenty balanced. Reminds me of Tiamaton but without a self-Special Summon, having to pop 1 of your cards, requiring your stuff to be face-up, and without sealing off the column after that. You could say Reinforcements is a plus, but Tiamaton as a DARK Dragon now has a potential searcher in one of the recently announced cards.

I think it could afford to target face-down cards as well. It could make use of those pesky "float from GY" effects in some S/T cards that you don't wanna activate (or that you can't activate).

Other than that you could even make an argument for potentially making it a Quick Effect, but I personally like it as a Spell Speed 1 effect instead.
I like the card, and the art seems fitting for column design.

[Summer Darj 292]

This one has me thinking, and I like it already because of that. On one hand, it can be highly advantageous, especially since you can pop a card that floats when it is destroyed, letting you preserve or generate card advantage. So that means it can be a +2 at best, or a 1-for-1 at worst as pointed out on the opening thread. On the other hand, it involves column play, and it shins the most when the opponent places multiple cards in a column, so there is a bit of luck, and mind games if the opponent already knows you run this, involved. Similar to how Mekk-Knight players push their opponents to spread their cards around/
If anything I would consider either FIRE attribute for some flavor with the gun theme and name, or alternatively 0 DEF so it gets at least Recurring Nightmare support. A bit unsure about the base 1900 ATK, but if it can't attack after using its effect, it may be fine. Although one could play around the restriction by using it as material afterwards, done more easily with Links around. 1600~1800 ATK would be safer.

I wouldn't make this a Quick Effect, though. Then it would be too good as a Normal Summonable Warrior with any kind of Special Summon restriction.