/I'm/ the Top Ranked Card Art!

Hey it's Cyber here to rate some Yugioh card artwork!

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Transcicada

It's summer, so the cicadas are out! (Or so I hear) And by "out," I don't just mean roaming the wilds of your neighborhood. This one in particular has finally come out as trans and is proudly displaying its true, vibrant, rainbow hued self! Just look at how gorgeous it is now when compared to its old, super dull exoskeleton. All things considered, my favorite part of this little guy is definitely the rainbow gradient wings, but they pair very nicely with the blues and gold of its body. Sure, the background for this card is very simple, but I personally think that that simplicity helps Transcicada to draw the eye even more than it already does.

Rating: 10/10, -transes your cicada-

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Rainbow Life

This is another one of those cards that I’ve never seen up close before, namely in that I never realized Giant Orc and Terrorking Archfiend were even there. Mostly I just remember super saiyan Vegeta’s back. And of course the really nice rainbow gradient across the background. Idk how to feel about this card now that I’ve seen the monsters in it. I guess they help illustrate the card’s effect, if nothing else. I’ll be honest though, really the selling point for me here is the rainbow colors.

Rating: 9/10

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Gem-Knight Master Diamond

With all the LGBT+ community's powers combined, we can form a pretty sick rainbow knight tbh. No but seriously, I greatly enjoy that there's more than one archetype of colorful monsters that come together to create a white light themed boss monster with rainbow accents. And hey, Master Diamond is extra cool because his rainbow color coordinated friends are featured in the background! I immediately recognized Ruby there at the top, and I believe that's Citrine and then Topaz below him. Seraphinite might be the green one, but idk who the one directly below her is. The last two are definitely Aquamarine and Amethyst though. As for Master Diamond himself, his armor alone really isn't all that special on its own (aside from his very tall pauldrons), but when combined with the very shiny diamond accents, it ends up looking pretty neat actually. I think those are his actual hands and not diamond gloves btw (Citrine has a similar bare handed look going on). My favorite part is his helmet though, especially the Diamond horns. There’s also his killer sword, of course, which has a Rainbow Dragon-like thing going on with the rainbow gems of his fusion buddies attached down the blade. My absolute favorite part of this art, though? His clenched fist with a prism of colors spilling out. It’s just rendered so nicely that I can’t stop looking at it.

Rating: 10/10

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Love your blog no matter how frequently you post, I love the amount of thought you put into each review!

Hey thanks! It makes me really happy that people (like you!) stick around despite my erratic posting schedule LOL. Being realistic, the amount of thought I put in is most likely the major reason I don't always keep up with my intended posting schedule, but honestly? I think it's worth it lol. Sharing cards with you all this way is fun!

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Wait...YGO is finally doing full arts?

Yes!!!! I got so excited when I found out LOL that's why I've been reviewing so many. The OCG already has a decent handful now (all of the ones I've reviewed are still OCG only), but some like Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon and Shooting Quasar Dragon just got the full art treatment in the TCG on Friday with the release of Rarity Collection 5! I'm really hoping Konami decides to release ones like the Gagaga Girl card sooner rather than later (because well.... They're entirely new cards specifically made for the extended art treatment).

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Gagaga Girl - Cell Phone Subtraction

This card specifically illustrates something I really love about the new artworks being released with extended art treatment (vs older art being given extended art): the movement of certain elements to enhance the 3D effect. The regular version of this special Gagaga Girl card has the extra abstract Gagaga symbol under her/through her legs (it almost looks like she’s sitting on it), but this one rotates it to place it behind her instead. This gives its own extra pop to the artwork, but also it allows for it to look like Gagaga Girl is sitting on the normal artwork border. Pretty clever decision if you ask me. And of course, Gagaga Girl looks ultra cute as always, with a little added dramatic flair from the pink ribbons flowing around her and the vaguely swordlike snowflakes coming out of frame. It’s kind of funny how unwieldy the gigantic chain links and skull charms attached to her normal sized phone are, but I suppose she has to have something reminiscent of Gagaga Magician’s chains somewhere on her. I will say, I think her expression and pose are more fitting for the original Japanese name of the card “Zero Zero Call,” but when has Yugioh card art always been consistent with the card names?

Rating: 10/10, Don’t bother her she’s on her phone!!! She can’t duel right now

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Eighth Anniversary Stats

It's anniversary time! Here's some blog stats, just like I throw together every year. I'm always excited to see what my most popular reviews are. Enjoy!

