Once again, we are back with a deck primer introducing one of the hottest Pokéstars around right now, Urshifu VMAX (Rapid Strike), in it's blockbuster debut in the 2021 post Fusion Strike format! This deck is going to be filled with a lot of Kungfu fighting and double the action with your trusty sidekick Galarian Moltres V, where they try to take on the TCG world!
Read The StoryWhere there's smoke, there's fire. And what better way to put out a problematic fire than with a healthy dose of water and some tactical espionage?
Read The StorySpeeding past the whirling gales and diving deep into the unknown abyss, let's get right into the heart of the matter with the rundown of this set and we hope you aren't afraid to get a little wet!With Duelist Pack 26: Duelists of the Abyss, what you can expect are cards that make a splash, some in a cutesy playful way, and some... in a gargantuan leviathan kind of way. The set revolves solely around water attribute monsters used mainly by the original man of the sea, Mako Tsunami, leader of the Barians, Ryoga Kamishiro/Nasch, and the Blue Maiden herself, Aoi Zaizen!If you aren't familiar with these three characters, fret not! They say the fastest way to get to know someone is to duel them or duel like them, and once this pack hits, we're sure you'll be well acquainted with them in no time at all! Starting off in series order, we'll take a look at Mako and his [Umi]/Ocean based cards.Only real duelists dive head first into the deep.Utilising fearsome creatures of the depths, your opponent will never know what hit them! This theme excels in surprising your opponent with various effects that disrupt their gameplay such as [Mega Fortress Whale]'s effects to allow all water attribute monsters to launch direct attacks or destroy a face up monster during your opponent's battle phase, [Kairyu-Shin - Leviathan]'s effect that restricts players from summoning more than 1 monster unless they are water attributed, or [Physalia]'s effect to negate a spell or trap card once per turn and increase it's Atk/Def, and that's just us dipping our toes into the shallows! However, in order to get the maximum profit from these sneaky underwater ambushes, you'll need to keep your monsters within the boundaries of the ocean, or rather [Umi] based cards, as you plot your enemies untimely demise at sea. If being all [Sneak 100] isn't your style though, you might like the more... direct approach, panic induced splashing guaranteed.Danger: Shark attack. Enter water at own risk.Encircling their prey as they zone in to take a huge bite, we have support for Shark's shark deck with new Barian technology! Edgy is in season, with multiple rows of teeth to back it up, and these predators come in swarms as they surround the battlefield and get ready to call forth the megalodon on their poor victims. Amidst all the chaos, these sharks make use of many rapid summoning effects such as [Abyss Shark]'s and [Crystal Shark]'s effects to special summon themselves onto the field if there are water monsters present on the field in orderto quickly get materials on board to form bigger and badder aquatic bosses onto the field such as with [Chaos XYZ - Naphil Asylum Chaos Knight]'s effect to detach a material from itself to call forth a numbered XYZ monster between numbers "101" to "107"! They don't call it shark infested waters for nothing!And if you like the idea of strength in numbers, but not just relying on brute forcing your way through all your problems, then there is one more archetype we can explore under the sea...Beauty in the water, angel on the beach, ocean's daughter, victory's in our reach.United they stand, these colourful marine princesses are linking the oceans together and bringing forth a new wave of power! Like their other fishy friends, the Marincess archetype specialises in rapid summons to quickly link climb whilst filling up the graveyard with link monsters! Cards like [Marincess Springirl] give the deck more options to extend their combos through additional special summons and potentially milling other Marincesses which can be recovered back to the field or hand! [Marincess Coral Triangle] provides a great option on your climb to the top of the link ratings by allowing you to search for any Marincess trap card(several of which can be used straight from the hand) and [Marincess Argonaut] paves the path forward towards to your success in this quest by negating a spell/trap threat and allowing you to summon a Marincess card that is equipped to her! It's a full on battle out there in the ocean, and these gals are ready to show those poor unfortunate souls how things are done. And with that, we have come to the end of our underwater tour. If you dont have any allies down where it's wetter, you better be sure to keep a close watch at the tides at the beach, for rumor has it that the tides are quickly changing and you wouldn't want to be swept away by those currents! A, and of course, do look out for sharks!
