Hello and welcome to what I assume is the final Preview Season for Draft Box 4. Today, the Black cards come to do what they do best and provide some support but we also have a pleasant surprise in a bunch of Multi-Color cards as well. Let’s see how much of a great draft experience they can provide while also pumping up Constructed.

Son Goku, Striking True

The first card for Black is actually pretty interesting for both Limited and Constructed but for different reasons. For Limited it’s a very solid and easy to use removal card if you draft enough Vanillas, which you probably will. 2 Energy to pretty easily kill something while leaving behind a body is a solid rate. In Constructed the main question would be if it finds use in KidKu. At first I was going to say no until the obvious struck me. This is a Kid Goku, thus he works with Android 8. Now we have a Goku (unless you’re in the Red variant in which case you already did) that’s far more expendable for removal and it already removes one to begin with. I think it’s a worthwhile tech to try out in the deck for certain.

Trunks, Dimension Sniper

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Trunks gets a solid, generic OR3 card. At least this one is different as it acts as Removal for 3 Drops or less, which is quite good in a Limited format that can be decided by 3 Drop 30Ks. Could be a viable Constructed tech as well depending on format though that’s probably a bit generous.

Dende, Cry of the Soul

Some more cantrip flavor this time around. The main downside to this card is unlike most other cantrips you actually have to choose if you want the draw or the other ability. Is +10K Power worth as much or more than a Draw? Well possibly, if it weren’t limited to specifically 1 Drop Vanillas. I think 95% of the time he just fills up your deck as a cantrip and then maybe he sometimes surprises you with the other ability. Won’t be seeing him in Constructed.

Mira, Assault from the Skies

Well we haven’t gotten a ton of these lately. An honest, simple pressure based OR card. 30K Double Strike for 1 Energy is nothing to sneeze at. With Mira it’s a matter of if you value an Untapped Energy and an extra +5K Power (and being named Mira) over one extra drawn card. Honestly, I think there’s a definite case for Mira. He’s very similar to Scientist Fu for certain. I think he definitely makes the cut in Towa Lists and easily makes the cut in any Limited deck you’re running assuming you don’t need the Drop Area. We’ll just have to see how players decide to weight him over Scientist Fu in other decks.

Fu, Mission Accomplished

Speaking of Fu we have a new one right here that’s quite interesting and continues the theme of Drop Area usefulness. In his case, paying 2 to get back a Black Battle Card from Drop or Warp. Now…one would think he’d be best in an OR deck, being able to get back Battle Cards you really wanted in hand but…well he needs to be in the Drop Area to work. So you only really have the time where he’s in the Drop but before you OR to really make use of him but at the same time it’s hard to argue with this kind of card selection. He gets nearly the entire gamut of possibilities for 2 Energy which is pretty easy to manage in a deck where you’re Energy usage is relatively low. I think he should get tested out. Even though he will probably be somewhat awkward to use the upside seems too high to ignore.

Remote Serious Bomb

How effective this card is really depends on how tall your opponent’s deck is. Its upside is insane. 1 Energy, Warp a Battle Card. But in a game where most decks run cheaply costed cantrips and such, finding a time where this will actually land on something you want dead is likely to be minimal especially in Limited formats. It’s for the best though as if this was more viable every deck would have a 1 Energy Removal spell which would be too absurd.

Burning Slash

Well this card would’ve been pretty damn cool…if we still had relevant cards that could actually negate Counters. As it is now it’s extremely rare for there to be an effect to actually negate a Counter, usually the effects are geared so you can’t play them to begin with or a card is unaffected. Should be fine for Limited, it’s a Counter anyone can use. Hard pass in Constructed unless negating Counters becomes huge.

Champa and Beerus, Capricious Gods

Geez, and I thought Bandai was digging into the thesaurus with epochal and now we have capricious. Anyway, onto the Multi Color cards and we’ll start with some good ole Gruul Red and Green. This card does have some hefty competition. The main draw (outside of hitting slightly different cards than Gogeta) is that they give something else Double Strike rather than being a 20K Double Strike on their own. So the card is less independent but has far higher upside. Obviously great in Limited if you’re in the colors but I could definitely see this getting play over Gogeta in Constructed depending on deck builds. Always believe in the higher upside.

Son Goku and Vegeta, Saiyan Bonds

Onto Blue/Yellow and FINALLY we have a generic Arrival in those colors we can use without basically locking the deck into U6 Veggies. This card doesn’t disappoint either as it really goes into what makes this combination tick. Drawing a card and negating a Battle Card’s text is really strong. This absolutely can be key in getting that last bit of card advantage to push in the end game. Great for Limited, and depending if Blue/Yellow gets more generic support can see Constructed play.

King Vegeta and Vegeta, Royal Bloodline

Onto new combinations! This time, Red/Yellow with Yellow taking the headline. This card is…eh? It’s definitely nowhere near as flashy as the above cards. I guess the feeling is that the Rest Mode condition wasn’t enough to offset the addition of Draw a Card so it went down to needing a 3 Drop Rest Mode condition rather than 4. In Limited it should be good, 3 Drops are pretty strong there. In Constructed I don’t think it makes the cut, though for the most part Red/Yellow is one of the least played combinations in the game’s history to begin with.

Son Goku and Son Gohan, Saiyans of Earth

From one of the least played to the (prior to Arrival) most played color combination in the game. This card is interesting in that despite the characters on the card it plays into the GB/Zamasu theme, so much that Bandai even called it out. However unless they want you to go three colors that seems to be a bit of a stretch (yes you could cut out the Yellow…but then you won’t be bothering with the opponent ramp anymore either). So I think it’s back on the generic train but it’s pretty good there especially once we get more in the combination. It’s very reminiscent of Vegeta the Cruel though not that extreme since you need to put in more resources than just two Energy but you do get a far bigger body out of it. Who knows, maybe this is the beginning of Blue/Green Control’s return.

Hercule and Majin Buu, Friends Forever

Onto Red/Blue, another often played color combination. It has the flavor of both down, giving something -10K and then offering to bounce something of yours. I’ll admit though this is probably the weakest of all the Arrival Cards in this Draft Box. It’s a decent defensive swing but nothing too crazy and the potential bounce effect really depends on your current board state to matter. Unless we find something busted things to bounce I think it falls by the wayside. Okay for Limited though but you only get this if you’re already in Red/Blue, you don’t pick this to go into those colors.

Krillin and Android 18, Power Couple

The final preview for the day and it’s in Green/Yellow. The only one of the bunch that has to choose between two effects rather than just getting two from the jump but will often be the easiest to play due to opportunity cost. One Energy 20K forced discard is pretty good, or One Energy 20K take away a relevant Keyword is also pretty damn good. Easy Limited Pick, may even see some Constructed play in the future.

Final Thoughts:

Pretty solid offering in my opinion here. Nothing absurdly flashy but that makes sense considering the lack of Super Rares for this preview. But a lot of solid cards to help fill out a Draft Deck and some cards that could sneak into Constructed playability. Honestly this was basically what I expected from the set and I’m not disappointed.