The Koa’ki Meiru were first introduced in Raging Battle: high-powered, genetically engineered super-monsters that came with high risks and high rewards to match. Starting from their first batch of monsters, cards like “Koa’ki Meiru Drago” and “Koa’ki Meiru Guardian” wielded powerful effects and big ATK, but to keep them on the field you had to meet one of two conditions: reveal a monster of the same Type in your hand during the End Phase, or discard an “Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru.”

Koa’ki Meiru monsters quickly found their way into themed Decks like Dragons and Rocks, but Decks built around just Koa’ki Meiru haven’t been easy to make. Until now.

Because Koa’ki Meiru were all different Types, a Duelist running nothing but Koa’ki Meiru monsters used to have a hard time revealing the right ones to keep their cards on the field, and would instead have to rely on Iron Core. That meant dedicated Koa’ki Meiru Decks often ran out of cards before they could win.

But all that changes with the arrival of Absolute Powerforce starting February 6^th and 7^th! With four sets’ worth of Koa’ki Meiru monsters, Duelists can build pure Koa’ki Meiru Decks that double up on matching Types, making it easier to make those End Phase reveals to keep Koa’ki Meiru on the field.

Absolute Powerforce rounds out the Koa’ki Meiru with awesome new cards like “Koa’ki Meiru Urnight” and “Iron Core Specimen Lab.” Only one thing was lacking: a reliable way to get to “Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru” and all the effects it unlocks.

“Core Transport Unit” changes that and makes the Koa’ki Meiru Deck complete.

This Continuous Spell lets you trade any card in your hand to get an “Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru” from your Deck, making it far easier to play the best Monster, Spell, and Trap Cards in the Koa’ki Meiru arsenal.

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Power Up Your Core Strategy

Before the arrival of “Core Transport Unit” there were two main ways to get Iron Core to your hand: draw it through sheer luck, or search for it with “Koa’ki Meiru Boulder.” The Koa’ki Meiru have their own “draw 2” card called “Core Compression,” but you need Iron Core in-hand before you can activate it. “Koa’ki Meiru Boulder” has to be destroyed in battle to get your Core, so many opponents simply wouldn’t attack it. If Boulder is removed from the field with an effect, you don’t get to search for anything.

With 3 “Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru” and up to 3 copies of “Core Transport Unit,” you can double your chances of getting to the Core with no waiting around. Once you get Iron Core to your hand you’ll be able to activate a ton of great effects and take advantage of some top-notch monsters:

• Destroy all of your opponent’s face-down Spell and Trap Cards with “Reckoned Power” to guard your monsters from cards like “Bottomless Trap Hole” and “Mirror Force.”
• “Iron Core Luster” will let you negate the activation of any Spell or Trap Card for no cost.
• Draw cards and cycle through your Deck with “Core Compression.”
• Destroy pesky monsters like “Pyramid Turtle” and “Mystic Tomato” with “Automatic Laser” – monsters that would duck under “Bottomless Trap Hole.”

Being able to search out Iron Core every turn makes it easier to play “Koa’ki Meiru Maximus” too, a monster so powerful that it demands you remove an Iron Core in your hand from the game to Special Summon it. Maximus has 3000 ATK, an effect that lets you destroy a card every turn, and bringing it out with its effect doesn’t consume your Normal Summon. Destroy whatever’s in your way, Summon another big hitter like “Koa’ki Meiru Drago” or “Koa’ki Meiru Crusader,” and you’ll be able to attack for more than half of your opponent’s Life Points. Though Maximus requires a discard in your End Phase to keep it around, it usually ends the game the turn it’s Summoned. Just save it to finish off your opponent and the discard cost won’t matter.

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The New Guys

Two of the best cards that need “Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru” in your hand also come from Absolute Powerforce, as “Koa’ki Meiru Urnight” and “Iron Core Specimen Lab” take the Deck to new heights.

