Blazing Overclash Katana World Set Review

Blazing Overclash is an alternative set in the english release. It is a combination of two different sets that were released in Japan. Those two sets were Clash! Batzz vs Geargod and the Succession Buddyfight Pack.

The set focuses on giving small (but good) support to various older archetypes to bring them up to snuff in the power creep of the game. A lot of the support is for the decks released during the Buddyfight X season but there is minimal support for many older archetypes. The noticable exception being Hundred Demons which received many useful monsters, spells and items.

Regardless, this article will only be focusing on Katana World cards and dual cards that are part Katana World so lets hop right in!

Oeyama's Monstrous Oni, Kid Ibuki

Lets start off with one of my favorite buddy monsters. Kid Ibuki has a new form. His power is relatively lacking at 8,000 power, 2 critical and 2,000 defense. His call cost is "Put up to one card from your hand into its soul face down and pay 2 gauge". This is relatively expensive but about normal for size 3 Oni Assassin call costs.

His first ability reduces the size of all 2 and lower monsters by 2. This helps him stay on the field while the size 1/2 cards that put cards face down into soul (such as Ayo and Kureha) don't size him off the field. However, if you want to commit to a major "assassination" with a size 3 (such as Akuro-oh) then you're going to have to lose Kid Ibuki on the field. Sometimes that could be wanted. Especially if you want to activate all of the face down souls in Kid Ibuki anyways but sometimes its not. It's this distinction of being efficient on your face down souls that will separate good Oni Assassin players from bad ones.

Kid Ibuki's last unique ability is that when he attacks, the player can put an Oni Assassin from drop zone into an Oni Assassin's soul face down. He has double attack as well so this can potentially activate twice in one turn. Keep in mind it doesn't have to be Kid Ibuki's soul that the cards go into. Sometimes it's not a bad idea to keep a card in reserve in the item's soul.

Lastly, he has the standard Ambush, to bring him back from drop if he was in a face down soul, and soulguard, to help stagger the ambushes from his soul. Instead of all of them going off at once.

Overall, not a terrible card but not something Oni Assassins needed that directly fought problems they face. The play style of the deck is going to sit on this form of Kid Ibuki spewing out size 2 or less monsters or ambush-like spells with varying effects until the time is right to shift to a different size 3 monster. Then, in a perfect world, once that monster is done on the field, you should try to re-ambush Kid Ibuki back to center. This card will help deal with the "pinata effect". Where a non-soulguard Oni Assassin would be destroyed with 2+ souls and not all the face down souls would be applicable for the situation and they could either be useless or not have their full effect be utilized.

I'm hesitant to say if the card will do any significance to Onis being competitive. On paper, it sounds like it has potential but in practice it may not perform as well as intended. We'll find out. After all, that's half the fun of play testing!

Underhanded Means, Shedding Cycle

Now Shedding Cycle, on the other hand, is what makes me get up in the morning. I'm always a sucker for advantage and draw spells fit right into that category. It's a spell with it's cast cost being "Drop a face down soul from an Oni Assassin on your field". Once completed, the player gains 2 life and draws 2 cards and it's a hard once per turn.

This serves a couple purposes well. It gives the deck more life gain to help survive against very aggressive decks and while still giving card advantage. The only other two cards that gave a lot of life gain for Oni Assassins was Watchful Eyes and Dark Arms, Demonic Poison Fumes Cube but neither gave anything more to actually stay in the game. Watchful Eyes doesn't do anything after it give its 2-3 life. A long with the fact that life is used much less than gauge in Oni Assassins, the life gain was practically non-impactful. The cube's 1 life/gauge per turn doesn't help perpetuate plays. It only mitigated the cost of the plays that were currently going on (which had to be paid first before the Cube's refund) and it was once per turn.

Shedding Cycle helps the player survive (with the life) and perpetuate plays by giving two hand cards while also giving you the two life first before the ambush plays happened.

Dark Arms, Fiery Bloom - Violet Blades

Last but not least for the Oni Assassin support is a new item! Its equip cost is pretty standard for Oni Assassin items at 1 life and gauge.

To fit more with the closed center Kid Ibuki play style, the umbrella can attack through center even if an Oni Assassin is in the center.

This is the first Oni Assassin item to have the "can't be destroyed by card effects" effect to help give it some resiliency. It would still probably be wise to put a face down card or two in the soul of the item to either recover from a bad situation or to have there be a consequence for the opponent putting the item to drop or bouncing the item to hand.

Last but certainly not least is that it reduces the gauge call cost of Oni Assassin monsters by 1 so Under the Table and Uji Bridge Princess aren't needed as much for their gauge gain. This should indirectly allow the deck to sustain itself for a longer period of time because not as much gauge is going to be needed from the top of the deck either which means deck outs shouldn't happen as frequently.

Overturn Ghoul Deity, Gojinmaru

Gojinmaru is back with a new form and he has Overturn to boot. He requires 2 monsters on the field go to into his soul and 2 gauge to be paid which is about par for the course for his call cost.

His first ability grants him triple attack and counterattack when a spell is cast. So ideally, triple attack would be during the player's turn and counterattack would be for the non-player's turn.

He comes with a new Overturn that allows all cards to be given Shadow Dive for the turn and an extra critical all for just dropping a hand card which, lets be honest, isn't much of a cost when ninjas regain advantage when they discard.

This card helps the aggressive ninja play style that started back in the X season. It's nothing that will bring ninjas back into relevance but now they're basically a deadlier Death archetype that may catch monster center heavy decks off guard.

I'll be honest, I would've preferred if Bushiroad supported some of the older "counter play" play style that season 1 and 2 ninjas specialized in but that play style is very slow for the current state of the game and this single card would be more impactful.

Weaver of Dream and Fate, Miko

Miko has received her own dual Dungeon/Katana World card! She's a double rare as well which may seem shocking but she's a super generic card that can be a decent defense for almost all Katana World decks.

She's a size 0 that's free to call. Her first ability is if an item would leave the field (through any means and to any location), you may sacrifice her and the item remains on the field.

Her Counter [Act] ability allows the her to nullify an attack that is being directed at the player by putting her from the drop zone to the bottom of the deck and pay 1 gauge. Then, you gain 3 life. This could have use in any open center related deck and it might have potential in drop zone reliant decks such as Skull Warriors/Water since sending cards to the drop is a common occurrence.

This may also replace Cherry Blossom Dance in regards to it's item protection effect but Cherry Blossom Dance may still be used if playing against a deck that likes to call from drop.

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That's about wraps up this set! In case you haven't noticed yet, I did change the background of my blog to make it less bland and more fitting for the blog. It was made by Harry Mansour over at Last Minute Designs. Check out their facebook page here! Hope you all enjoy the background!

Archetype Archive: Japanese Blade

The attribute "Japanese Blade" has been around since the first set with Katana World (Cyber Ninja Squad). It was not fully fleshed out as an archetype until Season 3 (Triple D) with the "Blade Beast" attribute being included.

Players should be aware that there is a difference between the Japanese Blade attribute and the Blade Beast attribute. The difference is all the items, monsters, impacts and spells related to the archetype are Japanese Blade but only the monsters can have the Blade Beast attribute. This is somewhat important but I'll explain why later.

The general play style of the deck is to get DIFFERENT Japanese Blade cards in drop to make your cards on the field more powerful. I stress the word different because it means differently named Japanese Blade cards. Having two of the same card in the drop does not count as two different Japanese Blades. It counts as one. Therefore, the deck will need to run some cards at one in the deck to actually be more efficient.

Buddyfight Season 1

The start of things to come.

So here we are. Starting back at the beginning of Katana World. Japanese Blade as an attribute was introduced but by no means had a deck based around it. It was more the attribute used for early Katana World weapons since they were all based on Japanese swords. Sure you could see a possible basic concept come up with Elite Sword, Mikazuki Munechika but no significant support. The only other Japanese Blade was the vanilla weapon Ninja Blade, Kurogachi.

