Archive/Card of the Month

==July 2012==
"For the first spirit of the month, we have the King of the Dark Knights. The Purple X-rare of BS17, The KnightHero Swordius-Arthur. At first look, The KnightHero Swordius-Arthur is a cost 12, level 3 spirit. It has 10000BP at level 1, 15000BP at level 2 and almighty 20000BP at level 3. Now some of you are thinking that the cost is too high. The high cost is no problem for this spirit. Due to fact this spirits is a burst, meaning all you have to lose a life. When your life is three or less than you can summon this spirits without having to pay the cost. The high BP of this spirit even at level 1 allows it to walk off the fires of red magic easily and cut apart most level 3 spirits. Its 20000BP at level 3 put this spirit on par with spirits like The Deity Catastrophedragon and even the level 4 spirits, The DragonHero Sieg-Yamato-Fried and The SwordHero Sieg-Susano-Fried.
Now we will take a look at Spirit's main effect, which can be used when it’s at level 2 or 3. This effect allows you to summon a spirit with Immortality from your trash without paying the cost when this Spirit attacks. It allows you to summon an army of Dark knights from your Trash and powerful spirits like The DragonPhoenixDeity Baaral. Because you're summoning another spirit, not refreshing a spirit, you can easily get pass white spirits that refresh when you refresh like The ShadowMoonDragon Strikewurm-Betelgeuse.
Now on to this spirit’s final effects, which can be used when it at level 3 and braved. This effect allows you to send one core from an opposing spirit to the void when this spirit Brave Attacks. This effect allows you to destroy most level 1 spirits or reduce the level of a spirit. If you brave this spirit with the brave, The KnightSnake Pendragon you will be removing two when you attack and these spirits can be two different spirits if you want. Even if this spirit is braved it doesn’t fear the brave killer, The StarSlayerDragon Darkwurm-Nova. Due to its High BP and when it’s not braved, the Starslayer will die quickly to it.With this spirit you truly can unleash an endless wave of immortal purple spirits that will grind you opponent’s life to nothing. But watch out of those Anti-Burst Green Cards and spirits like the The WolfMachineDeity Ragna-Fenrir which cost less and can have more BP then Swordius due to there effects.
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==August 2012==
For this month to celebrate the ending of Battle Spirits Heroes, We have the perfect hero. The red and white x-rare of BS18, The SuperHero Lord-Dragon-Saviour. At first look, The SuperHero Lord-Dragon Saviour is a cost 10, level 3 spirit. it has 10000BP at level 1, 130000BP at level 2 and 16000BP at Level 3. This Spirits BP allows it yo beat most other spirits with out of help from magic.
While this spirit has high BP it's effects make it a superhero. First we will have a look this cards Burst effect which is called Burst Tribute, first of all like lots of other Bursts, the burst activates after your life is decreased but to summon this spirit you also have to remove all the cores on 1 of your "Supreme Hero' spirits to the void, then you can move as many cores as you like from your field/reserve to your life, until you have up to 5 lives so the burst summon of this spirit comes at a higher cost then most bursts but you're able to gets all your lives back.
Now on to this spirits key effect. which can be used when it's at level or 3. when this spirits battles you can move 1 core from your life to this spirit, all your spirits get BP+5000 until end of turn. the extra BP this effects gives your spirits is good and who wouldn't want more BP. the killer part of this effects this first part then you can move 1 core from your life to spirits this effect, allows you to activate burst that activate when you life is decreased, so this spirits can unleash and huge number of burst against your opponent also with this effects this spirit can level up its self to level three.
Now this spirits last effect this to same The ExplosionHero Lord-Dragon-Bazzel, which means this spirits is refreshed when you activate a burst so most of time this spirits will be able to attack twice and because this spirits has double symbol your be able to take away four of your opponent's lives with spirit. Burst Saviour combo's well with this card allowing Saviour to attack to have the chance to attack many times and remove all of your opponent's life by its self.
but you still have to watch out for green anti burst cards and remove not to use this cards main effect when you only have one live left. With his spirit your can lead the Dragon army which have to power of fire and ice on your opponent's.
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==November 2012==
This month’s spirit comes from the recent BS19, The BlackInsectDemonlord Diabolica-Mantis. It’s a spirit that would be a perfect fit for a High Speed-based deck.
First thing to note, if you’re playing green, the core boost should make it simple to get to its highest level. Only 3 cores are required, and it has 10000BP. Even at Level 1, it’s 6000 BP is enough to take out many weaker spirits.
