Today’s Card of the Day is one ferocious card that can seemingly come out of nowhere to devastate your opponent or possibly win the game the turn you play him; I’m referring to Bolt-Tail Dragon.

Bolt-Tail Dragon is a Level 8 Armored Dragon boasting a respectable 7,000 Power. He is a Double Breaker with Fast Attack, which allows him to attack on the turn he enters the battle zone.

Pretty straightforward card honestly. Paying 8 mana to bring out a 7,000 power attacker isn’t that intriguing. Give him Double Breaker... eh, he’s a little more playable. Why don’t we give him Fast Attack? Hell Yeah! That is one of the only reasons people play this card or should play this card; He can end games very quickly. He’s actually very similar to another card in the Drakon family, Gilaflame. With Gilaflame you pay 4 mana with 5,000 power and can break one shield while having to return to the hand at the end of the turn; with Bolt-Tail, you get 2,000 more power, a level that isn’t easily dealt with by shield blasts, you can break an additional shield, and your creature stays on the field.

I run a few of these in my deck to add a little surprise to the game or when I need to push for the win. It also can deal with most non-evolution creatures when they’re swinging away at your shields during their previous turn. Also, the only cards that will commonly kill this guy are: Terror Pit, Root Trap, and some other huge creature, most likely an evolution creature.

The major downside to this card is that it costs 8 mana to bring him out. If you draw him early game, odds are he’s destined to go for a dip in the mana pool... so if you plan on running him in a deck other than specifically the Fire Civilization, I would consider 2-3 copies, that way you can charge one of him and later in the game, you can actually summon him. I tend to use this strategy along with Crimson Wyvern (who basically banishes all blockers on your opponents side of the battle zone); If I see that my opponent isn’t using a lot of blockers, I’ll charge him instead of Bolt-Tail or vice-versa. It allows for more versatility if you think of it as simply a resource that you can add to your mana pool or a key component to a winning strategy.

I would recommend that anyone who is “teching” the Fire Civilization into their deck, that they should pick this card as one of those choices. In a mono fire deck, I would expect this to be ran regardless, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. Bolt-Tail is simple and sweet but really doesn’t shine until late game.

Constructed: 3.25/5.00 (A great card that can potentially win you the game the turn you play him but will often take a while to bring him out.)

Limited: 3.50/5.00 (A double breaker that can attack the turn he hits the field is generally a good thing but still takes a while to set up.)

Check back tomorrow when we review a card that doesn’t mind sharing his immense power with others; see ya then!

Hello again! AHShadow here with another Kaijudo COTD! Today’s card is one of the best finishers we have in the game: Bolt-Tail Dragon! 

Bolt-Tail Dragon is a level 8 creature of the fire civilisation and is from the Armored Dragon race! He has an attack power of 7000 and possesses two abilities:
Fast Attack (This creature can attack on the turn it enters the battle zone.)
Double Breaker (This creature breaks 2 shields.) 

Advantages:
Bolt-Tail Dragon’s first ability, Fast Attack, is really what makes him one of the most reliable finishers in the game. Being able to attack on the turn it is summoned is so good, since it doesn’t give time to the opponent to react to it. You can just drop this dragon and start wreaking havoc RIGHT AWAY! Not only does this dragon have the ability of attacking right away, it also carries a gigantic 7000 power! This is usually enough to run over most of the commonly used finishers such as Dark Scaradorable and Tatsurion, the Unchained. The dragon is also able to get over highly played evolution monsters such as Emperor Neuron and Hydra Medusa, while being able to trade with Bronze-Arm Sabertooth. Even though Bolt-Tail is weaker than most of the bigger evolution monsters, such as Flamespike Tatsurion, he can make up for it with consistency. Consistency is always a good thing, since unlike evolutions, you only need to have the required mana to play this card and that’s it. You don’t need to wait for an evo-bait to play your big monster, you can just play it by itself and that’s what makes Bolt-Tail Dragon really appealing! Lastly, I want to say that what really makes Bolt-Tail Dragon a very good finisher is the pairing of both of his abilities. Being able to attack on the turn it is summoned is already very good, but what makes Bolt-Tail better than say, Gilaflame, the Assaulter, is that he is also able to break TWO shields on the turn he is summoned! This means that if you already have one creature on the field, you have the possibility of breaking three shields right away and the only thing that can stop you is your opponent’s blockers and his/her shield blasts! 

Disadvantages:
Bolt-Tail Dragon’s biggest weakness is the fact that he requires eight mana to be played. This can be pretty difficult to achieve, especially for decks that are not running any mana ramp! This means that Bolt-Tail either has a great chance of sitting in your hand looking pretty (or ugly for some), or you can be eager to send it to the mana zone if you draw him early on in the duel! Another disadvantage Bolt-Tail has is that some evolution creatures, such as Flamespike Tatsurion (mentioned above), Tekamora, the Wretched, Evo-Fury Tatsurion and Bronze-Arm Sabertooth all have equal or more power than Bolt-Tail Dragon and can all be summoned at least one turn before Bolt-Tail can. This means that you would need to get rid of those monsters first, before even getting to play your big finisher! 

Summary:
To sum it up, I definitely think that Bolt-Tail Dragon has his place among the top finishers in the game and will probably stay there for quite a while! I think Bolt-Tail really shines in decks that run nature, so you can ramp up to eight mana earlier in the duel with cards such as Reap and Sow and Razorhide! You can also play Gigahorn Charger so that you can search the dragon when you need to! For those that have been scared about his big mana cost, I definitely recommend trying him in your deck and see how well he does! 