The next Japanese Blade item was in Drum's Adventure. You could loosely see the "cards in drop" style even more in Five Heavenly Swords, Onimaru since it would lose a soul at the end of the player's turn when it was rested and would be destroyed when it had no more souls left. However, at this point, it was just a stronger vanilla weapon that just destroyed itself after a while.

The last Japanese Blade weapon of season 1 was in Break to the Future. Elite Sword, Juzumaru required a card to be discarded to be equiped and for it to become stronger, required two or more Ninjas on the field. Even by season 1's standards, the card was bad. Especially since Ninjas were played with a closed center. This card had no place in Ninjas. Five Heavenly Swords, Onimaru was still the preferred weapon.

Buddyfight Hundred

This is a Japanese Blade item

The Japanese Blade items in Galaxy Burst still continued the drop related effects. Elite Sword, Dojigiri gained a critical and penetrate if there is an "Elite Sword" or "Five Heavenly Swords" in drop zone.

There is a reason for the odd inclusion for the "Five Heavenly Swords" text. Bushiroad wanted to include the Onimaru sword in Dojigiri's effect. All the items with "Elite Swords" actually translate to "Five Heavenly Swords" in Japanese.

For some reason, Bushiroad decided to translate "Five Heavenly Swords" into "Elite Sword" in English. Maybe to make the text name shorter. Then, for some reason unknown to me, they gave the correct translation for "Five Heavenly Swords, Onimaru". At this point though, they decided to stick with the "Elite Sword" translation from here on out and needed to include Onimaru in Dojigiri's card effect so they added the "... or Five Heavenly Swords" clause in the card's effect.

Blood for the blood god

I believe Tempest Sword, Makiarashi was the first item in the game to allow the player to attack with the item through the center even if there was a monster in the center. Sure it costed a life and one less critical than a vanilla sword but since Katana World only had decks that were closed center at the time, this could actually be useful.

Believe it or not, Water Slash Sword, Murasame is actually a Japanese Blade weapon. It was finally received an errata during the X season to give it the Japanese Blade attribute. Weird I know to finally give it its well deserved attribute so late but better late than never I suppose.

The last Japanese Blade item in the Hundred season was in the Lord of Hundred Thunders extra booster. Giant Fiend Sword, Kuromuramasa has 6,000 power and a whopping 4 critical and costs one gauge. However, the player takes one damage whenever they attack with it.

The self inflicted damage is to reflect the sword's lore. The lore states that the swordsmith Muramasa Senji was a mad person who created swords that demanded blood whenever they were drawn and could not be sheathed until the sword was satisfied with enough blood.

Buddyfight Triple D

Alright. Now we're getting into the meat and potatoes of the archetype with the Roar! Invincible Dragons! set. Blade Beasts were introduced in this set and they're the idea that the swords we've been talking so far have "spirit animals" in them because these swords have existed for so long.

So for example, Elite Sword, Mikazuki Munechika's blade beast is Blade Beast of Blinder, Mikazuki Munechika. Also, a little warning, the blade beasts tend to have long card names so I'll refer to the blade name and say either item or monster once I've stated them (i.e. Mikazuki monster or Mikazuki item).

The goodest boy

With the Mikazuki Munechika monster, you can see where Bushiroad started to implement the "X or more different Japanese Blade in drop" effects. If there's two or more different Japanese Blade in drop, he gains a critical. At the end of his battle that he attacked, if there are five or more different Japanese Blade in the drop, he gets double attack and has just static move and penetrate.

Elite Sword, Dojigiri's Blade Beast monster is Blade Beast of Ghostslash, Tojikiri Yasutsuna. Tojikiri is the Japanese Blade monster or item searcher for the deck. He does cost two gauge (ouch) but he also has a super easy Japanese Blade drop effect to activate. As long as there is just a Japanese Blade in the drop, he gains a critical and penetrate. This is to simulate the Dojigiri weapon ability but make it more general and appropriate for the archetype instead of limiting the card text to "Elite Sword" or "Five Heavenly Sword".

A new elite sword enters the game! This one is Elite Sword, Odenta. It costs a gauge and a life and can't be destroyed by card effects. Pretty simple and straightforward.

What is weird is the Blade Beast monster's effects isn't even close to the item. Blade Beast of Guillotine, Oden Tamitsuyu is a size 3 that costs two gauge. When it enters the field, if there is five or more different Japanese Blade in drop, you can destroy a card on the opponent's field which was strong back in Triple D. There is an easier drop zone effect that gives her double attack if there are two or more different Japanese blade as well and it innately has move.

The item Five Heavenly Swords, Onimaru was reprinted in this set too which makes sense since it's pivotal for the deck to function. Mainly getting cards from deck to drop.

Can't touch this

Blade Beast of Phantasm, Onimaru Kunisuna is the Blade Beast for the Onimaru item and performs the same purpose as the Onimaru item. He is a strong turn 1 card to call, damage for 3, set up the drop and have some defense.

Blade Beast of Exorcism, Juzumaru Tsunetsugu equivalent weapon is Elite Sword, Juzumaru from the Break to the Future set in season 1. Juzumaru Tsunetsugu's ability is also not even close to his item's ability. When he enters the field, you gain a gauge and this isn't once per turn. Nothing crazy.

Sword Skill, Zanteisettetsu is the only defensive spell that is exclusively for Blade Beasts. Since most size 2 and 3 Blade Beasts have move, they're usually being the target of attacks in the center. This spell helped keep them alive and counterattack the attacking monster.

The spell could also be used to keep an item alive. If an item was going to be destroyed, you could use the spell to keep it on the field. It could also be used on Five Heavenly Swords, Onimaru when it would be sent to the drop zone by its own effect to keep it on the field for one more turn.

The last card to talk about is also the impact card of the set. Blade Beast Formation, Shape of the Elite could only be casted if there were 5 or more different Japanese Blade in the drop. By paying 3 gauge, the player gets another attack phase and all the Japanese Blade stand so the can attack again. It's not a terrible card and was usually run at 1 or 2 copies since seeing the card early in the game has it do nothing.

The last set with any Japanese Blade support in DDD was Dragon Fighters with two cards.

What do you think its
Blade Beast's abilities are?

 Japanese Blade finally received an Impact Monster! Mikazuki Munechika, "Forbidden Art Blade Deity Descends!" was a size 2 with 8,000 power, 2 critical and 5,000 defense. It was a slightly easier impact to go off than Shape of the Elite however, it doesn't do potentially as much damage as Shape of the Elite but it does leave a good quality monster on the field. The amount of potential damage output is negligible and the fact that you can put a dying Onimaru sword or monster into its soul to leave pressure on the board was real nice.

The last Japanese Blade card of the set is Blue Secret Katana, Zetsu. The card had weak power but decent critical (1,000 power, 3 critical). When it attacks, you can grab a card with [Set] from the drop and add it to your hand.

The card has never had a good place in a Japanese Blade deck. I did notice a certain deck that could be made with it in Japanese Blade though. The deck revolved around Japanese Blade monsters and Art of Explosive Hades Fall. Since the Japanese Blade monsters ranged from 1 - 3 at this point, Hades Fall had good flexible options. Then, once Hades fall activated, Zetsu could re-grab Hades Fall from drop.

There were two problems with this deck though. First, its partially dependent on the Japanese Blade player knowing match ups and what to put underneath Hades Fall. Second, the deck was slow. If Hades fall went off successfully during the opponent's turn, you would have to wait until the turn AFTER your next turn to re-cast Hades Fall since Zetsu grabs it during the battle phase.