Top Ten Posts

Number 1: Ankuriboh at 156 notes Number 2: Performapal Classikuriboh at 115 notes Number 3: Odd-Eyes Wizard Dragon at 68 notes Number 4: Yubel - The Loving Defender Forever at 66 notes Number 5: Performapal Barokuriboh at 66 notes Number 6: Scapegoat at 56 notes Number 7: Hallohallo at 54 notes Number 8: Zombowwow at 53 notes Number 9: Transcicada at 52 notes Number 10: Mild Turkey at 50 notes (Hallohallo, Transcicada, and Mild Turkey are all new! Kind of sad Bowganian just barely got knocked off LOL)

Total Notes: 7746 notes Total Followers: 385 followers Total Reviews: 586 reviews Average Rating Given: 8.1 (Excludes any April Fools ratings and the one submitted review)

Link to the First Anniversary Post Link to the Sixth Anniversary Post Link to the Seventh Anniversary Post

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Revolution Cyber Dragon

Coming right at ya in a big, bold way is yet another Cyber Dragon! This one is huge, supercharged, and ready to head into the fray! I really appreciate that all of the (new) cards releasing with extended artworks all have fun little references associated with them. A lot seem to be based on signature moves (Multiplying Kuriboh! is a good example), but this one in particular gets its name from the structure deck "Cyber Dragon Revolution," the deck that introduced Cyber Dragon Nova to the game (the Japanese version’s name reflects this as well!). Its pose is a pleasant mirror to that of Nova’s as well (idk if it’s intentional or not, but it’s a nice detail). The part that really gets me about this extended art in particular is that they took advantage of something that a lot of those video game artworks I’ve showcased before do: interaction with the card border to create a fun 3D effect. This is most easily seen by comparing the end of Revolution’s tail between the normal art and this one; Revolution’s tail end is mostly hidden behind the frame in this version (while its front half is in front of the frame), creating the illusion that it’s slithering right out of the typical artwork border. This one doesn’t deviate much from the typical Cyber Dragon pose, but that’s not to its detriment honestly. They did get a cool angle on its head charging up Evolution Burst/Strident blast after all. Really fun stark lighting contrasts on this one too, with not as much black shading as regular old Cyber Dragon, But the purple is a really nice shading touch that adds a lot of depth.

Rating: 10/10, Cyber Dragon 3D

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Fabled Raven

Despite it being quite a while now since I reviewed Fabled Marcosia, I immediately recognized the identical, spike ridged, purple skull caps that they're both wearing. Raven's mask just happens to look a thousand times more sinister, being literally skull themed and all, which is cool and everything, I just wish it looked even vaguely bird shaped like Fabled Andwraith's does. You're telling me they gave the guy literally named Raven blade-like feathers for wings but no beak on his mask? Shameful. I can't deny how cool said feathers look, especially with the fade to red at their tips, however impractical they may be in reality. His whole outfit rocks, actually. You can’t deny his silhouette looks really cool and distinct, even if he’s making sort of an odd pose (I’m assuming to keep his arm feathers fully in frame). I'm immensely disappointed that, while he is likely based on the demon Malphas, Raven isn't named after him the same way that Andwraith is. I guess it’s also possible he’s based off of another raven-like demon instead/too, and that’s why he doesn’t have the same naming convention as the other Fabled monsters, but that link would’ve been neat, honestly.

Rating: 7/10, He’s Evil(TM)

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Multiplying Kuriboh!

Woah, watch out! It's a whole explosion of Kuribohs! They're really coming off the page card this time in a way they never have before! In all earnestness, I love and appreciate that they made the effort to make every single Kuriboh on this card different from one another. Some may look similar, but they all possess small detail differences that show these guys weren't simply copied and resized. The end effect of this decision is something so insanely adorable, despite this card being a massive reference to two pretty serious duels from Duelist Kingdom (both involving the use of Multiply on Kuriboh, as is illustrated here). But why think about life and death situations when you can simulate the experience of being bombarded with little fiendish fluff balls with this card? The border overlap on this specific version feels almost necessary to me; they feel so much more free and the implied movement is much stronger. Plus, you get to see lots of additional little itty bitty Kuriboh faces at the edges of the card (not visible in the normal art) AND a handful of completely new Kuribohs at the bottom left underneath the text box.

Rating: 10/10

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Mitsurugi Great Purification

Any Ace Attorney fan recognizes the word "Mitsurugi" and understands its relation to swords, although in the context of this archetype it means "Serpent Sword," referring to the archetype's reptile type monsters being named after famous Japanese swords. Futsu no Mitama no Mitsurugi, featured here in an art style akin to Japan's Edo period, is named after the sword wielded by the Japanese god of thunder Takemikazuchi, for example. The archetype's name probably also lends itself to the giant, solar-looking sword sticking out of Futsu no Mitama's back, as well as its fiery, serpent headed tail. I am a little disappointed that, even though it's named after a sword, the mythology behind that name seems to have no bearing on its depiction as a monster OR (in this specific case) on what the monster is doing in this card. It certainly wasn't used to mow down legions of oni with flames, that's for sure. I do think the emulated art style is really cool regardless (it’s even on a semi-old looking scroll). Idk how I feel about the art being presented at an angle at this point, however. Does it make the composition a little more interesting and allow for the scroll to be shown without squashing down the main art? Yes. Would I rather it be dead on and centered? I think so. But whatever, it’s pretty cool anyway.

