Photon Shockwave brings rise to a whole bunch of new Decks, and provides some incredible support to Decks that are already out there. Yesterday we talked about cards that you can throw in any Deck, but now we’re going to take a close look at Decks you can use to build up a theme. Or, in one case, a card that’s a Deck theme all by itself.

Take a look at some of the awesome Deck-boosting support given to Duelists by Photon Shockwave!

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1. Rescue Rabbit

This furry little creature has caused Duelists to view Normal Monsters in a whole new light. By banishing Rescue Rabbit, a Duelist can Special Summon any 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters with the same name from his Deck. Most Duelists are using it to Summon 2 copies of Kabazauls or Sabersaurus from their Decks so that they can instantly Xyz Summon Evolzar Dolkka or Evolzar Laggia, but others can use it to Special Summon powerful 2000 ATK monsters like Alexandrite Dragon and Gene-Warped Warwolf.

Up until now, Normal Monsters weren’t usually viewed as much of a threat on the competitive scene. But now that they can be used to Summon powerful Xyz Monsters, Normal Monsters can do more than ever before! Rescue Rabbit Summons 2 Normal Monsters to the field at the same time, making an Xyz Summon instantaneous. The high ATK of certain Normal Monsters, like Sabersaurus’s 1900 ATK or Alexandrite Dragon’s 2000 ATK, are nothing to scoff at, either.

This is an example of just 1 card creating an entire new Deck Type by itself. Kabazauls hasn’t seen much competitive play in about 7 or 8 YEARS, but he’s getting the dust blown off of him thanks to his new furry friend.

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2. Wattcobra

Watt did Watt Decks need in order to compete against the best? Wattcobra! Wattcobra has 1000 ATK and it can attack directly, even when there are monsters on the opponent’s side of the field. But best of all, when Wattcobra strikes an opponent, the Watt Duelist gets to search his Deck for wattever Watt monster they want, to add to your hand. That card can even be another copy of Wattcobra, which can be used to keep scoring direct attacks and searching for more cards. Wattcobra’s power to grab a Watthopper or Wattgiraffe also helps it bring together the Watt theme for some electrifying Duels! Watt are you waiting for??

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3. Wind-Up Rabbit

Wind-Up Decks are just a few cards short of being able to compete against the best, and Wind-Up Rabbit is the perfect start for bringing Wind-Ups to a whole new level.

Once while it’s face-up on the field, Wind-Up Rabbit can banish a Wind-Up Monster until your next Standby Phase. By banishing a Wind-Up monster that has already used its effect, you can recycle your Wind-Up monsters. When a Wind-Up Monster leaves the field and returns, it can reuse its effect. This means that you can return a monster to your opponent’s hand with Wind-Up Kitten, banish the Kitten with the effect of Wind-Up Rabbit, and then return another monster to your opponent’s hand when Wind-Up Kitten comes back onto the field.

Wind-Up Rabbit is also a Quick Effect, as indicated by the text “during either player’s turn”. Besides being able to use it during your own, or your opponent’s, turn, it also means you can chain it to other Spells, Traps, and monster effects.

Wind-Up Rabbit can also banish itself, in order to protect itself from the effects of cards like Dark Hole and Mirror Force. Plus, every time Wind-Up Rabbit protects itself, it leaves the field. This means that, when it returns, it’s free to use its effect once again. This makes the card effectively unkillable unless you layer another effect on top of it. Wind-Up Rabbit’s power can also trigger the effect of Wind-Up Factory on either player’s turn, allowing the Wind-Up Duelist to grab any Wind-Up toy he desires.

Wind-Up Rabbit is just one of many Wind-Up cards that bring Wind-Up Decks to a new level of competition. Order of Chaos will introduce several more Wind-Up monsters that improve the Wind-Up team and make current Wind-Up monsters like Wind-Up Hunter, Wind-Up Kitten, and Wind-Up Rabbit even better.

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4. Dark Smog

I’ve seen a lot of Dark Smog in the convention hall this weekend, and watched as Dark World Duelists put it to great use. But alas, I am no expert on Dark World tactics. But we were able to get Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World to divulge the secrets of his Dark Smog…

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5. Evolzar Laggia and Evolzar Dolkka

Evolzar Laggia and Evolzar Dolkka are the 2 new Xyz Monsters that make Dinosaurs better than ever before. Both Rank 4 monsters can be Xyz Summoned with 2 Level 4 Dinosaurs. Laggia negates a Spell, Trap, or Summon by detaching both of its materials, and Dolkka negates a monster effect by detaching 1 Xyz Material. Together, they can stop anything.

Most Duelists who are Summoning these monsters this weekend are using Rescue Rabbit in combination with Sabersaurus and Kabazauls to Summon these Evolzars, but others are more dedicated to the Dinosaur Deck type, using Level 4 Jurracs like Jurrac Guaiba to Summon the Evolzars. However they’re Summoned, Laggia and Dolkka are usually Duel-enders once they hit the field.