Evolution – Into The Vrains: Link Vrains Pack 1 – Yugioh Preview

INTO ZA VRAINS! Hello Pojo Readers, Crunch$G here. When I first heard about OCG’s Link Vrains Pack, my interest was captured from the beginning, and with the reveal of some of these Link Monsters, older decks can now evolve into the Link Era. With so many interesting new Link Monsters, I thought I would talk about them, starting with the first ever Link Vrains Pack, I will do one on Premium Pack 20 once every card is revealed and we see the other Link Monsters, and I will do another on any future Link Vrains Packs since the code for the set is LVP1, I imagine there will be another for hopefully other archetypes. Fire Fists? Six Samurai? We got a HEROes, so maybe something like Blackwings or Raid Raptors? I’m getting ahead of myself, lets talk about these new Link Monsters and how they evolve certain deck. Consider this an early Card of the Day review for all 20 of these cards. (Don’t worry, I will summarize the effects.)

Also, there is more into some epic archetype lore, especially with the Hidden Arsenal lore, but I will leave you guys to look into that lore if interested.

Perpetual King Archfiend

Link-2, 2 Fiend Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

Okay, this one seems to be just a throwback to those very old Archfiend monsters. I think they came out in Dark Crisis in 2003? Don’t quote me on that. Anyhow, this card gives those reminders of the old Archfiends with the 500 cost to keep it alive and it has some weird dice effect. The thing with the dice effect reliant off the first effect to send a Fiend to the GY with ATK or DEF equal to any cost you paid, most likely 500 with those old Archfiends, where there are no real good Fiends with 500 ATK or DEF except maybe Night Assailant. And with that dice effect, you got a 1/6 chance to summon the Fiend sent, 1/6 chance to add that Fiend back to the hand, and a 4/6 chance to just put it back into the deck. Why couldn’t we just summon the Fiend or add it to the hand? Why is the put it back in the deck part there? This leaves more to be desired, but it only requires two Fiends to have Bottom Left and Bottom Right arrows, so it might be useful in Fiend decks. Just this card could of had a much better effect.

Gladiator Beast Dragacius

Link-2, 2 Gladiator Beast Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

Yeah, we are not off to a great start, are we? I can get where we were going with this, though. Allow Gladiator Beasts to get its battle through by making it immune to battle destruction as well as preventing effects during that battle, which is great for Gladiator Beasts. Also it has the tag out effect all Gladiator Beasts have by getting 2 back, only Gladiator Beasts aren’t fast enough to make great use of this. The arrows suggest they wanted you to use this to eventually go into Tamer Editor to use that to summon another Gladiator Beast from the Extra Deck, but the problem still stands. Gladiator Beasts can’t go that fast. If you summon this, there is a good chance this dies before you get into Tamer Editor. The best case scenario is to summon this using Rescue Rabbit into two Andal or Rescue Cat into two Samnite, Link into this, get another Normal Summon, summon Laquari, battle, then summon Agustus to then summon another Agustus or Noxious. This card isn’t bad, just sad that Gladiator Beasts can’t go too fast to where they can make best use of it.

Kyrios, Dominion of the Lightsworn

Link-3, 3 Monsters with the same Attribute but Different Type, Bottom Left and Bottom Right and Up Arrows.

Oh boy, we are getting into the goodies now. Lightsworns probably got one of the better Link monsters that can be used in several different decks. The three monsters with the same Attribute but different Type can be a pain, but Lightsworns and several other decks that can use this with ease will. This card is a Foolish Burial for any card and on top of that can then trigger a mill 3 effect when any card is sent from the deck to the GY by any means. Yeah, this card has Lightsworn written all over it. Not only that but it can get you a card back from the GY upon its death, this is maybe one of the best Link Monsters in the set. Also, as I referred to, the summoning condition is easier to get off than you might think.

