Welcome back to Preview Season and it’s time for me to hit all the Promo Cards I purposefully held off on taking a look at (and it totally wasn’t procrastination at all). But more importantly, we’re also here for the Secret Rares. Let’s see what may or may not shape the format.

Promos

Kakarot, the One and Only

The Box Topper for Universal Onslaught this card is obviously a tie-in to DBZ:Kakarot (in stores now). Notably they also make the card’s legal name Kakarot so no Goku synergies here. So this card in a vacuum is one of those “good keyword soup” cards. I mean theoretically he is a dream, Blocker/Revenge/Barrier is a very tight package that will cause many a deck to pause on their attacks if they do not have Barrier subversion. Also he can be played for 2 in a pseudo-Over Realm type of play. I think this card can easily see play in Hatch, more cards in its cost wheelhouse to play and even more defense. It helps get some good use out of the lower cost cards in the archetype that you can’t recycle. Beyond that he could see tech play in general as a way to slow the game down a little. A good prize for buying a box.

Frieza, Everlasting Emperor

Let’s get to the Tournament Pack cards. This card is…weird. Essentially it’s a card that trades its power in order to stay alive. I’ll say the design is absolutely neat and definitely makes it so the opponent would be unwilling to remove it. The problem is that I don’t see any deck willing to put in the resources to actually put this on the board since essentially it’s just a resilient Blocker and nothing else. Yeah it can be Swapped in or brought in by No Surrender but…you really putting THIS in play compared to the SRs? I like the card, but I don’t see this getting any play as it is.

Zen-Oh, the Alpha and Omega

Again, this card is pretty weird. You get a Universe Card on board, this is a 2 Drop. Not exactly hard to do to the point that most decks today would probably do that by accident. It’s essentially a proactive counter spell in a way. You play it ahead of time and just bounce anything 4 or less but note it doesn’t have to hit what’s being played. You can hit something else. For deck with a high Universe count this may be a sleeper. Now sometimes it’s really easy to bait out, but as 1 Drops become more niche it becomes trickier to play around this. Might be worth trying out in some lists.

Cell, Revolting Regenerator

Now what we have here is something akin to Baby, Vengeful Blow. A contingency plan to whatever big Android plan you may be on. Especially important as the big Androids of the upcoming set all revolve around Successor and Cell meets the cost of any Successor play by himself on top of killing something on board. The problem I have with this card though is if you’ve gotten off your big Successor plays you’re likely really far ahead anyway and this is a bit of overkill. I’m not really sold on this card personally but it might still need to be played in a heavy Successor deck if you wish to go that route.

Jiren, Pride of Universe 11

Now this card is very simple in its application. This card represents 2 U11 Cards on board for free. For any U11 build that wants to go wide, this card is absolutely where you want to be. At his worst though this just represents two bodies for combo power. This isn’t the “answer” for U11 but it’s another decent piece.

King Cold, Imperial Offering

For those wondering why this is Red/Yellow (like I was for two hours), this is for the potential Red/Yellow Meta-Cooler deck they’ve been subtly building up. I would’ve rather this been Mono-Yellow but let’s go with what we have. Having Offering is a nice bonus but what this represents really is just extra attacks every turn. Sac off a Cooler, grab another one to swing with. Again, like the Jiren, this isn’t the “answer” but it’s a potentially good piece if Red/Yellow pans out.

Super 17, Seconds to Detonation

Uh…yeah I’m not sold on this one. 4 Energy to put a card on board that does nothing without your other cards doing work is pretty bad. Shouldn’t have been Once Per Turn or should’ve cost less.

Instinctive Reprisal

So a slightly different Is That All You’ve Got. Doesn’t require a Red Leader, doesn’t require a discard and can affect Leader Cards (also Red/Blue for Invoker) but loses out on 5K and crucially costs 2 Energy rather than 1. Yes, you can Invoker it as mentioned but generally there are far better cards to use with Invoker so really it comes down to if affecting Leader Cards is worth the downsides. Well if Baby remains in the format the answer just may very well be yes. But if not then into the ether it goes.

That’s What You Get!

…thank god Toppo, Righteous Aid is not a 2 Drop in the Drop Area otherwise this card would be absolutely bonkers. As it is, unless you wanna get cute and play said Toppo in a Green/Yellow deck and keep it in hand just to play it with this I don’t expect this card to see play. People will try it though, if nothing else to troll.

Majin Buu, Diabolic Punisher

This is so close to being the perfect card that the new Buu Chain needed…but this is still pretty good. It gives the deck an actual way to just get rid of the Buu outside of just hoping to combo it off and it’s with a useful effect. Punishing big Arrival and Successor plays big time he can cause havoc on the board just by existing. This ultimately would’ve been better for the deck having a more proactive effect but again, still pretty damn good for the deck and might be the piece it needs.

