Card Review: Quillbolt Hedgehog

A loyal pet to all Tuners! Quillbolt Hedgehog is a weak monster, but when added to the right decks he can aid other monsters to unlock their full potential.

So let's examine this rodent. Quillbolt Hedgehog is an, EARTH Attributed, Level 2 Machine/Effect-Type Monster with 800ATK and 800 DEF. While you control a Tuner Monster, you can revive this little guy with his own effect from your Graveyard. Because of this, he is practically the most useful Synchro Material Monster available. His drawback, if he is special summoned by his own effect, the next time he leaves the field he would be "Removed From Play", or as they would now say "Banished". This drawback effect is meant to prevent abuse of Quillbolt to Summon a very large amount of Synchro Monsters. There are ways to get around this though.

If Quillbolt Hedgehog is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, he is not restricted to only being used as a Synchro Material. Since this card was released long before the "Zexal" era, it has no restrictions to be used as an Xyz Material for cards like Gachi Gachi Gantetsu.

There isn't much to be said for a very common card like Quillbolt Hedgehog, but he is a great asset to lots of Synchro and Rank 2 Xyz Decks. Quillbolt Hedgehog is also available in the (Red) 2010 Duelist Pack Collection Tins, as a Super Rare Card. This Monster is used by Yusei Fudo from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Card Review: Debris Dragon

Time to take a look at a card that I personally favor using in decks. (Myself, along with thousands of other duelists.) Debris Dragon: a Tuner Monster used by Yusei Fudo in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. Compared to many monsters he may not be strong in terms of attack strength, but his abilities are what dueling dreams are made of.

So let's examine this little dragon that can evolve into a legend. Debris Dragon is a, WIND Attributed, Level 4 Dragon/Tuner Effect Monster with 1000ATK and 2000DEF. 1000ATK is very low for many monsters including Level 4 Monsters, but 2000DEF makes him an adequate defender. Like many cards nowadays, however, Debris Dragon was not made to stay on the field for long or battle all by himself. He is supposed to arrive and Synchronize with other Monster Cards on your Side of the field to grow into an even bigger dragon!

When Debris Dragon is Normal Summoned, he can revive any monster in your graveyard with lower than 500ATK Points; it doesn't matter what Level the monster is (This information can actually affect the game play). The monster Summoned by this effect will have its own effects negated, so it is assumed that the revived monster will be used as Synchro Material, as a Tribute, or even as Xyz Material. To compensate having a potent effect, Debris has 2 main drawback effects. First, he is not able to use a Level 4 Monster as Synchro Material, ever. Second, He must always be used as a Synchro Material Monster for the Summoning of Dragon-Type Synchro. By the card's very nature and artwork, it is implied that Debris Dragon is meant to grow into one of the Legendary "Signer Dragons", more specifically Stardust Dragon. His drawbacks add a greater challenge to actually summoning cards like Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend, however, despite his cons he tends to shift the tides of battle.

Debris Dragon is most useful towards the middle or end of a duel, after many weak monsters have been sent to the Graveyard. In rare cases where a user of this card has a bad hand, he can still be used as a shield to ward off the first attack. Because of its potency, Debris Dragon is currently on the Limited List, meaning that only 1 can be used in Tournament Matches. Although these cards only come in Common rarity, they are valuable.

Card Review: Junk Synchron

Time for a little deck "Tuning". This card is a very popular Tuner Monster, used by almost any deck that Synchro Summons and by the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's protagonist Yusei Fudo: Junk Synchron!

So let's examine this iconic synchronizer of weaker cards. Junk Synchron is a, DARK Attributed, Level 3 Warrior/Tuner- Effect Monster with 1300 ATK and 500 DEF. Compared to many monsters, he is a bit weak; for a Level 3 Monster, not too bad. What makes Junk Synchron so amazing is obviously his effect. He is able to revive 1 Level 2 or lower Monster from your Graveyard upon Normal Summoning; this effect cannot be applied if he is Special Summoned. By the way the card is written, there is no restrictions on what monster you can revive other than the fact that it needs to be a Level 2 or lower Monster. With that said, Junk Synchron benefits a deck that utilizes more weaker Monsters, but opens many opportunities to summon even more powerful monsters.

