Hello all and welcome back to Preview Season, and we got ourselves another full day. Not only do we have the Red Card Preview for Series 5, but we got the Preview for the new Draft Box Leader and even found out our next BCC Promo. This one will be a pretty sizable article, but should be a fun one. Let’s see if Red can continue its momentum from the last couple of sets.

BCC Promo

Crisis Crusher Son Goku

Somewhat slyly revealed in the design process article, this Goku is made to do one very specific thing. Try and hose aggro. Now against U/R Aggro, this does a pretty strong job. That’s a lot of cards that aren’t attacking and Goku even shoots them down if they try to play them out ahead of time. Against U/Y Swap…it doesn’t do as much. It does slow them down a little though, because they won’t be able to swing with Bardock and thus it lowers their attack numbers for a turn. But Goten will still be swinging. I’m interested to see the kind of impact, if any, this card could have.

Draft Box 3 Leaders

Vegeta Baby/Saiyan Power Vegeta Baby

Now…anyone who knows me or follows No Negate can probably guess how much anticipation I had for this Leader. I enjoy my Machine Mutants so I was really pumped to see a new Leader for them. And seeing that it was Vegeta Baby on the front meant that hurray, Unending Awakening is now always live! I didn’t expect much beyond that but I was hopeful.

…now I can easily say this is far and beyond the previous Baby Leader we received. Front Side ability, exactly the same but with upside! Finally, a little spice to the generic front side Leaders we’re getting. Potential Self-Awaken while getting rid of weenies. Even if you don’t use this effect much if at all, it’s still upside to the generic effect Baby already had. On top of that, again, he’s a Red Saiyan Leader on both sides which is another leg up.

His Awakened Side answers the two problems I had either with Baby Leader or with Machine Mutants as a whole. First off, killing off (or at least weakening) two Battle Cards instead of one is absolutely huge. One of the problems for Machine Mutants is dealing with wide boards. You could put in the entire Rilldo Package but that eats up deck space and generally takes forever to actually board against the decks you want to use him against, and isn’t all that helpful otherwise. This helps clean up weenie boards. This does come at a downside of being a -15K to one of your Battle Cards so you’re far more likely to kill one of your BCs to do it compared to before but it’s a small price to pay.

The second thing is that it’s an Activate:Main ability. That is so damn huge. I’ve had so many awkward sequences with Baby where I would have to choose between removal or trying to raise my ceiling. Now you can use the ability whenever which makes sequencing easier and makes the ability to just attack for draw far easier.

This is a strict improvement to the previous Baby Leader, bar none. Will be using it going forward.

Krillin/Stormfist Krillin

First off…that’s a badass name. Stormfist? Hell yeah. Anyway Krillin starts off shaky on his front side. The typical Attack Leader and Draw…but you’re forced to take a life to do so. Normally Self-Awaken is good, but right now it’s a bit suspect, especially since you’re locked out of drawing unless you choose to do so. Also he’s forced to only Untap 1 Energy rather than 2 for the Awaken which seems like an unnecessary drawback.

His Awakened Side is quite interesting though, it’s pretty rare to see a Leader draw more than 1 card so Krillin being an outright +2 every turn is fantastic. On top of that, he gets to pitch a card to become a 20K Crit Attacker. Normally discarding isn’t all that great, but since he’s drawing 2 a turn it’s not nearly as stressful. Plus it can setup Sparking or Over Realm strategies.

I don’t think Krillin will make too many competitive waves, but I like the design of his first Leader a lot. Interested in seeing how we can take advantage of him.

Son Goku/Full-Size Power Son Goku

Not exactly sure why this Goku doesn’t have Goku’s Lineage but whatever. Goku has the same exact front effect as the previous Krillin…but he’s allowed to Untap 2 compared to Krillin’s 1… Did they think Krillin’s Awakened Side was too strong for an Untap 2? I don’t particularly get it.

Goku’s Awakened Side is both hilarious and disturbing. He’s made for one thing and one thing only, and that’s killing wide boards. If the opponent has 4+ Battle Cards and no Blockers, they’re likely dead immediately. Especially if they committed with most of that board to attack. This is a stringent F-U to U/Y Swap if they don’t tech Gine. Two downsides to this card. One, against anyone that can afford to not overextend to hell and back, this is just a 20K Attacker. Which is okay I guess, better than being outright vanilla

The second is more of an observation of a growing, uneasy trend. Which is Bandai basically condemning players from making too wide a board. Now Kami was fine, board wipes are generally a necessary evil in a TCG and having some counter play to decks going wide is a healthy thing. It’s another thing entirely to have a Leader made specifically to attempt to auto win against them. The biggest problem is that there are multiple archetypes that Bandai has made to specifically go wide that were already endangered. Why punish them further, especially when most of them were especially fair?

