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Card Game Featured Writers Releases + Spoilers Anime Video Games Other
Magic
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Well I’ve been quite the lazy bum of a featured writer lately, so to make amends for another two weeks of no-show I’ve decided to put my observation skills to the test in a nice look into the new Japanese Shadow of Infinity expansion set! Please note this article will be looking into a great amount more cards than usual so you may want to pack a lunch. Of course I’ll try not to go as in depth for my sanities sake! Thanks to DMComet for the early translations of the set! Keep up the good work guys!
SOI-JP001
The first of three Legendary Demons that was featured in the
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime series. Uria is a monster that will only
see play in a deck filled with trap cards. You’ll need lots
of continuous traps to make full use of his summoning and
boost effect. Trap monsters work very well especially cards
like Zoma and Reflect Slime. He’s also instant m/t removal
and prevents chains, no wonder he’s so legendary! The second of three Legendary Demons that was featured in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime series. Hamon is the opposite of Uria and in my opinion is the weakest of the three Legendary demons support wise. He can be summoned through dropping three continuous magic cards, but there is a limited amount of useful cards in that category. While in attack he can deal a good amount of damage when destroying opponent’s monsters and while in defense he becomes the ultimate blocking wall. Try this guy out in a Ouija Board deck!
SOI-JP003
SOI-JP004
This set is very Hero light considering that the next set
may mark the end of the decktypes support line. Neo is well,
nothing astounding. E-Heroes have a lot better support right
now, and have no need to run a Metamorphosis (also it being
restricted hurts). Neo could be used in a casual Bubbleman
deck, and is the only monster in the game with a “battle and
destroy” type effect. Plus the art is amazing!
Hero kids is another card with simply amazing anime art
style to it. The ability to deck thin by three cards and set
up for a possible sacrifice is pretty cool too. I could see
someone playing a fun deck around these cards and Aqua
Chorus or Hell Alliance (Chthonian Alliance). Being a
warrior also makes it easily searched and re-used. The first of three Cyber Dragon support cards in this set, Barrier is the worst of the three. He can only be summoned by Attack Reflect Unit which can be quite a problem if you don’t draw one. Also negating only one attack on a battle phase is not very good considering the attack. The defense is good though, it is a “barrier dragon” after all.
SOI-JP007 Cyber Laser is very good compared to its brother Barrier Dragon. Although it still needs a certain support card for its summon it has decent attack and a removal effect. Not many monsters with more than 2400 see play sadly, so your stuck trying to kills cards like Black Magician and Blue Eyes White Dragon, if your lucky maybe Laser will destroy a Legendary Demon!
SOI-JP008 A weaker version of Don Turtle, It has very low stats so the only thing it can really be used for is a quick sacrifice for Antique Gear Golem. Gadgets actually work a lot better than this card with Compensation of Blood (Ultimate Offering) on the field and it’s very hard to get more than one of these in your hand at once. Skip it unless you’re a devoted Chronos (Crowler) fan.
SOI-JP009 I kind of like Antique Gear Cannon, not for the damage effect but for the way it can shutdown your opponent’s traps. This will allow bigger monsters, like that Cyber End Dragon you just played Limiter Removal on to get through with there attacks without interference. And oh how traps are a nuisance in this format especially. Also combos well with Machine Duplication!
SOI-JP010
More support for the Cyber Dragon deck type! I can see
Konami wanted Cyber Dragons to be played more like Ryo
(Zane) from the GX anime series with all of this support.
This card is good because it basically lets you run a total
of 6 Cyber Dragons in your deck. This helps with fusions and
playing Barrier/Laser dragon. It only works while on the
field but if you sacrifice it with Generation Change you
could pull a normal Cyber Dragon from your deck! A weakened version of Sphere Bomb, this card will see play in all those who wanted to run bomb but could not due to it’s difficulty to obtain. It works for field removal, as a decoy, and is an unpleasant surprise to the opponent. Just watch out for Mystic Swordsman!
SOI-JP012
SOI-JP013 Yet another Giant Battleship straight from the Gradius games. This Core helps the Boss Rush deck with even more everlasting field presence. Unlike the other Cores this core takes a double sacrifice which is a pain. Plus it only gets two counters on it from the start. If your lucky though it will survive longer than the others, but no special effects were built into it this time, quite a disappointment indeed.
