It’s that time of the year to Pendulum once again. Hello Pojo Readers, Crunch$G here to talk about the latest core booster set that just released: Dimension Force. As you might already be able to guess, this set has a good amount of Pendulum support in it, mostly for the Performapal/Odd-Eyes series of cards and a few other generic Pendulum stuff to add on. Predaplants also make a return, and they come with a new set of Pendulum Scales as well. Besides the main anime legacy support, we get a brand new archetype for the Fallen of Albaz lore, a new lore to follow, and a bunch of legacy support all over the place. There’s even a few generic good cards in this set. As always with core booster sets, I got a lot to cover, so let’s get started.
The Starlight Rares
We’ll start with the traditional 5 Starlight Rares in this set as always, with the 4 that were already in the set and the additional one added on by the TCG department. The Fallen of Albaz lore is most represented in the Starlight department in this set with the new boss monster for the Therion archetype, Therion “King” Regulus, coming in Starlight Rare alongside the latest Fusion Monster for Fallen of Albaz: Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon. The latest waifu archetype gets a Starlight Rare, as is tradition now it seems, with Exosisters Magnificia coming in Starlight Rare. We couldn’t have a Pendulum set without a Pendulum-related Starlight, so we get the first ever TCG Exclusive to come Starlight Rare with Patissciel Couverture. Finally, to go with the new Zombie support, we got a classic Ghost Girl hand trap in Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion coming in Starlight Rare.
The Pendulum Swings Again
For the first archetype in this set to cover, we traditionally go with the cover theme of this set, this time being Yuya’s Odd-Eyes and Performapal strategy from the Arc-V anime with 6 cards for the strategy deubting in this set. Performapal Gentrude is a Level 4 Scale 8 DARK Fiend Pendulum with a Pendulum Effect where if Performapal Ladyange is in your other Pendulum Zone and you control no monsters or only Pendulum Monsters, you get to add an Odd-Eyes card from your Deck to your hand and the Monster Effect of this card triggers upon destruction to let you place a Performapal Pendulum in your Deck straight to the Pendulum Zone that isn’t another Gentrude and if this card is face-up in the Extra Deck, you can discard a Pendulum Monster to add this card to your hand and return a Performapal or Odd-Eyes card in your Pendulum Zone to your hand. Performapal Ladyange is a Level 3 Scale 1 LIGHT Fairy Pendulum with a Pendulum Effect once per turn when an attack is declared involving your and your opponent’s monster, letting you discard a Pendulum Monster to have the opponent’s monster lose 1000 ATK for the turn, and the Monster Effect of this card lets you discard this and another Performapal monster that isn’t Ladyange to let you draw 2 cards, and if this card is in your graveyard and you control an Odd-Eyes card or Performapal Gentrude, you can place this card in your Pendulum Zone. Odd-Eyes Pendulumgraph Dragon is a Level 7 Scale 4 LIGHT Dragon Pendulum Ritual with a Pendulum Effect during the End Phase to add a Ritual Spell from your Deck or graveyard to your hand and return this card to your hand, and a Monster Effect where it can be Ritual Summoned with Odd-Eyes Advent, must either be Ritual Summoned or Pendulum Summoned from the hand, inflicts 300 damage to the opponent each time they summon a monster(s) from the Extra Deck, and has a once per turn Quick Effect when the opponent activates a Spell Card to place this card in the Pendulum Zone to negate that effect, then you can summon an Odd-Eyes monster from your Deck if you place this Ritual Summoned card in the Pendulum Zone. Extra Pendulum is a Normal Spell that during your Main Phase that turn, lets you Pendulum Summon a monster(s) from your Extra Deck in addition to your regular Pendulum Summon. Pendulum Scale is a Normal Trap that applies an effect if you have 2 cards in the Pendulum Zone based on the difference between their Scales with a difference of 0 letting you destroy 2 Spell/Trap Cards on the field, a difference of 1, 2, or 3 letting you add a Level 2, 3, or 4 Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand, a difference of 4, 5, or 6 letting you add a Level 5, 6, or 7 Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand, and a difference of 7+ letting you return up to 2 cards from your Pendulum Zone to your hand to then Special Summon a Pendulum Monster from your hand. Finally, Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon is a Level 8 Scale 10 DARK Dragon Synchro that needs a DARK Tuner and non-Tuner Clear Wing monster to summon, has a once per turn Pendulum Effect when your monster battles an opponent’s to have your monster gain ATK equal to the opponent’s for the turn, and a Monster Effect to place itself in the Pendulum Zone if destroyed in the Monster Zone, can target an Effect Monster the opponent controls to negate its effects for the turn, and has a Quick Effect while you control this Synchro Summoned card during the Battle Phase to destroy all Level 5 or higher monsters the opponent controls.
