Tuesday

Shifting to XYZ, specifically of a Number theme, we look at Number 69: Heraldy Crest. This is a Rank 4, Light attributed XYZ Monster, with 2600 attack and 1400 defense. Heraldy Crest is XYZ Summoned with three XYZ Material Monsters, and is a Psychic Monster.

This guy is hella good. When XYZ Summoned, he negates the effects of ALL other face-up XYZ Monsters on the Field. If that weren't enough, he also can gain the name and effect of another face-up XYZ Monster on the Field. Said identity theft is in effect until the end of the turn.

This guy can certainly be one hell of a game changer. He's strong, he neutralizes effects, and he can commit identity fraud. The trouble being, as good as he is, is there room for him in your Extra Deck?

Ratings:

Traditional: 3.5/5
Advanced: 4.5/5
Art: 5/5

We have a nice little Psychic Xyz monster for you today. Number 69: Heraldry Crest can pose a threat to some of the top decks being played today, with an emphasis on Elemental Dragons. Once you summon Heraldry Crest, its effect kicks in to negate all of your opponent’s Xyz monster’s effects, so even if it is Bottomlessed, it still gets its effect. Against E-Dragons, that means their Big Eye and/or Dracossack are reduced to 2600 beat stick monsters for as long as they stay on the field. Then we can use Heraldry Crest’s second effect to copy Big Eye, take one of our opponent’s monsters, and then ram it into the other monster to clear the field. Unfortunately, E-Dragons can summon a Dracossack or two every turn, so unless we can summon 3 level 4 monsters each turn, we are still in trouble. A cool trick would be to use Xyz Reborn on Heraldry Crest when your opponent uses the effect of a Xyz monster.

Number 69: Heraldry Crest is good against a ton of decks and monsters seeing play today besides E-Dragons. Monsters that protect themselves like Gachi Gachi, Zenmaines, Utopia, and Maestroke are all rendered useless by Crest. Then you can use Crest’s effect to copy them and make it more difficult to get rid of.

Heraldry Crest has a number of flaws besides having to have 3 level 4 monsters to summon it. First, its stats are not that overpowering with 2600 attack (the same as Dracossack and Big Eye), and 1400 defense. It would have been really good with 2700 attack and at least 2000 defense, but it is still on par with other 3 x 4 monsters. It is a light monster so it can be helped out with Honest. The other thing is that it gets its negation effect only once, so after the turn it is summoned, it is pretty much a sitting duck to aggressive decks.

There are a bunch of decks that can knock out 3 level 4 monsters like Hunder, Evilswarm, HERO, and Battlin’ Boxer to name a few. However, it is being able to do it consistently that becomes an issue. The other issue is competing for an extra deck spot against other generic 3 X 4 Xyz monsters like Evilswarm Ouroboros, Gagagigo the Risen, Number 16: Shock Master, Number 32: Shark Drake, Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon, and Vylon Disigma to name some of the better ones.

Traditional: 1.5/5
Advanced: 3/5

Today we are looking at: Number 69: Heraldry Crest

“3 Level 4 monsters

When this card is Special Summoned: Negate the effects of all other face-up Xyz Monsters currently on the field. You can target 1 other face-up Xyz Monster on the field; until the End Phase, this card's name and original effect become the same as that monster. You can only use this effect of "Number 69: Heraldry Crest" once per turn.”

I don’t really like this guy that much, but the combos he can pull off, sometimes, are pretty funny. If, say, you happen to have a big eye on the field, use its effect, then summon Crest, copy big eye’s effect, steal another monster, and attack with the original big eye. While that may not happen very often, or ever in some cases, it still can happen if you build a deck around him. Someday Heraldic decks will get their day to shine.

For now please refrain from playing him; outside of anything except casual.

Advanced: 2/5 (Just for his absurd combo of effects.)
Traditional: 1/5