Downerd Magician
DARK/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect/Rank 4/2100/200
2 Level 4 Spellcaster-Type monsters
During your Main Phase 2, you can also Xyz Summon this card by using a Rank 3 or lower Xyz Monster you control as the Xyz Material. (Xyz Materials attached to that monster also become Xyz Materials on this card.) This card gains 200 ATK for each Xyz Material attached to it. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. If this card attacks or is attacked, after damage calculation: Detach 1 Xyz Material from this card.

To wrap up this week we have Downerd Magician, a new Spell caster Xyz monster from Legacy of the Valiant. Statwise it is a DARK/Spellcaster which is always good, 2100 ATK is okay for a Rank 4 but 200 DEF is awful. It isn’t generic so it is only good in Spellcaster decks or Decks that use a lot of Rank 3 Xyz monsters.

Effectwise it has an alternate summoning condition, which can only be done in Main Phase 2 and by Overlaying a Rank 3 Xyz monster. Why a Rank 4 needs a alternative summoning condition is strange and it doesn’t help it has to be during Main Phase 2, so you can’t attack with it, which is bad since both effects involve battling.

The first effect gives an extra 200 ATK for each material attached. That would make it 2500 ATK if summoned the normal way. 200 ATK isn’t a massive increase but it does help improve its average ATK. The second effect is a piercing effect which is solid but nothing noteworthy. Interestingly this card only detaches material when it battles after damage calculation which would make it weaker and gives it no other benefits for detaching. At least nothing bad happens if it has no material so you could at least have a 2100 ATK piercing monster.

Overall, a strange summoning condition and a strange detaching condition can hid the fact that this is a very average monster with bad DEF.

Traditional: 2/5
Advanced: 2/5

Hello Pojo Fans,

This week we're finishing off with a Spellcaster Xyz (something I'm always happy to see), Downerd Magician. Slacker Magician means business now that she is up and about. Downerd Magician is a Dark, Rank 4 Spellcaster monster with 2100ATK/200DEF. Though you can make her with two level 4 Spellcaster-Type monsters, you can also Xyz Summon her by using a Rank 3 or lower Xyz monster. She gains 200ATK for each Xyz Material attached to her. If she attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. If she attacks or is attacked, after damage, you detach an Xyz Material from her.

A Dark, Rank 4, Xyz monster that starts off with a minimum of 2500ATK, awesome. If you aren't playing Spellcasters, that isn't a problem, you'll just wait until your Main Phase 2 to Xyz Summon her with a Rank 3 or lower monster of yours. There are currently 52 Rank 3 or lower monsters in the TCG, but likely you will be comboing her with Leviair, Leviathan, M-X-Saber Invoker, Slacker Magician, or Zenmaines. Use up your effects on the Rank 3 or lower, then in Main Phase 2 bring out Downerd Magician. You could also steal one Rank 3 or lower from your opponent, use it's effect, then bring her down in Main Phase 2. Piercing is always a welcome effect to a monster, eliminating the ability for weak defenders or stall monsters from being used as protection. Even after all Xyz Materials are off, she's still a 2100ATK piercer, which is still good on its own.

Her defense being that low could come back to bite you, as 200DEF isn't going to save you from pretty much anything. Losing an Xyz Material every time she attacks or is attacked is a way to balance her out. Without that effect, she'd be a permanent 2500ATK piercer. When an opponents monster attacks yours, almost all the time it will be with a monster stronger than yours, so Magician losing a material when attacked isn't that bad either. You may have to watch how you attack with her if your opponent can bring out large monsters that may get over a 2300 or 2100ATK monster.

Traditional- 3/5
Advanced- 4/5- 52 Rank 3 or lower monsters means she's going to hit the field for you
Art- 5/5- edited from the Japanese art, but still pretty darn good

Until Next Time
KingofLullaby

Downerd Magician

Basically, starts as a 2500 beater with piercing and works it's way down to 2100. So, it varies from good to okay, stat-wise. It requires 2 LV4 Spellcasters, which is manageable but it's not any bit supportive to Spellcasters. It's just a type-exclusive XYZ which isn't good enough to make anyone want to run the type. Piercing can, on some occasions, be devastating but it' still rarely worth the cost.

The option to XYZ summon this card using a Rank-3 XYZ is a good option, but it plagued by you being only able to do it during Main Phase 2, making this effect, mostly a no-go.

It's not an inherently bad card. It's just that the list of caveats you need to recognize before running this card is long enough to go to from New York to Kentucky (slight exaggeration).

1/5 – Traditional (xyz's that don't lockdown or otk are useless here)
2/5 – Advanced