Konami decided to unveil a surprise on us. Hello Pojo Readers, Crunch$G here to tell you what you should know about the final core set of the VRAINS era, Eternity Code. ETCO is a 101 card set that changed how we know sets, as there are no longer Rares in here and we now have 5 potential Starlight Rares to collect. We have support for archetypes like Ancient Warriors, Generaiders, Witchcrafters, Resonators, Sharks, Madolche, Orcust, Cyberse, Marincess, Gouki, Unchained, Invoked, Dragonmaids… I could keep going. There’s a ton of archetype support in here. That’s also not to mention the new Nemeses archetype that makes its debut in here. There’s a bunch of good stuff to talk about with this set, so let’s get straight on into it.
Starlight Rares
As mentioned, we now have 5 Starlight Rares in this set instead of 4. 2 of them were cards that came in Secret Rare while 1 each came Ultra and Super respectively and we have a single card that only comes in Starlight Rare. We have Chamber Dragonmaid and Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill as the Secret Rares that were upgraded to Starlight Rare. Traptrix Allomerus was the lone Ultra Rare and Eria the Water Charmer, Gentle was the lone Super Rare. The one standout that only comes in Starlight Rare is a reprint of Effect Veiler. This is the first time we really got a reprint in a main set, but it won’t be easy to get. Veiler getting this treatment sets the precedent for other old cards to be Starlight Rares in later core sets, so we’ll see what they do with that later on.
The Final Cyberse Arrive
We’ll start with the plethora of Cyberse cards that are generic, as well as part of archetypes like Salamangreat, Marincess, and @Ignister. Parallel eXceed is a Level 8 that becomes Level 4 if summoned off a Parallel eXceed, can Special Summon itself from the hand to a zone a Link Monster points to if you Link Summon, and upon Normal/Special Summon lets you summon another Parallel eXceed from the Deck. Salamangreat Zebroid X is a Level 4 that can Special Summon 2 Level 4 Salamangreats from your grave with their effects negated if a Salamangreat Link leaves the field due to an opponent’s card effect, then it lets you immediately perform an Xyz Summon for a Salamangreat Xyz using the 2 revived monsters, and an Xyz Monster that used Zebroid X on the field as material gains the effect to gain 300 ATK for each material attached to it. Marincess Basilalima is a Level 4 that can banish itself from the graveyard to prevent the destruction of a monster(s) you control by a card effect, can let you banish a Marincess Trap from the graveyard to search for a Marincess Trap with a different name, and upon Basilalima being banished it can let a face-up monster you control gain 600 ATK. Accesscode Talker is a Link-4 with arrows pointing Up, Down, Left, and Right that needs 2+ Effect Monsters as material, prevents the opponent from activating cards or effects in response to Accesscode Talker’s effects, gains 1000 ATK times the Link Rating of a Link Monster used to Link Summon this card, and can banish a Link Monster from your field or graveyard to destroy a card the opponent controls, but you can’t banish a monster with the same Attribute for this effect in the same turn. Proxy F Magician is a Link-2 of any 2 Effect Monsters, has Bottom Left/Right arrows, once per turn lets you Fusion Summon any Fusion using monsters on your field, and lets you Special Summon a monster with 1000 or less ATK from the hand if you Fusion Summon to a zone this card points to. Splash Mage is a Link-2 of any 2 Cyberse monsters, has Top/Bottom Right arrows, and it can target a Cyberse monster in your graveyard to Special Summon it in Defense Position, but its effects are negated and you can only Special Summon Cyberse monsters for the rest of the turn. Linkross is a Link-1 of any Link-2 or higher Link Monster, has a Downward arrow, and upon its Link Summon lets you Special Summon a number of Link Tokens (Cyberse/LIGHT/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) up to the Link Rating of the Link Monster used as material to summon this card, but the Tokens cannot be used as Link Material that turn. The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister is a Link-6 of any 3+ monsters with different Attributes, has arrows pointing Up, Left, Right, Bottom Left, Bottom, and Bottom Right, you can only control 1 of this card, it gains 1000 ATK for every monster used as Link Material to summon this card, unaffected by other card effects, and once per turn lets you destroy a monster on the field to then summon an @Ignister Token (Cyberse/DARK/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) to a zone it points to. Marincess Great Bubble Reef is a Link-4 of any 2+ WATER monsters, has arrows pointing Left, Right, Down, and Bottom Left, during each Standby Phase lets you banish a WATER monster from your graveyard or face-up from your field to draw a card, gains 600 ATK for each monster banished face-up until the end of the turn, and can send a