Was it a fun deck? Absolutely. Was it competitive? Not even close. Zetsu was more suited for Secret Sword, Lethal Formation plays.

Buddyfight X

Japanese Blade only received one card from The Dark Lord's Rebirth. Blade Beast of Sixteenth Night, Crane Princess Ichimonji was a size 3 with 7,000 power, 1 critical and 4,000 defense. It's act would allow you to discard a Japanese Blade from the hand and if you did, you would gauge and draw. It helped in several ways: gain advantage, cycle out cards the player doesn't need and getting the "different" number of Japanese Blade in drop.

Unfortunately, she isn't the most aggressive card with her second ability only giving her 1 critical and move if there's three or more Japanese Blade in drop. On turn one, it was more common to only get 1 or 2 different Japanese Blade in drop since the player doesn't know what their gauge is at the beginning of the turn.

Not all who wonder are lost.

You're going to probably start to notice that Japanese Blades get very minimal support from here on out. LVL Up! Heroes and Adventurers only gives them one new card and it barely is used at all. The card is Vagabond, Munechika. It's a dual world Dungeon/Katana card. It's free to call and when it enters the field, the player can grab up to one item from drop back to hand and it has move. Nothing crazy and pretty lack luster for a size 2 compared to what was released in the past. Maybe run it as a 1 of to add more different Japanese Blades to the deck.

Bushiroad became generous with Japanese Blade and released two new cards in Overturn! Thunder Empire! They can finally dual weild! Exquisite Sword, Crane Princess is Blade Beast of Sixteenth Night, Crane Princess Ichimonji's items.

It can only be equipped if there is a Blade Beast on the field. This implies it must be a monster and not one of the items since none of the items have the Blade Beast attribute. It costs 1 gauge and allows another Japanese Blade item other than itself to be equipped. The downside is it's barely an aggressive card but it does help as a nice beat stick item.

The other card of the set is the blade beast for Water Slash Sword, Murasame. White Dew Blade Beast, Murasamemaru is a size 0 and free to call. Its ability is pretty expensive. When it attacks, you may equip a Japanese Blade item from drop and pay 1 life a long with the item's eqiup cost and if you do, you equip it. It's a nice way to extend the battle phase but I've never been able to make him work correctly in Japanese Blade. He's always felt a little clunky and it's potentially an expensive ability.

Same. But different.

At the end of turn, he also destroys himself which is unfortunate. I wish if he had to destroy himself, it was after battle so he could fit better in the middle of the board then when he dies, it would open the center for the items. As it stands, he has to still be on the left or right.

Driven to Disorder gave Japanese Blade gave us only 1 new card again (I hope you can sense the disappointment in my voice). Famous Blade, Kogane-chidori costs 2 gauge to equip. Its damage cannot be reduced which is... nice I guess.

Its second ability activates when you cast a spell. The player gains a gauge and for the turn, the item gains double attack and it's once per turn. After much testing, the two gauge equip cost really hurts this card. Japanese Blade monsters are pretty expensive gauge-wise. This doesn't leave much room for Kogane-Chidori to freely be played without some prior set up with Clear Serenity (or other gauge gain cards) which means his second ability is harder to activate because that's one less spell in your hand.

One minor thing I wanted to take note is that with Kogane-chidori being the first (and so far only) Thunder Empire Katana World item, it means that Batzz Stone, Pyroxene of the Thunder Empire could finally be used in Japanese Blade but I would highly advise against using it.

Buddyfight X2

Voice of the Blade was released in Buddy Legends. It is the second spell with the Japanese Blade attribute. It is a set spell that helps mitigate one of Japanese Blade's biggest weaknesses by making the gauge cost of Blade Beast (not Japanese Blades) reduced by one.

It's act is once per turn. It has the player discard a Japanese Blade from hand and if you do, you look at the top 3 cards of your deck and add up to two Japanese Blade from among them to hand. This ability really helped with the inconsistency of the deck and helped set up the drop zone.

Buddyfight Ace

Last new support was in Buddy Lineage. Purple Electric Flash, Mikazuki Munechika. Mikazuki's new form helps push the aggro the deck needed. At the beginning of the attack phase, if there's three or more different Japanese Blade in drop, all Japanese Blade get double attack and penetrate. Then, if there's five or more, for the turn, all Japanese Blade get 5,000 power and 2 critical. Keep in mind this lingers for the whole turn so even new cards called during the battle phase from Murasamemaru get these abilities.

~Last updated 7/21/2019

Archetype Archive: Water

Water is an interesting archetype. It is basically the red head step child of Katana World. Little supported and tended to be ignored. It usually supports both Ninjas (Ninja Arts) and Skull Warriors (Demon Way) and it will be lucky if it gets it's own standalone support. That being said, even though this list is going to be short compared to other archetype archives, the support for Water is sprinkled in other archetypes within Katana World so get deck building!

Buddyfight Season 1

Technically, Water was in Cyber Ninja Squad. I say technically because the archetype didn't have an actual play style and it was just an applied monsters with no rhyme or reason. These monsters included Loud Laugh Ninja Fugumaru, Stealth Ninja, Kirikakure Saizo, Sea-Splitting Irukamaru and Mobile Ninja, Jiraiya. The only spell with the Water attribute was Demon Way, Noroihikagami. All vanilla monsters or spells with no real cohesive play style between each other and are meant to actually support other archetypes.

I will never understand
how this card got an SP rarity

It wasn't until Break to the Future that Water actually had some semblance of a play style with White Dragon Hermit, Nanase, Cat Shadow, Aoihime and the set spell, Water Technique, Shinotsukuame. Aoihime can search for the set spell to help buff the stats of all the Water monsters. Then, Nanase can sit in the center with 7,000 attack and defense while disrupting the opponent's gauge.

Runaway Female Ninja, Yukishiro acts as a control aspect of the deck since it is a spell nullify and can be on the left or right of Nanase. Disperser of Conflagration, Shiromizuchi was a beefy size 1 but was not overall used in the archetype. Perfect Beauty, Hyoshi Shirasagi also had the Water archetype but if either were ever played, it was probably in a size 1 Skull Warriors deck.

There were some more spells were also created in the set for Water in Break to the Future. They included Demon Way, Kiribusuma, and Water Technique, Minawagakushi. Both cards helped mitigate how aggressive the opponent could be but never directly supported Water (besides attribute).

The last card that helped support Water was Moss Wall, Fudogame but even then, it was another vanilla with high defense that costed a gauge.

Overall, throughout the season, the archetype still wasn't great. You could tell Bushiroad was trying to make an archetype but it wasn't cohesive enough.

Buddyfight Hundred

The Hundred season as a whole did very little to support Water. About the only direct support cards that could be played in the deck was Third Omni Water Lord, Miseria, INV Third Omni Water Lord, Dark Miseria and Water Ploy, Kyokusuinoen.

The first two out of the three weren't even Katana World cards and the third card didn't help any current play style. So overall, there was effectively nothing new.

Buddyfight Triple D

But everything changes in the Triple D season!... is what I would want to say but the only card with the Water attribute from this season was Skull Warrior Bones of the Four Birds, "Akuten Haba" but again, there is no real cohesive strategy for Water that this card can actually do.

Bird. Bird. Bird is the Word.

Buddyfight X

Continuing on with the lack luster support, Premature Passing Bibikawazu came out in The Dark Lord's Rebirth. At this point, it was much more helpful for Skull Warriors than Water.

Once Overturn! Thunder Empire!! was released, Water finally got enough updated cards to actually be a coherent deck with a strategy. These cards were Celestial Deity of Misty Dew Water, Nanase, Heavenly Vengeance, Full-equip Kannon, and their tutor spell, Demon Way, Fresh Blood Nectar.

