Well, Bandai said “screw Preview Season” and just decided to flood us with nearly everything at once. So it’s gonna get busy. Today, we’ll go with the shorter article and go with the Black Cards. There’s a plan being hatched. To eliminate the Saiyans…even though nearly every villain tries to do the same thing it’s different this time! Hatchhyack (I’ll probably butcher the spelling half the time) has arrived and brought some old friends. Let’s see if he can put an end to those pesky Saiyans once and for all.

Dr. Lychee & Hatchhyack/Hatchhyack, Malice Assimilated

Bandai has been pushing the envelope with unique Leader design as of late (after multiple sets of extremely generic design) and it pays off at its most here. Another deck restriction card, this time only allowing Black Battle Cards (which essentially makes your entire deck Black) but man does he have a continuous effect for the ages. It’s a definite Prison effect, basically locking both you and the opponent into one Battle Card a turn to attack with (though he also has ways to subvert his own effect as we’ll see later). This is huge. It’s like having a pseudo-Flying Nimbus active from the word go. For plenty of decks this is very painful and frustrating if the goal is to attack with…hell, not even a cavalcade of cards but even two. He really slows the game down for most decks. Now do note, Dual Attack and Triple Attack do allow more attacks so decks built around that (see new Baby or MC Broly) can put a beating in but otherwise the game is gonna go longer than usual.

His Awakening cost is also different. It’s a guaranteed Turn 3 Awaken pretty much every single time. There are no cards he can use to accelerate the Awaken, nor cards to really stop it and he also gets to fill the Drop Area on Awaken which will be good for the effects of the deck or if you don’t want to play the archetype, decent to play the usual Black suite. On his flip side he keeps the continuous effect and does become a more generic “Hit you for 20K every turn” Leader which is fine when you weren’t swinging at all beforehand. I think this Leader has fantastic potential and cannot be overlooked regardless of what you use him with in Black.

Hatchhyack, Fueled by Hatred

Okay, I admit, I had to do a double take when first reading it to make sure I was reading it right. “Why the hell would they enforce a penalty for playing the card in its intended deck?” The answer becomes pretty obvious when you re-read the Leader. It allows him to skirt around the Continuous ability and attack even if something else attacked that turn which is pretty huge. Of course the downside is that you can only play him using the next card’s ability which can be annoying but it’s a small price to pay. Also notably he is a 5 Drop outside of his own deck so there is possibility he could see play…assuming he’s good enough.

He just might be good enough. The ability to Warp anything even ignoring Barrier is fantastic, while also providing offensive pressure, defensive help with a potential negate AND recycling. He doesn’t have the flashiest immediate impact, but he can wear an opponent down. In his deck, great. Outside of his deck I think he has legitimate potential as well.

Hatchhyack, Overwhelming Power

Now the real theme to this deck comes to light. Not just recycling very specific costs but really it’s putting Battle Cards in play for free by doing so. Now admittedly (though this isn’t an issue for this card due to his second effect) with this Leader there’s only so much value you can actually glean from that due to his attack restriction on top of the fact that due to the high amount of Black Battle Cards needed to really keep the deck flowing AND being Mono-Black really hurts how you can take advantage of your Energy effectively. But it’s still a powerful interaction that can’t be ignored.

But as mentioned this card has no such worry since he will use that Energy to grab the SR anyway so that’s good. This is a crucial piece to the deck because otherwise you just aren’t playing that SR. Definite max in the deck.

Dr. Lychee, Inception of the Grudge

This card is in a weird spot. On one hand it’s a Blocker that puts out a free card when he does his job but on the other hand he’s a 1 Drop which is actually a problem in this deck since you want your things at 3-7 as much as humanly possible. It’s probably still good enough to see play since the ability to board this, stop one of the only attacks for the turn and put something on board for free is likely too good to ignore but I don’t see it as a 4 of despite the power.

