I mean, who doesn’t love space bears? Hello Pojo Readers, Crunch$G here to tell you about the latest Deck Building Set to release to the TCG: Ancient Guardians. As always, we get three new archetypes and 15 Collector’s Rares in the set. For players who always wanted a graveyard-reliant Reptile archetype, we have the Ogdoadic archetype swarming from the grave. Musical fans and Pendulum enthusiast both can enjoy the Solfachord archetype and controlling your scales and notes. Finally, we get bears in space with the new Ursarctic archetype to protect the Big Dipper. With three new archetypes, we got to break down all the new support, and of course learn the Collector’s Rares in this set. So with all that out of the way, let’s get down to business.
The Collector’s Rares
As we see, Collector’s Rares return in Ancient Guardians with a new set of 15 cards between the debuting cards and reprints alike. The Ogdoadic archetype’s Collector’s Rares are Aron, the Ogdoadic King, Amunessia, the Ogdoadic Queen, and Ogdoabyss, the Ogdoadic Overlord. For Solfachords, you get FaSolfachord Fancia, SolSolfachord Gracia, TiSolfachord Beautia, and DoSolfachord Coolia all in Collector’s Rare. The Ursarctic also has Ursarctic Polari, Ursarctic Septentrion, and Ursarctic Grand Chariot as Collector’s Rares. For your reprinted cards in the rarity, we get Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes, Skull Meister, Dinowrestler Pankratops, Snake Rain, and Trade-In all in Collector’s Rare.
Into the Abyss
For the first archetype to analyze, we’ll take a look at the Ogdoadic, a theme of LIGHT and DARK Reptiles with graveyard reliant effects. Nunu, the Ogdoadic Remnant is a Level 4 LIGHT who can send itself from hand to grave to send a DARK Reptile from the Deck to the grave as well as revive itself if you control no monsters or an Ogdoadic monster, but it’s banished when it leaves the field and you can only Special Summon Reptiles while you control it. Nauya, the Ogdoadic Remnant is a Level 4 DARK who can send itself from hand to grave to send any LIGHT Reptile from Deck to grave and upon being summoned can search you any Ogdoadic Spell/Trap from the Deck. Folgos, the Ogdoadic Boundless is a Level 4 LIGHT who if either sent from the field to the grave or Special Summoned from the grave can target a monster the opponent controls and a monster in their graveyard with equal or higher ATK to send the first target to the grave and Special Summon the second one, also while this card is in the graveyard you can choose to send a card from your hand to the grave to add this back to your hand. Zohah, the Ogdoadic Boundless is a Level 4 DARK who upon either being sent from the field to the grave or Special Summoned from the grave can let the opponent draw a card to then let you add any Ogdoadic monster from your Deck to your hand and then force both players to discard a card, also it has the same recovery effect in the grave as Folgos. Keurse, the Ogdoadic Light is a Level 8 LIGHT who can Special Summon itself from the graveyard by tributing a monster, then the opponent can Special Summon a monster from their grave with its effects negated, also upon this card being Special Summoned you can revive a Level 4 or lower Ogdoadic, but it’s banished when it leaves the field. Aleirtt, the Ogdoadic Dark is a Level 8 DARK who can also Special Summon itself from the grave by tributing a monster, then the opponent can add a monster from their graveyard to the hand, and upon this monster being Special Summoned can let you return 2 of your banished monsters, including a Reptile, to the graveyard. Aron, the Ogdoadic King is a Level 8 LIGHT who can tribute 2 monsters to Special Summon himself from the graveyard, can let you send a random card from the opponent’s hand to the graveyard if they add a card to their hand, and it can let you add any LIGHT/DARK Reptile that isn’t Aron from the Deck to the hand if a monster is sent from the opponent’s field to the graveyard, except during the Damage Step. Amunessia, the Ogdoadic Queen is a Level 8 DARK who can Special Summon herself from the grave by tributing 2 monsters, can make the opponent send a card they control to the grave if a monster is Special Summoned from the grave, and can let you revive a LIGHT/DARK Reptile that isn’t another Amunessia if a card is sent from the