Gem-Knight Phantom Core

Link-2, 2 Gem- Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

This thing is purely for Gem-Knights and not generic Fusion support, unlike the generic Synchro and Pendulum support later in this set, but geez this is great for Gem-Knights. The Gem-Knight deck had a high ceiling to pull off an OTK or even FTK, and this card helps bring that potential back to life. On summon, you can search a Gem-Knight card, which is amazing. Not only that, but this thing can let you use your GY or banished zone for a Fusion Summon (you banish with Gem-Knight Fusion or Absorb Fusion sometimes). Plus, with the arrows, this helps Lady Brilliant Diamond use her effect, and combo this with Lady Lapis Lazuli and Master Diamond, OTKs and FTKs are at the snap of the finger once again thanks to this card.

Steelswarm Origin

Link-2, 2 lswarm Monsters, Up and Down Arrows

We are changing the arrows around a bit now, but it makes sense here. Origin prevents Extra Deck Monsters from entering the Main Monster Zone unless this card points to that Main Monster Zone. Having this thing only point down would be cruel, but thankfully that isn’t the case. Combo this with Ophion and you got a brutal lockdown of the Extra Deck. It just gets better since this thing is safe from targeting and destruction while it points to a monster (*cough* Ophion *cough*). Not only that, but this thing can replace monsters that are destroyed with Level 4 or lower lswarms from the deck. Evilswarm Kerykeion. Also this is easy to summon with Rescue Rabbit into two Heliotropes or if you want to get cheeky and tech Steelswarm Scout. This card does what the Evilswarm deck is meant to do, and it does a great job at that, and if you are wondering what this does for Steelswarms, well we don’t talk about Steelswarms, they aren’t really Extra Deck based anyways. 😛

Inzektor Picofarena

Link-2, 2 Insect Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows.

I have not seen this archetype get support since 2012 with Galactic Overlord, similar to another archetype later in this article. This card helps Inzektors a decent amount by getting you an equip from the deck at the cost of a discard. Ladybug, Hornet, and Giga-Mantis come to mind first. It also helps the Insect support in the Legendary Duelists 2, but I won’t discuss that now. Only sucks that equip from the deck cannot be equipped to Picofarena, but getting an equip on a Dragonfly or Centipede is great since those cards are still good. Not only that, but it helps recycle Insects, so it is good for any Insect deck. The card doesn’t really help Inzektors get started, but it does help extend what Inzektors do, establish a board, clear the field, and OTK. Now if only Dragonfly and Hornet can come to 2 or 3 in the TCG. 🙂

Hieratic Seal of the Celestial Spheres

Link-2, 2 Dragon Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows.

Another archetype that hasn’t been supported since Galactic Overlord in 2012, Hieratic. I like this archetype, and this card is great for Hieratic as well as other Dragon decks. Allows for easy disruption on your opponents turn while in the Extra Monster Zone by letting you tribute a Dragon on the field or in the hand to bounce an opponent’s face-up card to the hand. Obvious Hieratic synergy is obvious. It can also tribute itself after you summon your monsters from the Extra Deck, which then by tributing itself, you can summon any Dragon from the hand or deck by making its stats 0/0. Tribute this with a Hieratic monster or with its only effect, helps get to Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon faster. This card is really cool for Dragon decks, I honestly like it.

Crowley the Origin of Prophecy

Link-2, 2 Spellcaster Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

No, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is Aleister the Invoker. He created the Spellbooks. Ever heard of Aleister Crowley? Yeah, neither have I, lol. Don’t worry, we will see Aleister later on. This card is handy for any Spellcaster deck, allowing the Spellbook engine to have more life in it. It allows you to select three Spellbooks with different names and randomly add one to the hand. Knowledge, Secrets, and Spellbook Magician are some of the first cards you will choose more than likely. If only Spellbook of Judgment was back, HA! Anyway, this card also allows a Level 5 or higher Spellcaster to be summoned without tribute. High Priestess of Prophecy, World of Prophecy (though you should likely never be Normal Summoning that), Reaper of Prophecy, even Dark Magician. There are some good targets for this to let you Normal Summon. Dark Magician of Chaos is another one. Nice card to boost Spellcaster decks and allowing Spellbooks to be more accessible.

