Card Review: Road Warrior

Alright, it is time for another card review! The card I will review today happens to be a cover card, but not just any cover card. This card was the first Synchro Monster I obtained when I returned to dueling, and aside from another special card that I've held in my possession for so many years, this card was also the most powerful card that I had when I started on my "Duelist Genesis". Simply because it is a cover card does not inherently mean that it is one of the best, but it is also not one of the worst. Personally, I find Road Warrior to be an interesting card, however, it is apparent that he is not so recognized as other Synchro Monsters out there.

So let's examine this golden Synchron Warrior. Road Warrior is a, LIGHT Attributed, Level 8 Warrior/Synchro/Effect Monster, fighting with 3000 ATK Points and 1500 DEF Points. (In a normal battle, this card could match the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.) First off, the main thing about Road Warrior that I should address is that it is what I would like to call a "Synchron Synchro", or in this case more specifically, a "Synchron Warrior". Synchron Warriors are Monsters that require a specific Tuner Monster to be summoned. These Tuner Monsters have "Synchron" in their name, implying that they Synchronize with other Monsters to become an even more powerful Monster; the Synchrons are used by Yusei Fudo in the anime. Although the Synchrons are not part of an actual archetype, their similarities do pair them up for some interesting trivia.

Now, about Road Warrior. Road Warrior might not be considered to many as one of the greatest Synchro Monsters available. At the time of its release, Road Warrior might have even been the most difficult Synchro Monster to summon. It requires Road Synchron (Level 4) and at least 2 Monsters to add up to a Level 8 Synchro Summon. In terms of the game, that either means waiting 3 turns to Normal Summon 3 weak monsters or exploiting resources in a single turn to Special Summon the necessary monsters to summon Road Warrior. Road Warrior's Effect is very simple. Because of his Effect, however, Road Warrior is simply not made for just any kind of deck. Road Warrior was made to lead decks that use weaker Warrior-Type or Machine-Type Monster Cards. Unfortunately, many people do not see his Effect as being very useful when they could use the Monster he can Special Summon as potential for further Summoning. Despite boasting 3000 ATK Points, Road Warrior probably would not be the optimal choice for many duelists and would be picked after another Synchron Warrior. (I don't often see many of these being used. I am probably the only person I know that has Summoned this guy.)

Since Road Warrior requires Road Synchron as its Tuner, I might as well make a short review of that card as well. Road Synchron is a, LIGHT Attributed, Level 4 Machine/Tuner-Type Monster with 1600 ATK and 800 DEF. For a Level 4 Monster, 1600 ATK is an adequate amount of strength, but still closer towards the lower end of the stronger monsters. Road Synchron's Effect raises its Level by 1 if it battles until the end phase; this effect is so that it might open more possibilities for Road Warrior's Summoning. Road Synchron is not limited to only being used to Synchro Summon for Road Warrior. Since it is a Tuner without restricting itself to being used only for a specific Monster, Road Warrior can be used for other monsters however, it is essentially treated as a Level 2 Tuner for the Synchro Summon of any Monster other than Road Warrior.

Road Warrior strikes me as a card that looks really impressive. Although Road Warrior probably would not be summoned for many duels, it is still one of the cards I find having fun with. I have Synchro Summoned this card before and used it to my advantage, however I may need to utilize more Level 2 or Lower Warrior-Type or Machine-Type as part of my deck. The little Monster that he was able to summon did provide useful for further Summoning or defenses.

"...And now I Synchro Summon ____________!"

This is a misprinted Road Warrior that I received in a Duelist Pack: Yusei Fudo 2 Booster Pack. Everything about it is fine, except it lacks its name. It would have been a Rare** Road Warrior, but because it lacks the foiling from its name and is not "shiny" at all, I call it the "Common* Road Warrior". Road Warrior is only available in Rare and Ultra Rare*** Rarities.

*Common Rarity is identified by having no foiled qualities about the card. Simply because a card happens to be of Common Rarity does not mean that it is not very valuable.
**Rare Rarity is identified by having only the name foiled and nothing else.
***Ultra Rare Rarity is identified by having golden foiling of the card's name and a holographic picture.