Insane to think the manga is 25 years old and now the TCG is 20 years old. Hello Pojo Readers, Crunch$G back here to tell you about the first core booster set of 2022: Battle of Chaos. This set focuses on support of two very classic Duel Monsters era archetypes: Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes. There is also a brand new Trap-based strategy using some Dinosaur monsters, an expansion of the Icejade archetype to give them a real play, various support for older archetypes like Vampires, Ghostricks, and D/D/D, and much more. We also have a nice insert in this set to get a special art over here the OCG had to obtain in what could be considered a more difficult way. There’s a bunch here as always, so let’s go down the list and see what we got.
25th Anniversary Celebration Bandai Dark Magician Art
First off, the new alternate artwork for Dark Magician that was put into this set. Now in Japan, I remember you had to get a ticket with your box to send in to potentially get the Dark Magician, and I doubt TCG was going to do it in a similar way. Instead, they just straight up put it into the set for you to potentially pull. Instead of taking up a foil slot, it’ll be the last card in the pack in the place of a common, which is much better. As far as I know, it isn’t in every case, but it’s about as easy to get as a Starlight Rare. It’s a cool collectible piece to add to this set to add some value, even if it’s just in the Ultra Rare rarity. I don’t know if it’ll get reprinted after this set, so this might be your one shot to get this piece of history.
The Starlight Rares
Alright, so now we get to the things that haven’t changed about core sets, starting with Starlight Rares. Of course, 4 in the regular set and another Starlight that’s inserted are your potential options. Of course you were going to get a Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes related card in Starlight Rare in this set, so the choices here went to Illusion of Chaos and Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon. The Charmers are also completed as Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy comes in the Starlight rarity. The new archetype is also represented with a Starlight to Dinomorphia Therizia. As for your inserted Starlight, we got a reprint for The Dark Magicians in Starlight Rare to give both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl a Starlight Rare without giving the actual cards the rarity.
The Ultimate Wizards
As you see on the cover and with the bonus Starlight and inserted celebration card, the main focus of the set is the new Dark Magician cards, as we have 5 brand new cards to support the archetype. Magikuriboh is a Level 1 DARK Fiend who can be sent from the hand to the graveyard during either Main or Battle Phase of the turn you took damage to Special Summon a Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl from your Deck or graveyard, and returns from the graveyard to your hand if a Spellcaster you control is destroyed by battle or opponent’s card effect. Dimension Conjurer is a Level 1 DARK Spellcaster who upon Normal or Special Summon can let you add a Magicial Dimension from your Deck or graveyard to your hand and if sent from the Monster Zone to the graveyard will let you draw cards equal to the number of Spellcaster monsters you control and then place cards from your hand to the top of the Deck equal to the number of drawn cards. Timaeus the United Dragon is a Level 8 LIGHT Dragon who can be Special Summoned from your hand by sending a Spellcaster monster or a Spell/Trap that lists Dark Magician in its text from your hand or face-up field to the graveyard and lets you Fusion Summon a monster by using monsters from your hand or field as material, as long as you include a Spellcaster. Illusion of Chaos is a Level 7 DARK Spellcaster Ritual who can be Ritual Summoned using Chaos Form, can be revealed from the hand to add a Dark Magician or any non-Ritual Monster that lists Dark Magician in its text from Deck to hand and then places a card from hand on top of the Deck, and when the opponent uses a monster effect then you get a Quick Effect to negate that monster’s effect by returning this card to your hand and reviving a Dark Magician from your graveyard. Finally, Master of Chaos is a Level 8 DARK Spellcaster Fusion that needs Dark Magician and any Chaos or Black Luster Soldier Ritual, upon Fusion Summon can revive any LIGHT or DARK monster, can tribute a LIGHT and DARK monster to banish all cards the opponent controls, and lets you add a Spell from grave to the hand if it is destroyed by battle or card effect and was Fusion Summoned.
