Heh heh heh…remember when I said that there’s no way the ToP SR’s could be that game changing? That the set needed work on design? Sometimes I really just gotta shut up. Hello everyone and welcome to the shiny portion of preview season, the SRs. This time, with very little spoiled ahead of time. Do the SR’s push the set to…yeah I’m not even gonna hide it, it’s in the title. Let’s get down to it.

Universe 7 Saiyan Prince Vegeta

…I just want to say this is one of the more underwhelming SRs in this set… That should say something because Vegeta is freaking strong. Being able to essentially threaten with two BUFF Triple Strikers is very potent. It’s a more focused Fearless Pan in essence, just with more restrictions. Needing a U7 or U6 Saiyan is certainly up there in restriction. But giving himself and that Saiyan an extra 10K and Triple Strike is grandiose, on top of untapping his target so it can get another swing in. Now I still think the U7 Vegeta version of the deck isn’t very good. Where he will shine though, is in these extended Veggie Package decks that I’m starting to see pop up. Caulifla and Kale Leaders will have a field day (thank god the Green Caulifla and Kale don’t have U6 tags…). Vegeta’s main downside is that he himself doesn’t have any permanent keywords so past the turn you board him, he’s just a 20K Vanilla. In other words, you better make him count…or have another one in hand to play next turn. A solid coup for U6 Package decks.

Forseeing Hit

This may be a shock to some people, but I believe Hit to be the BEST SR this set, or at least close. Clan of Terror Mecha-Frieza was already a solid card because of the ability to peep the hand and potentially snipe one Battle Card out of it, maybe kill it but at the least have the info. This Hit is CoT Mecha on absolute crack. You get to hit TWO Battle Cards, with basically no restriction other than you can’t touch Whis, Judge of the Gods…so avoid Exodia Beerus I guess? But sniping them, having NO downside to doing so compared to CoT’s potential downside of giving the opponent a free BC if he can’t out it. An on curve 4 Drop 20K Double Striker, AND he has the cheap combo cost so he doesn’t fill the hand as hard. Oh and he’s also a Hit, so Lightning Fast Hit is now much more absurdly viable because now it’s no longer attached to cards that only existed to get him out. Red Decks have a serious 4 Drop conundrum on their hands. Jiren, Chain Attack Trunks, now Hit. All are absurdly good at what they do. I can easily see this card hitting $25+ alongside Jiren…especially with the One Print run of ToP. The card is absurd for what he does and how he does it.

The main reason I consider him the best SR in the set (and the cover image), is mainly due to his ability to be used in all decks with Red. Every other SR in the set need very specific decks to function, Hit does not.

Relentless Super Saiyan Kale

Hmm…I don’t know how I feel about this card. She has the dreaded “choose” so Barrier skirts her in a set with a ton of it…but she may have been too much without it as she’s a lot easier to board than most with board wipe effects. The 3 devotion to Red is a HEFTY cost, so you really have to be going with a U6 deck to get value however the potential blowout is pretty huge. But she also hits your board (outside of herself and Caulifla) and that might be her nail in the coffin. Potential side board option, but some testing in the main is required. However she’s probably the one SR this set I can see not getting played.

Beerus, Universe 7 Divine Vanquisher

There is a LOT of confusion on this card, which is understandable given the…very annoying wording on the card AND the ruling that has come down on it. I’ll explain.

As it is now, if you attack with Beerus and the opponent does not have enough Battle and Energy Cards that add up to 6, Beerus can fizzle because the opponent can choose to give up nothing from hand as it’s a “secret” area and the opponent does not have to reveal to choose otherwise in this game.

At first I was like everyone else, disappointed in the ruling and thinking it ruined Beerus. “The opponent can easily make it fizzle? Then why bother playing it?” It’s a good thing I take my time before doing these articles because I thought about it for a while. The reality is, the point of the card and that ruling is to do a downgraded (but still strong) version of Beerus, General of Demolition.

Yeah, remember him? He was so good for when he came out but then he fell off the map because he didn’t do enough at 7. But the concept of these two cards is somewhat similar. Wreck the board unless the opponent gives up something from hand. That’s how the card should be viewed. The current ruling just prevents this Beerus from getting really out of hand if you could turbo him out. He would potentially be able to just outright win the game on Turn 3 otherwise. As it is now, he’s still rough to play around. Most people give up higher drops for Energy early in the game, which can turn Beerus online REALLY fast. If he comes down, you could be forced into falling behind hard on Energy or giving up quite a few cards in hand if you didn’t have any extra big drops to pitch away. Do NOT underestimate this card based on the ruling. He can be very potent, especially since he’s a 4 Drop with the new Whis.

Trio De Dangers Bergamo

This card is probably one of the most unique cards I’ve seen in DBS to this date. This card is solely built on proactive defense. No attacking keyword to speak of or to gain, he only really swings so he can end up in Rest Mode. Now it’s not the fist card that forces this, Dabura was the first to do so (too bad he had to be used with the worst leader in the game) but he’s built entirely on it. Swing with him, and then pump himself each time he’s attacked making him VERY tough to get off the board. Now normally that just means removal, but if the full Trio is out…Barrier is now online. Now we see why the Bergamo Leader very specifically makes only the Opposing Leader Card unable to attack him. Because if the full Trio is up the opponent will only ever be able to attack Bergamo. Which only gets bigger with each attack. He’ll also have Barrier so very minimal removal can get rid of him. In other words ladies and gentlemen, this is damn near a true lock.