Its LV1-LV2 effect is straightforward enough. Once it attacks, you can exhaust an opposing spirit. What a great way to lower the opponent’s defenses, then finish them in a sneak attack when you summon a spirit with High Speed in flash timing.
Additionally, it has the rush effect. As long as you have a blue symbol on the field, after activating the LV1-LV2 effect, you can draw 2 cards and discard 2. Of course, it’s a gamble, but could be extremely beneficial. Also, a way to fill your hand with more High Speed spirits.
That brings us to the LV2 effect. When one of your spirits with High Speed decreases the opponent’s life, you can move an additional core from their life to their reserve.
So, in short, this card is a deadly three in one combo. Exhaust the defense, get High Speed spirits in your hand, and then wipe out your opponent’s life, two at a time. As shown in the Sword Eyes anime, fulfilling the rush condition is easy, with the new nexus, The Stronghold of the Demonic Insect, which has both a green and blue symbol. Combining this nexus with your spirit also gives you the chance to summon your High Speed spirits at no cost.
Of course, you still have to be careful, because there are plenty of spirits with even higher BP, and you might have to discard card's you'd rather hold onto, due to the rush effect. Still, if you play green, it’s a spirit worth trying out.
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==December 2012==
This month, rather than focusing on the latest cards, let’s go way back in time to BS02. The chosen spirit is the second white X-rare, The Gigantic Thor.
The spirit has a decent BP. 4000 at LV1, 6000 at LV2 and 8000 at LV3. It may not be able to stand up against stronger spirits without a BP boost, but fortunately, has a built in ability to do just that.
At any level, by exhausting an Armed Machine spirit you control, you can add that spirit’s BP to this spirit. A Thor-centric deck should definitely include many Armed Machines. Now, take the classic example of combining Thor with The Sacred Mjolnir. At its highest level, it has 7000BP. Exhaust that, and now Thor has 15000 BP. There are even stronger Armed Machine spirits too, including the 11000 BP The GoldenKnightLord Fin-Maclan. If played right, Thor can reach a dangerous BP.
At LV2 and LV3, Thor gains a powerful defensive ability. It may block a red spirit without becoming exhausted. Although this effect is useless against other colors, if your opponent uses a red-main deck, where high BP will likely be a threat, it’s a great way to restrict and annoy your opponent long enough to prepare a counter.
Thor’s LV3 effect is the most interesting. On your battle phase, by destroying an Armed Machine spirit you control, Thor can be refreshed. This allows Thor to attack many times within one turn. While white is known for its defensive abilities, this is a powerful offensive ability. but its still can be stop by Vacuum Symbol spell card, Blizzard wall etc.
Ultimately, having many Armed Machine spirits in your deck is a must, to utilize the full potential of the spirit. Without them, it won’t be particularly effective. Try mixing The Artifact Plant or The Infinite Mother Ship into your deck. Both can make other cards into Armed Machines in a pinch.
==January 2013==
The featured card for this month is one of the 12 Zodiac X-Rares, The BalanceDeity Libra-Golem, from BS11.
It has a high cost of 8, with four blue reduction. However, it already has 6000BP from the get-go, to balance that out. At LV2, it reaches 8000BP and at LV3, 12000.
At all levels, this spirit has the special ability, Crush. When it attacks, cards are discarded from the opponent’s deck, equal to Libra-Golem’s level. Although Crush is nothing unique, as many blue spirits already possess it, it’s still extremely useful. Even with only three cards discarded at a time, max, it can whittle away at the opponents deck, until eventually they’re left with a deck out. Also, you may destroy key cards before your opponent can even draw them, which would certainly frustrate them.
There are two downsides to Crush, however. First, it may help uncover a key card, that your opponent never would have got to draw otherwise. Second, it’s easier to retrieve a card from your trash then it is from the middle of your deck. By throwing your opponent’s key cards away, they may be able to take them right back from their trash, to use against you.
At LV3, Libra-Golem gains a new effect, which has one downside, but enhances its Crush at the same time. If one or more spirit card is sent to the trash because of its Crush, Libra-Golem is refreshed. Therefore, it can attack as many times per turn as you want, limited only by the amount of spirits in your opponent’s deck. (And the number of spirits your opponent has with a higher BP to block it). Fortunately, Libra-Golem has a high BP at LV3. But if that’s not enough, keep some magic cards in your deck which can increase your BP in flash timing, such as Strong Draw.