Fresh Madolche Sistart

Link-2, 2 Madolche Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows.

This kinda makes me sad, I was hoping the Madolche Link would help extend Madolche Combos, instead it protects cards you might not really need to protect, though I guess it is nice. Sistart only protects Madolche Spells/Traps while it points to a monster, so I guess it guarantees Ticket to go off, but eh. It also saves itself from destruction by shuffling a Madolche into the deck. If you didn’t put the Madolches back with Chateau, I guess this should have at least 2 since the Link Materials won’t go back since those Madolches were not destroyed. At least with it being a Fairy, putting the Madolche back into the deck, or hand with Chateau, does summon a Madolche from the deck with Ticket or Chocolat-a-la-mode if it has a Puddingcess. I am sure there is a way to get this on the field with either a Tiaramisu, the best Madolche Extra Deck Monster, or Chocolat-a-la-mode, plus this is easy to summon with cards like Anjelly, Hootcake, and Mewfeuille, but I wish it extended combos and not just protect Ticket and Chateau, that isn’t what the Madolche deck needed, though I guess Cosmic Cyclone, MST, or Twin Twisters will not be stopping you now. Just disappointing though, cause I love Madolches.

Mermail Abyssalacia

Link-2, 2 Fish/Sea Serpent/Aqua Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

Lets get back on track with the really good Link Monsters. Abyssalacia helps Mermails do something they don’t really prefer, going first. Summon this with a Megalo equipped with Mizuchi and you are in a good spot. This Link Monster lets you ditch a Water from the hand to search a Mermail. Thankfully this triggers Atlanteans. It can also trigger Altantean cards like Dragoons, Heavy Infantry, or Marksman. This card also has another effect to trigger Atlanteans, as when it is destroyed, you can send a Water from the deck to the GY to revive a Water in Defense Position, so no summoning this back. This card helps the Nimble and Frog cards have more value in the Mermail deck. Deep Sea Diva plus Neptabyss just got better as well. This card proves why Atlantean Mermails will always stand the test of time.

Isolde, Reminiscence of the Noble Knights

Link-2, 2 Warrior Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

Noble Knights actually got one of the better Link Monsters, this is great for any Warrior deck. First off, upon being Link Summoned, you can search for a Warrior from the Deck. Almost a better Reinforcements of the Army since it can be any Level, but you can’t use the monster searched that turn. Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning is now easily searchable for any Warrior deck, and Noble Knights can make use of it since it does run Light Monsters (the Noble Knights) and Dark Monsters (Merlin). The second effect is obvious Noble Knight synergy, as you can send Equip Spells from the deck to the GY to summon a Warrior from the deck with a Level equal to the number of Equips sent. Only Noble Knights can make use of this, but at least you can fill the GY with Equips you want on your Noble Knight Xyz Monsters as well as fuel Brothers for recycling fuel. Great card to evolve both Warrior decks and Noble Knights as a whole.

Shaddoll Construct

Link-2, 2 Flip Monsters, Left and Right Arrows.

The arrows will make sense in a minute, but this just makes me want El Shaddoll Construct back even more. It doesn’t help that this thing is already a Light Monster. With this card, the Shaddoll engine just gets better, especially in Flip decks. The only challenge might be to summon this thing, but it isn’t hard with Rescue Cat into two Rykos, which can be useful in the deck when El Shaddoll Construct comes back. This card can let you Fusion Summon a Shaddoll using cards on the hand or field as material. You will likely use this. Now it might seems that summoning this just to Fusion Summon might be bad and you would rather just use El Shaddoll Fusion, Shaddoll Fusion, or even freaking Polymerization in your Shaddoll deck, but this card lets you discard a Shaddoll to revive it, which triggers a Shaddoll effect and lets you have two Linked Zones in your Main Monster Zone to summon more Fusions, Synchros, Xyzs, Links, anything. If you can summon this thing, which isn’t terribly difficult, but not with great ease, you are in a great position, especially with Shekhinaga and Winda with it at the same time. Now give us back El Shaddoll Construct.