Also another note, this is a Son Goku : GT so no using Feet Kamehameha. Sorry.

Son Goten/Staunch Striker Son Goten

The last Leader is Goten’s first Leader to join his buddy Trunks. He starts off as a Goku’s Lineage Leader which is a fine trait to have, extra support. Also he has one of the most unique effects in the game. A one time use, take a life to tutor ANY YELLOW EXTRA CARD FROM YOUR DECK! That’s absolutely nuts, thank god you only have one shot with it otherwise it’d be Mecha Frieza: The Revengeance. Still, when you have the ability to tutor for free in a game that does not have a lot of tutor in general…it’s pretty fantastic. Goten is guaranteed to get better as the game continues to grow. He also has an Untap 1 Awaken but at the very least I can understand it more than Krillin since his tutor effect is so potentially powerful.

…unfortunately unlike Krillin who had a solid Awakened side, Goten leaves a lot to be desired. He’s a lot like Soul Unleashed Son Goku in which by pitching a card he gains +5K for the turn…except it’s only during the opponent’s turn…during the opponent’s Main Phase so they can see it coming ahead of time…and only one time during the entire game. I mean, what, did they get scared when they saw Soul Unleashed Goku barely miss top cut at a recent Regional? Goten did NOT need all those restrictions and it unfortunately neuters him pretty hard. Still, the tutor effect is powerful enough to always keep him in mind.

Miraculous Revival Red Cards

Yamcha/Yamcha, the Hungry Wolf

Well if nothing else, one thing this Leader does is try to remind you that once upon a time Yamcha was an utter badass. The Hungry Wolf, some awesome names today, and the Awakened Card Art, I demand foils.

Anyway, the actual card itself. Front side, pretty typical. We have the Burst 2 Draw instead of the Leader Draw, your mileage may vary on which is better, Untap 2 Awaken. On his Awakened Side, we have some good stuff. Under Sparking 5, which you should pretty much always have by the time you flip, he has Permanent Critical which is absolutely fantastic.

His second ability though is very interesting and unique. Giving any Red Battle Card the ability to attack Battle Cards in Active Mode can lead to a lot of fun. At its worst, it’s potential conditional removal in a climate where Barrier is showing up more and more, making it a very relevant ability to have. At its best…Miraculous Comeback Ultimate Gohan. It’s essentially the Buuhan Combo…but without the necessity of the Buu. There’s other shenanigans as well involving Dual Attack cards and such, but it’s a great effect that can be built around. Now I no longer have to proclaim “this is Vados‘ time!” because it never is. Now Yamcha can have that chance.

Pilaf/Oolong, Always Wanting More

Congratulations Tien, Pilaf and Oolong got a Leader before you did. A lot of salty DB characters out there about this.

Anyway Pilaf effect, somewhat similar to Babidi in the sense that he gets others to do his dirty work for him. Pump a Battle Card, grab a Dragon Ball. Notably, unlike previous Wish Leaders we’ve seen, it adds the Dragon Ball to hand which I’d argue is better because…well then you get to use it as a cantrip immediately. More digging, more drawing, always good. Comes at the cost of flipping slower than Shenron but it’s a worthwhile price for a different styled deck.

Oolong effect, and we’ll just go to the Ultimate since his first two are the same as the others just with Red. Draw 3, give a Battle Card +15K. That’s…okay. And it sounds insane to say it’s only okay, but think of it in context. You’re Drawing 3 but you have to flip back over at the End of Turn so you’ll be stuck on a 10K Leader (who thankfully won’t be completely vanilla so that’s nice). So again, you probably want to use it to try and end the game but Shenron simply does that far better.

Now one could argue this Leader is based more on Pilaf and just getting to Oolong is so you can get the Draw 3 and go back but…we have still yet to reach the point that being stuck on a 10K Leader isn’t an extreme handicap. Admittedly though, at least this would probably be the best Leader under that circumstance, either this or Hercule (but Hercule has to spend the early game as a 5K Leader). Maybe something can work out, can’t underestimate Wish Leaders.

Son Goku

Now based on the cards that will be previewed today I’m gonna go majorly out of order, you’ll see why in a second. Anyway, 1 Drop 10K Vanilla. Normally a skip but in this case…not completely. Let’s show you a couple of reasons.

Oblivious Rampage Son Goku

First off, a good ole Evolve Target. Now this isn’t a huge deal with the above because…well a conditional 2 Drop 15K Crit isn’t exciting when we have multiple unconditional 2 Drop 15K Crits. He can pop off a card to restand and that ability will be relevant later in the reviews but I’m not all that excited about this card. But…

Feisty Chi-Chi

This card means Vanilla Deck relevance! It’s pretty simple to Rushing Warrior Pan. Combo with it to gain its effect, in which case a pretty solid one. Combo with it, to immediately grab the 1 Drop Goku Vanilla (and it’ll always be a Vanilla since it’s based on the actual Card’s Name, and not Character Name) and then draw off of it. Really neat design. It’s almost like playing a 1 Drop 10K Cantrip which would see play forever. There might actually be something here, don’t overlook the power of playing something from the deck.

