Starstrike Blast Preview #4

It's almost hear! The STBL Sneak peek!

And promptly so!

Now onto the preview.

Today's card is....

Tuning

Normal Spell Card

Add 1 "Synchron" Tuner monster from your Deck to your hand. Then, send the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard.

Well, it's a spell card.

And there really isn't much to say about a normal spell card.

Except that it rocks so much in certain decks!!!

Tuning is a card that lets you add a Synchron Tuner from your deck to your hand, followed by some milling.

As such, this card is compared to Reinforcement of the Army.

However, the difference between RotA and Tuning is the fact that you can run THREE Tunings in a deck.

Thus your search power has increased greatly!

Running a 37 card deck does seem smart...

The decks that I foresee using this card will be Junk and Debris, of course, and Quickdraw Plants.

Being able to add Quickdraw Synchron in Quickdraw Plants at will to your hand will speed up the deck for sure, but then again, he is your only target. The milling is only a plus for the deck as well.

A one-of tech or two Tunings could possibly be used there, but never three.

Of course, if you're running Junk and Debris, spam three. You want those free Synchros out as fast as possible.

All things considered, this card is definitely limited in what decks get direct support from this card.

However, the support is gets is so immense, that I think this card's potential is just great.

This card gets 3.5/5 for just being cool and for being useful.

~~

Well, that was short, but a Spell Card is a Spell Card.

Anyways, with one day left to go, the last card to be previewed is tomorrow!

Look forward to it!

- MonarchVV ; #9

Starstrike Blast Preview #3

Alright! Third day is here!

Which means the countdown to the Starstrike Blast sneak peek is 3 days! (on Sunday)

And I have chosen a card before I started my blog! For once!


Glow-Up Bulb

EARTH / Plant / Tuner / Effect / 1 Star / 100 Atk / 100 Def

You can send the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard and Special Summon this card from the Graveyard. You can only use this effect once per Duel.

Now this is one crazy card!

Let's begin the analysis.

The EARTH isn't so important, but what is important is the fact that it is a Plant!

This means that Lonefire Blossom, Spore, and other such and such decks will get a new toy to play with!

In addition, notably, is its Tuner status. This opens the realms of possibilities as Synchro Summoning is one of the defined mechanics of this game.

If you don't take advantage of the Synchros, then your opponent will.

Being 1 Star means that it is a Level 1 Tuner, resulting in many different Level Synchros coming out.

The 100 Atk and the 100 Def isn't so important, as this card's main purpose is definitely for Synchro Summoning.

Its effect is basically saying "Free Synchro for You!"

You can send the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard and Special Summon this card from the Graveyard. You can only use this effect once per Duel.

Now, as you can see, if it's in the graveyard, you can bring it back for no cost at all.

Essentially, this is a "plus 1" in terms of card advantage, which balances out the Synchro Summon you are going to perform, as Synchros can considered a "minus 1" usually.

This card can be seen similar to Junk Synchron and Debris Dragon therefore.

However, the loads of support this cards gets is far superior compared to those two cards.

Synchroing with Level 7s for 8s, good synergy with Foolish Burial, and so on.

If the last condition on this card wasn't there, this card would be ridiculous.

As well, Glow-Up Bulb is usable in practically any deck at all, even if they don't run Plants.

The advantage this card can bring you in a single move is devastating.

Certain decks can run this better than others however, such as Debris Plants and Quickdraw.

Overall, this card receives a 5/5 from me!

Great card, good support, all around general excellent.

~~

And that wraps up Day 3!

With two more to go, Starstrike Blast gets ever closer and closer.

Thanks as always for reading this post.

- MonarchVV ; #9

Starstrike Blast Preview #2

The second day is here, which means that there's only 4 more days until the STBL Sneak Peek!

And we move onto the second card to look at which is....