The “downside” mentioned above is that Libra-Golem, once refreshed, can’t diminish your opponent’s life. The overwhelming plus is that you’ll likely be able to use Crush again and again, until your opponent is left with a deck out, or at least not much left to save them.
Mix Libra-Golem with other cards that possess crush to speed up the damage. You may also want to add spirits with blue charge, like The Warrior of Light Gaius to increase the number of cards you can discard with crush. The more cards Libra-Golem can discard at once, the higher your chances of one being a spirit, and the quicker your opponent will reach a deck-out.
==February 2013==
The featured card for this month is BS20’s red X-Rare, The FlashDragonEmperor TheEnd-Dragonis.
The spirit’s cost of 9 is a little daunting, but with its double symbol and the power it has, you can understand why. At least, it has 6 red reduction. Since red is a color commonly used for rush decks, getting a lot of spirits on the field to help out with the reduction shouldn’t be too big a struggle.
TheEnd-Dragonis is one of few spirits with a LV4. But even if you choose not to bring it up that far (again, a steep amount of core is required) it has a high BP even at LV1, with 9000. At LV2, it has 12000BP for 3 cores. At LV3, it has 16000BP for 5 cores. And of course, it reaches 20000 at LV4.
One way to help level up TheEnd-Dragonis is with its first effect, which it has at all levels. When your other spirits are destroyed, instead of moving the cores to your reserve, they’re moved to this spirit. With that technique, you could theoretically get the core to bring this spirit up to LV4 on your opponent’s turn, and then turn the tables with a high-BP blocker.
Similar to the famously powerful The PhantomStarDragon Gai-Asura, TheEndDragonis has the ability to refresh itself and attack many times. At LVs 2,3 and 4, if your spirits other than this spirit are blocked during your attack step, then TheEnd-Dragonis is refreshed. And if you use this in combination with its final effect, you can get even more refreshes.
At LV3 and LV4, after TheEnd-Dragonis attacks, you can destroy another spirit you control to refresh it. Although you can only use this effect 3 times per turn, that still gives you plenty of chances to utilize either the raw BP to annihilate your opponent’s defense, or its double symbol to cut away at the life. If combined with the above mentioned Gai-Asura, or its remade version, Slave-GaiAsura, both of which possess the ultra-awaken ability, who knows how many attacks you can get in on a given turn.
Of course, the weakness of TheEnd-Dragonis, and its multi-attack combo, is actually having enough spirits on your field to sacrifice for it. Combined with the core it takes to get TheEnd-Dragonis up to level three or four, you may not have enough to keep your field replenished. Its effect may be best used as a finishing combo. Of course, it couldn’t hurt to include some core-boost cards in a deck centered around this spirit.
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==March 2013==
This month’s featured card is BS21’s blue X-Rare, The StrangeSeaCreatureGod Dist-Ruction. It’s a powerful blue spirit which doesn’t rely on blue’s common abilities of deck-destruction and nexus-usage.
Dis-Trusction has a cost of 8, with 4 reduction. This seems quite fair, seeing that the spirit has a double-symbol, and no tribute is required to summon it.
At LV1, the spirit has 6000BP, which may not be hugely powerful, but it’s good for only the first level. For 2 core, it can be bought to LV2, which gives it 9000BP. At LV3, for 5 core, it has a grand total of 14000BP.
The StrangeSeaCreatureGod Dist-Ruction has a useful effect at all levels. When attacks, it can destroy 1 opposing spirit with a cost of 5 or less. As it’s not likely your opponent will have a field full of high-cost spirits, this ability would often be effective. It also might stop your opponent from summoning many low-cost spirits rashly, as they’ll know their spirits might be destroyed before they can even do any damage.
Also, Dist-Ruction has not one, but two Rush effects, which can activate as soon as it’s first effect is successful, and allow you to destroy additional opposing spirits. If you have a red symbol on your field, you can destroy 1 spirit with Charge. If you have a purple symbol, you can destroy an exhausted brave spirit. The downside is, these abilities would only be useful if you were battling an opponent who uses charge or braves prominently in their deck. They also require mixing other colors into your deck, which could pose problems in paying the cost, when you can’t rely on reduction.
This spirit’s final effect, at LV2 and LV3 is also an interesting one when combating a Brave user. It turns the brave costs of all opposing braves to 7 or more. Therefore, your opponent is greatly restricted on which spirits they can brave with. If you’ve wiped out much of their defense earlier with Dist-Ruction’s other effects, your opponent also might have a hard time getting the reduction to summon spirits with a cost of 7 or more.