SOI-JP014 The art on this card is on the brink of insanity! I call it “The Hippy Reaper”. Really Guide is not that good of a card on its own. This is mostly because when it’s summoned it becomes your opponents card immediately and you just lost your summon for the turn. Unless you’re running a deck based on filling your opponents field like a Spatial Collapse deck, or are a heavy fan of Removing cards from game, this card is better slapped into an avatar or banner for online message boards. The art is just that amazing!
SOI-JP015 Another monster with a wonderfully drawn anime-like art theme, Chain Slasher works best when you have three in the cemetery. Dropping them in can be as easy as a quick Foolish Burial on your turn. This card reminds me of a Surprising Mataza (Mataza the Zapper) that you actually need to do work for, which is a shame because the art is very well drawn.
SOI-JP016 This is an interesting card indeed. Many compare it to the recently banned Exclusitivety Virus (Tribe Infecting Virus) because it has the ability to shut down themed decks. This is however wrong, because it only gets it’s effects on attributes and at the most can have only up to two at a time. I think this card may be run in three’s in some sideboards.
SOI-JP017 Another monster with the effect of E-Hero Wildman (Elemental Hero Wildheart) but this time a pyro type monster rather then a warrior. I hope that one of these monsters is released for every type of deck trap immunity is pretty good in this format where traps are running rampant.
SOI-JP018 A monster that bases its strength off of how many tokens are on the field, Its almost too bad that Scapegoat was limited because it would have great synergy with this card. You could also play it in a deck that focuses on dropping Ojama tokens on your opponent’s field and then playing final attack orders, but that wouldn’t be very competitive, heh heh.
SOI-JP019
I
hope that this is also a trend for future card sets. Gokipon
is a searcher that is limited to a certain sub-type and yet
has the effect of Critter (Sangan) with an additional 500
boost on the searched monster. If we get one of these for
each sub-type, Critter and Witch can face being banned for
good. A card that was made to shut down stall decks. While on the field cards like Level Limit and Gravity Bind are completely useless. This is also a counter on the strategies of both Uria and Hamon.
SOI-JP021 A huge beat down monster with a drawback, It can take on almost any sacrifice monster in the game, which is a pain in the butt since sacrifice monsters were hard enough to use effectively before. This card takes down Cyber Dragon, Vampire Lord, and even ties Nephytys! But with every attack your opponent gain card advantage which will deter many from using it.
SOI-JP022 I find this cards art to be absolutely hilarious! You have to sacrifice two magic or traps on your field to summon this guy, which makes him a lot like a smaller version of the Legendary Demons. He has a built in M/T removal effect as well, which is not too shabby,
Meet the Dark Triceratops of insect monsters! With the same attack and everything, it’s basically the same card except this time it gets insect support out of the bargain rather then Dinosaur support.
SOI-JP024 Insect monsters now have a card similar to Chaos and Necrophia. 2800 attack is nothing to scoff at either, it also has a built in deck depletion effect too. A fairly good card, it will be a new trump card for many insect based decks arising from this sets support cards.
SOI-JP025 Many argue Yomi Frog as the most playable card in the set. It works a lot like another great reptile card that was recently banished to the list of no return. I find it to be an interesting tech for field advantage, you just need to make sure not to set a magic or trap card if you want it revived next turn. Also, Yomi frog has kept itself from ever being limited by stopping more than one from using there effects in unison.
SOI-JP026 More support for the interesting frog deck type. The most it can gain is a 900 boost while all three of your Tadpoles are in the cemetery, but that will make it a 2000 attack level 4 monster, which is not bad at all in my books. Try it our in your frog decks to increase the fun!
SOI-JP027
Although these cards are extremely cute and very welcome to
all Pikeru and Kuran fans around the globe I find them to be
the biggest letdown of the century! Konami has pretty much
dangled these two maidens in front of our wanting eyes but
made them nearly impossible to play. The only way to get
them to the field is to have a Pikeru or Kurran kill a huge
monster which is really hard. If you can get them on the
field however, there effects are very cool and painful to
the opponent, especially Kuran.
This card made me chuckle evilly the first time I read it’s
effect. It’s basically a way to rip apart those who have
kept there huge fusion piles for no real reason after the
era of goat control came to its close. If you have a huge
fusion deck I would consider disbanding it now, because when
Memory Crusher wipes you out in a single attack you will be
regretful. Also E-heroes beware! This card makes for a great
sideboard against many decks. A late addition to the undead deck destruction theme, Malice has art that makes a fan of ghoulish cards like me squeal louder then when I saw the Princesses a few cards back. The hard part about Malice is just playing it though, which is quite the weakness. At it’s peak it will discard two cards from the opponent each turn, which isn’t really worth the work of keeping it alive or dumping 2 more into your cemetery.
