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Pojo's Yu-Gi-Oh Card of the Day
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Element
Dragon
Common
Dragon / Effect Monster
This monster gets the following effect(s) while
there is a monster(s) with the following Attribute(s)
on the field:
* FIRE: Increase the ATK of this card by 500 points.
* WIND: If this card destroyed your opponent's
monster as a result of battle, it can attack once
again in a row.
Type
- Light / 4 / 1500 / 1200
Card Number
- SOD-EN023
Ratings
are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being
the worst. 3 ... average. 5 is the highest rating
Date Reviewed - 10.27.04 |
|
Coin Flip |
Well, here's one of the most solid cards we get this
set. It really
doesn't get much better than this. The Element
monsters (continued
next set with a Dinosaur and Spellcaster, also DARK
and LIGHT
respectively) gain effects for subtype monsters on
the field. The
only real problem with some of them is that they
lose their
playability due to the fact that barely anyone uses
a good deal of
most of the elements besides DARK and LIGHT. Earth
is the best, and
therefore comes with the best effect - Effect
Negation. Water is most
oft-used, but comes with no control change? Fire
comes with more
attack, and Wind with BLS-type effect. We've yet to
get a
double-attack effect negation combination yet.
That little explanation said, Element Dragon is
overall pretty solid.
Why? He's a Dragon. Most good Dragon types are WIND,
and the Horus
monsters + Masked Dragon are all FIRE. Therefore,
you could make a
dragon deck where you get both effects rather
easily. Expect four
more such cards (besides Element Soldier) to be
released.
2/5 in any deck
3.5/5 in an appropriate Dragon Deck
Since Cookie Cutter Chaos Control dominates
Traditional, you're not
using him in Traditional EVER unless you're playing
casual. |
|
Tranorix |
Element Dragon
Element Dragon isn't a bad monster. There's nothing
incredible about it, but it's definitely playable in
the right deck. With 1500 ATK, it can hold its own;
being a Dragon gives him a bit of support and being
LIGHT makes him food for BLS-EotB, though playing
Element Dragon in a deck focused on getting BLS-EotB
out would be a relatively stupid thing to do.
If there's a FIRE monster on the field, Element
Dragon becomes a 2000 ATK monster. That's definitely
not bad for a Level 4. If there's a WIND monster on
the field, he can attack again if he kills a monster
first (just like BLS-EotB). It would probably be
better just to play Element Dragon in a WIND OR FIRE
deck than to try to combine both of them. Choose one
of his effects and build a deck that utilizes it; if
you try to mix and match, the overall theme of the
deck is likely going to be weaker.
He's nothing spectacular, but he can add a lot of
support to a WIND or FIRE deck. I would avoid him
elsewhere, however.
Traditional – CCCC: 2/5
Traditional – WIND: 3/5
Traditional – FIRE: 2.5/5
Advanced – WIND: 3.5/5
Advanced – FIRE: 4/5 |
|
Snapper |
Element Dragon
Today’s card is one of the Element monsters in the
form of a Dragon. What’s
its name? Element Dragon of course.
Stats: Element Dragon has 1500 ATK and 1200 DEF,
allowing you to search for it with Sangan, Witch of
the Black Forest, Shining Angel, and Masked Dragon.
The ATK is very slightly below average for monsters
these days, but Element Dragon can get an ATK boost
through its effect. It is a LIGHT monster, which
doesn’t really help Element Dragon because I can’t
imagine it being in a deck that focuses on LIGHT
monsters. It’s also a Dragon, giving it a good deal
of support. Stats – Average.
Effect: Element Dragon’s effect is different than
that of most monsters.
When a FIRE monster is face-up on the field,
increase Element Dragon’s ATK
by 500, and when there is a WIND monster face-up on
the filed, Element
Dragon can attack a second time if it has destroyed
a monster first.
Something that should be said about the effects is
that they aren’t
cumulative. This means that if there are 2 FIRE
monsters, Element Dragon
still only gains 500 ATK points, not 1000. It’s the
same case if there are 2
WIND monsters; Element Dragon can’t attack up to
three times, only two. With all that said, it is
apparent that Element Dragon can be a useful
monster.
Both its effects work well by themselves, and they
work even better
together. Effect – Good.
Combos: There aren’t a lot of combos with Element
Dragon other than using
DNA Transplant and/or Scroll of Bewitchment to turn
a monster into the one
of the desired Attributes.
Usability: For the time being, Element Dragon works
best in Dragon Decks,
which tend to use the two Attributes that power up
Element Dragon in bulk.
The other possibility is an Element Deck, which I
believe will be useable
upon the release of RDS. I must warn you my
knowledge of the OCG is very
limited, so I may be wrong about this.
Element Dragon can be a very powerful monster in or
against decks that use
lots of FIRE or WIND monsters.
Advanced Format: 2.5/5. Element Dragon is tied down
to being used with two
Attributes that are, at this time, uncommon. They
appear more often in
Advanced, but still aren’t played as a deck-type
very often. Fortunately
there are Dragon Decks, giving it some playability.