In most cases, this guy can pull a duelist out of almost any situation. Junk Synchron can immediately evolve into Junk Warrior almost every time he is Normal Summoned. Even if he is not used to Synchro Summon for another Monster, Junk Synchron can increase a player's field presence.

The Ace Monster Cards of a Decade

So Yu-Gi-Oh! has been around for just over a decade now, and it is amazing how popular the franchise has become. Most of the success is because of the TV shows that have kept people of many ages excited to buy new cards, trade, and duel with their friends. Because the game changed with the introduction of new card types and archetypes that utilized different mechanics of gameplay, the creators of Yu-Gi-Oh! produced different TV shows to introduce new cards and new styles of dueling. To date there are four Yu-Gi-Oh! TV shows: Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Monsters (or the First Generation Yu-Gi-Oh! That many people are familiar with), Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal.  Because each show has its own story, each show also has its own protagonist with their own card that they consider their best Monster Card. Since each protagonist is meant to be a spiritual successor to the original hero, Yugi, their best cards all share two similarities: They each have 2500 ATK Points and they each need (at least) 2 monsters to be summoned by their intended method of summoning.

So let’s take a look at the four monster cards that have aided our heroes in their duels!

Generation 1

The Dark Magician, held by Yugi in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. I already reviewed this card before, but what I would like to note about it is that its DEF is 2100. For some reason, the other Monster Cards that follow all have 2000 DEF. Yugi's main reason for using this card is simply that it is his favorite. Later in the series, it is implied that this Monster Card is an incarnation of one of the Pharaoh's loyal servants from his past life.

Generation 2

Elemental Hero Neos, held by Jaden Yuki from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Although Jaden did not receive or duel with this card until around the second season it is still considered his best Monster Card. This is a Monster designed by Jaden when he was a child; it was entered in a contest to create a deck of Duel Monsters cards and for some reason the cards were launched into "Neo Space". By being launched into space, the cards were infused with the power of Duel Spirits that Jaden can see. Neos' main ability is to be able to "Contact Fuse" with other Neo Spacians, as the card's flavor text would suggest. (This is an actual mechanic to the Neo Spacian Archetype.) Like Dark Magician, it is a Level 7 Normal Monster. Unlike Dark Magician, it is a, Light Attributed, Warrior-Type Monster Card.

Generation 3

Stardust Dragon, held by Yusei Fudo from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

Here is a card that might have single hand-idly changed the way of dueling forever. For the first time ever, not only was a Dragon-Type Monster Card the best Card of the Protagonits, but it was also an Effect Monster and it also came from the Extra Deck! (Prior to 5D's, The Extra Deck was called the Fusion Deck. The era of 5D's also introduced the Synchro Monster, which changed how people dueled. Most of the show focuses on the importance of Synchro Monsters in society.) At the beginning of the the show Yusei does not use this card because it was stolen from him by his former friend and rival Jack Atlas. Stardust Dragon is said to serve a powerful creature known as The Crimson Dragon. The Crimson Dragon chose 5 signers and entrusted them with a portion of their powers to those signers destined to restore balance to the world. Stardust Dragon, along with the other "Signer Dragons" played a huge role in the 5D's anime. Throughout the series, Stardust Dragon obtained more power evolved forms.

Generation 4

Number 39: Utopia, held by Yuma Tsukumo. Currently, this card is the whole reason anyone is buying the Starter Deck for 2011. (This, and maybe the other two Xyz Monsters that are included.) The Number Cards are said to come from another dimension or another word in Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal; and according to Konami's official Yu-Gi-Oh! website, Xyz Monsters travel from across the galaxy! Number 39: Utopia (In Japan he is known as Aspiring Emperor Hope) is the first Xyz Monster that came into Yuma's possession, granted by Astral's Power. (Astral is an Duelist Spirit from another world. He is a parallel of the Pharaoh from the original series.) Like Ash, Yuma's goal is to "Catch 'em all!". The Number Cards are powerful cards that amplify the emotions (and darkness) within people's hearts. Yuma must duel and defeat those with Number Cards in order to obtain them. Number Cards are also the pieces of Astral's memories. Why does a powerful spirit with amnesia sound like such a familiar premise for a story?... What is interesting about Number 39: Utopia is that his effect is very defensive, just like Stardust Dragon's effect, which is also defensive but in a different manner.

These cards may receive a review on their own sometime in the future for a more in depth analysis. For now, this is just a preview and overview of all of these cards.