The New Black Luster Soldier and other new chaos cards

Once every few months, V-Jump publishes a pack of 5 new cards. Last pack was last December, so it’s time for a new pack! The V-Jump of August (which will contain the new F&L list, btw) will contain the next V-jump promo cards. And they’re all Chaos-related!

The new BLS, it’s BS

The main card everybody was looking forward to, is the new BLS: Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Twilight. And look at it, the art is awesome!

But then look at that effect:

Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by having an equal number of LIGHT and DARK monsters in your Graveyard and banishing all monsters of 1 of those Attributes from your Graveyard, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. While face-up on the field, this card is also LIGHT-Attribute. When this card is Special Summoned: You can activate 1 of these effects, depending on the Attribute of the monster(s) banished for its Special Summon. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase during the turn you activate this effect. ● LIGHT: Banish 1 monster on the field, face-up. ● DARK: Banish 1 random card from your opponent's hand, face-down, until your opponent's End Phase.

This basically means that BLS will ONLY have an effect when it’s summoned by this condition (and only then). If you summon it with (for example) Monster Reborn, it will have no effect (booh!). Not only that, but having an equal number of Light and dark monsters makes it kind of annoying to summon, not to mention the fact that you have to banish all LIGHT or DARK monsters from your grave (booh!). It also has that condition that it’s both LIGHT and DARK (okay, that’s kind of normal, but easy to counter with Gozen Match). Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention that you have to skip your battle phase the turn you actually DO use the effect (BOOH!).

Tl;dr? IT SUCKS!

Light and Dark Gaia Knight

Just like BLS, Gaia the Fierce Knight has been re-used in many different cards (Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight (effect), Gaia the Dragon Champion (fusion), Gaia Kight the Force of Earth (synchro), Gaia Drake the Universal Force (synchro fusion), Gaia Dragon the Thunder Charger (XYZ) and now thus the Light and Dark Chaos monsters. Here comes Gaia, Knight of the Dark Nights and Gaia, Knight of the Bright Nights (oooh, look at the word play). (Wikia says Polar Nights and White Nights, but TCG print will determine the TCG name)

Both have similar effects, with opposing attributes. You can use both effects once per turn:

• Tribute one other DARK/LIGHT monster, to add 1 Lv. 4 LIGHT/DARK (resp.) warrior from your deck to your hand and then send 1 card from your hand to the grave.
• Banish 1 LIGHT/DARK monster from your grave to either boost your monster’s attack or lower your opponent’s monster attack.

These monsters are searchers and provide sufficient imagination for chaos warrior decks (though seriously, why the “-1” on their effect?). The first things that come to mind are Destiny HERO’s and Light Beat Warriors or Noble Knights.

New Primal Seed and new Exchange of the Spirit

This whole pack reeks of nostalgia. The provided spell card (Chaotic Seed) is a wink to Primal Seed, while the trap, Exchange of Dawn and Dusk (or First Light and twilight, depending on the translation) is a nod to the long-time forbidden card: Exchange of the Spirit.

The spell goes as follows: If you control a Light and Dark monster (or a monster that has both attributes), you can add 1 banished LIGHT or DARK warrior to your hand. They added the once per turn clause to prevent abuse (yeah, that’s the sole reason why Primal Seed is still limited in the first place).

The trap basically reads: Dump 1 LIGHT/DARK warrior from your hand to the grave to add 1 warrior of the opposing attribute and the same level from your deck to your hand. These two cards bring stability to the Chaos warrior deck. It ensures you have that right DARK/LIGHT warrior (Armageddon Knight, Dark/Light Grepher, etc), and allows you to recycle banished warriors, like D-HERO Malicious.

So how can you use these cards?

