The final color for Colossal Warfare is here. This time we have a nice and easy one color and product review today (though with one extra card from the Special Pack). How will Black evolve from its current path? Will it continue to play the faithful support role, or strike out on its own? And will we get a bunch of Chronoas? …yeah, let’s find out.

Special Pack Preview

Dimension Control Demigra

Here we have a very interesting card that plays off one of the new paths Black has, in particular Demigra himself. He’s essentially a sort of upgraded Energy Attack Gotenks. He rips a card out of the opponent’s hand, into the Warp (which lessens any possible reuse or recursion) and if it happens to be a Battle Card, which it likely will be 90% of the time, you get to combo with it. Now in general this means Demigra will often be a 25-30K Attacker that rips a card out of the opponent’s hand. Pretty good. Absolutely great in the late game. Also, unlike some of his hand control compatriots, he doesn’t need to attack the Leader card. I can see quite a few decks get mileage out of Demigra. Solid card.

Colossal Warfare

Demigra/Ghastly Malice Demigra

A lot of the set advertisement was built up to this moment, getting to Demigra. Does he live up to all that hype? Well I imagine some of it is for the SR Demigra, but let’s look at the Leader first as SRs are next week. His front side is again, the way this generic “Untap Awaken” should be designed. With just enough wrinkles to be different and suit each Leader. In this case, it’s telling you to do something VERY specific. Not just milling, but milling all Black cards. That’s right, after a bit of confusion last set from a few players, we’re getting that design space that makes Mono-Black a reality. You definitely want to be Mono-Black with Demigra, you do not want to be missing your draws. Time will tell how effective Mono-Black will be but it’s a nice wrinkle. He essentially trades Masked Saiyan’s Pump and Crit for the draw, and he gets the one extra mill compared to Cross Worlds Mira and Trunks, pretty important for a deck that will live and die on Over Realm. The downside though is that…since the deck will be heavily based on Over Realm strategy, the Untap 2 Awaken seems only slightly out of place, though as we’ll realize with Dark Over Realm, it’ll fit a lot more than one can tell at first glance.

On his awakened side, we have ourselves a new Keyword (and it references another I’ll get to in a second), Wormhole. Essentially, you can use an Over Realm ability Twice Per Turn rather than Once Per Turn. That’s incredibly powerful, and absolutely necessary for a Mono-Black deck as otherwise your plays would inevitably get clunky. There’s some definite power behind this type of effect. But it doesn’t stop there. He also gets to reload the Drop from the Warp. This is pretty fantastic because the main problem with the predecessors, was that you’d eventually get to the point in the game where the milling was just too dangerous either because you risked milling yourself out, or just simply losing a ton of your options because of randomness. With Demigra, you can just keep reloading from the Warp instead so you can keep your plays going. Now you’ll probably still need mill from elsewhere as two Over Realm plays a turn is tough to manage, but it’s certainly better than having to mill every single time.

It’s simple though, if Mono-Black is real, Demigra will be a powerhouse. If Mono-Black is still too unwieldy, Demigra is just going to be very shiny binder fodder.

Mira/Mira, One With Darkness

Mira Leader, Round 2, Ready…Fight! The previous Mira Leader was pretty solid, but ultimately fell a bit short of seeing consistent tournament play. Does this Mira make that leap? Well he starts out with an interesting blend of Vegeta and The Masked Saiyan. You get Self-Awaken, a Pump, and the Mill 3. Just no Crit behind it which kind of bites. However I understand the philosophy. If Vegeta is essentially a +2 (Life Burn + either a Crit or the opponent wasting a combo) and Masked Saiyan somewhat similar (Crit usually, and the mill allowing Self-Awaken), then I imagine the thought process is Life Burn + Over Realm Enabling is enough of a plus on its own merits. I don’t know how true that really is, but for those who prefer to raise their own ceilings rather than lower their opponent’s, this isn’t a bad way to go. He also gets the Untap 2 Awaken which isn’t bad as he isn’t limited to Black Cards. He isn’t limited to anything at all, which is probably his biggest advantage over his predecessor. Being able to still get all the advantage of being an Android Leader, while also getting to use…you know, other colors besides Green and Yellow should really help open up Deck Design in his favor.