Therion Theory
The main part of the Fallen of Albaz lore in this set is the new Therion archetype, an archetype full of High-Level monsters who can Special Summon themselves from the hand by equipping a Therion monster or a monster of their matching Monster Type from the graveyard to themselves and they all give Therions they’re equipped to a 700 ATK boost and their main effect added on to the equipped monster. Therion “Bull” Ain is a Level 7 FIRE Warrior who lets you target a Therion card you control and a card the opponent controls to destroy them. Therion “Reaper” Fum is a Level 7 WATER Aqua who has a Quick Effect on the opponent’s turn to target a Therion card in your Spell/Trap Zone and a card the opponent controls to return them to the hand. Therion “Duke” Yul is a Level 8 LIGHT Psychic with an effect preventing Therion monsters from being destroyed by the opponent’s card effects while you control an Equip Card. Therion “Lily” Borea is a Level 8 WIND Plant who can send a card from your hand or field to the graveyard to add a Therion Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand. Therion “King” Regulus is a Level 8 EARTH Machine with a Quick Effect when the opponent activates a card or effect to send a Therion Monster Card from your hand or face-up field to the graveyard to negate that effect. Therion Discolosseum is a Field Spell that on activation lets you add a Therion monster from your Deck to your hand, has a once per turn effect to send a Therion card or Endless Engine Argyro System from your Deck to the graveyard instead if your monster would be destroyed by battle, and another once per turn effect when a monster is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard to let you target a Therion monster in your graveyard and add it to your hand. Endless Engine Argyro System is a Normal Spell that lets you send a Therion card from your Deck to the graveyard and while it’s in the graveyard, you can target a Therion card in your graveyard and if both remain in the graveyard, you can either this card or the targeted card to your hand while the other returns to the bottom of the Deck. Therion Charge is a Normal Spell that lets you send a Therion card, besides another Charge, or an Endless Engine Argyro Sytem from your hand or face-up Spell/Trap Zone to the graveyard to draw 2 cards. Therion Cross is a Normal Trap where when the opponent activates a monster effect while you control a Therion monster, you can apply one of two effects or both if Endless Engine Argyro System is in your graveyard where you can negate that effect and/or banish that monster. Finally for Therion’s, Therion Stand Up! is a Normal Trap that targets a Therion in your graveyard and Special Summons it, then you can equip a Therion from your hand or graveyard to it, also you can banish this card from the graveyard during the Main Phase to target 2 Therion monsters (1 on field and 1 in the graveyard) to equip the monster from the graveyard to the monster you control. Also while we’re at it with the Fallen of Albaz lore, let’s follow how Fallen of Albaz, the Dogmatika nation, and the Icejades are doing. Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon is a Level 8 DARK Dragon Fusion of Fallen of Albaz and any 1+ Dragon monsters, cannot be used as Fusion Material, must be Fusion Summoned or Special Summoned from the Extra Deck by sending the above cards from the Monster Zones of either field to the graveyard, can attack monsters a number of times each Battle Phase up to the number of Fusion Materials used to summon it, and has a once per turn effect during the End Phase of a turn where it was sent to the graveyard to let you add a Polymerization Normal Spell or a Fusion Normal Spell from your Deck to your hand. Icejade Curse is a Continuous Spell where while an Icejade monster and Icejade Cenote Enion Cradle are on the field, your opponent cannot activate the effects of their monsters that were summoned that turn, also when a monster is destroyed in a battle involving your Icejade monster, you can target that monster in the graveyard to inflict damage to the opponent equal to that monster’s original ATK. Branded Loss is a Normal Spell that can target a monster the opponent controls that was summoned from the Extra Deck and a Fusion Monster you control and shuffle them into the Deck, and also during the End Phase of the turn, each player can summon a Fusion Monster that lists Fallen of Albaz as material from their own Extra Deck. Branded Banishment is a Normal Trap that lets you target a Despia monster or Level 8 or higher Fusion Monster in your graveyard to Special Summon it and then you can apply the effect to Fusion Summon a Level 8 or higher Fusion Monster by banishing the materials listed on it from either field. Finally, Dogmatikaturgy is a Normal Trap that lets you Ritual Summon a Dogmatika Ritual from your hand or Deck by tributing Dogmatika monsters and/or Ritual, Fusion, or Synchro Monsters from your field whose total Levels exactly equal the Level of the monster you Ritual Summon, also you can banish this card from your graveyard to target 2 Dogmatika monsters with different Levels in your graveyard to add one of them to your hand and place the other on the bottom of the Deck.
