Duel Overload was officially released on March 20th, 2020 and contains 56 new cards. DUOV also includes 30 new Link Monsters for different strategies. Many of these cards are certainly good at the moment of release. Cards like Crystron Halqifibrax immediately come to mind. Then you have cards that might not be at their peak power level yet. Whether that’s due to pending support, new releases, or a card’s usefulness going up is yet to be seen.

Here, I would like to discuss some of these new releases that could be more useful in the future. Some of these might even be fairly strong right now. These are the cards that best symbolize the idea of “future potential” in the game. NOTE: Expect a lot of Link Monsters, as Duel Overload gave us a lot of them

Raidraptor – Wise Strix

Raidraptor – Wise Strix is a Link-2 DARK Winged Beast with arrows pointing to the Bottom Left and Bottom Right. Wise Strix only needs 2 DARK Winged Beasts to summon as well.

Upon being Link Summoned, Wise Strix allows you to summon any Level 4 DARK Winged Beast from your Deck in DEF. The downsides are the summoned monster having its effects negated and it can’t be used as Link Material.

It also has a second effect where if a “Raidraptor” Xyz monster activates its effect, Wise Strix can set any Rank-Up-Magic Spell directly from the Deck, and it allows you to activate the set card during the same turn if it was a Quick-Play Spell.

Raidraptors, Blackwings, and more

Wise Strix is perfect for strategies like Raidraptors and Blackwings. There’s also already some good generic monsters it can summon like Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite. In Raidraptors/Blackwings, you get a free Xyz Material for Force Strix or Zerofyne amongst others. Blackwings can also use the summoned monster as a Synchro Material for Obsidian Hawk Joe or Full Armor Master.

The aforementioned archetypes are bound to get future support as well, considering both of them are already fan-favorites. There could always be a brand new archetype with monsters this could summon as well.

Wise Strix could also just be used to help get to Force Strix to get a search and set a Soul Shave Force. Then you have a Cyber Dragon Infinity or any other Rank 6 set up. Blackwings and Raidraptors can already do this. There can also be a new archetype that does this and then some. The archetype might just have a play with Wise Strix that’s better than the aforementioned combo.

Five-Headed Link Dragon

Five-Headed Link Dragon is a Link-5 DARK Dragon with 5000 ATK, its arrows pointing all downwards and to the sides. It needs any 5 monsters as Link Material and must be Link Summoned. If Link Summoned using DARK, EARTH, WATER, FIRE, and WIND monsters as material, it can destroy the opponent’s board.

It’s unaffected by other card effects and it cannot be destroyed in battle with the aforementioned Attributes. The only downside of the card is that during the opponent’s End Phase, you must banish 5 cards from your GY face-down. That is not optional, but if you can’t, then Link Dragon goes directly to the GY.

A Duel Overloaded Boss

This is simply just a giant boss monster with massive ATK, hard to destroy in battle, and is immune to effects. The only downside, besides the mandatory requirement to banish 5 cards, is that Kaijus still out it. Besides all of that, it would be extremely difficult for the opponent to get rid of your Link Dragon.

If the opponent is playing LIGHTs, then they have Honest and they can destroy it in battle. Any other Attribute will likely needs boosts to help get over 5000 ATK.

The fact that 1 Scapegoat alone gives 4 materials to summon your Link Dragon can be insane. This is most likely why it sends itself to the GY if you can’t banish 4 cards from your own GY. This boss would likely fit in well with Decks that fill the GY insanely fast like Lightsworns, even if said Deck can’t abuse the field nuking ability.

For all we know as well, we could get an archetype that summons the 5 Attributes needed to nuke the field. Said archetype could be based around the heads of the Five-Headed Dragon. Who knows?

Union Carrier

Union Carrier is a Link-2 LIGHT Machine with arrows pointing Right and Down and materials of any 2 monsters with either the same Type or Attribute. It cannot be used as Link Material the turn it was Link Summoned, which is a byproduct of early Link Monsters being easily abused to Link Spam.