The Ultimate Creatures of Destruction
Where Yugi is, Kaiba usually follows behind, as seen here with some new Blue-Eyes cards. Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon is a Level 8 LIGHT Dragon that prevents other cards you control from being destroyed by card effects, can be Special Summoned from your hand or graveyard if a card(s) on the field is destroyed by battle or card effect, and can target a card the opponent controls to return it to the hand when this card battles at the start of the Damage Step, but no effect can be activated unless you have Blue-Eyes White Dragon on your field or in your graveyard. Dictator of D. is a Level 4 DARK Spellcaster who lets you choose the attack targets for your opponent’s attacks if you control a Blue-Eyes monster, can be Special Summoned from the hand by sending a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from hand or Deck to the graveyard, and can send a Blue-Eyes White Dragon or any monster that lists it in its text from hand to grave to target a Blue-Eyes in your graveyard and Special Summon it. Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon is a Level 8 LIGHT Dragon Fusion of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and any Dragon monster, must be Fusion Summoned or Special Summoned from the Extra Deck by tributing a Blue-Eyes White Dragon equipped with a Fusion Monster, unaffected by Trap Cards or effects, can attack all monsters the opponent controls once each, and once per turn after the end of the Damage Step where this battled can let you target a Trap in your graveyard and set it to your Spell/Trap Zone. Vision with Eyes of Blue is a Continuous Spell that upon activation can reveal a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in your hand to Special Summon any monster from your hand and can target a monster you control and return it to the hand to apply the appropirate effect based on what was returned to the hand with Blue-Eyes White Dragon letting you Special Summon a monster from the hand and any other monster letting you summon a Blue-Eyes from your hand. Finally, Ultimate Fusion is a Quick-Play Spell that during the Main Phase lets you Fusion Summon any Fusion that lists Blue-Eyes White Dragon or Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon as material by shuffling the materials from your hand, field, and/or graveyard into the Deck and then destroy face-up cards the opponent controls for each Blue-Eyes White Dragon or Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon used as material from the field.
Empire of the Icejade
Now we continue through the Fallen of Albaz lore in this set, mainly represented by a full wave of Icejade cards, alongside support for Dogmatika, Swordsoul, and Branded. Icejade Kosmochlor is a Level 10 WATER Aqua who can be Special Summoned from the hand if a face-up card is in the Field Zone, only lets your opponent’s monsters use their effects the turn they’re summoned while Icejade Cenote Enion Cradle is on the field, and makes your opponent’s monster lose 1000 ATK during damage calculation when it battles an Icejade monster. Icejade Aegirine is a Level 3 WATER Aqua who on Normal or Special Summon can let you add an Icejade Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand, and when your opponent targets this card by a card effect or a monster for an attack, then you get a Quick Effect to prevent this card from being destroyed by battle or card effect the next time it would and then lets you Special Summon a WATER monster from your hand pr graveyard that isn’t’ another Aegirine that returns to the hand during the End Phase. Icejade Creation Kingfisher is a Level 9 WATER Aqua who can target a WATER monster you control and equip this card from your hand or field to that monster, lets an Icejade monster equipped with this attack while it’s in Defense Position and apply it’s DEF, and while eqiupped to a monster can then target a monster the opponent controls with ATK less than or equal to the DEF of the monster this is equipped to in order to Special Summon this and return the opponent’s monster to the hand. White Relic of Dogmatika is a Level 4 LIGHT Spellcaster Ritual that can be Ritual Summoned with Dogmatikamacabre, if Ritual Summoned can target 2 face-up monsters on the field to make one of them gain the ATK of the other, prevents Level 8 or higher Dogmatika monsters from being destroyed in battle, and if a monster(s) is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, you can look at the opponent’s Extra Deck to send a monster from there to the graveyard. Swordsoul Sinister Sovereign – Qixing Longyuan is a Level 10 FIRE Wyrm Synchro that needs a Tuner and any non-Tuner Wyrm monster(s), lets you draw a card if you Synchro Summon another Wyrm while you control this card, can banish a monster the opponent Special Summons and inflicts 1200 damage to them, and can banish an opponent’s Spell/Trap when they activate that card or effect and inflict 1200 damage to them. Icejade Cenote Enion Cradle is a Field Spell that upon activation lets you add an Icejade that’s banished or in your graveyard to your hand and once per turn on the Normal or Special Summon of an opponent’s monster can target a WATER monster you control to have that monster and all monsters the opponent controls lose ATK equal to the targeted original monster’s ATK. Branded Disciple is a Continuous Spell that negates the activated effect of a monster with 0 ATK or DEF while you control a Level 8 or higher Fusion and when two monsters with 0 ATK battle can destroy the opponent’s monster. Dogmatikamacabre is a Ritual Spell that can Ritual Summon any Dogmatika Ritual from your hand or graveyard by using monsters from your hand or field and/or banishing Fusion or Synchro monsters from your graveyard whose combined Levels equal or exceed the Ritual’s and then you can look at the opponent’s Extra Deck and send a monster to the graveyard if you both White Knight of Dogmatika and White Relic of Dogmatika are on the field. Icejade Erosion is a Continuous Trap that can target a face-up card the opponent controls to destroy an Icejade monster you control and negate the targeted card’s effects until the end of the turn, also if a WATER monster leaves the field by the opponent and wasn’t destroyed, you can add to your hand or Special Summon an Icejade monster from your Deck. Finally, Swordsoul Strife is a Continuous Trap where if a card(s) is banished, you can banish a Wyrm Synchro or Swordsoul card that’s in your hand, Deck, graveyard, or face-up field and if banished can let you summon a Swordsoul Token (Level 4/WATER/Wyrm/ATK 0/DEF 0) that only lets you summon Synchros from the Extra Deck while you control it.