WATER monster from the hand to the graveyard to Special Summon a banished Marincess monster. A.I. Contact is a Normal Spell that if Ignister A.I.Land is on your field, you can reveal an Ignister A.I.Land from your hand and return it to the bottom of the Deck to draw 3 cards. Burning Draw is a Normal Spell that’s always treated as a Salamangreat card and if the opponent controls more cards than you do, you can target a Link Monster the opponent controls to draw cards equal to its Link Rating, but you can only Normal or Special Summon FIRE monsters the turn you activate this card. Link Burst is a Normal Spell that lets you target a Link Monster you control and a monster your opponent controls to destroy them and draw a card. A.I.Q is a Continuous Trap that can only be activated if you control an @Ignister, destroys itself during your Standby Phase if you don’t tribute a Link Monster, and only lets each player Link Summon once per turn while it’s face-up on the field. Scrypton is a Level 5 that lets you banish a Cyberse monster from your graveyard to Special Summon it from the hand and upon being sent to the graveyard to Link Summon a Cyberse monster lets you target a banished Cyberse monster and shuffle it into the Deck. Armored Bitron is a Level 2 that lets you tribute it to Special Summon a Cyberse from the Deck, but its effects are negated and you can only Special Summon Cyberse monsters for the rest of the turn, and it can revive itself from the graveyard if a Link-3 or higher monster is destroyed by battle or card effect, but its banished when it leaves the field. Gussari @Ignister is a Level 8 that Special Summons itself from the hand when a Link Monster is destroyed in battle, burns the opponent equal to a monster’s original ATK if a monster is destroyed in battle by your Link Monster, and when an attack is declared involving a Link Monster you control and an opponent’s monster, you can banish this card from the grave to make the ATK of both monsters become 3000. Finally, Gatchiri @Ignister is a Level 8 that prevents a Cyberse monster from being destroyed by a card effect each turn the first time it would be destroyed, can target a Cyberse Monster you control to negate its effects and Special Summon itself from the hand, and upon being sent to the graveyard lets you target a card you control to have it be unaffected by the opponent’s card effects for the turn.
Break the Code
One of the archetypes debuting in this set is the Codebreaker archetype, which is made to weaken your opponent’s Link Monsters by having them point to your Codebreakers. Codebreaker Zero Day is a Level 4 that debuffs Link Monsters by 1000 ATK if they point to it, except for Codebreaker monsters, it destroys itself if a Codebreaker Link on the field is destroyed, and upon Zero Day’s destruction you can search for another Zero Day. Codebreaker Virus Berserker is a Link-3 of any 2+ monsters, including a Codebreaker, has arrows pointing Up, Down, and Right, upon being Special Summoned and being co-linked lets you Special Summon up to 2 Codebreaker monsters from your hand and/or graveyard to zones any Link Monster points to, and during your Main Phase lets you target and destroy Spells and Traps up to the number of linked Codebreaker monsters on the field. Codebreaker Virus Swordsman is a Link-2 of any 2 Effect Monsters, has Up and Down arrows, upon being Special Summoned and co-linked lets you Special Summon a Codebreaker Zero Day from your hand, Deck, or graveyard to a zone any Link Monster points to, and during the End Phase of the turn it was destroyed by an opponent’s card while in your possession and sent to the graveyard, it can Special Summon itself, but it’s banished when it leaves the field.
Meet Your Nemeses
The second archetype to debut in this set is the Nemeses archetype, an archetype based around banished cards and monster’s Types and Attributes. Archnemeses Protos and Eschatos are both Level 11 monsters respectively that must first be summoned by banishing 3 monsters from the graveyard or face-up from your field with different Attributes and Types respectively, cannot be destroyed by card effects, and each let you declare 1 Attribute or Type respectively to destroy every monster on the field with that Attribute or Type and then prevents both players from summoning monsters with that Attribute or Type until the end of the next turn. Nemeses Flag, Umbrella, and Corridor are Level 2, 3, and 4 respectively that each let you return a banished card into the Deck to be Special Summoned from the hand and each gain an effect upon Normal or Special Summon with Flag searching any Nemeses monster from the Deck that isn’t Flag, Umbrella adding a Nemeses monster from the grave to the hand that isn’t Umbrella, and Corridor returning a banished Nemeses to the hand that isn’t Corridor. Finally, Nemeses Adrastea is a Quick-Play Spell that lets you target a Nemeses monster that’s banished or in your graveyard to Special Summon it, but its effects cannot be activated that turn if it’s Level 11.
