Tech Update: Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite
Duelist Pack: Crow was just released on May 31st, and one gem in the set is already soaring above the rest. Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite is a 1600 ATK monster that you can Special Summon from your Graveyard by returning a face-up card you control to your hand. That special ability makes is a strong fit in lots of different Decks, due to how well it combos with so many of the most popular cards in the game. Check out some of the cool cards that combo with Zephyros, and that made it one of the most popular tech cards of the weekend!
1. Royal Oppression
Since Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite returns a card to your hand as a cost when you try to use its effect, the card you choose to return goes back to your hand before Zephyros tries to Special Summon itself from the Graveyard.
This means that if you return Royal Oppression to your hand when you’re trying to Special Summon Zephyros from the Graveyard, your opponent won’t be able to use Royal Oppression to negate Zephyros’s Summon – Royal Oppression will already be in your hand when Zephyros tries to Special Summon itself to the field! With Royal Oppression in your hand, you’re free to Special Summon as many monsters as you want during your turn! Then, you can Set Royal Oppression back down and flip it again on your opponents turn to negate the Special Summon of his monsters.
.
2. Reborn Tengu
Reborn Tengu is rapidly gaining popularity, and thanks to Zephyros, now there’s a new way to trigger its effect. When you return Reborn Tengu to your hand to Special Summon Zephyros from your Graveyard, Reborn Tengu’s effect will activate and you’ll be able to Special Summon another copy from your Deck! With Zephyros and Reborn Tengu on the field, you’ll have a total of 3300 ATK on the field, and 8 Levels to use in a Synchro or Xyz Summon. Throw a Level 1 Tuner like Glow-Up Bulb or Spore into the mix, and you’ll be able to Synchro Summon Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier! Once Xyz monsters become available this summer, you can easily turn Tengu + Zephyros into Wind-Up Zenmaister or Number 39: Utopia, activating Tengu’s effect again to get another Tengu onto the field.
.
3. Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind
Zephyros has great synergy with all sorts of cards, but naturally it works well with monsters in its own theme! Since some of the Blackwings can be Special Summoned while you control another Blackwing, returning them to your hand while Special Summoning Zephyros will allow you to Special Summon that Blackwing right back to the field!
Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind is showing up in lots of different Decks, and may be the best Blackwing to combo with Zephyros. After you Summon Gale and use its effect to halve the ATK and DEF of an opponent’s monster, you can activate the effect of a Zephyros in your Graveyard to return Gale to your hand and Special Summon Zephyros. Then, with Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite on the field, you’ll be able to Special Summon Gale from your hand, and use its effect again! Plus, you’ll be able to Tune Gale with Zephyros to Synchro Summon a Level 7 monster like Blackwing Armor Master!
Zephyros also combos well with Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North. Blizzard can Special Summon a Blackwing monster from the Graveyard in Defense Position when it’s Normal Summoned. If that monster is like Blackwing – Bora the Spear and can be Special Summoned from your hand while you control another Blackwing monster, you’ll be able to return it to your hand with Zephyros, and then Special Summon it right back to the field, this time in Attack Position. You can also activate Zephyros’s effect to return Blizzard itself to your hand, and reuse its effect the next time it’s Summoned.
.
4. Call of the Haunted
Lots of Trap Cards, like Call of the Haunted, Limit Reverse, and Fiendish Chain, will stay on the field if the monster it’s used on doesn’t leave the field in the way specified by the Trap Card. These Trap Cards are often said to remain on the field meaninglessly. For example, if a monster revived by Call of the Haunted is used in a Synchro Summon, Call of the Haunted sits on the field even after the monster it brought back reaches the Graveyard. Many Duelists have tried to return these Trap Cards to their hands with Giant Trunade after they’ve been used. This way, they can reuse them. Now, there’s a new way to recycle these Trap Cards after they served their purpose once.
Trap Cards that stay on the field after they’ve fully served their purpose, like Call of the Haunted, Limit Reverse, and Fiendish Chain, can now be returned to your hand by activating the effect of Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite! Then you can Set them back down and reuse them in order to revive another monster or negate a monster’s effect. Recycling a Trap Card while Special Summoning a 1600 ATK monster to the field will give you an instant advantage in the Duel!
.
These are just a couple of the cards that combo well with Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite. Returning Monarchs like Caius the Shadow Monarch and Raiza the Storm Monarch to your hand will allow you to reuse their effects when you Tribute Summon them a second time, and using Zephyros to bounce back Dragon Ravine will allow you to replay it and use its effect twice in one turn. The possibilities with Zephyros are endless, and Duelists running all different types of Decks this weekend found ways to make the most of Zephyros.
While Zephyros is an easy-to-Summon Level 4 monster that’s perfect for Synchro Summons and Xyz Summons, its biggest strength may be its ability to return a face-up card to your hand for you to reuse. We’re sure to see a lot of action involving Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite this weekend, and the Decks that can make the best use of it may be the ones that rise to the top of the tournament.