Even though this card is significantly less effective against an opponent who doesn’t use braves, it still has it’s powerful BP and double symbol, to keep it as a strong, offensive spirit. If braved with a spirit that has a symbol (for example, The AbyssGiantSword Abyss-Apocalypse), or combined with a card like Double Hearts, you could take out three lives at once. This is also easier to do once the opponent’s defense is removed.
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==April 2013==
This month’s featured card is a yellow X-Rare from BS21, The LandBeastDeity Behemoth. While yellow is known for looking cute, this is one terrifying spirit.
The spirit’s cost is 8, which is common for X-Rares. If that’s too daunting though, it has 5 reduction symbols, making it simple enough to summon in a mainly-yellow deck.
At LV1, it has 6000BP, which isn’t too special. At LV2, it has 12000 though, and it reaches 20000 by LV3. On top of that high BP, it also has a double symbol, making it strong both for battling spirits and targeting lives.
At all levels, this spirit has an effect on the attack step, which is to treat all opposing spirits as being at level one. Since it has this effect even at LV1, when its own BP is somewhat weak, this could be helpful for weakening spirits that have a high BP. It could also be nice to use in combination with cards like Angel Voice and Magia Geflüster, which instantly destroy the spirit with a lower level, regardless of BP. Note that the effect is active for the whole attack step, not just when Behemoth attacks, so your other spirits could also benefit.
When Behemoth attacks at LV2 and LV3, it can’t be blocked by opposing spirits with only 1 core on them. That way, you can take lives faster if your opponent isn’t sure to load core on their spirits. And it might feel like a waste to them, when they’ll all be treated as LV1 anyway when you attack. Factoring in that this spirit has a double symbol, this effect can help you take out lives fast.
The spirit also has a rush effect, which can activate one it’s LV2-LV3 effect is successful. When you have a green symbol on your field, all opposing spirits with a cost of 4 or less are exhausted. Therefore, your chance of taking lives with this spirit is increased further.
Though you’ll have to mix some green into your deck to get the full rush effect, this spirit is quite a dangerous force regardless. It may also be useful in a deck mixed with purple, as there are cards such as Cobraiga and The PhantomDragon Sheyron, which can remove all but 1 core from an opposing spirit. Thus, Behemoth’s LV2-LV3 effect can be used to full potential.
When using this spirit, you still have to be cautious during your opponent’s turn, because then, their spirits will be treated at whatever their actual level is. Many yellow spirits don’t have a very high BP, so if you’re using a yellow-main deck, you may become more vulnerable at this point.
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==May 2013==
This month’s featured card is SD17’s red X-Rare spirit, The DarkDragon Dark-Tyrannosaura. It’s a dark, Terra Dragon spirit.
Dark-Tyrannosaura has a cost of 6, with 3 reduction. That’s relatively low for an X-Rare, though the spirit only has one symbol, as opposed to some of the other more recent X-Rares.
It has 5000BP at level one. Once it has three cores, it reaches level two, with 7000BP. Add one more core to bring it to level three, where it has 10000BP. The BP is decent, but also may seem weak compared to other X-Rare spirits. You may want to add some cards to boost its BP, like the red nexus, The Dark Galaxy of Dust, which increases the BP or Terra Dragon spirits by 3000.
At all levels, when this spirit attacks, it can destroy 1 opposing spirit with an equal or lower BP than it. This gives you more incentive to increase the BP, because of course, the higher it is, the better the spirit you can destroy. Regardless, it’s a useful effect for clearing the opponent’s field of defense.
Increasing the BP has one more benefit. If the [LV1][LV2][LV3] effect is successful, you can activate the rush effect. With Dark-Tyrannosaura’s rush, when only the opposing spirit is destroyed by comparing BP, you can move one core from your opponent’s life to their reserve. That way, even if you’re unable to take a life with Dark-Tyrannosaura’s attack, you can inflict damage to your opponent’s life anyway. A green symbol is required to activate this effect. That makes the above mentioned nexus, The Dark Galaxy of Dust, even more compatible with this spirit, because it has both red and green symbols. To meet this condition, you could also try a low cost spirit like Pinacochasaurus or DarkDinonychusaw. Both are also treated as being green.
To help out in boosting your BP, this spirit can increase the BP of all your Terra Dragon spirits by 3000. The effect activates during your attack step, at LV2 and LV3. That brings your LV3 BP up to 13000, and if you combine it with The Dark Galaxy of Dust, 16000. Now, the other two effects of this spirit will seem much stronger.
