Today, we’ve got yet another new card found in Premium Gold. If you’re looking for something new in your WIND or Beast Decks, or any Deck looking for new ways to Special Summon, read on to learn about a seriously rad Dueling hippo, Dynatherium!

Your eyes do not deceive you. That is a hippo wearing sunglasses and a cape. Give yourself a moment to take that all in.

Dynatherium is a Level 4 WIND Beast with 1600 ATK. It can be played like most regular monsters, but it also has a built in ability to be Special Summoned, making it an ideal choice for a quick Synchro or Xyz Summon. Regardless of what else is on the field, you can choose to Special Summon Dynatherium from your hand. If you do that, your opponent will get to Special Summon a Level 4 monster from either Graveyard. The only limit is that you can only Special Summon one Dynatherium each turn this way.

So why use Dynatherium instead of Gilasaurus? Plenty of reasons! First of all, it has more ATK, so it can actually hold its own in situations where Gilasaurus would be useless. You’ll also find that a WIND Beast is a lot easier to put to use than an EARTH Dinosaur for the average Deck. By the same token, Dynatherium is Level 4, while Gilasaurus is Level 3, so it can be used for entirely different Xyz or Synchro Monsters.

While Gilasaurus gives your opponent any monster from their Graveyard, Dynatherium only can give them a Level 4 monster. Within a turn or two, your opponent is almost guaranteed to get a free monster from Gilasaurus. Dynatherium is a lot less likely to give them a free card when the Duel is starting, especially against Decks like Prophecy, which don’t pack many Level 4 monsters. Even if they do get a free monster out of the Dynatherium, remember: it’s only a problem if you can’t deal with it. With Dynatherium’s Special Summon, you can easily put together a Synchro or Xyz Summon to take out that monster.

Since your opponent is getting a free card, Dynatherium’s “drawback” can actually be used in your favor, thanks to Evilswarm Exciton Knight! Your opponent needs to have more cards than you to activate its effect, destroying all cards on the field. Dynatherium can be used as an Xyz Material for Exciton Knight, while also giving your opponent an extra card in case you need to tip the scale in their favor – that free card will be destroyed no matter what.

There are many other Xyz Monsters that can take advantage of giving your opponent a free monster as well. You can use Dynatherium to Xyz Summon Kachi Kochi Dragon, which can destroy their new monster and make a second attack. On the Synchro side of things, you can use Dynatherium as a Synchro Material for Crimson Blader, then destroy the monster your opponent revived to shut down their Special Summons for next turn.

While Dynatherium can fit into a fair number of Decks just looking for that quick Special Summon, it can be especially good in Harpie Decks. Many Harpie Duelists have tried using Garuda the Wind Spirit as a way to quickly fill the field and Xyz Summon Harpie’s Pet Phantasmal Dragon or Lightning Chidori. Try using Dynatherium to either replace or play alongside Garuda, since Dynatherium doesn’t have to banish a monster and potentially mess with your Hysteric Party. Harpies are excellent at handling back row cards with Chidori, Phantasmal Dragon, and Harpies’ Hunting Ground, so it’ll be a piece of cake to destroy the monster your opponent revived with Dynatherium.

Oh, and did I mention that Dynatherium is a hippo wearing sunglasses and a cape? Because that’s kind of a big deal. You can find Dynatherium, and a ton of other cool cards, in Premium Gold!