Dark
Paladin |
Friday
Closing the week before our extended break as
Pojo goes on vacation, we look at Number 9 on our
list. Another Synchro Monster in Mecha Phantom Beast
Concoruda. This is a Level 7, Wind attributed
Synchro Monster, with 2400 attack (low) and 1200
defense (low), who is Synchro Summoned with a Tuner
and one or more non-Tuner Monsters. Level 7 Synchros
are easy enough to accomplish in two Monsters with a
Level 3 or 4 Tuner, leaving the other Level Monster
respectively, which Mecha Phantom Beasts can do. Now
Concoruda isn't your typical Mecha Phantom Beast. He
does a lot of things differently, and some he
doesn't do at all. As opposed to self protection by
having Tokens on the Field, (you should recall MPB
rely on Tokens to work effectively) or creating
Tokens, he simply protects the ones you have on the
Field from destruction by Battle and/or Effects.
Certainly a good thing, as the Tokens are
essentially the focal point of this Deck. Now, if
this card is destroyed by your opponent's card,
through Battle or Effect, you CAN (note can) tribute
all Tokens you control to target and Special Summon
a Level 4 or lower Mecha Phantom Beast from your
Graveyard. It's pretty good that effect is optional,
as that is a big waste of your resources and pretty
counterproductive. In short, it's 1+1 = -X where X
is the number of Tokens you gave up just for that
one Monster, in terms of negative resource there. He
can do some neat things...and some not so neat
things, and his rating reflects that
Ratings:
Traditional: 1.99/5
Advanced: 2.99/5
Art: 5/5 Mecha Phantom Beasts have awesome artwork
overall
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Rikothe
FoxKid |
We continue our Top 10 Judgment of the Light
countdown with our #9 card, Mecha Phantom Beast
Concoruda:
"Level 7
WIND
Machine / Synchro / Effect
2400 ATK / 1200 DEF
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
Tokens you control cannot be destroyed by battle or
card effects. If this card you control is destroyed
by your opponent's card (either by battle or by card
effect) and sent to your Graveyard: You can Tribute
all Tokens you control, then target 1 Level 4 or
lower "Mecha Phantom Beast" monster in your
Graveyard; Special Summon that target."
Now, I'm no expert on the Mecha Phantom Beasts,
but I'm at least aware that they share a blanket
protection from destruction so long as you control a
Token.
And that's where this guy comes in. So long as
you have him out, your Tokens can't be destroyed.
This can create a long line of annoyances for your
opponent to deal with; to destroy the MFBs they have
to destroy the Tokens, and to destroy the Tokens
they have to destroy Concoruda.
This card also revives a Level 4 MFB upon its own
destruction at the hands of your opponent. Revival
is always a great thing to have.
This one is definitely solid, and probably just
what the Mecha Phantom Beasts are looking for. If
they become a popular choice, I would expect this
guy to be a front runner for the Deck.
Traditional: 2/5 (I wouldn't expect MFB to do
much in this format, but maybe there's something)
Advanced: 3.75/5
Art: 4/5 (A giant red plane with a face. One of
the cooler looking Mecha Phantom Beasts)
Monday: I am the God of War!
~RtFK
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Philosophical
Psycho |
In our age of the Xyz, the Judgment of the Light
Booster Pack has given a revival to the Tuner/Synchro
mechanic, and I would say it’s new-and-improved.
After all, five of the eight new Synchros are on our
Top 10. I think Mecha Phantom Beast Concoruda is
kinda ok, but I don’t find it spectacular and I
wouldn’t put it in the Top 10 Judgment of Light
cards. I wouldn’t even put it in the Top 10 Phantom
Beast cards, although I am NOT calling it a bad
card. Anyway, the actual review:
First, let’s talk about how you will summon this.
Currently, this is the only Phantom Beast Synchro
Monster (there are two Phantom Beast Tuners).
Concoruda doesn’t have any specifications as to what
you use for Synchro Material, but (in terms of using
Concoruda outside a Phantom Beast Deck) even though
Concoruda’s first effect protects ALL Tokens,
Phantom Beast is the only Deck I really know that
places a high importance on Tokens; of course,
Concoruda’s second effect actually requires you to
run some Mecha Phantom Beasts to be useful. Out of
the two Phantom Beast Tuners, Blue Impala is more
ideal; it lets you use a Mecha Phantom Beast right
out of your hand, where the Level-changing ability
of the MPB are ineffective, so it’s an easier time
Synchro Summoning. The other Tuner, Warbluran, isn’t
as effective, although it’s still pretty good by
tuning two Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens to get out
Concoruda (Hamstrat and Megaraptor are really
helpful in swarming); plus it’ll give you an extra
Token once you do so! (Unlike Blue Impala, Warbluran
is not limited to being a Tuner to only Machines,
but in terms of Concoruda, Blue Impala is still more
efficient.)