Same... but different

With these three monsters, they had a size 3/2/0 field that greatly controlled the opponent's gauge and field. Once these cards came out, Bibikawazu could be used to set up the drop zone for the new Nanase. Another notable size 0 run in the deck was First Omni Beast Messenger, Goishi Goma since he reduces the gauge cost of both Nanase and Kannon.

There was one more Water card in the Overturn! Thunder Empire!! set however it synergized with Blade Beast/Japanese Blade more than Water but the card was White Dew Blade Beast, Murasamemaru.

The New World Chaos set brought one new Water card but there was another non-Water card that helped the deck as well. The one Water card was Ninja Arts, Vapor Crow. It didn't do much for the deck but it does have the Water attribute.

The other card was Hundred Mechs general, CHAOS Gishingyuki. Since the size 0's in the deck are Skull Warriors and Kannon is a size 3, CHAOS Gishingyuki could be called at counter speed to the field by sacrificing Bibikawazu or Goishi Goma. Then, he would reduce in size to 0 if Kannon is on the field. Have a 10,000 power double attacking beat stick wasn't bad for the deck since it does lack offensive pressure. The deck gains a respectable amount of gauge because of Nanase so the two gauge cost isn't that bad.

Buddyfight X2

Unfortunately, the support wouldn't continue. The short X2 season had nothing new for Water.

Buddyfight Ace

Ace has graced Water with exactly one card so far for Katana World and it is a good generic card. Celestial Arts, Returning Water destroys a monster on your field to gain a gauge, life and draw a card. This is obviously meant to proc Nanase's destruction ability but it's generic enough to be an Oswira Gard clone for practically any Katana World deck.

~Last updated 4/25/2019

Golgen Garga & Vile Vanity Katana World Set Review

Two sets in not only the same month but the exact same day again. I've gotta say that that's pretty crazy. I'm surprised that they didn't release one during February and another in March. Especially since there were no new cards in February in English. It's more than likely because they were both designed with the other in mind and it fits thematically for both to come out together.

Because one set (Violence Vanity) only had two Katana World cards, the easiest and best way to review them is both in the same post instead of separating them. Plus, Bladedancers are the only Katana World cards in Violence Vanity. It's in there because there was no space for it in Golden Garga and Kanesada doesn't side with Ranma and the vile gang anyways. 

So let's start with Golden Garga!~

Golden Garga

Deity Gargantua Dragon

Jack of all trades

I'm going to be starting on a non-Katana World card surprising enough because it matters later on. Gargantua Dragon has received a new, upgraded version. If he is your buddy, the player may play any Dragod attribute cards in their deck. Even if it's not the same world as their flag.

His call cost is pretty standard for a base form. His standard abilities is penetrate, move and soulguard. So with that out of the way, lets look at his interesting abilities.

The first ability is he can be called to the field at counter speed from the soul of a Dragod by pay his call cost. This allows the punches to keep coming during the battle phase and G-EVO into another form.

The second ability is his new Deity G-EVO ability. At the end of the battle with Deity Gargantua Dragon, draw a card. Then, call one Dragod from the hand on top of him without paying it's call cost. Deity G-EVO only activates once per turn and it's treated as standard G-EVO as well. Without the once per turn clause to this ability, he could get really insane with how often he could Deity G-EVO so it's good it's limited to once per turn.

It's important to note this because this will probably be the preferred buddy for Garninjas. Allowing access to other Gargantua Dragon forms. Obviously it still synergizes with all the usual Garninja cards but it'll be fun to experiment with different Gargantua Dragon forms and evolutions!

Radiant Combat Deity's Glory

Let's go team!

Even though this card isn't Katana World, I wanted to mention it because just like Garga's base forms, it can be used in any world. It is essentially a counter speed G-EVO from drop. This can help if the opponent rests Garga or prevents him from attacking at all or if they're trying to destroy him. Just counter with Radiant Combat Deity's Glory to get over it whatever effect they're trying to apply to Garga.

Affectionate Heavenly Deity, Amaterasu

My girl is back!

Moving onto best girl. Amaterasu has a new form. From this point on, I'm going to call her Affectionate Amaterasu. She can either be called on top of the Kagura-Bell of Worship without paying her call cost or she could be called to the field for that spicy 3 gauge cost.

A common misconception and knee jerk reaction is to use Nirvana Amaterasu instead of Electrodeity of Light, Amaterasu (OG Amaterasu). There's a problem with that. Only using Nirvana Amaterasu is going to drain the player's life pretty quickly. Even to a point where the opponent could just go into final phase and cast an impact. The point of Affectionate Amaterasu is to be used in conjunction with OG Amaterasu. OG Amaterasu will provide the life needed to keep using Nirvana's ability.

If anything, Affectionate Amaterasu could basically replace Susanoo. Susanoo was only useful during the player's turn since he provided no defensive options. Amaterasu still costs the 1 life to use either of her abilities but they work on both on and off the player's turn. Both skills draw a card and she still gets the triple attack that Susanoo has. Sure she doesn't get the penetrate but that wasn't even a big selling point with Susanoo. What's better than the penetrate is her 14,000 power or defense (what?!) she can possess. Plus, losing the penetrate makes her immune to Skill Binder since, you know, triple attack is not double attack. The counterattack is really something that can be ignored. It's obvious that it'll get counter attack. Affectionate Amaterasu will more than likely be destroyed by a card effect when she's on the field as a monster anyways.

What is weirder is I see Affectionate Amaterasu being more frequently called to the side of the field instead of being used as an item. Especially since she costs 3 gauge but the board works well in this way. The reason being is it's preferred to keep OG Amaterasu as the item so the life gain is sustained even when Affectionate Amaterasu isn't available.

Gargantua Thunder Deity Wind Demon Dragon

ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA...

Gargantua gains a new Katana World form in this set and it's actually good. It takes the offense to the extreme. Every time he attacks, he can generate a size 0 dragod with 6,000 power/2 critical and 6,000 defense "token". This ability isn't once per turn. Oh and he has triple attack. No big deal. Let me just basically punch at least six times with just Garga alone since he can call up to three tokens during the battle phase.

I should mention that these monsters are not literal tokens like in other card games. I use the term token loosely since they're very similar to tokens in other card games. They are just like normal monsters and all the normal rules apply to them like any other monster.

It's now a toss up between Thunder Deity Wind Demon Dragon and Gargantua Wind Demon Dragon. Thunder Deity Wind Demon Dragon is offense to the extreme while Wind Demon Dragon provides some defense on the opponent's turn. This is an example where this is no clear cut better card. It depends on the match up. I could even see argument that Thunder Deity Wind Demon Dragon is better since the player doesn't need to worry about defense if the opponent is pummeled to oblivion. 

Sol Aurora

Most wholesome art of the set

I swear this card is almost borderline criminal for Electrodeities. Getting an Art of Shadow Stitching effect for not only free but regaining a life and gauge? What puts icing on the cake for it is Sol Aurora isn't limited to being used only if there's an Electrodeity on the field. It can be casted at the very least to nullify the attack as long as the player is being attacked. This helps combat the the FTK Mobile Aerial Team decks can do with Brave Energy Full Drive! Sure the gauge and life isn't gained but at least you aren't dead.

Deity Dragon Nina Arts, Shadowflash Slash

Watch closely... did you see it?

Shadowflash Slash is clearly meant to be used only with Garninjas since the original Ninja deck can't complete the requirement for it to even be casted. It has two nice, flexible options both with counter. Either go on the offense and give up to three cards on the player's field 1 critical or try to slow down the opponent by destroying up to two cards on their field. Both effects are solid but not over powering. Especially since one critical gain for all cards is pretty easy to deal with and anti-destruction cards tends to dictate what cards are going to be destroyed anyways.