Traditional Format: 2/5. As was the case with
Ultimate Baseball Kid, Element
Dragon is shunned in Traditional because it isn’t
Chaos Emperor Dragon.
Fortunately there are Dragon Decks, giving it some
playability.
Art: 2/5. It’s a little too muscular for a dragon in
my opinion. |
|
ExMinion OfDarkness |
Wednesday:
Element Dragon
Konami has recently been trying to jump-start
multiple type decks -- this will REALLY be seen in
the next expansion with some of the cards we see
there. Basically, in order for the card to be any
good it has to have another monster alongside it
with a compatible type. If a fire-type is out
(assuming Blazing Inpachi, UFO Turtle, or Solar
Flare), he's a 2000 attacker. If a Wind type is out,
he's a stronger Hayabusa Knight.
The 1500 ATK makes it searchable by many cards, but
that along with the fourth level star makes it
vulnerable to all three big blockers (G-Bind, Level
Limit, and the Messenger of Peace.)
The card has potential for a "mixed" deck that
Konami will be begging us to make with a couple of
cards in Rise of Destiny, but for now, I can't
warrant a high score for it. Theme decks with
streamlined types seemed to do better than anything
else, and playing another type of card just to get a
boost out of this isn't exactly the smartest way to
go about utilizing cards.
Traditional: 1/5 for now, may get better with Rise
of Destiny
Advanced: 1.5/5 (Note that with my old Traditional
scores, I focused on how the card works in
Chaos/Control or against it. With Advanced, I look
at how the card works in a Burn or Warrior deck, or
against either type.) |
|
dawnyoshi |
Element Dragon is potentially one of the best level 4
dragons that could be used in today's game. This
card is just begging to be placed into a Horus/Armed
combo deck, though combining the two highest levels
may prove to be annoying. With a fire attribute
monster out, this little dragon becomes 2000 ATK and
can go head to head with Berserk Gorillas. Its
second effect, if you have a wind monster out, makes
it an annoying 2000 ATK dragon that can attack more
than once...yeesh.
Unfortunately, I can't imagine how playable these
decks are, and haven't seen a combo deck using horus
and armed dragon do well so far. Unfortunately, this
monster is just a bit lacking right now I believe,
but this card would be insane in limited. It's
definitely worth a third or fourth pick.
Traditional Format: 1.5/5
Advanced Format: 2.5/5
Limited: 3.5/5 |
|
JAELOVE |
Wednesday: Element Dragon
Rated For: Dragon Decks, Element Decks
Again, this is another bit of inspired card design
focusing on themes and cohesiveness; gone are the
days of single-handed powerhouses like Yata-Garasu.
In today’s championship format, Konami hopes to
force duelists to create decks that have strong
synergy and harmony.
Element Dragon falls a bit short of playability,
however, due to weak stats and such. Great card
design does not alone a good card make; this is a
perfect example of a card that falls just a bit
short.
Advantage F/H:
All dragon decks should be running
Luster Dragon’s. In today’s environment, nothing
much separates a 2000 attack monster from a 1900,
both will control the field equally. The problem
with this card is that there aren’t many offensive
fire monsters around to help support it. Even if you
find a way to use one if its effects, you’ll have
either a 2000 attack monster (which isn’t that
great), or a 1500 attack weakling that can attack
twice. Not much advantage with this
one.
4/10.
Best Draw for the Situation:
It’s hard to justify the use of a
card that depends on other elements to gain weak
effects. I’d understand if the attack boost was
greater, or the wind effect was better, but they’re
not, so this card isn’t a very good draw. It gets a
score as if it were a basic 1500 monster; 2000
attack isn’t even very spectacular anyways, and the
WIND effect is almost worthless.
2/10.
Attributes/Effect:
With a paltry attack score of 1500, a
monster needs a very good effect to justify its
inclusion into a deck. More than the actual
numerical score of the attack, it’s more important
to note the value of an attack score; for example,
you don’t gain much field advantage by moving from
1900 attack points to 2000, but the drop from 1700
to 1500 is huge. It’s huge because it prevents
Element Dragon from killing numerous threats, such
as Breaker, Tribe, D.D Warrior Lady, and others.
This makes Element Dragon a liability in most
decks. 5/10.
Dependability:
You’re going to have to rely on fire
monsters (which there aren’t much of) and wind
monsters (Luster Dragon and Spear Dragon spring to
mind). Of course, the WIND effect of Element Dragon
is weak, and the FIRE effect turns him into a
Berserk Gorilla (which is far superior to Element
Dragon).
1/10.
The Bottom Line:
A great card in theory, a weak card
in practice.
A BAD Score: 12/40= 30/100
Cards it functions well with: Fire
Dragons (Tyrant Dragon, Masked Dragon), Wind Dragons
(Luster Dragon, Spear Dragon). |
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