Yu-Gi-Oh Battles of Legend: Armageddon – What You Should Know
Crunch$G
Yu-Gi-Oh Battles of Legend: Armageddon
We got some milestones to celebrate in this set. Hello Pojo Readers, Crunch$G here to tell you what you should know about the fourth installment into the Battles of Legend Series. As we expect each year, we get all the imports from OCG’s Collection Pack alongside some reprints and every once in a while we get a few more imports. This year the imported cards look very promising and offer a bit of nostalgia considering one of the archetypes that debuted in this set was voted upon by the playerbase. There’s a good chunk to discuss with the two major milestones this set brings, so let’s talk about it.
Numbers 1 to 107 Completed
The first major milestone in this set is that after 9 long years after the release of the Dawn of the Xyz Starter Deck and the debut of the first Number being 39: Utopia, we finally have Numbers 1 all the way through 107 printed with this set finally giving us Numbers 1 through 4. Now this set does have 2 Number 3s, suggesting we’ll get the fake Numbers 1, 2, and 4 from the anime, though doubtful we’ll get the Number C1000 cards. Anyways, to celebrate this milestone, Konami decided to print Number 39: Utopia in this set to celebrate, but this isn’t just any regular Utopia. For starters, this Utopia is a Starlight Rare, which means it won’t be easy to pull, but that isn’t the most special part of it. It was also printed in Astral Language just like how it debuted in the anime, meaning you can have an Astral version of Number 39: Utopia. This version is playable in tournaments, but you would have to have the translation since I doubt people speak Astral. It’s a cool milestone, but not the only one.
10,000 Cards
The second major milestone in this set is the fact that Konami has finally reached 10,000 cards in the TCG card game. The OCG reached this milestone back in January, but we needed to catch up a little bit mostly due to all the old vanillas that were never printed probably, alongside other cards we are waiting on. To celebrate this milestone, we got a brand new card to the TCG in a very special rarity. Ten Thousand Dragon makes its TCG debut, a Level 10 Dragon that must be summoned by sending monsters with combined ATK and DEF of 10,000 and in return you get your Ten Thousand Dragon with 10,000 ATK total. This card comes in the 10,000 Secret Rare, basically a Starlight Rare with a red name and a big 10,000 printed over the effect text, but printed where you can still read the card’s effect of course. It’s like the OCG’s 20th Secret Rare more, but the TCG hasn’t been around for 20 years yet, so we don’t get that. Still, 10,000 cards is a big milestone and this card is a cool piece of history to celebrate it.
Excavating Fossils
Now it’s time to get into the new cards and reprints, starting with Jim Crocodile Cook’s Fossil cards finally being physically printed for tournament play in the TCG. The archetype is full of Rock Fusions that use the graveyard as materials with their Fossil Fusion Spell, of which all your Fusions here need that Spell to be summoned. Weathering Soldier is the lone Main Deck monster and upon being destroyed in battle or sent to the grave via an effect lets you search for a Fossil Fusion or any card that specifically lists Fossil Fusion in the text, besides Weathering Soldier of course, and since it’s a 2000 ATK Level 4 it’s going to have a downside, with this card’s downside being it loses 600 ATK during your End Phase. Fossil Warrior Skull King is a Fusion of a Rock Monster and a Level 7 or higher monster, must first be summoned with Fossil Fusion, can make two attacks during each Battle Phase, does piercing, and can discard a card during the opponent’s turn as a Quick Effect to revive a monster from their graveyard. Fossil Warrior Skull Knight is a Fusion of a Rock Monster and a Level 5 or 6 Monster, must first be summoned with Fossil Fusion, does piercing, can make a second attack if it destroys a monster in battle, and can banish