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Pojo's Yu-Gi-Oh Card of the Day

Japanese Card
Red Nova Dragon
#STBL-JP042 

Early Japanese Translation: 2 Tuner Monsters + "Red Dragon Archfiend" This card gains 500 ATK for each Tuner monster in your Graveyard. This card cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can remove from play this card and negate the attack. If you negate an attack this way, Special Summon this removed from play card during the End Phase.

Card Ratings
Traditional: 3.00
Advanced: 4.67 

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 is average.
5 is the highest rating.


Date Reviewed -
September 23, 2010

Back to the main COTD Page

 

Dark Paladin

Thursday

Red Nova Dragon, is Jack's new trump card on the 5d's cartoon, and it is one hell of a card. It's a Level 12, Dragon type Synchro monster, Dark attributed with 3500 attack and 2500 defense. 3500 attack is perilously low for Level 12 but hold on...

Red Nova Dragon is Synchro Summoned by Red Dragon Archfiend and two other Tuner monsters. Then, Red Nova Dragon gains 500 attack for each Tuner in your Graveyard, which at my count is at least 3, giving Red Nova Dragon 5000 attack.

Now, at 5000 (or more) attack, likely nothing will destroy Red Nova Dragon, ever...furthermore, if your opponent uses a card effect, Red Nova Dragon is not destroyed. Plus, when your opponent attacks, even if it's not this card, you can remove this card from play, to negate the attack.

OH, and Red Nova Dragon comes back a la Special Summon during the End Phase.

Ratings:

Traditional: 3.75/5
Advanced: 4.75/5
Art: 5/5

General Zorpa

Red Nova Dragon

Ok, and if you were excited about yesterdays card, we have a Red Dragon Archfiend variant that doesn't suck or is too impossibly hard to Special Summon. Red Nova Dragon is a beastly monster weighing in at 3500 ATK and 3000 DEF. It is also a DARK level 12 Dragon Synchro. These stats are amazing, but will it's incredibly high level relegate this card to the little kids binder? The specific Tuning requirements say yes. It needs a Red Dragon Archfiend AND 2 Tuners... That is not good...

Turns out the effects are ACTUALLY worth the effort! It gains 500 ATK for each Tuner in your graveyard, which will boost it to 4500 ATK if you Synchro Summoned it as you have to use 2 Tuners. The second effect is just wow. It cannot be destroyed by opponent's card effects.... Ok, Caius, D-Prison and Compulsory Evacuation Device will ruin your day, but most removal will not kill this sucker. Then, it even has a third effect on top of THAT. You can remove it from play to negate an attack and then it is Special Summoned during the End Phase.

Unlike the horrible Majestic and Assault Mode forms of this bruiser, this one should win you the game if you ever get it out, so long as you protect it. Remove from play effects will still remove him, as will bounce and spin effects, but if you get this guy out you should win on style points alone. It's a big beastly dragon that does amazing things when broguht to the field and is pretty much an avatar of Doom. it will be played, so side boarded Compulsory or main boarded Dimensional Prison will become a standard until people stop playing him.

I am a little biased towards big scary dragons, but I have got to say, this is one of the first amazingly hard monsters to bring out that has actually been worth the effort in every single way.

Traditional-1/5
Advanced-5/5


Freeza

Red Nova Dragon …
 
Another toy for Jack Atlas and/or Yusei Fudo … because that’s what the game really needs right now … (there’s sarcasm in there, in case u missed it …)
 
That being said, Red Nova Dragon is pretty awesome. He better be, cuz he’s not easy to get out. He’s built by a level 8 Synchro monster and 2 tuner monsters … Meaning at 12 stars, u will be needing either 2 level 2 Tuners, or a level 1 and a level 3 out at the same time. Red Dragon Archfiend doesn’t have as many shortcuts as Stardust Dragon, but if u can manage to get all the pieces and summon Red Nova, u will have something with a juggernaut of an ATK and very hard to kill. With +500 ATK for every Tuner in your graveyard, he’ll be out the box (most likely) with at least 5000 ATK (the 2 Tuners used to build him, + the 1 Tuner used to build Red Dragon Archfiend). So very little will be able to fight over him, and he can’t be destroyed by effects. And if by miracle, something DOES find the ATK points to slug it out with him, he can remove himself to negate that attack.
 
