Welcome back everyone to
Pojo.com's Card of the Day, we missed you the last
few days! We're going to continue to give your our
"Shattered Alliances Top Ten Countdown List"! Now,
just so everyone knows ahead of time, this list is a
combination of others opinions and in some cases
some items I did not choose. However, I am willing
to review these cards regardless as they all add a
unique flavor to our current metagame! Without
further ado, number seven is: Serpens, the Spirit
Shifter.
Name: Serpens, the
Spirit Shifter
Civilization: Light/Darkness
Type: Creature
Race: Celestial Dragon/Terror Dragon
Level: 7
Power: 6500
Flavor Text: Ray: "I must find a way to
harness this power. After all, I have minions to
spare." -The Choten
Rarity: Very Rare
Set Number: 44/80 l 9SHA
Abilities:
(This card enters your mana zone tapped.)
Double Breaker (This creature breaks 2 shields.)
Soul Shields- Whenever one of your other
creatures is banished, you may put the top card of
your deck into your shield zone face down as a new
shield.
Serpens, the Spirit Shifter is
a level 7 Celestial and Terror Dragon. It has decent
stats (6500 power and Double Breaker) with the
addition of a new ability, "Soul Shields". This
ability makes all of your other creatures a bit more
expendable; if they are banished you get a free
shield!
This card combos well with so
many other popular choices in this game including
Ripper Reaper or, one of the best choices to use
with this card, Lux! Not only will Lux protect your
dragon from being banished, but you'll be able to
get a free shield out of it at the same time, that's
quite the trade off! You can even use Dracothane
later on to re-fuel your protection for later in the
game!
Realistically this card can
come out easily enough by turn five and by then you
should have a few creatures on your side of the
battle zone. This can allow you to refuel on your
shields from any early aggression plays you may have
been faced with.
Some other neat combos you can
pull off with Serpens involves using Umbra alongside
it. All of your other dragons get the "Slayer"
ability, so now you can have any dragon you want
take down any creature your opponent has on the
board... even Eternal Haven! Not only that but in
the process you're netting yourself an extra shield
with each of your other creatures that falls in
battle. Don't forget that you can rinse and repeat
with Dreadclaw, Dark Herald!
Probably the biggest factors
that may affect the playability of this card are: It
only has 6500 power and it specifically states that
in order to gain it's "Soul Shields" effect, it has
to be another creature and it cannot be
Serpens itself. 6500 power is fine, however, for a
level 7 it's a bit low. You're still able to take
down opposing Lyras, Herald, and Tatsurion, but
other than that, other dragons just seem to outclass
it in raw power. As for its ability, it would be
nice if it included itself. I suppose Wizards
thought through this though since it would
essentially be a free shield for playing a card that
can break two shields. Although, who's to say that
you can't still exploit this powerful ability? You
might even feel more at ease when going to swing in
on your opponent's shields now... Terror Pit? Bone
Blades? Sure, I'll take a free shield or two!
I would expect to see this card
"teched" in to some dragon decks but only as a 1-2
of in a deck. It's not gamebreaking, but the hype
can still be there. It is a watered down Andromeda
after all... and we all know how everyone loves
playing Andromeda, am I right?
Constructed: 3.50/5.00
(If you have a dragon deck and want to gain some
extra shields, this card might just do the job for
you.)
Limited: 3.00/5.00 (Shields are very
important in a sealed event. The sooner you lose
them, the closer you are to losing. Serpens can
change the game if you can get it out. It also
combos great with Slayers!)
Make sure to stop by again
tomorrow for Number 6 on our countdown! Until next
time my fellow Kaijudo Duel Masters, keep calm and
game on!