Hello again readers. The sneak peek is this weekend for you american players. I would be envious of you pulling Cardcar D but since you had to watch 100 packs being opened to see only 1 of them, I'm not too upset.
Now for the next chapter of future visions, we take another look at Return of the Duelist. I've never seen so many archetypes being crammed into one set. There's barely any room for other cards. I'm not exaggerating either.
With Geargia being a hit in the OCG and Heroics being a undersupported and underwhelming archetype, what does the Magical archetype hold in store for us?
This group of spellcasters focus their effects around spell cards called Book of spells. Each Book of Spell has a different "prefix" so while they all have different effects, they all contain Book of spell in their names. To help understand the Magical monsters, lets take a look at the different book of spells first.
Grim Book of Spell
Add one "Book of Spell" card from your deck to your hand, except "Grim Book of Spell". You can only activate one "Grim Book of Spell" a turn.
This is one of the cornerstones of the deck. It allows you to search the other book of spells which actually do something with the monsters. It's best to run 3 of these to ensure maximum consistency. But it seems like it's only as good as the card's it searches. Lets take a look at what it can search.
Hygro Book of Spell
Target one face-up spellcaster type monster you control: It gains 1000 ATK until the end phase. If that monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle this turn; you can add one "Book of Spell" from your deck to your hand. You can only activate one "Hygro Book of Spell" a turn.
So it's basically an Evolsaur Cerato in a spell card. You pump a monster by 1000, you run over something and then you search for a Book of Spell. It's quite useful and it does not use up your hand either. However, that only matters if you can land the attack on an opponent's monster. If they do not have a monster, then the card is useless. And in general, attack boosting cards are always seen to be a liability and it's a terrible draw late game if you are topdecking. It also can be used on any spellcaster which gives it a use outside of the archetype.
Necro Book of Spell
Banish 1 Spellcaster-Type monster from your Graveyard and reveal 1 "Book of Spell" Spell Card in your hand to target 1 Spellcaster-Type monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it, and equip this card to that target. Increase the Level of the equipped monster by the Level of the banished monster. You can only activate 1 "Necro Book of Spell" per turn.
To start off, it requires 3 situational conditions as part of it's cost. You got to be able to banish a spellcaster and you need a second spellcaster in your graveyard to target. You also need to have another book of spell in your hand to reveal (You can't reveal this card, obviously). However in return you get to special summon any spellcaster you want and it's level is increased. This allows you to reach those higher rank xyz monsters. Infact, use it in a deck with Gagaga Magician and you will be able to reach any xyz monster with a rank between 2 and 8. Maybe that's worth making a deck for...
Torah Book of Spell
Target 1 face-up Spellcaster-Type monster on the field; apply 1 of these effects.● This turn, that target is unaffected by the effects of other Spell Cards.
● This turn, that target is unaffected by the effects of Trap Cards.
Before you can talk about what the card does, you have to notice 2 things. The first is that it does not have the "Once per turn" Clause, meaning you can activate more than 1 in a turn if you feel like it. Second is that it's a quick play. The great thing about that is that you can chain it to one of your opponent's spell or trap cards and protect it from destruction. Your opponent activates dark hole? Chain it and select spell cards. You get the idea.
It's worth running a couple, even outside of the archetype. Why do you guys think Forbidden lance is so good? Blanket effects are pro yugiohs, readers!
Now with the Book of Spells out of the way, lets take a look at the Spellcasters that use them!
Before we do, I just want to chuck in a little bit of trivia. According to the Wikia, they are based on tarot cards. The same tarot cards that the Arcana Force monsters are based on! See if you can guess which ones are from which tarot card (the clues are in the names)
Magical Calligrapher Batel
When this card is Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Add 1 "Book of Spell" Spell Card from your Deck to your hand.
Now this card is a must for this deck. You can add any book of spell you want. Of course the best one to search is Grim book of spell since it allows you to thin your deck by two cards. Of course in exchange you use your normal summon and you are left with a 500 attack monster. Of course you can boost with with Hygro Book of Spell but that's not recommended unless you're running over a lone tour guide or something. It's a mighty fine topdeck though.
Magical Erudite Junon
You can activate this effect by revealing 3 "Book of Spell" Spell Cards in your hand; Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn: You can banish 1 "Book of Spell" Spell Card from your hand or Graveyard to target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy that target.
She is a big beater with an inbuilt summoning condition. We as a playerbase welcome these kind of monsters with open arms. While it is a situational summoning condition, it's better than tributing two monsters. It's second effect is nice too. Blowing up cards is great even if you have a to banish a card from your hand to do it. I personally wouldn't run it but getting 3 book of spells into your hand probably is not as hard as it sounds.
