Featured Cards Spotlight (2021~)

Featured Cards Spotlight (2021~) is the list of the previous cards for each month of the year 2021 and onwards. They are all gathered at this page.

For featured cards of the previous years, check Archived/Featured Cards Spotlight (2012-2020).

Featured Card No. 46

The ArmoredWarOgre Rashou 鎧闘鬼ラショウ This year’s first review we are starting with The ArmoredWarOgre Rashou, a Purple Cost 4 Spirit that is limited to one copy per deck. For those who have played the game for a while, certainly you would know this card. Due to the recent dependence on Nexuses, some Nexus removals would be nice. As a Purple card, Rashou proves itself to be useful in many Purple decks, as the color itself never has a lot to deal with Nexuses. Rashou is one of the very few ones which can get rid of all opposing Nexuses at once, and is relatively cheap to be summoned compared to the others. Its effect is to increase the level cost of opposing Nexuses, meaning when originally a Nexus needs zero cores to maintain on the field, Rashou makes it require two cores to do so. As the player cannot immediately move cores to the Nexus, it will be depleted. Plus, Rashou’s effect targets all opposing Nexuses at once, so if the opponent is not prepared, it will be a board wipe. Even better, since the effect is a permanent effect, it activates immediately when Rashou is summoned onto the field, and does not get locked out by most other effects, making it a very reliable removal. And because it is a permanent effect, even if it cannot remove the Nexuses, it still forces the opponent to spend more cores on sustaining the board. Rashou also has another effect, which is a summon effect that mills four from your own deck to draw two cards. While for other colors stacking your own trash perhaps is not that useful, but for sure it is an ability wanted in Purple. The player is gaining both hand advantage and more choices for trash recycle. Like any other versatile cards, Rashou can be put in any deck, but usually limited to Purple decks. In terms of recent decks, most often it can be seen in Purple Primal. While the deck has The HellRouseKing Luciferd, which has a similar effect against Nexuses, it is simply too high cost, plus it is an attack effect, and there are many ways to stop Luciferd before it attacks. The most recent Purple deck, Izanagi & Izanami, can also make use of Rashou, as the deck itself does not have many choices in dealing with Nexuses. For this deck, the trash-stacking effect is also especially useful. With the next set being a collaboration set, there may be some interesting cards next. Do stay tuned! This card's page

Featured Card No. 47

Bloodshed Blade/Mibrock-Baragan-Origin 氷刃血解/ミブロック・バラガン・オリジン A card born with the silver spoon, today’s featured card is Bloodshed Blade, a White Rebirth Magic card released in BS55, and is one of the six cards with the Supremacy keyword. Being a defensive card, it immediately became another common card to be inserted into many decks for its versatility. Supremacy comes with different conditions to activate, and for Bloodshed Blade its condition is when the user takes a life, with the effect of bouncing an opposing Spirit or Ultimate to the hand. When that is done, by paying two costs, the user flips it to the B side, which becomes Mibrock-Baragan-Origin, with the effect to end the Attack Step upon being flipped. In addition, the Magic side also has a flash effect to prevent life damage for one battle. Currently in Japan, the card can be worth as much as 4000 yen! But when there are also other cards like Burst Wall and Zero's Barrier to end the Attack Step, how is Bloodshed Blade making such a big difference from them? First of all, let us examine its Supremacy effect, which is essentially bouncing an opposing Spirit or Ultimate for free. While bouncing to hand may seem insignificant, it is able to remove Spirits or Ultimates with an anti-end-step effect, something which other Magic such as Burst Wall cannot do alone. Assuming the user has enough cores to pay and maintain Mibrock on the board, this provides Bloodshed Blade more chances than the other Magic cards of the same kind to activate its end step effect. Recently, there are also fewer hand lock effects, so the immunity Burst Wall has is also not absolutely needed, giving Bloodshed Blade more consideration. And while the flash effect only prevents life damage for one battle, it can be useful against one punch decks. Bloodshed Blade provides the user more flexibility on defence. As Mibrock-Baragan-Origin, without much to say, the most basic advantage is gaining another body on board, but if it manages to stay on the field until the opposing Attack Step, you can also set another Burst and return an opposing Spirit or Ultimate without condition, with its effect. And since both actions are optional, there is not a risk of recoil. These effects can also activate without it attacking, so it is perfect for stalling. For both sides, being both in the Primal and Supreme Hero families can mean a lot of things. The most useful part for being in these families is that it can be retrieved by search effects in these family decks. And personally, I would say this feature is very important in the Supreme Hero deck, since right now there are not a lot of Magic cards which the search effects of the deck can get, and it has to rely on mainly the Lv2 effect of Dos-Monkey. Unlike Burst Wall, Bloodshed Blade is affected while in the trash, meaning it can also be recycled, which is perfect for decks like the Dark Artes or Yellow Primal in general. However, users with this card may have to take care with their core usage, as the Rebirth effect requires two cores to flip, and at least one more core to be put onto the Reborn Spirit, making the Magic pseudo three costs to use. A careful consideration is also needed if one’s hand has too many cards with Supremacy, as the keyword can only be used once per turn. And while the following situation is very rare, one may also take notice of their counter number, as if it goes over five, Bloodshed Blade cannot be flipped. Hand lock is a problem for it as well. This card's page