Rating: 7/10

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Huh 🤔 Seems like Konami didn’t release a Zorc Necrophades card, and instead I mistook one of those Final Fantasy MTG cards for him. My bad! They just look so eerily similar…

Nah but for real I couldn’t miss my favorite holiday to write a review for, even if the rest of the year’s been slow so far. I do have some fun stuff planned for this month though! I hope you’re all as excited for the 17th as I am

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Zorc Necrophades

FINALLY, Konami has given us what we've wanted for so many years now: an actual card representation of the ruinous Zorc Necrophades, dragon dick and all! (Although they really skimped out on that last part). They did capture the rest of him pretty perfectly though, from his massive, batlike wings and his giant, curved horns to his absolutely ripped body and dragon tail(s). They even went so far as to give him his elbow spikes, four fingered hands, and dragonlike feet. The skulls on his kneecaps are a nice addition that makes him look even more intimidating than normal, as are the extra set of arms he's apparently gained since last time we saw him. But hey, it's not just his physical appearance that counts; he's also still hellbent on blasting everyone to dust even now as he pulls together an energy blast from the shadows. Guess we're all screwed like usual! At least we got this cool art before we all died.

Rating: 9/10, no full score if you're not even gonna go all the way with the art, Konami

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Beginning Knight

The earliest point of Black Luster Soldier's timeline, practically akin to your starting character(s) in your typical JRPG. Make no mistake; this monster may have a cool, confident demeanor, but they are sorely lacking in experience. I think it’s funny how, in making BLS look younger, they basically just made them look more anime, spiky strange colored hair and all. Part of this is of course Beginning Knight’s much smaller helm (when compared to any other BLS version), which usually hides their hair or turns it into some variant of a ponytail. But other than this, or Beginning Knight’s much smaller frame, not all that much is different design wise from BLS. You still have the classic blue and gold armor with red accents and the typical sword and shield design. That’s uhhh… An odd way to hold that shield btw. The background has that ring of light present in a lot of chaos related cards, but I like the unstable look they went for with it, representing its not fully formed nature perhaps. It does kind of make it look like Beginning Knight is jumping away from an explosion though lol.

Rating: 8/10

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Number 26: Spaceway Octobypass

Hey, before we go any further into this year, I can't forget to showcase this year's number once again!

This year we’ve got……. A giant octopus in space that’s housing a wormhole? Alright. Idk if I'm really feeling this concept to be honest with you guys, but the art’s not bad. I do think this is one of the brightest artworks I've ever seen on a Yugioh card, which I think is effecting my opinion of it a lot. The actual octopus itself? Very nicely toned with colors that stand out from each other. The rest of the artwork from the wormhole down? Wayyy too oversaturated for me, to the point where everything kind of looks flat (should a wormhole even be emitting light like that? Idk). Man, I can't get over the strange concept of this monster though. It's a space octopus with an interdimensional highway entrance (based on the name)????? Why is it just like, sucking up asteroids then......

Rating: 6/10, Wormhole to the space octopus

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Specter of Heaven's Beginning

Happy New Year! I hope your year has started off strong!

And hey, why not start off your New Year by making a lemon pig or perhaps a cucumber horse like this little lady has; it's a perfect fit for the upcoming Lunar New Year! What better way to celebrate than by summoning the spirit of the year (perhaps literally, based on this card’s inclusion of a ghostly spirit horse in the upper corner). This little lady has a very cute and festive outfit, however, it was an incredibly interesting choice to add giant, pink paper lanterns to the inside of her skirt. The fact that they’re all bunched up directly under her makes them look incredibly uncomfortable to wear. I’m also having a little trouble understanding where exactly they connect to her skirt and how the flow of the fabric works, especially in the area directly to the left of her raised foot. This detail aside, I really love the pattern featured on the inside of her skirt and shirt, as well as the colors used throughout. Also, the fact that her little arm bangles are shaped And colored like the paper lanterns she’s wearing is such a cool little detail. I also can’t forget to mention her cute little face; just look at how happy she is! You absolutely can’t be mistaken that what she’s celebrating is a joyous occasion with a face like that.

Rating: 9/10

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Ghost Beef

"The Ghost of Christmas Dinner."

It’s that time of year when yesterday's meal comes back to haunt you. Fortunately, it's returned as this cute little festive cow ghost, instead of something much more terrifying. It's even here to serve you more dinner! Not that I imagine spectral beef is filling or anything. I think I actually enjoy the colors the most in this art. They're bright and Christmasy without being an overwhelming onslaught of red and green. The blues and yellows were an excellent pick for contrast as the background here. I also appreciate the color definition in the cow vs the background ornaments. Like, the wreath and the mistletoe decorated bell around the cow's neck use the exact same colors, but the shadows and highlights in the bell are significantly more smoothed out with a greater range of colors vs the more muted wreath. It just really helps draw your eye where it needs to be first! Also, only after talking about it did I realize how clever and adorable that bell is lol. It's literally your classic Christmas bell but turned into a cowbell! The only thing that truly bothers me here is that its tongue doesn't line up with the clearly defined line of its mouth on the right side, and instead appears to be tucked under its cheek for some reason. It feels so easy to miss, but once you see it you can't help but notice how awkward it looks.

Rating: 9/10, the only way to season this beef is with ghost peppers