opponent’s hand or Deck to the grave. Ogdoabyss, the Ogdoadic Overlord is a Level 10 LIGHT who can Special Summon itself from the grave by tributing 3 monsters, and as a Quick Effect once while it’s face-up on the field, you can send all monsters on the field to the graveyard that weren’t Special Summoned from the grave. Ogdoadic Water Lily is a Normal Spell that lets you send any Reptile from the Deck to the grave, then it can let you revive any Reptile if you have 5 or more Reptile monsters with different names in your graveyard. Ogdoadic Origin is a Field Spell that can send a card the opponent controls to the grave if your Reptile is destroyed by battle or the opponent’s card effect, also if this card in the Field Zone is destroyed by an opponent’s card, you can make the opponent send the top cards of their Deck to the grave equal to the number of Reptiles with different names in your graveyard. Ogdoadic Hollow is a Continuous Trap that during the Main Phase can let you tribute a Reptile Effect Monster to target a monster in the opponent’s graveyard and Special Summon it, but it’s sent to the graveyard at the end of the turn, also upon this card being sent to the grave, you have to send all face-up non-Reptile monsters you control to the graveyard. Finally, Ogdoadic Calling is a Normal Trap that can let you Special Summon 2 Ogdoadic Tokens (Reptile/DARK/Level 2/ATK 0/DEF 0), or if you have 8 or more Ogdoadic monsters with different names in your graveyard, you can instead Special Summon 2 Reptile monsters with different names from your graveyard.
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
Now we can get into the musical-based Solfachord archetype. This archetype is full of Fairy Pendulums each with a different Level and Scale that all add up to 9, and also rely on having even and odd Pendulum Scales for effects. Also, it should be noted the Level 1-4 Solfachords prevent your Pendulum Summons of Solfachords from being negated and the Level 5-8 Solfachords prevent the opponent from activating Spell/Trap cards or monster effects when your Solfachords are Pendulum Summoned. Now with the basic stuff out of the way, to the monsters themselves. DoSolfachord Cutia is Level 1 Scale 8 who boosts your Solfachord Pendulum monsters by their Scale x100 if you control an even Pendulum Scale and upon being summoned can let you add a Solfachord Pendulum Monster, besides Cutia, from Deck to hand. ReSolfachord Dreamia is a Level 2 Scale 7 who can destroy itself instead of a Solfachord when it would be destroyed by an effect and you have an odd Pendulum Scale, and also it can be Special Summoned from the hand if you have a Solfachord in the Pendulum Zone. MiSolfachord Eliteia is a Level 3 Scale 6 who prevents you from taking damage from battles involving Solfachords while you have an even scale, and upon summon can return an opponent’s Spell/Trap to the hand. FaSolfachord Fancia is a Level 4 Scale 5 who can destroy herself instead if a Solfachord would be destroyed in battle and you have an odd scale, and can add a Solfachord monster from your Deck to face-up in the Extra Deck during your Main Phase. SolSolfachord Gracia is a Level 5 Scale 4 who prevents the opponent from activating monster effects when your Solfachord monster attacks and you have an even scale, and on summon can add a Solfachord Spell/Trap from the Deck to the hand. LaSolfachord Angelia is a Level 6 Scale 3 who prevents the opponent from activating Spells or Traps when your Solfachord attacks and you have an odd scale, and can tribute a Solfachord monster you control to Special Summon from the Deck a Solfachord monster with a Pendulum Scale that’s 2 higher or lower than the tributed monster, except another Angelia. TiSolfachord Beautia is a Level 7 Scale 2 with a Quick Effect to target an Effect Monster the opponent controls, or a face-up Spell/Trap they control if you have an even scale, and banish it if it leaves the field this turn, and also once per turn when this monster battles an opponent’s monster whose ATK is equal to or higher than your highest Pendulum Scale x300, that opponent’s monster is destroyed. DoSolfachord Coolia is a Level 8 Scale 1 who can be Special Summoned from the hand by tributing 2 Pendulum Monsters, can target a face-up card the opponent controls, or up to 2 if you have an odd scale, and