Hello all and welcome to an extremely hefty edition to Preview Season. We have a ton to cover today so let’s get down to it. Red Cards, Feature Rares, Broly Pack, Series 6 and a Starter Deck all together. I thought about putting some of it separately but ultimately just decided to place it all together since it’s all Frieza’s Army anyway. The Empire is making their stand, will it be enough? Or will a plucky farmer be the end of them like always?

Broly Pack Vol. 1

Gogeta/SS Gogeta, the Unstoppable

Welcome back Holy Fusion Knight. The man himself is now canon, looking a bit different but still as powerful as ever. Looks like in the Broly movie we’ll finally get to live out the Budokai 3 Opening Movie (if you haven’t seen it, go check it out). As for this Leader himself…it’s kind of hard to evaluate the front side since…well we’ve seen zero of the cards he can grab (the Feature Rares are the wrong color). So in theory his front side can be good but it really depends on what he can fetch.

On his Awakened Side he gets much easier to evaluate and much more interesting. 2 Energy to tuck a Battle Card is certainly something. Now we’ve had removal effects on Leaders before but they haven’t been enough to really make the Leaders stick. Cell had the best one since it became virtually costless later in the game and he still fell off pretty fast, even in formats where his front side would be exceedingly valuable. Piccolo Jr. had very little success himself and the less said about Gohan the better. 2 Energy is pricier than all but Gohan, but it does avoid Sparking/Over Realm setup. His second ability, also interesting as it lets him sack an Energy in a pinch to draw 2. Idk how often this ability will be used, but it’s a pretty hard plus in a pinch.

Ultimately his Awakened side is very similar to Cell. I cannot say better though, outside of being a Blue Leader and getting all the perks that come with it. Proper use of his last skill I feel will be crucial to how playable he’ll ultimately be. For now I’m skeptical.

Broly/Broly, the Awakened Threat

The canon Legendary Super Saiyan (who I guess isn’t so Legendary now but meh) has arrived and somehow looks even more feral than before. His front side gives him self-awaken which is fine though exceedingly risky in today’s format. Fantastic in slow matchups, all but worthless in fast ones.

His Awakened side is generic to start with. Switching a Battle Card to Rest Mode as we’ve seen, isn’t exactly enough to see play. It’s a very vanilla, low impact ability. Thankfully though in this case it’s not the headliner ability. Where Broly shines is his last ability. A self-burn to untap one of your cards. Note, it doesn’t just say Battle Cards or Energy, it’s anything. This includes himself. You need an Energy for defense? He has you. You need extra cards? He can untap himself. The money though is to untap a high-impact Battle Card for major damage. We’ve seen Shenron do a ton of work with a stronger version of this. While this isn’t nearly as explosive, it’s a lot more versatile of a skill. I like Broly a lot, more than any other Broly Leader we’ve gotten to this point. Should be fun to build around, could see legitimate play.

Oh there’s one other thing I forgot to mention (making this note while writing the other Broly Leader’s analysis). He’s Frieza’s Army. That means yessir…he has access to the Bloodlust! It suddenly shoots back into the consciousness. Better be thankful for dat Deflect.

Clash of Fates Red Cards

Frieza/Frieza, Metamorphic Threat

We have ourselves a new Frieza Leader and back in the duds of First Form and Final Form. We had seen the Awakened side prior to this in the trailer, so this is really our first exposure to his Front Side. On that Front Side we have a Leader that is once again, very reliant on Frieza’s Army. Or in this case, Red Frieza’s Army. Why Bandai is now afraid of mixing Yellow and Red FA together is beyond me considering the tag has needed help for a while. The segregation is not worth it. It is especially frustrating here considering Frieza needs to burn himself in order to try and grab one. A whiff is quite annoying. Too limiting an ability for my tastes. His Awaken is a Hybrid Awaken with 1 Draw and 1 Untap. Nice to mix it up a bit.

His Awakened side, I’ve had a while to think about it. Ultimately I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not very good. Yes, the ability to essentially be guaranteed 20K on your opponent’s turn (and your turn for the swing) is a potentially powerful ability. But the harsh minus 2 in order to do so is really not worth it. Soul Unleashed Son Goku has a similar ability with less of a cost and in the same color and…managed one decent placement. While Frieza has Cold Bloodlust, Goku had Unending Awakening and that card is generally more helpful for that kind of ability (and also doesn’t hard lock you into Red/Yellow). It’s also just another example of how limiting him to Red FA really hurts him. It could’ve comboed very well with Military Command Frieza and not be broken for it, it’s still ultimately a minus 2 just with a little bit more upside. Now it doesn’t combo with anything.