Grandpa Gohan

Again, pushing the limits of Vanilla stats to the very limits. Though here it’s a LOT more relevant than usual because…

Grandpa Gohan, to the Rescue

This card exists, and the more I read it the more absolutely INSANE it reads, mainly because of the Vanilla above. You have to choose this, a Bandages and a Spike to put to the bottom of the deck to play the Vanilla from either Deck or Drop, and make it a 35K Double Strike for the turn.

Let’s break everything down. You do not have to actually physically board the 3 cards necessary for this combo, which means the potential of playing a free 35K Double Striker for no cost whatsoever (EDIT: Actually, Gohan’s ability only works on board, which means you do have to board him. Still, not that huge of a downside but not as busted as previously thought). You just need a lot of mill support, oh wait look, Yamcha is here. Or plenty of Black Leaders, like Trunks or Mira (though with Trunks you’ll have to play Minus Kili Zone so your Awaken effect isn’t blank) or both Masked Saiyans. It also has the side effect of helping out with one of the pitfalls of mill decks which is…well, mill out. Or you can just combo all the stuff into the Drop to do it. It also plays it from the Drop potentially, so you don’t screw yourself if you mill out of all your Vanillas. And you can keep doing it again and again. Your opponent is still left to contend with a 30K Monster the turn after and if he kills it…well you just put it in the Drop, time to bring it back out either with this…or another card. The only downside is having to play the 3 cards but as we’ll see in a moment, they aren’t complete chaff.

I’m gonna say it right now, this package is going to be a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Package. There’s no restrictions on the Leader that has to play it either. I expect this package to be broken in half. Now let’s skip a bunch of cards for now to finish off the package.

Bandages, to the Rescue

A 1 Drop Blocker wouldn’t be all that exciting, and if that’s all it was it’d be okay. I mean, it’s still fine simply because you want him in the Drop Area so it’s nice to have a relevant way to get him there. But he also has an effect where if he’s KO’d (as Blockers are tend to do), you get Spike for free from Drop. Nothing special but we like free advantage. Sadly it gets it in Rest, but I’m guessing it’s to avoid abuse with Ape Goku? Still, it could be Vanilla and be run, so to have even a little upside is nice.

Spike, to the Rescue

This is probably the worst of the package, but even then he’s not…terrible persay. A 2 Drop 15K Attacker is actually below average without an offensive keyword, and he’s 6K otherwise. Normally that would be horrible BUT the opponent will take a heavy penalty for taking the freebie kill, which would be to immediately put in play a Grandpa Gohan (no, it does not also put in the Gohan we all know and love because Kid and Adult both have extra clauses to the name, no cheating!).

What I will say is that with this, and the above card, there is…maybe a world where Baby could run the package as well though that may be way too ambitious since it would require Baby to flip quite quickly. I wouldn’t rule it out though, might test it.

Baba, Champions’ Leader

The subtle, final part of the package and what will definitely help bring it over the edge. Baba is essentially Foolish Burial for any piece you may be missing, and in case you aren’t missing pieces or just want to tank up early, she can just grab Bandages and immediately play him. Which means you get to play two 1 Drops for the price of one, and one of them is a Blocker that has an effect if he Blocks. Not gonna lie, Baba/Bandages might’ve seen play regardless, that’s sneaky good. With the package, it’s just…absurd. I’ll say it again, this is going to be some Tier 1 stuff here. The ceiling is far too high with the lack of restriction. Just wow.

…now back to slightly normal order.

Sideline Assist Bulma

So this is apparently the new cycle of Super Combo, where you always have the combo power but need the right life for the Draw Effect. For Red, absolutely fantastic. Unless you’re playing a deck specifically looking for Gods…or Machine Mutants…(damn it…) you play this.

Master Roshi, Martial Expert

Or this one as well I guess. Pretty much the exact same, but requires Sparking 5 and also has 15K Power. Unless you’re really afraid of Clan of Terror Mecha Frieza, not much reason to use this over Bulma. At least until support comes out to search one or the other (that isn’t in Yellow).

Deadly Defender Krillin

As mentioned, another card in the…hmm, should probably think of a name for this. …Taunt Cycle? Yeah sure, let’s go with that, hopefully non-Hearthstone players get it. Anyway, if you’re playing a slow Red deck, you play this. Hell you might even do it in a fast Red deck. You know what, just play this.

Yamcha

Again, normally a skip (though a note on being I believe the first 2 Drop 20K Vanilla, that used to be the 3 Drop stats). But once again, more support incoming!

