Check out my CotD of Inferno Reckless Summon… which went up late. >_<

 

Stats: Treeborn Frog is a Level 1, which means it is easy to Normal Summon, slips under things like Level Limit-Area B and Gravity Bind.  It won’t add much for Ritual Summons and can be used with Metamorphosis to get Thousand-Eyes Restrict.

 

It is a Water Monster… which is good.  Abyss Soldier can use it for discard fodder.  It’s not much, but it’s something.  Of course it’d be extra sick if it were Dark or Light (and thus Chaos food).  If they are ever foolish enough to bring back Tribe-Infecting Virus then being an Aqua Monster will be useful.  Otherwise it’s just sort of there.

 

The ATK is a paltry 100 points, as is the DEF.  This card is not being played for its stats, though at least they are highly searchable (Mother Grizzly, Sangan, Last Will).

 

Effect: Treeborn Frog does one thing and does it well: it keeps reviving itself.  So long as you have no Spells or Traps on your side of the field, you can Special Summon this card from your Graveyard during your Stand-By Phase.  It’s simple, but quite, quite useful.  Even though it’s puny, it can block an attack and is Tribute Fodder.

 

Uses and

Combinations: This card isn’t for all decks, but for the one’s it fits in it is quite welcome.  Monarch decks obviously love it: yes they may need to cut back on non-chainable Spell/Traps and/or that remain on the field, but most they’d still consider are potent enough not to matter: Mirror Force is a 1:1 trade outside of a few Monster effects, and if they aren’t using S/T removal on it (still a 1:1) they lose a Monster for an S/T.  If it blocks Treeborn Frog, it’s okay because at the very least you’re still protected.  And you aren’t apt to play it until after they’ve burned some S/T removal.  Same reason you still run Call of the Haunted and Torrential Tribute with Treeborn Frog.  What might go are cards like Sakuretsu Armor, a 1:1 trade if they attack into it, and not as helpful if they can Special Summon an extra Monster.  There are many, many useful and highly “chainable” Spell/Trap cards you can use: old favorites like Waboku and Threatening Roar.  Enemy Controller is another likely candidate, since aside from classic defensive uses, you can revive a Frog, activate Enemy Controller from hand (still in your Stand-By Phase), sac the Frog, “borrow” an opponent’s Monster and revive Treeborn Frog again.  The thing to remember is that as long as it’s worth having “insurance” of a small Monster should your S/Ts suddenly run dry it still might be worth running Treeborn.  It is a single card, after all.

 

For example, Water decks might consider Treeborn even if they run stuff like A Legendary Ocean – how often are you hurt by your opponent taking out A Legendary Ocean, leaving you high and dry with something that is now a Tribute in hand?  Treeborn Frog can also be used as discard fodder for Abyss Soldier, so it’s probably worth testing.  I know the deck that I’ve been testing (that depends upon A Legendary Ocean and a few other Continuous Spells) has one major issue; those cards often hide in the deck.  So if I can’t freely drop a Giga Gagagigo from hand via A Legendary Ocean, having Treeborn Frog as back up sounds promising.

 

If you didn’t already think me insane, let me share a deck I’ve been testing on-line.  Only had a few battles, but at least it can work some of the time.  The concept is… different.  You use Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys with Treeborn Frog… and Dark Dusk Spirit.  The main goal is to constantly clear the field of Spells, Traps and Monsters.  You can still play Traps for protection since Phoenix clears them for you if they are unneeded, or just use the chainable stuff like Waboku since Dark Dusk Spirit clears anything that tried to attack out of the way.  It basically forces the opponent to start Setting Monsters, hoping to draw a card to remove Phoenix or Frog from the game… which is why I include cards to return them from that state.  Anyway, it’s still pretty raw but it is fun.

 

Ratings

 

Traditional: 3/5 – This is definitely a guess.  It’s based on some things I can explain though: topdecking makes you Yata-lock bait, so this gives you an annoying way to hopefully block the bird.

 

Advanced: 3/5 – This is in general: it’s handy as a fallback for nearly any deck.  A deck that specializes in using it, however, will find it’s more a 4/5.

 

Limited: 4/5 – Defensive and tribute fodder, and what are the odds you’ll have all that many good Spells/Traps that remain in play?

 

Summary

This seems to be a successful “downgrade” for Sinister Serpent at the moment: not as broken, still useful in general, but best in decks planned to take advantage with it.  All in all, a great card I am hoping won’t become broken.