On his Awakened Side, he’s pretty similar to Demigra. He also gets to reload from the Warp, though any color cards besides just Black (mostly just to make sure people stay on the Mono-Black path with Demigra) and he gets a pump for it. Downside though is that he doesn’t have the Wormhole ability. Ultimately though, that’s fine. As powerful as Wormhole is, it is a very taxing ability to maintain if you want to use it to its fullest potential. Mira, also not being Mono-Black, doesn’t really need the multiple ORs a turn. He gets to reload his OR safely, and let’s be clear. Free 20K Leader Pokes are really rough to deal with in the late game. It wears your hand down very subtly. It’s just been lost because we haven’t had a Leader that can do that consistently and safely since…well, arguably Galactic Battle/Union Force with Soul Striker Goku. It’s not the flashiest ability out there, but it’s very efficient and fantastic for what Mira wants to be doing. Ultimately I think this Mira will likely have a better shot at the top than the previous Mira.

Burst Energy SS Bardock

Well this Bardock reads pretty simple. He’s essentially an Over Realm Jiren, Fist of Justice. You don’t get the untap, but 30K swinging in at any Battle Card is solid. Now, somewhat unfortunately for him we do get some actual removal in Black in this set so he loses a bit of the value he would’ve had otherwise. However, he’s a Bardock, which means another SS3 Bardock Xeno-Evolve target (albeit for a slightly bigger Energy Cost). That will probably be enough to make you keep an eye out for him, plus for Demigra redundant removal shouldn’t hurt too much.

Dimension Support Trunks

It’s happening, Vanilla Support is happening! Sadly, unless the SR’s have another, this is the only actual Vanilla Support in the set but hey we’re actually getting it! It’s pretty damn good for that archetype as well, being able to grab any Vanilla that’s 2 or less from the deck and give it Critical for the turn at a very low cost? Yeah, I love it. It won’t see any play right now, but absolutely keep this nearby in the case that we actually see Bandai go fully towards a Vanilla Archetype.

Time’s Choice, Supreme Kai of Time

Well let’s not mince words, this is essentially a slightly modified Time Patrol Trunks. This is however, one of those times I believe this is “good redundancy” for a couple of reasons. One, in a Battle Card heavy deck she digs a bit deeper which is good. Sure you lose the other two cards to the bottom instead of getting to stack, but it’s not too big a loss. Two, she’s a God so she does benefit from different support than Trunks would. Oh and three, she’s a Main Set Common so she’s immensely cheaper to actually pick up, but without outright invalidating Time Patrol Trunks. If Bandai has been doing one thing particularly well in DBSTCG, it’s the design philosophy of these “functional reprints” more or less. Making similar effects to previous, annoying to pick up cards without invalidating said cards.

Time Control Chronoa

I’ve already made pretty much an entire post on her in the Silver Bullet Article so I’ll avoid retreading too much here. She’s a Shugesh Killer, automatic 4-of in every Main and Side Deck unless you have an extremely good matchup against Veggies (looking at you Machine Mutants).

Dark Control Demon God Demigra

Now for the second new Keyword introduced by Black. Dark Over Realm. It carries a much heftier cost than the original Over Realm. Your Energy payment is usually just one less of the actual cost of the card, rather than being free or costing 1-2 Energy. Also, the OR count is specifically for Black Cards and not just cards in general (though you still Warp everything) which makes them much tougher to board outside of decks very heavy on Black. So what’s the upside when dealing with these restrictions? The Card does not Warp at the End of Turn. Is that enough of an upside? …I’m honestly not sure. There are certainly times I wish I could keep an OR card for an extra turn, but on the other hand OR cards leaving also gave them a solid niche against decks with removal who now lost out on a lot of abilities. Blanking abilities is more powerful than some give it credit for. Still, time will tell how effective Dark Over Realm will turn out to be.