Another interesting idea, if you’re playing a Terra Dragon-based deck, is to include the BS02 X-Rare, The TwinRowdy Diranos. This spirit can give all your Terra Dragon’s evolution, and an additional 1000BP. With Evolution’s power to move around the cores on your own spirits in flash timing, it’s possible to utilize the full potential of all your spirits in a turn. It will certainly help to overwhelm your opponent. Of course, Diranos has an even higher cost than Dark-Tyrannosaura, so it may not be easy to get both of them on your field.
Just watch out for a white deck. Immunity and Invincibility could counter Dark-Tyrannosaura’s [LV1][LV2][LV3] effect.
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==June 2013 ==
The featured card for this month is the blue X-Rare from BS22, The SeaEmperorGiant Duranzam. It’s the second blue spirit to possess the terrifying Great Demolish effect.
Duranzam’s cost is 10. It gets up to 6 blue cost reduction. It has one blue symbol.
Aside from the effects of this spirit, its very high BP helps make up for the high cost. At LV1, it has 7000BP. Four core bring it to LV2, where it has 15000BP. Finally, with six core it reaches LV3, and a brutal 20000BP.
As mentioned above, this spirit has the Great Demolish effect at levels 1-3. It is similar to blue’s signature Crush effect, but even more powerful. The effect reads, “For every [LV] this Spirit has, move 5 cards from the top of your opponent's deck to the trash. If a [Burst] effect card has been sent to the trash by this effect, destroy 1 spirit your opponent controls.” Even at level one, you can destroy 5 cards, more than the maximum of three seen on spirits with crush. Bring this spirit to level three, and that’s 15 cards annihilated at once, a good chunk of your opponent’s deck. There’s a very good reason Great Demolish is such a rare keyword. Just imagine the possibilities when you combine this with blue charge. If the mass deck destruction isn’t enough, you have the chance of dealing additional damage to your opponent just by taking out a burst card.
But that’s not all. With this spirits second [LV1][LV2][LV3] effect, all your spirits in the “Fighting Spirit” family get +5000BP. This card is practically made to be in a Fighting Spirit deck. As mentioned above, it would go excellently with blue charge, an effect given to many Fighting Spirits starting at BS19. If you boost the strength of your other spirits, hopefully they can stay on the field longer, and give you the extra charge you need.
And, if this spirit wasn’t terrifying enough, it has another effect, starting at LV2. All your non-braved cost 5 or more Spirits in the family "Fighting Spirit" gets "Great Demolish". Simply horrifying. Having one spirit that can discard 15 cards is evil. Having more than one… well, you get the picture. The SeaPrince Eon and The SeaEmperor Ivan are two good cost 5 Fighting Spirits you might want to include.
Duranzam seems to exceed BS15’s The IronHero Saigord-Golem. Though, Saigord has a cost of only 8, and the possibility to summon it for free using its burst effect, so it’s potentially an easier card to play.
While using SeaEmperorGiant Duranzam, you still have to watch out for the increasing number of cards that can oppose deck destruction. For example, the purple spirit The Magician Hakuja and the yellow field magic Divine Field. Both can prevent cards from being discarded completely, as long as they’re on the field.
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==July 2013==
This month’s featured card is the white X-Rare of BS22, The DarkKingMachineBeast Darkness-Griffon. It’s a dark, Machine Beast spirit.
Darkness-Griffon has a cost of 8, with four white reduction, and one white symbol.
In terms of BP, the spirit starts out well, having 7000 BP at LV1. Adding one more core brings it to LV2, where it has 10000BP. With four core, it reaches LV3, and has 14000BP. Its final BP is decent, but still inferior to some other X-Rare spirits. On the plus side, it costs only four core to bring Darkness-Griffon to its highest level, so you’ll likely have some core left over to play with.
When this spirit is summoned, at any level, you can return up to two of your opponent’s spirits to their hand. As there are no limits on the cost or BP of these spirits, this is a great opportunity to get your opponent’s X-rares out of the way, at least for a turn. You might be able to use this opening to take out a life or two as well.
Afterwards, using the spirits rush effect, you can draw two cards from the deck. You must have a purple symbol on your field for this to work.
This spirit gets an additional effect when braved, at levels two and three. When it battles, you can refresh this spirit once per turn. This effect can help not just with defense, but with offense as well.
