Well, things are finally settling down for ol’ Otaku.  I still am behind (most of my writing would have occurred this weekend, but I was very busy during this time), so it looks like they’ll be mostly “quickies” this week.

 

Branch! is a Continuous Spell card.  This is a mixed blessing, since it means it is reusable, but also very vulnerable to Spell/Trap removal.  The effect is interesting: when a Fusion Monster on the field is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon (from your Graveyard) one of the Fusion Material Monsters used in its Summon.

 

Now, if you think Fusions are totally unplayable, you’re wrong.  If you think that they are playable, but have little hope of winning any major tournaments, you’re probably right.  Still, you can make a fun and reasonably competitive Fusion-based deck if you try.  Branch! makes a good pressure card for such a deck, especially when combined with Centrifugal Field, a Field Spell.  Yes, both cards have a hard time surviving, but they are definitely pressure cards in such a deck.  How so?  Centrifugal Field has a very similar effect to Branch!  Branch! requires you select a Monster used in the Fusion Summon.  It can get Fusion Substitutes back, unless like the Hex-Sealed Fusion series the Fusion might be counted as a Special Summon instead.  Centrifugal Field is limited to what is written on the Fusion Monster, and won’t trigger if the Monster is destroyed in battle, but it doesn’t require a proper Fusion Summon took place, or even that the Monster being Special Summoned was involved.

 

Together, the cards are pretty amazing, as it means that Fusions will keep coming back from the dead.  If I use Polymerization to fuse Cannon Soldier (thanks to Last Will it is actually very common for Fusion decks) with The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion, and then my Labyrinth Tank (not a brilliant Monster, but it is bigger than a Cyber Dragon) is nailed by a Smashing Ground, I can retrieve Cannon Soldier using Centrifugal Field and The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion using Branch!  This is legal since The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion still counts as a Fusion Summon if Polymerization is used.  Provided the Monsters survive, you can then use the effect of The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion to Special Summon another Labyrinth Tank.  I used this as an “easy” example; there are better Fusions you can do this with.

 

In other words, if your opponent ignores both of these, anytime they go to, say, Sakuretsu Armor your Fusion, you stand a good chance of getting it back.  Even if that exact Fusion is gone, you can minimize the loss by bringing back a decent Fusion piece or by fusing into something new.

 

Obviously, this is of little use to most decks, but in a dedicated Fusion deck a copy or two might be nice (especially if you aren’t using Fusion Gate).

 

Ratings

 

Traditional: 1.25/5

 

Advanced: 3.25/5-To reiterate, this is a score for Fusion deck use.

 

Limited: 1/5