As for this Demigra itself, it’s basically the Dark Over Realm version of his Special Pack Promo. The same exact effect, except he stays on board for more than one turn which makes him a legitimate and constant threat if not dealt with. He also doesn’t need to be Dark Over Realm’d for his ability, so you can just play him on 4 if need be. Pretty good threat for Demigra Leader.

Heavenly Wizard Demigra

We have ourselves another Silver Bullet, this one much more…narrowly aimed. As of now, this is really only useful against Cell Chain decks and only one one very specific turn, a turn in which most decks already have at least a modicum of an out to Perfect Strike Cell. This card is not good, and if it ever becomes useful, Bandai fucked up.

Invasive Power Mira

Yeah…this card sucks. Mainly just compare him to Masked Saiyan, the Mysterious Warrior or even Awakened Warrior Bardock. For the Over Realm cost, Masked Saiyan gives up 5K Power to give great removal. For a Double Striker, Bardock gives up 5K Power…to come on board as a free OR card, for OR4 (and is a Bardock so SS3 Support). Dimension Breaker Mira also has plenty of Xeno-Evolve targets so this doesn’t really help for that either. This is an absolute pass unless desperate.

Dark Absorption Mira

So this card is pretty hard to evaluate without seeing what the payoff actually is. What I can say is that the Union-Absorb should be pretty easy to manage assuming you play enough Towa, and good on Bandai for future proofing the inevitability of getting a future Towa Leader. Other than that, this card is To Be Determined.

Umbral Invitation Towa

The one Dark Over Realm that’s costed similarly to the original Over Realm. Now the payoff for Dark Over Realm here isn’t so much that Towa stays on board, that’s pretty irrelevant in this case. Here it’s being able to take control of something 3 or less, rather than just 2 or less like her predecessor. It’s…okay I guess. I don’t know if being able to grab a 3 drop is really worth the extra restrictions. I’d personally say no, but as a Towa it might be a forced run anyway.

Dark Rejuvenator Towa

Okay, Bandai seems to be going with the design philosophy of making Towa cards really niche in application. This…is way too narrow though. While we do have a few cards introduced in the set she does interact with, it’s still not particularly great. In most cases, if you really want to untap weenies that bad, play Galactic Emperor Frieza or hell, even Zarbon. That card could use some love. This, isn’t worth it.

Gravy, Lightning’s Might

GRAVY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or Butter Toast then. Anyway, pretty much like Quick Blade Trunks, just the ole cheap Dark Over Realm to show off the keyword. 20K for 2 isn’t nothing though, so at least it’s aggressively stated.

Gravy, in Demigra’s Thrall

More Goddamn GRAVY! Anyway, the completed “Mill Cycle” is ironically done differently in the Mill Color. He instead reloads from the Warp rather than mill. This is actually pretty damn good, and is probably the one card in the cycle you want to actually board so you can continue to reuse him. In the early game this makes OR 5 a lot easier to manage consistently and he’s even good late game. This is a definite staple in Demigra, a probable one in Mira and I could see him getting teched in decks like Masked Saiyan as well. Do not underestimate the power of GRAVY!

Frigid Blast Putine

…Is Bandai Namco’s HQ in Canada? Just wondering is all. Anyway, we have a Demigra tutor with Dark Over Realm upside. Honestly you probably won’t actually DOR this card in all that much, you’ll play it normally so you can keep your resources for the Demigra you’re grabbing. Still, upside is upside and a tutor is usually good to have around.

Putine, in Demigra’s Thrall

Normally a skip, but she is at least an extra mill hand for Demigra if he wants it. Probably not, but at least it does have some upside compared to most 1 Drop Blockers.