Dinomorph in Half
Now for the new archetype of the set, the Dinomorphia archetype, full of Dinosaur monsters build around Traps and Fusions that all want to half your LP. Dinomorphia Therizia is a DARK Dinosaur that upon Normal or Special Summon can set a Dinomorphia Trap directly from your Deck and then gains 500 ATK if your LP are 2000 or below and if destroyed by battle or card effect can banish a Trap from your graveyard to Special Summo a different Level 4 or lower Dinomorphia from your graveyard. Dinomorphia Diplos is a Level 4 DARK Dinosaur that upon Normal or Special Summon can send any Dinomorphia card from Deck to grave and then inflicts 500 damage to the opponent if you have 2000 or less LP, and if destroyed by battle or card effect can banish a Trap from your grave to revive a different Level 4 or lower Dinomorphia monster. Dinomorphia Kentregina is a Level 6 DARK Dinosaur Fusion of 2 Dinomorphia monsters, loses ATK equal to your LP, can let you pay half your LP during the Main Phase as a Quick Effect to banish a Dinomorphia Trap from your graveyard to use that card’s effect as this card’s effect, and if destroyed by battle or card effect can let you summon a Level 4 or lower Dinomorphia from your graveyard. Dinomorphia Stealthbergia is a Level 6 DARK Dinosaur Fusion of 2 Dinomorphia monsters, lets you not pay LP for Trap Cards or Dinomorphia monster effects while you have 2000 LP or less, can inflict damage to the opponent equal to the original ATK of a monster who activates its effect, and if destroyed by battle or card effect can let you revive a Level 4 or lower Dinomorphia. Dinomorphia Domain is a Normal Trap that lets you pay half your LP to Fusion Summon a Dinomorphia Fusion by using monsters from your hand, field, or Deck as Fusion Material and can be banished from your graveyard while your LP are 2000 or less and the opponent uses a card or effect to prevent you from taking effect damage for the rest of the turn. Dinomorphia Alert is a Normal Trap that lets you pay half your LP to revive up to 2 Dinomorphia monsters whose combined Levels are 8 or less and has the same grave effect as Domain. Dinomorphia Brute is a Normal Trap that lets you pay half your LP to destroy a Dinomorphia monster you control and a card the opponent controls and has the same graveyard effect as the previous two cards. Dinomorphia Shell is a Counter Trap that at the start of the opponent’s Battle Phase can let you pay half your LP to summon a Dinomorphia Token (Dinosaur/DARK/Level 10/ATK 0/DEF 3000) that can be the only attack target for the opponent that turn and can be banished during damage calculation while your LP are 2000 or less to prevent you from taking battle damage from that battle. Dinomorphia Sonic is a Counter Trap that when the opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card can let you pay half your LP while you control a Dinomorphia monster to negate and destroy that card and then destroy a Dinomorphia monster you control and has the same graveyard effect as Shell. Finally, Dinomorphia Reversion is a Counter Trap that while you control a Dinomorphia Fusion can let you pay half your LP and banish a Counter Trap in your graveyard to copy that card’s effect and it has the same graveyard effect as the previous Counter Traps.
