TSHD Part 8: Saberfish

I sure hope no one thinks that the title is a good Deck idea -_-

We still have a few TCG exclusives to review. Most of them are X-Saber support, with a couple of other intereasting Cards.

The first TCG exclusive is the Sneak Preview promo Card, XX-Saber Boggart Knight:

When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "X-Saber" monster from your hand. This card cannot be used as a Synchro Material Monster, except for the Synchro Summon of a "X-Saber" monster.

Boggart Knight's first line is an optional Trigger Effect that you activate upon its successful Summon. It can be negated by Pulling the Rug or By Order of the Emperor. Note that this effect doesn't target anything, as Cards in the Hand cannot be targeted. The second line is a Condition, which cannot be negated by Cards like Skill Drain.

The next one is a Fish support Card: Nimble Sunfish:

When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, send 1 Fish-type monster from your Deck to the Graveyard. Then, you can Special Summon 1 "Nimble Sunfish" from your Deck.

Sunfish only has one effect. This is a Trigger Effect that you activate at the End of the Damage Step. It is somewhat tricky, much like its furry counterpart Nimble Momonga, but Sunfish's effect is actually mandatory. It is a single effect, with an optional action within it. The effect will activate even if you have no more Fish monsters, but you won't be able to Special Summon another copy of Sunfish if you don't send a Fish to the Graveyard. You don't need to have more Sunfish in the Deck to send a Fish to the Graveyard..

Moving on, we have a Beast-Warrior exclusive: Akz, the Pumer:

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by removing from play 2 Beast-Warrior-Type monsters in your Graveyard. Once per turn, you can discard 1 Beast-Warrior-Type monster from your hand to activate 1 of the following effects: • Double this card's ATK until the End Phase. • This card can attack your opponent directly this turn.

Removing from Play 2 Beast-Warriors to Special Summon Akz is an Inherent Special Summon. Then, Akz has two different Ignition Effects, both with the cost of discarding a Beast-Warrior. Neither effect targets, and you can only activate one of them per turn. The first effect doubles whatever is Akz's current ATK until the End Phase. The second effect grants it the ability to attack directly. This second effect cannot be negated by Skill Drain once it has resolved successfully.

The next exclusive would be Saber Vault, but its effect is simple enough. And so, let's move into the last TCG exclusive, XX-Saber Darksoul:

If this card you control is sent to the Graveyard, during the End Phase, you can add 1 "X-Saber" monster from your Deck to your hand.

The procedure to search for an X-Saber via Darksoul is somewhat complicated. First, Darksoul has a mandatory Trigger Effect, so it cannot miss the timing. This effect is activated when it is sent to the Graveyard. Later, during the End Phase, you can search for the X-Saber monster without starting a chain. These two instances are not related to each other, so Darksoul does not need to remain in the Graveyard until the End Phase. Quite the hassle for a delayed Sangan, huh?

That covers all the remaining TCG exclusives, but there's even more TSHD Cards to look at! If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an e-mail at ness00[at]gmail[dot]com.

TSHD Sneak Preview Part 7: Weapon X

Aside from twenty monsters that build a solid strategy by themselves, for the most part, X-Sabers have also received a small bunch of supportive Spell and Trap Cards. One more support Spell Card is included as a TCG exclusive in The Shining Darkness, but in the meantime, let's look at what has been released so far.

The first one from Ancient Prophecy is Sword of Sparkles:

Equip only to an "X-Saber" monster. If it destroys  an opponent's monster by battle, you can destroy 1 card your opponent controls. You can Tribute 1 monster you control to return this card from your Graveyard  to the top of your Deck.

Being an Equip Spell Card, it definately targets one X-Saber monster. Sword of Sparkles has two effects. The first effect is an optional Trigger-like Effect, which is activated at the End of the Damage Step. This effect targets. Note that Sword must be face-up at the End of the Damage Step in order to activate and resolve, so if the equipped monster is destroyed in battle (by a monster with the same ATK), or isn't face-up, Sword won't be face-up either, so you won't be able to destroy a Card. The second effect is an Ignition-like Effect, which can only be activated during your Main Phases. Tributing a monster is a cost, and this effect doesn't target.

The next Card is Saber Slash:

Destroy  a number of face-up cards on the field equal to the number of face-up Attack Position "X-Saber" monsters you control.