This Frieza is pretty disappointing as a card in his own right so he REALLY needs exclusive cards to try and get him over the hump.

Frieza, Storm of Blows

In a bit of a surprise, they’ve made the Frieza Line a Swap Line instead of the usual Evolve Line. While I question how on theme it is, it at least has a better chance of being decent than the plethora of bad Evolve gimmicks that Frieza was before. Let’s see if this line actually gets played all the way through. This Frieza is actually pretty good all the way around even without Swap. Generic 3 Drop Stats but he comes in to kill a lot of cards in the game and has Barrier which can be cute. Even without Swap this has potential as a solid FA card. His Swap really helps though as while I can’t preview it today because Bandai didn’t give us the freebie image like Bardock, the trailer did show off the SR Frieza. It’s pretty damn good and very worthwhile to Swap into. This card really helps take the edge off of playing it too.

Evolutionary Process Frieza

Where as the above Third Form Frieza was solid, this is an abomination. Why, WHY did this need any sort of drawback?! Reminder that we live in a world of 2 Drop 20K Vanillas, and 2 Drop 15K Crits, not to mention Gotens and Yamchas. In what universe did the designer of the set look at this card and said “Too strong, give power drawback”?! I even checked to see if there was any random upside to having him be 10K but nope, nothing. Keep in mind, I don’t even think this card is playable as a strict Vanilla Swap 15K, so it’s just asinine they thought he needed this. The only reason to play this at all would be to try and get the dream of going Final Showdown Frieza on Turn 3…and that’s too dream scenario for my liking. Congrats, this card single-handedly shuttled the full line from being usable. Stick to the 3 and 5 Drop.

Frieza, Overture to Battle

The above 2 Drop is a true shame because this Frieza is actually decently solid. He’s essentially like Pan or Baba. Downside is no combo to draw, upside is that he’s reusable because of Swap. If only he had a good Swap 2 to go into. As there isn’t because the one we have is awful this sadly gets passed over for Red’s plethora of better 1 Drops.

Body Change Ginyu

From potential disappointment to absolute absurdity, this card to me may be the highlight of the entire preview day. This card reads absolutely broken. I had to re-read it to make sure I didn’t end up in a Grandpa Gohan situation but no, he really is this absurd. He comes out 25K, already fantastic because he does count himself (an odd rarity for Ginyu cards) and pumps any other Ginyu Force that may be out there just in case you’re playing the engine. But the absolute money is his second effect. Sac him off to give him to the opponent with no effect, but in the process you get any of your opponent’s 20K or less Battle Cards AND switch it to Active in case they have it tapped. You essentially swing for a big number, potentially pump your board, perform premium removal and get another potential big attack…all at the cost of just giving your opponent a vanilla 3 Drop at the end of it. This card makes Baby’s Subdual look like absolute child’s play.

The best part about all of this? It’s generic! Doesn’t matter what Leader or what deck, as long as you got those colors, this can be played. I know Baby Vegeta is licking his chops. Oh yeah, the other best part is that he’s a 15K which means ol’ gambling man Chain Attack Trunks shenanigans. This instantly shoots up to one of the best targets.

I would be shocked, SHOCKED, if this doesn’t see immediate staple play in a multitude of Red decks going forward.

Strikeforce Recoome : Strikeforce Burter : Strikeforce Jeice

Just listing these altogether because honestly they’re the same card outside of name and keyword. Essentially trying to reward you for only playing Red they form a potential engine by playing one from hand and grabbing another from Top 5 (there is a Jeice but he’s a Super Combo which we’ll get to in a moment). These guys are…mainly just ok, Burter being the best, Guldo being the worst, Recoome being more late game potential. Really the goal is the usual for the ole Ginyu Force. Swarm the board and wait for Ginyu to pump the squad. The problem? This is just an outright inferior version of the previous GF archetype. That one was far more explosive and less screwed by Kami (not that he was a thing until now but still). More whiffs for ole Frieza Lead.