“Koa’ki Meiru Urnight” could be one of the best monsters ever printed. Not only is it a Level 4 attacker with 2000 ATK, its effect lets you reveal your Iron Core to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Koa’ki Meiru from your Deck. This effect can quickly overrun your opponent. It doesn’t just add a free monster to your field every turn for no cost, Urnight also lets you choose the right monster for any situation, and the Koa’ki Meiru are well-equipped with specialized monsters:

• If your opponent is playing Zombies, Blackwings, or Lightsworn, you’ll probably want “Koa’ki Meiru Drago,” shutting down the LIGHT and DARK Special Summons that make those Decks work.
• Drago will stop “Tragoedia” and “Gorz the Emissary of Darkness,” too.
• If you’re about to attack a face-down Flip Effect monster, “Mystic Tomato,” or “Goblin Zombie,” grab “Koa’ki Meiru Guardian” to negate that monster’s effect.
• If you’ve got a “Koa’ki Meiru” card in your Graveyard, you can Special Summon “Koa’ki Meiru Crusader” and get that card back to your hand.

Urnight builds a Koa’ki Meiru army all by itself, and the only catch is that you need to have Iron Core. “Core Transport Unit” makes that really easy, and Urnight gives you way more cards than it costs to pay for “Core Transport Unit.”

Bringing more and more Koa’ki Meiru monsters to the field with Urnight raises one problem: how do you get enough monsters in-hand to make those reveals in the End Phase? You could just let them self-destruct – after all, they didn’t cost you anything – but “Iron Core Specimen Lab” is a far better answer.

“Iron Core Specimen Lab” (from Absolute Powerforce) replaces any Koa’ki Meiru lost in your End Phase with another from your Deck, adding it to your hand. It turns the monsters Urnight Summons into in-hand cards. You can either get a monster that you think will be useful next turn (it’s a great way to get to more Urnights), or it can search out big threats like Maximus and “Koa’ki Meiru Rooklord” that you might not want to run three copies of. If your Deck is tight on space you can run just 1 Rooklord and search it out with the Lab when you want it.

If you control multiple Koa’ki Meiru monsters that need different reveals, you can sacrifice one to get the reveal for another, and keep that second monster on the field. It’s a great way to make sure your most important monsters stick around.

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Power From Beyond The Grave

Since “Core Transport Unit” is a Continuous Spell, you can use its effect again and again. You’ll only be able to do so once every turn, but if it sticks around, just discard your first Iron Core to get your second copy, and discard that to get the last Core from your Deck. That way you won’t have to draw Iron Cores when you could be drawing something else. If you need another Core later because you discarded your Core or removed it for Maximus, you have the option of giving up your draw for the turn to get a Core back, or discarding any Koa’ki Meiru monster to do so.

Having an Iron Core in your Graveyard is also necessary to activate some Spell and Trap Cards. “Nega-Ton Corepanel” is like “Gladiator Beast War Chariot” for the Koa’ki Meiru: it negates the activation of an Effect Monster’s effect and destroys that monster, but it requires you to have a Koa’ki Meiru monster on the field plus Iron Core in the Graveyard. In the past that was tricky, because if you only drew one Iron Core you wanted it in your hand, not in the Graveyard. Blowing through all three Iron Cores with “Core Transport Unit” means you can have one Core in-hand with two more in your Graveyard, turning “Nega-Ton Corepanel” into a free “Divine Wrath.”

Getting to your first copy of Iron Core is just the first bonus of “Core Transport Unit.” Being able to put two more copies of Iron Core in your Graveyard without giving up anything from your hand (remember, you’re just going to trade one Iron Core for the next) is another big advantage. It helps make your draws better, protects you from effects that would rob you of your in-hand Core, and makes a wealth of high-powered effects easier to play.

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Getting To The Core Of The Matter

The Koa’ki Meiru needed two things to succeed as their own Deck: enough monsters with matching Types for those End Phase reveals, and a reliable way to search Iron Core. With Urnight and Crusader, Boulder and Guardian, and Drago and Maximus all sharing common Types, the reveal issue is solved, and “Iron Core Specimen Lab” makes things even easier. “Core Transport Unit” is the final part of the puzzle. It doesn’t just get you Iron Core, but continues loading your Graveyard and refining your Deck afterwards.

In February we’ll see a new contender join the arena of high-competition Dueling. The Koa’ki Meiru are about to make a huge impact, and “Core Transport Unit” will be a key part of their success.