Under the Deep Sea
Just like with Thunder Dragon, we now have Deep Sea Diva being part of its own archetype with the Deep Sea monsters, all of which are WATER Sea Serpents. Deep Sea Artisan is a Level 1 that upon it being added from the Deck or graveyard to the hand lets you reveal itself from the hand to look at your opponent’s hand, and upon it being Special Summoned lets you send the top card from your Deck to the graveyard to target a Level 4 or lower WATER monster in your graveyard, except Artisan, to Special Summon it with its effects negated. Deep Sea Sentry is a Level 2 that upon being sent to the graveyard to activate a WATER monster’s effect makes the opponent banish a card from their hand face-up until the End Phase, and upon being Special Summoned lets you send 2 cards from the top of your Deck to the graveyard to target a Level 4 or lower WATER monster in your graveyard, except Sentry, and add it to your hand. Deep Sea Minstrel is a Level 3 Tuner that lets you discard it and a WATER monster to look at the opponent’s hand and banish a card face-up until the End Phase, and it can let you send the top 3 cards of your Deck to the graveyard to target a Level 4 or lower WATER monster in your graveyard, except Minstrel, and add it to either the top or bottom of your Deck. Deep Sea Prima Donna is a Level 7 Synchro Tuner of any Tuner and non-Tuner(s), prevents the opponent from targeting a Synchro Monster that used this monster as material with monster effects, can target an opponent’s banished card to let you add to your hand or Special Summon a Level 4 or lower WATER monster from the Deck and then add the banished card to the opponent’s hand, and upon being sent to the graveyard lets you target a banished card to shuffle it into the Deck. Finally, Deep Sea Aria is a Normal Spell that lets you banish a WATER monster from your graveyard to add any Level 4 or lower Sea Serpent from your Deck to your hand.
The King’s Reign
Next up for some legacy support are new Resonator cards for Jack Atlas, sadly no new Red Dragon Archfiend form though. Red Familiar is a Level 4 DARK Fiend that lets you tribute a Fiend to target a Level 8 or lower DARK Dragon Synchro in your graveyard to Special Summon it in Defense Position with its effects negated, and it can banish itself from the graveyard to target a DARK Dragon Synchro you control and declare a Level from 1 to 8 to turn that monster’s Level to the declared Level for the turn. Crimson Resonator is a Level 2 DARK Fiend Tuner that can be Special Summoned from the hand if you control no monsters, and if the only monsters you control are it and a DARK Dragon Synchro, you can Special Summon up to 2 Resonator monsters from your hand or Deck that aren’t Crimson Resonator, but you can only Special Summon DARK Dragon Synchros from the Extra Deck during the turn you use either of this card’s effects. Resonator Command is a Quick-Play Spell that lets you discard a Resonator monster to add a Level 4 or lower Fiend from your Deck to your hand. Finally, Red Reign is a Normal Trap that lets you banish every monster on the field, except the monster(s) with the highest Level, if you control a Level 8 or higher DARK Dragon Synchro, and any monsters left on the field after this are unaffected by other card effects that aren’t their own for that turn, and if a DARK Dragon Synchro is Synchro Summoned to your field while this card is in your graveyard, you can add this card to your hand.