Gaia Drake, The Universal Force

EARTH / Beast-Warrior / Fusion / Effect / 10 Stars / 3500 Atk / 2800 Def

"Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth" + 1 non-Effect Synchro Monster

This card cannot be targeted or destroyed by the effect(s) of an Effect Monster.

And it's one of the new Synchro Fusion monsters!

Thankfully Konami has not totally given up on them yet, right?

And this card is what we're looking at today.

Gaia Drake, The Universal Force.

To be honest, I think "Gaia Drake, Knight of Sky and Earth" sounded much MUCH cooler.

The name means nothing in regard to the card, except that it belongs to the family of Gaia cards, which Yugi used. Not much support for those group of cards though, unfortunately.

Now usually, I would go into detail about everything in order, but as this is a Fusion, stuff must be done in order to make sense of this card.

Before even considering its Atk and its Def, we want to look at the number of ways it is possible to summon this guy. Because, if you can't bring it out fast, then there's no point in using him.

"Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth" + 1 non-Effect Synchro Monster

Well, isn't that...restrictive.

There are only three ways to bring this guy out given its fusion materials.

Gaia Knight + Gaia Knight.

Gaia Knight + Natural Leodrake.

Gaia Knight + Scrap Archfiend.

Hmm..not looking too good so far.

However! The card lacks certain features other Fusion monsters have had in recent times. This card can be special summoned from the Extra Deck not only by Fusion, but also by Special Summon!

The only cases that I can think of this working would then be The Earth - Hex Sealed Fusion, Metamorphosis, and Summoner of Illusions.

In addition, Fusion substitutes are viable as there are no clauses on what has to be used as the material. King of the Swamp and The Earth - Hex Sealed Fusion make the summoning of this guy much easier then.

With the fusion substitute material summoning though, you still require another non-Effect Synchro monster on the field.

The printing of Miracle Synchro Fusion and Synchro Fusionist makes bringing this guy out simple as well.

With so much support to summon this guy, I think there are more than enough viable ways to bring him out.

On to the Atk, Def, and Effect.

3500 Atk / 2800 Def

This card cannot be targeted or destroyed by the effect(s) of an Effect Monster.

Now that is one impressive effect. Destruction and targeting are negated when it comes from a monster, and boasting a great 3500 Atk, and an huge wall of 2800 Def, getting through this monster will seem impossible without the effects of Spells and Traps.

While this format may appear to be Spell/Trap heavy, bringing this guy out means that you won't have much to fear from monsters.

Its effect is also the reason Summoner of Illusions work great with him: he won't be destroyed by the Summoner's effect during the end phase.

~~

Being a Fusion does have its negatives, but this monster makes up for it in brute force.

With great power, not much can stand in this card's way once it is on the field, in terms of monsters at least.

Combined with a card such as Royal Decree or Trap Stun, this is one card you will definitely have to fear.

Perhaps non-Effect Synchro monsters may potetially see more play, who knows?

And now to wrap this up.

This card, while it appears weak at first, is rather impressive compared to what recent Fusion monsters have been like.

I give this card a 3/5.

And hey, its art is great to look at too. 5/5 on that.

With this, another card is previewed, and another post is up.

Thanks for reading as always.

The third card will be up tomorrow!

- MonarchVV ; #9

Starstrike Blast Preview #1

And so the long list of previews begin!

To start off, we shall roll a die and see which card I am going to preview!

And so, pretend I'm rolling a die.

This card shall be first!

Delg the Dark Monarch

DARK / Spellcaster / Effect / 6 Stars / 2400 Atk / 1000 Def

When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can select and remove from play up to 2 cards from your opponent's Graveyard. For each card removed, send 1 card from the top of your opponent's Deck to the Graveyard. This card cannot attack during the turn it is Normal or Special Summoned.

~~

And thus, we begin with the latest Monarch, Delg!

While its name does not provide any special keepsake to it, the Monarchs have always been classified as a strong group of cards.

Now for the detailed stuff.

Its attribute is DARK, which means it already wins a ton of bonus points. Good support in the form of Dark Armed Dragon, Allure of Darkness, etc, etc.