Qliphort Genius

Link-2, 2 Machine Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

I am not a Qli fan, but I can realize how amazing this card is. Genius is easy to summon, especially if you tech in Mecha Phantom Beast Thetherwolf into the deck. Genius is unaffected by Spells/Traps and activated effects of other Link Monsters, so the protection is there. This card also allows to negate the effects of a card on each field each turn, but this isn’t a quick effect sadly. Still great to get a Qliphort Monster to full ATK and turn off a Floodgate that hurts you. The final bit is where this card can get bonkers, where it can search for a Level 5 or higher Machine if two monsters are Special Summoned to the zones this card points to at the same time. Qliphort can do this easily with its Pendulum Summon and Disk. Dinomists can also make use of this effect. Plus, this isn’t a hard once per turn, so Pendulum Summon, search Disk, Tribute Summon Disk, then summon two more Qlis to the zones Genius points to and search Stealth. You can even summon that Stealth in the same turn if you have Laser Qlip. This is a good card for Machine Decks like ABC, Cyber Dragon, and especially Machine Pendulum Decks like Qliphort and Dinomist. 

Ritual Beast Ulti-Kimunfalcos

Link-2, 2 Ritual Beast Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

Cannahawk should of never went to 1, but that’s besides the point. This link helps boost the Ritual Beast theme a ton. First, Ritual Beasts this points to gain 600 ATK and DEF, a neat boost, but not why this card is great. You can banish a Ritual Beast from the GY to Normal Summon a Ritual Beast. The Ritual Beast Tamers want to be Normal Summoned to summon Spiritual Beasts, so this thing can help you get a Fusion with it. Just sucks all of the Ritual Beast Main Deck Monsters can only be Special Summoned once per turn. Also this card has the tag out effect all of the Fusions have, but this thing doesn’t really banish the monsters used to summon this, but if you did banish more Ritual Beasts, you can make use of this to get up to 3 Fusions on the field. Just don’t think you can be cheeky and summon this again to get another Normal Summon cause that effect is a hard once per turn.

Zefra Metaltron

Link-3, 2+ Monsters that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, Bottom Left and Bottom and Bottom Right Arrows

The card is really neat, but doesn’t help Zefra in the slightest, but I guess we got the Metalfoes Link for that, which we will get to. If a monster this card points to that was summoned from the Extra Deck is destroyed, you can add a Monster from the GY to the hand or a Pendulum Monster from the Extra Deck to the hand. Nice replacement effect for a destroyed monster, allowing you to get resources to summon another Extra Deck Monster or something. This is a hard once per turn, so you don’t over recycle. Also, this card can allow you to target two monsters summoned from the Extra Deck on each side of the field and banish them until the End Phase. Nice way to get a the Gem-Knight Light Fusion out of your Main Monster Zone to summon something else. Also allows you to go for game with greater ease. Just don’t get ahead of yourself going for game cause this is a hard once per turn as well. This card is why Gofu is limited, cause that is a one card this, as well as a more broken Link Monster I will discuss later. Man, a lot of cards can lead to other cards a lot in this article.

Aromaseraphy Jasmine

Link-2, 2 Plant Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

Oh boy, we are getting into the really good stuff now. Another tool to help that FTK with Topologic Bomber Dragon, we got a card that is more generic Plant support than it is Armoa. You can tribute a Monster this card points to and summon a Plant from the deck. Lonefire Blossom, Predaplant Orphys Scorpio, Spore, Glow-Up Bulb, the big Sylvans, even freaking Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis for that FTK are all accessible with this card. Also this card searches a Plant when you gain Life Points, so tech in an Aroma Garden for your Plant Deck if you are feeling cheeky. This card is also immune to Battle Destruction when your LP are higher than your opponents. Plant decks will be playing this in 3-ofs, because a simple Mathematician can send a Dandylion to summon the Tokens to summon this and have a Mathematician to tribute for the effect. Outstanding Plant support.