Nordic Relic Blacksmithery
Now we get to a surprise wave of Nordic support with 4 brand new cards to boost the archetype. Nordic Beast Gullinbursti is a Level 3 LIGHT Beast Tuner who can be substituted for any Nordic Tuner, upon Normal or Special Summon can let you Special Summon a Nordic from your hand, and can target a different Nordic monster in your graveyard and add it to your hand. Nordic Smith Ivaldi is a Level 4 EARTH Warrior who can be Special Summoned from the hand if you control an Aesir or Nordic monster and upon Normal or Special Summon can let you add a Nordic Relic from Deck to hand. Nordic Relic Hlidskjalf is a Normal Spell that lets you Special Summon a Nordic from the Deck at the cost of only being able to summon Aesir monsters from the Extra Deck while that monster is on the field and can be banished from the graveyard to add a Nordic monster from Deck to hand and then shuffle a card from hand into your Deck. Finally, Nordic Relic Svalinn is a Continuous Trap that if you control an Aesir monster will be able to negate the effects of all face-up monsters the opponent controls until the end of the turn and can tribute a Nordic monster to revive an Aesir monster.
D/Different D/Dimension
Now for the return of the D/D archetype with 4 brand new cards themselves. D/D Gryphon is a Level 4 Scale 1 DARK Fiend with a Pendulum Effect to target a Fiend monster you control to have it gain 500 ATK for each Dark Contract Spell/Trap on the field or in the graveyard with different names and then destroys this card and it has a Monster Effect to Special Summon itself from the hand in Defense Position if you control a D/D monster, upon Pendulum Summon can let you discard a D/D or Dark Contract card to draw a card, and if Special Summoned from the graveyard can let you add a different D/D card from Deck to hand. D/D/D Deviser King Deus Machinex is a Rank 10 Scale 10 DARK Fiend Xyz that needs 2 Level 10 Fiends to summon, has a Pendulum Effect where while you have another card in your Pendulum Zone you get to target a Pendulum Monster you control or in your graveyard to Special Summon the card in your Pendulum Zone and place the targetd monster in the Pendulum Zone instead and a monster effect to be Xyz Summoned using any D/D/D monster as material and transfer the materials to this card, only lets you control 1 copy of itself in the Monster Zone, once per chain with a Quick Effect when the opponent’s monster they control activates its effect to detach 2 materials from this card to destroy a Dark Contract you control and attach the monster to this as material, and during the Standby Phase can place itself in your Pendulum Zone. Dark Contract with Patent License is a Field Spell where if the opponent Special Summons a monster (Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link) while you control a D/D/D monster of the same card type, you can burn the opponent for 1000 damage and lock them from summoning monsters of the same card type for the rest of the turn, also if sent to the graveyard can let you add a D/D monster from your graveyard or face-up Extra Deck to your hand. Finally, D/D/D Headhunt is a Normal Trap where if you control a D/D/D monster, you can target a monster the opponent controls to take control of it until the End Phase of the next turn, but it’s effects are negated, it cannot declare an attack, and it’s treated as a D/D/D monster if it’s a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck.
Ghostrick Tricks
For the next archetype to make a return, we got the Ghostricks with 4 brand new cards. Ghostrick Siren is a Level 4 DARK Fairy who can only be Normal Summoned if you control a Ghostrick monster, can change itself to face-down Defense Position once per turn during the Main Phase, and if flipped face-up can send the top 2 cards of your Deck to the graveyard and apply 1 of 2 effects if you sent a Ghostrick card where you can either add a Ghostrick Spell/Trap from Deck to hand or change an Effect Monster the opponent controls to face-down Defense Position. Ghostrick Festival is a Link-1 DARK Spellcaster with a downward arrow, needs any non-Link Ghostrick to summon, can use a face-down Ghostrick monster as Link Material to be summoned, lets your Ghostrick monsters attack directly while a Ghostrick card is in the Field Zone, and can be tributed when an opponent’s monster declares an attack to Special Summon a Ghostrick from your Deck in face-down Defense Position. Ghostrick Shot is a Normal Spell that Special Summons a Ghostrick from your hand or graveyard and then lets you change a face-down Ghostrick to face-up Attack Position, also it can be banished from the graveyard to attach a Ghostrick monster in grave to a Ghostrick Xyz you control as material. Finally, Ghostrick or Treat is a Normal Trap that can target a face-up monster the opponent controls to make that monster not able to attack that turn and have its effects negated while also switching to face-down Defense Position at the end of the turn, but your opponent can pay 2000 LP to change this effect to resetting this card instead of sending it to the graveyard after activation.