As well, you can synchro with this card for specific Synchros that require dark monsters (coughDarkEndcough)

Being from the spellcaster type, that means cards such as Hidden Village of the Spellcasters won't affect it, although a Monarch deck should already be fine against that card... Regardless, the typing isn't all too important, as there isn't any worthwhile Synchros that require a non-spellcaster type monster as the non-Tuner material.

6 Stars, 2400 Atk, and 1000 Def. These are the standards of the Monarch lineup. Nothing really to expect more from a card that has Monarch in its name.

Book of Moon makes this card easy fodder to run over, while its 2400 Atk hits the line for one-tribute monsters.

Lastly, it's time to look at its effect.

Delg's effect clearly targets the opponent's graveyard. So to compare, it would be kinda like D.D. Crow. However Delg can remove up to two cards versus the one Crow can remove, and Delg still has that 2400 Atk to use if it survives your opponent's turn.

Ideally, this card would hurt FrogNarchs and Quickdraw the most, both decktypes who are reliant on their graveyard. The occasional Infernity player would also cry.

The milling part of Delg isn't so spectacular, so i'm going to ignore it.

The effect triggers whenever it is special summoned or normal summoned. Therefore, some tricks can be played on your opponent's turn with such cards as Call of the Haunted, etc. etc. However, some good / pre-emptive summoning has to occur if you want to remove a card like Dandylion if you know they have Debris Dragon in their hand.

The last sentence of Delg's effect is probably the worst part. Even though Delg can rip apart your opponent's graveyard, if they still have a field that can eliminate your monster, then you'll probably would of wanted to summon that Caius instead.

Waiting one turn to attack makes Delg rather weak in the eyes of many.

Overall though, he still has the qualities of a Monarch to make him fearsome. A good card to side in FrogNarchs, as his effect is rather strong, especially in the Frog vs Plant / QD matchup.

I expect some decks to run one if their metagame is filled with Quickdraw / Plant decks and Frogs decks.

Otherwise, this card can still be sided as great tech in certain matchups.

This card gets 2.5/5 on my rating list.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that Delg looks like one BAMF.

~~

And that's the first review done!

Hopefully I didn't do too poor with my analysis, although who is judging really?

Just my viewers...(-__-;)

Tomorrow, another card gets picked, and until the STBL sneak peek, enjoy this post!

- MonarchVV ; #9

Starstrike Blast

With the STBL Sneak Peek coming out next week, I believe that a few card analyses are in order.

It's been a while since I've done them, although I'm sure I said how blogging is so nostalgic for athe longest time now.

In the next five days, I'll be choosing five cards at random, and we'll get a closer look just at what these guys can do.

.
.
.

Actually, I believe it would be better to just take a look at 5 of the BETTER cards coming out in this set.

The cards that more than like that I'll be previewing will be

Grow-Up Bulb
Delg the Dark Monarch
Gaia Drake, The Universal Force
Formula Synchron
Tuning

Look forward to these previews!

-MonarchVV ; #9

Sunday Locals Report

Oh man. It just feels like it's been forever since I've done a tournament report.

Oh wait....

Anyways, today I was playing Rauzes' LightxDark Beat deck, found on his joint blog, Only The Duel.

It was almost completely netdecked, but the fact that Wisel Infinity doesn't exist in the TCG means I had to change one card.

Still though, I loved the idea of the deck, and honestly, it's performance today exceeded my expectations.

On to the report.

~~

Round 1: vs. Ice Barriers

Game 1: While this deck is kinda unconventional, you still need to be prepared for it. Thunder-King Rai-oh and the Blackwings did most of the work today.

Game 2: Pretty much the same as Game 1, but using Nobleman of Crossout on a Penguin Soldier was pretty nice as well.

OO


Round 2: vs. Gladiator Beasts

Game 1: I open with TKRO and 5 backrows, one of which was Solemn Judgement. While he had a similar field, my play control was a lot better.