Feline Clone, Nincat

A crazy cat lady's best friend

Feline Clone, Nincat is very similar to Nindog but with a gauge cost to grab more copies. However, he gives all other Nincat 2,000 power and 1 critical. The problem is the player wants a form of Gargantua Dragon on the field. With Gargantua Dragon on the field, Nincat's effect can't even go off to give other Nincats more stats because of the size limit. Because of this, he has no real place in a deck.

I'd rather use Nindog for a couple reasons. First, not only to filter the deck and gain hand fodder, but I'd rather have the option of putting some in gauge if needed. Nincat doesn't have this second option. If any are going to hand, they're doing so during the charge and draw of the turn which is slower than Nindog's gauge effect.

Art of Diversion Kunai

Nincat coming in with the assist

Art of Diversion Kunai is like an enhanced Ninja Arts, Snake Gaze. Sure it needs a Dragod on the field and costs an extra gauge but it rests all monsters instead of just one. This is a nice option against a field full of Vile Demonic Dragon, Vanity Husk Destroyers but just like Snake Gaze, it doesn't rest items and there's some scary items right now. Regardless, it's a nice option that isn't a waste. Shame it couldn't be used to some degree with the original Ninja brothers but I digress.

Cherry Blossom Dance

*eats popcorn while watching the dance*

This card should be reviewed to be used for almost every Katana World deck that uses items even though it's a Ninja Arts and has Garga related artwork which alludes it to only being played in Garninjas.

It's a generic enough card that any deck that has item-removal problems could use it to help keep it on the field (Blade Beasts, Electrodeity, Bladedancers, etc). Especially since Vanity Husk Destroyer is prevalent this season. The can't call from drop effect is just icing on the cake. It's not a huge problem right now for decks to be calling from drop but it at least helps restrict the opponent's options.

Overall, a nice side board card to help deal with Vanity/Brawlzeus/Magic World bounce cards.

Deity Dragon Ninja, Shiryumaru

*yawn*

I'm just not going to say anything about this card. Literally not worth my time. I'd rather run a 4,000 power/2 critical/1,000 defense vanilla monster. Let's move onto something worth my time. Talking about the Violence Vanity cards!

Violence Vanity

Fusion Style Training Grounds, KAZIBA

The squad's all here

I'm glad Bladedancers are getting a few cards. There seems to be just enough Bladedancer cards to just barely make a deck right now so these two cards help supplement them. KAZIBA is the first set spell designed specifically for Bladedancers.

First ability gives all Bladedancers (including the weapon) an extra 2,000 power. That helps with getting over walls and the counterattack of the blade being more successful.

Second ability burns the opponent for 2 life and gives 2 life to the player whenever a Bladedancer monster on the left or right are destroyed. This was a flaw with the deck. The opponent could just keep board wiping the monsters on the sides without repercussion. This kind of forces their hand in going at the player directly. Also, don't forget multiples of this could be set on the field! Plus, they all proc when a monster is destroyed!

Stout Gold Steelframe, KUROGANE

Just a good alternative to OG KUROGANE

A new form of KUROGANE. I don't have much to say about it. It's basically just a different variation of his original form. This one does have triple attack instead of double attack. Unfortunately, it's only 1 critical instead of 2. However, this new form does nullify the chosen card's abilities so Soulguard won't save the card. Overall, this was probably made just for consistency reasons. This is a situation where it's really six of one or half a dozen of the other.

Fusion Assist

Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

One of the promos for Violence Vanity is Fusion Assist. It has one of two options that can be used by paying 1 gauge and if the item is standing. First effect is that neither Bladedancer on the left or right can be destroyed for the turn. The second is a card on the opponent's field loses 3 critical for the turn.

The later option looks more appealing than the former. Especially since Fusion Style Traning Grounds, KAZIBA already deters the opponent from destroying the left or right. At least the 3 critical reduction helps just activate counterattack of the weapon with minimal to no damage. It also helps reduce the threat of double/triple attacking monsters with high critical.

Archetype Archive: Skull Warrior

A long with Ninjas, Skull Warriors (and consequently, the Demon Way attribute) were the other archetype to have came out when Katana World was released. They're based off of yokai from Japanese mythology or different undead animal spirits. They are the first deck I got into the game with and is one of my personally favorite decks even if it's not competitively viable.

Buddyfight Season 1

Skull Warriors were first introduced in the Cyber Ninja Squad set. In the anime, Jin Magatsu plays the deck. They were introduced as a control/aggressive play style with a risk/reward mechanic. Many Skull Warriors have above average stats but in exchange, many die at the end of the battle. Such an example would be Blood Knife, Kimensai. He gets free penetrate but in exchange he dies at the end of the turn.

Damned if you do. Damned if you don't.

Tempest, Garo-oh is another example. He could be a good turn one attack/wall with that 5,000 defense. If the player needs the offensive push though, they can pay a gauge to give him 3,000 power and double attack but he dies at the end of the turn. The ability is not once per turn so Garo-oh's power can keep increasing to deal with a wall on the field as long as the gauge is available.

All of these abilities are a decent trade off but after a couple turns, the player will run out of steam from all their monsters destroying themselves with nothing to really show for it.

That's where Evil in Heart, Yamigitsune (OG Yamigitsune) comes in! If a Skull Warrior deals damage to the opponent, Yamigitsune could use its "To Darkness" ability to put (not destroy) the monster to the drop zone. If he does, the player draws a card and luckily, he does not destroy himself at the end of the turn. Making him good fodder to call to the center for some defense.

Their spells compliment their self-destructive play style. Demon Way is the spell/impact attribute that are meant for Skull Warriors.   Return to the Underworld is the original, signature set spell. By paying 1 gauge, the player can call a size 1 or less Skull Warrior WITHOUT paying their call cost. This innately means that Yamigitsune is the default choice but any Size 1 Skull Warrior can be chosen ultimately. There can also be multiple Return to the Underworld set spells on the field and they can all be used since the ability is a soft once per turn.

Return FROM the Underworld makes
more sense

Demon Way, Sakurafubuki is one of the best spell nullifies that have been made. In fact, as I was writing this article up, it got limited to 1 on the irregular list but that isn't because of Skull Warriors. For 2 life, the player can nullify a spell casted by the opponent. Remember that nullifying a card is after its call/cost/equip cost is spent so the opponent could lose more than just the spell card that was casted.

Skull Warriors are very gauge reliant so Clear Serenity is a solid choice. Especially since up to this point, it was the best card that gave the move amount of gauge and it was still at counter speed.

I found it baffling why the two cards or less requirement is needed on the Demon Way, Karakurenai. Especially since nothing in Skull Warriors had discard effects (yet). Over the course of the years, it got harder and harder to pull off this impact because of all the card advantage introduced into the game.

Immortal Entities only had one Skull Warrior and man does it suck. Evil Sins, Shumokuzame was super expensive at 3 gauge. When he entered the field, you may choose a Demon Way from the drop zone and put it to your hand. If you do, put up to three cards from the opponent's drop zone to the bottom of the deck. Didn't fully understand why he existed but he was something to play if the opponent required certain cards in the drop (like Wizards). I would've preferred to play Demon Way, Sakurafubuki and just nullify Great Spell, My Grandfather Clock. I suppose the player could always grab back Clear Serenity so they don't lose the 3 gauge from Shumokuzame's call cost.

Drum's Adventure had the next line of main support with only two new Skull Warriors. Aftermath Gagaku was a big, size 1 beat stick. 7,000 power on a size 1 is actually a big deal back in the day. Most cards that had 7,000 or more power were either size 2 or 3.

He can be in my avant-garde
"death" metal band as the flutist

Undefeatable, Setsujishi is a fall back card if the self-destructing Skull Warrior couldn't go off with Yamigitsune's ability. At the end of the turn, you may send any number of Skull Warriors from the field to the gauge including himself. He can't be called to the center but Yamigitsune already belonged there anyways.