It has a hard once per turn effect where it can target a face-up monster you control and equip it with 1 monster from your hand or Deck with either the same Type or Attribute as the targeted monster. The equipped monster is treated as an Equip Spell and gives the equipped monster a 1000 ATK boost. If you equip the monster from the Deck, you can’t Special Summon monsters with the same name during that turn.

ABC Fun

The most clear use of this is in the ABC Deck to help equip one of your pieces to have a potential missing material for ABC – Dragon Buster. You can use the monster that was equipped with something via Union Carrier as material for an Extra Deck summon. As a result, the monster that was equipped can trigger its effect when it falls off. You also got Torque Tune Gear for turning monsters into Tuners. Therefore you can summon Halqifibrax or a Synchro.

Equip Shenanigans

Another piece of potential is shown with the Photon/Galaxy Deck since this card can equip Photon Orbital from the Deck and use its effect to send itself to the GY while it was equipped to search for an in-theme card. You can also use a DARK/Dragon strategy to equip a Dragon Buster to lock the opponent from using their Extra Deck, a strategy that’s getting a lot of early hype in the format.

Infinite Negates?

The last well known combo gives infinite once per chain negations, but more on that soon. The other combo card in that play is in Duel Overload as well. The aforementioned combos show the potential of Union Carrier already and if we get more Decks that can make similar use of Union Carrier, whether in archetype or using a previously existing combo, then that can be a huge benefit for said strategy upon release. Union Carrier is a card well built for the future.

Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty

Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty is a Link-3 WIND Winged Beast with all arrows pointing downwards and materials of any 2+ monsters, just as long as you include a Winged-Beast. Sovereignty straight up cannot be used as Link Material at all, which isn’t the biggest deal on a Link-3 at all.

Our giant bird friend here also has targeting protection from opponent’s card effects. This protection also transfers to Winged-Beasts that this card points to. You can destroy any “Simorgh” monster it points to instead if it would be destroyed in battle.

The money effect is that, during the End Phase, it can summon any Winged Beast monster from your hand or Deck with a Level that is equal to or lower than the number of unoccupied Spell & Trap Zones.

No Special Summons, Infinite Negations

I feel it can go without saying that summoning anything from the Deck without many massive downsides is one of the best qualities to have in the game of Yugioh. This card here shows why that can be useful with some options it already has access to.

First off, you can summon a Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds to prevent both players from Special Summoning non-WIND monsters, which is one of the most under-supported Attributes in the game.

The second combo involves the previously mentioned Union Carrier. Equip your Bird of Sovereignty with a Mist Valley Thunderbird. Then during the End Phase, your Bird can summon a Mist Valley Apex Avian if there’s 7 unoccupied Spell/Trap Zones on the field. As a result, you have an infinite amount of once per chain negations. This, alongside any future Winged-Beast support, probably makes this Simorgh one of the cards with the strongest future potential.

Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon

Auroradon is a Link-3 WIND Machine with arrows pointing Left, Down, and Bottom Right and it needs any 2+ Machines as Link Material.

Upon being Link Summoned, you can summon 3 Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens (Machine/WIND/Level 3/ATK 0/DEF 0), but you cannot Link Summon for the rest of the turn.

Auroradon can also tribute up to 3 monsters to gain various effects depending on the number of monsters you tribute. Tributing 1 monster lets you destroy 1 card on the field. 2 monsters can let you summon any Mecha Phantom Beast directly from your Deck. Finally, 3 monsters lets you retrieve any Trap from your GY.

Duel Overload with Tokens

First off, it’s a great thing how this card alone already provides the resources to help use any of its effects, which is great to use instead of tributing regular monsters that don’t really give you any benefit.

The money effect is the second effect to tribute 2 Tokens. As previously mentioned, summoning from the Deck is one of the best things in this game. Giving up 2 Tokens can get you the whole archetype, including Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion. O-Lion is a Level 2 Tuner that can summon a Token when it leaves the field, which allows for even more combos.

It was better when Ib the World Chalice Justiciar wasn’t banned, but there is still combo potential there. Add that alongside any future Mecha Phantom Beast support and you have a Link-3 that can be handy for many Machine Decks. Karakuris come to mind, but I’m sure more MPB support would make this card great in the archetype.