SOI-JP031 A plant support card! Although it’s quite weak any plant support is fine with me. Grass Phantom gains 500 for each additional copy in your cemetery, so at best you have a 2000 attack level 4 plant. It’s also searchable via Mother Grizzly which is a pro, but it falls just short of being really good. I could see it popping up in casual plant decks in no time.
SOI-JP032 To put it straight, this card is just weird. It fits the whole idea of the rock based deck, with a stable 2000 defense to keep it alive. However if it’s destroyed while face down by an effect other than battle (ie. Mystic Swordsman, Shield Crush) it is special summoned back to the field with its attack and defense swapped. Not bad, it goes from a defender to a power attacker, which can turn the tables on the unsuspecting opponent.
SOI-JP033 Another of the cemetery power boosters, This card has probably the most complex effect of them, being a sort of swiss army knife card it can have up to 2 of the 3 different effects available. Being 1500 it can be special summoned easily in a dragon deck or a deck based around it. My favorites would be to choose a 2500 attack monster with a double attack, but since all of its abilities can be used and abused equally it will take a lot of experimenting to find out just how good this card can be. This is another type of card I would love to see more of in the near future.
SOI-JP034
SOI-JP035 Many players call these cards the Chaos monsters reborn, but this is just in effects. Art wise many will notice these cards have a slight resemblance to the unfathomably rare Xexex and Eternia cards. Both Rituals have very great effects and an okay attack and defense amount. Ruin can keep attacking for every time a monster is destroyed in battle while with a mere 2000 life payment Demise clears the board! My only beef is that you have to offer exactly 8 levels worth of monsters for there summoning, but just the fact that they share a ritual make them a very viable ritual based decktype.
SOI-JP036 Frogger is back with a vengeance! Sandeath is another card supporting the frog themed deck type. It can be a huge monster when you have a few Yomigaeru in youre cemetery, with its max attack towering at a good 4000! Imagine a frog taking on Cyber End Dragon that would be a funny scene to behold.
A kind of out of place E-Hero support card, and I’m not very fond of it. Unless it supports the fusions a lot of E-Hero support cards feel a bit weaker then there unthemed counterparts. Double Attack is by all means a better card then this one, but I’d have to give the art a credit for being flat out wonderful!
More Gear support, well this is more of an indirect support for Gear decks actually. A good combo with this card would be to special summon Heavy Mecha Support Platform even though Frontline Base is a bit better in that department. I’m guessing it would work in a combo with Antique Gear and a quick sacrifice for a bigger monster like Antique Gear Golem.
Gear factory continues the Gear support trend, at first it looks like it can be a good way to special summon a huge Gear monster from your hand, but this is a misconception. Antique Gear Golem would take the removal of 16 monsters! There isn’t even that many Antique Gear support monster cards out there. Skip this card, even in your Antique deck, it just won’t help with such a hefty cost.
This is the Gear Support card you should be playing! It gives you the ability to bring any magic card from your deck straight into play! If you choose a quick play card like Enemy Controller or Shrink you can set up for a quick defense on your opponents next turn. It is also a great way to play out your combos quickly.
I thought Gear Factory was a tad too situational but this card takes the cake as the most situational magic card or for that matter most situational card ever made. You have to have two of the three Legendary Demons on the field, which really shouldn’t even be played in the same deck to begin with and you lose your entire hand as well. Its just well…..it should NEVER EVER be in your deck. Awesome art though!
Another situational E-Hero support equip. This one is for one of my personal favorite of the E-Hero line, Wildman. Its possibly one of the best equips for any Hero as well, even better then Spark Gun. It makes Wildman a 2000 attack trap resistant monster and if destroyed will clear all of the magic and trap cards on the field and burn your opponent as well.
Many take this card as an omen of the possible future banning of Early Burial (Premature Burial). To be able to use Seal you have to have three monsters of the same name in your cemetery at a time and then you get to special summon one. This can be kind of hard to do unless your playing a deck based on the monsters that gain strength from having numerous amounts of themselves in the cemetery, I would try this out in an Excelion themed deck.
The support card for the Princesses, its way to situational to make good use of. Like I said earlier it’s almost like Konami is dangling a possible awesome thing in front of our faces but keeping it just out of reach. I hope we get more support for the Princess theme in a later set that will make it all worthwhile, I really love the theme of these cards! Another card with great art too.