Libromancer Rituals
Finally for the archetypes with full on waves of support, we reach the new TCG exclusive archetype: Libromancers. This archetype is another Ritual archetype based on successive Ritual Summons with each Effect Monster meant to get a Ritual Monster counterpart, but one is missing for now. Libromancer Geek Boy is a Level 3 WIND Psychic who can reveal a Ritual Monster in your hand to Special Summon this from hand and upon Special Summon can let you add a Libromancer Spell from your Deck to your hand. Libromancer Magigirl is a Level 4 WATER Spellcaster who can reveal a Ritual Monster in your hand to Special Summon this from your hand and has a Quick Effect on the opponent’s turn to Ritual Summon a Libromancer Ritual by using monsters from your hand or field whose Levels equal or exceed the Levels of the tributed monsters. Libromancer Agent is a Level 6 EARTH Warrior who can be Special Summoned from the hand by revealing a Ritual Monster in your hand and can add a Libromancer card from grave to hand that isn’t another Agent, but makes you return a card from hand to the bottom of the Deck if you add a Spell/Trap card. Libromancer Firestarter is a Level 3 FIRE Cyberse Ritual who can be Ritual Summoned with any Libromancer card, cannot be destroyed or banished by card effects if Ritual Summoned using a monster(s) on the field, and gains 200 ATK/DEF each time the opponent activates a card or effect while this card has 3000 or less ATK. Libromancer Doombroker is a Level 6 DARK Fiend Ritual who can be Ritual Summoned with any Libromancer card, can attack directly if Ritual Summoned using a monster(s) on the field, can set a Libromancer Trap directly from your Deck during your Main Phase, and can target a face-up monster the opponent controls to shuffle it into the Deck when this card inflicts battle damage. Libromancer First Appearance is a Field Spell that on activation lets you add a Libromancer card from Deck to hand with a different name from the cards you control and during your Main Phase lets you Ritual Summon a Libromancer Ritual by using monsters from your hand or field whose Levels equal or exceed the Ritual Monster’s. Finally, Libromancer Intervention is a Normal Trap where if your opponent activates a card or effect, you can target a Libromancer Ritual you control and return it to the hand to negate the activated effect and Special Summon a Libromancer from your hand or graveyard.
Archetype Assists
Finally we get to all the other archetypes boosted in this set with 3 or less cards. This time around we got support for Vampires, S-Force, Dream Mirror, Myutant, Magnet Warriors, Agents, the Star series, Simorgh, Kuriboh, Lair of Darkness, Ogdoadic, Ursarctic, Floowandereeze, XYZ, and Princess Cologne. Vampire Ghost is a Level 3 DARK Zombie who on Normal Summon lets you send another Vampire card from your hand or face-up field to the graveyard to add a Level 4 or higher Vampire from Deck to hand and send a Level 2 or lower Vampire from Deck to grave and during the Main Phase as a Quick Effect can let you pay 500 LP and banish this card from the graveyard to immediately Normal Summon a Vampire monster. The Zombie Vampire is a Rank 8 DARK Zombie Xyz that needs any 2+ Level 8s to summon, can treat a monster owned by the opponent that has a Level as Level 8 for the Xyz Summon of this card, prevents either player from targeting this card with the effect of Special Summoned monsters unless they were summoned from the graveyard, and can detach a material to make both players send the top 4 cards of their Decks to the graveyard and then lets you summon a monster from either graveyard that was sent off this effect. Vampire Fascinator is a Link-3 DARK Zombie with Up, Bottom-Left, and Bottom Right arrows, needs any 2+ monsters, including a Zombie, to Link Summon, lets you summon a monster from the opponent’s graveyard upon Link Summon while locking you to Zombie monsters for the rest of the turn, and can tribute a Zombie you control to take control of an opponent’s monster until the End Phase. S-Force Lapcewell is a Level 6 LIGHT Fiend who if Special Summoned can revive a different S-Force monster from your graveyard and can banish an S-Force card from your hand to banish all monsters the opponent controls in the same column as an S-Force monster. S-Force Retroactive is a Level 1 LIGHT Warrior who can be used as Link Material from the hand if you would Link Summon an S-Force monster by using monsters you control, can return to the hand during the Main Phase as a Quick Effect to summon a Level 2 or higher S-Force monster from your hand, and can be banished from the graveyard instead if you would banish a card from your hand to activate a S-Force monster’s effect. Neiroy, the Dream Mirror Traitor is a Level 3 DARK Fiend who upon Normal or Special Summon lets you add a Neiroy, the Dream Mirror