Now although this is amazing protection, it’s not without holes. He can still be bounced and removed from play. He’s not IMMUNE to spell and trap effects, even though he won’t be killed by them. And he can’t save himself from running head first into an Honest or a couple of Kaluts tied to a Black Wing … So Red Nova isn’t unstoppable and there definitely ways to put him in his place. But those types of things can usually take out most other monsters anyway, so he can’t be faulted on that.
 
Uhm … yeah.
 
Traditional: 4/5
Advanced: 4/5
 
- FREEZA

 

Red Nova Dragon also changes the status quo by being the first Level 12 Synchro monster and requiring two Tuners instead of one.  It also requires Red Dragon Archfiend, so it won’t be easy to get into play.  Doing the math, that means you need that specific monster and then two Tuner monsters whose combined Level totals four.  So what do you get for all this hassle? 

 

Red Nova Dragon is a Dark/Dragon, allowing it to tap some of the best Attribute Support (Dark) and solid Type support (Dragon).  It has a massive 3500 ATK and 3000 DEF: killing this brute by battle will require a lot of effort.  To make it more spectacular, its first effect adds 500 ATK for each Tuner monster in your Graveyard.  I’ve tried about five times to phrase this accurately but with a minimal word count, and it isn’t happening.  If neither player is taking control of and using cards from the other player, negating effects, removing cards from play, or recycling/re-using cards from the Graveyard, that would make the minimum effective ATK of Red Nova Dragon 5000ATK!  You’d have two Tuners just for it, and a third that went into Red Archfiend Dragon.  There are many factors that can lessen how many Tuner monsters you’ll retain in your Graveyard, though general game play tends to fill a Graveyard up pretty quick in the average deck.  Don’t be surprised if your Red Nova Dragon drops and is a little smaller (rarely a problem) or is even larger!

 

Now, raw ATK won’t win you the game.  A card like this needs something to protect it from all the nasty Spell, Trap and monster effects that affect it.  In this respect, Red Nova Dragon behaves like a self-centered Stardust Dragon: instead of sacrificing itself to protect anyone, it cannot be destroyed by an opponent’s card effect.  Bounce, spin, etc. are all still ways your opponent can get rid of this card, but plain destruction does nothing.

 

There is one last effect left on this card: if you want, you can remove it from play to negate the attack of an opponent’s monster.  Red Nova Dragon then Special Summons itself during the End Phase as long as it was removed from play for this effect.  So I guess it isn’t completely self-centered since this would allow it to protect other monsters from being run over.  Note that removing Red Nova Dragon is part of the effect and not a cost.  With this effect and a Stardust Dragon in play, your opponent will be hard pressed to get rid of any of your monsters: basically they have to burn an effect to make you use Stardust and then an attack to force you to remove Red Nova Dragon.  After all that, then they can finally touch whatever is left.

 

The Extra Deck is very, very crowded and this card looks to be challenging to get out.  If you do get it out and your opponent doesn’t have any “destruction alternatives” handy (bounce, attack-restricting effects, Spirit Reaper and its ilk, etc.) your opponent is in a lot of trouble.  So ask yourself some basic questions.  Do I run multiple copies of Red Archfiend Dragon?  If yes, then ask “Do I bring it out often, quickly and reliably?”  If yes, follow with “When I bring out Red Dragon Archfiend, do I usually win the game?”  If yes, then why would you need Red Nova Dragon?  If no, then your deck might have a problem.  I am thinking a single copy would be good in Red Dragon Archfiend focused decks and/or general Synchro Summon decks that will easily drop Red Dragon Archfiend and proceed to Red Nova Dragon in the same turn.  It just seems too involved and needs too many cards that are better used for other strategies to be the focus of its own deck, unless it is for a OTK.  With its ATK boosting effect it can reach a large enough size to swing for 8000 damage, even over another monster.  Even then, I think I’d prefer it as a back-up to another OTK or OTK enabling card in an otherwise solid deck.

 

Ratings

 

Traditional: 1/5

 

Advanced: 3/5

 

Summary

Red Nova Dragon is challenging to bring out and very powerful, and I predict it will make a big splash in the tournament scene at first.  Eventually everyone will adjust to it, and it will find itself showing up only in more dedicated decks or as a token “random good card” to run.  It is a well designed card with both decks and answers for it widely played.

 

I am still selling my former collectables on eBay.  I’ve had a lot of hobbies over the years, so at various times I’ll have comic books, manga, action figures, and video games on the auction block.  You can take a look at what’s up for bids here.  I usually add new stuff on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Just a reminder, Pojo is in no way responsible for any transactions and was merely kind enough to let me mention the auctions here. ;)


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