Caius the Mega Monarch ———————————————— You can Tribute Summon this card by Tributing 1 Tribute Summoned monster. If this card is Tribute Summoned: Target 1 card on the field; banish it, and if you do, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent, then, if it is a DARK Monster Card, banish all cards with that name from the hand, Main Deck, Extra Deck, and Graveyard of the player who controlled it. If this card was Tribute Summoned by Tributing a DARK monster, add this additional effect. ● You can target 2 cards, instead. ———————————————— Can Be Found In: Secrets of Eternity (SECE-EN035), 2015 Mega-Tin Mega Pack
Tribute Summon was the main method to obtain big creatures on the field, but as the game got faster and Special Summons became more prevalent it became an exclusive mechanics for very few builds. Among them there's the Monarchs, a group of monsters that quickly became popular in the competitive scene due their removal effects leading the board upon being Tribute Summoned. As mentioned Special Summons gradually became mainstream for the card game, and while Monarchs are still a solid choice for many strategies nowadays are mostly seen arround their own archetype. With a combination of Anti-Meta effects to take the advantage against common strategies, several monsters and tools to gather materials, as well the Mega Monarchs to obtain highly disruptive effects, Monarchs might not be as popular as in their debut but are still a powerful engine by taking full advantage of Tribute Summons.
"Caius the Mega Monarch" is the more expensive yet much more disruptive version of one of their most popular members, "Caius the Shadow Monarch". Mega Monarchs might be Level 8 and thus requiring more materials than their original counterparts, yet are able to use a single monster for their Tribute Summon if said material was Tribute Summoned as well. "Caius the Mega Monarch" takes the same approach as its original where once Tribute Summoned will banish a card on the field, and when that happens will deal 1000 damage in return. But while "Caius the Shadow Monarch" deals said damage when banishes a DARK monster this Mega Monarch instead will banish all copies of a DARK monster that targets from its controller's Deck, Extra Deck, and Graveyard. Finally, like any Mega Monarch if "Caius" is Tribute Summoned by using a material matching its original Attribute (In this case DARK), we obtain an upgrade of its own effect to instead target two cards we can banish and probably get rid of their additional copies. Overall, "Caius the Mega Monarch" might be a solid choice to clear boards and even finish off the opponent with the damage that can deal, and if confronting certain Decks is possible to completely disrupt entire strategies by banishing all the copies of its targets.
Belonging to a group of monsters all about Tribute Summons, is obvious that "Caius the Mega Monarch" is well supported to time its arrival properly. The main method the archetype uses to gather Monarchs is by "Ehther the Heavenly Monarch", and even though Special Summons "Caius" it will return to our hand for a proper Tribute Summon unless is used as material before that happens. Alternatively we can keep a steady hand with the help of "Return of the Monarchs", giving us "Caius the Mega Monarch" and other big monsters each time we Tribute Summon. While the idea of Mega Monarchs is to use Tribute Summoned as materials to cheapen its arrival is not difficult to bring this form of "Caius" in a slightly more traditional way, as cards like "The First Monarch" and "Fires of Doomsday" not only shortcuts the setup but also obtain its full effect as they become DARK monsters. Otherwise "The Monarchs Stormforth" can steal an opponent's monster for the Tribute Summon, while cards like "Card Advance" and "Escalation of the Monarchs" will provide us an additional summon we can follow after a Tribute Summon. But if you're not worry about getting "Caius" full effect, we can further expand its options with the assistance of "Edea the Heavenly Squire" and Frogs for additional candidates to become materials for its Tribute Summon. Don't forget that "Caius the Mega Monarch" can become a material of its own copies if we need to.
No matter if targets one or two cards, "Caius the Mega Monarch" is the most straightforward of the Mega Monarchs. Banishing cards will clear the opponent's board of any threats or setups, and the damage that will deal might become lethal in late game. The latter can also be triggered if we banish our own cards, so if by certain circumstances we need some extra damage to finish our opponent we can spare some cards to do so. But what makes "Caius the Mega Monarch" stand out over the original is the ability to banish all copies of a DARK target, having the possibility of getting rid of vital monsters such as "Dark Magician" or "Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss" among many others and therefore ruin entire archetypes and strategies in the process. Combined with Monarch options such as “ Domain of the True Monarchs“ and “ March of the Monarchs”, the arrival of “Caius” alone with its removal effect at peak performance might be sufficient to shut down entire Decks right from early game.
With the ability to banish cards, deal damage, and even banish all copies of its targets "Caius the Mega Monarch" seems to be one of the biggest threats the archetype can offer. With plenty of DARK materials to choose from, is quite likely that "Caius" clears the board and deals considerable damage to gain a huge advantage upon arrival. However, Mega Monarchs are quite reliant of materials matching its Attribute and "Caius" might the the most affected, as instead we could play arround cheaper removal options like the original "Caius the Shadow Monarch" without completely depending on our DARK materials for its best performance. Not only that, but is obvious that its ability to banish all copies of its target(s) easily becomes situational against certain Decks, so while quite likely to ruin entire strategies it might rarely happen. Overall, "Caius the Mega Monarch" has some big shortcomings that might place it in a Side Deck role, but with basic management of our materials it can become one of a devastating offense to rely on.
Personal Rating: A-
+ Banishes a card on the field when Tribute Sumoned or two if brought using a DARK material + Deals damage after banishing a card + Banishes all copies of a target(s) if was a DARK monster(s) + Can be brought using a single Tribute Summoned monster as material + Well supported with many DARK materials to choose from
- Very reliant of DARK materials for its best performance - Might be overshadowed by cheaper removal effects - Banishing copies of its target(s) easily becomes situational
