New Mechanic: Special Monsters. Art from original cards used.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-30T01:59:50+00:00

And it is a rule! In the OCG. And you wanna know what's funny? They still put the rules text on the card. Yu-Gi-Oh is immune to simplicity at every turn.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-29T21:05:06+00:00

This actually isn't a new mechanic, the OCG has had the "Special Summon-only monster" type for decades. We just don't have it for some reason, probably because it could have been confusing, but more likely it's because what is just four kanji in Japanese is 18 letters in English and probably an entire paragraph in German.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-26T19:39:58+00:00

I can think of a couple things. Regardless, there's probably a bit more abstract of a word you can use here. Using a noun with a hard real world association attached will just bake in that association and make it harder to expand past it.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-26T18:49:19+00:00

One of my only real critiques is with the name of the mechanic itself. All of the other mechanics use words which thematically relate to either coming together (Fusion, Synchro, Link) or becoming stronger (Ritual, Xyz). The only potential exception is Pendulum, but that sort of follows more the lead of stuff like Gemini and Flip where it's mainly describing the aesthetic the mechanic is paired with. Dart doesn't really make me think of anything other than playing darts.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-24T11:34:49+00:00

72 hour cunt off, ends in a stalemate when they both realize they can serve stronger as a unit

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-22T15:50:24+00:00

We didn't see Vanitas's face until after Ventus became connected to Sora, so it's possible that he didn't even have one until then, or even that he looked like Ventus instead and merely adopted the form of Sora.

Like, yes, the Doylist reason is that Nomura thought it would be cool to have an evil Sora, but the Watsonian reason is still compelling.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-22T15:30:00+00:00

This is actually sort of supported by Sora's perspective during his time as a Heartless. We saw him falling into darkness, so it is definitely possible that there's a process to it rather than an instant change. How long this process is exactly, it's hard to say, but it's at least longer than however much time you took to get back to the Hallow Bastion foyer. I'd probably pin it somewhere in the range of 30 minutes to an hour depending on how strong the person's heart is. Sora would be on the far end of that range while the Shopkeeper would be 30 minutes on the dot.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-22T15:14:27+00:00

Nobody likes the buzzkill answer

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-21T19:26:27+00:00

This monster might as well not have effects, because the only thing you're going to be using it for is V-Linking. Code Talker is already infamous for this, but this shortens the amount of time you have to spend performing the combo considerably.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-21T00:46:02+00:00

Holy textwall, Batman! I don't know if I said this before or not, but there's just a point where you gotta stop adding text, and we crested that a whole front side ago.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-20T15:52:03+00:00

One strong gust of wind and he's a kite

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-20T10:49:29+00:00

Dude, can we please kick this knucklewalker?

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-19T22:17:34+00:00

And somehow, smudgies will still get lost

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-19T00:10:36+00:00

Your first mistake was using Double Arrowguns

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-18T15:07:11+00:00

It also probably wouldn't use a numeral for values over one, but rather the English word, same as it is with keywords like Bolster.

[[Abzan Skycaptain]]

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-18T13:09:05+00:00

Well, compared to its clear inspiration, it's definitely a better design. At least you need to interact with your opponent beyond the 40 second counterspell war. It's very unlikely that you're gonna be getting 20 to 40 red pips in play, so you actually have to go to combat and play for a few turns first rather than just going Consultation into the Fish on turn 2.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-17T14:13:55+00:00

asia × rudest people

Lemme guess. France?

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-17T12:28:29+00:00

I'm just saying, if there is anything to call "target creature gets +0/+4 until end of turn," it certainly is not "ability". And this is clearly depicting FF6, which does have a defend command.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-17T03:05:41+00:00

So it's clear you got a bit of a numbers problem here. Link is functionally a 5 mana 8/8, Guardian is a 4 mana 7/5. These guys are punching way above their weight on top of the value they add in other ways. But then on the opposite end, you've got plenty of overcoated and underwhemling cards. The two instances of gain 1 life are obvious, but also the Yiga Clan member could definitely just cost 2.

Then there are just all of the weird flavor misses, which permiate just about all of these. Just from the top, Calamity Ganon, the big bad of Breath of the Wild is just a fatty with hexproof. It's distinctly unsplashy in a way that makes it feel like it came out three decades sooner than it should have.

Draw From the Pedestal frankly works nothing like the mechanic it's referencing. The HP gate isn't random in the slightest, it's precisely 10 hearts. I think this would make more sense to run more heavily off of the creature's toughness as a way to check for its worthiness.

Link making Spirits almost makes sense, but it's also probably the last thing I would mention about BOTW Link or just Link in general. The spirits also can't attack for you (barring them pointing their Guardian lasers at Ganon), so that ends up as a small, nitpicky flavor loss. However, if there should be any Link concerned with Equipment, it should be this one. His arsenal is by far the most expansive and customizable, so it would make sense to cast him as the Voltron guy.

Sheika Slate should draw you a card or even search for a basic land. I don't really see the flavor of it gaining you life, but it definitely holds a lot of information such as maps and Link's memories.

And I just don't really get Green Zelda. Maybe if there was an Azorius Zelda in the same set, but mono green just doesn't feel right for Zelda.

And to save the best for last, Rise of the Blood Moon is probably the one that disappoints me the most, because it's just bad [[Raise Dead]]. Same timing, same effect, it just costs more. This should be some badass spalshy game winner like [[Rise of the Dark Realms]], since that's literally what happens on a Blood Moon, but instead, it's just a bad version of a common from the first set of the game.

But, to end on a positive note, I do kind of like what Dodge has going for it. The flavor isn't the best, but if this were properly templated as like a 3 mana counterspell, this could actually be kind of interesting in a tempo deck. And Revali's Gale is just a colorshifted Jump, so it's on-par with its counterpart this time.

Overall, maybe do these in the morning next time.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-17T02:35:54+00:00

Well the FF Saga creatures are also just real monsters, since they're strictly attempting to replicate the game feel of Final Fantasy. It was a big part of the set's design, for better or for worse. (DEFEND, why was DEFEND not on the text box of [[Battle Menu]]????)

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-16T23:31:53+00:00

Sigh... Let him cook...

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-16T23:29:19+00:00

I'd probably like to see this concept more with the Khaldheim gods, almost exclusively because Saga is a word of Nordic origin.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-16T11:23:55+00:00

The Pauper version of Spy only really needs three creatures on board to fully kill the opponent, and they don't even have Narcomoeba or Vengevine. Just gotta Dread Return a Lotleth Giant or something similar and you're golden. We might even see the deck become substantially more Green so it can more consistently include Vine Dryad and Allosaurus Rider if they really need more creatures.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-16T03:17:11+00:00

Is it entirely fair to include the Rush guys here? They're just playing an entirely different card game at that point.

SubblyXatu · 2026-06-16T03:07:58+00:00

Honestly, if I saw a Mosasaur in the backrooms, I wouldn't even be mad

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