Three rounds have passed since our last Tech Update, and we’re back with four more cards that have been popping up in today’s competition! It all starts with a high-impact common from Ancient Prophecy.

“Shiny Black “C””:

“Shiny Black “C”” is one of the best defenses against Synchro monsters that has been released so far. Just remove it from your Graveyard, and you can destroy any Synchro monster the moment it’s Synchro Summoned.  This effect doesn’t negate the Synchro Summon, so you can Tribute “Stardust Dragon” to negate “Shiny Black “C”’s” effect and re-Summon your Dragon in the End Phase. You can also still resolve “Black Rose Dragon’s” effect. But not every Deck wants to Synchro Summon Black Rose, and it’s not always an easy task to bring out “Stardust Dragon.” Anything else is likely to just get destroyed.

There are two common ways people seem to be using “Shiny Black “C”” today. First, some Decks that are already using two copies of “Foolish Burial” (like Zombies) are running one copy of this card so they can send it to the Graveyard with Foolish as needed. But the second use is the most common, and possibly the most effective: Lightsworn Duelists love this card. While some Duelists may include just one copy of “Shiny Black “C”” in their Side or Main Decks, multiple copies in Lightsworn Decks can be an absolute beating. You send Shiny Black to the graveyard for free with an End Phase Lightsworn effect or Lumina’s ability, and from that point onwards it will destroy your opponent’s monster if they ever try to Synchro Summon.

Some Lightsworn Duelists are using this card in their Side Decks instead of the Main Deck. But if Blackwings win this tournament with “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor,” the Lightsworn response may be the addition of 2-3 copies of Shiny Black to the Main Deck for future events.

“Breaker the Magical Warrior”:

After seeing little to no play last format, “Breaker the Magical Warrior” is back in a huge way here in Orlando! Gadgets, Chaos, anti-meta Decks, Spellcasters, and more are all playing three copies in the Main Deck. Many more Duelists are packing two or three copies in their Side Decks to counter defensive strategies and play styles.

There are plenty of Trap Cards that can be Chained to Breaker’s effect when it’s Summoned. “Bottomless Trap Hole” can swallow Breaker up, “Torrential Tribute” can wipe the field, and “Book of Moon,” “Enemy Controller,” and others can be activated at several different times to stymie Breaker’s function. But for a lot of Decks, that doesn’t matter. Forcing your opponent to activate a card that they would rather keep for a bigger threat is a good thing, not a bad thing, especially in this new format where any Duelist can only have two copies of “Bottomless Trap Hole” instead of three.

The only time you might not want to see Breaker is when you’re facing off against Gladiator Beasts, since they have any number of ways to get rid of it (“Gladiator Beast War Chariot” comes to mind). Gladiator Beasts also love seeing monsters on the field that they can destroy by battle, so they can tag out, and if you use Breaker’s effect and lower his ATK to 1600, it leaves him vulnerable to several high-ATK Gladiator Beasts.
 

“The Transmigration Prophecy”:

With “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” and “Shiny Black “C”” all over the place, Graveyard control is at an all-time premium. While “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer” is possibly the top monster pick for manipulating your opponent’s Graveyard, “The Transmigration Prophecy” is definitely one of your strongest Trap Card options.

This Trap Card lets you choose 2 cards from any Graveyard, and shuffle them back into the Deck. Since it’s a Trap Card, so you can Set it, bluff like it was “Mirror Force” or “Bottomless Trap Hole,” and then leave it on the field until you need it.

If your opponent threatens your Spell & Trap Card Zone with something like “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress” or “Heavy Storm,” it’s easy enough to just Chain “The Transmigration Prophecy” and get your effect anyways. If you can trick your opponent into targeting the Prophecy with something like “Mystical Space Typhoon,” all the better, since they just wasted their Spell Card.

The uses for the Prophecy are almost endless. Get rid of that pesky “Necro Gardna” and “Shiny Black “C”” that have been pinning you down. Chain it to an effect like “Call of the Haunted” or “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” to send the target (the monster that would have been Special Summoned) back to your opponent’s Deck so your opponent Summons nothing. Keep “Dark Armed Dragon” and “Judgment Dragon” off your back, remove “Destiny Hero – Malicious” from your opponent’s Graveyard, reuse a Limited Card… the list goes on forever.

“The Transmigration Prophecy” tends to see play in formats that are slow enough to allow it, and it looks like a lot of Duelists were anticipating that this weekend. Since the Prophecy is just a single card that doesn’t require big combos, it’s getting splashed into a wide range of Main and Side Decks today.
 

“My Body As A Shield”:

Cards like “Judgment Dragon” and “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel” are just as dangerous as they were in the last format, but with less focus on OTK Decks and more time to draw cards, stuff like “My Body As A Shield” is seeing a lot more use. If you’re playing a Duel and you know your opponent is going to try to win within the first three or four turns, it’s difficult to justify putting a card like this in your Deck, because every draw is precious. If you draw “My Body As A Shield” and then don’t have any reason to use it, you could lose a game that you might have won if only you’d drawn a piece of your combo, or your “Mirror Force” or “Torrential Tribute.”

But with Duelists expecting a slower pace with the new Forbidden and Limited Cards List, Trap Card counts are up a bit, “Lightning Vortex” is seeing more play, and there are far fewer “Solemn Judgments” being run that could rob you of the security that “My Body As a Shield” offers. Developing field presence is becoming more and more important, and removal effects like “Fissure” are increasingly common. These are all factors that make “My Body As A Shield” a strong card. “Mirror Force,” “Torrential Tribute,” “Gladiator Beast Gyzarus,” and a lot of other big, scary cards just buckle when you Chain this potent Quick-Play Spell Card to their effects.

All four of these cards are a great fit for this tournament, and all of them will likely see play for weeks to come. Once again, if you hadn’t considered these cards for your own Decks, gather up a few copies and try them out. They’re all perfectly tuned for the Decks and matchups you’re going to be seeing at your local tournaments