Slash is a slightly complicated Normal Spell Card. In order to activate it, you must control at least 1 X-Saber monster in face-up attack position. When Saber Slash resolves, it will count all your face-up attack position X-Saber monsters. Then, for each of these monsters, you must destroy one face-up Card on either side of the Field. Since you don't know how many Cards you have to destroy upon Slash's activation, it doesn't target. Being a Normal Spell Card, Saber Slash cannot destroy itself.

The biggest problem about Saber Slash is which Cards can respond to it. Mostly because, after receiving a yes/no answer, players make up the weirdest reasonings on what can and cannot negate Slash. First of all, Saber Slash is always granted to destroy at least 1 Card upon activation (the X-Saber monsters themselves), so Stardust Dragon can always negate it. Next, the amount of Cards can be calculated upon Slash's activation, even if it won't be the final result (for example, upon activation, it is considered to be about to destroy 3 Cards, but before Slash resolves, one or more Sabers may disappear and less Cards can end up being destroyed). However, the location of the Cards that Slash will destroy is not always fixed upon activation, as it is possible to destroy Cards on either side of the Field. This is why it's not possible to activate Starlight Road in most situations: You can determine whether 2 or more Cards will be destroyed, but you don't know whose. The type of Cards to be destroyed may also vary. Let's look at some examples:

1) 3 X-Saber monsters on your Field and 3 Blue-Eyes White Dragons on the opponent's Field:

-Stardust Dragon can be activated, as either the X-Sabers or the Blue-Eyes will be destroyed.

-Prime Material Dragon and My Body as a Shield can be activated, as Slash can only destroy monsters.

-Starlight Road cannot be activated, as you don't know if at least 2 of the Cards that Slash will destroy will be the Blue-Eyes or not.

2) 3 X-Saber monsters on your Field and 1 Black Whirlwind and 2 Blackwing Armor Master on the opponent's Field:

-Stardust Dragon can be activated, as either the X-Sabers, Whirlwind, or Armor Master would be destroyed.

-PMD and My Body can be activated. This is because even if Slash has the possiblity of destroying Whirlwind, it is still forced to destroy at least one monster (X-Sabers or Armor Master).

-Starlight Road once again cannot be activated, as you don't know whose Cards would be destroyed, even though you know that 3 Cards will be destroyed.

3) 3 X-Saber monsters on your Field and 3 Messenger of Peace on the opponent's Field.

-Stardust can be activated, as usual.

-PMD and My Body cannot be activated. This time, it is not certain that Saber Slash will destroy a monster, as it can destroy all three Spell Cards instead.

-Predictably, Starlight Road cannot be activated.

4) 3 X-Saber monsters on your Field and no Cards in the opponent's Field.

-Stardust can be activated.

-PMD and My Body can be activated.

-You can negate your own Saber Slash with Starlight Road in this case, as it is granted to destroy 3 Cards on your side of the Field only.

So hopefully that's a little clearer.

Let's move on with the next support Card, At One with the Sword:

Activate  while the only monster you control is 1 face-up  "X-Saber" monster. Equip this card to that monster. It gains 800 ATK. If it destroys  your opponent's monster by battle, draw  1 card.

At One with the Sword is a Normal Trap Card. In order to activate it, the only monster on your side of the Field must be a face-up X-Saber monster, which this Card targets. Note that being "alone" is only an activation requirement, and you can control other monsters later. Once AOwtS resolves, it will become an Equip Card (an Equip Trap Card, not an Equip Spell Card), and equip itself to the lonely X-Saber. Since it remains face-up, Trap Eater can send this Card to the Graveyard for its Summon. It will provide an 800 ATK boost with a Continuous Effect. Since it is a Normal Trap Card that provides an ATK increase, it can be activated during the Damage Step (from the Start, until the "Before Damage Calculation" Sub-Step, included). It also has a mandatory Trigger-like Effect to let you draw a Card, which is activated at the End of the Damage Step. And similarly to Sword of Sparkles, the Equip and the monster must remain face-up until that Sub-Step. Finally, note that AOwtS is not restricted to X-Saber monsters only: You can use Cards like Tailor of the Fickle to equip it to any other monster.

The next Card comes from a Starter Deck. It's Gottom's Emergency Call:

Activate  only if there is a face-up "X-Saber" monster(s) on the field. Select 2 "X-Saber" monsters in either player's Graveyard(s). Special Summon those monsters to your side of the field.