On to Break to the Future! At this point, I guess I wasn't sure what Bushiroad's general game plan with Skull Warriors were going. The only clear win con that they gave was calling a full size 1 board with Yamigitsune.

Now they added Treachery, Jakikarasu and Diversion Troublemaker, Bakemujina. Two monsters with move but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Other than Yamigitsune being destroyed in the center and the above two monsters could move to cover the center.

The real winner of the set is Cat Shadow, Aoihime. She set up the drop perfectly. Then, the player tutors Return to the Underworld to call the monster that was discarded back. It's unfortunate that she is a size 2 but her ability outweighs that downside.

The Golden Buddy Pack only had one decent card. Defiant, Sabifukuro helped accelerate putting a Skull Warrior into the drop instead of relying on Art of Explosive Hades Fall. Then it could be resurrected back with Return to the Underworld.

Buddyfight Hundred

Still one of my favorite pieces of card art

Just like with ninjas, Miracle Impack introduces one Demon Way impact for Skull Warriors. Demon Way, Ukishizumi Ikusabume is an impact that has nothing to do with closing out a game which is a shame because Karakurenai, like I said earlier, has the weirdest casting requirement but I digress.

Pay 2 gauge. Then, put any number of Skull Warriors from the field to the drop and draw that many. This was a good fall back card if the field couldn't be sent to the drop by Yamigitsune's effect. However, 2 gauge was expensive back then so I doubt it was a super  viable card. Thankfully, a better version of this card came out later but we'll get to that soon enough.

Omni Lords were introduced in Buddyfight Hundred. The first Omni Lord belongs to Skull Warriors. First Omni Beast Lord, Ziun came out in Galaxy Burst. He didn't belong to the size 1 field rush deck that Yamigitsune supported in Season 1. In fact, his play style wasn't that well supported and pretty boring. The play style was to just punch with 3 critical and penetrate that couldn't be nullified. This was a scary play style but the pay off wasn't drastic enough. He was overall just ignored usually.

The hero we didn't deserve but
the hero we needed

What wasn't ignored and was a sight for sore eyes was Demon Kid, Hiunmaru. He had great stats (6000/2/1000), and a great ability. When he was called from the drop zone, the player gained a gauge but he would die at the end of the turn. He was a free monster to call with Return to the Underworld.

Hiunmaru helped the gauge shortage with Skull Warriors but wasn't the solution. What did help more was Odd Ritual, Skull Festival. By paying 1 life, the player could call a size 2 or less Skull Warrior WITHOUT paying its call cost.  This helped alleviate the gauge consumption from constantly using Return to the Underworld.

Sure, Almighty, Dokakusai or Outlander, Bokunryu could be called with Odd Ritual but the better option was usually either Hiunmaru or Thunderclap Goraiko. Goraiko can activate Yamigitsune's "To Darkness" during the main phase which helped the deck speed up a little and cycle for a useful card.

As far as defense is concerned, Demon Way, Oborogenbu and Lightning Speed, Tsukiusagi helped Skull Warriors deal with link attacks since prior to these cards, no nullify could stop an open center link attack to the player. Since Skull Warrior's defenses have always been on the weak end, it isn't uncommon for the opponent to destroy Yamigitsune in the center prior to their battle phase.

Save me R-N-Gesus!

One "tech" options (if you want to call him that) was released in Lord of Hundred Thunders. Don't like a weapon that your opponent used last turn? Then try to hit them with Scorpion Armor, Kenrosai. That way, the opponent has to either wait another turn before attacking with their item or they have to call over it.

Hundred Demons General, Gishingyuki could be called from the drop by paying 1 life, sacrificing a Skull Warrior or Hundred Demons and paying his call cost (2 gauge). Sure it's expensive but if you're low on hand cards, he is an option. Keep in mind it only states "Hundred Demons". That means you could sacrifice Odd Ritual, Skull Festival for him.

The last card I want to mention is Hundred Demons Sorcery, Hyakaryouran. It's not a great card since it relies on milling a monster for the attack to be nullified and gain 2 life. However, I did make a casual deck of 44 monsters and 6 spells with 3 of them being Hyakaryouran just for fun. The other 3 spells were draw spells.

In the extra booster, Buddy Allstars+, Skull Warriors were given two new cards.  Yamigitsune (finally) gained a new form. Boy Transformation, Yamigitsune is a size 0. It's ability "Sense Synchronization" puts (not destroy) a Skull Warrior to drop when it deals damage to the opponent. that deals damage to the opponent equal to the size of the monster sent to the drop. This gave some viability to running a size 3/0 build based around First Omni Beast Lord, Ziun. Ziun couldn't be nullified then, with Boy Transformation, Yamigitsune's ability, the player could deal 6 damage on turn 1.

Your death will not be in vain

What was the real MVP card from the extra booster was Demon Way, Arakuyou. Remember how I said above that there was a better version of Demon Way, Ukishizumi Ikusabume? Well we have reach it. Looking back, I find it funny that I thought this card was horrible when it first came out. I wouldn't give it the light of day. I just refused to acknowledge that this card had any merit and for a long time, I didn't even play test it.

Arakuyou did mark a small but significant change in the Skull Warrior game play. Later on in subsequent seasons, Skull Warriors stopped "putting" their monsters to the drop and fully embraced just destroying themselves which helped their game play flow better. This wasn't the case just yet which is apart of the reason why I thought the card was bad. As I explain future cards, it will become more obvious how helpful Arakuyou would become and my opinion of the card took a complete 180 degree turn.

Back then, I was looking for answers to actually get Yamigitsune's skill to go off. Not a contingency plan. What I did realize is the player should use Yamigitsune's skill as a façade. The real goal was for the opponent to waste hand cards destroying your Skull Warriors or nullifying attacks during the player's battle phase. Then, at the end of the turn, when 2 or more Skull Warriors destroyed themselves total during the turn, draw 3 to replenish the hand. Sure, this draw tactic was slow since it was at the end of the turn but the problem with Skull Warriors at this time was once the opponent stopped them for one turn, the figurative train ran out of steam. Arakuyou helped keep the train going.

Terror of the Inverse Omnilords actually gave some solid support for both the full board of size 1 Skull Warriors and the size 0/3 build.

*Waves back*

On the size 1 build, we have Ninja Blade, Chirizakura and Demon Way, Jugonrensa. Chirizakura helps destroy Skull Warriors that were already destined to die in the center to bump up its own attack and help activate Demon Way, Arakuyou quicker. Then, the player could have one of the Skull Warriors with move on the field and move to the center during the opponent's battle phase. I dont want to go super in depth on the weapon on this post since I talk about it a lot more here!

Remember how I hated Arakuyou initially but grew to love it? Yeah the exact opposite happened with Demon Way, Jugonrensa. On paper, it looks awesome. Gaining a gauge, draw and life for calling the normal field sounds great. I don't know if it was just me but I saw this card way too much. At 3 or 4 copies, it was cluttering my hand. If I saw one, a second one would always be right behind it. At 2 or less, I never saw it and then I questioned why I ran it.

The problem with Jugonrensa ultimately but it was too slow. The reason why Dragon Emperor Legend (DEL) is so strong and has the same effect is because it has no prior requirements so it's fast during the main phase. Jugonrensa was only at the same level as DEL once everything was set up on the field. It didn't assist with getting to that ideal board so it was practically a dead card with one or no Skull Warriors set up, less than ideal with two Skull Warriors on the field and just as good but slower with the full set up.

For the size 0/3 builds, INV First Omni Beast Lord, Kage Ziun and First Omni Beast Messenger, Goishi Goma were the hot cards. Kage Ziun had 4 critical that couldn't be nullified if the player paid 1 gauge and really just helped the build have more consistent access to good size 3s for Boy Transformation, Yamigitsune.