Malicious Mimicry

Speaking of pieces, this is another piece the deck really wanted. At its core it’s a +15K Pump whenever needed but in reality it’s a guaranteed way to start the combo pretty much every turn rather than simply relying on blind luck. This is also pretty big for the deck. This may actually be getting somewhere.

Son Goku, Instincts Surpassed

This card has actually seen a bit of hype since its reveal. It’s easy to see why. Get him on board and if you have enough Red/Blue Extra Cards in the Drop he attacks relentlessly with Triple Strike while weakening the opponent’s Leader every single swing. The biggest issue for this card is the decks that would be playing enough Red/Blue Extra Cards to make this a monster would likely be on Energy Explosion. At the same time though this is easier to use since it doesn’t require loading up your hand with a card that generally does nothing until that turn. I know people will definitely be working with this card because the power level is certainly there. Wouldn’t be shocked to see it as a centerpiece.

Toppo, Bestower of Justice

Uh yeah, we like this. Can be played as early as Turn 1 potentially for free and immediately sets up Successor plays with Dyspo or kept on board and setting up even bigger Successor plays later. This could even see play outside of Jiren for those who really want an easy Successor fodder though…you know, just play Arrival instead in most cases.

Frieza, Mutable Menace

I’m finally onto the Championship promos about two weeks after release (but still before the main set release where it’d be at its best anyway). This Frieza seems eh at first glance until you remember that Red Frieza happens to be the second home to the Swap mechanic. So you can easily swap into this, send this to board a 3 Drop of choice and then hit your 5 Drop all for essentially one less Energy as a whole. This is a far better 2 Drop for Frieza Swap than the original which was outright bad. As Frieza Swap as a whole got better in the new set, this is a welcome addition on top of that.

Android 21, Scholarly Gambit

This card is interesting. At a first glance it’s just an on theme Free Blocker for 18/21 with the helpful addition of Barrier. Not bad, the archetype definitely could use this especially to bait out Android 21’s Scheme so you can attack competently during the turn. Once you hit 5 Energy though it also acts as a pseudo-Counter being able to spin back all 95% of the playerbase who like playing Battle Cards ahead of their Energy count. Consider that ability a bonus, it won’t trigger often due to your own Energy limitation and gets hosed by Barrier but it is a very helpful card. Might be the piece 18/21 needs.

Zen-Oh, Almighty Guardian

This card is basically Enraged Gohan’s Awakening on a body for Leaders with Universe in their trait. That’s actually quite a few but you really need this to be costing two like its predecessor to be worthwhile. I could see this getting a modicum of play depending on the deck but you really need to be on some kind of Universe plan.

Bardock, Surge of Inspiration

This card is very simple for sure. A simple Negate on a body, but can also act as a Surge Material when on board. Considering Negates on a body still do see a fair amount of play even now while having basically no other effect, having one that does something very relevant (even if only once) should be a fantastic add. If you’re on a Yellow Surge Leader I think this is a must add, albeit probably not a 4 of depending on how well your Leader digs.

Broly, Swift Executioner

Well yeah, Surge Broly will take this in a heartbeat. 20K Crit for 2 that also gives something -10K AND draws you a card from Life while ripping a card out of the opponent’s hand, oh and all of this is at Activate:Battle speed? This card represents an immense amount of card advantage for two energy. This is stronger than most Red/Green Arrival and Broly gets this alone. This will be massive for an archetype that’s already on a dramatic rise.

SS Rose Goku Black, Divine Prosperity

So while this card immediately looks like GB/Zamasu support, and obviously it is, this card is just insane for Blue/Yellow on a whole. At its absolute worst it’s a free Negate that puts a, however middling, body on board. That already carries fantastic value that can really carry a potential U/Y deck forward but it can also act as potential removal depending on board state which can cripple some attack lines and keep you alive for quite a while. If you’re on U/Y I can’t imagine this isn’t at least a 3-of. This may be U/Y’s Toppo, Righteous Aid I think it’s that good (also weak to pretty much the same things ironically enough). His ceiling isn’t as high as consistently in terms of “END YOUR TURN”, but his floor is much higher which is a big deal whereas anyone who has used Toppo a bunch have probably felt him be a liabilities at rare times.

Whis, Ethereal Guidance

This card is a nice boon for Beerus decks. The best pitch he can have, getting life to hand while potentially tapping something down and can even act as a 15K Combo in a pinch. Never underestimate free value.

