Judgment of the Light brought Synchro Monsters back in a big way! Star Eater made an immediate impact in Dragon Ruler Decks, but as time marched on, Armades, Keeper of Boundaries took its turn in the spotlight, and now it’s the star of today’s 2014 Mega-Tin rewind!

Armades, Keeper of Boundaries is the third “Keeper” after Tiras, Keeper of Genesis and Armades, Keeper of Armagedon. Unlike the previous two Keepers, Armades is a Synchro instead of an Xyz Monster. It’s Level 5, has 2300 ATK, can be Summoned with any Tuner and non-Tuners, and causes no end of mischief when it hits the field! While Armades is attacking or being attacked, your opponent can’t use any cards or effects until after the attack is finished at the end of the Damage Step, locking out all Spell andTrap Cards that respond to attacks and any number of monster effects

Much of 2014 had been dominated by cards that made battle undesirable for the attacking player. Geargiarmor’s 1900 DEF plus its Deck searching effect made attacking into face-down monsters a huge risk, and when Fire Hand and Ice Hand joined the mix, attacking became even more difficult. And that’s all without even considering that attacking a Madolche monster while Madolche Ticket is in play sets an opponent up to repeat their Madolche Anjelly combo that you may or may not have been able to stop the first time around!

And then players remembered that Armades, Keeper of Boundaries makes all of these problems go away if it can reach the field successfully. Suddenly, using Effect Veiler as a Tuner monster was a solid play instead of a last resort. T.G. Striker started to see play in Decks running Level 3 monsters, like Madolche, to allow for Summoning Armades. Of course, in Madolche and Geargia Decks at least, Striker also gave access to all-star Synchro Monsters Naturia Beast and Naturia Barkion as well, enabling a triple threat from the Extra Deck in combination with Armades!

The popularity of Armades has only grown since! Duelist Alliance introduced the Yang Zing and Shaddoll Decks, both of which can easily make use of Armades but also are greatly hindered by an opposing Armades. Flip Effects won’t work when Armades is attacking, and neither will the effects of Yang Zing monsters.

Armades, Keeper of Boundaries is one of those cards that will be around forever. As long as there are Tuners and cards and effects that activate during the Battle Phase, Armades will be there to keep them in check. If you’ve never played with Armades before, you should definitely give it a shot.