The card used to summon Cyber Laser Dragon to the field. It’s the only way to play Cyber Laser and in a Cyber Laser deck is the only place you will find it run.
The Ritual support card for the two “Chaos” ritual monsters, My only problem with it is that you can only sacrifice exactly 8 levels worth of monsters, otherwise these rituals would be so much better to use. You can still sacrifice multiple copies of themselves or two level four monsters with ease, but the technicality is bound to get you sometime while running a deck with these cards in it.
In my opinion Gear Castle would have been cooler as a field card, but its just as good here. Castle is one of the better Antique support cards in the set, way better then Factory (ugh). It not only gives an attack boost to Gear monsters but it can allow you an easy sacrifice for your other Gear monsters with a few counters on it. By all means play this card over Antique Gear Factory!
A very questionable Ritual support card, It may actually hurt a player more then help since it adds to the deck you have been trying to thin throughout the duel. It also removes the chance of possibly having some monsters in the cemetery you want to special summon back. I can see some use in a deck that uses only ritual monsters because you can reload them into your deck after they sacrifice each other for a summoning.
A far too situational card to see any use, I really don’t like this card besides the fact it has Hero Kid on it, which I really like. Unless you have a taste for odd cards or play a strict Juudai (Jadan) themed deck I would skip this card.
Miracle kids is some support for your Hero Kid deck! It can really lower a monsters attack after you have a lot of Hero Kids in your cemetery. This card is strictly for a non competitive deck like a Juudai (Jadan) deck. Again, awesome art on it.
The card used to summon Cyber Barrier Dragon to the field. It’s the only way to play Cyber Laser and in a Cyber Barrier deck is the only place you will find it run.
One of my favorite cards in this set, it’s a card that fights against the tyranny of Don Zaruug (Don Zaloog) and the current reign of Soul Hunting Spirit (Spirit Reaper) in the current metagame. Its very situational, but you could use it to get out your own Reaper or Don. Other than that I just like it for the art, whatever it is.
Karma Cut will be a favorite of players that want more removal in there decks. This card is a great way to fight against Undead decks that use Vampire Lords or the common Tomato Control themed deck. It will wipe out all of your opponents main monsters, since that’s what your opponent will likely run 2-3 of. I find it a great surprise and just the fact that it can remove cards from game rather then sending them into the cemetery makes it worth a try.
A good way to amass an army of your monsters in the cemetery at once, This card is meant to combo with a great deal of the cards in this set, Seal of Heritance being one of them. It’s also a way to trigger off the effects of the monsters that power up for copies of themselves in the cemetery.
Another card that combos well within the set, A favorite combo of mine would be the sacrifice Proto Cyber Dragon and grab the real Cyber Dragon from your deck to your hand. It can be a good deck thinner and gives abilities to the cemetery based monsters as well. More Excelion support! Also, this card has my favorite overall art from the set, it reminds me of some of that shoujo manga I read far to often. Good work on the great art this time Konami!
Not really a good idea in my opinion. This card DOES NOT TRIGGER THE EFFECTS OF THE DARK REALM MONSTERS! And on the note, it only inflicts a meager amount of damage as well. There are better burn engines out there my friends, stick to these alternative methods, especially in a format where top decking can equal a quick defeat.
Kozaaki and Magical Scientist were friends? Cool, this a card I’d love to see a fanfic written about someday. Other than that its pretty much an anti- Hero/V to Z/ Cyber Dragon/ Fusion deck card. It can eliminate your opponents main fusion combos, but with most decks based on fusions decking three of each, this may not work to well.
This card has a kind of “life leech” effect, letting you increase your life points by the attack of a monster you destroy. Unless you are a fan of life gain, or run a Big Bang Girl (Fire Princess) deck, this card may not be for you. The name is another play on Gradius as well, which is a pretty cool little cameo to all who caught it.
A quick way to negate a magic card that would turn the duel around for your opponent, and then make it unplayable for the remainder of the turn. It can be a cheap way to disrupt your opponents plays, or can be just there to watch your opponent suffer the cost. Would your opponent discard a card twice for the effect of Lightening Vortex? Or pay the hefty 2000 of Twilight Fusion (Dimension Fusion) again?
This card works much like the last one, being able to stop a
crucial trap and force it to be reactivated on the next
turn. This is a good way to save your big monsters on the
battle phase and may be more game breaking then its magic
halting counterpart. Not to mention both this card and the
last combo with Devil King Dragon - Vandalgion as well. Also stay tuned for future articles for me!
- YamiBakuraFan
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