Hype is Horrible

Man oh man. You know that feeling you get when you see a new card that does something potentially useful that no other card has really done, that excitement that goes hand in hand with new possibilities? Yeah, we all hype cards we like. You do it, I do it, and I'd say that's totally natural, but...

Sometimes, hype will cloud your better judgment of how good a card actually is when placed into actual game play scenarios. You'll think about all those amazing combos, but sooner or later, you'll come crashing into the wall that is the card's drawbacks. That is to say, not every card is perfect. Some of them are relatively low in power, but reliable in a wide variety of situations ("Raigeki Break"). Others happen to be more situational, but more rewarding when their respective cases arise ("Starlight Road"). It's possible for a card to be terrible by itself while being absolutely brutal in tandem with others ("Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow").

What I'm getting at is this: if you see a card you think has potential, you shouldn't be freaking out about how "amazing" or "broken" it is until after doing some testing to get an accurate measure on its true strength.

Of course, if you have experience, you get a lot better at judging cards at their face value without testing. It's still good to do so, however, if for no other reason to avoid being wrong. That's just embarrassing.