Looking forward to Legendary Collection 4?

This month, the next edition of Legendary Collection will be released. And no, it’s still not the desired 5D’s legendary Collection. Instead, this year will be all about Joey, in this "Joey’s World".

There have been a lot of comments about this release and honestly, I can’t blame people for it. Joey’s cards are far from impressive. I've been analyzing the cards he used and the related cards to his “archetypes” and there’s only a handful of interesting reprints that come to mind (and a possible Secret Rare variant of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon is at this point the only thing that would interest me).

What cards are included?

The ad said that the included cards will be cards from Joey, Mai, Marik/Yami Marik and Rex Raptor. So basically that means the cards that have a high chance of being included in this set are:

• All Red-Eyes related cards.
• A batch of random Joey cards (LOTS of warrior/fusion support and LOTS of vanilla’s).
• Harpie Cards (though I wonder if the cards from JOTL will be in here).
• Amazoness cards (remember? That second archetype that Mai played).
• Marik’ cards (his torture fiends, slimes, etc). Lava Golem is the most interesting of his cards.
• Rex Raptor Cards (lol, he played like 13 cards in the entire show).
• And hopefully some Bandit Keith/Weevil/Odion cards (though given the description, I doubt that).

This group of cards makes you want to buy this set, right?

No, me neither. So the question obviously rises: How the hell is Konami ever going to make this set interesting?

NEW cards!

One of the main selling points of this set is the World Premiere release of the Blue Flame Swordsman (finally), Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation, and Card of Last Will. And last weekend, their card effects have finally been revealed:

• Blue Flame Swordsman: Once per turn, during either player's Battle Phase: You can target 1 other Warrior-Type monster you control; this card loses exactly 600 ATK, and if it does, that monster gains 600 ATK. When this card you control is destroyed by your opponent's card (either by battle or by card effect) and sent to your Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 FIRE Warrior-Type monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target.
• Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation: If you control 3 or more "Harpie Lady" and/or "Harpie Lady Sisters": Target as many monsters your opponent controls as possible, up to the total number of "Harpie Lady" and "Harpie Lady Sisters" you control; destroy those targets, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the highest original ATK among those destroyed monsters. You cannot Special Summon monsters from the Main Deck or conduct your Battle Phase the turn you activate this card.
• Card of Last Will: When the ATK of a monster(s) you control becomes 0 by a card effect: Draw until you have 5 cards in your hand. (note: this card will not be legal to play in tournaments).

The new Flame Swordsman is thus a cool extra in Battlin' Boxers and in Fire Gemini Warriors (out with Valkyrian Knight, in with this one). The new Harpy Lady card is (obviously) for Harpies and has mixed reviews due to being unable to summon from the deck (I dunno, I don't play with Harpies and hardly faced them) and Card of Last will is just a fun card. Would be kind of broken in real life, huh.

Possible additions:

Next to these new card, I've been thinking about what Konami could add to make this set more appealing and came up with the following suggestions/thoughts/wishes:

• Monarch reprints: The monarchs were introduced in the first Generation, but were absent in the previous Legendary Collection. Since there will be more Monarch support in Shadow Specters, a reprint of all Monarch-cards may be interesting, don’t you think?
• Gemini reprints: Several of the Gemini monsters are related to cards Joey/Mai used (like Phoenix Gearfried and Dark Valkyrie). Supervise is a hard-to-get card and the Gemini’s get some support in Shadow Specters. Seems like a perfect fit to me.
• Ojama’s: Many people forget this, but Ojama’s are also part of the first Generation. Ojama’s are still quite popular as a troll deck and it’s been ages since their core cards got reprints. And since the Tanuki’s/Raccoon Rascals in Shadow Specters support Lv. 2 Beasts (Which Ojama’s are), this is the right time to reprint them.
• Spirits: And while we’re comparing this set to the new support in Shadow Specters, why not reprinting the old Spirit monsters? They get a few VERY good cards in Shadow Specters and a lot of Spirits are hard-to-get at this point. And a secret rare version of Tsukuyomi, Kinka-Byo or Yata-Garasu is always welcome.
• OCG promo prints: Harpie Dancer. Nuff said, right? No? Okay, then how about the chaos warriors from the (OCG) August V-Jump pack? I’m talking about the Gaia Knights, the new BLS etc. They’re heavily linked to the first generation and would certainly make this set more interesting.
• Some old cards get a first TCG print: Megazowler and Sword Arm of Dragon are old Rex Raptor Cards that never got a TCG print. So why not? Collectors will want them, right? And while we’re at it, Bracchio-Raidus is a Fusion card made of Rex Raptor Cards. Throw it in there, so that it’s scratched from the “OCG-only” list.
• And what else can Konami add to make it more interesting? My final suggestion is... Alternate artworks.

"Is it finally my turn to shine?"

Alt. Arts

There are many generation 1 cards that have alternate arts, but a lot of them never received a print in the TCG as of yet. Let me give you a list of them:

• Acid Trap Hole (OCG Premium Pack 5)
• Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (Asian Tournament Promo's 2001)
• Flame Swordsman (official Guide Starter Book 1999)
• Gilford the Lightning (Gameboy promo Duel Monsters 6)
• Celtic Guardian (Limited Edition Pack 2)
• Dark magician (Red one) (Premium Pack 4)
• Gaia the Fierce Knight (Limited Edition Pack 2)
• Gemini Elf (Asian Tournament Promo's 2001)
• Kunai with Chain (OCG Premium Pack 5)
• Kuriboh (Asian Tournament Promo's 2001)
• Launcher Spider (Limited Edition Pack 2)
• Panther Warrior (Limited Edition Pack 3)
• Pendulum Machine (Limited Edition Pack 2)
• Red-Eyes B. Dragon (Asian Tournament Promo's 2001) - yes, there' still a print we didn't get as of yet!
• Summoned Skull (Asian Tournament Promo's 2001)
• Thousand Dragon (Limited Edition Pack 2)
• Tiger Axe (Limited Edition Pack 2)
• Widespread Ruin (OCG Premium Pack 5)

Did you notice? Most of these cards are related to Joey, Yugi and Bandit Keith. While Red Dark Magician is unlikely to get a print, there are many others in here that would be well-received amongst fans.

"My name is FRANK!"

Afterword

So, a few world premiere cards, a few OCG promo’s, a few old OCG cards that get a first print, a few archetypes that get reprints and a batch of alternate art cards. I think that should make up for near 300 card pool, as the advertisement stated.

And with all cards mentioned above… this might make for a semi-interesting set, similar to Legendary Collection 3.

So, let’s see in the next few weeks what Konami is going to do with all this potential…

V out.