Bujinki Ahashima

Ahashima is a Link-2 LIGHT Beast-Warrior with arrows pointing Up and Bottom Right and needs any 2 monsters with the same Level as material. It cannot be used as Link Material and has two hard once per turn effects.

The first effect upon Link Summon lets you Special Summon 2 monsters with the same Level, 1 from your hand and 1 from your GY, with their effects negated and then you can immediately perform an Xyz Summon using those monsters as material.

The second effect is when an Xyz Monster this card points to activates its effect by detaching a material, you can target a Spell/Trap the opponent controls and destroy it.

More Xyz Play Value

This can be a neat card to give you an extra monster instead of just Xyz Summoning. The only thing is you need monsters in the hand and GY with equal Levels. I’m aware of Lunalights being able to use this effectively to help summon Redoer for good value. It’s an extra step you take, but it can pay off. This works with any Xyz Monster, though. For example, if you used your Daigusto Emeral from Duel Overlad, you can trigger Ahashima’s effect.

This can also be better with higher Level monsters, meaning no extra effort for getting them on the field. There’s no restriction on the Level the monster has to be for this, so there are options. I’m sure a Deck can come that uses low and high Level monsters.

Artifact Dagda

Artifact Dagda is a Link-2 LIGHT Fairy with arrows pointing Bottom Left and Bottom Right and needs any 2 monsters with different names for materials.

When an effect is activated on the field that isn’t Dagda’s, then as a Quick Effect you can use this card to set any Artifact monster directly from the Deck, but it is destroyed during the opponent’s next End Phase.

The second effect is if this card is destroyed during the opponent’s turn, you can summon any Artifact from your GY in Defense Position.

Artifacts of the Past

Artifacts have been great ever since the HAT days of using Artifact Moralltach to destroy the opponent’s cards. The archetype has recently been more focused on summoning Artifact Scythe on the opponent’s turn via means like Artifact Sanctum. You also have Artifact Lancea to prevent banishing in modern times. With this in mind, old Artifacts can still be useful.

This can help add to getting to your Artifact Scythe by having this directly set it to the field so you can destroy it. You have options to do so like Tornado Dragon, Artifact Ignition, or good old MST. You can also try to get to Artifact Beagalltach to destroy the Scythe you just set to lock the opponent from the Extra Deck. Then, after Scythe revives itself with Beagalltach, you can go for a Rank 5 Xyz Summon.

You have access to good options with Artifacts like Artifact Durendal or Constellar Pleiades. If you do end up waiting for the opponent’s End Phase, then your preferred option is likely still Moralltach. You never know when there are more Artifacts with different utility, though. Artifacts always come back around when you don’t really expect it.

Predaplant Verte Anaconda

Predaplant Verte Anaconda is a Link-2 DARK Plant with arrows pointing Bottom Left and Bottom Right and needs any 2 Effect monsters for materials. Its first effect lets you target a face-up monster on the field and treat its Attribute as DARK during that turn. The second, and most useful effect, let you pay 2000 LP to send any “Fusion” or “Polymerization” Normal/Quick-Play Spell directly from your Deck to the GY for you to gain the sent card’s effect, but you cannot summon any monsters for the rest of the turn after this resolves.

Current Use

This card is most certainly good right now and doesn’t need to wait to actually see play. The effect to change a monster to DARK allows you to use the Fusion effect to send Super Polymerization from your Deck to the GY to Fusion Summon a Starving Venom Fusion Dragon or a Predaplant Triphyovertum without having to discard for Super Polymerization.

You also have Instant Fusion to help get out Thousand-Eyes Restrict to absorb an opponent’s monster, or go for something like Millennium-Eyes Restrict, Invoked Raidjin, or El Shaddoll Winda. The prevention of summoning for the rest of the turn after this stops options like Cyber-Saurus or Sea Monster of Theseus for combo extension, but you can get some good Effect Monsters for differing situations.