Well, its cards like these that give the opportunity to mix, remix and experiment! You can use these cards and…:

• Use them in a D.D. deck. Warrior lady is Light, Survivor is Dark. And these cards smell like pure chaos (hint: Chaos Zone).
• Mix them with Destiny HERO’s and Light Warriors like Neos Alius, Photon Thrasher and Noble Knight Gawayn. Destiny Draw remains a good engine.
• Mix Constellars with Destiny HERO: Pollux is a Light Lv. 4 warrior, Constellar Alrescha is a Lv. 6 LIGHT warrior. Diamond Dude is a Dark Lv. 4; Malicious is Lv. 6.
• Mix Lightrays with Dark Warriors. Lightray Gearfried is hard to get on the field, but once it’s there, it’s a boss!
• Remix Chaos Ninja Dragons. Remember the variant of Chaos Dragons that uses Ninja’s? Time to upgrade them with these cards, to easily search Golden Ninja and Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo. It adds a much-needed consistency to this deck.
• And you can probably think of other combinations I didn’t even think of yet.

Since I love Chaos decks, so I guess it’s time to experiment! Let’s hope the September F&L list isn’t too hard on the Chaos archetype (read as: let’s hope this B(L)S doesn’t cause the good BLS to become forbidden). And then let’s hope these cards (and Collapserpent + Wyburstar) gain a TCG-print soon.

That’s it for now, V out.

PS: Note: these are OCG-names and translated by fans. Names may change upon release in TCG.

PPS: Rest of Battle Pack 2 is now revealed as well. No further surprises noticed.

The revelations so far of Legendary Collection

Some people in Europe got their hands on Legendary Collection 3 already. i'm going to get mine tomorrow (at least if the shopkeeper keeps his word :-P).

So far, the news I'm seeing from random pics & Pojo is mixed. Some cards+rarity are great, other cards give me a "WHY THE HELL" feeling. Let's give some examples:

• Kycoo the Gost Destroyer is secret rare (yay)
• Machina Soldier is secret rare (wut?)
• BLS-EOTB has problem solving card text (yay) and is secret rare (yay?)
• Commander Covington is Secret rare (seriously, what?)
• Foil staple spells & traps, like Dark Hole, Card Destruction, Solemn Judgment, Mirror Force,...)
• Random foil spell or trap (Exchange, Horn of Heaven, Swords of Concealing Light, Double Spell,...)
• Breaker Ultra Rare (yay)
• Vanilla Ultra Rares. I've heard people were looking forward to an Ultra Silver Fang & a reprint of the most expensive vanilla ever (Kanan the Swordsmistress), but the amount of Ultra vanilla's is way too high in my opinion.
• Common and PSCT LV monsters, like Horus, Silent Magician and Armed Dragon (yay)
• Common reprints of Dark Grepher, Solemn warning, Gold Sarcophagus, Soul Taker,...)
• Reprints of cards nobody cares about and have nothing to do with the original series (seriously, Earth Chant? Goblin Fan? Stray lambs?)

All in all, I see very good things, mixed with several crap cards, like the previous Legendary Collection.

So, on the end of thursday (or friday morning, I dunno yet), I'll give you an update of what I got

Until then, V out.

"Hey! Now my text is easier to get!
Now if only this new card was easy to get..."

Edit: I made screenshots of what's been revealed so far. (screens are taken from the Yu-Gi-Oh memes page on facebook, I did not make the list).

Using Monster Reborn (and other revival cards)

After frequently running into people on DuelingNetwork who have issues with Monster Reborn (and other revival cards), I decided to write an article about the card.

About Monster Reborn

Most of you know how Monster Reborn works (I hope). You target 1 monster card in either player’s graveyard and (unless negated or countered) you can special summon the target (either in attack or defense).

But what several people have issues with, is what targets you can pick and what targets you cannot.

Legal targets

The following targets are perfectly legal:

• Any normal monster (no matter what level).
• Any effect monster without summoning conditions (no matter what level).
• Any Lv. 5 or higher effect monster without summoning conditions.
• Any effect monster with multiple summoning conditions. This includes normal or tribute summons (Cyber Dragon, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Lightpulsar Dragon, etc…).
• Any Synchro or XYZ monster that was summoned correctly & successfully.
• And a few others, which I’ll describe in detail…

Other legal targets – Semi nomi monsters that were summoned correctly

Semi-nomi? That stands for “Special Summon only monsters”. Those monsters have the following effect:

• Pre-problem solving card text: this card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned etc…
• Post-problem solving card text: Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Must first be Special Summoned etc...