Time Trauma Masked Saiyan

Part of the Self-Awaken Cycle, though this one has some competition with…well, himself. Time Trauma can use up more cards, but also costs more Energy. Compared to Increasing Evil Masked Saiyan which only does 1 Life but uses less Energy due to Over Realm and can be played in anything. He’ll probably be a necessity though in Demigra, so he doesn’t have to use his OR for the turn on Increasing Evil. Not fantastic outside of that.

Dimensional Banisher Fu

Is it possible for Fu to get a bad card? I’m starting to wonder. In any case, now every deck can have removal. We technically had it with Increasing Evil Masked Saiyan, but the Life Burn AND only hitting 5 drops or less really lessened it to decks that needed Self-Awaken help. Or I guess a better analogue would be Masked Saiyan, the Mysterious Warrior as all the stats and costs are the same but instead of a mini-board wipe, you get to kill one card of choice no matter what. Basically this will be format-dependent. Right now, I’d say Masked Saiyan is better because Veggies are a thing and will continue to be a thing, alongside Machine Mutants. But this is still a good choice if decks start going tall again. Worst case, solid Sideboard tech.

Tokitoki, Time Creator

…Chronoa 5-8 because we needed that? Again, this design is quite annoying. This would be good if it took the place of ANY Black 1 Drop, as it would provide great utility without being too strong. Here…it’s just way too niche. It’s made simply to get Chronoa out which means it’s made to make ABSOLUTELY sure Shugesh stays dead. However, it’s far too narrow. Most decks do not have the ability to ALSO make room for this. Demigra is probably the only deck that will even consider running Tokitoki.

Seasoning Arrow

The last in the Character Attack Cycle. The third Hand Control card in it, but also the most restricted. Both Special Beam Cannon and Phantom Flame Cannon could rip a card out of hand on either player’s turn, whereas this only works on yours. I guess the thought process is, being Hand Control and potentially even more of a pump would be too much…though that didn’t stop them with the stupidity of Revenge Death Ball. Still, pretty solid card, especially in a deck that doesn’t use up a ton of Energy at once so it’s more liable to be used aggressively.

Dark Kamehameha

Oh my bad, THIS is the last in the Character Attack Cycle. It’s honestly immensely similar to Revenge Death Ball, just much less stupid. Or I guess another way to put it is that it’s an upgraded Son Goten, Family of Justice. 15K Pump is absolutely extreme, especially for a Leader that already pumps himself and then he gets to Warp something that’s 4 or Less out of play. 1 Drop removal is fantastic, 15K Pump is fantastic. It’s just not as stupid as RDB because the removal is only on your turn, where it should be. Great card, 4-of in Mira for damn sure.

Minus Kili Zone

EDIT: So I had to do a major edit because I flipped the effect of the card by mistake. Anyway this is essentially a hoser for CBL for everyone. I initially likened it to Chronoa, as it’s a card specifically made to counter one thing. Honestly though, after thinking more about it, it’s probably just closer to a Strategies of Universe 7 that doesn’t suck. It’s actually how I would’ve liked Chronoa to have worked. A cantrip that helps avoid a harmful effect but for only one turn. Most decks can easily run it, ironically Black cannot all that well as they need the ammunition for Over Realm too much.

The deck that benefits the most though is Chain Attack Zen-Oh. Now players won’t have to go the extra route of teching Yellow for Bad Ring Laser, they can just play this. Also worst case scenario, it’s an Upstart Goblin with a slight but easy to manage cost.

Final Thoughts:

While not as flashy as when Black arrived on Cross-Worlds, I think they got a decent set of support here. I think we’ll have to see what SRs they get before we can really decide if Mono-Black will become a thing but I’m sure Mira will be able to get some momentum behind it. Next week, for sure, Super Rares and we see the payoff for many of these decks.

Until Next Time, Keep Fighting Because If You Don’t, Who Will?