Burning Abyss has been one of the hottest Decks of the past year, from the moment Dante arrived in Duelist Alliance. 7 months later it’s still going strong, even winning YCS Prague in a field flooded with Nekroz! Whether you’re building Burning Abyss for the first time, or you’ve already got a Deck and you want to shiny it up a bit, take a look at some of the new rarity upgrades in Premium Gold: Return of the Bling!

Downerd Magician is a powerful card in many Extra Decks, and it’s probably at its best in Burning Abyss. Since you can use it to upgrade any of your existing Rank 3 or lower Xyz Monsters, it’s a great way to utilize weak monsters with powerful effects, such as Ghostrick Alucard and Leviair the Sea Dragon.

In a Burning Abyss Deck, the main combo you’ll play is to mix it up with Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss. First play Dante and have him send three cards to the Graveyard. With some luck, you’ll send some Burning Abyss monsters to the Graveyard and trigger their effects, but that isn’t necessary for the combo. Next, go ahead and attack if you like – if your opponent destroys Dante, you’ll get to activate his effect and get a Burning Abyss card from the Graveyard to your hand. Whether you attack or not, next you’ll use Dante to Xyz Summon Downerd Magician. Now, no matter what happens to Downerd, Dante will find his way into the Graveyard and you’ll still get to use his effect! Most people view Downerd’s forced Xyz Material detaching effect as a limitation, but here it can help to trigger Dante even faster.

And don’t forget, it’s not just about getting an ATK boost over your other Xyz Monsters. Downerd Magician also packs the ability to deal piercing battle damage, making it a strong pressure tool.

In a strategy that so easily Xyz Summons like Burning Abyss, Rank-Up-Magic is a powerful tool. Now bling-flavored, Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force is the only Rank-Up-Magic that can play any Xyz Monsters, not just “Number C” or “CXyz” ones.

Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss is the only Rank 3 LIGHT Warrior Xyz Monster, which means that he’s also the only monster that can be transformed into Constellar Pleiades using Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force! While that transformation is certainly the most popular, it’s not the only way that Astral Force has been used in Burning Abyss Decks. In the past, it’s also been used to upgrade Grenosaurus into Number 61: Volcasaurus and Ghostrick Alucard into Crimson Knight Vampire Bram. In strategies other than Burning Abyss, it’s generally used to upgrade Number 39: Utopia into Photon Strike Bounzer and further into Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand, or to swap out Wind-Up Arensal Zenmaioh for Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack.

Finally, we’ve got an upgrade to a Trap Card that’s used both in Burning Abyss and as a counter to them! Karma Cut is similar to other “discard a card and get rid of something” cards like Raigeki Break or Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, but it has some significant advantages. While it can’t hit face-down monsters or Spell/Trap cards like those cards, it banishes its target – something that very few monsters resist – and it also takes extra copies out of the Graveyard as well!

Karma Cut is strong against any Deck as a way to handle opposing monsters, but it’s at its strongest against Graveyard reliant strategies where it can banish multiple cards from the Graveyard. Burning Abyss, Lightsworn, Shaddoll, Zombies, and more will have trouble with this card. It’s also a good answer for cards that just can’t be destroyed. To really make the most of Karma Cut, use it in a strategy that can utilize the discard cost, like Burning Abyss or Zombie Decks.

We’re only scratching the surface of all the rarity upgrades in Premium Gold: Return of the Bling. Keep checking back here to see more of the new Gold Rares!