User blog:RaijinSenshi19/Buddyfight Informative - DBT03, Dual Cards

Hmm.... How long has it been since I actually made an article now?

....

I sorta gave up on Four Dimensions as I got a slow start on the cards there, and people moved on and just went on to try the stuff themselves.

That and the fact nobody tends to actually read these articles.

Might as well jump onto DBT03 while the news are fresh.

Dual Cards
For starters, why dont we look at the False Deity itself: Star Deity Dragon, Zodiac.

Star Deity Dragon, Zodiac is a Legend/Star Dragon monster with the Star / Neodragon attributes. It's a Size 3 with 7000 / 2 / 5000 as his statline, slapped onto a 2 gauge call cost, and then you get to pick a card in your drop and put in his soul (You pay the gauge cost first in this instance), and he of course has natural Soulguard as well as the signature ability of "Gravity Rest", the ability to rest any monster that enters the opponent's field.

Zodiac also has an ability that depends on what flag you are running him under. By running Legend World, Zodiac grants all Star monsters +3000 power (including himself) and he also gains Penetrate. By running Star Dragon World, Zodiac grants all Neodragon monsters +1 crit (including himself), and he also gains the ability to Move.

Zodiac is, obviously, a very strong monster, but judging him at face value is really hard. What truely makes him the true beast he is, is all the support he has. That's not to say SDD, Zodiac is not a beastly card. Wether you pick Legend World or Star Dragon World as the base for your deck with Zodiac, both of the choices will yield amazing results. As to how Legend fares in contrast to Star Dragon and vice-versa is a whole another topic for itself.

And as Zodiac is a deck that rellies on having Zodiac monsters active, you know we need more than just one form. And to anyone who did not buy Four Dimensions, we have High Eliminator, Zodiac. Its a Legend/Star Dragon monster like SDD, Zodiac and shares the same stats of 7000 / 2 / 5000 on a Size 3 monster. Its call cost is different, needing 2 gauge but also putting a card from your hand into it's soul. Sports Soulguard and "Gravity Rest", obviously.

Then we have his variable ability. When he enters the field, if your flag is Legend World, your opponent losses 2 gauge, and if your flag is Star Dragon World, the opponent takes 2 damage.

Honestly, its not my preffered secondary Zodiac, but that doesn't change how good nuking the opponent's gauge is. Leaving the opponent at 0 gauge if you call this first turn is dirty. However, most of the Zodiac forms is just lacking because they are not Star Deity Dragon, Zodiac. That's just the fact.

But you do need secondary Zodiac forms. So this is a good one to have.

Danger Dragon Lord, Gadolgoma is a Dungeon/Danger monster, Dungeon Enemy / Demon Lord / Duel Dragon attribute Size 3, with 8000 / 2 / 6000 status spread. His call cost is 2 gauge and a topdeck soul. His ability is an Act that can be activated by discarding a card, which destroys all monsters on the opponent's left and right position, and also increases Gadolgoma's critical by 1. Sporting the abilities of Double Attack, Soulguard and Lifelink 2.

It really irks me that it only has 6k defense, but I guess it cant have more without being too bork. Gadolgoma does so much work in both Demon Lord and Duel Dragon decks, being Size 3, destroying opposing monsters for a low cost, and still hits incredibly hard. Its weakness is, of course, closed-center decks. However, both type of decks have ways to out this. Stein Blade Joker for Dungeon World, and Speardos for Danger World, spesificly makes the decks have ways to deal with those closed center positions. And also works in both Ein and Zwei, to some extends.

All in all, an incredibly strong monster with the ability to punish the opponent based on what playstyle they use, and an interesting boost to those decks overall.



Next up is an interesting and a bit tricky one: Transcendence Dragon Emperor, Evuhikite. Evuhikite is a Star Dragon/Ancient monster, sporting the Neodragon and Dragon Lord attributes, as a Size 3 with the 8000 / 2 / 6000 statline. Call cost of 2 gauge and a topdeck soul, while sporting natural Soulguard. His ability has potential to be really nuts. You send the top three cards of yoru deck into the drop zone, and then call a monster from those cards, if any, by paying their cost, and as long as they remain on the field, they are treated as Size 0 monsters.