negate their effects until the end of the opponent’s turn, and as a Quick Effect can destroy a monster who activates its effects if it has ATK lower than or equal to your highest Pendulum Scale x300. Solfachord Elegance is a Normal Spell that can let you place a Solfachord Pendulum Monster from your Deck into your Pendulum Zone, add a Solfachord Pendulum from your hand to your Extra Deck face-up to then place 2 Solfachord Pendulums (1 even scale and 1 odd scale) into your Pendulum Zones, or add 2 cards (1 even scale and 1 odd scale) from your Pendulum Zones to your Extra Deck face-up to let you draw 2 cards. Solfachord Scale is a Quick-Play Spell that can let you apply any of the following effects in sequence based on the number of Solfachord Pendulum Monsters you control with different names with 3+ letting you return a card in your Pendulum Zone to your hand to add a monster face-up in the Extra Deck to your Pendulum Zone, 5+ letting you Special Summon a Solfachord Pendulum from your hand, and 7+ destroying all face-up cards the opponent controls. Solfachord Harmonia is a Field Spell that can let you add a face-up Solfachord in your Extra Deck to your hand, increase the scale of a Solfachord in the Pendulum Zone by its Level for the turn, and can let you destroy an opponent’s card if you control Solfachord monsters with 3 different even scales or 3 different odd scales. Solfachord Musica is a Normal Trap that lets you activate an effect based on the Solfachord Monster’s scales you control with even letting you Special Summon a Solfachord with an odd scale from the Extra Deck, odd letting you Special Summon a Solfachord with an even scale from the Extra Deck, and both even and odd letting you target and destroy an opponent’s card. Finally, Solfachord Formal is a Counter Trap that while you have a Solfachord in your Pendulum Zone when the opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card or monster effect, you can shuffle a face-up Pendulum Monster in the Extra Deck to the Deck to apply the following effects of making your Pendulum Monsters unaffected by that effect, as well as cards in your Pendulum Zones not being able to be destroyed or banished by that effect.
Space Bears of the Polar Star
Finally, we get to the space bears, being the Ursarctic archetype. This archetype is full of WATER Beast and Beast-Warrior monsters and is based on summoning Synchros by subtracting Levels instead of adding them. Therefore we got Level 7 non-Tuner Beasts, the Mik- forms of the Ursarctics, as well as Level 8 Tuner Beast-Warriors, the Mega-forms of the Ursarctics. All of this to summon a Level 1 Synchro and then use that alongside Level 8 Tuners to summon the Level 7 Synchros. They all also have a Quick Effect to Special Summon themselves from the hand by tributing another Level 7 or higher monster from the hand, with the downside being you can only summon monsters with a Level that turn. Ursarctic Mikpolar on Special Summon can let you add a differently named Ursarctic monster from the Deck to the hand, Ursarctic Miktanus on Special Summon can let you add a differently named Ursarctic monster from the grave to the hand, and Ursarctic Mikbilis on Special Summon can let you Special Summon a differently named Ursarctic from hand. Ursarctic Megapolar on Special Summon while controlling another Ursarctic can target and destroy an opponent’s Spell/Trap, Ursarctic Megatanus on Special Summon while controlling another Ursarctic can change an opponent’s face-up monster to face-down Defense Position, and Ursarctic Megabilis on Special Summon while controlling another Ursarctic can banish a card in the opponent’s graveyard. Ursarctic Polari is a Level 1 WATER Beast Synchro who must be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck by sending 2 monsters you control with a Level difference of 1 (1 Tuner and 1 non-Tuner) to the grave, on summon can let you activate an Ursarctic Big Dipper from the Deck, and can let you tribute a Level 7 or higher monster to add to your hand or Special Summon an Ursarctic from your graveyard. Ursarctic Septentrion is a Level 7 WATER Beast-Warrior Synchro who must be Special Summoned by sending a 2 monsters you control with a Level difference of 7 to the grave (1 Level 8 or higher Tuner and 1 non-Tuner Synchro), negates all face-up monsters on the field