itself from grave to target and destroy a monster on field. Fossil Warrior Skull Bone is a Fusion of a Rock Monster and a Level 4 or lower monster, must first be summoned with Fossil Fusion, can make 2 attacks on monsters during each Battle Phase, and can banish itself from grave to search for a Time Stream. Fossil Dragon Skullgios is a Fusion of a Rock Monster and a Level 7 or higher monster that’s specifically in the opponent’s graveyard, must first be summoned with Fossil Fusion, before damage calculation can swap the ATK and DEF of a monster it’s battling, does piercing, and any damage it does from battling a monster is doubled. Fossil Dragon Skullgar is a Fusion of a Rock Monster and a Level 4 or lower monster in the opponent’s graveyard, must first be summoned with Fossil Fusion, does piercing, and can banish itself from grave to search for a Fossil Fusion. Fossil Fusion is a Normal Spell that lets you Fusion Summon any Fossil by banishing Fusion Materials from either graveyard as material, gives the summoned monster protection from monster’s targeting effects if you used both graveyards for materials, and upon your Fossils being destroyed by battle or card effect will let you add Fossil Fusion back from grave to hand. Time Stream is a Normal Spell that targets one of your Fossil Fusions to tribute it and Special Summon another Fossil Fusion Monster whose original Level is 2 higher, being treated as a summon with Fossil Fusion, and you can banish Time Stream from the grave during any turn it wasn’t sent there alongside a Fossil Fusion Monster to revive another Fossil Fusion Monster. Specimen Inspection is a Normal Spell that upon revealing a Fossil Fusion in hand and sending a monster from hand to grave lets you declare a Type and Level to make the opponent send 1 monster with that Type and Level from Deck to grave if they have it. Finally, Miracle Rupture is a Normal Spell that lets you send a Level 4 or lower Rock from Deck to grave, then you can draw a card if Fossil Fusion was in grave when you activated this card.
Open the Numeron Network
The second main archetype to debut in this set is Don Thousand’s Numeron archetype from the show, consisting of Numbers 1-4 alongside the Field Spell and a Normal Spell to cheat all 4 Numbers out and Number C1 to be a potential game ender. Numeron Wall is a Level 1 Monster that if you control no monsters, excluding Numeron Wall, you can send this card from hand or field to grave as a Quick Effect to activate Numeron Network directly from your hand or Deck, and if you take battle damage you can Special Summon this card from hand and end the Battle Phase. Number C1: Numeron Chaos Gate Sunya is a Rank 2 that needs 4 Level 2 Monsters or Number 1: Numeron Gate Ekam as material, upon being Xyz Summoned banishes every monster on field, and once per turn during the next Standby Phase you can Special Summon this monster if it was banished off its own effect and then if you control Numeron Network you can burn the opponent for the combined ATK of all banished Xyz Monsters. Number 1: Numeron Gate Ekam, Number 2: Numeron Gate Dve, Number 3: Numeron Gate Trini, and Number 4: Numeron Gate Catvari are all Rank 1 Monsters that need 3 Level 1s as material, all can’t be destroyed by battle, and at the end of the Damage Step where any of them battled an opponent’s monster will double the ATK of all Numeron Monsters you control until the end of the turn. Numeron Network is a Field Spell that lets you send any Numeron Normal Spell from Deck to grave during the Main Phase if the activation condition on that Spell is met to then apply the effect of the Spell you sent to grave, and it also lets your Numeron Xyz Monsters activate their effects without detaching materials. Finally, Numeron Calling is a Normal Spell that if you control Numeron Network and no monsters can let you Special Summon up to 4 Numeron Gate Xyz Monsters with different names from the Extra Deck, but they are banished at the end of the turn and you can only summon 1 monster after this effect resolves.