Featured Card No. 48

The IceBladePrincess Pulkheriya/The GiantIceAxePrincess Pulkheriya 氷刃姫 プリヘーリア/大氷斧の姫君 プリヘーリア This month’s featured card is yet another White Rebirth card, The IceBladePrincess Pulkheriya and its reborn form The GiantIceAxePrincess Pulkheriya. In the past few weeks, the Ice Princess deck has stayed as the top deck in meta, and I think it is only suitable for me to talk about it for a bit. There are many reasons why Ice Princess is the top deck right now, and Pulkheriya is definitely a huge factor. Naturally, Pulkheriya is in the Ice Princess family along with the Primal family. It is Cost 5 with three White reduction symbols, and can flip into a Cost 7 at Lv1 on attack. I will get into the effects later, because the aspects I just mentioned are more crucial to Pulkeriya’s contribution to the deck. Starting to receive proper support in BS54, the Ice Princess deck has some very high defence, with immunity against Spirits, Ultimates, and Nexuses; and it finishes the game through unblockable attacks and a few life burns. Being a generic White deck, it is supposed to be very slow, so although it has a high attack output, there is plenty of time for the opponent to react. However, this changed when BS55 came, along with Pulkheriya and a few more other Ice Princesses. Provided that the deck also uses The Ripped Millennial Snow, it creates a decent combo with Pulkheriya, with the possibility of dealing at least four damages at the opponent on the second turn even if you start the game first. Millennial Snow can boost a core in each of your Attack Steps, while Pulkheriya can do the same on attack, plus it can also refresh itself once, triggering the Rebirth of Millennial Snow and potentially summoning another Spirit for free from the deck. And even without Millennial Snow, Pulkheriya can still combo with another card, The MagicalIcePrincess Agafia. While as a Burst, Agafia has the condition “After your Life decreases”, but it also has another effect to trigger itself when your Cost 6 or more Ice Princess Spirit attacks. Pulkheriya, flipping into a Cost 7, can easily trigger that. Then Agafia provides full immunity for all your Ice Princesses for the turn, as well summoning another Ice Princess from the deck. These two combos are enough to speed up the deck to a great extent, especially since it can be done in turn two, the opponent often has barely gathered any resources for a comeback. So the deck can just knock the opponent down to two lives to pressurise them for the rest of the game, or even go for another all out attack next turn. Plus, there is a chance for Agafia to summon another big finisher from the deck. These all could not be done if Pulkheriya was not Cost 5 for an easy summon, and that if it did not flip into a Cost 6 or higher. Just to complete the information, Pulkeriya can also discard the opposing Burst on flip or attack, and if it cannot discard one, it returns an opposing Spirit to the bottom of the deck instead. Then its Lv2 effect also provides Heavy Armor: Red/Purple to all your Ice Princess Spirits. However, that is not the end of Pulkheriya’s career, as players also find it useful in another deck, one that is shaped through all kinds of generic White cards, and recently its main finisher is Freedom Gundam. The deck also uses No. 24 Triple Heavy, allowing Pulkheriya to be summoned at full reduction on turn two, then using her as the Advent base for Freedom Gundam, going for four lives in the second turn. If you start second and can brave the Revival version of The SkyLightSword Crown-Solar to Pulkheriya, you can even end the game right here. Beautiful girls are certainly dangerous... This card's page