Ratings: 

Constructed: 4.5/5
Limited: 4.5/5

Bolt-Tail Dragon

Civilization - Fire

Level - 8

Power - 7000 {double breaker}

Fast Attack (This creature can attack on the turn it enters the battle zone.)

Kaijudo to use magic parlance is a game played at sorcery speed, in other words we do everything during the main phase.

That means not only does fast attack let us get an extra attack out of a creature, it means we get to dodge under removal for our creatures first attack. In effect it's an entire the battle zone ability that reads "Smash your opponents face".

That makes bolt-tail dragon very good, as not only does he have fast attack but double breaker as well, he can easily smash a creature or two of your opponents shields, even at 8 mana that's a bargain.

However bolt-tail isn't what he used to be, where once he reigned supreme as the only real choice for quick face smashing, now evos have stolen much of his thunder, does bolt-tail still stack up?

Sure. Unlike evos he doesn't eat an evo bait, he can go into any deck running fire regardless of races, and bolt-tail is still an amazing top deck in the late game very much unlike the evos, the only down side compared to the new evos is that he is a late game card where they can be played quickly.

3/5

Hello, Kaijudo duelists! This is Gordon Hunt, better known as Gorby, bringing you my very first Card of the Day review! Some of you may already know me from EarthP0w3R and CVH’s YouTube channels or around the forums here on Pojo, but I’m here today in a different capacity. I’m going to strive to give you honest, accurate, and useful assessments of Kaijudo cards in the current meta and how you can apply these cards to your own gameplay! So, without further adieu, let’s go ahead and dive right in!

Today’s Card of the Day is one of my personal favorites, none other than Bolt-Tail Dragon! Let’s take a look at its stats, shall we?

Name: Bolt-Tail Dragon
Civilization: Fire
Race: Armored Dragon
Cost: 8
Power: 7000
Abilities: Fast Attack, Double Breaker

Bolt-Tail Dragon was initially released in Kaijudo’s Dojo Edition (the sort-of “sneak preview” pack before 3RIS came out) and then re-released in Rise of the Duel Masters, and it has been a popular choice as a finisher ever since. A formidable card, this Armored Dragon brings the hurt as soon as it hits board thanks to its Fast Attack ability. This is what makes this card so dangerous, and how you’re going to get the most out of it.

Its ability to break two of your opponent’s shields almost as soon as this card hits board puts a lot of pressure on your opponent, and if they can’t deal with it within one or two turns, it can lead to some very swift victories. 7000 power is nothing to shake a stick at, either, dealing with some of the most threatening cards available right now, such as Dark Scaradorable, King Neptas, Emperor Neuron, and Tatsurion the Unchained; as well as trading in battle with Bronze-Arm Sabertooth. Additionally, its Fast Attack leaves it tapped at the end of the turn it’s summoned (assuming you attacked with it, and let’s be honest, there are only a handful of situations where that is the correct play), removing its vulnerability to certain removal cards such as Death Smoke and Razorkinder.

This card sees play most commonly in aggressive (“aggro,” as it is commonly called among players) decks, often paired with Nature’s mana acceleration abilities in order to ensure that this card can come into play and start putting on the pressure as fast as possible. Coming down a few turns early thanks to Nature’s mana acceleration has the added bonus of dodging a lot of commonly-played removal that can deal with this card, such as Terror Pit or Root Trap; leaving Hydra Medusa, Halon, Paragon of Light, and Bronze-Arm Sabertooth as the only real answers to this card in the early phases of the game before the aforementioned removal becomes live. The most common (and, arguably, most effective) aggro strategy that currently includes this card centers around pairing this card with Bonze-Arm Sabertooth for a crazy progression of continued aggression. Sabertooth comes down as early as turn 4, breaking 2 shields when it attacks and going to mana when it is destroyed. This sets up perfectly for Bolt-Tail to keep bringing the pain just a turn or two later, and when used in tandem, these two cards can create a very dire situation for your opponent that can be very difficult to come back from.

But, Bolt-Tail isn’t just limited to aggro decks. It can be a star player in control (usually WDF or WDFN), batting cleanup after all of your smaller creatures have pecked away at your opponent’s shields and then coming in for the kill. Alternatively, it can be used as a late-game tempo switch when your opponent’s removal options are limited, telling your opponent that if he or she doesn’t have a way to deal with this soon, he or she will lose.

However, Bolt-Tail has lost some of its former luster. The post-Evo Fury Kaijudo meta is a very aggressive one, dominated by powerful evolution creatures. You might be inclined to think that an aggressive meta is favorable for Bolt-Tail, but herein lies the problem: the most commonly played evolutions (Emperor Neuron, Hydra Medusa, Bronze-Arm Sabertooth, Flamespike Tatsurion and Halon, Paragon of Light come to mind readily) all come down before Bolt-Tail does, doing a good deal of damage well before Bolt-Tail can. This means that without Nature playing back-up, Bolt-Tail can sometimes struggle to get on the board in time and wreak havoc like it used to.

IN REVIEW
Rating (constructed): 3/5 – Bolt-Tail is still a very capable and threatening card, and definitely one worth considering when building your decks, both as a card to use and a card to counter. But, without the proper support from Nature in particular, it is generally outclassed by the evolution creatures available post-Evo Fury.