Puar, Best Pal

This I’d argue is probably the worst of the three Vanilla Packages we got so far in this set, but it’s still pretty okay. Play it, combo with it, grab a life and a 20K. Not the worst thing in the world. Just has to compete with what we’ve already seen and in that respect, a little lacking but hey, Puar card!

Scheming Oolong

Basically, if you’re playing Pilaf/Oolong you’d try to play this. Oolong’s Wish, as we’ll find out later, is…mainly only okay. But considering you already have the 7 DBs and 3-4 Dragon Radar do you really want to make room for even more Draw effects? In this case it’d be like 6-8 more. Might be a fair bit of overkill.

Combiner Mecha Pilaf Machine

…eh… In terms of combination cards this is pretty lacking. 20K, no keyword at all, and only an effect if it gets KO’d which most opponents won’t bother with because it poses no offensive threat. Even Baby can’t self-KO this thing reliably so you’re left with the Vanilla Goku engine I guess. Yeah…not a fan.

Pilaf, Leader of the Crew

So you need to have all 3 of the 1 Drops out…just to get a mediocre battle card whose only purpose is to die and bring the 3 back out. That first effect is not good at all because the Combiner is relatively terrible.

The second effect is fine, you don’t really care about the pump, but having another DB Bulma is helpful to speed up the process of flipping if need be. If you feel the need to do so, this card helps get you there so play it. Otherwise this card is trash.

Mai, Trusted Lackey

The future waifu of Future Trunks, Mai is actually pretty damn good. She’s essentially a cantrip that digs an extra card deep and helps get you closer to flipping. If Shenron is playing Red, this sees play there as well.

Shu, Trusted Lackey

This is only as good as Mai. As Mai is quite good, this is actually pretty good. It digs yet another card deeper into the deck. Would actually play these two over Bulma, just because using DBs is better than dumping them.

Afterimage Technique

Now this is an extremely unconventional Counter. In most cases this is essentially a Negate (though don’t try it on things like Mira, Creator Absorbed) with a little upside. That is, hello Revenge Death Ball for all Red Leaders. Downside is that it only shoots for 10K instead of 15K. Good thing that 10K is a very important number right now (looking at you U/Y Swap) and also a big reason you wanted 15K, to deal with the 1 Drop Attackers, is still covered by this because the -10K will land before their Auto pumps them. Other downside is that a part of what made RDB so insane was that the opponent would either be too scared to commit combo power, or would commit and get blown out badly. Because this is a Counter, this kills them before a chance to combo (though on the same note it does kill 10K or less before they have a chance to use a Battle effect, so maybe less downside and more a lateral change). Last downside is that this can only be used in defense whereas RDB could be used for offense (rarely happens, but it’s nice to have the function if you REALLY need something gone).

The upsides are immense though. It’s +40K to any of your cards, not just Baby so it’s a lot easier to protect your Battle Cards. And of course, the elephant in the room, when you’re at Sparking 5 it’s free at the cost of a life which is absolutely busted.

So let’s establish immediately that this is a 4-of in every single Red Leader deck from now until the end of time. I’m gonna talk as a Machine Mutant player at this juncture. Does this make Baby even more crazy…or is this finally the leverage that Myuu needed to get back into the ball game? Because remember, I was very adamant about the fact that RDB was the only reason I chose to play Baby over Myuu. The answer is…probably the same as before. In a faster format, Baby is still king especially with what is essentially 8 RDBs. In a slower format you want to be in on Myuu. But I feel that the divide between the two is much narrower. With this, Myuu has a much better chance against Aggro, whereas Baby didn’t get THAT much better against it (especially since with the new Baby Leader, 4 Unending Awakening was still plenty game against Aggro).

I’ll say that whereas Baby may have had either a break even or slight advantage against U/Y Swap, now…it’s not even a contest, Baby should annihilate U/Y Swap. Every Goten is liable to die on any attack and without Goten, the deck just is not scary to Baby and he can cleanup everything else. Which means now we can afford more Main Deck hate against Mono-Blue Control and potentially U/G Control. Anyway, MM Rambling over for now.

Oolong’s Wish

As I mentioned earlier, the card is…aight. I’d honestly only play it if you really want to play Scheming Oolong. Otherwise, probably a pass.

A King’s Return to Youth

Gee, I wonder what has a SR this set… Anyway until we see it, how good this card is remains to be seen.

Final Thoughts:

Red came to play once again. As a Machine Mutant player I’m yet again over the moon. The Grandpa Gohan package is going to be insane (I’m extremely tempted to put it in Baby but…that’s probably far too ambitious, will test it in (Black) Masked Saiyan builds). Yamcha is a solid Leader for sure, would not be surprised to see him get some shine. Just a lot of solid cards. Very little in complaints.

Next Time, The Emperor Revives.