Cherubini, Black Angel of the Burning Abyss

Link-2, 2 Level 3 Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

This deck won’t die, will it? No, don’t think this card will help every deck that uses Level 3 Monsters only, it is better with Burning Abyss along. I love PK Fire as a deck and this helps the deck stay alive in this new era. First off, cards this card points to cannot be destroyed by card effects, save those BAs when you control Beatrice I guess. If this card would be destroyed, you can send a card you control the the GY instead. Get rid of a Fog Blade that is annoying you I guess, or trigger a Burning Abyss effect. This thing is easy to destroy because it has 500 ATK, but it can boost a BA by sending a Level 3 from the deck to the GY. You will most likely boost this and send a BA to the grave, though a Phantom Knight is an option. Sadly, that effect isn’t a Quick Effect, but this card alone allows Burning Abyss to really thrive in Link Era… despite those tops they have earned after the Link Era started.

Heavymetalfoes Electurn

Link-2, 2 Pendulum Monsters, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

Ready for Pendulum Magicians to get a mega boost? This card will do that as well as boost other Pendulum Decks like Metalfoes, Dinomists, etc. When this beauty is Link Summoned, you can put a Pendulum Monster from the deck into the Extra Deck. Amorphage Sloth comes to mind, but this should almost say add a Pendulum Monster from the deck to the hand because this thing can pop a scale you have to get a Pendulum Monster back from the Extra Deck. Just add back an Astrograph Sorcerer and use that effect immediately to summon himself and search for what you popped. To put the cherry on top, this thing lets you draw a card when a Pendulum Card leaves the Pendulum Zone, this is the only hard once per turn effect too, lol. This thing just helps Pendulum Decks like Pendulum Magicians and Metalfoes just stack plusses on top of plusses. Probably the second best Link in this set.

Crystron Needlefiber

Link-2, 2 Monsters Including 1+ Tuner, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

Well then… this card is insane. Upon summon, you can get any Level 3 or lower Tuner from the deck, but it cannot use its effects this turn. Grab a Spore or Glow-Up Bulb, cause I am sure it can still use its effects once it hits the GY. You can even summon a Ghost Ogre or Ash Blossom if you really have to. This card just extends Synchro Plays to another level. It gets better too, because you can tribute it during the opponent’s Main Phase or Battle Phase to summon a Synchro Tuner from the deck, and most of those let you Synchro Summon on your opponent’s turn, extending Synchro Plays to even your opponents turn. Life Stream Dragon can even be sided if you play this vs Trickstars. This card is bonkers and I wouldn’t be shocked if it saw the ban hammer one day. It helps tons of decks like D/D/D, Blackwings, Crystrons, you name it, this thing can boost as long as it has good Synchro plays on hand. Gofu summons this by itself, so that doesn’t help its case.

Aleister the Meltdown Invoker

Link-2, 2 Monsters with different Types and Attributes, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Arrows

We end this thing with the return of Aleister and whatever he was doing previously really got to him. This card isn’t hard to summon with Gofu and Scapegoat using the current Link Pool, so that is nice. This card is treated as Alesiter the Invoker on the field or in the GY, which makes Invocation live with greater ease. If you Fusion Summon to a zone this card points to, you can discard a card to search for Invocation or the Book of Law. This gives a reason to play The Book of Law now, since that card can give you more OTK potential. Also, when this card leaves the field thanks to an opponent’s card effect, you can search for Omega Summon. It is so specific to how it has to leave the field that Omega Summon isn’t worth running. The card is clearly meant to help only Invoked, and this is more useful to the OCG, who has Aleister the Invoker at 1. This is useful for a pure Invoked build, worth playing and is not too hard to summon.

In Conclusion

I am glad Konami put forth effort in helping decks with these new rules, and they hit the nail on the head in most cases. I really look forward to what Link Monsters we get in Premium Pack 20 and any future Link Vrains Pack, and I really hope they are as good as some of these Links. One of the best sets in a long time, hope it comes to the TCG in the same way very soon.

Thank you for reading, I am Crunch$G. You can contact me at iphoneperson@icloud.com if you have any questions or want to discuss Yu-Gi-Oh. Thanks! :]