Son Gohan & Piccolo, Reliable Reinforcements

I don’t really know how hyped I am for a card that for two Energy allows Surge Piccolo to use his ability one Life sooner. This card is really bad other than for that specific function and even then it’s probably just better to play actual Self-Damage cards. This feels WAY too narrow and easy to avoid, even with Blocker.

Cooler, Clan Avenger

Another simple card to understand. In Cooler, he does everything. Lowers something to potential death, will draw you a card, will mill your opponent one card and then another at End of Turn. Again, a lot of advantage off of one card with two Energy. Barrier is an okay bonus and does allow some proactivity. Great card for Cooler.

Android 18, Perfection’s Prey

The last promo to talk about and…she’s fine. As we saw with the SR Raditz and Hit cards, having free ways to use Dual Color Combos is absolutely huge for Arrival purposes. The only thing I worry about is how often she’ll actually be a free combo with that restriction. Her other ability is only really there to set up Successor plays with a Cell Leader with a Cell Chain but boy that’s barely worth mentioning. If you have a G/Y deck heavy on Arrival that finds itself getting low on hand size she might be worth a look so you can use your Super Combo on something that isn’t Gero. Otherwise nothing special.

Secret Rares

Black Smoke Dragon, Eternal Evil

Bandai are going overdrive when it comes to dripfeeding the Shadow Dragon Saga. Three cards from it, all SCRs. Anyway this is definitely a catch all SCR. Many decks can easily make use of this, though chances are it’ll cost them Over Realm usage. But every mode of this card is fantastic. It says something that the board wipe ignoring Barrier may be the weakest mode on this card. I think a lot of people may overlook the second mode but Warping Top 7 forces a ton of inevitability while also drawing you 2 cards. Late in the game, when you’re most likely to drop this, this could help end the game in the right scenarios. Though I think the money mode is absolutely that third one, ripping 4 cards out of the opponent’s hand each turn is absolute devastation. Now it doesn’t take Demigra’s place in Mono-Black since he has that similar function while also swinging for big numbers so this is something to play in decks that may not have a dedicated SCR to really use. I think it absolutely sees play.

Cell Xeno, Unspeakable Abomination

Well if the memes are any indication you can’t conquer the DBSTCG if you ain’t ugly cute. In terms of SCR design he definitely fits the bill. Huge, near game ending when played, the whole nine. Do note you can play him before 5 Energy but you won’t get his Auto. You know you’ll just get a 40K Quad Strike with Deflect that you used zero energy to play… He’s something you have to be extremely conscious of at all times if you’re playing against G/Y decks. I don’t think he excels as the focus, but as something you can just throw out to steal games. Many are proclaiming it as possibly the best SCR ever printed. I think that’s a BIT of a jump, but the power level is there to just make life miserable. Just saying.

Son Goku & Vegeta, Apex of Power

The last card for the day…and the fated day has come. The madmen finally did it. They printed another card with Victory Strike. This one though goes a very different direction from the Awakened Power. First off this is generally much easier to get out. Now you do need to be on a U7 Leader unless you want to pay full price for this card. Past that though, having 5 U/R Extra Cards in the Drop seems like a very easy requirement to meet, especially since quite a few even without Invoker help are generally very good. Especially by Turn 5.

So much easier Victory Strike to get out, that’s great. Then he even has a near Fu like negation effect when played so even if the opponent lives they’ll be in hell the next turn. He even has Invoker if the game comes to that point. I mean I don’t see you getting much use out of Invoker with him since 99% of the time the opponent is dead or you’re tapped out, but hey it’s there!

Easier to be played (on average), less commitment and owns a strong backup plan if he fails to kill? So he’s just better than the Awakened Power? Yeah…no. See the Awakened Power made it so when he hit the board, he was going to get his swing in and force it to be a combo fight pretty much no matter what outside of extremely niche scenarios. This card cannot stop standard Negates nor can he stop himself from being negated or messed with in a lot of scenarios by Extra Cards. Basically the Awakened Power insulates his swing to make sure it goes off, Apex of Power makes sure that if the swing DOES go off it’s pretty much guaranteed game. Though that’s the same case for the Awakened Power.

Now I compare the two a lot but the two don’t share the same space. Apex of Power obviously wants U/R whereas The Awakened Power courtesy of Path to Greatness needs a heavy Yellow deck. So it’s not like one will invalidate the other anyway, but it shows the philosophies of both. No doubt if you’re a U7 Leader in U/R, you play this period.

Final Thoughts:

The Promos as per usual range from great and meta impacting to incredibly weird and wondering why they were made. The SCRs are all good this set, I expect each one to be played without question. Now that the full set is upon us I expect a massive overhaul of the current format. Bring forth chaos.