Abyss Rising Set Review (Part 4)

Welcome to Part 4 of the Abyss Rising Set Review! Today, we'll be covering slots 30-29, including, but not limited to, Penguins, Elemental Lords, and Chaos Numbers! I'm pumped for today's cards, so let's get started with...!

Fishborg Planter

I find it interesting that we're getting all these Fishborg cards, after what could arguably be called their best card (Fishborg Blaster) was forbidden. Anyhow, utility and power. First off, the "once" in the card's effect means that you can't reuse the effect of a lone copy. If you send another copy of Fishborg Planter to the Graveyard, you can use their effect. If you have two copies in your graveyard, you can only use one of them (hence, the "once per turn.") This reduces the utility, but it's still strong, since you can use up to 3 Fishborg Planters. Note that this card's effect will send a card from the top of your deck, regardless of anything else, providing its effect isn't negated, making it a more balanced version of Glow-Up Bulb. That effect can be very handy in a lot of decks, but you'll typically want to keep Fishborg Planter in a Water-attribute deck (or, try making an engine with this card, and its pals!). I like how Fishborg Planter is Level 2; it's a good Rank not just for Xyz summoning, provided you have several other Rank 2's in your deck, but it's also an excellent level for Synchro summoning. There are 2 tuners in the Fishborg series, and many other Water-attribute tuners in general. Of course, Fishborg Planter works best with his Fishborg pals (one of whom is forbidden, as previously mentioned). For fun, try combining this card with Abyss Warrior. You can discard Fishborg Planter to put a Water-attribute monster on top of your deck, guaranteeing this card's effect will special summon itself!


Nimble Angler

To start, I'd like to note that there aren't any Level 3 Nimble monsters right now, which points towards more being released in the future. Actually, all of the Nimbles are Level 2, which is good for consistency. Nimble Angler has a very high utility; its effect is easily triggered, from everything to discard cost, to Mermail shenanigans. After that, you have a wide variety of options. My favorite plays usually include summoning a Nimble Manta and Nimble Sunfish. Note that the three of these monsters are all Water-attribute, that increases the synergy between them. Nimble Manta is a bit better than Sunfish, since Sunfish  requires your opponent to destroy it by battle. Your opponent will normally be wary to set of those effects, so it's unlikely you'll get its effect unless your packing something like Creature Swap - a viable choice. That makes Sunfish a better card to set. However, you can always just Xyz summon with your fresh Level 2 monsters - or, if you particularly like one of the monsters you brought out, you can just summon a spare and keep your favorite for their effect! Nimble monsters excel at swarming the field, and I think it's a fun archetype for Rank 2's, and, who knows, maybe Synchro summoning! If you notice, Fishborg Planter will trigger Nimble Angler, as well as Abyss Warrior. Finding groupings of cards with strong synergy like that is one of the things that make some decks much stronger and consistent than others. It means you'll have more utility and power, more consistently. And that's why Nimble Angler is one of my favorite cards from this set.


Shore Knight

And here's our Armageddon Knight for Water-attribute monsters. He has a poor attack and defense for a Level 4, which doesn't bode well for his effect. Since he has to switch battle positions, that means that
1) He's slow
2) He's reusable (once per turn, however)
3) He's even harder to keep alive.
To be fair, that last one isn't really pertinent; whether he's in attack or defense, Shore Knight's stats are weak. This card has very low utility, and its power lies in enabling plays with other cards. Thus, Shore Knight increases other cards' utility and power. For example, he can set up our Fishborg Planter. Unfortunately, there's a huge weakness in Shore Knight's effect - outside of something wacky like Level Limit - Area B, you're never going to activate his effect the turn you summon him. And because of his low attack and defense, the odds of him surviving are abysmal. (Pun not intended.) Unless your deck has access to lots of trap cards to protect your monsters, I just can't see Shore Knight being used very effectively. Maybe in some degenerate ocean stall strategy? Hey! That's the second time I've mentioned that! Anyways~