Shark’s Bite
The next character to get legacy support is Shark’s series of Shark monsters from ZEXAL. Lantern Shark is a Level 4 WATER Fish that upon Normal or Special Summons lets you summon any Level 3, 4, or 5 WATER monster from your hand in Defense Position, but you can only Special Summon Xyz Monsters from the Extra Deck for the rest of the turn, and if this monster is used as Xyz Material for a WATER monster, it can be treated as Level 3 or 5. Buzzsaw Shark is another Level 4 WATER Fish that lets you target a WATER monster you control to Special Summon a Fish from the Deck in Defense Position with a different name and the same Level, but it cannot activate its effects that turn and you can only Special Summon Xyz Monsters from the Extra Deck for the rest of the turn, and if you would use this monster as Xyz Material for a WATER monster, it can be treated as Level 3 or 5. Valiant Shark Lancer is a Rank 5 WATER Fish Xyz of any 2 Level 5 monsters, can target a monster the opponent controls to then detach a material from any Xyz Monster you control and destroy the targeted monster, with this being a Quick Effect if you control another WATER Xyz Monster, and if another WATER Xyz Monster(s) is destroyed by battle or card effect while you control this face-up monster, you can take a Spell from your Deck and place it on top of your Deck. Torpedo Takedown is a Normal Spell that lets you target and detach a material from a WATER Xyz you control to inflict 400 damage to the opponent for each card in their hand and the monster who detached a material gains ATK equal to the damage dealt, and you can banish this card and a WATER Xyz from your graveyard to draw 2 cards. Finally, Xyz Revival Splash is a Normal Trap that lets you target a Rank 4 or lower Xyz Monster in your graveyard to Special Summon it and have its Attribute become WATER, and you can banish this card from the graveyard to target a WATER Xyz you control to Special Summon a WATER Xyz Monster that is 1 Rank higher from the Extra Deck using the targeted monster and its Xyz Materials as material, with this summon being treated as an Xyz Summon.
The Third Tribe of the Ancient Warriors
Next up is the set of FIRE Ancient Warriors to represent the third tribe. Ancient Warriors – Ambitious Cao De is a Level 8 that cannot be targeted or destroyed by the opponent’s card effects if you control another Ancient Warriors monster, can send another card from your hand or field to the graveyard if a card(s) the opponent controls is destroyed to Special Summon itself from the hand, and when this monster destroys an opponent’s monster in battle and sends it to the graveyard, you can Special Summon it to your field in Defense Position. Ancient Warriors – Fearsome Zhang Yuan is a Level 6 that prevents your other Ancient Warriors from being destroyed in battle, can be Special Summoned from the hand at the start of the Damage Step when your Ancient Warriors monster battles an opponent’s face-up monster and upon its Special Summon debuffs the opponent’s monster by 1000 ATK, and if a card the opponent controls is destroyed by battle you can target and destroy a card the opponent controls. Ancient Warriors – Deceptive Jia Wen is a Level 4 that lets you target a Continuous Spell/Trap you control to send them to the graveyard and halve the ATK of 2 face-up monsters on the field until the end of the turn, and if a card(s) the opponent controls is destroyed by battle or card effect, you can target an Ancient Warriors card in your graveyard that isn’t Jia Wen and add it to your hand. Ancient Warriors – Ingenious Zhuge Kong is a Level 4 WIND that can Special Summon itself from the hand if added to the hand by the effect of an Ancient Warriors card, can send an Ancient Warriors Continuous Spell/Trap you control to the graveyard as a Quick Effect when a Spell/Trap Card is activated to negate the activation, and if you control an Ancient Warriors – Virtuous Liu Xuan you can send an Ancient Warriors Continuous Spell/Trap you control to the graveyard as a Quick Effect when a monster effect is activated to negate the activation. Finally, Ancient Warriors Saga – Borrowing of Arrows is a Continuous Spell/Trap that lets you target a face-up monster your opponent controls and an Ancient Warriors you control to halve the ATK of your opponent’s monster and add the lost ATK to your monster for the turn, and if this card is sent from the field to the graveyard while you control 2 or more Ancient Warriors monsters with different Attributes, you can place an Ancient Warriors Continuous Spell/Trap from your Deck face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone.