With Fusion Strike being out for two weeks already, we have seen several great decks popping up that utilise cards from the set! If you've been on the fence on playing the game as a collector, or just a newer player looking for a good starting point, here's a short list of more useful Pokémon from the set to begin your very own adventure into the tall grass of the Pokémon TCG!And what better way to start off the list with Mew, in both it's V and Vmax forms, the poster Pokémon of the set! A fan favourite and a definite cutie, this Pokémon is the champion of the new Fusion Strike theme!Mew Vmax allows you to play a toolbox style of deck, where you gain a variety of attacks and effects from your [Cross Fusion Strike] attack for 2 energy after building up a variety of Fusion Strike themed Pokémon on your bench! You can also quickly set up a playable board with Mew V's [Energy Mix] or deny your opponent from getting prizes using a [Psychic Leap]!And how can we talk about the Fusion Strike theme and not mention the beat and soul of the deck, Genesect V? For any deck utilising the Fusion Strike theme, having Genesect V on board as your draw engine is a must have as you cycle through your deck to find more Pokémon allies and powerful trainer cards! Of course, Mew Vmax can copy Genesect's [Techno Blast] attack using it's [Cross Fusion Strike] to deal tons of damage too! Moving on, we have the OG Pokémon spookster for the set causing disruption and mayhem across the playing field: Gengar!Dark decks have been around the metagame for awhile now and adding a great option in the current format is Gengar Vmax. Hitting decks that depend on benching multiple GX and V Pokémon, Gengar Vmax helps applies pressure with it's [Fear and Panic] attack as players will need to be wary of filling up their bench too much, and even when they err on the side of caution you can just swallow the competition with a powerful [G Max Swallow Up]! However, Gengar isn't the only ghost out there looking to shake things up! Learning a trick of two from Gengar itself, this upcoming Pokémon is bringing a whole new level to poltergeisting. Taking control of inanimate objects to prank your opponents, you can seal off any Pokémon tool cards when Chandelure Vmax is your active Pokémon with it's [Cursed Shimmer] ability! Chandelure is also able to punish opponents who depend heavily on trainer cards or are slower to set up in general with it's [Max Poltergeist]! If the chilling visage of these ghost type Pokémon are a little too much for you to handle, you could go for a Pokémon who is still cool as ice, but has blood pumping through it's veins (even though it's still cold), and that's our resident spy/sniper Pokémon - it's Leon, Inteleon. A classy Pokémon from fin to tail, this suave Pokémon has risen from humble beginnings to the peaks of greatness through some intensive training, self-reflection, and perhaps some shady dealings in it's youth. Being able to snipe damage onto your opponent's benched Pokémon, Inteleon slowly but surely corners it's quarry with both [Aqua Bullet] and [Double Gunner], and takes it's prizes in one fell swoop after careful planning and tracking! And when it comes to assassins and spies, we know that the one thing that we shouldn't touch more than anything in the world... is their dog. Speaking of which, here is our next and final pick of the V's in this set, and it is a good boy/girl.Bolting onto the scene, we have Boltund ready for duty! Setting up with energy generating cards, Boltund Vmax can easily set up some electrifying numbers with it's [Bolt Storm] if it goes unchecked for too long, and Boltund V can also hunt for hurt or retreating enemies with [Electrobullet]! [Max Bolt] is also always a viable option to to show your enemies who is top dog around these parts!And with that we've come to the end of our picks for V Pokémon to build around in Fusion Strike! We hope that this list helps players get an idea for decks to pick up post Fusion Strike pack opening and we'll elaborate more in the coming weeks on decks builds for the Pokémon here! As always, we hope to see you grinding for the V on the battle field, and till we next see you, we hope everyone has fun battling and collecting!
On Innistrad, It's always close to midnight, and something evil's definitely lurking in the dark. Stick close to us under the moonlight, lest you see a sight that might just stop your heart.
Take a step into the world of Shaman King with the main cast and get to Cardfighting alongside iconic character pairings like Yoh and Amidamaru, Ren and Bason, or even the big bad Hao himself with his Spirit of Fire, and relive the legacy of these Shamans in their battle to shape the world in the image that they desire.
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