Goishi Goma was very flexible in what decks it could be played in since it reduced the gauge cost of size 2 or greater Katana World monsters. Meaning not only was the size 3/0 Ziun build an option, but so was Gojinmaru in ninjas but he wasn't worth it in ninjas since there were better options.

Buddyfight Triple D

Just like with Ninjas, Skull Warriors also got their first impact monster in the Buddy Rave set with a hell of a name. Skull Warrior Bones of the Four Birds, "Akuten Haba" was a impact monster with randomness build into its effect. I did put it in my casual 44 monster, 6 spell Skull Warrior deck since the point of that deck was to do the ideal 6 damage from the impact monster. It was fun when it went off correctly.

Even though I built a fun deck around it, I was ultimately disappointed with Akuten Haba since Skull Warriors received no new impacts since Miracle Impakt and even then, that was mediocre. If there is one thing I personally do not like is a lot of randomness in card effects.

You could say he was a... game changer

Fortunately, that was short lived because Roar! Invincible Dragons actually had Yamigitsune's impact monster form. Yamigitsune, "White Fire, Shigaisoshi" costs 2 gauge and destroy a Skull Warrior on the field to call him. He would then re-stand a Skull Warrior and they both could attack during the final phase. Plus, since Return to the Underworld and Odd Ritual, Skull Festival ignores the call cost, impact Yamigitsune can be called cheaply during the main phase.

The rest of the set had some of the best support Skull Warriors ever had at this point. The new monster to call to the center that gave some good defense for the deck was Revelation Tactician, Keiganryu. With him, Skull Warriors were now a size 1/3 build instead of just size 1's. Keiganryu also made Arakuyou much more of a valid card. Keiganryu could easily be destroyed twice in one turn which does fulfill its requirement of two or more Skull Warriors destroyed in one turn. Even if it is the same Skull Warrior.

Also, the new strategy was to call impact Yamigitsune and re-stand Keiganryu to deal 5 damage during the final phase.

The other size 1's in the set helped a lot as well. Snake Princess, Setsuna was a nice addition to the game. Have a secondary way to call monsters from the drop besides the set spells. With her, the player would usually resurrect either Demon Kid Hiunmaru for a free call or Godly-Speed, Natsubame and draw a card. Plus, since all the above mentioned cards destroy themselves at the end of the turn, it sets up Arakuyou easily. Hopefully by this point, you can see why I started to love the card.

Talk about a pop up book

Four Dimensions certainly had Skull Warrior monsters and Demon Way spells but they were more designed for the new Searing Executioner deck. The spells worked more with Skull Warriors to a certain degree but were not meant to be directly supporting them. Those being Demon Way, Akeshigure, and Demon Way, Jigokuezu.

Akeshigure would be a mid to late game draw spell for Skulls since they didn't mill as fast as Executioners. For all intents and purposes, Arakuyou was still better but the option to draw more was at least there.

Demon Way, Jigokuezo was Bushiroad's way for the size 3 Skull Warriors to be able to be called from the drop zone. Most of the time, you wouldn't retrieve the spell from drop it by paying the 2 gauge cost. It was mainly used to recall Keiganryu from drop. It's much more flexible than Return to the Underworld but it can get pretty expensive.

The climax booster, Dragon Fighters, didn't have much support for Skull Warriors. It did reprint Strength Summoner, Kotenso which was originally a promo card. It's weird that they deemed this card important enough to be reprinted. The original promo couldn't be foil. They also messed up his name and called him Strength Beckoner, Kotenso by mistake. Woops! Gameplay wise, he did help occasionally but most of the time, the +2,000 attack wasn't needed. He was side board at best.

What was a hot card for Skull Warriors from the set was Companion Katana of Magatsu, Yamigitsune. He is the first Yamigitsune that actually destroyed the Skull Warrior instead of putting it to the drop. Again, this help with all the previous support going in this direction. If you want to read more in depth on what I think about the card and its strategies, check out my article here that I wrote because I was so hyped for it.

Buddyfight X

Set 1 of the X season, The Dark Lord's Rebirth, only had two cards related to Skull Warriors printed and one of them was a reprint. The reprint was Demon Way, Oborogenbu. It had terrible para foiling. The foiling was barely noticeable but the artwork and flavor text was much funnier than the original print which I appreciate.

The second, more important card that was printed was Premature Passing, Bibikawazu. He is a size 0 and was free to call. When he was called from hand, the player could put a total of two Skull Warriors (or Water) from the deck into the drop. His attack could also no be nullified if attacking alone but he's not played because of that ability. As crazy as it sounded, I was hesitant to say he was good upon initially reading him but after some play testing, I started to see his uses and he's been in my deck ever since.

The drop zone set up is way too strong to ignore. From there, the player could use Demon Way, Jigokuezu to call Revelation Tactician, Keiganryu and have some solid defense. Or alternatively, use Jigokeuzu to call a Yamigitsune form and attack with Bibikawazu. His attack can't be nullified so it's more of a safe bet that the attack will land.

In the Chaos Control Crisis, there was only one Skull Warrior I wanted to mention. CHAOS Nine-Headed Dragon Sword is (for some reason) a Skull Warrior. He is a dual world card (Dragon/Katana) with mediocre stats then dies at the end of the turn. He doesn't have any use that any other card up to this point didn't already do better.

Master eyes hider since 2014

There is only one card I want to mention from the Evolution & Mutation set and that is Yamigitsune Hidden in Garments (from here on just called Garments). Garments is very similar to Evil in Hearts, Yamigitsune.

He's a dual world Darkness Dragon World and Katana World card. He costs a life more but when a monster or item (not just Skull Warrior) deals damage to the opponent, you may destroy it and draw a card and gain 1 life.

Since Skull Warriors started to outright destroy themselves, I wondered if there could be an errata for OG Yamigitsune to destroy instead of put. Once Garments was released, I realized Bushiroad would rather reprint a new version of Yamigitsune to do almost the same thing than errata old cards which is a fine solution and makes things less complicated in the long run.

Best thing about this card is the monacle

One key card to take note of with Garments was Return to the Underworld. Return to the Underworld could be used on Garments since he could be resurrected through Underworld for a cheaper cost. He is basically a more updated, slightly more power crept version of Evil in Heart, Yamigitsune.

The dual world cards continued to be printed with the LVL Up! Heroes and Adventurers set. This time, the two Skull Warrior support cards were both being shared by Dungeon World. For a long time I was wanting a Dungeon/Katana World Jin Magatsu card. Many other characters from the anime were getting their own dual cards.

I was severely disappointed when Merchant of Darkness, Jin was announced for several reasons. First, he is a worse Odd Ritual, Skull Festival. He costed a gauge and a life to call a size 2 or less while still requiring the call cost to be paid. Second, he took up the space that a Yamigitsune form would take so he had no staying power unlike Odd Ritual, Skull Festival being a set spell. Third, even though it is a bad ability and expensive, it was a hard once per turn ability.

The second card from the set completely relieved me of any frustration. I wasn't expecting Yamigitsune to get a new Dungeon World/Katana World form in the same set. Master Clown, Dark Fox was an unexpected gift. Up until now, Skull Warriors have been struggling to deal with decks that can set up even a mediocre wall. Their numbers weren't high enough to deal with 8,000+ defense monsters. Sure they had Demon Way, Geppakugiri and Double Loss but those card were feeling the power creep from the X season and weren't as effective anymore. Their whole play style wants them to directly attack the opponent and they lose steam easily when dealing with closed center decks.

Enter Dark Fox! His ability is a mouthful. At the end of the battle that a Skull Warrior (or Adventurer) on the player's field attacked, the player chooses a monster on the opponent's field. Then, the player may destroy a monster on their field and if they do, they remove a soul and destroy the chosen card on the opponent's field. The ability isn't once per turn either so start popping your monsters without a care!

