Blackwings are back! Premium Gold: Return of the Bling introduces 4 new Blackwing monsters to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME. First, we’ll take a look at the 2 impressive additions to the Blackwing Main Deck. Later, we’ll be checking out the 2 new Synchro Monsters that bolster the Blackwing Extra Deck.

Blackwing – Kris the Crack of Dawn, is the first of two new Blackwing monsters that you can add to your Main Deck. Kris is a Level 4 monster that has an impressive 1900 ATK – but its effect is what really makes Kris shine.

First off, like many other Blackwing monsters, you can Special Summon it as long as you control a Blackwing monster with a different name than its own. Blackwing Decks are known for having their monsters flock to the field and overwhelm opponents with a large congregation of birds. Blackwing – Kris the Crack of Dawn is just another monster that will help a Blackwing Duelist achieve that goal.

Secondly, Blackwing – Kris the Crack of Dawn cannot be destroyed by Spell/Trap effects once per turn. This inherent protection is particularly valuable on a Blackwing monster like Kris. While Blackwings are awesome for their ability to swarm the field, when they all fall together to a card like Torrential Tribute, Mirror Force, Dark Hole, or Raigeki, the impact can be devastating. But Kris won’t fall with the rest of the flock– since it’s unaffected by a Spell or Trap once per turn, it’s resilient to effects that are able to wipe out the rest of your Blackwing monsters in one swoop.

Blackwing – Pinaki the Waxing Moon is a Level 3 Tuner that furthers the Blackwing Duelist’s Synchrocentric strategy! Pinaki only has 1200 ATK, but its incredible effect more than makes up for that shortage of Attack Points. During the End Phase, if Pinaki is in the Graveyard because it was sent there from the field that turn, you can add one Blackwing monster (other than Pinaki) from your Deck to your hand. It’s a good card to Summon out of your Deck with Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame if you don’t need a Tuner at the moment.

Pinaki’s effect is also easy to activate. While you could wait for Pinaki to be destroyed by battle or a card effect before activating its effect in the End Phase, you’ll usually be able to use its effect even more quickly by sending Pinaki to the Graveyard as a Synchro Material! Then, you’ll be able to use its effect in the End Phase of your own turn. Alternatively, you can use it as a Tribute for Icarus Attack to wipe out two cards and claim a search for yourself!

Pinaki can only be used to Synchro Summon Blackwing monsters. Fortunately, since Blackwing Synchro monsters are available in Levels 5 through 8, Synchro Summoning a Blackwing monster using Pinaki is easy.

Up until now, there were only 4 Blackwing Synchro monsters in total; but when Premium Gold: Return of the Bling hits the streets on March 20^th, two new Blackwing Synchro monsters to Summon with Pinaki will be joining the flock! Come back later to check them out!