Featured Card No. 49

The KamiumiBushin Onogoro 神産の武神オノゴロウ This month we are on a Green card (definitely not because I do not want to talk about a third White card), The KamiumiBushin Onogoro. The name “Onogoro” comes from Onogoro Island in Japan, which is said to be created by Izanagi and Izanami. Released just around two weeks ago, Onogoro is a Green Cost 5 Spirit with the families Pastwalker and Plant Spirit. It also has two effects: first one being able to summon itself from hand in one cost when the opponent reduces the owner’s life to three or less; the second one is an on summon effect, being able to heavy exhaust two opposing Spirits and Ultimates and give two cores from the Void to another “Yomi”/”Kamiumi”-named Spirit on the same Field. When it was first revealed, and I believe even right now, there are still players who think that Onogoro is not worthy of an X-Rare place, since it can do little by itself. As a veteran player, I disagree with that statement. It is true that by itself it can do little, but when looking at where it is used, the cards it relates to, one can see why Onogoro is sufficient to be as it is right now. Being an X-Rare does not mean it has to be a standalone card. To get into this, we have to analyse the deck which Onogoro is used, which is the Yomi/Kamiumi deck, or more commonly known as IzaIza, named after the main Grandwalker Nexus of the deck, The Grandwalkers Izanagi & Izanami. The deck is a spam-type deck, focusing on filling the board with Spirits and breaking through the opposing defence through sheer attacks (with a bit of life burn). Being partly Purple, it also gains more draw power and removal through depletion, two things which Green lacks. However, that is all about the offensive side. Defence wise, the deck really does not have many choices, mainly it is through repeatedly summoning Spirits from Trash to produce more blockers. Although there are other defence options such as The YomiSoldier YomotsuIkusa and Kamiumi's Fierce Pursuit, a lot of them either require quite some costs, or they need the presence of IzaIza to function. Of course, players can always put in the generic White defence, like Diamond Wall and Burst Wall, or if they can afford, Bloodshed Blade; but then there is the issue that cores may be stretched too far across the board that the players need to deplete their Spirits to use the cards, or the cards have taken another slot in the Trash which could have been a Spirit to summon for another attack. There are also other counters which go around these few defences specifically because of how common they are in the environment. Onogoro provides another kind of defence. It being a Spirit means it can avoid Magic negation. It also only needs two cores to be used, and it can immediately give those two cores back if there is another “Yomi”/“Kamiumi”-named Spirit. In the current meta, there are also very few “Armor”-named effects which block Green effects, let alone effects which avoid exhaustion, so being a Green card also has its benefits. Also, being Cost 5 means it is in the range of IzaIza’s Grand Skill, and when summoned by The KamiumiGreatRouseBeast Ooyashima it fulfills the condition for the life burn. Spam decks cannot have too many defence options. Its offence can already be overwhelming for the opponent to handle, so if it also had strong defence, there would be no place for the opponent to breathe, which can create a really bad meta. So, as a simple card, Onogoro is sufficient as defence for the IzaIza deck, especially since it can also be an offensive option. There are many issues which may cause a deck to have its weakness, and in IzaIza’s case, while it is true that it needs a bit more defence, its main problem is still relying too much on IzaIza. So if the player cannot draw IzaIza, the deck can easily brick. This is also the main problem why IzaIza is seen less in the meta. Obviously, Onogoro alone cannot solve that problem, but hopefully this review is enough to explain why it is still important for the deck. This card's page

Featured Card No. 50

The SpacePirateShip BoneShark/The SpacePirateShip BoneShark -Assault Mode- 宇宙海賊船ボーンシャーク号/宇宙海賊船ボーンシャーク号 -襲撃形態- Sorry for the late review, assignments were a bit too much. This May’s review is on the Rebirth card The SpacePirateShip BoneShark, with the B side named The SpacePirateShip BoneShark -Assault Mode-. It is a Blue Cost 4 Nexus which can block (When Summoned) effects of Spirits and Ultimates, as well as Core Charge of Cost 3 or less Grandwalker Nexuses. On the other side, it gives one-turn immunity to Purple/Blue “Astroblazer” family Spirits, refreshes a “Beast Head” family Spirit, and allows the player to summon more from hand. Those who are experienced may have already noticed the card’s true use, which is the summon lock part. There are many Blue Nexuses which can do that in the game history, from locking summon effects of Spirits, Braves, and Ultimates to locking deploy effects of Nexuses. However, Boneshark is the first to lock the Core Charge of Grandwalker Nexuses, making a great contribution to the anti-Grandwalker meta. The target range is also very large, hitting 93% of all Grandwalker Nexuses currently released. Some Grandwalker Nexuses become completely useless when this Nexus hits the board, with the most suitable example being The GuideGirl Vina, which does not even have a symbol for reductions. Players see the potential of Boneshark and start putting it into any deck that can be useful. Besides the Purple/Blue Astroblazer deck, which Boneshark is supposed to be in, it is mostly used in the Green Ramp deck (why am I not surprised). Boneshark, along with the Revival version of Swallow Tail, solidify a variant of Green Ramp, which I would call it Green/Blue Ramp (nice name I know). While Boneshark is certainly effective with its presence, in this Nexus-hate meta, it still faces a lot of easy Nexus removals, giving opponents chances to activate their summon effects and Core Charge. This is where Swallow Tail comes into play. Its Mirage effect is exactly the same as Boneshark’s, and being a Mirage it is unremovable for the opponent. While their effects overlap, having six cards of the same effect still means a higher chance of drawing into one of them early. Each card can also cover each other’s weakness, as the Mirage effect of Swallow Tail becomes useless when the user’s life is at two or less, or it may be swapped out with another Mirage. In order to fully utilize these two cards, the deck leans towards using more Blue cards. The DoomKnightLord Ragna-Rock, which is supposed to be a staple of Green Ramp, is also removed in some lists due to the summon lock, and instead is replaced by a quicker and easier core booster The AntKing Ant-Res-LostSword. More Blue symbols also means more reductions for Imperialdramon Paladin Mode. That is Boneshark’s utility in the current meta. Unfortunately Purple/Blue Astroblazers do not have the best support, so it is rare to see them played in tournaments. Just to briefly explain more, in this deck Boneshark mostly flips to the B side only when The SpacePirate Captain-Sharcook attacks, but since it has no life burn effects, Boneshark has to wait till Sharcook hits the opposing life via attack to flip, meaning Sharcook is still vulnerable during its first attack. Nonetheless, once Sharcook successfully gets through that, Boneshark can then flip and provide immunity for the rest of the turn, and also refresh Sharcook for another attack, which often is enough for game. Furthermore, the player can always summon another powerful Spirit with Boneshark’s Lv2 effect if they can. This card's page