After you activate the previous effect, Darkness-Griffon has yet another rush. This time, while you have a purple symbol, you can send two cores from opposing spirits to your opponent’s trash. If you’re lucky enough, you can deplete a spirit this way, but it could at least help level down an obstacle in your way.
There are numerous ways to ensure you can use this spirit’s rush. First, you could try combining Darkness-Griffon with a purple brave (assuming it has a symbol.) That way, you can utilize both the rush and the “When Braved” effect. Hedgebolg could be a useful brave to try, because when it brave attacks, and destroys the opposing spirit by comparing BP, all cores from the destroyed spirit are send to the void. Using this in combination with Darkness-Griffon’s effect to attack twice per turn, you could potentially send all cores from two opposing spirits to the void.
Second, you could use a nexus such as The Floating Island on the Mercury Sea. It has both purple and white reduction and symbols, making it compatible with a white-main deck. It also has a nice LV2 effect, which can give the keyword “Invincibility” to all your white and purple spirits.
Lastly, there’s Yaiba’s method of braving the spirit with The MidnightSunTreasuredSword Midnight-Sun, which allows you to activate any rush, ignoring the condition. Also, you’ll add 5000BP to Griffon once they’re braved.
This spirit isn’t all that special on its own. You really need to use it in combination with a brave and purple symbols to utilize its full potential. Otherwise, it doesn’t have any other effects after the turn it’s summoned. Even when you can activate all its power, you have to be careful of high BP opposing spirits, or any effects that might send Darkness-Griffon back to the hand or to the trash.
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==August 2013==
For this month, we’ll go all the way back in time to BS01 and review The DragonEmperor Siegfried, Battle Spirit’s first X-Rare.
Siegfried, an Ancient Dragon, has a cost of 6 and three reduction. It has one symbol. The cost is relatively low for an X-Rare. It should not be too hard to summon in a red-main deck.
Siegfried has 4000BP at LV1, 6000BP at LV2 (for two core) and 10000BP at LV3 (for 5 core). While 10000BP seemed nice for its time, it feels rather low when compared to later X-Rares. It’s fair for the reasonable cost, though.
At all levels, Siegfried has the keyword Awaken (Evolution in Bandai’s release). With this effect, cores can be moved to it from your other spirits, in the flash step. It isn’t that Awaken is a bad effect. In fact, when used in a deck with many other Awaken spirits, it could be quite lethal. It’s just that it’s an effect plenty of other spirits have. For an X-Rare, Siegfried probably should’ve had something a little more special, or at least a second effect to enhance its Awaken.
Siegfried has one other effect at LV3 only. When it’s destroyed, you can gain one life. Of course, this could be quite useful in a pinch. As compensation for losing your X-Rare, you at least have the security of an extra life. But again, it seems somewhat lackluster nowadays, when Holy Life allows you to gain lives without having to sacrifice any spirits. On the other hand, red spirits that can increase your life are still pretty rare.
As mentioned above, Siegfried works best in an Awaken deck. Since there haven’t been many cards with the keyword released in later sets, Siegfried isn’t a very compatible card with newer Burst or Charge/Rush based decks. Though, there are cards such as Spirit Link and The Ruby Empty Sky, for example, that can give your spirits Awaken.
Another card which is great for a Siegfried or Awaken-centric deck is the red nexus, The Plateau of Duel, which allows you to refresh spirits with Awaken on your opponent’s turn.
So, in conclusion, with just a decent BP and lack of particularly unique effects, the first X-Rare doesn’t fare too well when compared with newer ones. Still, Siegfried can be an effective card when mixed with the right kind of deck. It will just take a bit more creativity to make it work as your key card in a modern deck, unless Awaken gets more support in future sets.
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==September 2013==
This month's featured card is The WhiteSnakeEmperor Aldius-Viper, the purple X-Rare from BS23. It’s a light spirit.
Aldius-Viper, a Dark Snake, has a cost of 10. This may seem rather high, but it does have six purple reduction to make it easier to summon, as well as a double symbol.
The spirit has 8000BP at level one. Adding two more core brings it to level two, with 9000BP. When Aldius-Viper has 5 cores, it’s at level three, with 10000BP. That amount isn’t too impressive for the max BP a cost 10 spirit. But on the other hand, the fact that it already has 8000BP when at LV1 is quite nice.