Dr. Lychee, the Departed Spirit

Now this card checks all the boxes for this deck. Blocker, which is very relevant in a gamestate that allows very few attacks. 3 Drop so he hits the marker for your skills. Mills, which is big in this deck as it doesn’t have the usual inherent milling as other Black Leaders do. Can be played cheaper than its cost, AND can even be played from the Drop Area which is just free value. Easy inclusion into the deck, no doubt.

Frieza, Ghost Warrior

And now begin the Ghost Warriors. They pretty much all have the same free Put in Play effect so their uniqueness comes from their other effect. In Frieza’s case, a sac to tap something down. It’s okay, the epitome of nothing special. Against matchups that are also utilizing Blockers he’ll help clear the way but that’s about it.

Cooler, Ghost Warrior

The next Ghost Warrior and one a bit better than Frieza. His sac effect involves him doing a -10K at Battle Speed which is nice. Great for defensive play especially if you have a couple of these on board ready to go before hand. Will really make opponent’s wary of their precious swings. Should be a key component.

Lord Slug, Ghost Warrior

It arguably keeps getting better for the Ghost Warriors with Lord Slug. He’s essentially Father-Son Kamehameha on a free stick which is very nice indeed. It’s very rare for there to be a matchup where he isn’t live so make the most of him when needed.

Turles, Ghost Warrior

Now what I believe to be the best Ghost Warrior, at least in this current format. Shenron Ramp rules the land and World Peace is the force in which it runs. One of the biggest reasons its dominant is because it’s very hard to actually interact with. Until now, Turles is a big boon to help shut down Battle Cards you don’t want to see played. On top of the Leader slowing everything down this will make life very tough for Shenron players (assuming World Peace isn’t just hit before this set comes out anyway). Now outside of that it’s a good tech choice but nothing more.

Ghost Warriors

Despite the name and archetype, this is just another in the Untap Hate Cycle, just for Black this time. Use it where needed though ironically this deck might want it the least due to its cost.

Defender Godgardon

Skip!

Defender Kawazu

Now this card really shows more of what the archetype really wants. A 1 Drop in archetype that also meets the archetype desire of being a 3-7 Drop. Helps mill a bit as well. The downside is that you also have to give him up to get the draw which kind of bites, you’d like to have him for the combo power first but it’s a small price to pay and I guess nice if you really need to load up the Drop before a swing. All in all good card for the deck.

Destron Gas

Uh…yeah…yeah we take those. A Special Attack that takes out all of your opponent’s 1 Drops with ease? Plenty of matchups where this is very, VERY relevant. Literally the only downside is being an Extra Card but the power makes up for it here. Will see play in here.

The Dark Planet

Well this may be an Extra Card, but this is an immediate, no questions asked, 4-of in the deck. Searches for half your deck and also gives you mill at the end of each turn. Both are incredibly important. Chances are games will be decided on how early you see this.

Ultimate Blow

Despite having da Hatch in the art, this is really a generic card through and through. The most obvious comparison is being a new King Vegeta’s Surprise Attack after they butchered the original with the new ruling. It is kind of like that but really, 99% of the time you’ll never actually get the Revenge off. This card is meant as a deterrent compared to KVSA being outright removal. You play this and the opponent just simply won’t swing if the target is still upright (well except with Leader Cards obviously). I would equate it most to a “fog” effect where it fades a turn of damage in most cases. Can easily see this getting played but in very specific decks who just need extra turns.

Super Kamehameha

The last card for this preview and is again part of the new Counter Spell cycle. I think it’s probably one of the better ones in it but again I’m still not particularly sold on the cycle itself. By the time this gets online chances are you won’t get much use out of this card which really hurts. It would have to be a very specific matchup like say Pan to stop Fearless Pan from hitting board but that’s still a relatively niche scenario to play this card in.

Final Thoughts:

I think da Hatch has a ton of potential and provides a new angle to play the game in. A very slow, methodical one which I greatly enjoy. Should be tricky to build as well but a lot of fun is to be had I imagine.