Awaiting the Dragun

The main card we are waiting for to this to be at its best is Dragun of Red-Eyes using Red-Eyes Fusion. This way, we can avoid the drawback of Red-Eyes Fusion. All that plus you get a powerful negation with targeting protection and can also destroy cards. It’s such a powerful card that it’s worth playing bricks like Red-Eyes B. Dragon and Dark Magician. Upon Dragun’s arrival, Verte Anaconda will be a near staple alongside the Dragun engine.

Lib the World Key Blademaster

Lib is a Link-2 LIGHT Cyberse with arrows pointing Left and Bottom Left and needs any 2 monsters as material, but it can only be Link Summoned if you have a “World Legacy” card in your GY.

Her first effect during your Main Phase is to set any “World Legacy” Spell or Trap directly from your Deck. If there is no “World Legacy” monster in your GY, you can’t activate it that turn. The second effect is, when used as Link Material and sent to the GY, Lib lets you shuffle a card on the field back into the Deck.

World Legacy History

World Legacy as a series has given us some of the best cards in recent memory. The Orcust archetype, Ib the World Chalice Justiciar, and World Legacy Succession are just some examples.

Lib adds to the usefulness of the World Legacy series, especially with World Legacy archetypes like Mekk-Knights. You also get some utility and synergy with Knightmares. The second effect to shuffle a card into the Deck can be insanely powerful with Knightmare Unicorn.

The first effect has a versatile number of uses from getting a revival card like Succession. You also got another revival option for higher Level monsters with World Legacy’s Secret that also serves as monster negation for Mekk-Knights. Mekk-Knights also have cards like World Legacy Key for Trap negation and World Legacy Whispers for Spell negation. For icing on the cake, Mekk-Knights have an Emergency Teleport in World Legacy’s Memory.

Dragon Decks can grab World Legacy Guardragon for some revival and to move their Dragons around to use Elpy and Pisty. Also, World Legacy Monstrosity adds a lot to Decks using Level 9 monsters. There’s a lot of potential here for when any World Legacy related strategy or card becomes useful.

Armillyre, the Starleader Dragon

Armillyre is a Link-2 DARK Dragon with arrows pointing Bottom Left and Bottom Right and needs 2 Effect monsters for material. It cannot be used as Link Material.

Its only effect is to target a monster it points and summon a monster with the same original Level from your hand. Said monster has its effects negated and is summoned in DEF.

Summon Sorceress Lite

This is basically combo extension similar to, but far weaker than, Summon Sorceress. Getting another monster on the field means another material for a Synchro, Xyz, or Link material.

Xyz should be the easiest considering you’re summoning a monster with the same Level as the targeted monster.

A Synchro option is easy with Level 4 or lower monsters. That or you got another Link-2 waiting after you use this. If you could have used Armillyre as Link Material, you could get a Link-4. Summon Sorceress showed us, however, the restriction that this card has can be necessary. The card is a simple extender for any Deck that can make use of it.

Awakening of the Possessed

Awakening of the Possessed is a Continuous Spell with three different effects. The first effect boosts all monsters you control by 300 ATK for each different Attribute you control. Secondly, this card prevents your “Charmer” and “Familiar-Possessed” monsters from being destroyed by card effects. Finally, this card lets you draw a card when you summon a Spellcaster with 1850 original ATK.

New Charmer Structure Deck

This card is mostly useful in the future considering Konami in the OCG has announced a Charmer Structure Deck. Considering the TCG followed up with the Sacred Beast one, we could get the Charmer Deck by the end of the year.

This gives a boost to all the old Familiar-Possessed monsters. Though the archetype could use a way to use the Charmers to summon the Familiar-Possessed. That’s a discussion for another time, though. The Links for each Familiar-Possessed are great to have, and we can expect a DARK and LIGHT Link soon enough.

Fairy Tail – Luna synergizes well with this card while also searching the Familiar-Possessed and Fairy Tail archetype. Luna can also disrupt the opponent by bouncing itself and an opponent’s monster. It also synergizes with Fairy Tail – Snow if that card is ever unbanned.