Appliancer Revolution
The last full archetype in this set is Roboppi’s Appliancer archetype, an archetype full of Level 1 Machines that can be used for their Link-2 or various Link-1s to apply Link-1 effects while they’re either co-linked or not, also should be noted all Link-1s cannot be used as Link Material the turn they’re Link Summoned. Appliancer Socketroll can be Special Summoned from hand if you control an Appliancer monster and if an Appliancer Socketroll is Special Summoned while you control an Appliancer Socketroll, you can Special Summon a 3rd Appliancer Socketroll from your Deck. Appliancer Breakerbuncle can be discarded during the damage calculation when an Appliancer battles an opponent’s monster to prevent your monster from being destroyed in that battle and you take no damage, and also Breakerbuncle can banish itself from grave instead if an Appliancer monster(s) you control would be destroyed by a card effect. Appliancer Copybokkle is another Main Deck monster who can target an Appliancer you control to Special Summon this card from hand and change its name to the targeted monster for the turn, and during your Main Phase can be banished from the grave during any turn it wasn’t sent there to target an Appliancer you control to summon another Appliancer with the same name from hand or graveyard. Appliancer Celtopus is a Link-2 of 2 Appliancers, has Bottom-Left and Bottom arrows, can’t be targeted by the opponent’s effects or attacks while linked, during damage calc would boost a battling Appliancer monster by 1000 ATK times the number of co-links that Celtopus is in during damage calc only, and upon an Appliancer that isn’t co-linked to this card being destroyed lets you draw a card. Appliancer Kappa Scale is a Link-1 of any Appliancer, has an Up arrow, can be tributed while co-linked to revive any Appliancer Link that isn’t Kappa Scale, and can be tributed while not co-linked to revive any Level 4 or lower Appliancer. Appliancer Vacculephant is a Link-1 of any Appliancer monster, has a Upper-Right arrow, can attack directly while not co-linked, can send a card from hand to grave to target and destroy an opponent’s card, and while co-linked lets you target a monster in the opponent’s Main Monster Zone and destroy it. Appliancer Laundry Dragon is a Link-1 of any Appliancer, has an Up arrow, prevents players from taking damage from battles involving it, once per turn after damage calc in which it was co-linked lets you banish the opponent’s monster it battles, and once per turn when not co-linked in damage calc lets you destroy the opponent’s monster it battles and deals damage equal to their monster’s original ATK. Appliancer Dryer Drake is a Link-1 of any Appliancer, has an Upper-Right arrow, gains 1000 ATK while linked, once per turn during your Battle Phase when this is co-linked lets you swap the positions of 2 Appliancers you control in the Main Monster Zones, including this card, and the other monster can make a second attack during the Battle Phase, and when targeted for an attack when not co-linked lets you negate the attack once per turn. Appliancer Resue is a Normal Spell that Special Summons any Appliancer from grave, but it goes to bottom of Deck when it leaves the field. Appliancer Test is a Normal Spell that targets an Appliancer Link you control to Special Summon as many Link-1 Appliancer monsters from graves to zones the targeted monsters points to, but the summoned monsters are banished during the End Phase. Finally, Appliancer Electrilyrical World is a Field Spell that upon activation lets you search an Appliancer card that isn’t a Field Spell, lets you add an Appliancer monster from grave to hand once per turn if you Link Summon an Appliancer, and once per turn when a monster declares an attack lets you move an Appliancer you control to another of your Main Monster Zones.
Other New Cards
Now time for the new cards that weren’t part of the archetypes or Ten Thousand Dragon. Dark Spell Regeneration is a Normal Trap that can set a Spell from the opponent’s grave to your field when the opponent declares an attack and can banish itself from grave and send a Monster Reborn from your hand or set on your field to the grave to Special Summon The Winged Dragon of Ra from your grave, ignoring the summoning conditions, then you can send an opponent’s monster to grave and your Special Summoned Ra is sent to your graveyard during the End Phase. Powered Crawler is a Level 7 that upon Normal or Special Summon can destroy a monster with ATK less than this card’s and it makes all your opponent’s monsters attack if able. Intruder Alarm – Yellow Alert is a Normal Trap that when the opponent declares an attack, it lets you Special Summon a monster from hand that’s returned to your hand at the end of the Battle Phase, and your opponent cannot target other monsters for attacks while you control that Special Summoned monster. Penguin Torpedo is a Level 3 monster that can attack directly, upon inflicting battle damage to the opponent lets you take a Level 6 or lower monster from the