Some of the most powerful Decks in modern Dueling are tied together by a shared name: Magicians and True Dracos are two of the biggest themes in competition, and they use monster effects and support cards that deliver name check after name check. Rogue strategies are often the same way: SPYRAL, Metalfoes, Lightsworn, Trickstars, World Chalice… those Decks all work because the cards share a unifying name stamp.

But flash back to the early days of Dueling: the best Decks were usually mish-mashes of the most powerful cards, or they were strategies that keyed off basic Monster Types and Attributes. Over a decade later those mechanics still exist; Allure of Darkness and Transmodify are two examples of powerful Spell Cards like that. Lots of Synchros and Link Monsters are Summoned with Materials of a specific Type or Attribute too. But even with those exceptions, real Type support is still pretty rare.

It’s even tougher to find new cards that manage to support ALL strategies built around a common Type or Attribute. But get ready, because today we’re unveiling a World Premiere that’s old school in more ways than one – a flexible revamp of an old favorite that could find a place in lots of different Decks today.

Say it with me: SUPER TEAM BUDDY FORCE UNITE!

Super Team Buddy Force Unite! is like a WAY better version of the classic Call of the Haunted if you can build around it. You activate it, target a face-up monster on the field, and Special Summon a different monster from your Graveyard OR your hand with the same original Type.

Back when Call of the Haunted was a tournament staple, it was limited by the fact that it was a Continuous Trap: Call attaches to the monster you revive, so if your opponent destroys it you lose your monster. That problem doesn’t exist with Super Team Buddy Force Unite! because it’s a Normal Trap. Once it resolves you won’t lose out to Mystical Space Typhoon or Twin Twisters. In fact, Super Team Buddy Force Unite! has an extra effect that protects you from removal: if your opponent destroys it, you get to Set another copy directly from your Deck for free.

Call of the Haunted had two more problems: you had to revive your monster in Attack Position even if you’d rather have it in defense mode, and if you drew Call too early and didn’t have anything to revive, it wasn’t useful. Super Team Buddy Force Unite! lets you choose your monster’s Battle Position, and since you can Special Summon from your hand instead of just your Graveyard it’s way better in the early game.

If that sounds sort of like the Trap Card Back to the Front from last year’s Code of the Duelist, you’re not mistaken. Back to the Front had all the convenience of a Normal Trap Card, and that generated some excitement for it as a better Call of the Haunted. But Back to the Front only revives monsters in defense mode – it can’t help you make immediate attacks, so like Call it’s a more narrow card. It can’t Special Summon from your hand either, firmly planting it in the mid-game. Back to the Front ended up seeing very little tournament time.

Super Team Buddy Force Unite! is way more flexible, but the real question is whether it has a place in current Decks. Are there enough strategies with shared monster Types that could put it to work? There are certainly lots of options…

Just looking at themes from Flames of Destruction we see some immediate candidates. The “F.A.” monsters are all Machine-Types, and they make lots of Synchro Summons to load up the Graveyard on Turn 1. If the Level 6 F.A. Turbo Charger winds up in your hand you could use Super Team Buddy Force Unite! to get it to the field. And even though you have to Special Summon the new F.A. Dark Dragster with its effect the first time it hits the field, you can revive it to destroy more cards once it’s in your Graveyard.

The “Elementsaber” Warriors are really good at putting specific monsters into the Graveyard, since they all have effects that send cards from your hand to the Graveyard as a cost. Elementsaber Malo doubles down on that, plucking an “Elementsaber” or “Elemental Lord” from your Deck to load your Graveyard. The Deck’s all about Graveyard management, so Super Team Buddy Force Unite! might be a good pick.

Meanwhile all the “Altergeist” monsters are Spellcasters, and two of them have powerful effects that activate whenever they’re Special Summoned: Altergeist Kunquery can negate the effect of any card your opponent controls, and the new Altergeist Multifaker Special Summons another Altergeist straight from your Deck. Whether you’re using Super Team Buddy Force Unite! to field those monsters from your hand or Graveyard, you’ll unleash those abilities.

Goukis, Dinosaurs, and even Knightmares are all one uniform Type, and there are lots of older strategies that could reappear to take advantage of Super Team Buddy Force Unite! Watch for it at your Flames of Destruction Sneak Peek events this weekend.