Starfrost and the Scareclaws
Now, shifting away from the Albaz lore, we now get to start a brand new lore series featuring Visas Starfrost and the archetypes he meets along the way. Visas Starfrost is a Level 6 LIGHT Warrior Tuner who can be Special Summoned from the hand by destroying a monster with a different Type and Attribute from this monster that you control, and gains ATK equal to half the original ATK or DEF (whichever is higher) of a monster this destroys in battle. Today, Visas Starfrost meets the Scareclaw archetype, an archetype primarly focused on summoning their monsters in Defense Position in the columns your Scareclaw monsters are in, or columns adjacent to them, an effect all the Main Deck Scareclaws have. Scareclaw Astra is a Level 3 EARTH Beast who lets your Scareclaw monsters in the Extra Monster Zone attack a number of times each Battle Phase up to the number of Defense Position Scareclaw monsters you control with different names. Scareclaw Belone is a Level 3 EARTH Beast who lets your Scareclaw monster in the Extra Monster Zone deal piercing damage. Scareclaw Acro is a Level 3 EARTH Beast who lets your Scareclaw monsters in the Extra Monster Zone gain 300 ATK for each Defense Position monster you control. Scareclaw Reichheart is a Level 4 DARK Warrior who when Normal or Special Summoned can let you add a Scareclaw Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand, and then lets you draw a card if 3 or more Defense Position monsters are on the field. Scareclaw Tri-Heart is a Link-3 DARK Beast-Warrior who needs any 3 Effect Monsters to summon, must be Link Summoned, forces all face-up monsters on the field to Defense Position, is unaffected by the activated effects of Defense Position monsters, and also once per turn while in the Extra Monster Zone, you can Special Summon a Leve 3 Scareclaw monster from your graveyard and then add a Scareclaw monster from your Deck to your hand, but you can only Special Summon Scareclaws for the rest of the turn. Primitive Planet Reichphobia is a Field Spell that on activation lets you add a Scareclaw monster or Visas Starfrost from your Deck to your hand, makes all your opponent’s monsters lose 100 ATK/DEF for each Defense Position monster on the field, and can let you target a card the opponent controls and destroy it if there are 3 or more Defense Position monsters on the field. Scareclaw Arrival is a Normal Spell that lets you target a Scareclaw monster or Visas Starfrost in your graveyard to Special Summon it in Defense Position, and it can be banished from your graveyard instead if a Scareclaw Link Monster would be destroyed by battle or card effect. Scareclaw Sclash is a Continuous Trap with a once per turn effect to target a Scareclaw monster or Visas Starfrost you control to let it attack in Defense Position that turn and applies whichever is higher between its ATK or DEF, also when the opponent activates a card or effect while you control a Scareclaw in the Extra Monster Zone, you can send this face-up card to the graveyard to negate that effect. Finally, Scareclaw Alternative is a Normal Trap that tributes 3 Scareclaw monsters you control so that for the rest of the turn, your opponent can only Special Summon monsters in Defense Position, also you can banish this card from the graveyard on your turn to inflict 100 damage to the opponent for each Defense Position monster on the field.