opponent until the End Phase that cannot declare an attack and has its effects negated while you control it, and Penguin Torpedo destroys itself after it attacks. Psychic Wave is a Quick-Play Spell that lets you send Jinzo from Deck to grave if you control a Machine to inflict 600 damage to the opponent, and can be banished from the grave during your Main Phase of any turn it wasn’t sent there to target a Machine in your grave to then send a Jinzo from Deck to grave and add the target to your hand. Armored White Bear is a Level 4 that upon Normal/Special Summon while you control a Synchro lets you add a Field Spell from your graveyard to the hand, and upon being destroyed in battle and sent to the grave or destroyed in your possession by an opponent’s effect and sent to your grave lets you summon a Level 4 or lower Beast from Deck or grave that isn’t Armored White Bear. Afterglow is a Normal Spell that banishes itself and all copies of Afterglow from your hand, Deck, grave, and face-up field as possible to shuffle 1 banished Afterglow into your Deck and then if you draw it during your next Draw Phase, you can inflict 4000 damage to the opponent, and this is a card you can only activate once per Duel. High Rate Draw is a Normal Trap that can destroy 2 or more monsters you control to let you draw a card for every 2 monsters destroyed, and during your Main Phase while in the grave lets you target and destroy a monster you control to Set this card to the field, but it’s banished when it leaves the field. Malefic Paradigm Dragon is a Level 10 that cannot be Normal Summoned or Set, must be Special Summoned from hand by banishing a Malefic from your Extra Deck while Malefic Paradigm Dragon isn’t on your field, destroys itself if Malefic World isn’t on your field, and once per turn can send a Malefic card from your Deck to the graveyard to return 1 of your banished Level 8 Synchro Monsters to the Extra Deck and then lets you Special Summon the monster you sent back, but you can only attack with Malefic monsters for the rest of the turn. Number 3: Cicada King is a Rank 3 of any 2 Level 3 Monsters, upon its battle position being changed lets you Special Summon an Insect from your hand or graveyard in Defense Position, and can detach a material when an opponent’s monster activates its effect to negate its effects and then make 1 Insect you control either change its battle position or gain 500 DEF. Flower Cardian Cherry Blossom is a Level 3 that can be Special Summoned if you control a Level 2 or lower Cardian as long as you can only summon Flower Cardians for the rest of the turn, can tribute a Flower Cardian once per turn to draw a card and show it and let you summon or add a Flower Cardian from Deck to hand if you revealed a Flower Cardian, or you just send the drawn card from hand to grave if it wasn’t a Flower Cardian. Super All In! is a Normal Spell that upon activation makes you send a Synchro Monster you control back to the Extra Deck to Special Summon 4 Flower Cardians from your graveyard and then draw a card, then if it was a Flower Cardian you can Special Summon it ignoring summoning conditions, but if it wasn’t a Flower Cardian you drew you must send it to grave and destroy all monsters you control and then half your LP if you destroyed at least 1 monster, also during the End Phase of the turn it was sent there by a Flower Cardian effect can let you add a Spell/Trap from grave to hand. Glacial Beast Blizzard Wolf is a Level 4 that when the opponent declares an attack, you can negate the attack and then Special Summon a Level 4 or lower WATER Monster from your hand, and also if this card is in your graveyard at the start of the opponent’s Battle Phase and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card in Attack Position as long as it’s banished when it leaves the field. Glacial Beast Polar Penguin is a Level 3 Tuner that upon Special Summon can bounce an opponent’s monster to hand and upon being destroyed by battle or card effect lets you bounce an opponent’s card to the hand. Glacial Beast Iceberg Narwhal is a Level 7 Synchro of any Tuner and any WATER non-Tuner(s) that burns the opponent for 600 each time your monster is destroyed in battle or by card effect and during the Battle Phase when the opponent activates a card or effect while you control another monster, you can negate that effect and destroy that card. Fire Flint Lady is a Level 1 that can be Special Summoned from hand if you control another Warrior and can be sent from field to grave to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Warrior from your hand that cannot be targeted by the opponent’s effects that turn. Finally, Number F0: Utopic Future Slash is an Xyz Monster that’s always treated as Rank 1, is Xyz Summoned using 2 Xyz Monsters of the same Rank that aren’t Numbers or by using a Utopia monster or Number F0: Utopic Future as material, gains 500 ATK for each Number Xyz in the graveyards, cannot be destroyed in battle, and can detach a material from itself to make two attacks during the Battle Phase that turn.
