In the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh, there was little more terrifying than someone flipping over a trap card in the battle phase and it being Mirror Force. Just like that, whatever plan of victory that might’ve been possible was gone, as the card destroyed all the attack position monsters on the field. Winning could go from a sure thing to highly unlikely with just that card.
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Those days of the game have long passed though, as Mirror Force has gone from a must run to a “bad” card in the eyes of most good players. But over the years, Konami has made multiple different versions of the card—surely they aren’t all bad?
12 SHINING SILVER FORCE
A counter trap which only activates if the opponent uses a trap which inflicts damage. The card negates the activation of the trap, then destroys all face up spells and traps the opponent controls. What’s this even for? If a great burn deck comes out, this might see some usage, but otherwise this thing is completely useless. It’s a counter trap that couldn’t even find a home in Counter Fairies, a deck which relies on counter traps to use its effects.
11 BLAZING MIRROR FORCE
Okay, the FIRE Mirror Force trap had little chance of being good, but they didn’t even try here. When the opponent’s monster declares an attack, destroy as many attack position monsters they have as possible, then inflict damage to both players equal to to half the combined original ATK of those destroyed monsters. This was a gross attempt to overbalance this card, making it basically useless. The fact that it inflicts the damage the player takes means the player can’t actually negate that damage without inflicting nothing to their opponent. It should’ve just stopped the player from attacking the following turn, then maybe it’d be better for more than just a coaster.
10 MIRROR FORCE LAUNCHER
A continuous trap which searches out other traps. During the main phase, once per turn the player can discard a monster and add a Mirror Force from the deck or graveyard to the hand.
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If the card is still destroyed while it’s set by the opponent’s card effect, they can set both this card from the grave, then a Mirror Force from the hand, deck, or grave and they can both be activated during the same turn. This card’s best usage counts on the opponent to destroy it while it’s set, which is asking too much.
9 BOOT-UP ORDER - GEAR FORCE
A late entry into the Mirror Force game. This has a unique little trick to it, as it activates when either player’s monster declares an attack, and all monsters the player controls are face up machine monsters, they can destroy all attack position monsters the opponent controls, up to the number of machine monsters they control. The cute thing here is it’s ability to get rid of monsters on one’s own turn, but realistically since it’s locking the player into machines and depends on how many monsters the player controls, this isn’t the best card.
8 DARK MIRROR FORCE
This card is one word away from being insanely good for most eras of the game. A Mirror Force for DARK decks. When an opponent’s monster declares an attack, Dark Mirror Force can banish all defense position monsters the opponent controls. The issue here is, there’s never a reason for monsters to be in defense position in this game. It’d be a fantastic side deck option for Superheavy Samurai because their monsters are always in defense because they can attack from it, but every other time this card is horrible.
7 RADIANT MIRROR FORCE
Radiant Mirror Force feels like a Mirror Force which exists in case Mirror Force gets banned. When the opponent’s monster declares an attack if they control 3 or more Attack Position monsters, destroy all Attack Position monsters they control.
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In older metas, this was pointless because the opponent wasn’t going to control that many monsters. By the time this was possible, monsters could destroy backrow, rendering this card useless. Plus ultimately, Mirror Force was always vastly better regardless.
6 MIRROR GATE
The Elemental HERO Mirror Force, it triggers if the opponent attacks a face-up Elemental Hero monster, even if it’s in defense. The opponent’s monster and the Elemental Hero switch controllers, then damage calculation is finished. Afterwards, the control of both monsters switches back during the End Phase….but only if both monsters are still on the field. Otherwise, the control cannot switch back, often meaning the Elemental Hero player keeps the stronger monster.
5 MIRROR FORCE
The basic Mirror Force. One of the most powerful traps ever created when it was first introduced. It activates when the opponent declares an attack and destroys all attack position monsters they control. This card should still be great, but ultimately there’s too much backrow hate and most traps don’t survive into battle. Plus too many boss monsters these days have the ability to ignore card effect destruction.
4 STORMING MIRROR FORCE
Potentially the most straightforward Mirror Force card. When the opponent’s monster declares an attack, return all attack position monsters the opponent controls to the hand.
This was bad back in the day where placing a monster in the hand meant refilling the opponent’s hand. These days, most attacking monsters came from the extra deck. That means sending them back to the Extra Deck, wasting resources of the opponent. Plus, almost nothing gets around non-targeting, non-destructive removal.
3 DROWNING MIRROR FORCE
Just like Dark Mirror Force, this card would be the best Mirror Force in the game, easily, if not for one word on it. When an opponent’s monster declares a direct attack, shuffle all your opponent’s attack position monsters into the deck. The “direct” part makes this not nearly as good as some of the others. It’s even better than Storming Mirror Force, as it simply shuffles everything into the deck, allowing them zero resources to work with on any level.
2 MIRROR FORCE DRAGON
A fusion monster, Mirror Force Dragon is made by combining the Fang of Critias with Mirror Force, sending Mirror Force from the hand or field to the grave to special summon it. Boasting 2800 ATK, it’s a near invincible monster: when it’s either targeted for an attack or with an opponent’s card effect, the card can destroy all cards the opponent controls. The biggest flaw to this card is it requires the player to run Mirror Force, a card they’d normally never go near, alongside The Fang of Critias, which inserts inconsistency into a deck.
1 QUAKING MIRROR FORCE
All things considered, perhaps it’s not a surprise that EARTH got the best Mirror Force. They’ve got some of the best decks in the game by far, so why not add this as well? When an opponent’s monster declares an attack, change all your opponent’s Attack Position monsters to face-down Defense Position. Monsters changed to face down defense by this effect cannot change their position. This is the card most worth playing—it stops offenses cold, making it impossible to synchro or Xyz into a bigger monster. If Quaking is flipped on a full field the opponent can’t make plays, period.
Source: www.thegamer.com
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