This card is based on the character Falco from Star Fox.  What?!  No, he isn't!

Shaddoll Falco

Nutshell:

Flip Effect – Set 1 Shaddoll from graveyard to field

Graveyard Effect – Sets itself to the field

The once per turn clause can be circumvented.  Use it's grave effect to set it during your turn, and then trigger its flip effect during your opponent's turn with the Sinister Shadow Games trap card or via battle.

So, which monster will you set?

Beast has the most powerful flip effect, so he's my default choice. 

Hedgehog is your top priority if you don't have a Shaddoll Fusion in play yet.

Squatama is good if you need quick monster removal, or Dragon maybe if the opponent has a Synchro/XYZ floating around.

One weakness to watch out for.  When you set Falco, the opponent can destroy it via a card effect (like El Shaddoll Construct in mirror matches).  Then, Falco will summon itself and not another Shaddoll from the grave.  Then, you attack it with another monster and basically the once per turn clause negates the flip effect.

The fact that it's a LV2 tuner gives it another thing going for it.

Falco + Hedgehog = Armades Keeper of Boundaries

Falco + Dragon/Squamata = Goyo Guardian

Falco + Beast = Black Rose Dragon or Arcanite Magician

Shaddoll players of course are split on this card.  All agree it's worth running, but many will run 2 because its slow.  While other players, like myself, like using 3 to combo it into a plus.

Assessments

Power – 4/5 ; It's a tuner for Synchros that revives/recycles monsters, gets itself out really quickly.  Strong stuff all around.

Versatility – 4/5 ; High marks on this one.  You can get whichever monster you need for the situation on your field.  Though in the situation you are in, you might want an instantly activated effect rather than a slow one like this.

Dependability – 4/5 ; Depends on you having a graveyard power established, which isn't hard for Shaddolls.  But once you have a grave full of Shaddolls, you're good.

Card Advantage – 4/5 ; You can use the grave effect during your turn and the flip effect during your opponent's.  Potential +1.

Speed – 3/5 ; Falco plays a bit slower than the others.  Since he sets the monster, you're getting an effect during the next turn.  Not the turn you use it.  But its still faster than most monsters.

Ratings

Traditional – 2/5 ; A bit slow for Traditional but Shaddolls can still make it.

Advanced – 3.75/5 ; Its the slowest Shaddoll in raw speed, but it gets high marks in every other category.

Mechanic Design – 4/5 ; A quality reviver that makes a fair trade of power and versatility for speed.

Artwork – 4/5 ; Something about this really resonates.  Maybe the puppet strings.  But the bird overall has an excellently designed color pallette.  Though a lighter background may have helped bring out the bird a bit more.

Verdict

A slow monster that revives, plusses and tunes.  Run 2-3.

Shaddoll Falco

Essentially a recruiter monster with its first effect, except only for Shaddoll monsters, but since there is no restriction on Level it also allows you to use Shaddoll Beast without requiring Tribute. However, Falco’s true ability becomes clear when you can either use the Summoned monster for Synchro Summoning, and here the large variety of Levels really helps out in getting exactly the Synchro monster that you require, or it allows you to get what monster you need out onto the field so that you can use it with Shaddoll Fusion. Either way, Falco adds a lot to the Deck as a whole.

At the very worst, this provides the Shaddoll player with the ability to stall off a couple of attacks.

And did I mention that Falco is a Tuner?

Additionally, if Falco is sent to the Graveyard via a card effect it gets to Summon itself from the Graveyard in face-down defence position, allowing you to use its first effect when flipped face-up during your or your opponents next turn.

Like all Shaddoll monsters this has two effects and you can only use one effect once per turn.

Clearly a staple and no less than 2 should be used.

Traditional: 2.5. Surviving being face-down to use its additional effects may not be quite so easy, still what it provides is vast and clearly able to be used extremely well with the right cards. And with Graceful Charity, opening with it in hand isn’t quite the inconvenience here either.

Advanced: 3.5. Extremely important to the Deck, it allows you to set it all up. Starting with it in your hand though is not quite so good as it limits your ease of easily using its second effect.

Shaddoll Falco

“Rock Me Amadeus!”

Sorry couldn’t help it, with a monster called Falco. Anyway today we look at Shaddoll Falco. Statwise it is a DARK/Spellcaster, which is very good, it is also a level 2 Tuner, which is strange since there are no Shaddoll Synchros at the moment, but a Level 2 Tuner is still good, with 600 ATK, meh for a level 2 and  1400 DEF which is actually quite good.

Effectwise like the rest of the Shaddolls it has two. The FLIP effect allows you to Special summon a Shaddoll; monster paring Shaddoll Falco; face down. For Shaddolls this is an amazing effect, allowing you to not only bring back a monster but also use its FLIP effect again.

The second effect activates when this card is sent to the graveyard via a card effect and allows you to special summon this card from the Graveyard face-down. Another great effect allowing you to recycle and bring back another monster next turn.

Overall a must for Shaddoll decks as it allows you to special summon your monsters face-down, which is very important for this deck.

Traditional: 4/5
Advanced: 4/5

Shaddoll Falco (not to be confused with the Star Fox character) is the corrupted version of Gusto Falco, being Level 2 and having 600 ATK and 1400 DEF. These stats aren’t too good, though the DEF stat is nice for a Level 2 monster. Falco is the only Shaddoll Tuner monster, therefore opening the Deck up to strong Synchro plays.

Falco’s two effects are also both revival based, giving the Deck some grind power. When flipped face-up, Falco will summon any other Shaddoll monster in the Graveyard face-down, setting up later plays. When sent to the Graveyard by card effect, Falco will summon itself to the field; this makes an opening play of Mathematician/Armageddon Knight/Foolish Burial -> Squamata (who we’ll discuss on Friday) -> Falco a strong startup.

Falco is a bit of a dead draw, as when drawn it’s pretty slow and best used in Synchro Summoning, but the revival aspect makes it a solid card in the grind based TCG meta. It’s not a card you want to max out, but one or two copies is definitely a good choice.

Traditional: 3/5

Advanced: 3/5

Side note: You’ll have to forgive me for my more concise and slightly rushed reviews recently. I just started up school again, and while I’m trying hard to not completely drop out of CotD like I did last year, it is eating up a significant portion of my time.