(Editor’s Note: Crimson Blader originally debuted in Cosmo Blazer, a booster that had absolutely nothing to do with Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s. I suppose the two sound kind of similar. Crimson Blader, Cosmo Blazer. Lots of similar letters and sounds. Anyway, this card belonged to Jack Atlas in the animated series, and has seen a ton of play over the last year and a half!)

The arrival of Legendary Collection 5D’s marks the return of dozens of awesome Synchro Monsters, including one that was once the bane of Championship play – Crimson Blader!

When Crimson Blader destroys an opponent’s monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, your opponent can’t Normal or Special Summon monsters Level 5 or higher on their next turn. When your opponent leaves a monster on the field without protecting it, Crimson Blader can swoop in to capitalize – and with 2800 Attack Points it can best almost any monster in battle.

Crimson Blader’s cool because while your opponent can still use Spell and Trap cards next turn, and can still Set or Summon smaller monsters, many decks won’t be able to fight back when you play an aggressive Blader turn. So if you make a big push that includes Crimson Blader, your opponent has to sit the next turn out, and that gives you a chance to finish them off on the turn that follows. Crimson Blader’s specialty is creating those two-turn win scenarios; a devastating technique that reigned supreme when Mermails and Dragon Rulers dominated competition.

But those days have passed – is Crimson Blader still useful? Let’s take a look at some of the monsters you can shut down with its effect.

Shaddolls have major problems with Crimson Blader: their two best attackers, El Shaddoll Winda and El Shaddoll Construct, are both Special Summons, and Blader’s effect will stop them from making it to the field. Since non-Fusion Shaddolls all have Flip Effects, your opponent will often Set one and give you the perfect attack target: nothing but Construct can withstand Crimson Blader’s sheer force in battle. That leaves opponents to continue Setting monsters to feed Blader’s effect, or simply accept direct attacks.

Boss monsters like Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, Chaos Sorcerer, and Judgment Dragon are all moot when your opponent’s under Crimson Blader’s thrall: they’re all too big to be Special Summoned. Most Synchro Monsters are too high in Level as well, including the equalizing Black Rose Dragon and the would-be dominant Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree.

Spellbook Duelists can’t call upon High Priestess of Prophecy or World of Prophecy; Mermails can’t unleash Mermail Abyssmegalo or Mermail Abyssteus; and Dragon Rulers can’t be Special Summoned period. Depending on which Decks are most popular your local tournaments, Crimson Blader could be a great call; and since your opponents won’t see it coming, you can take your rivals by surprise.

So how do you Summon Crimson Blader in the first place? Shaddolls can Tune Shaddoll Falco and Chaos Sorcerer to Synchro Summon it. You can also pair a Tuner like Felis, Lightsworn Archer or Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn with any of your non-Tuner Level 4’s. It’s especially easy to make Synchro Summons with White Dragon Wyverburster and Black Dragon Collapserpent, since you can Special Summon your Dragon and Normal Summon your Lightsworn Tuner in one turn. Dragon Rulers are awesome at making Level 8 Synchro Summons with any of their Level 7 Dragons, plus a Level 1 Tuner like Flamvell Guard or Dragunity Corsesca. The revamped Plant Synchro strategies can make Level 8’s in a flash too, thanks to Spore and the newly-returned Glow-Up Bulb (which you’ll also find in Legendary Collection 5D’s!).

While decks like Burning Abyss and Satellarknights struggle to make Level 8 Synchro Summons, Crimson Blader could give Shaddolls a leg up in the mirror match or against rogue strategies. Those rogue strategies themselves are often great at Synchro Summoning, so they can use Crimson Blader to fight through one of the biggest Decks of the format.