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Pojo's Yu-Gi-Oh Card of the Day

Vampire Dragon
#EXVC-EN081 

When this Tribute Summoned card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can add 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your Deck to your hand.

Card Ratings
Traditional: 2.00
Advanced: 3.00 

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 is average. 5 is the highest rating.


Date Reviewed - June 6, 2011

Back to the main COTD Page

 

Dark Paladin
Monday

Vampire Dragon opens our week, a monster who looks sort of like Arbok from Pokemon, Having wings doesn't make you a Dragon, especially since this is clearly a serpent, but I digress. We have a Level 5 monster with 2400 attack, which is normal. This card is also Dark, a Zombie, and has 0 defense, also fairly normal things for a Zombie. So, when Vampire Dragon goes to the Graveyard, after being tributed, you can add a Level 4 or lower monster from your Deck to your Hand. It's not a bad effect but it stinks you have to tribute this guy just to get it. Zombies can actually likely make use out of it, but I don't think it gets play elsewhere.

Ratings:

3/5
Art: 4/5

TENKOS777
(David Post)

Vampire Dragon
 
Traditional: 3
Advanced: 3
 
Vampire Dragon....looks pretty dam boring to me. 5 star dark zombie with 2400 atk and no defense. When said tributed summoned monster is sent from field to grave you can add one level four or lower monster  from your deck to your hand. Effects not bad but not amazing. He can't really be abused since you have to waste your normal summon. However, he does have the potential to break even...which is alright. In a zombie deck you could tribute goblin zombie and just net more and more cards but...wouldn't you rather sac for caius. Wouldn't you want to sack for caius and remove this ...eyeball dragon thing instead. I just don't see a very viable deck to make this card amazing. Even as tech its just...slow and meh. Still, decent.

hitman

Vampire Dragon is the latest attempt by Konami to make Tribute Summoning worth it.  Is it successful?  Let's find out.
 
The effect is simple: if you tribute summon it and it goes to the graveyard, you can search your deck for a LV4 or lower monster, in essance, replacing the tributed monster.  That's a pretty interesting effect, as the primary flaw with tribute monsters is that once the opponent gets rid of it, they have essentially gotten rid of two cards (The tributed monster, and the tribute monster).  That has led to the use of Monarchs, or cards like them, that give some kind of positive effect the moment they are tribute summoned,  Vampire Dragon provides a positive effect, but it is delayed.  So which is better, Vampire Dragon, or Caius - the default randomly splashed-in tribute monster?
 
Well, like so many cases in Yu-Gi-Oh, it depends on what kind of deck you are playing.  In most cases, Caius will be better.  But, if you have enough powerful LV4 or lower monsters in your deck, give Vampire Dragon a try.  Take Zombies for example - Say you tribute Goblin Zombie for Vampire Dragon.  Goblin Zombie will get you Zombie Master.  Your opponent gets rid of Vampire Dragon triggering its effect, and you grab Mezuki or Plaguespreader.  Now you have the pieces to go Zombie Master, pitch Plague get Goblin Zombie, stack into Plague, synchro Brionac, search Mezuki with GZ, pitch Mezuki with Brionac, remove Mezuki get Vampire Dragon, swing for 2400+2300+1800.  Of course you're not going to get that ideal play every game, but in a deck like Zombies that can always be "One card away from exploding", Vampire Dragon can help you get that one card while pressuring the opponent with a solid 2400 beater.
 
Now for the bad points.  First of all, it can miss the timing.  Probably won't be an issue, but if you summon Vampire Dragon, and the opponent responds to the summon with MST, then activates Torrential Tribute, you're not searching.  Secondly, it's graveyard reliant.  If it was worded like Reborn Tengu, it'd be amazing.  But if Vampire Dragon falls prey to a Caius, Bottomless Trap Hole, or Dimensional Prison, you're out of luck.  Also, Solemn Warning / Solemn Judgment prevents the monster from being summoned, so no luck there either.  Finally - ***DISCLAIMER, NOT 100% SURE HERE, JUST USING PREVIOUS RULINGS AS A BASIS*** - if the opponent Book of Moons it, it will "forget" that it was tribute summoned.
 
It's worth trying out, but don't think of it as a tribute monster Sangan.
 
Traditional: 1/5
Advanced: 3.5/5 - In Zombies


Mark
Howard
Vampire Dragon
 
Today's card is an attempt to revive generic Tribute monsters, but it still fails due to miserable card design. It comes with a terrific search effect, but it has optional timing. This means the Dragon falls victim to one of YuGiOh's more disgraceful and senseless mechanics, Missing the Timing. Because it's an optional effect, it can't be activated if Vampire Dragon is used for any kind of summon, or is taken off the field by a multi-part effect like Soul Taker.
 
This is the reason why Reborn Tengu is good and Peten the Dark Clown is terrible, and Vampire Dragon is no Reborn Tengu.
 
2/5
Art: It's some one-eyed skinny dragon with... these arms... things.
Fun Fact: Steelswarm Roach is going to be the next card to beat.
Tomorrow: The only good character from Jimmy Neutron.

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