Etude of the Branded – #CYAC-EN071
During either player’s turn, you can: Immediately after this effect resolves, Synchro Summon 1 Synchro Monster, using monsters you control as material, including a Dragon monster. You can only use this effect of “Etude of the Branded” once per turn. While you control a “Bystial” monster, banish any monsters that would be sent to your opponent’s GY as Tributes for their Ritual Summon, or as material for their Fusion, Synchro, or Link Summon.
Date Reviewed: July 12th, 2023
Rating: 2.50
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is awful. 3 is average. 5 is excellent.
Reviews Below:
King of
Lullaby
Hello Pojo Fans,
Etude of the Branded looks to be the end of Aluber for now.
Continuous Trap that is a Synchro Summon during either turn that requires a Dragon-Type monster being used. This is a Continuous Trap version of Albaz’s effect without the discard. You don’t get to use an opponent’s monster though, and, while they could control a Dragon, you don’t want to have to sit around for that. Aluber steals a Dragon from your opponent that you could then use alongside a monster of yours to Synchro Summon (or use Aluber because he’s a Dragon).
If you were to have a Bystial monster on the field, your opponent’s monsters get banished if used for Extra Deck stuff or a Ritual Summon. This effect is far more effective. Bystial monsters are popular Side Deck and Main Deck options but I can’t see this getting playing time in anything anytime soon. Having a Dimensional Fissure only for your opponent when they tribute monsters or do Extra Deck stuff is a great control, but it’s situational because you aren’t going to play a copy of this alongside however many Bystial monsters you side in. Even in Branded/Despia this didn’t see play, though it could change with Branded Expulsion being banned.
Etude of the Branded is situational. You need your opponent to be playing Dragon-Type monsters in some form to make the card viable. You have The Bystial Aluber as well to help alongside this card, but I think this functions better as a one-sided Dimensional Fissure for Extra Deck stuff, even if it requires a Bystial. In a Bystial/Despia build you’ll likely play this for that effect more than the Synchro Summon ability.
Advanced-2/5 Art-3.5/5
Until Next Time
KingofLullaby
Crunch$G
Midweek brings us to yet another Branded Continuous Trap for your Bystial needs: Etude of the Branded.
Etude is a Continuous Trap that during either player’s turn, immediately after this effect resolves, you can Synchro Summon any Synchro by using monsters you control as material, including a Dragon. Most of the time you’d probably just Synchro on your turn, but it’s fine to make use of monsters that have interruptions on them just to use them as Synchro Material after you use said effect to go into something else with interruption. It’s a hard once per turn effect, of course. The second effect is more floodgate-like, where while you control a Bystial monster, you banish any monster the opponent tributes for a Ritual Summon or uses for a Fusion, Synchro, or Link Summon. Sounds cute against Extra Deck heavy strategies that aren’t Xyz-focused. You got to keep your Bystial on the field when most of them usually want to be used as materials for summons or sacrificed for more removal via Branded Beast, but there are cases where you’d still keep a Bystial on the field. The card isn’t too bad. I can see it finding some sort of niche at some stage, it just could be better.
Advanced Rating: 2.5/5
Art: 4.5/5 Must say, this is pretty cool as well.
Mighty
Vee
In case there was any confusion over why The Bystial Aluber is a Tuner monster, the latest Branded Trap is Etude of the Branded, a Continuous Trap that can be searched by Albion the Branded Dragon or The Bystial Lubellion, as well as the multitude of other Branded card searchers. Etude’s hard once per turn effect lets you perform a Synchro Summon during either player’s turn with monsters you control, with at least one Dragon being among them. The obvious purpose of this card is to facilitate the summon of the new Branded Synchro monsters (a bizarre departure for the theme) after using Branded Fusion and locking yourself into Fusion monsters, but this effect is also helpful for getting more mileage out of Chaos Angel, turning it into a disruption instead of a simple Towers monster. Etude’s other effect is Continuous, banishing your opponent’s monsters if they’re used as materials for a Ritual, Xyz, Synchro, or Link Summon as long as you control a Bystial monster. A light Macro Cosmos effect is better than nothing, but it’s not quite the effect I would go out of my way for. Branded Etude has seen minor usage in competitive Branded decks, but considering that you have to dedicate space for Synchro packages to get the most mileage out of it, it’s no surprise that it loses out to much stronger Branded Spells and Traps.
Advanced: 3/5
Art: 3.25/5 Is that what Ashiyan looks like???
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