Card text: You can only activate this card when you activate one of your Normal Spell Cards. Discard all the cards in your hand to the Graveyard. The effect of this card becomes the same as the Normal Spell Card.
General description:
I guess you’ve all glimpsed a tiny picture of this card on buying a SD1, but all rejected the idea of using it on seeing the huge cost required to activate it. The problem with this card is not the cost, that’s perfectly justified since you can clone the most powerful spells in the game, but with the way you use it.
Uses:
Serial Spell, if you look on the brighter side, not only copies effects, but can act as a graveyard filler as well, getting rid of monsters better off in the grave, and pull off a nice effect in the process.
Strategies and game play:
This card can be chained to your own spell cards, so no chaining to your opponent’s Lightning Vortex . Another small problem with Serial Spell is that there should be no chained effects after your normal spell’s activation, neither by you or your opponent, or you can’t use Serial Spell. Also, you can’t use Serial Spell if you have no hand card(s) as discarding is a cost(poor Darkworlders).
Now for the really good side, Serial Spell copies effects, not costs, so on mimicking Brain Control, you’ll pay only 800 but you can choose two different targets!!
Combos with other cards:
This card can work well with nearly all normal spells or themes, but some are more favourable. I’ve listed a couple of cards you’d like to use along with Serial Spell. Watch out though, it’s quite devastating.
Monster Reborn
That’s the most obvious choice, but you may not realise how good it may be to dig through your deck. By activating monster reborn and chaining Serial Spell, you can special summon both DMoC and Disk Commander, and grab the Monster Reborn back, ready to reborn Disk Commander again when possible.
Zombies
Well the leaflet suggested right, this card works exceptionally well since you can chain it to Monster Reborn as well as Book of Life , but you get to discard a handful of zombies into the grave, which can be a good thing! But S.P will be exceptionally nice in Lightsworn decks, preparing the grave for Judgement Dragon’s obliteration.
Card Destruction
This is usually done in deck-out decks. While chaining serial spell, you’ll end up with no cards but your opponent would have drawn through twice the normal amount of cards.
Bait Doll
This is actually very interesting. Serial Spell will copy the whole effect, which mean that Serial Spell, just like Bait Doll, will get shuffled back into your deck, ready to be used again another time!!!
Monster Gate
Like I said before, you pay the cost for the original spell card once, so you’ll be able to special summon two monsters while offering a single one as tribute.
Trade-In/D Draw
These cards will, after discarding for their respective effects, and activating Serial Spell, hopefully allow you to draw twice the original amount of cards.
Diamond Dude Turbo
DDT decks relies on getting their winning cards quickly, and Serial Spell can help in that. It can copy Magical Stone Excavation's effect, and by discarding once, you'll be able to add two spell cards of your choice to your hand. Since the semi-limitation of MSE, DDT lost the upper hand, but S.P has the potential to make it competitive again!!
The Beginning Of The End
For removing ONLY 5 dark monsters and chaining Serial Spell, you could draw 6 cards and refill your hand, which will be like starting a duel again!!! What's good with Serial Spell is that most often, it will be only monsters which will get discarded, the others can be set!!
Ways to counteract it:
It’s a quick-play so only counter traps will work. But it you know you opponent will attempt to use this, you can chain to his god spell cards and ensure he never gets to use it. Light and Darkness Dragon gets the upper hand on this card completely since despite activating only once, it will prevent chaining to the normal spell
Strengths/Pros:
-At least you don’t have to pay life points as well like for Rope Of Life.
-You don’t have to pay for costs again
Weaknesses/Cons:
-Chains only to normal spells
-Cost is quite huge…
Variations:
This card is available as a rare or Ultimate rare in Rise Of Destiny, and as rare again in Dark Revelations 3, a reprint series.
Artwork and aesthetics:
This artwork is superb, and goes hand in hand with rare/ultimate rare cards’ shining effect. It features a spellcaster(dark magician??!?) with his staff as well as circles of light, one spiting lightning and the other emits flames.
Overall rating:
This card gets a 6/10 from me, not only because of its relatively high cost, but for its uselessness in some situations.
Hope you enjoyed reading my review. Feel free to submit corrections, I might have made mistakes.
it's not bad, but I can tell the majority of the review is looking at UDE's FAQs and only slightly explaining it...that's not what I meant by "research", although it's definately a big part of it.
Serial Spell works with any deck that relies on its Normal Spells, such as the famous DDT. DDT focuses on milling through the deck fast and furiously, getting to their win condition cards by the 2nd or 3rd turn, and the best win condition in the deck is Magical Excavation Stone, being able to pull out any Spell card you want from the grave that was milled to achieve victory. Unfortunately, since MSE was limited to 1 the deck has suffered in competitive play...even now with MSE at 2 it's not as good as it once was. Serial Spell can copy MSE's effect without the hefty cost (which should already leave your hand small, anyway) and get back 2 of the much-needed Spell Cards to win the game.
Thanks for your combo, I added that.
As for research, I must say I found next to nothing on serial spell, since it's never been used as far as I can remember...
that's why I suggested to build a deck which uses it to see what you could do, or better yet splash it into one of your existing decks and make it work
there's more to researching a card than just looking for its name, you need to look at the popular decks and see how it can help, both current and past (like I pointed out with DDT)
The review itself is good, but the card is definitely no good.
Do you see, 'DISCARD ALL HANDS'. Ha, and you lose ALL your hand advantage!
You have to discard at lease 1 card to activate this spell, so this card must be at least a 2-for-1 or even 3-for-1 disadvantage. Why would you think this card is good?
well even though it says discard ur hole hand, u can just set the cards u wanna keep.........DUH!!!!! not my favorite card in the game but u made me thnk about using it with a deck idea thas uber secret...THNX
Not bad, though I have the same minor complaint as wolf. Didn't know that you didn't have to pay the cost for the original spell twice. Thought you had to. xD
Though there is one mistake I noticed. Either that, or you worded it in a very poor fashion. For the combos section, for Trade in/DDraw, you won't have any hand advantage. It'll take a minimum of 4 cards to pull off the combo. (Trade in/DDraw, Lv. 8 monster/D-Hero monster, Serial Spell, and discarding card for Serial Spell's cost) So with drawing 4 cards, you'll just break even.
Now if you want hand advantage, The Beginning of the End is what you want. It'll take a minimum of 3 cards to pull off. (The Beginning of the End, Serial Spell, and discarding card for Serial Spell's cost) Allowing you to draw 6 cards by removing 5 monsters, for a +3 advantage.
On that note, now that I know you don't have to do the cost twice, I think I might try teching Serial Spell into one of my decks that I think could benefit from it.
Trade Cards Online
. Another small problem with Serial Spell is that there should be no chained effects after your normal spell’s activation, neither by you or your opponent, or you can’t use Serial Spell. Also, you can’t use Serial Spell if you have no hand card(s) as discarding is a cost(poor Darkworlders).