When Aldius-Viper is summoned at any level, it has an effect. You can send three cores from any opposing spirits to your opponent’s reserve. For each spirit bought to zero core, you add 1 core to your reserve. With potential for both removing your opponent’s core and getting core boost for yourself at once, this is a useful effect. When used in a deck specializing in purple charge, it’s a move that could turn the game around in a single turn.
Core removal is this spirits’ specialty, which its LV2-LV3 effect also shows. When it attacks, you can move one core from your opponent’s field to their reserve.
At LV3, this spirit has charge, which lets you increase the number of cores moved from the field to the reserve by one. Of course, this doesn’t just apply to Aldius-Viper, but any other spirits you have that would remove core.
When used in a purple charge deck, as mentioned above, this spirit can be used to its full potential, and feels well worth the cost. BP probably won’t be much of an issue, because if you continuously remove your opponent’s core, you can either deplete them or at least lower their levels.
The WhiteSnakeSwordsSaint Albinaga is another useful card to mix with Aldius-Viper. It doesn’t have charge, but it does have a core removal effect. Additionally, if you destroy a brave fused with Albinaga (and this spirit is compatible with any and all purple braves), you can subtract that brave’s cost from Aldius-Viper’s cost, making it easier to summon. Wingwinder is another spirit specifically designed to lower Aldius-Viper’s cost.
Even if you focus on removing your opponent’s cores, you still may want to look out for green decks which specialize in core boost. Red charge decks might also be a threat, given that Aldius-Viper has only 10000BP.
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==October 2013==
This month, the featured card is an Ultimate. Ultimate-Siegfried, of SD19.
Ultimate-Siegfried is an Incarnate, as well as an Ancient Dragon. It has a cost of six, and three red reduction. It has one gold symbol. The gold symbol means that it is an Ultimate. Therefore, it is not treated as a spirit. This makes Ultimate-Siegfried immune to any effects which would target spirits. On the downside, this also includes positive spirit-targeting effects. Also, it can't be braved, and you can’t use the gold symbol for cost reduction.
Ultimate Siegfried starts at level three, with 10000BP. Its next level is four, where is has 14000BP. Finally, at level five, it has 20000BP. Aside from this high BP, Ultimate-Siegfried (and other Ultimates) can also reach levels beyond that of ordinary spirits.
One catch of Ultimates is that they have a summon condition, aside from the normal summoning method of paying the proper cost. In this card’s case, it’s very simple. You must have one or more red spirits on your field.
At levels 3, 4 and 5, this card has the Ultimate-Trigger effect. When it hits, your opponent must block, if possible. However, Ultimates don’t have to block. If this attack is blocked, you can move one of your opponent’s lives to their reserves. This effect is extremely efficient. Not only does it essentially give this card Clash, but you also get the chance to take out an opposing spirit and life in one attack. The trigger for this effect to successfully activate is to move one card from your opponent’s deck to their trash. The card must have a lower cost than this Ultimate. Since Ultimate-Siegfried’s cost is six, it’s likely you’ll succeed. If not, well, you’ve discarded one of your opponent’s high cost cards, which might put them at a disadvantage. This is one powerful effect.
At levels four and five, this card gets yet another new ability, called True-Evolution. When it attacks, by moving one core from spirits you control to this Ultimate, Ultimate-Siegfried gets +3000BP. This gives it a variant on yet another past red ability, Evolution, with the added bonus of BP boost.
Right now, this card is pretty powerful and dangerous, by virtue of being an Ultimate. It is immune to spirit-targeting effects, as mentioned above, and it has the powerful Ultimate-Trigger effect. However, because Ultimates are new, it still doesn’t have much support yet. The same can be said about the "incarnate" family. Even Ancient Dragon support cards are designed for spirits, not Ultimates. As more Ultimate-centric sets are released in the upcoming year, we’ll have to see if this card becomes even more lethal, or falls behind better cards like its predecessor, The DragonEmperor Siegfried.
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==November 2013==
This month, we’ll look at a brave card for the first time, The True Sword of Judgment Truth-Eden. Released in BS23, it was excluded from the Sword Eyes anime in favor of the alternate The Sword of Judgment Re-Genesis.
Truth-Eden has a cost of six, and while the brave’s symbol is red, it has one reduction for each color. However, you must pay at least a cost of one to summon it, even in the unlikely case that you have a card of every other color on your field. Although it lacks a double symbol like the other version, you can still at least get one more symbol by combining it with a spirit.
Re-Genesis has 10000BP by itself, which is high for a brave. After it’s braved, though, it can only give +6000BP to the spirit it’s combined with. That’s a bit of a let-down, but still decent.
