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Starstrike Blast Preview: Red Nova Dragon

October 28th, 2010

Red Nova Dragon is the first Level 12 Synchro Monster, and the first monster that requires 2 Tuners to Synchro Summon it. But in exchange for all of the trouble you need to go through to get it on the field, Red Nova Dragon gives you incredible power. Not only does Red Nova Dragon start with 3500 ATK, it also gains an extra 500 ATK for every Tuner in the Graveyard! Red Nova Dragon also can’t be destroyed by Spell, Trap, or monster effects, and can negate an attack every turn. That’s a lot of power for one monster!

The newest member of the "Deal with me or lose" club.

This card gains 500 ATK for each Tuner in your Graveyard. This card cannot be destroyed by the effects of your opponent’s Spells, Traps, or monsters. When your opponent’s monster declares an attack, you can select it, then remove this card from play and negate the attack. During the End Phase, Special Summon this card that was removed from play by this effect.

To Summon Red Nova Dragon, you’ll need to Tune Red Dragon Archfiend with 2 Tuners. This may seem difficult, but in a Deck built around Red Nova Dragon, it’s a lot easier than it sounds.

Level 8 Dragons like Red Dragon Archfiend can be Synchro Summoned with ease in a variety of Decks. Some Decks use Debris Dragon, Dandylion, and Fluff Tokens to Synchro Summon them, while others take a different approach. Destiny Hero Decks can Tune the Level 6 non-Tuner, Destiny Hero – Malicious, with a Level 2 Tuner like Plaguespreader Zombie to Summon Red Dragon Archfiend. Scrap Decks can Tune Scrap Golem with Scrap Goblin. Flamvell Decks can Tune Flamvell Magician with Flamvell Firedog. Other Duelists may use less conventional approaches to Summon their Level 8 Synchro Monsters.

No matter which approach you use to Synchro Summon your Red Dragon Archfiend, you’ll need to get 2 Tuner monsters on the field along with it if you want to Synchro Summon Red Nova Dragon. Unless you’re planning to change the level of your Red Dragon Archfiend with a card like Mischief of the Yokai, you’ll also need the Level of those 2 Tuners to add up to 4. Fortunately, there are a bunch of Tuners that can Special Summon other Tuners to the field.

The Level 2 Tuner, Deep Sea Diva, lets you Special Summon another copy of Deep Sea Diva from your Deck whenever it’s Summoned. By Tuning those 2 copies of Deep Sea Diva with Red Dragon Archfiend, you can Synchro Summon your all-powerful Red Nova Dragon!

Infernity Beetle is another Level 2 Tuner with the power to get two Level 2 Tuners on the field at once. If you Tribute Infernity Beetle while you have no hand, you can Special Summon 2 more copies from your Deck. If they’re already in the Graveyard, you can also Special Summon 2 copies from the Graveyard with Infernity Mirage or Infernity Launcher.

Junk Synchron is a Level 3 Tuner that can Special Summon any Level 2 or lower monster from your Graveyard when it’s Summoned. By using its effect to Summon a Level 1 Tuner like Spore, Glow-Up Bulb, or Effect Veiler from your Graveyard, you’ll be able to get 2 Tuners totaling 4 Levels on the field to Summon Red Nova Dragon

You can also use Rekindling to Special Summon the Level 1 Tuner, Flamvell Baby, and Level 3 Tuner, Flamvell Archer, both to the field at once. If you also have Flamvell Magician and Flamvell Firedog in your Graveyard when you activate Rekindling, you’ll be able to Tune those 2 monsters together to Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend and then go straight for Red Nova Dragon on that same turn!

Summoning 2 Tuners to the field is easy!

Summoning 2 Tuners to the field is easy!

Since Red Nova Dragon requires 2 Tuners to Summon it and gains 500 ATK for each Tuner in your Graveyard, it will have a minimum of 4500 ATK when it’s Summoned. It’ll usually have an extra 500 ATK too, thanks to the Tuner you used to Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend. But Red Nova Dragon will usually reach even greater heights, surpassing the 5000 ATK mark!

Red Nova Dragon gets all of its power from Tuners, so it’s not uncommon to run lots of Tuner monsters in a Deck focused around it. You can use cards like Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter and Card Trooper to send Tuners from your Deck to your Graveyard and boost your Red Nova Dragon’s Attack Points. More often than not, Red Nova Dragon will be able to wipe out your opponent’s Life Points with a single attack!

Red Nova Dragon is a cool card with incredible power. You can build a Deck that Summons it and start winning your Duels with style, just like Jack Atlas!