Konami appears to have the following marketing strategy: Introduce a cool archetype with an
interesting mechanic at an accessible rarity.
Follow this set with one that offers additional support, but make sure
these cards are secret rare. Throw in a few TCG exclusives that will guarantee the success of the
archetype. After 8 to 12 months, ban a
few key cards; introduce new archetypes; rinse and repeat.
This strategy leaves players with two choices: (1) chase
after the over-valued and over-powered cards or (2) play the deck without the
chase cards. Players following the first
choice are called poor; those following the second are called losers. In about six months, Konami will sell
reprints of the chase cards. As a
result, the poor players will become salty as they watch their investment drop
by about 80%. The losers are still losers because their deck will be hopelessly
obsolete.
One (perhaps) unintended consequence of this strategy is the
shrinking pool of universally playable or generic cards. These cards are usually the hidden gems of
set. They can be quite undervalued at
first because players are not sure what to do with them. For example, I picked up Number 11: Big Eye
for about $10. At the time, no one
thought you could make rank seven XYZs easily.
On the other hand, 10 bucks seemed cheap for the ability to take an
opponent’s monster forever*.
Unfortunately, I don’t think there are any real hidden gems
in the Shadow Specter’s set. Of the 100
cards, two thirds are dedicated to archetypes.
Of the 32 generic cards, nine are worth a look. Most of the good generic cards seem to be fairly priced. Nevertheless, here
is my assessment of those cards on a “Buy It”, “Pull It”, or “Leave It” scale**.
·
Mistake - $22.99, Buy It
o
This is best card in the set. It causes problems for Bujins, Geargias,
Dragons, Spellbooks, and any other search-based deck. It is undervalued because a lot of decks can’t
play it. Regardless of how the meta
changes, this card will be useful.
·
Pot of Dichotomy - $24.99, Pull it
o
Any card that lets recycle cards and plus by drawing is a good card. Constellars, Evilswarms, and Madolches will
benefit greatly though a lot of other archetype-based decks are also type
limited. Shelling out $75 for a play set seems a bit rich. On the other hand, I would buy it if the
price drops into the low teens.
·
Celestial Wolf Lord - $5.00, Pull it
o
There are 10 generic level six synchro
monsters. Of these, only Gaia Knight has
a higher attack. The only comparable
synchro is HTS Psyhemuth. Personally, I
like this one better.
·
Return of the Monarchs - $3.50, Buy it
o
Monarchs may see some play next format. They work well with Ghostricks and Frog
Monarchs have never gone completely away.
If you’ve played the deck, you know that too many Monarchs can clump
badly. This card may let you decrease
the number of Monarchs without decreasing you access to them.
·
Puralis, the Purple Pyrotile – $0.15, Buy it
o
There are three level two synchros and one is
limited. Given this low number and the
low price, I’d pick it up. Besides, it
has the best name since Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon.
·
Armored Kappa - $1.29, Buy It
o
Rank two XYZs may become more popular if
Ghostricks catch fire. There are eight such monsters, of which five are
generic. Armored Kappa is not the best of the bunch but it certainly is playable. I don’t see people playing more than one so
forking over a buck and a quarter seems reasonable
·
Swarm of Crows - $0.15, Leave It
o
This card is one word and one level away from
being a gem. I don’t understand why they demanded that it be flip summoned and not just flipped. Even with
that restriction, it may have been playable as a level four. As is, it’s not worth pulling.
·
Aratama - $0.10 – Buy it
o
One could consider the Spirit monsters in this
set to be their own archetype. The
mechanic is intriguing and searching is always a good thing. Besides, a play set is cheaper than that Coke you're drinking.
·
Genomix Fighter - $0.49 – Leave it
o
An ultra-rare for under a buck? The price did make me take a long look at
this card. Its ability to summon without
a tribute is a plus and it is searchable with certain Gusto and psychic
cards. However, the list of synchro
monsters that require specific types is rather weak. As a result, I do not see much future for
this card.
*Before you think I am Yugi clairvoyant, I also have a $15
Vampire Dragon. Take my advice with a liberal dose of salt.
** Prices are from CoreTCG
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