Destiny HERO – Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer – #1 – Top 10 Yugioh Cards of 2021

Destiny HERO – Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer
– #BODE-EN039

Date Reviewed: December 31, 2021

Rating: 4.75

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average.  5 is great.

Reviews Below:

King of
Lullaby

Hello Pojo Fans,

Destiny HERO – Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer is no surprise as the top card of 2021.

Incredibly hyped and seen as another Dragoon, Phoenix Enforcer needs Destiny HERO monsters for the summon, but there are a lot of good Destiny HERO monsters that have grave effects for you to use later, Dasher immediately comes to mind. You need a Level 6 or higher Destiny HERO as well as any Destiny HERO to summon Phoenix Enforcer: Plasma is the easiest choice for that high-level choice, considering you can Special Summon Plasma and use him as a control card.

1-for-1 spot removal either turn ties into its next effect, resulting in most of the hype for Phoenix Enforcer. If destroyed by battle or card effect, Phoenix Enforcer can bring any Destiny HERO monster back during the next turn Standby Phase…including himself. The loop is complete: Summon Phoenix Enforcer using Verte and Fusion Destiny > pop Phoenix Enforcer and any card your opponent controls > bring back Phoenix Enforcer next turn. Sure, you can bring back one of the Destiny HERO monsters you used for Fusion Destiny, but why do that when you can keep summoning back Phoenix Enforcer and popping a card on your opponent’s field. The Quick Effect helps you attack with Phoenix Enforcer and pop a card in the same turn or respond to an opponent’s card or attack. The ATK drop per HERO in your grave does drop all your opponent’s monsters by 400ATK which will drop any 3000ATK monster down to Phoenix Enforcer’s level. Popping Enforcer in the End Phase to take out a card only to get him back during either player’s Standby Phase can be just crushing for your opponent: you aren’t losing advantage with the “balanced” 1-for-1 effect on Phoenix Enforcer.

Phoenix Enforcer isn’t Dragoon, but it is incredibly strong in controlling the flow of the game like Dragoon can. Drops ATK of opponent’s monsters to get them closer to its own ATK, pop any card you have for any card they have, brings back a Destiny HERO to replace itself…brings itself back over and over to keep pressure on your opponent. You have to banish Phoenix Enforcer, lock out Special Summons, or finish your opponent after getting rid of it. Even with Fusion Destiny banned in the OCG and likely in the TCG, Phoenix Enforcer is still going to be a boss for a while.

Advanced-4.5/5     Art-4.5/5

Until Next Time
KingofLullaby

Crunch$G

If Dragoon was strong enough to be number 1 last year in a year of a ton of great cards, I’m sure you could of expected the card that literally took Dragoon’s place in the format in a year where we didn’t get as many strong cards was going to be number 1 this year. From Burst of Destiny (4 times the set was mentioned before I even got around to the proper CotD reviews for the set, lol) we have Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer.

DPE is a Level 8 DARK Warrior Fusion with 2500 ATK and 2100 DEF. Fine stats overall, but a great Type and Attribute to have. Fusion requirements are any Level 6 or higher HERO monster and any Destiny HERO Monster, so pretty open ended vs Dragoon with the best targets likely being Dasher and Celestial off of Fusion Destiny to get that potential Special Summon and draw 2 while also running a Fusion Spell far less restrictive than Red-Eyes Fusion for Dragoon. Your opponent’s monsters lose 200 ATK and DEF for each HERO in your graveyard, so should at least get a 400 debuff, with even more if you’re playing pure HEROs. We got the remaining effects as hard once per turn, which is fair when you read them. First one being a Quick Effect to destroy a card you control and a card on the field, which is great to destroy anything you want while also removing an opponent’s card. You’ll likely end up popping this before Fusion Destiny destroys it, but either way upon destruction you get to revive any Destiny HERO from the graveyard during the next Standby Phase, which does inclulde itself. So overall the fact you get a Scrap Dragon every turn on a body that keeps reviving itself if you destroy it with its own effect is great. Unlike Dragoon in the TCG, this is seeming to end up in every Deck under the sun due to how useful Fusion Destiny still is after you make your plays since all the restrictions are only after the card is used, which is why Fusion Destiny is banned in the OCG starting tomorrow. Once that happens, this does end up going back to being used only in HERO strategies, but for now it’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. The card might not be better than Dragoon on paper, but the engine you run to summon it is better by 1000%.

Advanced Rating: 5/5

Art: 5/5 Shining Phoenix Enforcer lived so long as the HERO that he saw himself become the villian.

