In just a few days, the Dueling world will get its first taste of the Qliphorts – Pendulum Monsters that adjust their ATK and Level and reward you for Tribute Summoning, kind of like Beast King Barbaros or Fusilier Dragon the Dual-Mode Beast.

Last time around we showed you how to create the perfect set-up for the Qliphort strategy: searching out and activating Qliphort Scout and Performapal Trampolynx, searching your Qliphort cards with the Scout’s effect, and then repeatedly Pendulum Summoning monsters from your hand and Extra Deck to use them for Tribute Summons.

Today we’ll complete the picture, as we discuss the “Qli” cards you’ll want to Tribute; the monsters you’ll want to Tribute them for; and some off-theme cards that fill special roles when you play them with Qliphorts!

You can Tribute Summon any of the “Qli” monsters you like; they all have high ATK. But these three have the highest Attack Points, and each offers unique effects when you Tribute Summon them.

Qliphort Disk and Qliphort Shell are Level 7 and Level 8 respectively, and both have 2800 ATK. When you Tribute a “Qli” monster to Summon Qliphort Disk, you can Special Summon 2 “Qli” monsters from your Deck. They get destroyed in the End Phase, but they can do some serious damage before you get there. If you can bounce away your Qliphort Scout with Performapal Trampolynx you can even use those monsters as Xyz Material if you want, though often the right play will be to let them be destroyed and sent to your Extra Deck.

Qliphort Shell is similar: Tribute Summon it with at least one “Qli” monster Shell becomes a double attacker that deals piercing damage. Both Disk and Shell require two Tributes to Summon, but because Pendulum Monsters return to your Extra Deck when they’re sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can keep Pendulum Summoning Tribute fodder every turn.

If you have three “Qli” monsters to Tribute, you can unleash Apoqliphort Towers! With 3000 ATK, it reduces the ATK and DEF of all Special Summoned monsters on the field by 500 points. Once per turn you can also force your opponent to send a monster from their hand or field to the Graveyard: Apoqliphort’s effect can strip cards from your opponent turn after turn, and its raw ATK combined with its debuff ability means it can attack over almost anything. Combine that with immunity to Spell and Trap Cards, plus the ability to ignore activated effects from any monster Level 9 or lower, and Apoqliphort’s tremendously difficult to stop!

Anything you can Pendulum Summon serves as renewable Tribute for your Tribute Summons, but Qliphort Carrier and Qliphort Helix are the monsters you really want to be Tributing. Both are Level 6 and pack 2400 Attack Points, and both offer an effect when you Tribute them: Carrier targets a monster on the field and returns it to its owner’s hand, clearing the way for attacks and punting difficult monsters like Number 101: Silent Honor ARK and El Shaddoll Winda/Construct back to the Extra Deck. Qliphort Helix’s ability triggers when you Tribute the Helix as well, targeting and destroying a Spell or Trap Card.

Those effects can lend some serious momentum to your Qliphort Tribute Summons, but you don’t have to Tribute for a “Qli” monster to bounce cards and blow away backrows. You can Tribute Qliphort Carrier and Qliphort Helix for anything and still get their abilities. You can Summon Vanity’s Fiend with Carrier and bounce away a bigger monster your opponent Special Summoned, locking that monster out of the game with the Fiend’s effect. Or Tribute Helix for Raiza the Storm Monarch, destroying a backrow card and spinning a monster to the top of your opponent’s deck to clog their next draw.

Any strategy that depends on high-Level monsters can run the risk of dead draws, but the Qliphort theme dodges that danger with an effect all the Qliphorts share: you can Normal Summon them without Tribute. When you do they shrink down to 1800 ATK and Level 4, but that’s way better than being trapped in your hand. The same thing happens when you Special Summon a Qliphort, including Pendulum Summons: they normally won’t hit the field with their printed ATK.

If you want your Qliphorts to charge into battle with 2400 ATK and 2800 ATK but you don’t want to pay their Tribute, just flip Skill Drain! It stops your opponent’s on-field monster effects as it always does, but Skill Drain’s effect will also shut off the ATK-shrinking effect applied to your Qliphorts, exactly like it does with Beast King Barbaros! It costs 1000 Life Points to activate, but Skill Drain can boost each of your Qliphorts by up to 1000 ATK each.

With Qliphorts leading the charge, Pendulum Monsters are finally ready to take on the world! You’ll get your first taste of the new theme this weekend at The New Challengers Sneak Peek, so get ready! Tribute Summoning has never been this awesome, and it’s all thanks to Pendulum Summons. The New Challengers launches on November 7^th.