Plunder Patroll Shipment
Next up is potentially the last batch of Plunder Patroll support for a while since Rise of the Duelist has 20 OCG Imports and no TCG Exclusives. Bluebeard, the Plunder Patroll Shipwright is a Level 4 that Special Summons itself from the hand if you control a Plunder Patroll monster that isn’t Bluebeard, and upon being sent from the hand or Monster Zone to the graveyard lets you discard a card and draw a card. Glodenhair, the Newest Plunder Patroll is a Level 4 Tuner that can let you send another Plunder Patroll monster from your hand or face-up field to the graveyard to Special Summon this card from the hand, and if it’s in your graveyard you can discard a card to Special Summon it, but you can only Special Summon Plunder Patroll monsters for the rest of the turn. Plunder Patrollship Lys is a Level 8 LIGHT Fusion of 2 Plunder Patroll monsters, during the Main Phase as a Quick Effect lets you Special Summon a Plunder Patroll monster from your hand or face-up from your Spell/Trap Zones, can discard a Plunder Patroll monster as a Quick Effect when the opponent activates a monster effect to negate the activation and destroy that monster, then you can add a Plunder Patroll card from your Deck to your hand if this monster was equipped with a Plunder Patroll card. Plunder Patroll Shipshape Ships Shipping is a Normal Spell that lets you Fusion Summon any Fiend Fusion using monsters from your hand or field as material, and it can be banished from the graveyard to target a Plunder Patroll monster you control and equip it with a Plunder Patroll monster or Emblem of the Plunder Patroll from the Deck. Emblem of the Plunder Patroll is an Equip Spell that equips only to a Plunder Patroll monster, gives the monster 500 ATK and immunity from targeting from the opponent’s card effects, and you can send this card to the graveyard while equipped to a monster to Special Summon a Plunder Patroll monster from the Extra Deck with the same Attribute as a monster on the field or in the graveyard, and then equip the monster this card was equipped to on the newly Special Summoned monster and the equipped card gains the effect to boost the monster it’s equipped to by 500 ATK. Pride of the Plunder Patroll is a Continuous Trap that lets you draw a card if your Plunder Patroll monster destroys an opponent’s monster in battle and it can be sent face-up from the field to the graveyard to either let your opponent draw a card and you look at their hand to send a monster from it to the graveyard or look at your opponent’s Extra Deck and send a monster from it to the graveyard. Finally, Plunder Patroll Parrrty is a Normal Trap that if you control a Plunder Patroll monster, you can draw cards equal to the number of equip cards you control +1, then shuffle cards from your hand into the Deck equal to the number of equip cards you control, and once per Duel this card can equip itself from the graveyard to a Plunder Patroll monster when it’s Special Summoned from the Extra Deck and it boosts that monster by 500 ATK.
Archetype Assists
Now it’s time to talk about all the archetypes that got a few pieces of support in this set, or cards clearly designed for a specific Deck. Gouki returns in this set with 3 brand new cards, with the first being the Level 2 Gouki Iron Claw, who can discard itself from the hand during the Damage Step when your Gouki monster battles an opponent’s monster to boost your monster by 500 ATK and have it be unaffected by your opponent’s card effects for the turn, and if sent from the field to the graveyard can search for a Gouki card that isn’t another Iron Claw. Gouki Guts is a Level 1 that can’t be destroyed by battle while in Defense Position, during your Main Phase boosts all your Gouki monsters by 200 ATK, and if sent from the field to the graveyard can search any Gouki card that isn’t another Guts. Gouki the Powerload Ogre is the last Gouki card, and is a Link-4 of any 2+ Warriors, has arrows pointing Left, Bottom Left, Bottom, and Bottom Right, gains ATK equal to the combined Link Ratings of all other Links you control times 200, this Link Summoned card is unaffected by other card effects, and you can tribute a Gouki Link you control to target cards on the field up to the tributed monster’s Link Rating and destroy them. Noctovision Dragon is a Level 7 DARK Dragon that can be banished from the graveyard when the opponent targets a face-down card you control to negate that effect and prevent the opponent from targeting your face-down cards for the rest of the turn, can Special Summon itself from the hand if a DARK Dragon monster(s) is Special Summoned to your field, and lets you draw a card if sent to the graveyard as Link Material. Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight is a Level 4 DARK Machine that upon Normal or Special Summon can send an Orcust or World Legacy card from the Deck to the graveyard, then this card becomes a Tuner if there were 2 or more cards in the same column as this card when the effect was activated, and if you control no other monsters besides Girsu, you can Special Summon a World Legacy Token (Machine/DARK/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) to each side of the field in Defense Position. Thunder Dragonlord is a Level 9 LIGHT Thunder that must first be Special Summoned from the hand by banishing a Level 8 or lower Thunder monster from your hand or face-up from the field during the turn a Thunder monster activated its effect in your hand, once per opponent’s turn lets you banish 2 cards, including a Thunder monster, from your graveyard to target a Thunder you control to have it be untargetable by the opponent’s card effects for the turn, and during your End Phase it can let you send a Thunder Dragon card from your Deck to the graveyard. Dragonmaids get 2 new cards in this set, first being Chamber Dragonmaid, a Level 4 DARK Dragon who upon Normal or Special Summon lets you add any Dragonmaid Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand and at the start of your Battle Phase you can return it to the hand to Special Summon a Level 7 or higher Dragonmaid monster from your hand or graveyard. Dragonmaid Sheou is a Level 10 LIGHT Dragon Fusion of any Dragonmaid and any Level 5 or higher Dragon, during each Standby Phase lets you Special Summon a Level 9 or lower Dragonmaid monster from your hand or graveyard, and when your opponent activates a card or effect you can negate the activation and destroy that card, then return this card to the Extra Deck and Special Summon a House Dragonmaid from your Extra Deck. Generaiders were also lucky enough to get two cards. First is Harr, Generaider Boss of Storms, a Level 9 DARK Spellcaster who you can only control 1 of, once per turn when the opponent adds a card from their Deck to their hand, except during the Draw Phase, you can make the opponent send a monster from their hand or field to the graveyard, and when a card or effect is activated you can tribute 2 Generaider or Spellcaster monsters to negate the activation and destroy that card. Loptr, Shadow of the Generaider Bosses is a Level 4 FIRE Fairy you can only control 1 of, boosts all your Generaider monsters by 1000 ATK/DEF during the opponent’s turn, and as a Quick Effect lets you tribute any Generaider monster to Special Summon a Level 9 Generaider with a different name from the Deck. Unchained Twins – Sarama is a Level 3 DARK Fiend who lets you target an Unchained card in your graveyard and set it to your field, then makes you destroy a card you control, and this card is destroyed by an effect that isn’t Sarama or by battle, you can Special Summon an Unchained monster from the hand or Deck. Union Driver is a Level 5 LIGHT Machine Union monster with your typical Union effects and it can banish itself while equipped to a monster to equip the formerly equipped monster with an appropriate Level 4 or lower Union Monster from the Deck. Malice, Lady of Lament is a Level 3 DARK Fiend who as a Quick Effect can let you tribute 2 monsters to target a Normal Trap that’s banished or in your graveyard and set it to your field, but it returns to the bottom of the Deck when it leaves the field. Animadorned Archosaur is a Level 1 LIGHT Dinosaur who upon Normal or Special Summon can destroy a Dinosaur monster in your hand or face-up on the field that isn’t Animadorned Archosaur to add a Reptile, Sea Serpent, or Winged Beast monster from the Deck to the hand with the same original Level as the destroyed monster, or you can search an Evolution Pill Spell from the Deck. Goldilocks the Battle Landscaper is a Level 10 EARTH Machine who destroys itself if not summoned to the middle Main Monster Zone, gains 3000 ATK while in the middle Main Monster Zone, and can move itself to an unused Main Monster Zone on your field to destroy every other card in the column this card was in, the column this card moved to, and in every column in between. Invoked Augoeides is a Level 9 LIGHT Fairy Fusion of Aleister the Invoker and any Fusion Monster, upon its Special Summon or a monster(s) being Special Summoned to the opponent’s field lets you target a monster the opponent controls and destroy it, and once per turn it lets you banish a Fusion Monster from your graveyard to have this monster gain ATK equal to the banished monster’s ATK until the end of the opponent’s turn. Traptrix Allomerus is a Rank 4 EARTH Insect that needs any 2+ Level 4 monsters, is unaffected by Trap effects while it has Xyz Material, cand detach 2 materials from itself to Special Summon a Level 4 Insect or Plant from your graveyard, and can detach 1 material if an opponent’s monster(s) leaves the field because of your card effect and is now in the graveyard or banished to Special Summon 1 of those monsters. Stairs of Mail is a Continuous Spell that