Mecha Sea Dragon Plesion

This is one of the wreirdest card names I've reviewed to date. But it's such a fun card! I'm in love. Anyways, I think I'll discuss this cards in terms of power and utility, since I don't really know what to focus on with a such a lovely card. It's another one of those weird Water-attribute Machine-types, by the way. It's Level 5, which is good if your deck can support Rank 5 Xyz summons. Normally, a Level 5 monster would be difficult to play, due to needing tributes... except, like the more popular cards, this one cheats its way out of that! That greatly increases its utility, even though it requires you to have a face up Sea Serpent-type. It has a hefty 2300 attack (very good for a Level 5) which gives it a good dosage of power. My favorite part of this card is the effect tacked onto it though. By sacrificing a Water-attribute monster (on your side of the field) you can destroy a face-up card you control; card not monster. The distinction doesn't often come into play, but it's uber helpful when it does. This card can also be heavily abused with Treeborn Frog. This is another of my favorites from this set, and it's only a common! Robot underwater dinosaurs for the win!


Metallizing Parasite - Soltite

Metallizing Parasite - Soltite is a bit of a head-scratcher for me. It has an older big brother from years and years ago - one that never did anything. The most publicity it got was being in the back of a secondary character's hand for four seconds in a single episode. And yet, here we are, with this card apparently being used in a chapter of the D-Team Zexal manga. I'm actually impressed by the author's ability to remember an ancient monster, and create another similar to it. Now, onto the actual card itself - it's a Water-attribute Aqua-type, but the important part is that it's a Union monster. I'll tell it to you straight, right now: I strongly dislike saying anything definitive in such a complex and ever-evolving game, but you will never summon this guy. He's a Level 7, for one. Secondly, he has an attack and defense that his mother couldn't love (maybe Metallizing Parasite - Lunatite is actually his mother). Of course, you may special summon it using its Union effect once in a blue moon to perform a Rank 7 Xyz summon. As a matter of fact, that's looking like the best part of the card, so far. In a format where Mermails and Atlanteans may quickly become extremely prevalent, this card's benefit of monster effect protection could end up being extremely relevant in your match-ups. Unfortunately, attaching Soltite has to be a proactive move, due to being a Union monster, which gives your opponent time to plan around your move. It's a neat card. Not game-breaking, but it could be a fun tech in a few niche strategies.


Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord

I can say with a 99% surety, that Moulinglacia will probably end up being a 'money' or 'chase' (one of the most expensive) cards in Abyss Rising. It fits into a load of different strategies, like Grandsoil, her bro. First off, Moulinglacia is Level 8, which is a perk in a world where Trade-In exists. Next, we see she has a monstrous attack, and a strong defense. After that, we see she's a Sea Serpent-type, meaning she's searchable via Atlantean Dragoons. As for her summoning requirements: she's easy to summon. Water-attribute has a lot of cards that manipulate or fill the Graveyard: Skreech, Salvage, and all the new support makes it easy to pull out a large number of Water-attribute monsters. When Moulinglacia hits the field, the sheer power and presence she commands will annihilate your opponent. The ability to strip 2 - 2! - of your opponent's cards from their hand, while retaining a massive body on your field is nuts. This card would be utterly ridiculous if you could use Moulinglacia's effect more than once per turn, especially since it's searchable. This card's utility may be sort of narrow (it destroys your opponent's hand, and special summons itself) but the sheer amount of power it brings is crazy. Definitely one of the strongest cards reviewed up to date.


House Duston

Back on the casual side of things, we have House Duston. House Duston is clearly a set-up for things to come - it references "Duston" as an archetype, while we only have one released right now. We have no way to gauge its future power and utility, since we have reason to believe it'll become an archetype. But currently? You can special summon one House Duston to their side of the field, then one to yours. Not a very powerful combo, and not very much utility, although the effect is easy to trigger. Despite that, House Duston is a super cool casual card. Who wouldn't enjoy summoning a bunch of puny runts to your opponent's side of the field in attack mode, while setting up a stronger defense for yourself? If the other Dustons are Level 1, we'll hopefully have Number 56: Goldrat, so we can make an awesome Rank 1 Xyz. If the other Dustons are other Levels, we open the gates for truly awesome combos with monsters like Daigusto Phoenix. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on the Dustons in the future, and I suggest you do too!