Disciple from Deck to hand and then lets you change this card’s Attribute to LIGHT, also you can tribute another Dream Mirror monster you control to choose a Dream Mirror monster in your Deck to add Dream Mirror of Joy or Dream Mirror of Terror that’s listed on the chosen monster from Deck to hand and then Special Summons the monster in Defense Position. Myutant Mutant is a Level 1 WATER Psychic who can be Special Summoned from hand if you control a Myutant monster and can banish a Myutant card from hand or Deck and tribute itself to Special Summon a monster based on the card type banished and makes you lose LP equal to the summoned monster’s ATK with banishing a monster letting you summon Myutant Beast, Spell summoning Myutant Mist, and Trap summoning Myutant Arsenal. Epsilon the Magnet Warrior is a Level 4 EARTH Rock who on Normal or Special Summon lets you send a Level 4 or lower Magnet Warrior from Deck to grave that isn’t another Epsilon to make this card’s name become the sent monster’s name for the turn and then lets you summon a Magnet Warrior or Magna Warrior from your graveyard with a different name from the cards you control. The Agent of Destruction – Venus is a Level 3 DARK Fairy Tuner that can be Special Summoned from the hand by banishing The Agent of Creation – Venus from your graveyard and lets you pay LP in multiples of 500 to Special Summon 1 Mystical Shine Ball from your graveyard or banished zone for every 500 LP paid, but they return to the bottom of the Deck when they leave the field. Kaiza the Hidden Star is a Level 5 EARTH Warrior who can be Special Summoned from the hand by tributing a LIGHT or EARTH Warrior and then gains the ATK of the tributed monster and it lets you banish a Warrior from grave to send a LIGHT or EARTH Warrior from Deck to grave. Simorgh, Bird of Perfection is a Level 4 DARK Winged Beast who is also treated as WIND Attribute on the field, lets you reveal this card in your hand when your Normal or Special Summon a Winged Beast to immediately let you Normal Summon a Simorgh monster and if Normal Summoned you get to send a Simorgh monster from Deck to grave to add a Simorgh Spell/Trap from Deck to hand. Skilled Brown Magician is a Level 4 DARK Spellcaster who gains 1 Spell Counter each time a Spell is activated and resolves (max. 3) and can remove a Spell Counter from itself to either have its ATK increased by 1500 and Level increased by 1 or add a Kuriboh monster or Multiply from Deck or grave to hand. Alice, Lady of Lament is a Level 3 DARK Fiend who upon Normal Summon can target a Lady of Lament monster in your graveyard and Special Summon it, can banish a Trap from your graveyard to Special Summon this card from your hand, and if this card is tributed or destroyed by the opponent you get to add a Fiend monster whose combined ATK and DEF equal 2000 from your Deck to your hand that isn’t another Alice. Ogdoadic Serpent Strike is a Continuous Spell that lets you send a monster from your hand or field to the graveyard to Special Summon a Reptile monster with a different Attribute from the sent monster from the graveyard and during the Main Phase can let you send a Reptile from Deck to grave if a monster is sent to the opponent’s graveyard. Ursarctic Radiation is a Continuous Spell that gains 7 counters on activation, removes a counter from itself each time an Ursarctic monster is Special Summoned from the hand or Extra Deck to let you draw a card, and once per turn during the End Phase can target an Ursarctic card in your graveyard that isn’t another Radiation and shuffle it into the Deck. Floowandereeze and the Advent of Adventure is a Quick-Play Spell that banishes a Winged Beast from your hand or face-up field to let you add a Floowandereeze monster or Floowandereeze Field Spell from Deck to hand and then lets you gain 500 LP. XYZ Combine is a Continuous Spell where if your LIGHT Machine Union is banished, you can Special Summon a X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, or Z-Metal Tank from your Deck, also you can return a Fusion Monster you control to the Extra Deck to Special Summon up to 2 of your banished monsters with different names among X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank. Doll Monster Miss Madchen and Doll Monster Bear-Bear are both Level 4 Normal Monsters with 0 ATK and DEF each for a Box of Friends Deck and they’re both LIGHT Fairy and WIND Beast respectively. Finally, Doll Happiness is a Continuous Spell that upon actvation lets you add a Grandpa Demetto or Box of Friends from Deck to your hand, prevents your opponent from targeting your monsters with 0 ATK or DEF for attacks while you control Princess Cologne, and once per turn lets you destroy a monster in your hand or field and then sends a Doll Monster from Deck to grave, but you can only summon Xyzs from the Extra Deck for the rest of the turn.