lets you discard a Tindangle card to change a face-down Defense Position monster to Attack Position or an Attack Position monster to face-down Defense Position, but you cannot discard another card with the same name by the effect of Stairs of Mail for the rest of the turn. Madolche is another archetype with 2 new cards, with the first being the Continuous Spell Madolche Salon, which lets you Normal Summon a Madolche in addition to your Normal Summon or Set during the Main Phase and if another Madolche card you control or in your graveyard is added to your hand or shuffled into the Main Deck, you can set a Madolche Spell/Trap directly from the Deck that isn’t another Salon. Madolche Promenade is a Normal Trap that lets you target a monster your opponent controls and a Madolche monster in your graveyard or face-up on your field to negate the opponent’s monster’s effect and add your Madolche card to your hand, and this card can be banished from the graveyard to target a Madolche Xyz you control and attach a Madolche monster from the hand, Deck, or graveyard to it as material. Void Apocalypse is a Continuous Spell that lets you discard a card to send a Fiend from the Deck to the graveyard, and you can send this face-up card from the field to the graveyard to send Infernoid monsters with different names from your hand and/or Deck to the graveyard up to the number of monsters the opponent controls that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck. Heavy Forward is a Continuous Spell that upon activation lets you add an Infinitrack monster from your Deck to your hand, and it lets you target a Machine Xyz you control to either change its battle position or attach this card to it as material. Witchcrafter is the next archetype with 2 new cards, with Witchcrafter Unveiling being the first, a Quick-Play Spell that lets you Special Summon a Witchcrafter monster from the hand and then prevents the opponent from activating cards or effects in response to your Spellcaster monster effects for the rest of that turn, and it can return itself from the graveyard to the hand if you control a Witchcrafter monster. Witchcrafter Patronus is a Continuous Trap that lets you target a Spellcaster monster that’s banished or in your graveyard to shuffle it into the Deck and add a Witchcrafter Spell from your Deck to your hand, and it can be banished from the graveyard during any turn it wasn’t sent there to target any number of banished Witchcrafter Spells with different names and add them to your hand. Evil Eye Reemergence is a Normal Spell that lets you Special Summon a Familiar of the Evil Eye Token (Fiend/DARK/Level 1/ATK 400/DEF 400) or you can Special Summon 2 if you control a Evil Eye of Selene, but for the rest of the turn after this card resolves you can only Special Summon Fiend monsters, also you can banish this card from the graveyard to make your opponent unable to target your Evil Eye Spells/Traps for the turn. Megalith Unformed is a Quick-Play Spell that can either make all your opponent’s monsters lose 500 ATK for each Ritual Monster on the field for the turn or it can let you Ritual Summon a Megalith from the Deck in Defense Position by tributing monsters whose combined Levels are exactly twice the summoned monster’s Level. Superheavy Samurai is the last archetype with multiple cards, with the first card being Superheavy Samurai Wagon, a Level 4 EARTH Machine that when Normal or Special Summoned can change its battle position, can attack while in face-up Defense Position while applying its DEF for Damage Calculation, and if you have no Spells/Traps in your graveyard, you can change this Defense Position monster to Attack Position to add a Superheavy Samurai Soul monster from your Deck to your hand. Superheavy Samurai Swordmaster Musashi is a Level 5 EARTH Machine Synchro that needs any Tuner and non-Tuner(s), upon Synchro Summon lets you target and add a Machine from your graveyard to your hand, but you can’t Normal or Special Summon it or a monster with the same name that turn if you have a Spell/Trap in your graveyard, and it can attack while in Defense Position and it applies the DEF during Damage Calculation. Performapal Turn Trooper is a Level 4 LIGHT Warrior who gains a Counter at the start of your Battle Phase (max. 2) and gains the appropriate effects based on the number of Counters it has with 1 letting you negate an opponent’s attack once per turn and 2 letting you tribute this card to banish all monsters on the field until the opponent’s 2nd End Phase after activation. Finally, Machina Metalcruncher is a Level 9 EARTH Machine who can be Normal Summoned without tributing if you control no face-up cards, but its ATK becomes 1800 if summoned this way, and upon Normal or Special Summon lets you reveal 3 EARTH Machines from your Deck to make the opponent randomly add 1 to your hand while the rest are shuffled into the Deck.