Phantasm Emperor Trilojig

Trilojig is a Level 10 DARK Fiend Fusion of any 3 Level 10 monsters. Its only effect is when you Special Summon your Trilojig or when you Special Summon a monster from your GY to your field, you can target an opponent’s monster and burn them for half the targeted monster’s original ATK.

Sacred Beast Structure Deck

The effect is fairly simple, as burn can always be quite handy. This is also a case of a card benefiting from more support considering it’s in the Sacred Beast archetype. All 3 of your Sacred Beasts are Level 10, so they are all Fusion Material for this, which can be better than Armityle the Chaos Phantom in the sense that this always has 4000 ATK while Armityle has 10000 ATK only on your turn, but this has less one-hit OTK potential.

Trilojig can also be used in other Level 10 based Decks as it has no specific requirements beyond the Level for Fusion Materials. If you can find a Deck that would be willing to give up 3 materials for this or use a Miracle Fusion esque card like Necro Fusion, you have a fairly solid monster.

Rose Bell of Revelation

Rose Bell of Revelation is a simple Spell Card that searches for any Plant with 2400 or more ATK and it can banish itself from the GY to summon a Plant with 2400 or more ATK from the hand, though you only get 1 of those effects a turn.

Plant Bosses Galore

A searcher is a searcher and there is likely always going to be a good option to summon with this. No low ATK plants means no Lonefire Blossom or Spore, but those are easy to get to. The intended options seem to be Queen Angel of Roses and Fallen Angel of Roses, but there are better options out there.

This can search for Gigaplant and Special Summon it so you can use your Normal Summon to Gemini Summon it. Mardel, Generaider Boss of Light is another good option for a generic Plant or Generaider search card. Sylvans can use this easily with Sylvan Guardioak, Sylvan Hermitree, or Sylvan Sagequoia. You also have generic Plant bosses like Marina, Princess of Sunflowers, Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms, or Tytannial, Princess of Camellias. All of this added on with the future Snowflowers or other Plant bosses, you’ll have many future options.

Enma’s Judgment

Enma’s Judgment is a simple Trap that destroys an opponent’s monster when they Special Summon it. It can get stronger if inserted into a Zombie Deck. After the destruction, you can banish 5 Zombies in the GY to summon a Level 7+ Zombie from the hand or Deck.

Paleozoic Creatures or Zombies of the Night

The first part of the effect is enough alone to make it good, as it’s a piece of spot removal for Paleozoics that they can use, and it can be useful for Altergeist to get rid of stronger monsters to help keep Altergeist Multifaker safe.

Zombies also benefit by banishing their Zombies, like Shiranuis, to summon Doomking Balerdroch from the Deck. Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon is another one, but you never know when we could get more.

Traptrix Genlisea

Now we look at one of the TCG World Premieres in Duel Overload. Traptrix Genlisea is a Level 4 EARTH Plant that is unaffected by “Hole” Normal Traps. Genlisea can also be tributed as a Quick Effect. As a result, you can set 2 differently named Hole Normal Traps. These come both from the GY and Deck and are banished when they leave the field.

Genlesia + Sera

Genlisea helps the Traptrix Deck snowball advantage in their favor, especially with Traptrix Sera. All you have to do is use a Normal Trap, preferably a Hole, for Sera to summon Genlisea. Then Genlisea can tribute itself to set a used different Holes from the GY and the Deck. After that, Sera can trigger and set another Hole directly from the Deck. Sure they can’t be used that turn, but you just turned 1 Trap into three Trap Holes.

There’s a decent amount of good Holes like Bottomless, Traptrix Trap Hole Nightmare, Time-Space, Floodgate, Treacherous, and Hole by the Grave. Overall, you have a decent amount of options for differing situations. That isn’t even considering how we’re likely to get more Trap Holes in the future. Genlisea is a really good card in an archetype that always finds new uses.

Conclusion

Like many other sets, Duel Overload has a ton of cards that are good immediately. There are also those cards that can become game changers down the line. Not to mention any surprises that come and help other cards like Halqifibrax or Selene to become far better. The impact that this set has will be felt for a long time.