#duel dragon

[ygoreviews]

Ancient Pixie Dragon ———————————————— 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters After resolving a Field Spell Card that was activated during your turn: Draw 1 card. You can only use this effect of "Ancient Pixie Dragon" once per turn. Once per turn: You can target 1 face-up Attack Position monster on the field; destroy that target. There must be a face-up Field Spell Card on the field to activate and to resolve this effect. ———————————————— Can Be Found In: Premium Gold (PGLD-EN006)

The series following after the original have very different plots from their anime and manga versions. Although often shares the same characters and some of the introduced mechanics in the game at the time, the plot is overall unique when compared to each other. This obviously causes for the manga have its own debutting cards, with in some cases bringing alternative versions of monsters that were already known from the anime.

"Ancient Pixie Dragon" is clearly the manga counterpart of the well known "Ancient Fairy Dragon", and while the former remains in a banned position this version can take over when comes to Field Spell support. Once per turn when a Field Spell is played and resolved during our turn, in return "Ancient Pixie Dragon" will let us draw a card. Additionaly, if a Field Spell is active in either side of the field, "Ancient Pixie Dragon" will target and destroy an Attack Position monster on the field. Overall solid abilities that keep us a healthy hand by trading a played Field Spell with a new card, as well a removal effect easily accesible even when battling particular strategies.

Summoning "Ancient Pixie" has no difficulties from any other Synchro Monster of its Level, virtually sharing the same options as its anime version. Many recurring Special Summon options like "Instant Fusion" and "Cyber Dragon" among many others will gather together right from the very first turn ready to work together as materials, with additional tools depending of the Deck's theme. With the additional help of cards like "Debris Dragon" and "World Legacy Succession" covering the Graveyard in late game, "Ancient Pixie Dragon" is very simple to Synchro Summon. However, since "Ancient Pixie Dragon" has abilities involving Field Spells we can add some unique mechanics to bring materials before and after its arrival. Some Field Spells like "The Gates of Dark World" and "Mount Sylvania" will use effects to benefit their respective archetypes, while others like "Geartown" and "Trickstar Light Stage" will provide monsters to work by simple requeriments.

"Ancient Pixie Dragon" might not have the reputation that "Ancient Fairy Dragon" gained in recent years, but its abilities can become quite benefitial for any Field Spell user. In any Deck involving said cards, "Ancient Pixie" effects will really stand out to gain a solid advantage in both hand and field. Thanks to cards like "Terraforming" and "Set Rotation" among others, we will play a Field Spell of our choice to follow with "Ancient Pixie" drawing effect to keep a steady hand. This effect applies when a Field Spell is played during our turn, so if the opponent plays their own by an effect like "Metaverse" or "Demise of the Land" we will also obtain a card in return. The removal effect of "Ancient Pixie" on the other hand has better liberties on its uses, as no matter who's controlling a Field Spell it will be ready to be activated. So if our own Field Spell isn't making this effect accesible, battling Decks dependant of certain Field Spells will make "Ancient Pixie" ready to take down monsters. Be aware that while "Ancient Pixie" drawing effect is restricted to all its copies its removal effect is not, potentially able to destroy several monsters in a single turn the more copies we can bring to the field.

While "Ancient Fairy Dragon" became banned by turning into a powerful tool for combos and OTKs, "Ancient Pixie Dragon" is way tamer and thus went under the radar. But that doesn't mean that can't become an efficient monster arround Field Spells, as its two abilities can work along our own or against the opponent's. While the drawing effect will mostly depend in our own Field Spells to work, the removal effect of "Ancient Pixie" can punish opponents reliant on their Field Spells. While clearly requires Field Spells to be effective "Ancient Pixie Dragon" might not be a devastating as other Synchro Monsters of its Level like its forbidden version, but has some strong interactions to assure a steady card advantage.

Personal Rating: B+

+ Lets us draw a card if a Field Spell is played during our turn + Destroys an Attack Position monster if there's a Field Spell in any site of the field + Solid support in both summon and performance

- Relies on Field Spells to be effective - Overshadowed by other Synchro Monsters

[ygoreviews]

Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons ———————————————— 1 DARK Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters Cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects. When you take damage from an attack involving this card, or from an opponent's card effect: This card gains ATK equal to the damage you took. ———————————————— Can Be Found In: Premium Gold (PGLD-EN016)

A Deck can take two approaches to take full dominance of a Duel. Either they take the offense with disruptive effects and brute force, or try to shut down the opponent's options with protection and defensive setups. Usually the former is the most preferable among players as will clear a path for direct attacks, but bringing cards with invulnerabilities still have their big benefits. And doesn't completely mean that protecting our cards we have to work in a stalling setup, as we can still take the offense at its peak with the opponent having scarce countermeasures for our strongest creatures.

"Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons" is a Synchro Monster cpaable to be on its own thanks to an array of abilities making it quite difficult to take down. "Beelze" cannot be destroyed by neither stronger attacks or effects, already reducing the number of counters against it considerable. And while the stats of "Beelze" are already quite high, its ATK will go higher if we take damage from a battle involving this monster or from an opponent's effect. Overall, "Beelze" is a tough monster to defeat to the point that some potential openings will benefit it further, becoming a staple choice among Extra Decks that need a reliable monster to keep pressuring the opponent for several turns.

The pressence of "Beelze" is just restricted by the condition that a DARK Tuner is used for its Synchro Summon, slightly reducing its use in some Decks. But that small restriction won't make it as hard to summon as any other Synchro Monsters, as thanks to cards like "Cyber Dragon" and "Instant Fusion" together with popular Tuners such as "Genex Ally Birdman" its arrival will become immediate right from our first turn of the Duel. The more DARK monsters we play with the more opportunities we will obtain to summon "Beelze" and its copies, ranging from "Summoner Monk" bringing a Level 4 Tuner from our Deck to whole archetypes such as Blackwing and Infernity. Some builds can go even further when assisting Beelze's summon, with Yang Zing monsters providing additional effects to Zombies using "Ghost Charon, the Underworld Boatman" and another material from our Graveyard for a late game summon. In case "Beelze" is defeated regardless of its several invulnerabilities we don't have much to worry inside a Dragon Deck, as cards like "Lightpulsar Dragon" and "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon" will easily revive it while leaving the Extra Monster Zone free to summon a new copy.

"Beelze" is a one card army that can easily take care of most threats with its high stats and protection against common dangers. Cards like "Dark Hole" and "Black Rose Dragon" will completely ignore this monster even if we are the ones activating them, giving us a great opportunity to clear the board without heavy repercusions. The opponent might use stat changing effects such as "Honest" and "Shrink" to weaken "Beelze", but unless our Life Points are in danger in return it will just make "Beelze" stronger in return. The same goes for Burn strategies, as even if they can still hold "Beelze" back from attacking they are facing the risk of boosting its ATK each time they deal damage by effects. Although "Beelze" is virtually invincible there's still some basic ways to get rid of it, so play along cards like "Safe Zone" and "Forbidden Lance" to cover against its openings. If somehow "Beelze" is taken down there's no much to worry, as not only can be easily revived to keep pressuring the opponent but can also be recycled for some heavy summons with the help of cards like "Dragon's Mirror" and "Miracle Synchro Fusion".

Even though requiring a DARK Tuner slightly holds it back, "Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons" is a great choice among Synchro players to have a powerful pressence right from the start of a Duel. Its high stats combined with protection against destructive sources and gaining ATK by some small weaknesses arround it, "Beelze" is a solid investment for any Deck that can fit a few DARK Tuners to prepare its Synchro Summon. While "Beelze" is tough to take down doesn't mean that is completely invincible, as there are some quite common countermeasures that can go arround its effects. From non destructive effects like "Compulsory Evacuation Device" and "Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer" quickly taking care of it, to cards like the Kaiju archetype and "Creature Swap" using "Beelze" for the opponent's goals, this monster is surely a huge threat but is not that hard to take down as might look. However, is undeniable that "Beelze" is a powerful offense to depend on under most scenarios, and with some basic  tools to cover its few weaknesses makes it a great choice for any Extra Deck that can fit it in.

Personal Rating: A+

+ Unaffected by any destructive sources + Gains ATK if we take damage from an effect or from a battle is involved + Easy to summon despite its restriction

- There are several options to easily go arround its protective effect

[ygoreviews]

Dragocytos Corrupted Nethersoul Dragon ———————————————— 1 DARK Tuner + 1 non-Tuner Dragon-Type monster Cannot be destroyed by battle. When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: You can activate this effect; this card can make a second attack on an opponent's monster in a row. During your Standby Phase: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; its ATK becomes half its current ATK, and if it does, inflict damage to your opponent equal to that lost ATK. ———————————————— Can Be Found In: Premium Gold: Return of the Bling (PGL2-EN014)

Even after all these years, the card game still stays with the main goal of overcoming opponent's monsters with the highest stats as possible. While there are some builds that tries to take different goals like burn damage or specific winning conditions, the popular choice is to brute force through the Battle Phase. To do so we need either powerful monsters stat-wise or coverage against certain dangers including strong enemies, as a single Battle Phase can completely change the final outcome of a Duel by either cornering players or simply finish them off.