That’s enough about actually getting it out, but
what about the card itself? It’s primarily a
defensive card, and it’s a great opening play, but
it’s unique in the way that it only ever works when
you already have a heavy monster presence. 2400 ATK
is ok, pretty decent but still falls under the 2500
standard, and 1200 DEF means that Maestroke the
Symphony Djinn can cut it down easy (although as I
mentioned, if you summoned Concoruda it should be
assumed you already have good field presence so even
if you lose Concoruda to Maestroke, you should still
be in fighting shape). Tokens are absolutely
integral to the Phantom Beast playstyle; most
Phantom Beast cannot be destroyed when you got a
Token out. Concoruda mixes this up by defending the
Tokens, so if you throw a Safe Zone on this guy, it
offers battle protection on all of your monsters.
This allows you to maintain an offensive presence
while building up your forces for bigger plays. An
alternative to the Safe Zone play is waiting until
the point where the opponent has to conventionally
destroy this monster. Once that happens, you have
the privilege to exchange all your MPB Tokens to
play a Level 4 or below MPB from the Grave. It’s
pretty handy how Concoruda will replace itself, but
I can understand how some will balk at how you might
have to give up numerous Tokens in order to get back
one monster. It makes me a bit uncomfortable too,
but at least it’s handy when you need it. One
weakness of Phantom Beasts is that they tend to
overextend their Monster Card Zones; Concoruda’s
second effect helps you clear out any Tokens that
are currently hindering you and to replace them with
an Effect Monster. If it’s any consolidation, the
Special Summon of Coltwing will immediately provide
you with two more Tokens.
In general, it won’t be easy for Concoruda to exert
totalitarian power because it’s mostly a team
player. Another unexpected problem that comes with
the extended longevity of all your monsters is how
it clogs up your field, making it hard to swarm with
new monsters. Although it’s redundant in the way
Concoruda’s first effect guards your Tokens so
staunchly and the second takes them all out, these
are two distinct effects useful in their own ways.
Another positive thing is that it’s Level 7, making
it easy to give up the defensive stance Concoruda
gives for a more offensive approach for the Rank 7
Dracossack. Finally, for every Phantom Beast
Cross-Wing in your Graveyard, this monster gets 300
more ATK (but Cross-Wing is usually not appreciated,
usually in favour of Solidarity). All of these
qualities add to Concoruda’s flexibility and I will
not call it a bad card.
Trad: 2/5 (will protect Tokens from Raigeki and
Tribe-Infecting Virus but I don’t see Phantom Beasts
making that big a splash)
Adv: 3/5
Aesthetics: 4.99/5 Almost all Mecha Phantom Beasts
are inspired by a type of plane and a mythological
animal. Concorde was a set of twenty passenger jets,
designed by the Aérospatiale and British Aircraft
Corporation, that could fly over twice the speed of
sound. It kinda feels like it’s a holder for all
your Tokens, and the way it assembles your monsters
is symbolic of its supersonic speed. A
French/British project, it was named after the word
concord, a noun meaning “unity,” “togetherness,”
etc. (The word concord itself comes from the French
word concorde, which means the same thing.)
Structure-wise, it was famous for its flat
triangle-shaped (delta) wings with ogival (round)
corners, as well as its “droop nose.” Design-wise,
it was the first plane to have a fly-by-wire system,
which is a kind of autopilot. It was first put into
public use in 1976, and became incredibly renowned
for its lack of accidents – which is reflected in
its protection effect – until Tuesday, July 25,
2000. During Air France Flight 4590, a piece of
metal hit its left wheel and caused the tyre to pop,
causing it to knock the fuel tank open which
subsequently caught fire. All one-hundred and nine
people on the plane, plus four more on the ground,
got killed. Concorde didn’t carry passengers again
until a morning flight on Tuesday, September 11,
2001, and even then, all the passengers were staff
members. It was open to public use again on Friday,
November 1, 2001. However, because of the horrific
2000 crash, it lost a lot of popularity, especially
following the 9/11 attacks. For these two reasons,
and also because it was becoming too expensive to
maintain, Concordes were discontinued after
Wednesday, November 26, 2003. Concoruda is also
based off of Garuda, the huge eagle that Vishnu, the
ultimate Hindu god, rides on. Garuda has the power
to purge the body of poisons, and his favourite food
is Naga snakes. It feels somewhat silly: Piloting
Concorde, a passenger jet with Garuda’s image, into
battle on the front lines, guarding all your other
Mecha Phantom Beasts. The histories behind
Concoruda’s inspiration is one filled with rumours
and conspiracies and Garuda is a holy creature,
testaments to their legacies, which now grace our
humble card game.
abc_at_123.com@hotmail.com
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