Now…this isn’t busted, for the same reason the Triangle isn’t. You still need the full Trio out on board, and until they’re all out they’re still all sitting ducks. But Aggro Decks are going to be in absolute hell. They basically have until Turn 4 before they’re potentially locked out of the game. They better fire up those Gotens…they’re going to need it. This is the kick in the pants the Trio deck definitely needs. Also other note, I do find it hilarious the SR Bergamo is a 4 Drop but the Uncommon Bergamo is a 5. Not the first time it’s happened, just feels more blatant here.

Son Goku, Hope of Universe 7

Now we did get spoiled on a couple of SRs this set, those being the Green ones for whatever reason by Bandai. Goku was the fuzzier to make out of the two, but the effect really is as reported. The main issue was knowing what Goku he’d be able to EX-Evolve off of…and it’s an insane Goku which turns this one on as early as Turn 5. Or even earlier if you don’t care about his actual effect and just want the Triple Attack Crit on a huge body and thus can play it outside of U7 Goku. Honestly, that may end up being a viable strategy somewhere, it’s a nasty pairing alone. His effect though…whew…if U7 Goku somehow ends up relevant, this will be a big reason why. Clearing up whatever you want essentially depending on what’s more dangerous to your position. Your opponent has big bodies on board with no weenies? Out them. Only Weenies or Barrier on that board? Rip apart their hand. This is extreme pressure at its finest, and it comes at a bear minimum of cost, ESPECIALLY if you played the Full Power Spirit Bomb Goku with Focused Mind Gohan. Very strong card and honestly it might see play in U7 decks outside of Goku, just because Triple Attack/Crit is strong enough to make it worthwhile and the Evolve target is that good.

Maiden Squadron Leader Ribrianne

Well let’s talk about the good. Coming out on 3, solid. Having an Evolve target that has Barrier means it’s very unlikely she’ll miss the Evolve unless playing against very specific cards. Removal on 3, fantastic as I always say. She also has Barrier. Probably for the best she doesn’t have any offensive keyword alongside it, that would be too much at Turn 3 when she’s really easy to get out. Her Maiden effect is really powerful if she can get it off multiple times, hell even once can cripple a hand. Obviously in the Maiden deck she’s a staple, but how good does she make the Maidens? …I’m still not a believer. Brianne and Ribrianne may be hard to get off the board, but her compatriots are not. I think it all comes down to how good Maiden Transformation ends up for the deck. Also Maiden Charge is a fantastic negate. I think Ribrianne is solid, but I don’t know if she gives the deck the push to get “there”.

Frieza, Emperor of Universe 7

…I’m sorry what? Seriously, WHAT? Frieza is absolutely absurd. Let’s just get this straight. If you board this absolute MONSTER, not only do you get a 30K Triple Striker, your opponent essentially can’t do a damn thing to you if they’re at a low Life count. If they’re at 1 or Less Life, they’re outright Fu’d out of the game entirely (outside of Blockers who can still be used). Hell even if they’re not, you’re basically guaranteed to lose at least 1 Life you’re not getting back when he hits board. Oh and he’s played off of a Dual Attacker for an Evolve Target, so more swings as well. Oh and he only costs 1 U7 Card for the EX-Evolve!

…remember when I said there was no way the Frieza SR could effect my Golden Frieza build for post-ToP? I was outright WRONG! The build is definitely making room for the Emperor because he comes out the second Coldhearted Strike Frieza drops (…assuming you have a Frieza’s Army on board to get rid of…you should). This may actually replace my beloved Fu, Shrouded in Mystery in my build. I’m definitely going off to the brewing dungeon after this article.

Absolute Justice Jiren

The final SR of the set and oh, you thought we were done with the absurdity? I THINK NOT! If Toppo was a good enough reason before to make Jiren Leader usable (and I honestly think he may have been)…this as Toppo’s huge payoff ABSOLUTELY makes it fearsome. Let me make this clear. If the opponent tapped out any amount of relevant energy and you play Jiren, the game is over right there and then. There is no coming back from losing a majority of your Energy, and unlike say Goku Black, you also (at least in most cases) deal with the board present as well. A big reason Goku Black ended up failing wasn’t just because Cold Bloodlust was a thing, but because often you’d resolve him…but die the next turn because you’re at a low life total and had absolutely no chance to actually address the opponent’s board already there. Jiren doesn’t have that issue on multiple fronts. He actually kills the board, and his setup isn’t just uninteractive turns, you’re still playing your game. You’re actually interacting with the board before this behemoth comes down.

Oh and I haven’t even mentioned the, you know, 35K QUAD STRIKE (only the second Battle Card in the entire game to receive it) that’s coming down as well so the game may be over that turn anyway. Now this is the absolutely frightening monster that I expect out of Jiren (not that Jiren, Fist of Justice isn’t frightening). Just wowza.

Final Thoughts:

Yeah…the SRs actually did indeed make it so a lot of decks suddenly became at the very least viable to mess around with. Generic Red Decks get an enormous buff with Hit. God decks have something to mess around with in Beerus. Just insane value across the board. This also worries me, because of the One Print Run of ToP. Hit could be a big problem with price over time. I don’t see most of these SRs staying down in the ranges of previous poor SRs. At the very least, if you don’t want to play the decks in ToP you don’t have to go out of your way for most of the SRs. Just Hit, Beerus and MAYBE Frieza. But for me…I got some brewing to do.

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