Stats: Morphtronic Radion is a Level 4 Light/Machine.  Wait a minute… I was so excited one of these isn’t one of these guys isn’t Earth, I missed that this is a Thunder-Type.  Ouch! And the review will have been up at least a whole day before I can get a corrected version up.  Double ouch!  And while correcting this CotD, besides breaking several rules of grammar and good writing… I realized Morphtronic Magnen was a Thunder-Type as well.

 

…

 

I have no defense for such sloppiness.  All I can do is apologize for being sloppy and have to hope that everyone who read my reviews realized my mistake and either didn’t care or got a nice little laugh out of it.  This isn’t my first mistake, it won’t be my last, but I’ll try to give us a good, long while before another one.

 

Getting back on track: Level 4 is a nice, easy drop.  Level 3 would be better, but as we’ll see later, that might have overpowered the card.  Light is a bit more appropriate than Earth, I suppose, but I’d still assume “Wind” for a radio, which would have given us the first Wind/Thunder Monster.  Again, that might have made sense, given the actual nature of thunder and lightning.  I guess Thunder makes more sense here than it does for many actual Thunder Type Monsters, but it still looks like a machine to me (and Morphtronic Boomboxen would should match up, but doesn’t – confusing Konami).  The 1000 ATK is weak but at least Sangan and Shining Angel can fetch this card from the deck.  900 DEF is even worse, but still better than many actual beatstick Monsters.  As a whole package, the stats aren’t ideal, but after we factor in the effect they are solid.

 

Effects: Here is where this card shines.  While in ATK position it and all other Morphtronic Monsters gain 800 ATK, including itself.  Position change won’t stop it, either, since while in DEF position, it gains 1000 DEF points.  Its nice these aren’t as random as some past effects that boosted and you get the bonuses when in a matching position (instead of the opposite, like Fairy King Truesdale), the bonus, while restricted to a select group of Monsters is substantial and variable (in that one position boosts ATK and the other boosts DEF).  These may be the best effects of the Morphtronic Monsters I’ve seen, though Morphtronic Celfon is a close second.

 

Uses and

Combinations: I expect this will be the backbone as well as the muscle of the Morphtronic decks.  On its own, it can function as a solid beatstick or wall, as the situation requires.  What’s more, you really begin to appreciate the other Morphtronic Monsters when you realize that they have such an easy 800 ATK bonus available (or even 1000 DEF bonus when you look at stacking protective effects).  Morphtronic Radion’s effect does stack, so three copies in ATK mode mean +2400 ATK to each of the Radion as well as any other Morphtronic Monsters squeezed in with them.  +3000 DEF is less spectacular, but still possible.  Probably the most important, though, is splitting them up when not confronted by an overwhelming attacker or an empty field begging for a direct attack blitz: you can reinforce a Morphtronic Cameran in DEF position to protect all your Morphtronic Monsters from targeted effects.  It would take two to turn it into a wall, but even a single one forces a real beatstick (or one of the many non-targeting cards) to be wasted on it).  This also foils a simple “position change” strategy: change everything at once, such as with Windstorm of Etaqua, and you won’t have an optimum effect mix, but you’ll still have solid stats requiring a substantial follow up to destroy your field presence.

 

I bring much of this up because I know many of the arguments against running Morphtronic Monsters, and between their innate abilities and generic negation cards most players run in the metagame, the only real argument against playing them is the standard: there are bigger, better, broken decks dominating the metagame.  If you are at a major tournament, it is a sad but correct argument.  If you are at a local event or even a big tournament that isn’t critical, running something no one expects can be quite rewarding: both because its fun and because it is doubtful your opponent’s will know what to do.

 

When we start looking at non-Morphtronic decks that are either Light or Thunder or both, we start to see some potential.  Shining Angel can fetch this from the deck, and it instantly inflates to a solid beatstick.  On its own, Enemy Controller and its ilk are annoying, but far less dangerous than most other beatsticks find it: you’ll have 1900 DEF, after all!  Ultimate Offering would be recommended for Morphtronic decks anyway, but also as a generic combo piece for cards like this: dropping two at once results in two 2600 ATK beatsticks, after all.  Inferno Reckless Summon decks (yes, they exist, though I don’t think anyone plays them except for kicks) like this card as well.  It is an extra card to Special Summon this Monster in DEF position, but the reward is substantial: whatever your opponent got, you just set yourself up with three 3900 DEF walls that can shift to become 3400 ATK position beatsticks!  You’ll have to wait a turn or add yet another card effect, and… that is where even I am drawing the line.  Still, all these little things mean a certain level of versatility for the card.  It won’t be worked into any of the big, commonly played decks I’ve heard of, but it is the least theme specific Morphtronic Monster while at the same time being so important to their deck.  I mean, Thunder only has so many options.

 

Ratings

 

Traditional: 1.5/5 – Crazy OTK fun?  Well, just barely if you use a huge combo for it.  I was thinking of using this as a back-up for Batteryman AA, but you’d need an extra turn or card to get them into ATK position after an Inferno Reckless Summon.  So yes, an extra 0.5 for that is exceedingly generous.

 

Advanced: 4/5 – For Morphtronic and Thunder decks, this is a good card.  For Light decks, it can be an adequate card.

 

Art: 4/5 – I like.  This actually reminds me of Soundwave as much or more than Boomboxen did.  It seems like a smoother design than many of the other Morphtronic Monsters, who feel either “stiff” or “cartoon-y”.

 

Summary

A well designed beatstick and mini-wall that also is a stat-booster for its theme, I find this to be a well designed card.  If Konami had been less cautious when designing the other Morphtronic Monsters, this would be the card they’d have to ban to “un-break” them.  Thankfully, all seems in balance.

 

-Otaku