The Classics Reborn
Now for the remaining legacy support, we got a bunch of brand new generic Zombie monsters in this set, most of which are retrains of classic old monsters. Mad Mauler is a Level 2 DARK Zombie Tuner who is treated as Plaguespreader Zombie while on the field or in the graveyard, also you can target a Level 6 or higher Zombie you control to reduce its Level by 2 and Special Summon this from the graveyard, but the player that summoned this can only summon Zombies while this is on the field. Alghoul Mazera is a Level 8 DARK Zombie who can be banished from the hand or graveyard instead of a Zombie(s) you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, also this card can be Special Summoned and you can reduce its Level by 1 if this card is banished from the hand or graveyard. Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon Lord is a Level 10 DARK Dragon Zombie Synchro that needs a Zombie Tuner to summon, can target a Zombie that isn’t another Zombie Dragon Lord in the graveyard during the opponent’s turn and Special Summon it, also you can Special Summon this card from the graveyard by banishing a Zombie you control. Skeletal Dragon Felgrand is a Level 8 DARK Zombie Synchro who also needs a Zombie Tuner, can target and banish a card the opponent controls or in their graveyard when Special Summoned, and if another monster(s) is Special Summoned from the graveyard while this is on the field, you can target a face-up monster on the field and negate its effects for the turn. Immortal Dragon is a Level 6 DARK Zombie Synchro Tuner that’s generic, can send a Zombie from your Deck to the graveyard to change this card’s Level to the difference between this card’s original Level and the original Level of the sent monster, also you can Special Summon this card from the graveyard when your Zombie monster is destroyed in battle, but it’s banished when it leaves the field. Zombie Reborn is a Normal Spell that lets you target a Zombie monster in either graveyard to banish a monster from your Deck or Extra Deck with the same name to summon the monster in the graveyard, also if this card is in your graveyard, you can shuffle a banished Zombie into the Deck to Set this card to your field, but it’s banished when it leaves the field. Haunted Zombies is a Normal Trap that lets you banish a Zombie from either graveyard to summon 2 Haunted Tokens (Zombie/DARK/ATK 0/DEF 0) with the same Level as the banished monster, also if this card is in your graveyard, you can shuffle a banished Zombie into the Deck to Set this card to your field, but it’s banished when it leaves the field. Crow Tengu is a Level 4 EARTH Zombie who if in your possession and destroyed by an opponent’s card effect, or if it’s Special Summoned from the graveyard, you can target an Attack Position monster the opponent controls and destroy it. Finally, Changshi the Spiridao is a Level 6 DARK Zombie who during your Main Phase can let you send a Zombie monster from your hand or Deck to the graveyard, also if this card is banished, you can banish a Zombie from your graveyard to Special Summon this card, but it returns to the bottom of the Deck when it leaves the field.
Challenge the Heroic Champions
Now we get to a new wave of Heroic monsters, a set of monsters we haven’t really seen since Number 86 and the two new Heroic Challengers from World Superstars. Heroic Challenger – Knuckle Sword is a Level 1 EARTH Warrior who can be Special Summoned from the hand if you control a Heroic monster that isn’t a Level 1, also when Normal or Special Summoned lets you target another Warrior you control with a Level to change the Level of that monster to this monster’s Level or vice versa, but you can only attack with Xyz Monsters that turn. Heroic Challenger – Morning Star is a Level 4 EARTH Warrior who can be Special Summoned from the hand if you control 2 or more Warrior monsters, lets you add a Heroic Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand on Normal or Special Summon, and if your LP are 500 or less while this card is in your graveyard, you can Special Summon it with its effects negated. Heroic Champion – Claivesolish is a Rank 4 EARTH Warrior Xyz who needs 2 Level 4 Warriors to summon, prevents your opponent from attacking any monster that isn’t this one, can let you pay LP so that you only have 500 left at the start of your Battle Phase to double the ATK of a monster you control, and when an attack is declared involving an opponent’s monster, you can detach a material from this card to have this card gain ATK equal to half the ATK of the opponent’s monster for the turn. Heroic Champion – Jarngreipr is a Rank 1 EARTH Warrior Xyz who needs 2 Level 1 Warriors to summon, prevents the first destruction of each Warrior monster you control each turn, can detach 2 materials from itself to target a Level or Rank 4 Warrior in your graveyard to Special Summon it and have this card gain ATK equal to the ATK of the summoned monster, also when an attack is declared involving an opponent’s monster, you can gain LP equal to half that monster’s ATK. Finally, Heroic Envoy is a Normal Spell that lets you add a Heroic monster from your Deck to your hand, also you can banish this card from your graveyard if your LP are 500 or less to add a Heroic monster from your graveyard to your hand.