I cant properly explain how good this is, as it is all up to chance what you call, and you still have to pay the cost for said cards, but the implications are insane.

I will propably try to run it with Adil Diablos at some point and hope for the topdeck gods blessing me.

Then we have the new lovechild for anyone wanting to run Sun Dragons, but cant afford the highly expensive cards that are Size 2s, or just the Bal Dragon cards in general.

This is Successor Dragon, Gaia Link, a Dragon/Star Dragon monster sporting the Sun Dragon and Neodragon attributes, Size 2 with 5000 / 2 / 4000 stats, and a call cost of 1 gauge. He has natural Soulguard and Move, gain +1 crit if the opponent has an open center, and each time he attacks, you put a card from your drop zone into his soul.

So while a good card for the budget decks, there is one huge problem with this guy: Counter removal. But that is a huge for a couple cards in general, so lets glance over that fact. If you manage to protect this guy and build up a soul stack, the opponent is in for some hurting.

However as good he is, he is still put in the shadow by stuff like Jackknife, which is just the sad truth of it all. But if you manage to get him out with a soul first, if there is a way (hint hint), he might prove better than the standard Jackknife due to his own ability to replenish soul. But that is mostly for Neodragons. Sun Dragons fare a bit harder, but they should be able to defend him, because Dragon World.

Mmmmmm, here we have one of my favorites out of the set: Ninja Dragon Knight, Hanzo. He is a Dragon/Katana monster, sporting the Dragon Knight and Ninja attributes, is a Size 2 with a statline of 4000 / 2 / 3000, and a call cost of 1 gauge. He sports the Shadow Dive ability, and also the unique ability to make you draw a card when you cast a spell, during your turn.

This ability is obviously very very strong, making all your spells replace themselves once per turn and generating advantage the longer he stays on the board. So the opponent obviously wants to deal with Hanzo as quickly as possible as well, so Hanzo also acts as a pseudo-taunt or removal magnet.

As for spells to combo with Hanzo:

Dragon World - Dragonic Grimoire and Sky Dragon Divinity are basicly the best cards Hanzo can abuse in the long game. However, in the early game, you are also setting the Set spells that Dragon Knights have, so there is that. Also Dragobond to protect him during your turn.

Katana World - Art of Heat Haze makes Hanzo even more prominent of a target, Shinobi Scrolls being Set on the field, Clear Serenity/Cloud Billow, and Hades Fall. These are the primary spells that work.

So all in all, Hanzo is a really good card, and him existing just makes me wish for more cool Ninja stuff in the future.

Also he works in Ein if you want to go that route.



Next up we have one of the reasons, if not the primary reason, Hero is back in relevancy: Emperor Warrior, Red Arthur!

I went over this card in detail HERE

Check it out if you want a full rundown of how good this card is.

Spoilers: ITS INSANELY GOOD.



Next up we haaaaave.... Armorknight Deathgaze....

Armorknight Deathgaze is a Darkness Dragon/Danger monster, Black Dragon / Armorknight attributes, Size 1, 6000 / 1 / 1000 stats, and his ability is Spectral Strike for 1 damage.

.......This is really bad, to be honest.

Dont run it unless you REALLY need wall clearing in Darkness Dragon World...

However, you have Edge Force coming up, so that is not a problem at all.



Oh hello, what is this? A female monster! Saint Dragon Knight, Joan of Arc, to be exact.

Joan of Arc is a Dragon/Legend monster sporting the Dragon Knight and Hero attributes, she is a Size 1 with 3000 / 1 / 4000 stats, and she has two abilities. The first ability is once per turn and gives you a gauge when a card is returned to your hand, except herself. The other ability heals you for 1 life when she links with a Dragon Knight or Hero.

The later is an alright ability, but the first is what makes Joan of Arc pull her weight. It comboes into the spells that return Dragon Knights to your hand, and has perfect synergy with Equipment Change.

