The biggest addition to strategies across the Field this weekend has been the combination of Instant Fusion along with Elder Entity Norden. For the cost of 1000 Life Points, some Extra Deck Space, and a single card you get Elder Entity Norden along with whatever Level 4 or lower Monster you would like to bring back from the Graveyard. While the effect of the Monster may be negated, this is hardly a drawback compared to how powerful the plays are that a single Instant Fusion can allow you to make.

Regardless of what strategy you play, the simplest thing you can do is make a Rank 4 Xyz play. You have the materials at the ready and for just a single card, just about any Rank 4 is a great deal. Your Extra Deck is basically a multi-tool filled with options, and thus Instant Fusion becomes super flexible in terms of what you can do. Any Rank 4 Xyz that requires two materials is guaranteed, and getting an extra material on the Field for something like Number 104: Masquerade is as easy as a Normal Summon. You also get extra perks like with Abyss Dweller because Elder Entity Norden is a WATER it will have 2200 ATK.

If you happen to have access to Tuners, Elder Entity Norden makes Synchro Summoning so much easier. It gives you an immediate 4 Levels towards whatever you’re trying to Synchro Summon, and regardless of whether the Tuner is on the Field or the Graveyard you can make whatever you want happen. This is especially true for strategies that use cards like Effect Veiler. Most of the time your Effect Veiler will be in the Graveyard because it was used, and then Elder Entity Norden will bring it back giving you 5 Levels and a Tuner. At this point any Level 4 Monster is enough to let you Synchro Summon the mighty Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!

Outside of super dedicated Rank 4 or Synchro strategy, Elder Entity Norden does have some awesome uses elsewhere as well.

Nekroz

A lot of Duelists this weekend have been fitting ways to Synchro Summon Herald of the Arc Light into their Nekroz Decks this weekend. Why? Because you can only Special Summon a Herald of the Arc Light that was probably Synchro Summoned, so once a single copy that was hits the Graveyard, your Elder Entity Norden can just keep bringing it back. What makes this play so strong is that once you overlay with the Herald of the Arc Light and detach it, you’ll get its effect to add a Ritual card from the Deck to your hand. This turns Instant Fusion into a super profitable transaction.

The ways that Duelists have chosen to fit ways to Synchro Summon Herald of the Arc Light are quite diverse. We have seen everything from Mathematician and Glow-Up Bulb, to Deskbot 003 and Deskbot 001, all the way to Speedroid Terrortop and Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to do it. Each of these options have their own pros and cons as well other unique things they can do, but the point is that a lot of people are looking to make Instant Fusion as good as possible. Herald of the Arc Light is already strong enough to want to Summon, so even if you do that alone without immediate access to Instant Fusion you are not straying off your game plan.

Another cool thing you can do is use Instant Fusion to give you materials necessary to tribute away for Ritual Summons or even Nekroz of Valkyrus! Special Summoning Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz, Dance Princess of the Nekroz, or Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz and then tributing it away for a card effect will trigger whatever its effect is to let you get more bang for your buck, or 1000 Life Points. Already Instant Fusion is basically doing the work of two Monsters, but getting an additional effect to get an extra card after that is very strong.

On a side note, using Abyss Dweller to pump all of your WATER Rituals via its effect because it has Elder Entity Norden as an Xyz Material can also make game winning damage possible where it was not before.

Shaddoll

In a Fusion centric strategy you want two things: Fusion Materials and Fusion Spells. Instant Fusion gives you the first half of that, but doing so much better than most cards can. In a typical play with Shaddoll, you start with a Fusion Spell and two Monsters, 3 cards, but Instant Fusion turns that into only two cards. It gives Shaddoll access to a WATER Fusion Material as well, meaning that El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis is much easier to Fusion Summon. Shaddoll lacked a way to get Fusion Materials in the late game to Fusion Summon with when they always seemed to have an abundance of Fusion Spells, and Instant Fusion works to solve that problem.

HERO

Similar to Nekroz with Herald of the Arc Light, Special Summoning Elemental HERO Shadow Mist via Elder Entity Norden and then detaching to add a HERO to your hand is pretty powerful. You are profiting in the transaction which means you are less likely to run out of cards as the game goes late, thus making it easier for you to keep pace. HERO also struggled and being able to put up pressure alongside Masked HERO Dark Law to try to close out a Duel quickly, but Instant Fusion to help you Xyz Summon additional powerful Monsters also helps this problem.

Even small things like being able to Special Summon Elemental HERO Shadow Mist to make a Mask Change live when it was not previously matters. Any additional edge you gain from utilizing Instant Fusion along with Elder Entity Norden needs to be taken into consideration, especially when you’re trying to figure out how many slots you want to dedicate to Elder Entity Norden in your Extra Deck.

Tellarknight

Strategies that utilize a lot of effects such as Call of the Haunted or Oasis of Dragon Souls got a huge boost because of Elder Entity Norden. Basically, after the first time you Special Summon it via Instant Fusion, you can then keep getting it back with those Traps to keep triggering its effect. This turns every Call of the Haunted or Oasis of Dragon Souls into an Elder Entity Norden with its effect, so a Rank 4 Xyz at the bare minimum for a single card. It becomes much easier to grind into the later stages of the Duel once every Rank 4 Xyz play you make takes only a single card, and you get a huge boost in the speed at which you can do it when it does not require your Normal Summon, something that Tellarknight is none to struggle with.

Regardless of what you are using, there is a good chance that Elder Entity Norden is an option you should consider. How many strategies will be utilizing it in the Top Cut? We’ll have to wait and see.