Predaperfecting
Now, to go with the new Odd-Eyes/Performapal cards, we got Yuri’s Predaplant cards supported with 5 brand new monsters for the archetype, including Pendulum Monsters and 2 new Fusions. Predaplant Byblisp is a Level 1 DARK Plant who if sent to the graveyard lets you add a Predaplant monster from your Deck to your hand and can be Special Summoned from the graveyard if a monster with a Predator Counter is on the field, but banish it when it leaves the field. Predaplant Bufolicula is a Level 1 Scale 0 DARK Plant Pendulum with a Pendulum Effect to Fusion Summon a DARK Fusion during your Main Phase by using monsters from your hand or field as material, plus it has a Monster Effect where if it’s sent to the graveyard or added face-up to the Extra Deck because it was used as Fusion Material, you can add a face-up DARK Pendulum Monster that isn’t Predaplant Bufolicula from your face-up Extra Deck to your hand. Predaplant Triantis is a Level 8 Scale 8 DARK Plant Pendulum with a Pendulum Effect letting you use cards in your Pendulum Zones as material to Fusion Summon a DARK Fusion monster, plus it has a Monster Effect if it’s sent to the graveyard or added face-up to the Extra Deck because it was used as Fusion Material, you can choose monsters on the field up to the number of monsters you control and place a Predator Counter on them, and if their Levels are 2 or higher, they become Level 1. Starving Venom Predapower Fusion Dragon is a Level 10 DARK Dragon Fusion that needs a DARK Fusion Monster and any other Fusion Monster as material, is always treated as a Predaplant card, has a once per turn Quick Effect when a card or effect is activated to tribute a monster with a Predator Counter on either field to negate the activation, also if this Fusion Summoned card is sent to the graveyard by an opponent’s card, you can target a DARK monster in your graveyard and Special Summon it. Finally, Predaplant Ambulomelides is a Level 5 DARK Plant Fusion that needs 2 Predaplant monsters to summon, when Fusion Summoned lets you add a Predaplant monster or a Predap Spell/Trap from your Deck, graveyard, or face-up Extra Deck to your hand, also you can target a monster the opponent controls with a Predator Counter or a monster you control to tribute it and summon a Predaplant monster from your Deck.
Symphonic Rockk Party
Before we get to the TCG Exclusive archetype and other goodies, the last archetype to get a proper wave of legacy support is the Symphonic Warrior archetype with 4 brand new cards. Symphonic Warrior Guitariss is a Level 3 Scale 0 WIND Machine Pendulum Tuner with a Pendulum Effect to target another Symphonic Warrior card you control to return it and this card to the hand, plus its Monster Effect lets you Special Summon this card from the hand if Symph Amplifire is in the Field Zone, and on Normal or Special Summon lets you target a card in your Pendulum Zone to return it to the hand. Symphonic Warrior DJJ is a Level 4 Scale 8 WIND Machine Pendulum with a Pendulum Effect where once per turn during your Main Phase, you get to flip a face-down Symphonic Warrior you control face-up and gets to Special Summon itself from the Pendulum Zone if you activate the effect of a Symphonic Warrior monster, plus it has a Monster Effect if Normal or Special Summoned to Special Summon a Symphonic Warrior monster from your Deck in face-down Defense Position, or you can summon it face-up with its effects negated if you control Symph Amplifire in your Field Zone. Symphonic Warrior Rockks is a Level 7 Scale 10 WIND Machine Pendulum Synchro that has generic summoning materials, has a Pendulum Effect during each Standby Phase to add a face-up Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck to your hand and you can also destroy this card and an opponent’s monster that attacks, plus it has a Monster Effect where if it’s in the Monster Zone and destroyed by battle or card effect, you can place this card in the Pendulum Zone, if Special Summoned lets you add a face-up Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck to your hand, and lets you destroy a card on the field if Symph Amplifire is in your Field Zone. Finally, Generalprobe is a Continuous Spell that gains a Symphonic Counter when the effect of a Symphonic Warrior is activated and resolves, can remove 3 Symphonic Counters from your field to add a Symphonic Warrior monster from your Deck to your hand, and adds Symph Amplifire from your Deck to your hand if your Normal or Special Summon a Symphonic Warrior monster.
