Red Energy Shield – Trunks Saga
Common - #24
Energy Combat

Power: Stops an energy attack. Raise any personality to their highest power stage. Remove from the game after use.

I bet you are all like… why the heck did matthewlow pick this card? Well… I love the quote.

“I have to protect my friends!” – Gohan

Friends are valued highly; I attempt to do my best for each of mine. Teaching, helping, and doing what I can for each and every one of them are what I hope I do. I love being reminded of Gohan and how he protects his friends over everything else. His kind heart is full of gold.

Anyway… enough with the anime stuff. I like the card for that reason. It looks cool, it is cool, it is a nice card, and it looks like it would work in ally. It could, but it is overshadowed. I would consider using it if I had more room, but unfortunately, I don’t.

This card is actually one of ally’s worse enemies. That wouldn’t make sense, but that’s the truth. If you read the card, it can raise ANY personality to full. So… let’s say Cell is at zero and his Cell Jrs are just killing Gohan. I’ll Red Energy Shield that Cell Jr 1 Level 2’s power, send Cell to full. No more ally fun for you. And yes that’s perfectly legal. It is a strategy tactic by far.

Red is lacking in the energy defense area. It has just attained Red Slide and Red Resistance (pretty much junk… Namek Balls in Anger? Please.), while Red Energy Defensive Stance continues to stand strong. We’ve got the useless Red Side Kick, the amazing Red Escape, and then this card. Oh, and Red Back Kick indirectly. I would attempt to go with a couple Energy Shields in every Red Deck. The ability to go to full can fuel energy attacks, take physical attacks, power allies, or even become anti-ally. This card has so many uses it isn’t funny. It doesn’t give anger, which can be a bad thing for anger decks, but a good thing for decks that rely on their level 1. It still is anti-ally, so it should be run regardless.

Run some of these in every Red deck. They are extremely easy to come by being commons, so nothing should bar you from adding some of these power commons to your arsenal. Many people don’t see much power in a little common, but this one shines above many to be one of the best.

Standard: 3.7 out of 5.0 (the ability to stop and fuel your next blow is amazing; doesn’t do much against DB, anger, or DV, but still a great card regardless. That and Namekian Energy is the environment, for now.)

Tuff Enuff: 4.2 out of 5.0 (gaining stages can be the difference between a loss, win, and overkill)

Sealed: 4.9 out of 5.0 (easy to get in sealed, totally owns as going to full stages is a luxury not often experienced, and can often turn a game around)

Well today's COTD is red energy shield. What is has to do with ally decks I don't know, but it's a pretty good energy defense. Lets see, stops an energy, powers up a personality to its highest power stage, and RFTGAU. Not bad, I'd run this in red energy, gives you more power stages for those energy attacks ^_^. The main thing about this card that seperates it from the other power ups is that you get to choose the personality that will be raised to full with its effect. This a very useful ability. If your at zero and you have ally powers you would like to use, then raise one of them to full instead (so it works a little with ally decks after all). Or you can raise your MP to full, and gain enough powerstages for more energy attacks. And lastly, the part you may not have thought about, raise your foe to his highest power stage. It may seem like a stupid idea at first, but it's actually very useful in the right situation. When your opponent has finally gotten himself to zero and is about to beat to you this combat with all of his allies, you play this card. Ally decks are normally energy decks correct? Just imagine the look on their face when you stop their first ally's attack and raise their MP to full. No more ally powers for them, and you have some free time to beat them down with your own energies. Good card when you think about it.

Standard: 3 (not a bad block when you take the time to think about it)