Strikeforce Jeice

ToP Super Combo for Red Frieza. Will be a necessary use because of his tag.

Dodoria, the Expendable

This is basically the “replacement” for using Military Command Frieza like I mentioned before. Same stats, extremely similar ability. The issue? He plays worse cards. There’s a grand total of one card that’s decent to play off of him (we’ll get to him). This card is only as good as what he can play and well…yeah. Unless you’re really into the Strikeforce package, hard pass.

Super Zarbon

Hey, 30K Vanillas are starting to see play, don’t over look. Zarbon doesn’t have a ton going on for him specialty wise. Tag’s important I guess, that’s about it.

Zarbon, Hidden Potential

Probably the only good 2 Drop Frieza’s Army revealed today. And he really is particularly good. KO him through any means, either through your own effect or your opponent being dumb and he not only replaces himself but potentially kills something. In other words this is the only card that actually mitigates the Red Frieza’s hefty cost and actually potentially makes it a break even. Break Even Senzu Bean sounds fantastic. Is Zarbon alone enough to make Frieza work? I doubt it but if you’re playing said Frieza, you’re maxing out on this.

Recoome Ultra Fighting Bomber

…why? Just why? We don’t have a good Recoome, we probably never will at this rate. Even if we DID have a good Recoome this card is slightly more tuned FoJ Goten. Just…no.

Frieza’s Spaceship

Okay, so if you want to use Strikeforce, this is the reason why. This card is absolutely fantastic. Turning all the Strikeforce (along with Zarbon and Dodoria) into free plays that also draw you a card? Potentially great and also means that even if Kami comes calling you don’t feel AS bad. As great as this card is, I don’t know if this is quite enough to get Strikeforce over. Still a card effect this potent, while we still lack any meaningful Field Card interaction, is not something I can outright overlook. Be wary of this card.

Paralysis Technique

The last Red card in its own category and…well essentially it gives Frieza a different version of Unending Awakening. The main downside is that the opponent can dodge some of the drain with Barrier or just by playing Battle Cards later in the turn after some attacks. The upside though is that this can kill cantrips and…well, the other is that Frieza obviously can’t use Unending Awakening. As Afterimage Technique is not a true counter, having this in the hole would be a good idea. Solid enough card.

Final Thoughts on CoF Red Preview:

Gonna do a Final Thoughts on each section due to the size of this preview article. With the Red FA I’m honestly pretty disappointed overall, but there is legitimate potential in some of the cards. Ginyu is still just ridiculously snapped, and Frieza’s Spaceship could make the Strikeforce at least mildly valuable. But it’s certainly not the best foot forward for the Empire.

Clash of Fates Feature Rares

Strategic Mind Kikono

Might as well start off the Feature Rares with Red as well. Another Frieza’s Army card, he is…aight? Bringing the opponent’s Leader down 5K for the turn is no joke, but I don’t think it’s impactful enough on 3 Energy to play. Would’ve been better if it also looped over to your own turn to provide helpful defense and sure up Frieza or Goku. Probable pass.

Cheelai, the Beautiful

Yes I’m saving the Goku for last, and yes you know why. Anyway this card I actually think is really damn neat. Sort of like a two drop Anilaza. She puts immense pressure on the opponent’s hand size in the right deck. Also note, you do not need to be the one to KO the card. If the opponent happens to be playing cards that KO his own stuff, this also triggers Cheelai. She also stacks like Anilaza. The only downside is she doesn’t have Barrier like he does, but since she’s a 2 Drop that’s an easy overlook. I can definitely see the KP Piccolo/Anilaza shell welcoming her with open arms.

Vegeta, Striving to be the Best

This Vegeta is pretty much decent for one thing, and that’s Side Board potential. The Deadly Defender killer basically. It’s fantastic at doing that. When he goes off he gives great value. But since his effect is very niche he’s a Side Board plan.

Son Goku, Striving to be the Best

Yeah…chances are a lot of you came for the analysis on this card. I’ll just give it the name everyone is giving it. “Storm Killer”. It’s easy to see why he’s called that, since it basically prevents the entire non-Over Realm part of the deck from attacking and he has Barrier so good luck outing it. There are also quite a few people saying it’s too slow to do anything to Storm. My answer to that is, there’s plenty of cards that can slow down Storm just enough. Normally it’s not always enough since you simply don’t have enough time or resources to turn the corner afterwards. As this shuts down the entire attack plan you suddenly find yourself with time you didn’t have before.