Generic Goodies
Finally we hit all the cards in the set meant to be used in a variety of different strategies and serve multiple purposes. Chaos Nephthys is a Level 8 DARK Winged Beast who cannot be Normal Summoned or Set and must be Special Summoned by its own effect, can banish a LIGHT and DARK monster that isn’t Chaos Nephthys from your graveyard if a card(s) on field is destroyed by an effect to Special Summon this card from hand or graveyard, and upon Special Summon lets you target a card the opponent controls and 2 cards in their graveyard and banishes them. Epigonen, the Impersonation Invader is a Level 7 LIGHT Rock who can tribute an Effect Monster you control to Special Summon this card from your hand and summon a Epigonos Token (Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) with the same Type and Attribute as the tributed monster. Submareed Tour Ride is a Level 6 WATER Dinosaur who protects each Normal Monster you control from their first destruction each turn via battle or card effect and can be Special Summoned from the hand if you control a Normal Monster. Leafplace Plaice is a Level 3 DARK Psychic who gains 200 ATK/DEF for each card in your opponent’s graveyard and can be Special Summoned from your hand or graveyard during the Standby Phase if the opponent has more cards in their graveyard than you. Mad Hacker is a Level 2 DARK Cyberse who can be Special Summoned from the hand if a monster is Special Summoned to the opponent’s field and can be banished during the End Phase to take control of an opponent’s monster with the lowest ATK (your choice if tied), but you cannot activate its effects or summon from the Extra Deck besides Link Monsters while it’s face-up on the field. Silvervine Senri is a Level 2 WIND Beast who can be tributed to target a different Level 2 monster in your graveyard to Special Summon it and summon a Level 2 from your hand with a different Attribute than the summoned monster. Guardian Chimera is a Level 9 DARK Beast Fusion that needs 3 monsters with different names to summon, must first be Fusion Summoned by only using monsters in your hand or on your field as material (1 from each), if Fusion Summoned by a Spell Card or effect can let you draw cards equal to the number of cards used from your hand as material and destroy cards the opponent controls equal to the number of cards used from the field as material, and your opponent cannot target this card with card effects while Polymerization is in your graveyard. Maple Maiden is a Level 7 WIND Fairy Synchro that needs any Tuner and non-Tuner(s) to summon, if Special Summoned lets you declare an Attribute to make all monsters on the field become that Attribute, and lets you target a monster in the opponent’s Main Monster Zone to make them send a card in an adjacent Monster Zone or Spell/Trap Zone to the graveyard. Dark Dimension Soldier is a Level 5 DARK Warrior Synchro that needs any Tuner and non-Tuner(s) to summon, lets you banish a card from your hand to Special Summon a banished DARK monster in face-up or face-down Defense Position, and during the End Phase can burn the opponent for 100 damage for each Set card on the field. Onibimaru Soul Sweeper is a Rank 2 DARK Fiend Xyz who needs 2+ Level 2s to summon, can detach a material to banish an opponent’s monster until the opponent’s End Phase, and if destroyed in its owner’s control by the opponent, you can target banished cards up to the number of Xyz Materials this had on the field and shuffle them into the Deck. Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy is a Link-2 DARK Spellcaster with Bottom Left and Bottom Right arrows, needs 2+ monsters, including a DARK monster, to summon, is always treated as a Familiar-Possessed monster, can target a DARK monster in the opponent’s graveyard and Special Summon it to a zone this card points to, and if it was Link Summoned and destroyed by battle or opponent’s card effect while in its owner’s Monster Zone, you can add a DARK monster with 1500 or less DEF from your Deck to your hand. Clear New World is a Normal Spell that lets you target and destroy a face-up monster you control to summon a monster from your Deck in Defense Position with a different original Type and Attribute