Puny Penguin

I love Puny Penguin. I actually built a Penguin deck a while back that worked pretty smoothly. It loaded the Graveyard with Great Emperor Penguins, and, along with Rescue Rabbit, would bust out multiple Flying Penguins and Nightmare Penguins for numerous Rank 4 Xyz summons. Aqua Spirit... I digress. Maybe I'll post it up here at some point! Anyways, the plays with The Great Emperor Penguin only really worked because of Puny Penguin. It's recursive power is so powerful, that a set Puny Penguin typically leads to either a Rank 4 Xyz, or bouncing two of your opponent's cards to their hand (Penguin Soldier). It makes Penguin decks viable, and in variety as well. Cards like this are always welcome in my book. In terms of utility and power.. it has a good deal of utility, provided you set it up right. Really, it's an archetype specific card (which isn't necissarily a bad thing). It's power is balanced - typically, the monster you summon replaces the Puny Penguin you lost when your opponent attacked it. And if you don't enjoy this card, you may want to consider switching card games. Seriously. Just look at its art!


Missing Force

There's two trends in Abyss Rising that I can see so far (besides the obvious "Water" themes) - A. Many, many monsters who's names start with "M."
B. Cards that take control of your opponents monsters.
And Missing Force fits into both of those categories! He's Dark-attribute, which is useful for Chaos (as always) and Warrior-type. That typing is important, because it's in Warrior decks that can toolbox for their needs that this card's going to see the most play. He has a poor attack, and worse defense, but an effect that makes up (?) for it. Utility is a low for this card, because of many restrictions. In decks based around Elemental Hero Bubbleman, you'll have the choice of deciding when to explode all over the field with monsters, and Missing Force plays into that strategy well, by providing a way to snatch opponent's monsters. Although he restricts your options the turn you activate his effect, he has one use: to use a monster effect. That is the sole purpose you would use Missing Force, which is why I suggest placing him in the side deck (if using any copies at all). Can you imagine the look on your opponent's face when a bunch of hippies bring his Dark Armed Dragon over to your side of the field? This card will rarely be super useful, but it'll be funny when it is.


Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss

And closing out today's review, we have Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss. This marks the second Chaos Number to enter the TCG. If you thought you'd rarely summon Number 32: Shark Drake, then you'll never be summoning C32. This card requires such an immense commitment - 4 monsters - 4! - that he'll never be worth Xyz summoning through traditional means. Luckily, you can just overlay your (or, if you're lucky, your opponent's) Shark Drake to make this monster. Shark Drake is vicious, but C32 is just downright nasty. Situations where this card will come in handy are when A) your opponent has managed to create a situation where Shark Drake can't overcome their monster in battle, B) 2800 damage will wipe out your opponent's last few life points, C) when you need to wall up, D) when you need to drop Water-attribute monsters to your graveyard (perhaps for Moulinglacia's summoning requirements?) and E) when your Shark Drake has run out of materials. Granted, those last three are rare scenarios, but they will occasionally come up (remember, utility!). Essentially, C32 is a late-game card. Either you have to save your life points (C32's effect can be applied during either players turn) or smack down your opponent. It's a neat card, and I'd recommend running 1 if you're already running Shark Drake, and have the space. It won't always be helpful, but you'll be glad you have it in those situations when you do need it.

And that wraps up Part 4 of our review! Later this week [read, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday] we'll get into more of the Xyz monsters, a lot of which I'm very excited for! Until next time!

EDIT: I am so sorry! I had this post scheduled to post, then for some reason it decided not to! This was supposed to be released on Friday.