At the very least it's a good target to summon with Necro Book of Spell.
Magical Archer Lamour
Once per turn: You can reveal 1 "Book of Spell" Spell Card in your hand; Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Spellcaster-Type monster from your hand.
At level 3, it's best to summon another copy of this card for a quick rank 3 xyz. There is not really much else you can do with this card though. At least it makes for a good wall with it's beefy 2000 defence. Personally I would pass on it. Of course I'm only talking about it in the context of it's own archetype. Being able to special summon a Summoner monk can start of some pretty broken plays.
Magical Swordsman Shario
Once per turn: You can discard 1 "Book of Spell" Spell Card; add 1 Spellcaster-Type monster from your Graveyard to your hand.
Well this is a decent card. You trade in a Book of Spell, which you will have plenty of. And in return you get back a spellcaster from your graveyard regardless of level or attack. Its probably the best target for Hygro with it's 1800 attack. It pumps it to 2800 and you can discard the Book of Spell you search for. I probably wouldn't run in 3s but it's a good card nonetheless.
Konami are making more of an effort on the artwork now. I personally really like the Art on this one.
Magical Warrior Fors
Once per turn: You can shuffle 1 "Book of Spell" Spell Card from your Graveyard into your Deck to target 1 face-up Spellcaster-Type monster you control; increase its Level by 1 and ATK by 500.
This card is really nice late game. You want your Book of Spells in your deck so they can be searched and drawn and you want beefy monsters on the field. This card allows you to have both without any compromises. Shario can put the Book of Spells in the graveyard and this card can put them back in the deck for you. Together they make a nice combination. It can be used with Lamour too to increase it's level to 4 and make for a quick rank 4 xyz. You could also use the Necro Book of Spell to banish a Batel, special summoning a Lamour. Then you can increase this card's level by 1 and go into a rank 5 xyz. Anything you might want to do, this card could be the answer to your problems.
Magical Summoner Temper
During the Main Phase of the turn you activated a "Book of Spell" Spell Card: You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 Level 5 or higher LIGHT or DARK Spellcaster-Type monster from your Deck. You cannot Special Summon other Level 5 or higher monsters the turn you activate this effect.
With priority gone, this card's versatility has dropped a little bit. It can be hit by veiler and trap hole can take it out, but with that being said it's a really fun card. You can summon some old goodies like Dark Magician or something with a bit more usefulness like Sorciere de Fleur, which can actually really help in a tight spot. Of course you cannot special summon any other level 5 of higher monsters that turn, but it does not say you cannot summon xyz monsters. So of course it allows you to summon a Junon and provided you have another one on the field already (Unlikely but lets just assume you do), you can xyz into their xyz monster!
But what is this Xyz monster you are talking about, TCG Lover?
Introducing... The Magical Hierophant Hieron!
2 Level 7 Spellcaster-Type monsters
Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; destroy Spell/Trap Cards your opponent controls, up to the number of "Book of Spell" Spell Cards in your Graveyard.
Essentially, this card is a harpies feather duster. You will most likely have a few Book of Spells in your graveyard so this card will probably be able to hit all of your opponent's backrow cards with it's effect, allowing it to swoop in for a nice 2800 damage. Of course it can be combined with Hygro Book of Spell to go up to an immense 3800 attack points for that turn, and fuels it's effect. It's also a great target for Torah Book of Spell to keep it alive for longer. It would have been nice if it had a way to protect itself other than relying on other cards.
How do you summon this card? Well of course you will have to use 2 level 7 spellcasters. Magical Erudite Junon is a level 7 which can be summoned by Magical Summoner Temper. Necro book of spell allows you to summon other spellcasters and you can raise their level to 7, allowing the summon of this card. You can also try other spellcasters like Arcanite magician, which you can pop their monsters first and then xyz into this card. I'm sure there are other ways to easily summon it but for now that's the best I can think of. Gagaga Magician allows for an easy summon too.
So that's the Magical Archetype as we know it so far. Right now the deck is Semi-Competitive. It's got some nice tricks up it's sleeve but without a consistent way to search for the monsters (Outside of Generic ones like Pot of Duality), you will be left with bad hands now and again. There are other noteworthy cards that can be used in the deck, such as Wonder Wand for that extra draw power. I always welcome spellcaster archetypes though. I'm a big fan of Gravekeeper's, if they count.
That's another archetype dismantled for your pleasure. Until next time, TheTCGLover out!