So then the question is, does this invalidate Storm as an archetype? Hell no! Maybe if it said all Battle Cards of 2 or Less couldn’t attack, but it specifically says your opponent’s. Which means Storm can actually play this just as much as its opponents, trying to win the mirror. There is also Frieza, Biding His Time that could be teched to try and out it with a Leader Attack. Not to mention Kami if the opponent overextends and you’re desperate, or Burst Energy SS Bardock to just ram into it since Goku has meager stats. Worst case, we could see Storm actually start playing some higher end cards from the Lineage like the deck initially did to try and win the late game after you hopefully took out a chunk before Goku hit the board.

Ultimately I just think it was a mistake to make this card Blue of all colors. Blue, already the most played color in the game thanks to Senzu which was the best way to hold off Storm and also enabled Storm…now has yet ANOTHER card to fight off Storm while also helping said deck potentially win the mirror. Expect this card to be explicitly pricey if it’s tough to pull.

Final Thoughts on Feature Rares:

Goku…I don’t really have anymore to say. The rest, Kikono is relatively poor, Cheelai is a neat addition to an already existing package and Vegeta is decent sideboard tech (which may be used just for Goku paired with Biding His Time). They all look great artistically but I do want to see the IRL versions to see how good the foiling.

Rising Broly And Series 6 Green C/UC

Broly/Broly, Evil Unleashed

Yeah, just have that playing for the remainder of the article because it’s Broly’s time. From here on, it’s all about the Legendary Behemoth. The Beast Incarnate! The Conq–whoa…almost dipped into Paul Heyman there. I’m also listing both the SD and Series 6 previews here because…well every card previewed from Series 6 is in the SD anyway. Anyway, front side he has a Once Per Game ability which is becoming almost disturbingly common. At first, I was extremely disappointed in it. After seeing the rest of the previews…you probably would only get the ability off Once Per Game anyway so it’s not even a problem. Grab any 1 Drop FA from the deck immediately. For the most part you’ll grab the 1 Drop Broly though he does have the utility to grab other FA cards if need be, preferably if you’re trying to not die to aggro decks today. He also has the Hybrid Awaken which is nice.

His Awakened Side is incredibly unique. He has his own restriction of essentially allowing only 2 Battle Cards on board at once. You can get around it by flooding prior to flipping though losing the ability to play Battle Cards for an extended period of time may not be worth the subterfuge. Honestly it’s not hard to meet the requirement thanks to comboing, Broly’s own ability and the opponent generally not liking you having stuff out. Speaking of said ability, you essentially do the usual Broly Leader thing of trading one of your Battle Cards for one of your opponent’s. Far more targeted though which is always appreciated. Trading a cantrip for a big Battle Card is solid, especially since unlike a certain Red Leader, they made sure to give him good cards that synergize with this ability.

His money is that second ability though. Sparking 7, on attack…draw until you have 6?! Wait, what, that’s insane! Dump your hand, immediately draw 6 later and there’s nothing the opponent can do about it. As long as you’re below 6 when you swing with him, which is not hard in this deck whatsoever, at the very worst you’re just the typical attack and draw. At 4 cards you’re Burst Attack Gohan. Any less and you’re just drawing so many cards. Compared to the previous Broly we saw which was more generic and about freeform building, this one definitely wants to be built around that effect. The more times you’re drawing 2+ cards with that effect the bigger advantage you’ll have in the grand scheme of things. Also helps to have more ways to gain back advantage ready on board to draw even more cards. This effect alone makes this Broly potentially terrifying. Hirudegarn basically made his name on nothing but drawing cards. Be forewarned.

Oh and like the earlier Broly, Frieza’s Army which means the Bloodlust is coming. Which is conveniently in the Starter Deck, thanks Bandai! The previous Broly will require more brewing to get the most out of him, this Broly is just an out and out threat from the word go.