without a Level that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, and lets you add an Ursarctic monster from Deck to hand if the opponent Special Summons, except during the Damage Step. Ursarctic Grand Chariot is another Level 7 WATER Beast-Warrior Synchro with the same summoning condition as Septentrion, upon summon can target up to 2 other cards on the field and destroy them, and can tribute a Level 7 or higher monster from the hand or field as a Quick Effect to negate the activation of a card or effect that would target an Ursarctic card you control. Ursarctic Departure is a Normal Spell that can let you discard a card to add 2 Ursarcitc monsters with different names from the Deck to the hand, and can be banished from the graveyard instead of tribtuing a monster for an Ursarctic monster’s effect, except during the turn this card was sent to the graveyard. Ursarctic Slider is a Quick-Play Spell that can target an Ursarctic monster that’s banished or in the grave and Special Summon it, but it cannot attack and is destroyed in the End Phase, and also you can only Special Summon monsters with a Level for the rest of the turn after this resolves. Ursarctic Big Dipper is a Field Spell that once per turn can banish an Ursarctic monster from the grave instead if an Ursarctic monster would tribute another monster to activate its effect, gains 1 Counter each time a monster is Special Summoned, and can remove all counters from itself (min. 7) if a monster is Special Summoned while an Ursarctic Synchro is on the field to let you take control of an opponent’s monster. Finally, Ursarctic Quint Charge is a Continuous Trap that can let you pay 700 LP to either add an Ursarctic monster from the grave to the hand or tribute 2 Ursarctic monsters, even if face-down, to Special Summon from the Extra Deck an Ursarctic Synchro with a Level equal to the difference between the two tributed monsters’ Levels, plus when your Ursarctic Synchro is destroyed by an opponent’s attack, you can make the opponent shuffle cards into the Deck until the combined total of cards in their hand, field, and graveyard equals 7.
Noteworthy Reprints
Now for the reprints, broken down by cards related to certain archetypes and then generic cards. For Ogdoadic reprints, you get a bunch of Reptile goodstuff with reprints for Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes, Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes, Evil Dragon Ananta, Lightserpent, King of the Feral Imps, Snake Rain, Viper’s Rebirth, Damage = Reptile, Rise of the Snake Deity, and Offering to the Snake Deity. For your Solfachord reprints, you get Pendulum goodstuff with Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer, Dinoster Power, the Mighty Dracoslayer, Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer, Majester Paladin, the Ascending Dracoslayer, Pot of Riches, Wavering Eyes, and Igknight Reload. Finally for Ursarctic reprints, you only got one card dedicated specifically to the archetype with Ayers Rock Sunrise. Trade-In is also in here, arguably for either the Ogdoadic archetype or Ursarctic archetype. Other generic reprints include Skull Meister and Dinowrestler Pankratops, mainly to make Collector’s Rares.
In Conclusion
First off, I’ll mention I do like this set and the archetypes. Ogdoadic is something I wanted to see for a long time to finally see Snake Rain get a good use. Solfachords are a nice piece of Pendulum love, and finally some Pendulums that aren’t Spellcasters. Also, space bears are just cool, so I like Ursarctic. With that said, I don’t see much of an impact from this set beyond a casual level. Ogdoadic might be experimented with for some cool ideas and might have some potential. Solfachords seem like one of the weaker Pendulum archetypes we’ve ever received, sadly, even if the gimmick is cool. Also, while Ursarctic is very cool and unique with what it does, problem is the Deck is very resource costly to do what it does. The reprints are about as you expected, though I would of liked if more of them were Collector’s Rares than what we actually got. Dinowrestler Pankratops and Skull Meister are cool, but they aren’t enough and they probably still could of made better choices for generic cards. It’s a set I like, but sadly it could end up being one we forget about after a while, which is sad.