Libromancer’s Next Issue
For the final dedicated wave of archetype support, we got the second and last TCG Exclusive wave of Libromancer support. Libromancer Fire is a Level 4 FIRE Cyberse who can be Special Summoned from the hand by revealing a Ritual Monster in your hand, and when Special Summoned lets you add a Libromancer monster from your Deck to your hand. Libromancer Mystigirl is a Level 4 LIGHT Fairy Ritual who can be Ritual Summoned with any Libromancer card, prevents the opponent from targeting Ritual Monsters you control with Monster Effects if this card was Ritual Summoned using a monster on the field, and if Special Summoned can target a face-up monster the opponent controls to make its ATK 0 and negate its effects for the turn. Libromancer Fireburst is a Level 7 FIRE Cyberse Ritual that can be Ritual Summoned with any Libromancer card, if Ritual Summoned using a monster on the field, it gains protection from destruction in battle and deals double battle damage to the opponent, can make up to 2 attacks on monsters during each Battle Phase, also can banish a Libromancer Ritual Monster from your graveyard when a monster declares an attack to have this card gain 200 ATK. Libromancer Realized is a Continuous Spell that lets you reveal a Libromancer Ritual Monster in your hand to summon a Libromancer Token (FIRE/Cyberse/ATK 0/DEF 0) whose Level becomes the Level of the revealed monster, but you can only Special Summon Libromancer monsters while you control the Token. Libromancer Bonded is a Ritual Spell that lets you Ritual Summon a Libromancer monster by tributing monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Ritual Monsters and if you Ritual Summoned a Libromancer Fireburst using a Libromancer Firestarter on the field, the summoned monster can’t be destroyed or banished by card effects. Libromancer Displaced is a Normal Trap that targets a Libromancer monster you control and a monster the opponent controls to return your monster to the hand and take control of the opponent’s monster, but the monster you took control of returns to the hand during the End Phase if you didn’t return a Libromancer Ritual Monster to your hand. Finally, Libromancer Prevented is a Continuous Trap where if you control a Libromancer monster, you can target a face-up monster the opponent controls to prevent it from being used as material for a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link Summon that turn, also this card is sent to the graveyard during the End Phase if you control no Libromancer Ritual Monsters.
Archetype Assists
Now that we got the full archetype support waves out of the way, let’s get to the archetypes that got only a few cards in this set. Ancient Warriors, Dinomorphias, and The Weather are the only two archetypes with two cards in the set, but P.U.N.K., Adventurer Tokens, Battleguards, Exosisters, Sylvans, War Rocks, Materiactors, and Gaia each got a brand new card in this set. Ancient Warriors – Savage Don Ying is a Level 6 DARK Beast-Warrior who makes the opponent pay 400 LP to activate a card or effect if you control a Level 7 or higher Ancient Warriors monster, upon Normal or Special Summon lets you add a Level 7 or higher Ancient Warriors monster or an Ancient Warriors Continuous Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand, and if an opponent’s monster is sent to the graveyard, you can target a card in their graveyard to banish it and draw a card. Ancient Warriors Saga – Deception and Betrayal is a Continuous Spell that lets you Special Summon an Ancient Warriors monster from your hand during your Main Phase and deals damage to you equal to the summoned monster’s Level times 100, and can be sent from the field to the graveyard to target an Ancient Warriors monster on the field to change its Attribute, then if you targeted an opponent’s monster, you can take control of it. Dinomorpha Rexterm is a Level 8 DARK Dinosaur Fusion of any Dinomorphia Fusion Monster and any Dinomorphia Monster, prevents the opponent from using effects of monsters they control with ATK greater than or equal to your LP, lets you pay half your LP as a Quick Effect to change the ATK of all monsters the opponent controls to your LP total for the turn, and can summon a Level 6 or lower Dinomorphia monster from your graveyard if destroyed by battle or card effect. Dinomorphia Frenzy is a Normal Trap that during the opponent’s Main Phase lets you pay half your LP to Fusion Summon a Dinomorphia Fusion from your Extra Deck using 1 monster from your Deck and 1 from your Extra Deck as material, and can be banished from the graveyard while your LP are 2000 or less and the opponent activates a card or effect to prevent you from taking effect damage for the rest of the turn. The Weather Painter Moonbow is a Link-3 DARK Fairy Link that needs 3 The Weather monsters to summon, upon Link Summon lets you summon one of your banished The Weather monsters, upon its destruction lets you summon a The Weather Painter Rainbow from your Extra Deck, and