Game 2: While I don't recall the beginning, I do recall the end. It oils down to my inhand Gorz, no field, to his Retiari and face down Chariot. He attacks with Retiari, and I force the Chariot with Gorz. He opts to grab his Equeste and get Chariot back. With his life points under 1500, I top the Shura for game. =3

OO


Round 3: vs. Infernities

Game 1: I summon Thunder King Raioh first turn. He gets rid of it thanks to his Infernity Break, but my Call of the Haunted brings it right back.

Game 2: While I did not open with TKRO, I did open with Gorz. As well, my D.D. Crow makes an appearance in this matchup today. Afterwards, I summon Thunder King Raioh and from there it's all down hill for him.

OO


Round 4: vs. Blackwings

Game 1: Honestly, I don't really remember how I won this one. Simplifying the game with my cards and using Cyber Dragon and TKRO to my advantage helped to my win I believe.

Game 2: Same deal as Game 1.

OO

And so we move into playoff rounds. With a record of 4-0, I'm guaranteed a spot in the top.

Top 8: vs. Infernities

Game 1: Again I am against Infernity monsters. However, Thunder King Raioh does his job really well as usual.

Game 2: It boils down to his set up of Synchro monsters against my in hand Honest, CyDra on field, and face down Call of the Haunted. However, Mist Wurm said "Sup" to my cards and then I take over 6000 in one turn. =\

Game 3: So I draw into a hand of Gorz and Chaos Sorcerers and some pointless spells and traps. He summons Infernity beetle and I can't do anything about it as he just slaps me with it for three turns. However, he decides to use Giant Trunade allowing me to drop Gorz. Gorz wins me this game.

OXO


Top 4: vs. ScrapKeepers

Game 1: My deck does its stuff as I play control card after control card (mainly Book of Moon).

Game 2: I lose this one as he brings out Scrap Dragon after Scrap Dragon. While he did Solemn Warnings my first Chaos Sorcerer, I had a second one to help. But another Scrap Dragon owns me hard.

Game 3: Halfway through the game, he plays Dark Armed Dragon on me and pops three of my cards, which really hurts. I bounce back with Dark Hole and Thunder King Raioh. The momentum that I got back swings me into the favourable position.

OXO


Top 2: vs. Blackwings

Game 1: Through some simplication moves, and with me ending up with TKRO as the last card, I beat through the deck rather smoothly.

Game 2: Early on, he tries to play Delta Crow, but I have the Trap Stun to stop the play. Soon after, my Spirit Reaper and ThunderKing Raioh tries to get hit by Dark Hole, but Starlight Road wins out in the end. Unfortunately, he picks up the Kaluts and Shuras he needs at exactly the right time, and I'm left with no options. This game was really down to the wire.

Game 3: He gets off three Icarus Attacks over the course of the duel, but Chaos Sorcerer keeps me from just losing out straight up. However, with no cards to protect our plays, both me and my opponent had trouble due to both of our massive backrows. Eventually I make the push, but he wins out in the end thanks to a clutch Sirocco and Gorz.

OXX


So in the end, I end up getting second place, which isn't bad for me. I win three Turbo packs, but I don't pull much out of them; just D.D. Crow.

I had an awesome time today, especially in the Top 2. You don't get good Yugioh games like those in a long time.

As for this new deck, I really liked how it ran, and while I may keep playing it for a while longer, I have some fun decks in mind that I also want to play.

There's Quickdraw, Blackwings, and Infernities decks as well that I have to make.

Wait for it!

- MonarchVV ; #9

I'm Back!

Well, it feels like it's been forever since I've last had a blog post.

Last Blog Date: 7/7/10

Okay, so it's been four months since I've had activity here, but no worries!

I haven't died yet!

Anyways, I'll try to resume a daily / semi-daily schedule of blogging, but University work does get to me sometimes.

Don't kill me if I miss a day or something!

-MonarchVV ; #9