Many quoted Just One Forbidden Drop to be one of the best generic cards from RotD. In theory, it serves as a strong board breaker for your follow-up strategies. But since its release, the card failed to solidify its position into top online decklists. Could this card worth its drip?
I will attempt to evaluate the deciding factors of this interesting card, and its possible uses.
Why Just One Forbidden Drop?
Simply by sending cards in your hand and/or field to the Graveyard, the effects of your opponent’s monsters are negated until the end of the turn. Their attack values halved, while your opponents helplessly watch. This is reminiscent of the ever-popular Dark Ruler No More. But unlike it, Just One Forbidden Drop is a Quick-Play Spell, widening its usage on both going 2nd and 1st. Because it is both proactive and reactive, Forbidden Drop serves as a powerful utility card, securing your plays or disrupting opponents.
Rain Drop: Your Solution to Top!
Along with the valuable non-targeting Monster negation, this card includes the revered attribute of being a Quick-Play Spell, which can be chained to cards such as Imperial Order, Anti-Spell Fragrance, and Appointer of the Red Lotus. Decks with interruptions spread across multiple bodies like Adamancipator, Orcust, or Invoked variants will not interfere with your plays. It also includes the ability to halve attack values, which could be the decisive factor in the damage calculation step.
As a Quick-Play Spell, this card may easily see itself performing more niche scenarios. Sending your activated Evenly Matched in response to a monster negation, removing your monster from the field in the Damage Calculation step to avoid battle, or even a simple set card to use on your opponent’s turn very much like Infinite Impermanence.
For the cost, this card allows you to send any card off the hand or field for the cost. This could easily be played in graveyard-reliant decks (eg Eldlich, Infernoids) to benefit from this loss.
A unique factor about JOFD is being able to control what monsters to negate. This is effective against select monsters you would normally avoid negating. Lastly, this card does not prevent you from dealing 8000+ damage worth in the same turn, unlike Dark Ruler no More!
Unfortunately...
The requirement of sending multiple cards will hinder your upcoming plays through a lack of resources. Even then, this card does not stop possible interruptions from outside the field and existing backrow. Depleting resources unnecessarily will result in subpar methods to deal with the board, beyond proper follow-ups for the opponent’s reversal.
Possible splashes in the current meta
In most cases, I believe this card shines the brightest going second. Adamancipator aims to activate Dweller immediately before Dark Ruler no More with Borreload Savage Dragon's support, or Orcust has I:P Masquerena ready to accel-link into further disruptions; this card deals with such possible scenarios easily. Despite that, I believe that there are better examples like Infinite Impermanence which does not exhaust your resources.
Comparisons and replacements
...no effects.
Dark Ruler no More feels superior though the opponent may survive the current turn. Mystic Mine can be dangerous to the opponent when left untouched. If the need to send spell/traps arise, possible replacements for this card could be Magicians’ Souls or Performapal Popperup, Both cases replenishing the hand after discarding unwanted cards. And lastly, the ability to negate during your turn is powerful, so why not consider similar cards like Infinite Impermanence or Forbidden Chalice? Both have a much lesser range but without the hefty cost.
My thoughts and conclusions
The current preferred alternative.
Although JOFD packs an extremely sought after effect, its hefty costs might not live up to its utility. In the current OCG meta, where handtraps are common and on-board monsters with negations are scarce, this card has been out-shined by Three Tactical Talents for more relevant usage. Despite that, there are still cases where this card shines harder in comparison to its brethren Dark Ruler no More or Infinite Impermanence. The TCG meta has proven to contrast widely from the OCG. As such, this card is worth considering over other tech cards due to its wide coverage when dealing with bodies of disruptions.
