Crimson Dragon – #DUNE-EN038
If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 Spell/Trap that mentions “Crimson Dragon” from your Deck to your hand. (Quick Effect): You can target 1 Level 7 or higher Synchro Monster on the field, except “Crimson Dragon”; return this card to the Extra Deck, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Dragon Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck with the same Level as the targeted monster. (This is treated as a Synchro Summon.) You can only use each effect of “Crimson Dragon” once per turn.
Date Reviewed: December 19, 2023
Rating: 4.25
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
King of
Lullaby
Hello Pojo Fans,
Crimson Dragon was another one that I forgot, and am ashamed of as I love Dragon-Type monsters in this game and the game had been waiting forever for this monster from the anime.
Level 12 with generic materials (thank goodness) that searches out a Spell/Trap mentioning itself upon Special Summon. Years ago, making a Level 12 Synchro would seem like too much work, but now with so many Tuner Synchro monsters in the game and the ability to spam the field with Special Summons, Crimson Dragon likely should’ve been Dragon-Type only. You can also circumvent the whole process and banish Synchro Overlap when you lose a Synchro monster and Special Summon Crimson Dragon that way.
The most debilitating effect of Crimson Dragon is its Quick Effect that only needs itself and a Level 7 or higher Synchro Monster on the field. Crimson Dragon replaces itself with a Dragon Synchro that matches the level of the Synchro you targeted. Now this is a great effect to Synchro Summon another monster in place of Crimson Dragon and its 0/0 stat line, trigger interaction with your opponent on their turn, or set up for your next turn. Black Rose Dragon comes to mind to nuke the field if you have a Level 7, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon for negation power, or, the worst, if you had another Level 12 Synchro on the field, Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity to stop their turn immediately. Monster Reborn exists still to bring back a big Synchro monster to pair with a Tuner and Synchro Summon out another Level 12, and frankly you don’t even need that in certain archetypes that run a Level 12 Synchro like Mathmech, Superheavy Samurai, Synchro Dragon and Centur-Ion. If you get to Crimson Dragon you are likely to be able to spam out another Level 7 or higher Synchro Monster…you will be getting Crimson Dragon’s effect off during your opponent’s turn.
I’m beating myself up for forgetting such a good card. Sure, it takes a Synchro-based strategy to show how great this card is, but that’s what it’s meant for. Spamming Synchro Summons alongside Tuners to get to Crimson Dragon isn’t hard, getting another Level 7 or higher Synchro out is as easy as Monster Reborn, and interacting with your opponent on their turn is great. What you want to bring out on your opponent’s turn is up to you, but right now, if you can, Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity may be the best choice.
Advanced-4 /5 Art- 5/5
Until Next Time,
KingofLullaby
Crunch$G
2023 was a great year for Synchros as we see the first, but certainly not the last, Synchro to make the list at #9. From Duelist Nexus, we got Crimson Dragon.
Crimson Dragon is a Level 12 LIGHT Dragon Synchro with 0 ATK and DEF. Stats are pitiful, but everything else about it is great, including the generic summoning requirements of a Tuner and any non-Tuner(s). Upon being Special Summoned, you can search for any Spell/Trap that mentions Crimson Dragon in its text from Deck to hand, which now we got Synchro Rumble to search for a revive for your Level 7 or 8 Synchros, though not everyone even runs a search target for this. The main purpose of this card is the Quick Effect to target a Level 7 or higher Synchro on the field that isn’t Crimson Dragon and return this card to the Extra Deck to summon a Dragon Synchro with the same Level from the Extra Deck, treating this as a Synchro Summon. The most popular use is for Centur-Ion to target their Legatia to summon Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity on the opponent’s turn, or Cosmic Blazar Dragon on theirs. You can also see this in other Synchro Decks to target a Baronne de Fleur or Chaos Angel to summon a Bystial Dis Pater in Decks that don’t have much of a right of summoning it, or it can target most Level 8 Synchros to summon Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon with less hoops to jump through. It’s a great effect to cheat out big Dragon Synchros overall. Hard once per turn on each effect, of course, but this certainly has a place in tons of Synchro strategies to help cheat out Dragon Synchros you otherwise wouldn’t be able to summon, or would normally have a harder time summoning.
Advanced Rating: 4.5/5
Art: 5/5 I’m still just happy the card actually exists now.
My #9: Expurrely Noir
Mighty
Vee
Clocking it at number 9 is Duelist Nexus’s infamous Crimson Dragon, a level 12 LIGHT Dragon Synchro monster with generic materials but a depressing 0 attack and defense. We’ve already covered it during our Duelist Nexus coverage, so we’ll focus on how it’s been faring in the meta, plus its potential for the future.
Crimson Dragon’s claim to fame that sparked many calls for it to be banned is its unique ability to tag itself out for any Synchro Dragon monster from your Extra Deck that’s the same level as another Synchro monster you control as a Quick Effect. This means that any deck that can make two level 12 Synchro monsters can summon Hot Red Dragon Archfiend – King Calamity during your opponent’s turn, locking them down and almost guaranteeing your own victory. Of course, due to Crimson Dragon’s fragility, the combo itself is actually quite frail, making up for its devastating power. Mannadium initially used this strategy, but shifted away from it in favor of using Crimson Dragon to tag out for Bystial Dis Pater off of Baronne de Fleur, which has proven to be a weaker but far safer and more efficient endboard. Tagging out for King Calamity does remain the primary meta wincon for the new Centur-Ion deck, which can efficiently make two level 12 Synchro monsters, though the strategy’s weaknesses still apply and Centur-Ion will need Bonfire to achieve its full meta potential. Crimson Dragon is still an extremely powerful card, even if it hasn’t been razing the meta in the way people predicted. I do hope it continues to see more modest applications, like in Mannadium, if only to appease the savages that constantly scream about King Calamity. Crimson Dragon gets a copied and pasted rating!
+Powerful endboard potential in Synchro decks that can make multiple high-level monsters
-Inherently frail and can make all of your resources go to waste
Advanced: 4.25/5
Art: 4/5 Simple but sweet.
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