Broly, the Ravager

Normally I save the big payoff for later in the article but due to how the deck works it’s actually apt to go top to bottom instead. Also the Ravager does not have the biggest payoff. In general it’s a very meh card at first read, I’d even go on to say outright bad. 7 Drop 30K that can force a discard once per turn. Reminder that we got Super 17, Cell Absorbed in the last set. Compared to that, this card is comparatively terrible. Luckily though his support makes this card much better in retrospect. …probably not as good as Super 17 but that card and engine is ridiculous anyway so it’s not the worst thing in the world, and this deck does different things.

Broly, Rushing Forth

The first inkling to what this deck is about. Another Crit Attacker, but when he’s taken off the board (usually by your own skill) you give up a hefty price to put the Ravager on board from hand. Now I wish he said hand and deck but it’s ultimately fine. Also, that is a HEFTY price to put the Ravager on board…but in this deck it’s a hefty price you are not only fine paying, you’re glad you’re doing it. You’re heavily minusing yourself just to immediately get back all that card advantage thanks to Evil Unleashed. In that sense, this card is actually very worth it. The only downside to this whole engine (which I’ll mention now) is that…well if you end up with two Ravagers on board you’re kind of stuck since you won’t be able to play anything else. Not the worst thing in the world, but their pressure isn’t that immense on its own, so play with caution.

Defending Father Paragus

Remember how Hoi ended up becoming arguably the best Super Combo in the game because of the digging potential? Meet better in nearly every shape and form Hoi. Starts at 10K like the new Super Combos, Draws First before getting rid of a card and ANY Green Leader can use Paragus. The only downside is that the card you lose goes to the Warp rather than the Discard but considering all the upside that comes with it that is a downside I’m more than willing to deal with. Nearly every Green Leader just got their Super Combo of choice. I could actually see Avenging Frieza seeing tech play in Broly just to help dig for this even more.

Cheelai, Frieza Force Soldier : Lemo, Frieza Force Soldier

Since the two go together I’ll bring them up here. They’re…alright I guess. Actually no, they’re pretty bad. Cheelai only grabs Lemo and a 2 Drop 15K Vanilla that does very little isn’t the best to play even from deck. Lemo only spends time getting Cheelai back. You wouldn’t use this in Broly because this takes up valuable board space and no one else is running this. Well, maaaayyyyybe Golden Frieza because it’s recurrable fodder but it’s a stretch. Though Cheelai alone would be one of the better 1 Drop plays in the deck. Wait, actually I can maybe see it. Turn 1, play Cheelai (preferably after already playing something else and popping off with Frieza). Turn 2, use effect, grab Lemo, pop Cheelai and Draw, then use Lemo to get it back. I mean that’s engine…don’t think it’s all that fantastic though.

Son Goku, Time to Fight

It’s easy to forget but this is the very first Dual Colored Starter Deck we’ve received, which is pretty damn cool in my opinion. Onto the Yellow and we have Goku. He’s…okay. You never want to play him at 4 so you better hope the opponent plays into it, which they probably should. 4 Rested Cards on their board is a very easy requirement to meet. Hell if they don’t meet it, it’s either incredibly early or you’re far ahead. The goal is to sac him off to bring back a Green or Yellow Saiyan weenie. That’s…ok? It only brings it in Rest as well, so no Storm shenanigans by making this extra copies of Goten in a pinch (you could do it with Grandpa Gohan but…why is it not already in hand). The best targets are Saiyan Teamwork Cabba in case for whatever weird reason you want to run Tri-Color Veggies, or a less insane target, ole faithful Explosive Spirit Son Goku. Now that’s actually pretty good, turning this into extra copies of Kid Gokus that died blocking. The biggest issue is, where does this get run since ole ES Goku hasn’t seen play since Chronoa hit the scene. Good question, but if he does I would not be surprised to see this coming along with it.

Vegeta, Time to Fight

Well Bandai is just testing us now. “Is a 1 Drop 15K Blocker good enough to see play?” Answer, no. Blockers in this game either gotta be free or have other upside to them, simply being cheap is not enough. Hell even being free wasn’t enough for a while until the game changed to make them more of a welcome addition to certain decks.

Godly Destruction Whis

Well hello Yellow Borgos. I mean what else is there to be said, if you untap on your turn you will pay the price. Immediately replaces Youthful Bulma forever.