"Dragocytos Corrupted Nethersoul Dragon" tries to take several advantages when it comes to battling, including its massive  ATK to assure the lead along its abilities. "Dragocytos" cannot be destroyed in any battles, which sounds an odd ability due its 4000 ATK but assures that nothing goes wrong against any possible countermeasures the opponent might be hiding. If "Dragocytos" destroys a monster in battle and is sent to the Graveyard, it will gain an additional attack to destroy another monster and further damage the opponent in the process. Finally, if its high ATK and multiple attacks wasn't enough, "Dragocytos" will use an ability on our Standby Phases to reduce the ATK of an opponent's monster by half, to then deal damage equal to the stat loss. Overall, a highly offensive Synchro Monster that if is not taking down the opponent with a few direct attacks will do so with its double strikes against other monsters and weakening effect.

"Dragocytos" is actually quite limited when comes to which Decks can use it, as can only be Synchro Summoned by a DARK Tuner and a single Dragon monster. Fortunately, Dragons usually focus on high Level creatures and cheap ways to bring them out, providing "Dragocytos" more than plenty opportunities to come out when needed. The easiest method comes from the Malefic archetype thanks ot "Malefic Parallel Gear", allowing us to use materials from our hand and therefore making "Dragocytos" come out from our very first turn without any effort required. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" is one if not the most supported Normal Monster in the whole game, providing hundreds of opportunities to be on the field along the proper Tuner. Alternatively we can work along the Normal Tuner "Labradorite Dragon", which with support like Hieratic monsters along other Level 4 Dragons will make the arrival of "Dragocytos" easy. While we can try bringing Dragons from the Main Deck nothing stops us from using those in the Extra Deck, slightly expanding the number of builds "Dragocytos" can fit in including archetypes like Blackwing or Infernity. Zombies in particular have some sinergy arround the requeriments of this Synchro Monster, as they can create a late game setup arround "Ghost Charon, the Underworld Boatman" to be banished with a Fusion Monster inside our Graveyard to perform the Synchro Summon.

With a bit of support, "Dragocytos" will become a very tough monster to take down. It already has invulnerability against battles, making weakening effects or its low DEF pointless as long we can take some damage as a result. Together with cards like "Forbidden Lance" and "Effect Veiler", we can easily counter any effects trying to get rid of the Synchro Monster and keep the pressure going. This will be mainly done with its double attacks, clearing the field for our other monsters to direct attack, and/or dealing considerable damage while dealing with any threats on the board. Things will become even more benefitial each time our turn starts, as "Dragocytos" will weaken a monster each turn to not only have the upper hand when attacking it but also turn the stat loss as damage.

"Dragocytos Corrupted Nethersoul Dragon" is that kind of monster that can rule the board with just the minimum tools to cover certain openings. Although cannot direct attack with its second strike, the high ATK of "Dragocytos" will assure enough damage even against the toughest monsters on the board. And as long "Dragocytos" is on the field the opponent must be careful what monsters to summon, as once our turn stats we will weaken them and deal damage which will stack along "Dragocytos" and other monsters' attacks. If anything, "Dragocytos" weakening effect is very slow to assure its best outcomes, to the point that the opponent might defeat this monster before even can use this ability. "Dragocytos" might have some other small flaws like a restricted summon requeriment and losing its double attacks against targets like Pendulum Monsters, but with its various effects it will rule over the Battle Phase no matter the Deck we're confronting.

Personal Rating: A

+ Very high ATK + Cannot be destroyed in battle + Able to attack two monsters in each Battle Phase + Makes an opponent monster to lose half it ATK and turn it into damage

- Restricted summon conditions - Very slow weakening effect

[onegamerandcollector]

Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity

Ultimate Double Tuning Duel Dragon counterpart to Red Nova Dragon

Evolved form of Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Bane

[onegamerandcollector]

Divine Spark Dragon Stardust Sifr (Stardust Sifr Spark Dragon)

Ultimate Accel Synchro Duel Dragon counterpart to Shooting Quasar Dragon

1 Tuner Synchro Monster + 2 or more non-Tuner Synchro Monsters Must be Synchro Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. Each card you control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects once per turn. Once per turn, during either player's turn, when your opponent activates a monster effect: You can negate the effect, and if you do, destroy 1 card on the field. You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 Level 8 or lower "Stardust" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it.

[darkshadowduelist]

Ultimaya Tzolkin Dark Dragon / Synchro / Effect LV0 0/0 (This card’s Level is always treated as 12.) Cannot be Synchro Summoned. Must be Special Summoned (from your Extra Deck) by sending 2 Level 5 or higher monsters you control that are the same Level (1 Tuner and 1 non-Tuner) to the Graveyard, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. (1) Once per turn, when a Spell/Trap Card is Set to your side of the field: You can Special Summon 1 “Power Tool” Synchro Monster or 1 Level 7 or 8 Dragon-Type Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck. (2) If you control another Synchro Monster, this card cannot be targeted for an attack or effect. Oh man