East Meets West

So Konami's continued the habit of releasing spoilers for their up and coming sets. Indeed the advertisement page for Generation Force shows a sizable amount of OCG imports and TCG exclusives for players to look forward to. Judging from the pictures shown, it seems that Konami managed to sneak one last Synchro Monster into set along with all the Xyzs (and imported Fusions). However, one card description in particular seemed to catch my interest.

"Synchro Monsters also have a traitor in their midst! Their biggest enemy might be a Synchro Monster itself: the treacherous Orient Dragon."

So out of curiosity I zoomed in on the image using Photoshop to get a closer look at the effect.

Orient Dragon
(Dragon-Type/WIND/Level 6/ATK 2300/DEF 1800)

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters

When this card is Synchro Summoned: Target 1 face-up Synchro Monster your opponent controls; banish that target.

Now I'll admit I wish the darn thing had more ATK, even 100 more would have sufficed, but it stills provides a lot of options the way it is now. 

A way to get rid of that Stardust, Shi En, or Catastor that's blocking your path without being forced to waste your only copy of Brionac. AND another Debris Dragon target to boot? What's not to love? ^_^

Oh wait, it's a Secret Rare!  -____-

Remember players, the game ends with you.

Exceeding Expectations

So a lot of news has been circulating within the past few days. The March 2011 Banlist for one thing, but Exceed Monsters have also finally gotten their mechanics explained. What will this mean for the game? Well the first few packs that released Synchro Monsters produced most of the staples people still use today. 

Duel Terminal 01 - Synchro Awakening:

• Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
• Ally of Justice Catastor
• Mist Wurm

The Duelist Genesis:

• Stardust Dragon
• Goyo Guardian (Recently Banned)
• Red Dragon Archfiend
• Thought Ruler Archfiend

Starter Deck 2008:

• Colossal Fighter

Now that it' known that Duel Terminal 12 - Exceed Startup, Generation Force, and Starter Deck 2011 will introduce Exceed Summons into the game, I'd expect most of our staple Exceed Monsters to make their debut. 

Speaking of which, it's definitely starting to look like Konami is trying to phase-out Synchros completely what with Goyo Guardian getting banned out of the blue and one of the first cards in Generation Force (Gagaga Magician) already stating it can't be used for Synchro Summons.

Some players fear that popular archetypes like Scraps, Karakuri, and Watts will no longer receive support now that Exceed Summoning will become the focus of upcoming sets, but this may not exactly be true. If DT12 is any indication we may start seeing Exceed Monsters being made for existing archetypes like how Vylons received Vylon Disigma.

Remember players, the game ends with you.