This Normal Trap Card requires that a player controls at least 1 X-Saber monster. It can be you, your opponent, or both. This is only an activation requirement. You target 2 X-Saber monsters on either player's Graveyard, and when GEC resolves, you Special Summon both. If one of the targets is missing before GEC resolves, it will resolve without effect. This is because this particular Trap Card asks you to Summon both monsters. Probably the main point to notice about this Card is its flexibility that allows you to use your opponent's X-Sabers as a requirement and as targets.

The last support Card comes from the latest set, Absolute Powerforce. It's Saber Hole:

Activate  only while you control a face-up "X-Saber" monster. Negate the Summon of a monster, and destroy it.

This Counter Trap Card is very simple. You need to control a X-Saber monster in order to activate it. It negates a Summon. It's very similar to Horn of Heaven on which type of Summons it can negate. It cannot negate Normal or Special Summons performed by a Card Effect. Most importantly, it can only negate Inherent Special Summons.

And that's the last about X-Sabers for now, and our final preview for The Shining Darkness. Next week we'll start talking about the set itself. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an e-mail at ness00[at]gmail[dot]com.

TSHD Sneak Preview Part 6: X^2=X

It is not implied at all that I have a grudge against calculus and algebra >_>

XX-Sabers first appeared in Ancient Prophecy as additional support for the then extinct X-Saber monsters, which had vanished from the Duel Terminals at an early time. Unexpectedly, they grew in number extremely fast, probably to once again honor their name of XX (twenty). With the upcoming set of The Shining Darkness, the monsters equal this number already, but so far, we are stuck with eight XX-Saber monsters.

Much like the title of this article says, a very important rule to keep in mind is that XX-Saber monsters include the word "X-Saber" in their name, so all the support Cards released so far will work with both, X-Saber, and XX-Saber monsters (and some even work with "Saber" monsters too, like we saw in the previous article).

The first monster in the Ancient Prophecy set we'll look at is XX-Saber Ragigura:

When this card is Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, you can add 1 "X-Saber" monster from your Graveyard  to your hand.

A very simple optional Trigger Effect. This effect targets one X-Saber monster. You can target a X-Saber Synchro Monster, and it will return to the Extra Deck. Depending on which way you Summon Ragigura, Pulling the Rug or Swallow Flip may or may not be used on this effect.

Next, we have XX-Saber Faultroll:

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except while you control 2 or more face-up  "X-Saber" monsters. Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 level 4 or lower "X-Saber" monster from your Graveyard.

Faultroll has a Summoning Condition, and an Ignition Effect. The Ignition Effect is pretty simple, it targets one X-Saber monster in your Graveyard, and that's about it. Its inherent Special Summon is the problem here. Many believe that Faultroll can be Special Summoned at any time by Card Effects as long as you control 2 or more X-Sabers, or even that you can use the inherent Special Summon to do so. These are both false. Faultroll cannot be Special Summoned (as its text says), except by its inherent Special Summon. Since no location is mentioned, the default location is from the Hand. We already reviewed this in a previous article, too.

Originally, the last XX-Saber monster in the set would be XX-Saber Gottoms, but eventually, TCG exclusives would be added. Let's take a look at the commander's reincarnation as a Synchro Monster:

1 Tuner + 1 or more EARTH monsters
You can Tribute 1 "X-Saber" monster to discard 1 random card from your opponent's hand.

Almost everyone notices how Gottoms is not restricted to Non-Tuner monsters. This is not a typo: Gottoms CAN be Synchro Summoned using more than one Tuner monsters (you can even use all Tuners if you like). Of course, note that 1 Tuner is not restricted to anything, but any other monster that you use (Tuner or not) must be of EARTH Attribute.

As for the actual effect, Gottoms is not too complicated. It's an Ignition Effect, which tributes 1 X-Saber monster as a cost. You can tribute face-down X-Sabers, or even Gottoms itself. There's a very popular loop with Gottoms, which involves using its cost to tribute Ragigura and Faultroll, then use a second Faultroll to Summon Ragigura and retrieve the first Faultroll, repeatedly. The loop itself is legal, but do remember that you cannot activate Gottom's effect (or pay its cost) if the opponent has no Cards in Hand. So, for example, if you tribute Faultroll first, and the opponent chains an effect to reduce his/her Hand size to zero, you won't be able to tribute Ragigura, and the loop gets stuck.