Generic-ish Goodies
Finally, the more generic cards of the set. King Beast Barbaros is a Level 8 EARTH Beast-Warrior who can attack all monsters the opponent controls once each, can tribute monsters whose combined Levels equal 8 to be Special Summoned from the hand, and can banish a Barbaros monster from the graveyard or face-up from the field to target and destroy 2 cards the opponent controls. Gizmek Uka, the Festive Fox of Fecundity is a Level 7 EARTH Machine who burns the opponent for 300 damage every time they Normal or Special Summon a monster, can be Special Summoned from the hand if a monster is Special Summoned from the Main Deck, and upon Normal or Special Summon can target a monster the opponent controls to let you Special Summon a monster with the same ATK and DEF from the hand or Deck with the same Attribute as the targeted monster. Trias Hierarchia is a Level 9 LIGHT Fairy who can be Special Summoned from the hand or graveyard by tributing up to 3 Fairy monsters, it’s banished when it leaves the field and it applies the following effects when summoned this way depending on the number of tributed monsters with 2+ letting you destroy a card the opponent controls and 3 letting you draw 2 cards. Cataclysmic Circumpolar Chilblainia is a Level 8 WATER Fairy who can Special Summon itself from the hand if a WATER monster(s) is destroyed by battle or opponent’s card effect, then it sends a random cards from the opponent’s hand to the graveyard. Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill is a Level 3 WIND Zombie Tuner who can discard itself if your opponent Special Summons a monster(s) face-up to target one of those monsters and negate its effects for the turn and if that monster leaves the field, its controller takes damage equal to its original ATK. Magical Hound is a Level 1 EARTH Machine Tuner who once per Duel if in the hand or graveyard lets you target a face-up Spell/Trap the opponent controls to add it to their hand and then this monster is Special Summoned. Eria the Water Charmer, Gentle is a Link-2 WATER Spellcaster of any 2 monsters, including a WATER monster, has Bottom Left/Right arrows, always treated as a Familiar-Possessed card, can target a WATER monster in the opponent’s graveyard to Special Summon it to your field to a zone this card points to, and if this Link Summoned card is destroyed by battle or opponent’s effect you can search a WATER monster from the Deck with 1500 or less DEF. Fusion Deployment is a Normal Spell that lets you reveal a Fusion Monster in the Extra Deck to Special Summon a monster specifically listed on that monster from the hand or Deck, but you can only Special Summon Fusions from the Extra Deck the turn you activate this card. Flourishing Frolic is a Normal Spell that lets you excavate the top cards of your Deck equal to the number of Flourishing Frolic in your graveyard +3 and if you excavated a Monster, Spell, and Trap you can add 1 of the excavated cards to your hand while the rest go to the graveyard, otherwise they all go back into the Deck. Gravedigger’s Trap Hole is a Normal Trap that if the opponent activates a monster effect in their hand or graveyard, or activates a monster effect when it is banished, you can negate that effect and burn the opponent for 2000 damage. Titanocider is a Normal Trap that lets you target a face-up monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck to make its ATK 0 and its effects negated, and if your opponent Special Summons a monster(s) from the Extra Deck, except the turn this card was sent to the graveyard, you can set this card from the graveyard to your Spell/Trap Zone. Rose Girl is a Level 3 EARTH Plant Tuner who can Special Summon herself from the hand if a face-up Plant you control is sent to the graveyard, and she can add herself from the grave to the hand if you control a face-up Plant monster. Taotie Dragon is a Link-3 DARK Wyrm of any 2+ monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, has arrows all pointing downward in some direction, and gains effects based on the kind of monster used as Link Material to summon this with Fusion not letting your opponent use monster effects during the Battle Phase, Synchro not letting the opponent use Spells or Traps during your Main Phase, and Xyz not letting the opponent use effects in their graveyard during your Main Phase or Battle Phase. Finally, Necroquip Prism is a Normal Spell that targets a Level 4 or lower monster in your graveyard to Special Summon from the hand a monster with an equal or lower Level than the target, and the monster in the graveyard is equipped to the newly summoned monster with the monster gaining ATK equal to half the equipped monster’s ATK, but you cannot activate cards or the effects of cards with the same name as the equipped monster for the rest of the turn.
In Conclusion
This is easily one of the best sets in a long time. There’s a good amount of great generic cards like our new Ghost Girl hand trap, the Gizmek, Accesscode Talker, Gravedigger’s Trap Hole, and Titancider. Mostly, this set is carried by all the archetype support in here. There’s a good chance there’s something in here for everyone with all of the archetype support in here with how much of it there is and how good all the support is for the specific archetypes. Parallel eXceed is one of the best Commons we’ve seen in a while as well. The Starlight Rares are good choices, and the addition of Effect Veiler gives us a promising future for more old cards to become Starlight Rare. The odds of there not being something in this set for you is so low. So much good support for new and old archetypes, as well as great cards for any Deck. The only negative is that the set was delayed a month in the United States due to COVID-19, but the UK gets this set on time (or a little early) to make up for their delay of Secret Slayers.
