Fans of Ritual Monsters, rejoice! Code of the Duelist introduces a brand new theme of monsters, the Vendread, that specialise in Ritual Summoning and empowering the Ritual Monsters they Summon. We’re not going to talk about the Vendread monsters today, though – we’re going to discuss the Vendread Trap Card that will help not only your Vendread Deck, but just about any strategy you can think of!

Vendread Reorigin is a Normal Trap Card with a simple, but very powerful effect. Reorigin targets an opponent’s monster with a Level, Tributes it, and then you Special Summon an ATK 0/DEF 0 Zombie-type “Vendread Token”, with the same Level as the Tributed monster. The short version is that it turns your opponent’s monster into a Zombie! Since Vendread Reorigin Tributes the opponent’s monster, it gets around pesky “cannot be destroyed” effects, and as a Trap Card you can spring this on your opponent at almost any time! There are a couple of downsides to this card, though. Firstly, you have to target a monster with a Level. That means you can’t use this against Xyz Monsters or Link Monsters. Also, while you control the Token, you cannot Normal or Special Summon monsters, except for “Vendread” monsters. Thankfully, you can Summon the Token in Defence Position and use it to protect your Life Points! It’s important to use Reorigin carefully though, as you may find yourself stuck with the Token while your opponent Summons a lot of monsters to take you out in a single turn! One way to avoid this is to activate Reorigin on your turn, after you’ve Summoned the monsters you need, to open up your opponent’s field and gain control of the Duel.

In a Vendread Deck, Vendread Reorigin does a lot more work than just Tributing an opponent’s monster. Since your Vendread Token has the same Level as the Tributed monster, you can use this on your opponent’s high Level monster to Ritual Summon and Tribute your opponent’s monster! You won’t be held back by the restriction of the Token since you’ll primarily be Summoning “Vendread” Monsters, so you can use it at any time without worrying about the negative downside. Vendread Reorigin becomes a one-two punch that removes an opponent’s threat and allows you to replace it with one of your own.

It’s easy to see that Vendread Reorigin will shine in a Vendread Deck, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it in any other Deck! The Kaiju monsters are notorious for being able to Tribute any opponent’s monster, and have been popular cards to use to remove opponent’s monsters with no strings attached. Now, you’ll be able to do the same with a Trap Card! The best part is that you won’t be giving your opponent a powerful monster at the end of it, which is one less thing for you to deal with. If you really need to remove the Token in order to continue Summoning, you can attack an opponent’s monster with it. Alternatively, destroy it or Tribute it with a card effect, like Dragonic Diagram or Decode Talker and skip the downside altogether!

Vendread Reorigin gives a commonly used effect new life, as an alternative to Kaijus in the form of an easy to use, but potentially dangerous Trap Card. If you learn how best to take advantage of Reorigin while avoiding its steep downside, you will definitely find a lot of value in Tributing an opponent’s monster without warning! There’s also the option of trying out a Vendread Deck and ignoring the downside altogether! However you decide to use the card, it’s definitely worth checking it out at the Code of the Duelist Sneak Peek on July 29th and 30th!