Scrap Searcher : In-depth

Hey, what's up people?

You see a lot of new archetypes or support for already existing ones coming out recently. We got Karakuris, True Six Samurais and Polar Gods or whatever they're called. But you know what? Scraps support is ALSO being released.

Today we'll talk about Scrap Searcher.



EARTH
Level 1
Winged Beast/Effect

When a "Scrap" monster you control, except "Scrap Searcher", is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon this card from your Graveyard. When this card is Special Summoned, destroy all face-up non-"Scrap" monsters you control.


This card, to people who are familiar with Scraps, looks REALLY awesome. However, Konami ruined it just a bit for us. We'll talk about this in the end.


Defense

First of all, he is the ultimate scrap defender. It will defend you from direct attacks when your opponent destroys a monster you control via Dark Hole or Mirror Force.

Also, it combos with Scrap Goblin. Goblin cannot be destroyed by battle and when it is selected as an attack target, it will be destroyed in the end phase and retrieve a Scrap monster from your grave. Now imagine. Your opponent attacks your face-down Goblin, and at the end of the battle phase, when it is destroyed, you summon Scrap Searcher and get a Scrap monster in your hand.


Fodder

He can be used as a specialized tribute fodder, like Treeborn Frog. He is a tribute fodder for Scrap Golem, and also for Scrap Dragon and Scrap Twin Dragon. Don't forget that if you destroy a Scrap monster with one of the Dragons, you can special summon searcher. Therefore with 1 Scrap monster you can activate 2 Scrap Dragons, and if that scrap monster is a Beast or Goblin you'll also get a monster in your hand.

That is :

+2 cards of your opponent destroyed through Scrap Dragon
-2 fodders for Scrap Dragon's effect
+1 from Scrap Searcher's effect
+1 Monster in your hand

+2+1+1-2=+2

So in the end you end up with a +2. This is just in theory, +- mechanics are not the only thing to keep in mind.

Another combo can be done when Scrap Dragon is destroyed. He summons a non-synchro Scrap monster from the grave and Scrap Searchers effect also activates and you summon him too.


Tech

There are 2 techs with Scrap Searcher, but if you think of something else don't be afraid to post it.

First

With Scrap Searcher a new tech card could be introduced in Scrap decks. That card is Icarus Attack.

Tribute 1 Winged Beast-Type monster. Destroy 2 cards on the field.

You probably didn't notice but Scrap Searcher is a Winged-Beast. But not a simple Winged-Beast, it's a recyclable Winged-Beast for SCRAPS. What that means is that Icarus Attack can be used more than once with 1 copy of Scrap Searcher. With this tech, Scraps will have the ability to wipe your opponent's field COMPLETELY using Scrap Dragon, Scrap Twin Dragon and Scrap Searcher with Icarus Attack.

Second

One of the most useful cards in Scrap decks is Scrapstorm. Scrapstorm's effect looks like Gemini Spark when you first look at it, but then you realise that it's like a Foolish Burial + Draw at the cost of a Scrap monster. The strange thing is that the monster is not only destroyed, instead of being tributed (so the effects of Scrap monsters involving destructions can combo with this card), but it is also destroyed AFTER sending a monster to the grave and drawing a card. It is NOT a cost to destroy the monster. This will be useful in this case.

Select 1 face-up "Scrap" monster you control. Send 1 "Scrap" monster from your Deck to the Graveyard, then draw 1 card. Then, destroy the selected monster.

In this case, you first send a Scrap monster to the grave and draw a card, and THEN destroy the targeted monster. You can activate Scrapstorm to send Scrap Searcher to the grave, and when the selected monster is destroyed, you immediately summon Scrap Searcher, giving you a +-0 and a Scrap Searcher from the deck that will come useful later on, since you reuse him continuously, assuming that the selected monster for Scrapstorm IS NOT a Beast or Goblin, which would give you a +1 since you retrieve a Scrap monster from the grave.


Rulings

Rulings kind of suck for Scrap Searcher. I'll post the rulings and comment them on this section.

1) This card’s effect cannot be used during the Damage Step. -from Konami Gameplay FAQ

This means that you can't summon Scrap Searcher when a Scrap Monster is destroyed by battle. If you could, then this card would really rock.

2) If the “Scrap” monster is destroyed while face-down, you can’t activate Scrap Searcher’s effect. -from Konami Gameplay FAQ

Well, that means that if your opponent Dark Hole's a face-down Scrap monster you own Scrap Searcher can't be summoned, and the same goes for Scrap Dragon's effect. This is a big downside and limits Scrap Searcher's awesomeness.

3) The effect to destroy all your face-up monsters except for “Scrap” monsters activates no matter how Scrap Searcher is Special Summoned. -from Konami Gameplay FAQ

So even if you special summon him with Monster Reborn or Scrap Golem, non-scrap monsters are still destroyed. This is not THAT bad since you mostly play with Scraps, and Scrap Dragon and Scrap Twin Dragon are not threatened by this.

4) The “Scrap” monster that is destroyed must be a “Scrap” monster in the Graveyard as well as on the field. That means you can’t use it when a Phantom of Chaos that’s copying a “Scrap” monster is destroyed. -from Konami Gameplay FAQ

This one isn't really bad for Scrap users, but still it's not a ruling that can be of use to you, so we'll say it's still a negative one.

And last but not least, we got the 5th ruling which is the only positive one.

5) If you Special Summon Scrap Searcher to your opponent’s side of the field with Scrap Golem, your opponent’s face-up monsters will be destroyed, except for “Scrap” monsters. -from Konami Gameplay FAQ

That means that if you use Scrap Golem to summon Scrap Searcher on your opponent's field, you blow his non-scrap monsters up. Useless in a mirror match, but EXTREMELY useful in normal matches. It's kinda like Lightning Vortex.

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And that concludes our in-depth description of Scrap Searcher.

+Reps are appreciated and come with a free hug (by me :D).

If you have something you want to add, feel free to post it, I'll try add it.

Regards,
Stef

An awesome article stef. I got to +1 rep this ;) It was easy to read and very detailed. I didn't realize that he was a winged beast :o that adds more possibilties for techs like icarus attack. Also with the golem combo, not only your opponent's monsters are destroyed but you can inflict at least 2200 damage with golem , and that could be game at a late point.

10/10 :)

@Vem

When you summon Scrap Searcher on your opponents field through golem, assuming your opponent only has face-up non-scrap monsters, Scrap Searcher will be the only monster remaining on your opponent's field. Therefore you just destroy all face-up non-scrap monsters your opponent controls and get a golem on your field.

Thanks for the rep ;)

Very nice! Easy to read and informative! :D
I just noticed two small mistakes in it:

Quote :

...which will give you a +1 since you retrieve a Scrap monster from the grave. You'll also send

a sentence that was not concluded

Quote :

3) The effect to destroy all your face-up monsters except for “Scrap” monsters activates no matter how Scrap Searcher is Special Summoned. -from Konami Gameplay FAQ

So even if you normal summon him, non-scrap monsters are still destroyed. This is not THAT bad since you mostly play with Scraps, and Scrap Dragon and Scrap Twin Dragon are not threatened by this.

You mean special summon, right? :)

Edit: I gave you a +1 myself, forgot to post it before ;P

WoW! I just read it. (not all ofc) .-. I really liked it & I really like Scraps to go better.

+1 for the hard work! o.O (I know you enjoy these posts)

@Sinakis

Indeed, I didn't notice it. It's a long article and I get confused myself xP

Fixed, thanks for pointing this out.

@Ive

READ IT ALL! xD

Thanks for the rep, and yes. I FEED on these posts. :D