The monsters that have either of these card lines can only be special summoned by the description showed in their text (like how you banish 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK attribute for Chaos Sorcerer) and do NOT have any restriction on further summons (they do NOT have “and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways”).

So, if the monster was summoned successfully and sent to the grave or banished area afterwards (yes, even when banished from the game), you can special summon that monster afterwards.

Which monsters fall under this category? Check the following list: List of special summon only monsters.

Note: Ritual monsters are the perfect example of semi-nomi monsters.

Yes, Yes and No. Only Lighray Sorcerer cannot be revived after a correct summon.

Illegal targets 1 – Cannot be special summoned (by other ways)

So which targets can you NOT pick? Well, most of the times, it’s said in the card text.

Does your card have one of the following lines?

• Cannot be special summoned.
• Cannot be special summoned from the grave.
• Must be special summoned by X and cannot be special summoned by other ways (a.k.a. nomi monsters).
• Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways (like most HERO fusion monsters).

Then you CANNOT target it for monster Reborn. Easy, no?

No, no and no. Sucks to be you guys. None of you can be revived.

Illegal targets 2 – God says NO!

Did your opponent use Solemn Warning, Solemn Judgment or another card effect that negates your special summon? Then you cannot revive the following targets:

• Cards from the extra deck (fusions, xyz, synchro’s)
• Semi-nomi monsters (see Other legal targets)
• Cards mentioned in “Illegal targets 1”

Illegal targets 3 - (Specific) cards that were sent to the grave

Monsters can be sent/discarded to the graveyard from either the deck, hand or even from the extra deck (Gale Dogra, Dragunity Knight Trident,…).

The monsters described in "Illegal Targets 2" cannot be revived if they were sent/discarded to the graveyard.

"I just sent your Zenmaity to the grave.
U mad bro?"

Illegal targets 4 – Monsters summoned in the wrong way

You think you can't summon monsters in a wrong way? In some cases, you actually can.

There are certain cards out there that allow you to summon a monster from the extra deck without meeting the right requirements (a fusion summon, xyz summon or synchro summon).

However, since you did not meet the right requirements, you cannot target them for Monster Reborn (or other revival cards).

These cards effects are the following:

• Starlight Road (Stardust Dragon)
• Shooting Quasar Dragon (Shooting Star Dragon)
• Miracle Contact (only applies on Elemental HERO Neos Knight)
• Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor (Blackwing synchro’s)
• Psychic Feel Zone (psychic synchro’s)
• Bahamut Shark (Rank 3 or lower water attribute XYZ)
• The Hex-Sealed Fusions (Earth/Dark/Light Fusions)
• Synchro Change
• Summoner of Illusions
• Super Roboyarou / Super Robolady (their effect to summon the other one)
• Metamorphosis (Traditional only)
• Cyber-Stein (Traditional only)
• Magical Scientist (Traditional only)
• Temple of the Kings (Traditional only)

Note: Keep an eye on the monsters summoned through these card effects, because it’s easy to forget how they were summoned when they’re sent to the grave.

New & upcoming XYZ! Beware his effect!

Legal or illegal targets?: Fusion monsters

Fusion monsters have been around since the beginning and have appeared in many forms.

Depending on what fusion monster you get on the field (successfully), you might or might not be able to bring it back to life afterwards:

Fusion type	Yes/No	Why (not)?
Oldschool Fusions	YES	If the summon condition just reads: Monster A + Monster B, then there’s no reason why you could not bring it back. Even if the card says that a fusion summon can only be done with the mentioned Fusion Material Monsters, that doesn’t stop a revival afterwards.
Fusions with the line “This monster can only be Special Summoned by Fusion Summon” (with no further conditions)	YES!	This is pre-problem solving card text and will be corrected in a reprint as “Must first be Fusion summoned”. The new text is already visible on the Gem-Knight Fusions.
Fusion monsters with the line “cannot be Special Summoned by other ways	NO!	The text says so itself. The HERO fusions fall under this category.
Neos TAG fusions	YES!	The ONLY exception on the Elemental HERO’s are the Neos “Tag” fusions, whose fusion materials are returned to the deck instead of the graveyard. They do not have the restriction the “normal” E-Hero Fusions have.
Gladiator Beast Tag Fusions	YES!	Same reason as with the Neos Tag fusions.
Armityle the Chaos Phantom	YES!	After being correctly summoned, he’s free to bring back anytime.
Chimeratech Fortress Dragon	YES!	Though he’s going to be useless, since his effect only works when fusion summoned.
The VWXYZ fusions	YES!	All VWXYZ monster are free to return, except XYZ Dragon Cannon. The last one has the specific line "This card cannot be special summoned from the graveyard".
Incorrect fusion summons	NO!	See “Illegal targets 4” for explanation.

Final notes

A: I tried to be as complete as possible. If I missed anything (or interpreted something wrong), please let me know and I’ll correct it.

B: Black Luster Soldier – EOTB may get a reprint in Legendary collection 3 with the problem solving card text (god, let’s hope so). Let’s hope the issues on reviving him are buried with that reprint.

C: This text is written from the point of view of Monster Reborn. This also applies to other revival cards, whether or not they can be used in advanced format (Call of the Haunted, Premature Burial,…).

Forgive me for the long post, but I wanted a complete guide, so a long explanation is the automatic result of this. I hope it helps you out.

Until next time, V out.

The Forbidden & Limited List of the People - September 2012

I was quite pleased when I finished the requests of the hundreth person on my list. My list is finished. Well, not really; I could've continued forever, but I have to stop somewhere.

I've searched every Yu-Gi-Oh! blog I know of (and many more I never even heard of), I've splashed myself trough dozens of Yugitubers, in search of banlist predictions, wishlists, etc... and I've searched through lists on forums like TCGplayer, Duelingnetwork and Pojo.

And thus, this is the list of the people. This is what you want to happen.

Banlist of the people

• Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning: Forbidden (with Primal seed unlimited, obviously)
• Future Fusion: Forbidden
• Monster Reborn: Forbidden
• Wind-up Hunter: Forbidden
• Dark Magician of Chaos: Limited
• Inzektor Dragonfly: Limited
• Inzektor Hornet: Limited
• Mystical Space Typhoon: limited
• Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: Limited
• Rekindling: Limited
• Ultimate Offering: Limited
• Wind-up Carrier Zenmaighty: Limited
• Rescue Rabbit: Semi-Limited
• Tour Guide from the Underworld: Semi-Limited
• Destiny Draw: Unlimited
• Marshmallon: Unlimited
• Spore: Unlimited

How was this list created?

Every card on this list has been named by 30% or more of the people whose list I've checked.

Things to take into account are:

• This is not my personal list. My personal oppinion is 1% of this list. So don't come nagging my choices are bad, because this list is the result of YOUR choices.
• Nearly everyone voted on at least 1 inzektor card. Centipede was another name mentioned frequently, but didn't have enough votes to be on this list (22%). Dragonfly (62% of the votes) and Hornet (31%) have been mentioned the most
• The cards most people want gone are: Future Fusion (75% of the people), Wind-up Hunter (59%) and Monster Reborn (58%). BLS gets an honorable (lol) fourth place of 44%, meaning that more than 50% of you people don't want or think this guy will get hit (surprised me, honestly).
• The two cards that people want off the forbidden list are Spore (40%) and Dark Magician of Chaos (35%). Other mentioned cards (like Royal oppression or Magician of Faith) didn't even get 20% of votes, so they're not on the list.
• While about 40% of you agree that Blackwings have been hit too hard, the card to return to 2 ends up being a point of discussion. Some of you want Gale back, others want Kalut and a few others want Black Whirlwind.

I'll upload the list later on, so it can be verified by everyone.

Until then, V out