Game changer 2.0

This card massively helped Skull Warriors deal with walls since it was a multiple Double Loss-like effect and was faster. Then, the player could regain advantage with Arakuyou! Sure, it didn't help against literally every deck since Prism Dragons were immune to destruction but soul could be removed and it still helped bring them down and be more manageable.

Lynx-Eyed Military Deviser, Keiganryu was a shock to say the least. Revelation Tactician, Keiganryu was starting to not be as powerful as he once was but I didn't expect a retrain of him to be made. I'm totally fine with the retrain though. He costed the usual 2 gauge but he now needed to be called on top of a Skull Warrior.

His abilities include the usual soulguard and size 1 reduction but he has two new abilities. First is penetrate. Second, he gets to call a size 1 or less Skull Warrior from drop by paying their call cost. He helped set up hand or gauge based on the occasion. The best strategy was to call Bibikawazu to put two Skull Warriors from deck to drop. Then, call Keiganryu on top of Bibikawazu. Then, during battle, either call Natsubame to draw a card or Hiunmaru to gain a gauge. After turn one, just call whatever Skull Warriors would work for the current match up.

With the advent of Chaos monsters in the X season, many monsters became "chaosified" and basically look like cybernetic enhancements were added to them. This included Blood Knife, Kimensai. His chaosified version is CHAOS Kimensai. He barely has any legitimate uses in Skull Warriors. If he was going to be used, it would be with Boy Transformation, Yamigitsune but Ziun's forms do it better. This card is perfectly acceptable to be ignored.

Demon Way, Akishigure, and Clear Serenity were the Demon Ways that got reprinted in New World Chaos. The new Skull Warriors that were printed in New World Chaos were Tumultuous Omni Lord, Ziun, Hundred Mechs General, CHAOS Gishingyuki and Evil Ocular Arts, Yamigitsune.

Ziun is the pretty much the same as other Ziun variants. It's still the best in the size 0/3 Boy Transformation, Yamigitsune for the sake of having enough Ziuns in the deck.

...AND HERE COMES THE GIANT FIST!
PATRICK NO!

Hundred Mechs General, CHAOS Gishingyuki is actually more useful than it appears. For Skull Warriors, he can work for both the Size 0/3 build and Size 1/3 build since he'll become a size 0 in either deck. Hi upside is his 10,000 attack power with double attack to help take down walls that may not be destroyed by card effects. His main downside is he is expensive to call at two gauge. I usually just run one copy in the deck and put him in the drop with Bibikawazu's ability so he's always available to be called if needed. Keep in mind "Change of Parts" puts the monster to the drop so it doesn't activate destruction effects.

Evil Ocular Arts, Yamigitsune is essentially a better, stronger version of Snake Princess, Setsuna. He costs one life instead of a gauge which helps with burning out of gauge. He also has more attack and critical. He actually helped increase the amount of gauge the player could get by called Demon Kid, Hiunmaru.

At the release of this set, I often debated if Setsuna was more useful than Evil Ocular Arts, Yamigitsune since she does destroy herself at the end of the turn which helps with destruction activation cards but ultimately, it didn't matter enough and Evil Ocular Arts, Yamigitsune's stat increase and alleviation of gauge was much more useful.

I wanted to give an honorable mention to one card from New World Chaos that is not a Skull Warrior or Demon Way attribute card and that is Hairpin Needle, Hoozuki. Even though it is an Oni Assassin item, it does synergize well with Skull Warriors. The item can attack through center and allow the player to draw a card when a Skull Warrior is called from drop. Coincidentally (or not) Skull Warriors are a closed center deck and like to call monsters from the drop so it fits perfectly. It is expensive to equip at one gauge and life but it is viable enough to be used in Skull Warriors.

Buddyfight X2

Both Buddy Legends and Solar Strife both had one card each of support. Buddy Legends gave us Humanoid Beast, Yaejako and Solar Strife had Freak-Wrist Beast Lord, Ziun.

Yaejako has two very different but important abilities. Her first ability was a hard once per turn ability called "Pale Fire Circle". It allowed her to be called from the drop if there is a Skull Warriors on the field and by putting a spell from the field into the drop zone. Keep in mind that this can be any set spell on the field. Yours or your opponent.

I wouldn't recommend
giving her a handshake

This doesn't sound special or impactful but it is. First, at this point in time, Black Dragon Requiem was a deck that prevented almost all its set cards from being destroyed by card effects. Second, Invitation to Death Ground was a generic Darkness Dragon World set spell that made it very easy to completely shut off Skull Warrior's prominent play style. Yaejako circumvented the anti-destroy effects by "putting" spells to the drop and was able to help Skull Warriors get back in the game. Even if Invitation to Death Ground isn't on the field, it helps remove set spell cards on the field from the opponent that could help with their main strategy (i.e. Guardians, Executioners).

Her second ability is when she enters the field, you destroy another Skull Warrior on the field and if you do, you gain 1 life and draw a card. Again, this doesn't sound super helpful but it did assist with being able to cycle cards and activate cards during the main phase that required a monster to be destroyed in order to activate (Arakuyou, Double Loss, Geppakugiri, etc). Unlike her first ability, this ability is not once per turn so the life gain could be really helpful to survive the next turn.

Freak-Wrist Beast Lord, Ziun actually took a turn for the better than his other forms. He's more optimized for a size 1/3 deck because he reduces in size by 1, gains 3,000 power and 1 critical for each other size 1 or omni lord on the field. That means in a traditional Skull Warrior field, he could get up to 12,000 power and 5 critical that can't be nullified with penetrate.

This Ziun indirectly marked the end of the size 0/3 build being a unique strategy. Why run smaller size 0 monsters that have clearly less support than the size 1 variant anymore? The size 1 build now has everything the size 0 deck ever had to keep it unique.

In regards to if Lynx-Eyed Military Deviser, Keiganryu or Freak-Wrist Beast Lord, Ziun is better, I would have to say it depends. Keiganryu can gain the player more resources and overall attacks in a turn but Ziun has higher critical and power but less attacks in a turn. Plus, Ziun is cheaper and easier to get on the field. It's ultimately up to the current match up the player's preferred play style.

Buddyfight Ace

Even though Miracle Fighters ~Miko & Mel~ focused mainly on supporting Electrodieties for Katana World, a couple cards did slip in for Skull Warriors. Shutting Out the World, Yoroinezumi gives all Skull Warriors (including himself) +1 critical and when it enters the field, if there is another Skull Warrior, the player gains two gauge and this is not once per turn. He essentially replaced Demon Kid, Hiunmaru in my deck and helps mitigate the need to use Clear Serenity. He is a solid 3 or 4 in the deck.

He just keeps getting better and better!

The last card to mention is Celestial Arts, Returning Water. Like Yaejako, it helps activate destruction reliant effects during the main phase while regaining resources and cycling the hand. Plus, in a more broader spectrum, Katana World got their version of Legend World's Oswira Gard.

Just wanted to note that even though Dimension Destroyer had a lot of Katana World support, none of it helps Skull Warriors in any way.

Buddy Lineage introduced a new Yamigitsune form which I wasn't expecting but whole heartily will embrace. Flames of Magatsu, Yamigitsune has a much more devastating effect that past forms. When a Skull Warrior attacks and deals damage to the opponent, they may be destroyed and if they do, the opponent drops a hand card, a gauge and a life.

Keep in mind that card effect damage that doesn't involve a battle don't work with Yamigitsune. Such an example would be Thunderclap, Goraiko. However, penetrate still would activate from a card like Blood Knife, Kimensai. This stipulation was required for this card so the new Yamigitsune's effect doesn't activate off of himself and activate a nasty chain reaction.

~Last updated 2/17/2019