D.D. Crow is one of the game's earliest hand traps and has had a prolific career throughout the game's history. It's been active for 14 years and running and remains a potent force in the meta, popping in and out when needed. Unlike some of the other cards at the time such as Gorz and Tragoedia, it has also aged considerably well. Not only that, it's one of the cheapest options available to use too, so how about we explore its history and success!
This two-part article special will highlight the biggest moments in Crow's lifetime. This is certainly going to be quite a doozy, so let's dive right in! For this article, we'll be looking over 2007 - 2014. Part 2 will cover 2015 onwards up to current times, where Crow is actually played even to this day!
Special thanks to JebusMcAzn from Frozen Card Gaming, my co-writer Griffin and the brilliant minds of the r/yugioh Discord server for assisting in the research of this article.
2007-2009: First Flights
Upon its debut in the game in 2007's Strike of Neos, D.D. Crow has immediately impacted the meta! Crow was one of the first of its kind, being able to use its effect from the hand during either player's turn.
There were certainly a lot of threats that Crow could deal with that other options couldn't do as effectively. Treeborn Frog was a prime example, being the most popular tribute engine enabler at the time. The Destiny HERO engine picked up a lot of steam, and this could shut down most of its plays. Perfect Circle absolutely did not enjoy having its main combo pieces being banished with no way of recovery.
Premature Burial and Call of the Haunted were running rampant as well and Crow utterly flexed on them. It continued to see dominant Main and Side Deck play within the late GX era thanks to how powerful its banish effect was. It also helped that it was a prime target to be used with Crush Card Virus (pre-errata).
Stopping Lightsworn by banishing their names in a pinch, Lumina's target or Wulf attempting to bring itself out was no slouch either. Hitting Necro Gardna to push for game is also pretty solid. The same went for denying Gladiator Beasts and their insane Prisma + Test Tiger combo. What that 2-card combo allowed you to do is to make Gyzarus and blow the opponent out. Crow halted that by banishing the Bestiari that Darius would try to revive.
Crow continued to be a strong performer as TDGS arrived on the scene. TeleDAD was the best deck and was dominating everyone who stood in its way. However, this peculiar bird proved to be a massive stopgap against it. It ripped apart Malicious who would try to summon another copy from Deck, and it heavily messed with the DARK count of the opponent's GY. No Malicious also meant no level 8 Synchro to go with Emergency Teleport + Krebons. Not only that, it was a DARK monster to fuel your own DAD. To illustrate the hold of TeleDAD in the format, several topping decks often mainboarded D.D. Crow to great success, sometimes in playsets! If not in the main, it can still be found in the side. All in all, its initial years were pretty good.
2010-2011: Steady Performer
D.D. Crow fit in quite nicely in the formats to come, as it matched up decently well against a bunch of decks running around. Against Blackwings, it had two major points to choke out. Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North was a powerful recovery play that allowed for quick synchros, but Crow was able to say no. In a pinch, Crow could also stop the dastardly Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor! This is important too, as under Royal Oppression, Vayu could just keep activating and force a Synchro Summon out regardless. Crowing allows you to put a stop to that.
Pot of Avarice and Gottoms' Emergency Call were power cards in their own right, especially as games were a lot grindier at this time. Because of their wording, should one of their targets get banished, they would resolve without effect. Opponents trying to reborn Rescue Cat could also find themselves stopped by Crow, or people trying to loop Premature with Brionac. Getting rid of Darksoul post-errata was a great way to deny resources too.
Plant Synchro was running amok, and being able to snipe Debris Dragon's target, Spore or Glow-up-Bulb was no slouch either. Gladiator Beast and Lightsworn were still prominent which was good news for our feathered friend.
Frog FTK was another contender that could win the game on the spot, and Crow helped out a ton here. Banishing Ronintoadin was a 2 for 1 deal that put the deck behind heavily. Speaking of WATER stuff, sniping Fishborg Blaster was always a nice bonus.
No matter how you slice it, this is another successful era for D.D. Crow!
2012: Doin' Decent
Crow took a bit of a hit in terms of strength and viability compared to the previous formats, but it still manages to hold on and be a contender. Dino Rabbit did not care for it at all which was not good, and while Inzektor and Wind-Ups could get hit, it was still a rough position for the Crow player.
The same went against Wind-Ups. While you could banish Hunter, you're already down a card. Leviair the Sea Dragon could also potentially undo your work.
Regardless of these issues, it still did okay against them while also doing fine vs rogue. Hands that weren't as strong could fall victim to a well-timed Crow. For the most part this is because there weren't many options available to players. Maxx "C" and Veiler both competed and assisted Crow in dealing with these decks.
Griefing Chaos Dragons and Dark Worlds was a nice touch. Banishing Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World before it runs over the game is helpful in warding them off. It also had decent showings vs Fire Fist and Mermail, but more on that in the later years. The two decks were able to have some early showings and Crow blocked both Atlanean effects from going off to Wolfbark revivals. To sum it up, a bit of a rocky year for Crow but one where it still delivered results.
While it had some scattered results, Crow wasn't too hot during the era of Spellbooks and Dragon Rulers. However, 2014 is where it stormed the metagame and was one of its crowning moments of glory. Welcome to HAT format!
2014: Eat your HAT out!
HAT is one of the more well-known formats of the game's history. It's also quite the wild ride, as both early and late HAT have their unique differences. You can read more about them here as fellow co-writer Griffin Phillippi wrote a great summary for the era.
In any case, HAT was extremely diverse and had over 10+ decks that were both viable and potent for success. Almost all of them also happen to be vulnerable to the clutches of D.D. Crow! It was able to hurt both the grind of control and the explosivity of combo decks at the time. And while it may not be an instant game-winner in this regard, it stung incredibly hard to where the consequences could be downright crippling.
Starting off with the titular HAT: Traptrix Dionaea was a common recovery tool that Crow could stunt on. Artifact monsters summoning themselves from the GY is another thing that Crow can deny, Call of the Haunted and other revival cards were commonplace in the deck too to recycle resources and they were also denied. Pot of Dichotomy was one of their power spells, and Crow also blocked it from resolving. In a similar vein to hitting Avarice, the tempo swing provided was unlike any other.
Chain Crow?
HAT wasn't the only deck to hit as the other contenders were threatened by Crow's grasp. Madolche absolutely hated having Hootcake's target banished, which stopped the effect. Infernity dreaded their Launcher or Necromancer being interrupted, as losing Archfiend meant the game was over.
Catching a Dragon Ruler trying to summon itself was pretty good too. Removing Bujin's key resources in the GY such as their protection effects was crucial in defeating Bujin Yamato. Against Lightsworn, stopping Eclipse Wyvern and the various LS effects was a good use of Crow. In this case, your opponent had no way to get that card back if you did Cl1 Wyvern Cl2 Crow. Geargia didn't mind too much, but they still had choke points that Crow can prey on.
Essentially, there wasn't a deck that Crow was bad against in HAT, and it performed excellently against the best of the best. It can often force good trades for you, and proper usage of it was key in the format. This is shown by its large number of tops at the time, with nearly every deck making use of it in the main or side.
While it didn't so hot during the format after this, that's a story for another day. After all, it got a much deserved break after wrecking up shop in HAT.
Conclusion
And that wraps up Part 1 of D.D. Crow's long lasting history and legacy! Join us next time as we cover the later half of 2014 up until 2021! That's right, this 14 year old hand-trap is still kicking alive and well, fighting off decks even to this day. While it may never be the best choice as strong competition does exist, it'll always be a reliable choice you can depend on when there's stuff in the GY to get rid of.