After the commander, we'll look at the TCG exclusives, the first being XX-Saber Gardestrike:

If you have 2 or more "X-Saber" monsters in your Graveyard  and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.

A very simple monster. It only has a Summoning Condition, being an inherent Special Summon. It can still be Normal Summoned or Set. Not much to say, really. It's as plain as Cyber Dragon.

The other exclusive is XX-Saber Fulhelmknight:

Once, while this card is face-up on the field, you can negate  the attack  of 1 of your opponent's monsters. If this card destroys  a Defense Position monster your opponent controls  by battle, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "X-Saber" monster from your Graveyard.

Fulhelmknight has two Optional Trigger Effects. The first effect is activated upon attack declaration, and it targets the attacking monster. This effect can only be used once as long as Fulhelmknight remains face-up on the Field. Fulhelmknight needs to be face-up both at the activation of this effect (at attack declaration) and during its resolution. The second effect is activated at the End of the Damage Step, and it targets 1 X-Saber monster. This effect will activate if Fulhelmknight battles a monster with the same ATK, or in any other case that causes Fulhelmknight not to be face-up at the End of the Damage Step. If it destroyed a monster, you can activate it.

In the recent set of Absolute Powerforce, two XX-Sabers were originally included, and one was added afterwards. The first original one was XX-Saber Garsem:

When this card on the field is destroyed  and sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, add 1 "X-Saber" monster from your Deck to your hand. This card gains 200 ATK  for each face-up "X-Saber" monster you control.

Garsem's first effect is a mandatory Trigger Effect, and the second one is a Continuous Effect. The first effect, being mandatory, cannot miss the timing, and it will always activate, even during the Damage Step. It will even activate if your own effects destroy Garsem. The second effect isn't too complicated. A common question is whether you can use Bottomless Trap Hole on Garsem or not. The answer is yes: As soon as Garsem is Summoned, its Continuous Effect starts applying, and so, its ATK is 1600 (or higher), so a player can activate Bottomless Trap Hole.

The other original XX-Saber here is XX-Saber Hyunlei:

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner "X-Saber" monsters.
When this card is Synchro Summoned, you can select and destroy up to 3 Spell or Trap Cards on the field.

Hyunlei only has an optional Trigger Effect. It targets up to three Cards, and if you choose to activate it, you must target at least 1. Swallow Flip can be used against this effect.

The last XX-Saber to date is XX-Saber Emmersable:

When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "X-Saber" monster  from your Deck.

Your average recruiter. Optional Trigger Effect, activated at the End of the Damage Step. Nothing too surprising, rulings-wise.

And that's all for XX-Sabers so far. Stay tuned for the final part of the preview of The Shining Darkness! If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an e-mail at ness00[at]gmail[dot]com.

TSHD Sneak Preview Part 5: The X Factor

X-Sabers were one of the first themes introduced in the first era of Duel Terminals. Being gathered as a group of EARTH Monsters, they were supposed to be 9 swordmasters under the command of Gottoms, effectively honoring their name of X (ten). X-Sabers were also one of the first themes to disappear from the Duel Terminals, and in some sort of compensation, they received ridiculous amounts of ridiculous support for their theme. Initially, the first 80 Cards of The Shining Darkness released in Japan did not contain any Cards for the X-Saber theme. Yet, thanks to the addition of exclusives that the TCG has, they ended up becoming one of the main attractions of the set that is about to be released.

In this article, we'll look at the first 10 original X-Sabers. Well, actually, nine, since Anu Piranha is a Normal Monster. Let's start with the leader, Commander Gottoms, Swordmaster:

All face-up  "Saber" monsters  you control  gain 400 ATK.

A very simple Continuous Effect. Nothing too impressive to say about it, other than it extends to monsters simly named "Saber", instead of just "X-Saber", so it works with Cards like Sabersaurus. Not too flashy, I guess.

We continue with one of the most popular X-Saber monsters, Airbellum:

When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent by a direct attack, discard 1 random card from your opponent's hand.

This Tuner monster has a Mandatory Trigger Effect. It activates at the "After Damage Calculation" Sub-Step. It will only activate if the attack was direct, and if Airbellum inflicts Battle Damage. So even if you attack over a zero ATK monster, Airbellum won't activate, as the attack was not direct.