gives The Weather monsters it points to the effect where it can be banished as a Quick Effect to target a monster the opponent controls to banish it until the next Standby Phase. The Weather Forecast is a Field Spell that upon activation lets you place 1 The Weather Continuous Spell/Trap face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone from your Deck, lets you use your The Weather Continuous Spells/Traps in the Spell/Trap Zone as material to Link Summon a The Weather monster, and lets you gain an additional Normal Summon of a The Weather monster. Noh-P.U.N.K. Deer Note is a Level 5 EARTH Warrior who can reveal itself and another P.U.N.K. monster in your hand to Special Summon one and send the other to the graveyard, also if this card is sent from your field to the graveyard, you can target a P.U.N.K. monster in the graveyard that isn’t Level 5 and Special Summon it, but you can’t Special Summon another Noh-P.U.N.K. Deer Note for the rest of the turn. Illegal Knight is a Level 7 DARK Fiend who can be Special Summoned from the hand as a Quick Effect if you control no monsters or control an Adventurer Token, and it gains a Quick Effect while you control an Adventurer Token to target up to 2 cards the opponent controls to give control of this card to the opponent and return the targeted cards to the hand. Battleguard Cadet is a Level 1 EARTH Warrior who gives all your Battleguard monsters a 500 ATK/DEF boost, upon Normal or Special Summon lets you add a Feast of the Wild LV5 from your Deck to your hand, and can be tributed to summon a Level 8 Warrior from your hand. Exosisters Magnifica is a Rank 8 LIGHT Warrior Xyz that needs 2 Rank 4 Exosister Xyzs to summon, must be summoned with the above materials, can make a second attack during each Battle Phase, has a Quick Effect once per turn to detach a material and banish a card the opponent controls, and it has another Quick Effect when the opponent activates a card or effect to return an Exosister Xyz this has as material to your Extra Deck to Xyz Summon that returned Exosister monster from your Extra Deck using this and its Xyz Materials as material. Sylvan Dancepione is a Link-2 WIND Plant who needs 2 Plant monsters to summon, if Link Summoned lets you declare a number between 1 and 3 to excavate that number of the top cards of your Deck and lets you summon up to 2 excavated Plants, but they can’t be used as Link Material, while the other cards go to the graveyard, also you can target a Plant monster in your graveyard to change the Level of all Plant monsters this points to to the Level of the targeted monster. War Rock Medium is a Continuous Spell where while your opponent controls a Special Summoned monster and you control a Level 7 or higher War Rock monster, neither player can activate the effects of monsters on the field during the Main Phase 1, also during your Main Phase you can set a War Rock Spell/Trap directly from your Deck to your field, besides War Rock Medium, but you can only Special Summon Warriors for the rest of the turn. Materiactor Annulus is a Normal Spell that lets you detach an Xyz Material from a monster you control, then if that card was sent to the graveyard, you can Set it to your field. Finally, Curse of Dragon, the Magical Knight Dragon is a Level 5 DARK Dragon Fusion of any Warrior monster and any Level 5 or higher Dragon, lets you banish Fusion Materials from the graveyard as well to summon a Level 7 or higher Dragon Fusion, and if Fusion Summoned lets you target a Spell/Trap in your graveyard that mentions Gaia the Dragon Champion to add it to your hand.
Generic Goodies
Finally, all the cards in the set with a more generic purpose in mind, whether it can be used in any Deck or it has a bit more specific requirements, but doesn’t really belong to an archetype. Supreme Sea Mare is a Level 4 WATER Aqua that on Normal or Special Summon lets you send an Aqua monster from your Deck to the graveyard, also you can tribute this card during the End Phase to target an Aqua monster that isn’t a Supreme Sea Mare and add it to your hand. Yamatako Orochi is a Level 1 WATER Sea Serpent Tuner that can be treated as a Level 8 for a Synchro Summon and a Synchro Monster that used this as material gains an effect where if it was Level 8 or lower, it gains 800 ATK and DEF, and if it was Level 9 or higher, it can deal piercing damage. Psychic End Punisher is a Level 11 LIGHT Psychic Synchro with generic summoning requirements, is unaffected by the opponent’s activated effects while you control this Synchro Summoned card and your LP are lower than your opponent’s, lets you pay 1000 LP to target a monster you control and a card the opponent controls to banish them, and at the start of the Battle Phase can gain ATK equal to the difference between your and your opponent’s LP. Musical Sumo Dice Games is a Rank 6 FIRE Machine Xyz that needs 2 Level 6s to summon, at the start of the opponent’s Battle Phase lets you roll a six-sided dice to move that many spaces on the field