Godly Destruction Beerus

The last ST card and…he’s okay. Mainly just okay, but generally not worth the price of admission. Good card to have in a Starter Deck though, great learning tool.

Broly, Berserker Origins

Onto the set proper and seems pretty familiar. Though instead of having Critical he kills cards on his own merit while once again setting up the hand for more drawing. We can’t evaluate him completely however until we see the 6 drop but he’ll likely remain a fine addition to the deck.

Broly, Unrealized Ambition

This card basically says one thing. Awaken, RIGHT NOW. You play him, you take 2 Life, then you’ll sac him likely on Turn 2 (with a card we’ll see later), pay either 1 or 2 and begin the party. Through this card, bringing out the Ravager (or whatever the 6 Drop is) on Turn 2 is a legitimate possibility which is a disaster for most since most decks don’t exactly carry removal for 30Ks that early. Just note to never play this card past that turn since playing him from hand means you MUST pay that 2 Life, it is mandatory. Luckily thanks to Broly’s ability you only need to play around 2 of this (don’t play 1, because then if he ends up in Life when you try to search and you’ll be sad). This sets off an atomic nuke if used correctly but safely tuck this away in matchups you really have no interest in taking an early 3-4 Damage.

Paragus, Deadly Premonition

To show that the deck isn’t just about violent brutality, we have ourselves a bit of nuance. A Broly searcher, very necessary in a deck that plays basically entirely from the hand. If that wasn’t enough, in case you didn’t want to just combo him off the board you can also sac him instead for Broly and get a free untap which is fantastic and can turn Broly into a makeshift Golden Frieza. Not much else to say, max this boy out immediately.

Ties that Bind Ba

Well, in case you ever are feeling particularly frisky and want to re-use that 1 Drop Broly, this is how you’d do it. I don’t particularly think it’s worth it but uh…hey, it’s there. At least you won’t be forced to pay the 2 Life since it’s being played from Drop but you’ll still likely take 1 if you’re trying to Level Up again.

Broly Control Mechanism

At this point, I wonder if anyone had noticed the weakness of Broly up to this point. It was the fact that it relied on killing your cards to get things done which was mainly done through the Leader effect. Problem is that it doesn’t have that effect on the Front Side for one, and two you need the opponent to have an available target to kill as well. Both particular problems. Both immediately solved by this card. Opening this Turn 1 (outside of facing aggro decks) is extremely crucial to getting off the ground. Try to hard mull for this when you can. Even when not going off it’s a great thing to have to just sack off a Broly while saving your ability (or if you can’t use it). Immediate max out in the deck, you need to find this asap.

Wrathful Charge

The last, merciful card to be previewed and it’s a negate. It’s also one more way to set off your Broly cards or Paragus. In Broly this is a fantastic card ONLY with Paragus though unless you can guarantee it’s the final opponent attack for the turn. With Paragus it’s a draw 1, untap 1, make your opponent discard 1. So essentially a better Whis’ Coercion. Without Paragus you’re giving up a cantrip most likely (don’t give up a Broly unless again, you can guarantee the opponent is not attacking again that turn) to force a discard which is okay, nothing that special. With Storm about it’ll be hard to justify this over the pairing of Full Power Energy and Shocking Death Ball but if it ever goes away this will likely get its slot.

Surprise Attack Frieza

Surprise! This is actually the last card to be previewed because I haven’t gotten the chance to yet. While this will be out sooner than the Broly stuff he actually fits pretty damn naturally into the deck or any removal heavy deck (more Cheelai/Piccolo/Anilaza fun). Kill something and get a free 15K Crit. Broly enjoys this potentially, Golden Frieza could potentially love this if you have enough consistent removal (Kill something, play this and swing, immediately sac it off). The only downside is the Heavy Combo but realistically it needs to be there so the card isn’t easily splashed into…well, anything that can kill. Would not be surprised at all to see this card get some love.

Final Thoughts on Broly:

The deck looks unique, competent and potentially powerful. All things I like out of a new archetype. It also will not be the easiest deck to play and honestly, outside of Bloodlust and Nimbus I’m not really seeing the reason to play Yellow with him at the moment. Though Bloodlust and Nimbus is often enough to play any Yellow. Still I liked their previews a lot.

Next Time, hopefully Bandai is merciful on me and just limits the previews to the Green Clash of Fates cards.