Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights – #2- Top 11 Yugioh Cards of 2018

Crunch$G

We end this week off with the second best card in 2018, from Extreme Force, we have Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights.

Isolde is a Link-2 LIGHT Warrior with 1600 ATK and arrows pointing Bottom Left and Bottom Right. ATK is somewhat respectable for a Link-2, Warrior might be the best type in the game right now (Spoiler: It is likely because of this card), and LIGHT is always going to be one of the best attributes, and those arrows are always what you want for a Link-2 you want to put in the Extra Monster Zone. The summoning requirements are 2 Warrior monsters, which is simple if you are playing Warriors. When this card is Link Summoned, you can add any Warrior monster from your deck to your hand but you cannot use summon monsters with that same name or use their effects for the rest of the turn. Free search is nice, you’ll likely grab something to help you make plays in later turns, though. Or just grab Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning if it fits in your deck to go for some massive damage. You can send any number of Equip Spells from your deck to the GY to summon a Warrior from your deck with a Level equal to the number of Equips sent. This was clearly meant for Noble Knights, but we’ve seen a ton of combo decks splash in Equip Spells just to make great use of this card. Divine Sword – Phoenix Blade is one victim of this card as it helped for Knightmare fodder in Warrior Link decks to the point where the OCG banned it and the TCG might do the same. This card arguably was what got Armageddon Knight limited and Destiny HERO – Malicious semi-limited because this card alone allows for some strong plays. Isolde is an example of why you make sure you lock a card to its own archetype someway somehow. Both effects are hard once per turns but just getting them off allows for some good stuff to happen. Warrior decks are playing this, sometimes in multiples, and you have zero reason not to.

Advanced Rating: 5/5

Art: 5/5 Noble Knight artwork is just magnificent. (Also, I don’t know if it’ll stay, but I like the altered art that was painted, I wish I knew who so I could tell you. Hopefully Bill leaves it when this goes up so I don’t look crazy, lol.)

My #2: Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage!

King of
Lullaby

Hello Pojo Fans,

Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights falls just short of the top spot for 2018.

These lovely ladies might as well be girlfriends with Summon Sorceress, as Isolde often would be used to make Summon Sorceress. Warrior-centric strategy, this Noble Knight card was used to completely obliterate the sanity the game had settled into. RoTA effect off Link Summon, any level, great, and Isolde balanced that by locking you out of that monster being summoned or any copies activating its effect(s). That rarely mattered. Drop any number of Equip Spells in the grave for a Special Summon of a Warrior-Type with a level matching the number of Equip Spells sent to the grave was the key effect to cause chaos. Players would drop Divine Sword Phoenix Blade and Special a level one monster, remove 2, get Blade back, use that as discard fodder, then rinse and repeat with Blade. Even if you didn’t do that, you could burial any of the Bamboo cards and activate their effects, feeding Golden Bamboo’s draw ability. Isolde legitimatized Gouki, gave E-HEROS new life alongside the parole of Stratos from the ban list, brought Six Samurai back to competitive play with its help in creating Rhongomyniad shenanigans, and, yes, gave a big boost to Noble Knights. People would have her in the side deck to work with Ghost Reaper and White Cherries in case their opponent was going to combo with her. She is a card you need if you are running Warrior-based decks, or a card to drop in the Extra Deck if you have White Cherries in the Side Deck.

Advanced-4/5     Art-4.5/5

Until Next Time
KingofLullaby

WarlockBlitz

Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights is a Link 2 Light Warrior-type Link Monster with 1600 Atk and with Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows. I remember overlooking this card when it came out, but since it is so generic for Warriors it makes the number 2 spot for the year. After a successful Link Summon with any 2 Warrior Monsters, you can search any Warrior Monster from your deck to your hand. The better ROTA effect is only balanced by being once per turn. Otherwise, you could run this for the first effect alone. The second effect makes you run some equip spells to send to the grave to Special Summon a Warrior with the same Level as the number of the sent spells. Also, once per turn, triggering on summon Armageddon Knight and Bambo draw effects is insane. Every warrior deck runs this. Even deck sides against this. Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights is one of the best cards for supporting its own archetype and sooo many others. Definitely worthy of the number 2 spot and Happy Friday to all. 

Score: 4.75/5 Atk isn’t too bad either    Art: 5/5

Alex
Searcy

Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights, is the Penultimate card of our end of the year countdown.  Link 2 Warrior, Light, and best suited for Noble Knight Decks.  The link arrows point diagonally down, to either direction, which should be useful if you’re taking full advantage of this card.  Very easy to bring out, requiring only two Warrior Monsters, the first effect is awesome. 

Free search for any Warrior from your Deck, which is then brought to your Hand.  Awesomeness.  You can’t Normal/Special Summon another of the same Monster that turn, but it’s still a great search effect.  I’m not a huge fan of the second ability, discarding Equips to Special Summon a Warrior from the Deck equal to the number of discarded Equips. 

It’s cool the Equips come from the Deck, instead of having to be on the Field, so there isn’t really a limit to the Level (so long as you have the cards in your Deck).  This IS best suited in Noble Knights, as stated, but remember too, in terms of the second effect, a Noble Knight Deck can function perfectly well without being reliant on Equips.  It’s cool when a theme specific card can make the countdown, let alone so high.

Rating:  4.25/5

Art:  5/5  The Knights have very gorgeous artwork overall, and this is no exception.  Nice contrast in light and darkness in the outfits, as well as the backgrounds.  Also, the alt art for this is about a 6/5, even if that ghost is borrowed from Super Mario World