Decode Talker 

We begin our reviews by starting with the monster that kicked off the new expansion to the game. Like Stardust Dragon, we should expect Decode Talker to be a future mascot of the game and receive periodic support. It’s kind of exciting when you think about the long future that awaits this card. Only time will tell if he will be a big player in the end. 

Effectively requiring 3 monsters to summon, Decode Talker is instantly scary upon first read. With the ability to pump to 3800 and possessing up to 3 opportunities to negate targeting effects in any given turn, you can’t ask for much more from a monster that can be summoned using any effect monsters, regardless of level. And so really it comes down to how he can be positioned on the board, since that now matters, and that’s where he also takes a bit of a hit. Decode Talker’s arrows point up and down, and there’s a big difference between monsters that point left and right and those that do not. Since Decode Talker doesn’t point horizontally, he can’t really be used as a second link summon to further extra deck plays. And if you summon Decode Talker without monsters linked to him, he’s a sitting duck. One Compulsory Evac sends him back to the deck and potentially ruins your whole turn. Overall, it’s pretty clear that over time, link monsters that point left and right at least once will be more flexible (like Honeybot, which we will be reviewing this week). 

But like with all monsters, there are always a number of factors that weigh into how good a monster can be. Decode Talker might not be super flexible, but he’s still a beast, and because he needs generic material, that’s a huge plus. He’s easily countered, so he’s high risk, high reward. But early into the link monster format, Decode Talker is a great option for link decks. Hopefully, his future support is plentiful and awesome. 

Advanced: 3.5/5
Future Potential: 4.5/5

Decode Talker is a Dark Cyberse-type 3 Arrow Link Monster with 2300 Atk. It requires 2 or more Effect Monsters to properly Link Summon. It gains 500 Atk for each monster it points 2. Unlike other aspects of Link stuff, the monsters this card points to can be face-down to still gain the boost. Decode Talker also has a negation effect by tributing a monster this card points to. It only negates effects that target a card you control, but your able to negate an opponent's monster should they choose to summon an Extra Deck monster to the arrow space Decode Talker points to. 
That's everything Decode Talker does. Anything else would be something that you can do to Decode Talker. Link Summoning is here and necessary so get used to it. 2 or more effect monsters is easy enough, but really the first time you would need three face-up effect monsters. This is a very balanced card. It doesn't negate too much, and the Atk boost is relevant all the time since Link Monsters can never be in Def position. Watch out for Cherries, but put this in the Extra Deck if you run an Extra Deck. 
 
Score: 4/5
Art: 4/5
 
-WarlockBlitz

With a new era comes a new summoning mechanic. As we go into the Vrains, we are introduced to Link Monsters. Today, we finally start reviewing Link monsters starting off with the best one in the new Starter Deck, Decode Talker. (I'm not going to tell you all about the new rules, as it would take forever.)
 
Decode Talker is a Link-3, meaning you have to at most use 3 monsters, and his Link Materials require at least 2 (Link-2 + another monster). Decode Talker requires only Effect Monsters, which is pretty generic. Gofu + Link Spider makes this easy to summon just by drawing the Gofu. His Link Pointers point Up, Bottom Left, and Bottom Right. These are pretty good Link Markers to have, except for the Up one, cause you don't want to let your opponent access the Extra Deck with greater ease. Decode Talker gains 500 ATK for each monster it points to, meaning he can get up to 3800 ATK, which is great. Once per turn (Quick Effect): If your opponent activates an effect that targets a card, you can tribute a monster Decode Talker points to in order to negate and destroy that card. This is a great effect, especially for a card in a Starter Deck. Probably the best Starter Deck card to date.
 
As a new Starter Deck comes out for a new era, we get good cards that are great at the beginning, but get power creeped into oblivion. Utopia, Colossal Fighter, Mastroke, and Gachi Gachi were all meta relevant cards when they were released in their respective Starter Decks and now only Utopia only sees play because of Utopia the Lightning and the others aren't played anymore. So I expect this guy to get power creeped, but for now he is amazing.
 
Advanced Rating: 4/5

Starting off the week we have Decode Talker, a LINK 3 dark cyberse monster with 2300 attack and no defence to speak of. Decode Talker got his TCG release recently in the 2017 starter deck and was almost immediately added into a host of decks.
 
Needing 2 or more effect monsters to summon, with 3 being the maximum, Decode is pretty standard. He gains 500 attack for every monster he's pointing at for a maximum attack of 3800. Also, if your opponent targets a car you control with an effect, you can tribute 1 monster he points to and negate that effect. Normally, you can only tribute your own, but if Soul Exchange was previously activated, then you can tribute an opponent's monster instead, assuming it's being pointed to Decode.
 
Advanced 3.5/5 He's good for one of the first Link monsters released.