Noteworthy Reprints
Now it’s finally time to get into the reprint section. The big selling point in terms of reprints are the 5 monsters on the cover of the packs. Darkness Metal, the Dragon of Dark Steel; Trishula, the Dragon of Icy Imprisonment; Judgment, the Dragon of Heaven; Dark Armed, the Dragon of Annihilation; and Chaos Emperor, the Dragon of Armageddon are all in here reprinted from the final 4 Jump Promos and the previous YCS Prize Card respectively. Book of Moon is in here for another foil option as it just came back to 3 not long ago. You got some collectable Elemental HEROs in Neos Alius, Shining Flare Wingman, Chaos Neos, and Escuridao in here. Goyo Guardian and Goyo Defender both make an appearance in this set. Koa’ki Meiru Drago finally gets another foil print option. You got some Blackwing options like Black Whirlwind, Blackwing – Kris the Crack of Dawn, and Assault Blackwing – Sohaya the Rain Storm in here. Boost Warrior and Steam Synchron get needed reprints for Synchron Decks. Both Kalantosa, Mystical Beast of the Forest and Valerifawn, Mystical Beast of the Forest are in here with the impending Melffy cards. Number C92: Heart-eartH Chaos Dragon gets its first foil print in the TCG, though Number 92 itself was the one that needed the reprint. Number S39: Utopia the Lightning gets another reprint to lower its value. Obedience Schooled is also in here to help support Melffy. Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion gets a foil reprint for Halqifibrax combos. Madolche Anjelly gets reprinted in here as it was the most expensive Madolche. Artifact Ignition and Artifact Sanctum both make an appearance for Artifact users. Ra’s Disciple is reprinted in here with impending support for The Winged Dragon of Ra. Nekroz of Gungnir is reprinted as one of the last remaining Nekroz cards to need a reprint. Galaxy Worm gets a foil upgrade as a nice alternative to Tour Guide. Dragon Buster Destruction Sword gets a foil print for Buster Blader players and those using Union Carrier. We got some Invoked reprints with Invoked Caliga, Raidjin, Purgatrio, Elysium, and Invocation itself. Chimeratech Megafleet Dragon is reprinted to help out the pesky Links that reside in the Extra Monster Zone. Secure Gardna and Formud Skipper are reprinted in foil for the uses they have. Danger!? Jackalope? gets another Secret Rare print. We got Salamangreat upgrades with Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf and Salamangreat Gazelle. Topologic Zeroboros is reprinted in here likely to correct the text from the Structure Deck and since it’s a popular card. Finally, we get a foil print for Cross-Sheep instead of having to put it in an OTS Pack.
In Conclusion
Overall, this might be the best batch of new cards we’ve gotten from a Battles of Legend set besides Hero’s Revenge. The Numeron cards are easily going to get splashed into different strategies. Fossils will be useful for some Rock Decks and Dragma variants in the case of Fossil Warrior Skull Knight. Appliancers make for a fun causal strategy. We got some cool cards as well with Malefic Paradigm Dragon, Fire Flint Lady, and Number 3: Cicada King in here as well. Ten Thousand Dragon would also make for a great collector’s piece, despite its likely difficulty in pulling. The reprints in this set do feel underwhelming. The foil upgrades are nice, but we’ve seen better ones in the past. There are valuable reprints still with Cross-Sheep, Artifact Sanctum, Invocation, and especially Madolche Anjelly on top of the Chaos Emperor, the Dragon of Armageddon. It’s also nice Europe gets the other Dragons in this set as well. Besides that, there are some questionable choices still. Number C92 should of been Number 92 easily, and we get all those Elemental HERO reprints and yet still no reprint for Air Neos. There also isn’t a major valuable staple in here like we’ve seen with Borrelsword last year. The reprints, while some are nice, do leave a lot to be desired. The Utopia is cool in Astral Language, but won’t be easy to get as it’s a Starlight Rare. It’s still a fine set, with the new cards likely being the bigger selling point for once.
