The top tables of YCS Niagara Falls have been packed with cards from the new Rage of the Abyss booster set. Lacrima the Crimson Tears, Fire King Courtier Ulcanix, and a bunch of amazing cards in the new Azamina theme have transformed the Advanced Format and allowed the Decks that they’re used in to rise to the top of the competition. Two particular cards from Rage of the Abyss, however, are seeing play in a huge variety of Decks that have succeeded this weekend.

The first of those cards, Mulcharmy Fuwalos, can be used by just about any strategy. Fuwalos’s Quick Effect lets you discard it from your hand while you control no cards and then draw a card for the rest of the turn each time your opponent Special Summons a monster from the Deck or Extra Deck. This is a powerful effect that many Duelists liken to the now Forbidden Maxx “C”. All of the top Decks of the current Advanced Format Special Summon lots of monsters from the Deck or Extra Deck as a key part of their strategy, and Fuwalos punishes those Decks for doing so. Its drawback of only being usable while you control no cards makes it particularly powerful when drawn in your opening hand while going second. The second drawback on Mulcharmy Fuwalos requires you to randomly return cards from your hand to your Deck in the End Phase if the number of cards in your hand is more than 6 plus the number of cards on the opponent’s field – but this drawback has rarely come up this weekend. The strength of Mulcharmy Fuwalos and its impact this weekend is surprising very few Duelists, as most of them expected it to be a force in the Advanced Format after the release of Rage of the Abyss.

The second of those cards seeing play in a huge variety of Decks is the new Dominus Impulse Trap Card. Dominus Impulse is being used in Top Cut Decks including Tenpai Dragon, Sky Striker, Fire King, Snake-Eye, and more. Dominus Impulse negates a card or effect that is activated that includes Special Summoning a monster. Then, if you have a Trap Card in your Graveyard, it destroys the card whose effect it negates. Impressively, if your opponent controls a card, you can activate it from your hand. That means you can use it just about any time your opponent would Special Summon a monster, even if it’s in your hand and you haven’t even taken a turn yet! Dominus Impulse’s drawback could be steep, but is irrelevant for most Decks that use it. If you activate it from your hand, you can’t activate the effects of LIGHT, EARTH, and WIND monsters for the rest of the Duel. Many of the Decks at the top tables, however, don’t use the effects of monsters with these 3 Attributes, and can activate Dominus Impulse from the hand without consequence.

Mulcharmy Fuwalos and Dominus Impulse are two powerful cards that help to combat opponents that Special Summon lots of monsters in a turn. Both of them have become top tech cards this weekend, and we’re likely to see even more copies of them as the tournament progresses through the Top Cut. Follow the coverage to see the impact of these two cards as we approach the Finals!