Moving on, we have X-Saber Axel:

While you control this face-up card, when a "Saber" monster  is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, draw  1 card.

Axel has a Mandatory Trigger Effect, which activates at the End of the Damage Step. Similar to Gottoms, it also works with monsters whose name is "Saber", without being "X-Saber" monsters. Note that Axel must be face-up at both the activation and resolution of its effect: If it is destroyed in battle, it won't activate, and if the opponent chains an effect that causes Axel not be face-up, it will resolve without effect.

Next, we have X-Saber Galahad:

If this card attacks an opponent's monster, this card gains 300 ATK during the Damage Step only. If this card is attacked by an opponent's monster, this card loses 500 ATK during the Damage Step only. When this card is selected as an attack target, you can Tribute another "Saber" monster to negate the attack.

Galahad has three effects, which is the most of all of the first batch of X-Saber monsters. And that's pretty sad. The first two effects, which are pretty similar, are Continuous Effects which start applying since the Start of the Damage Step. The second effect is a Trigger Effect. It tributes one "Saber" monster as a cost. Once again, it works with monsters that aren't named "X-Saber" specifically, and you can also use face-down "Saber" monsters. This effect is activated upon attack declaration. None of Galahad's effects target.

Another X-Saber monster is X-Saber Uruz:

When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, you can Tribute this card to return the destroyed card to the top of its owner's  Deck.

Uruz has an Optional Trigger Effect, which you can activate at the End of the Damage Step. Tributing Uruz is a cost, and the effect doesn't target. Note that the destroyed monster IS sent to the Graveyard before being returned to the top of the Deck, so if it has an effect that activates in the Graveyard like Mystic Tomato or Sangan, these effects will activate.

The last legal X-Saber monster is X-Saber Urbellum:

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, while they have 4 or more cards in their hand, place 1 random card from their hand on top of their Deck.

With a name so similar to Airbellum, it's effect isn't too different either. It is also a mandatory Trigger Effect that you activate at the "After Damage Calculation" Sub-Step. Only this time, instead of discarding a random Card, the Card is returned to the top of the Deck. A key difference is that Urbellum doesn't need to attack directly to activate its effect. Additionally, it has an activation requirement that asks for the opponent to have 4 or more Cards in his/her Hand. However, this is only needed upon activation, and if the Hand size is smaller during Urbellum's effect's resolution, a Card is still returned.

The last three original X-Saber monsters are not tournament legal YET. Two of them will become legal once they are released in The Shining Darkness, and one will become legal when the next Starter Deck is released. Nevertheless, we already know what their texts look like, and like you have seen so far, X-Sabers aren't necessarily complicated.

Let's start with the ones that will be released in a few days. First we have X-Saber Palomuro:

When another "Saber" monster you control is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can pay  500 Life Points to Special Summon this card from the Graveyard.

Yet another lazy guy that works with any "Saber" monster. This Tuner monster has an Optional Trigger Effect that activates in the Graveyard at the End of the Damage Step. Paying 500 Life Points is a cost. Note the "another" in the text, meaning that Palomuro cannot Special Summon itself when it is destroyed in battle. You can, however, Special Summon 2 different Palomuros when each other is destroyed in battle. You can also Special Summon more than 1 Palomuro when a Saber monster is destroyed in battle.

The other saber weilder arriving in TSHD is X-Saber Pashuul:

This card cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card is in face-up Defense Position, you take 1000 damage during each of your opponent's Standby Phases.

Pashuul has two effects, the first one being Continuous, and the second one being a Trigger Effect. The first effect is self-explanatory. As usual, since it's not mentioned otherwise, Damage Calculation is applied normally. The second effect is a Mandatory Trigger Effect that activates during the opponent's Standby Phase, in order to inflict effect damage to you. Note that Pashuul must be in face-up Defense Position upon activation and resolution, so if you flip it face-down, change its position, or Remove it from the Field in a chain, you will not take damage.

The last original X-Saber is X-Saber Wayne, who is still illegal for a little longer:

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type monster from your hand.

Oh well, nothing too amazing. Wayne has an Optional Trigger Effect, which Special Summons a Warrior from your Hand. Note that it doesn't target the monster in the Hand. It's a really simple effect.

And those are the first batch of X-Sabers. We'll look at the rest of their support while anxiously waiting for the new set. Stay tuned for the next part! If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an e-mail at ness00[at]gmail[dot]com.