My #1: Destiny HERO – Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer

Alex
Searcy

It’s fun how Heroes (be Elemental or Destiny or both) can still be so powerful, fun, and relevant in the game, and showcasing that to close this countdown and the year at #1 is Destiny HERO-Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer.  Level 8, Dark/Warrior, Dark Magician atk/def, and needing a Level 6 or higher Hero + 1 Destiny Hero for a Fusion Summon.  Open enough while still slightly specific to pull of in about any hybrid Deck (or not even) your Heroes are doing.  An attack loss for your opponent’s Monsters of 200x the number of Heroes in your Grave (all Heroes, not even just Destiny) only makes this card better as the game goes along.  Not to mention the insane ease of dumping Heroes.  Even if you first Turn this, that’s going to be at least a 400 point drop, and should only continue to grow as you keep this on the Field.  A Quick Effect letting you destroy a card on the Field in addition to a card you control (a Monster perhaps for more attack loss?) not that Hero decks don’t have cards they don’t mind destroying themselves anyway, which can be used Once per Turn.  And a second same conditioned Effect lets you Special Summon a Destiny Hero from your Grave during your next Standby Phase when this card is destroyed by Battle OR Card Effect.  The only thing really hurting this card is removal.  Removing the Monsters in your Grave to get rid of the attack decrease, or this card being removed from play, both would really be awful for this card.  Things like that hurt most cards, but it does apply a bit more here I feel.  Incredible card to close our list and the year though.

Rating:  4.75/5

Art:  4.75/5  I get it’s Dark, and it’s totally on display here, and while this is a near epic art, it’s just not quite 5/5 for me

Mighty
Vee

Happy early 2022, Pojo! At last we reach the number 1 card on our countdown, the infamous Destiny HERO – Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer, which has been dominating both the TCG and OCG metagame since its release in Burst of Destiny, to the point where Fusion Destiny, the main method of summoning this card, is now banned in OCG starting from their next banlist. Often shortened to DPE, it’s a level 8 DARK fusion warrior monster, as expected of a Destiny HERO. 2500 attack is rather low for a level 8, as is 2100 defense, but one of its effects shores that up a little. The fusion requirements are a level 6 or higher HERO and any Destiny HERO, the ramifications of which we’ll see shortly; but for now, while not as easy to summon as Destiny HERO – Dystopia, it is pretty easy to make DPE, especially considering Destiny HERO – Malicious is coincidentally level 6.

DPE has a myriad of strong effects, but perhaps the main reason for its meta dominance is the spell card Fusion Destiny, which you can use to fusion summon DPE using materials from your deck at the cost of locking you to DARK HERO monsters…but it means nothing as long as you activate Fusion Destiny at the end of your combo. You can use Destiny HERO – Denier and Malicious for 2 free bodies on your next turn, or the more prevalent combo of Destiny HERO – Dasher and Destiny HERO – Celestial for a free special summon and 2 draws. You can also use the eponymous Predaplant Verte Anaconda, but this is usually a last resort since giving up 2 extra monsters after your combo is less likely than opening Fusion Destiny. In terms of DPE itself, its first effect is a continuous effect, reducing the attack of your opponent’s monsters by 200 for each HERO in your graveyard. Unless some banishing happens, this means DPE effectively has an attack stat of 2900, which is much more appropriate for a level 8 monster. Both of DPE’s activated effects are hard once per turn, so having 2 or more DPEs is unnecessary. On a quick effect, you can destroy one card you control and any other card on the field; while you’ll usually be destroying your opponent’s cards, there’s nothing stopping you from destroying one of your own cards if necessary, like Artifact Scythe, and because DPE can destroy itself, this effect is almost always ready. This effect ties into DPE’s last effect, which activates in the graveyard if it’s destroyed by battle or card effect (IE, its own effect or the effect of Fusion Destiny), allowing you to special summon it during the next standby phase. Constant self-recursion makes DPE a colossal thorn in the side as it continuously revives itself and destroys your cards until you either banish it or negate its revival. All that is on top of the amazing engine that summons it– in comparison to Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, which was a high-risk engine in the TCG with relatively little payoff, DPE is a rather weaker monster with a low-risk engine that grants benefits. DPE’s splashability and continuous disruption make it a valuable part of any deck, and it’s reflected by its outstanding performance in the recent YCS, unsurprisingly making it Pojo’s number 1 card of 2021.

Advanced: 4.75/5
Art: 4.5/5 While the costume is a little silly, I love the flashier take on the original Phoenix Enforcer.

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