by Todd Harrick
Without a doubt, this is tops among all of our playtesters as the single most useful card in the game. It may not be as flashy as the big-ticket bonus cards, but what good will they do if they never get into your hand? This is the puppy that can make sure they will. Secondly, it's the closest you'll come to having a wish that lets you wish for more wishes since if you use 3 of these, you can use the first to pull the other 2. If you're lucky, RL can serve up a custom draw pile 10 cards deep.
On the other hand, there is something to be said for big-tickets, and this is the mother of them all. Destroys any card in play except Havens.
This will get that card that just got Wrathed back for you.
Pay attention to any card that affects all of your Characters. This is a quick and easy boost to keep you from getting blasted early in the game. It doesn't have any requirements adn you can use up to 3 of them.
This is the last of the big power players to make the list and it's just too impressive to ignore. There are a couple of negatives to Tsunami. First, your Characters can't act individually when they're on the ship and a well-equipped team can generally outgun Tsunami. Second, once you pull her out, you are immediately the target of every other player in the game. But for a few turns of sheer cowboy antics, she can't be beat. Hint: watch for restrictions in the future.
Useful if one of your opponents decides to pull out Tsunami.
Usefull if you've got Tsunami and your opponent tries to use Equipment Breakdown. More importantly, Kasumi protects you from a number of Disasters and Power Cards that target Equipment and this may be the only card that will save you from Miss Hinako. Having this card is like carrying insurance, without the premiums or the salesmen.
The only thing, outside of Washu, that's guaranteed to get you into Dimensional Locations. Plus, you can Equip anywhere. This is vital. Trust us.
The Mother-In-Law from Hades. This is like having your very own Disaster, and your opponents will live in fear of you while you hold it.
Good grief, the evil leer on Ryoko's face is enough to get this card on any top 10 list. Seriously, though, with all the uses and strategies surrounding Charm battling in ani-mayhem, sometimes it's a relief to get the niceties out of the way.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
And finally, the sweet terrors of addiction. Effective play of this card requires careful timing since your Character must be on the same Location as your opponents to use it, and once you've shown this Global, your opponents wull avoid you like the emmissary from Molokai. Still, with proper timing this card can win you the game.
Scrye #18 February 1997 [pg. 105]