and a Level lower than the destroyed monster’s original Level with its effects are negated. Sales Ban is a Normal Spell that lets you declare a card name to prevent the opponent from activating cards or effects of cards with the same original name for the rest of the turn, but after that the same effect applies to you for the rest of the Duel. Top Share is a Normal Spell that lets you reveal a card in your Deck and place it on top of your Deck and then lets the opponent do the same thing. Tribe Drive is a Normal Trap that if you control 3 or more different Monster Types, you can choose 3 monsters with different Types from each other but the same Types as monsters on your field from your Deck for your opponent to choose one for you to either add to your hand or Special Summon from your Deck while the rest return to the bottom of your Deck. Dragonbite is a Level 4 DARK Insect Tuner who when Normal Summoned lets you Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Insect from your hand and can banish an Insect from your hand, graveyard, or face-up field to have an Insect you control gain the Level of the banished monster until the end of the turn. Flowerdino is a Level 4 EARTH Dinosaur who cannot be Normal Summoned or Set and must be Special Summoned by its own effect where it can be Special Summoned if you activate a Trap Card or the opponent activates a Spell Card, and if sent to the graveyard can then let you target 3 banished Spells/Traps to return them to the bottom of their respective owner’s Decks and then lets you draw a card. Sol and Luna is a Quick-Play Spell that targets a monster you control and a monster the opponent controls and applies the appropirate effect where if it’s face-up, the monster switches to face-down Defense Position, and if it’s face-down, then it switches to face-up Attack Position. Fire Opal Head is a Level 6 Scale 0 FIRE Dinosaur with no effects. Nowru Aries the Vernal Dragon is a Level 7 WIND Dragon who if it’s in your graveyard, you can send a Level 5 or higher monster to Special Summon this from the graveyard, but it’s banished when it leaves the field, and it’s destroyed by battle or in it’s owner’s possession by an opponent’s card effect, you can target a card the opponent controls and banish it. Finally, Groza, Tyrant of Thunder is a Level 8 DARK Fiend Synchro that needs any Tuner and any non-Tuner Fiend(s) to summon, during the opponent’s Main Phase as a Quick Effect can target an Effect Monster on the field and discard a monster to negate the targeted monster’s effects until the end of the turn, also if a Fiend Monster is sent from your hand to your graveyard you get to apply one of the following effects until the end of the turn where this card cannot be destroyed by battle, cannot be destroyed by the opponent’s card effects, or cannot be targeted by the opponent’s card effects.
In Conclusion
Overall, this set is kinda rough, but not necessarily terrible. There’s 100% a ton of good cards in this set with potential. Guardian Chimera might end up being the long term winner as it’s bound to be played in April once we get the Albaz Structure Deck, and it’s good for nearly any Fusion Deck. Illusion of Chaos also can make a meta appearance if Magicians’ Souls finds a meta Deck to slide into once again. Sales Ban is one of those cards with potential that might be realized against any potential hand-trap or regular Trap that could hurt your Deck that can’t really respond to the Sales Ban. Dinomorphia are an okay Dinosaur strategy and at least has a ton of good Dinosaur cards to work off of. There’s also several other good cards in this set that can find uses like The Zombie Vampire, Dragonbite, Sol and Luna, and more. Floowandereeze and the Advent of Adventure also boosts the Deck up a peg. There’s just nothing in this set that’s insanely good right now and even then, the good cards aren’t going to be used in every Deck besides potentially Sales Ban, but potentially should be emphasized cause it might end up not working out. The chase cards are nice and all. The Starlights aren’t insane, but they’re pretty cool for the most part, and the Dark Magician seems to be a cool history piece. It’s an okay set, nothing groundbreaking really.
