Gouki Twistcobra ———————————————— (Quick Effect): You can Tribute 1 "Gouki" monster, then target 1 "Gouki" monster you control; it gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the Tributed monster until the end of this turn. If this card is sent from the field to the GY: You can add 1 "Gouki" card from your Deck to your hand, except "Gouki Twistcobra". You can only use each effect of "Gouki Twistcobra" once per turn. ———————————————— Can Be Found In: Code of the Duelist (COTD-EN009)
Gouki is an archetype that combines perfect hand management with an oppresive offense by manipulating monster stats. Either powering up their members or weakening enemies, Goukis will often have the upper hand in many Battle Phases as they Link Summon their key monsters without many difficulties. This is further assisted with the shared ability to search each Gouki cards when sent to the Graveyard, keeping the user with a steady hand no matter if their Goukis are defeated or used as materials.
"Gouki Twistcobra" is able to take full advantage of the core mechanics of the archetypes with its unique ability. Like many other members, "Twistcobra" will search for a Gouki card (Excluding itself) if is sent to the Graveyard from our field. The main effect of "Twistcobra" however is what makes it interesting, as during any turn we can tribute a Gouki to give another member a temporal ATK boost equal to the ATK of the monster used for the activation. The main effect of "Twistcobra" might seem expensive, but with the searching and retrieving abilities of the archetype it can become an abusable ability to either overcome strong enemies or simply deal solid damage with "Twistcobra" itself or other Gouki monsters.
In an archetype with searching abilities when sent to the Graveyard, is obvious that "Twistcobra" is in a great position to become available as soon as its assistance is required. The archetype overall might be small, but that doesn't stop the Goukis residing our Main Deck from looking for "Twistcobra" once the leave the field to go in our Graveyard. The shared stats among Goukis also lets "Twistcobra" to be obtained by many other sources, which can include "Reinforcement of the Army" adding it to our hand, or cards like "M-X Saber Invoker" and "Ties of the Brethren" summoning it from inside our Deck. Once in hand, the Gouki will probably come along other monsters like "Gouki Suprex" and "Goblindbergh" due their abilities to come along other monsters from our hand. "Twistcobra" is well assisted in late game as already is in early turns, with many revival effects ranging from "Gouki Re-Match" reviving it along another Gouki, or monsters like "Masked Chameleon" and "Motivating Captain" bringing it back once they are summoned.
Although at first "Twistcobra" might seem to carry a heavy cost, once we check the cards and effects that will often interact with makes it much more efficient than it looks on its own. The effect can be activated virtually during any turn, therefore it can go from chaining against certain effects to simply responding incoming attacks. Obviously if we tribute Goukis we will trigger their searching effects, making the loss of a monster not that severe specially with the many revival effects assiting the Deck afterwards. This also goes for "Twistcobra" itself, using Goukis brought to the field by cards like "Gouki Re-Match" or "Feast of the Wild LV5" that won't provide much on their own. Keep on mind that "Twistcobra" can increase its own ATK if needed, so if is brought along monsters like "Gouki Suprex" or revival tools it will be more than prepared to confront powerful enemies on its own.
"Gouki Twistcobra" summarizes how the entire archetype works with its two abilities. The ATK boosts might be costy, but with the powerful assistance from many sources and the searching effects we will gain in the process makes the loss of a Gouki far less severe than might apparent. The searching effect of "Twistcobra" works as good as any other Gouki, allowing us to obtain key cards no matter if is used as cost or material of other cards or even if fails to take down monsters with its own effect. Like most of the archetype "Twistcobra" is heavily reliant on other cards to stay efficient at all times, but is not a big problem as will start coming along other members to later on abuse the many revival effects keeping the pressence of Goukis under any circumstances.
Personal Rating: A
+ Searches a Gouki card when sent from the field to the Graveyard + Tributes a Gouki to provide a temporal ATK boost equal to the ATK of the monster used + Greatly assisted by the archetype and many revival effects + Chainable ATK boost
- Relies on other cards to stay efficient - ATK boost might become expensive in some circumstances