Crane Crane is a crane shaped like a crane.  If that wasn’t enough, it’s also one of the coolest combo cards released in 2013, debuting in the Super Starter: V for Victory Power-Up Packs.  If you picked up Super Starter: V for Victory you might or might not have pulled one, and if you did, you had to make do with a common copy.

ENTER THE BLING!  Premium Gold gives you another shot at pulling Crane Crane, and this time it’s rolling in style as a much more fashionable Gold Rare.  Crane Crane’s a Level 3 EARTH Winged Beast, and when you Normal Summon it, its ability lets you Special Summon a Level 3 from your Graveyard.  Whatever you revive comes back with its effect negated, but you’re free to Tribute it, attack with it, or use it as an Xyz or Synchro Material.  That opens up a lot of plays that would normally take two cards instead of just one.

You can combo Crane Crane with Level 3 Tuners to Synchro Summon all sorts of Level 6 Synchro Monsters, but there are some big standouts.  Crane Crane’s an EARTH monster, which means you can play it as Material for some unique Synchros and Xyz.

On the Synchro side, you can use Crane Crane to revive an EARTH Tuner like Karakuri Strategist mdl 248 “Nishipachi” or Psychic Commander, then Tune your monsters together for Naturia Barkion!  Barkion’s a Level 6 Synchro that keeps your opponent from activating Trap Cards, and it’s usually tough to Summon because it needs EARTH Synchro Materials.  Without an EARTH Tuner you can still use Crane Crane to Synchro Summon something like HTS Psyhemuth.  But in the right Deck you can Crane Crane straight into one of the best Level 6 Synchros of all time.

Plant Decks love Crane Crane, because they have plenty of Level 3’s to revive for Rank 3 Xyz Summons.  Lonefire Blossom, Dandylion, and Card Trooper all have effects that encourage you to play them aggressively and land them in the Graveyard early.  Dandylion and Trooper are both EARTH monsters, and you can revive either one of, overlay them, and then Xyz Summon Meliae of the Trees – a powerful Rank 3 that needs all EARTH Materials.  Meliae then offers an effect that lets you detach a Material to Special Summon a Plant from your Graveyard in Defense Position.  That’s cool for two reasons:

-If you revive Lonefire Blossom, you can Tribute a Plant from your field to Special Summon any Plant from your Deck.

-If you detach Dandylion, it Special Summons two Fluff Tokens.

See the play?  You can Crane Crane Dandylion back to the field, then overlay for Meliae of the Trees.  Detach Dandylion to bring back Lonefire, and you’ll Special Summon two Fluff Tokens.  You can then Tribute one of those Fluff Tokens for Lonefire, Special Summoning Tytannial, Princess of Camellias for her powerful negation effect.  You can fuel that effect with Meliae, your remaining Fluff Token, and Lonefire Blossom.  Or you could Special Summon Chirubime, Princess of Autumn Leaves: its ability will keep your opponent from attacking any of your other Plants, so you can use Meliae and Lonefire again next turn.

Note that your two EARTH Xyz Materials can make Soul of Silvermountain too, and note that Crane Crane’s ATK is low enough to work with another popular card for combo-driven Plant Decks: Debris Dragon.  You can Normal Summon Debris, Special Summon Crane Crane with Debris’ effect, and instantly Summon Ancient Fairy Dragon or Black Rose Dragon.

You can play Crane Crane in themed strategies with big named monster families, or you can run it in mixed Decks that aim for big combo sequences.  It plays really well with EARTH monsters, and it’s an incredibly efficient Rank 3 enabler on the level of Tour Guide from the Underworld.  Don’t hesitate to try it out if your Deck runs enough Level 3’s to make it work – it’s a powerful card that can open up some crazy plays!