Simple, but amazing. Joan of Arc gets the stamp of approval.



Moving onto spells we start with Dragon Spell, Hiding Bomber.

Hiding Bomber is a Magic/Dragon spell, sporting the Dragon and Destruction attributes. It can only be cast during your opponent's turn and costs 1 gauge to cast, letting you either destroy or return a monster with 5000 or less defense on the field to the owner's hand.

So the basic thing this does is granting Magic World some Counter destruction, which is highly welcomed, and the bounce effect can be used on Size 3s. This spell is honestly really strong, not to mention simple. Pillar of Fire levels, basicly.

And for those who dont know: Pillar of Fire is one of the meta-defining spells (As long as Dungeon is relevant).



Combining the forces of Jaeger and Grangadez into one spell gives us Last Crewmate, a Ancient/Danger spell with the Dragon Chief Emperor and Battle Aura attributes. It has a cast cost of 1 life, and the ability first gives you a gauge, and then you pick a monster from the drop zone and add it to the soul of a monster or item on your field.

Do I even need to explain how good this is? Its not even restricted to an attribute! And its attributes actually makes the decks it works in even better!

The only way it could have been better was if it could add spells into the soul of monsters as well.



Darkness Rune is a powerful spell for Legend and Darkness Dragon. It sports the Rune, Destruction and Charge attributes and costs 1 life to cast. It has 3 abilities to pick from, and all are used as a Counter. You either put the top two cards of your deck into your gauge, put a card from the soul of an opponent's card into the drop zone, or destroy a Size 1 or less monster on the opponent's field.

All of these abilities are really good, and especially at 1 life cost. You will mostly always go for the later two of the abilities, as there are better ways to get gauge.

Alas, really powerful though simple spell.



Uninvited Deities Inspection is a Legend/Star Dragon spell, supporting our lovely false deity, Zodiac. It has the Star and the rarely seen Summon attribute, and a cast cost of 2 life, which lets you search your deck for a Zodiac and call it by paying it's call cost.

So how do you make a search spell really busted? Make it cost life and then call the monster from the deck instead of just adding it to the hand, meaning the opponent cant negate the call.

Zodiac is just breaking all rules. Its insane.



False Deities Illusion is another Legend/Star Dragon spell, but this does not solely support Zodiac. This spell has the Star and Defense attributes, and you can cast it as a Counter, letting you choose a Size 3 monster on your field. The next time that monster would leave the field, it remains and you gain 1 life.

Giving a Dragobond card to stuff like Oberon and Jackknife Bonds is a really scary idea. Any Size 3 based deck for Legend and Star Dragon now got insanely better because they have their own Dragobond. Just better.

I am actually scared for what might happen as a result of this being available.



Jackknife History, because we have not had enough Jackknife cards yet!

This spell belongs to Star Dragon World and Dragon World, sporting the Green Dragon and Enhance attributes. It also has two abilities. The first lets you put it into a Jackknife on your field, while the other is a Counter, to give a Jackknife in battle +4000 power and defense, and the ability to Counterattack until the end of that battle.

Any Jackknife deck running Speculight Ring or Dragoenergy will now run this instead. And that is basicly all of them.

Or you can run both.

Your choice.



And the last card we are looking at is an item. Grandmaster's Blade, Orcus Sword, which is a Dragon / Weapon attributed sword, with 3000 / 2 stats, and an equip cost of 1 gauge. It gains +3000 power if you have a monster with "Knights" in its name on the field, and it also gains Penetrate if you have two or more monsters with "Knights" in their name.

Its an item for Thunder Knights and Purgatory Knights, and a damn good one. This items helps those decks against a lot of closed-center decks and it just gets over so many things in the game right now. I honestly do not see any reason to not run this in any of the decks it is designed for. It is just so very good.

Closing Words
And that is basicly it.

D-BT03 introduces a lot of insane and powerful cards, and is by my opinion one of the best sets we have ever recieved in the game. Well, main sets, at least.

We will go over all of the worlds before weventure into decklists.

And due to the Dual cards, we have a loooooot of decks to cover when we are done.