clockwise, and attaches a monster that’s in the zone it moves to as material, lets you win the Duel if this effect would cause the materials attached to this card to exceed 6, and if this card cannot move to the zone it would move to or the monster can’t be attached to this as material, it’s sent to the graveyard. Beyond the Pendulum is a Link-2 DARK Spellcaster Link that needs any 2 Effect Monsters, including a Pendulum Monster, to summon, upon being Link Summoned lets you pay 1200 LP to add any Pendulum Monster from Deck to hand, but you cannot activate monster effects and the effects of cards in your Pendulum Zones are negated until the end of the turn unless you Pendulum Summon, also if two monsters with different Levels are Pendulum Summoned to the zones this card points to, you can target 2 cards on the field and destroy them. Parasomnia Pillow is an Equip Spell that can destroy any monster it’s equipped to during the End Phase and if it’s sent to the graveyard because the equipped monster was destroyed by this effect, you can summon a Parasomnia Token (Level 1/ATK ?/DEF 0) with its Type, Attribute, and ATK being that of the destroyed monster and then this card equips to that Token. Ichiroku’s Ledger Book is a Normal Trap that targets up to 2 monsters the opponent controls to banish them until the next Standby Phase and the opponent gains 1000 LP for each monster banished by this effect. XX-clusion is a Counter Trap that can trigger when the opponent activates a monster effect in the hand to negate that effect, then discards a card of the opponent’s choice from their hand if they have a card in hand. Colonel on C-String is a Level 4 LIGHT Warrior who when Normal Summoned can let you Special Summon up to 2 Level 4 or lower Warrior monsters with different names from your hand in Defense Position. Navy Dragon Mech is a Level 9 WATER Machine Synchro with generic summoning requirements, if Special Summoned lets you target face-up cards the opponent controls up to the number of Tuners in your graveyard to negate their effects until the end of the turn, and if it was Synchro Summoned and destroyed by a card effect, you can target a Tuner in your graveyard and add it to your hand. Pastissciel Couverture is a Level 5 Scale 1 DARK Fairy Fusion that needs 2 Pendulum Monsters to summon, has a Pendulum Effect to place a face-up Pendulum Monster in your Extra Deck to the Pendulum Zone if you have no card there, and it’s Monster Effect lets you place it in the Pendulum Zone if it’s destroyed. Omega Judgment is a Normal Trap that lets you target a face-up monster in your Spell/Trap Zone and 2 cards the opponent controls to destroy them. Chow Sai the Ghost Stopper is a Level 4 DARK Spellcaster who prevents either player from activating the effects of Spells/Traps in the graveyard and if it’s sent from your field to the graveyard, you can target a Spell/Trap in the opponent’s graveyard and banish it. Yakusa, Lord of the Eight Thunders is a Level 8 LIGHT Wyrm who can be Special Summoned from the hand by banishing a Level/Rank 8 monster from your graveyard and can target a Level/Rank 8 Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Monster in the graveyard to shuffle it into the Deck and applies an effect where you draw a card if it was a Ritual/Fusion Monster and this card gains 1000 ATK if it was a Synchro/Xyz monster. Finally, V-LAN Hydra is a Link-3 LIGHT Cyberse Link that gains 300 ATK for each monster co-linked to it and can target a Link-3 or lower monster co-linked to this card and tributes it to summon V-LAN Tokens (Cyberse/LIGHT/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) equal to the tributed monster’s Link Rating, but you can’t summon monsters with that Link Rating for the rest of the turn. Also, didn’t really intend to go into its effect, but it’s cool of fans of the Dark Duel Stories game that Light Law Medium is finally printed as a physical card.
In Conclusion
Well yeah, this is actually a pretty good set. It doesn’t have that big Tier 1 strategy in it, but a bunch of cards that can make a competitve splash. Therions are good for any monster Types that can use them, or a more dedicated Therion build. They especially make any Plant goodstuff Decks good, and the new Sylvan Link-2 adds to that. The Pendulum support is alright, but Beyond the Pendulum is overall very good. I can see the Predaplant cards being used in Branded variants as all their new cards are all great. Psychic End Punisher is the new best Level 11 Synchro and is probably a staple for whoever can summon it. P.U.N.K., Adventurer Tokens, and Exosisters all got some great support and we see a good return to archetypes like Ancient Warriors and The Weather. The two Dinomorphia cards are probably going to see play in something like Branded or help make a pure Dinomorphia Deck even better as it gives them what feels like a proper win condition. There’s so many good cards in this set, not many might be generic, but there’s enough variety in here to go around.