Its effect when summoned is a useful one. It allows you to summon any amount of Sword Master spirit or  Exalted Sword brave from your hand without paying their cost. However, you can’t activate their “When Summoned” effect. This will be particularly useful if you want to summon a high-cost Sword Master, such as The TenSwordsSaint Starblade-Dragon (cost 8) or The BladeStar Messiah-Dragon (cost 9). Neither of those cards have a When Summoned effect either, so you’re not missing out on anything. On the other hand, it could be a waste if you summon a card like The ShiningSacredSword Shining-Sword, which has a potentially very powerful effect when summoned.
The True Sword of Judgment has one more effect when braved. When it brave attacks, you can send 1 opposing burst to the trash, then destroy 1 opposing spirit. With no limits to the cost or BP of this spirit, this effect is potentially extremely powerful. Sadly, it won’t do you any good against Ultimates though. It is also only good if your opponent uses bursts. Though no bursts were released during the Sword Blade saga, where this card came from, they have been making a comeback in the Ultimate Battle saga, giving you more opportunities to make use of this effect.
When comparing this card to The Sword of Judgment Re-Genesis, in some ways it’s better and in some ways it’s worse. One of its strengths is that it can be braved to any spirit with a cost of 5 or more, while Re-Genesis is restricted to a cost of 8 or more. Additionally, you do not need to discard any cards in your hand to summon Truth-Eden, and it has a higher BP in spirit condition. Re-Genesis, on the other hand, has a higher BP when braved, and it also has a double symbol.
Given that this card is decent while in spirit condition, an interesting card to mix it with might be The ShadowMoonSwordsSaint Amalthea. It can give Exalted Sword Braves Holy Life while in spirit condition, and when it’s braved, your spirit condition braves can’t be blocked by LV1/LV3 opposing spirits. Amalthea’s cost isn’t too high, and she’s a Sword Master herself, so you could summon one for free with Truth-Eden’s effect when summoned too.
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==December 2013==
This month’s featured card is the yellow X-Rare for BS24,Ultimate-Mikafar. It’s another remake of the original legendary X-Rare, The ArcAngelia Mikafar. This time, though, it’s an Ultimate.
Utlimate-Mikafar has a cost of 6 and three yellow reduction. As a summon condition, you need at least one yellow spirit on your field. Like all Ultimates, it has one Ultimate symbol.
She has 10000BP at LV3, 14000 at LV4, for two core, and 20000 at LV5, for four core. Although not the strongest of Ultimates in terms of raw power, this BP still will give it an advantage over many spirits.
At all levels, Ultimate-Mikafar has an Ultimate-Trigger effect. In this case, if it hits, when your magic effects return one or more opposing spirits to the hand or deck, you can send a core from your opponent’s life to the reserve. Unsurprisingly, yellow’s U-Trigger requires magic use to function. Although it’s not as straightforward as some Ultimate-Trigger effects, it has the potential to be really lethal. Especially because 6 is a fairly high cost, so odds are good that it will hit.
Fortunately, you have plenty of options of magic to use to fulfill the condition. For example, Ultimate Plasma, also from BS24. This lets you send two opposing spirits to the bottom of the deck. Although regardless of the number of spirits you move, you can only decrease one opposing life, this effect could help you get two spirits out of the way for potentially the entire game. Even without Ultimate-Mikafar, it’s a great magic to use. However, you need to have an ultimate as a condition to play it, which is why the two go hand in hand. Note though, that it has a cost of 12. There are plenty of cheaper options, like Dream Ribbon or Dream Horizon.
Mikafar’s LV4-LV5 attack is also designed to help you in using magic. You can play magic from your hand or removed from game area in flash timing without paying the cost. Worried about cost 12 Ultimate Plasma? Worry no more. Of course, you don’t just have to this effect for magic compatible with your Ultimate-Trigger. It can be used for other costly but lethal magic, such as the flash effect of Crush of Supernova, or Solar Breaker’s +6000BP increase. Since you’re playing the magic for free, this encourages mixing colors. There’s no reduction to worry about.
That second effect is a slightly toned-down version of the original Mikafar’s dangerous ability. Even in its weakened state, it’s still pretty scary.
The main thing you have to look out for is magic prevention abilities, such as the effect of The Forgotten Triumphal Arch. Despite all the strengths of ultimates, other effects on the field could prevent you from actually moving opposing cards back to their hand or deck to begin with.
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Category:Basics