Darkwing Blast was just released on Friday, but Duelists wasted no time in finding the most powerful cards from the set to include in their Decks. Check out some of the tech cards from Darkwing Blast that have been impactful this weekend at YCS Minneapolis!

1.) Kashtira Fenrir

The new Kashtira monsters have a variety of powerful effects that can banish an opponent’s cards face-down, but most Duelists consider Kashtira Fenrir the strongest of them all. That’s why several Duelists this weekend are using multiple copies of Kashtira Fenrir in their Decks as tech cards. Kashtira Fenrir is a Level 7 monster with 2400 ATK and 2400 DEF that you can Special Summon from your hand if you control no monsters. During your Main Phase, you can use its effect to add a Kashtira monster from your Deck to your hand, including another copy of Kashtira Fenrir. Fenrir’s ability to search for additional copies of Fenrir allows Duelists to use multiple copies of Fenrir in their Deck as its own mini-engine, even without other Kashtira cards. In addition, when Kashtira Fenrir declares an attack, or if an opponent activates a monster effect, you can target a face-up card your opponent controls and banish it face-down. The activation requirement for using Fenrir’s effect to banish an opponent’s monster is easy to meet, since you can control when you attack with Fenrir and your opponent will often be unable to avoid using monster effects. That makes it useful in a variety of situations and tough for an opponent to play around. Plus, banishing a card face-down is one of the best possible ways to get rid of it, since it virtually eliminates the possibility of that card coming back into the Duel. All of these strengths in Kashtira Fenrir make it one of the top tech cards this weekend.

2.) The Bystial Monsters

The new Bystial Monsters from Darkwing Blast have been extremely popular this weekend. They’re being used to enhance all sorts of different strategies and are sometimes even ideal for disrupting an opponent’s plays. The Super Rare Bystial monster can be Special Summoned by banishing a LIGHT or DARK monster from either Graveyard. If your opponent controls a monster, this becomes a Quick Effect! When banishing LIGHT and DARK cards in an opponent’s Graveyard, that makes it like a more powerful D.D. Crow that places a Level 6 monster with impressive stats on your field.

In addition, each of the three Super Rare Bystial monsters has a unique effect. Bystial Magnamhut lets you add a Dragon from your Deck to your hand in the End Phase of the turn its Special Summoned; Bystial Druiswurm lets you send an opponent’s Special Summoned monster to the Graveyard if your Druiswurm is sent to the Graveyard; and Bystial Saronir lets you send a Bystial monster or a Branded Spell or Trap Card from your Deck to your Graveyard if your Saronir is sent to the Graveyard.

The Bystial Lubellion, a Secret Rare from Darkwing Blast, lets you search for any of Bystial monsters by sending it from your hand to your Graveyard. Plus, while it’s in your Graveyard, you can Special Summon it by Tributing one of your Level 6 or higher DARK Dragons like one of the other Bystial monsters. If you don’t draw The Bystial Lubellion, you can use Saronir’s effect to send it to your Graveyard. While on the field, The Bystial Lubellion lets you place a “Branded” Continuous Spell/Trap from your Deck face-up on your field once per turn, including the new Branded Beast Trap Card.

While many Duelists this weekend are using a variety of Bystial monsters in their Main Decks and using several copies of each of them, other Duelists are just using a few copies in their Side Deck to give them an efficient way to banish LIGHT and DARK cards from an opponent’s Graveyard. The Bystial cards have a lot of power in many different situations, which made them an extremely popular tech choice this weekend.

3.) Spellbound

The new Spellbound Quick-Play Spell Card can stop an opponent in his or her tracks. After Spellbound resolves, all face-up monsters your opponent currently controls can’t be Tributed, or used as material for a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link Summon, until the end of the turn. Most Duelists rely on using monsters as materials to Summon more powerful monsters; but with Spellbound affecting an opponent’s monsters, those monsters can no longer be used to achieve that goal.

Although Spellbound has not yet made an appearance in a written Feature Match this weekend, it’s hard to deny the power of the card and the major impact it can have in a Duel by stopping a player from advancing his or her field. That’s why Spellbound is one of the top tech cards from Darkwing Blast that can be used in just about any Deck.

Darkwing Blast is undoubtedly a powerful competitive set that has had an immediate impact on competitive Dueling. Follow the coverage to see which tech cards make it to the very top of the tournament!