Now, the subject matter of this review are our first revealed cards of Set 9: Clash of the Knights and Dragons, the Crimson series of Angel Feather Units. Bringing to the table two extremely nice utility Units, as well as a new starter and Limit Break boss, these Units present as a set a potent new decktype for Angel Feather, one more viciously offensive than the famed Shamsiel build but sacrificing that deck's defensive advantage. Demonstrated pretty much out of nowhere by Rekka in the latest episode, these four Units offer Angel Feather several new options.
So without further ado, let's get to it:
Crimson Heart, Nahas
Grade 0/Boost
United Sanctuary/Angel/Angel Feather
5000 Power/10000 Shield/Critical 1
Auto: Pioneer (When a Unit of the same Clan Rides this Unit, call this Unit to a Rearguard Circle.)
Activate [R]: [Move this Unit and a Unit named 'Crimson Mind, Baruch' from your Rearguard Circles to your Soul] If you have a Unit named 'Crimson Drive, Aphrodite' on your Vanguard Circle, search your deck for up to 1 Unit named 'Crimson Impact, Metatron', Ride it and shuffle your deck.
Nahas is effectively a Kyrph clone, with the exact same general function. As is usual in this generation, it is a moving starter (though it is the first Unit to apply a keyword to it, incidentally translation of said keyword varies), and its other skill allows you to move it and a specific Grade 1 to Soul, then if you have a specific Grade 2 Vanguard, Superior Ride a specific Grade 3. This Superior Ride is helped by the fact that should you Damage Check Baruch, you can use a Nociel to retrieve it from your Damage Zone for the Superior Ride. On a technical note in terms of advantage, the Metatron Superior is essentially a +1 to your hand because although you're losing two Units, one of those (Nahas) was gained at no cost to the hand, and you then receive both a Grade 3 at no cost to hand, and an additional Drive Check, a +2, which is then reduced to a +1 by the loss of Baruch.
Crimson Mind, Baruch
Grade 1/Boost
United Sanctuary/Angel/Angel Feather
7000 Power/5000 Shield/Critical 1
Activate [Damage Zone]: [Counterblast this card] Select 1 of your <Angel Feather> Vanguards, it gains 3000 Power until end of turn.
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Crimson Drive, Aphrodite
Grade 2/Intercept
United Sanctuary/Angel/Angel Feather
United Sanctuary/Angel/Angel Feather
9000 Power/5000 Shield/Critical 1
Activate [Damage Zone]: [Counterblast this card] Select 1 of your
<Angel Feather> Vanguards, it gains 3000 Power until end of turn.
I'm lumping these two together because they have the same utility and purpose. Technically you can tech Aphrodite and Baruch into any Angel Feather build even without Nahas and Metatron, because their skills work just so long as your Vanguard is an Angel Feather. In general terms the purpose of Aphrodite and Baruch is the same as Daimariner and Daibattles in a Dimension Police deck, with an added advantage - Aphrodite and Baruch are reusable because of our good friends, the Nociels and Shamsiel. +3k to the Vanguard is pretty useful, especially against Crossrides, and stackable 3ks is even more so. So yeah. Overall, these two are pretty fun techs into any AF deck if you can find the space and think they'd be useful, and they're more-or-less essential to a pure Metatron deck due to the utility of Nahas' Superior Ride.
And finally, the boss herself:
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Crimson Impact, Metatron
Grade 3/Twin Drive!
United Sanctuary/Angel/Angel Feather
10000 Power/No Shield/Critical 1
Activate [V]: [Limit Break 4, Counterblast 1, put 2 of your <Angel Feather> Rearguards into your Damage Zone] Choose up to 2 face-up <Angel Feather> from your Damage Zone and call them to separate Rearguard Circles. This ability can only be activated once per turn.
Auto [V]: When this Unit attacks a Vanguard, this Unit gains 3000 Power until end of that battle.
Auto [V]: When this Unit attacks a Vanguard, this Unit gains 3000 Power until end of that battle.
Here she is, Metatron herself. First of all, Metatron can gain 3000 Power for attacking a Vanguard, allowing her to hit over even a Crossride with just Nahas' boost, and with Bethnael or an empowered Thousand Ray Pegasus, she's hitting for 15k guard minimum over anything not a Crossride or Majesty, with Thousand Ray she's even forcing 15k from Majesty. However, that's not what you're here for, right? :P
Metatron's Limit Break allows you to trade two Units from your field with two from your Damage Zone, allowing you to set up more optimal columns, switch out worthless Units in your hand for more useful ones, and even get extra Shield by switching Grade 3s for Interceptors. So she's pretty nice for that reason alone.
And then you put these in your deck:
Yes, these three. +2000 Power whenever a card is placed in your Damage Zone. That's +4000 Power from using Metatron's Limit Break (though note Units called by the Limit Break won't get this bonus because the cards went to the Damage Zone before they were on the field). See the picture here? Metatron with the Pegasi and Calamity Flame is a beatdown engine. Thousand Ray becomes 11k, Million Ray becomes 13k and Calamity Flame becomes 14k. With that, Thousand Ray can boost anything 10k or more to 21k, Million Ray + Bethnael is 21k, and Calamity Flame + any 7k or higher booster is 21k. It's awesome beatdown as a deck. Furthermore, at this point you'll be going, 'but Duke, eventually you'll run out of Counterblasts and you won't be able to call new Units!'
I'd like to introduce you to another lovely lady:
Ah, Nociel, my lovely lady :D. Basically the trick here is that you can use Nociel to unflip Damage and in addition, every time you use her, your Pegasi and Calamity Flames are getting even stronger. And the really fun part?
1) Call Nociel
2) Swap a Damage with her skill
3) Use Metatron's Limit Break
4) Call Nociel again with the Limit Break
5) Use Nociel's skill again
You're buffing your Pegasi/Calamity Flames by 8k with this move, and also potentially swapping two cards in your hands for ones which are more useful while in essence unflipping one Damage. Plus, you remember that lovely loli swordsangel back at the very start, Nahas?
1) Move Nahas to Damage with Metatron's LB
2) Call Nociel with Metatron's LB
3) Swap a card from your hand with Nahas
Swapped a Grade 3? Congratulations, not only did you bring a more useful Unit to the field, but you got +10k Shield to your hand, while buffing your Pegasi/Calamity Flames by 6k. This is just the tip of the iceberg that is this deck's true awesome. The combos Metatron opens up for Angel Feather are simply put incredible. Shamsiel may have more viability due to her defensive potential, but the beatdown Metatron gives you is awesome, and Metatron also has pretty neat Damage switch potential due to effectively swapping two cards at once.
So, getting to the point, here is a sample decklist for a Metatron focused Beatdown AF deck.
Wings of Zealous Passion
Grade 0:
1x Crimson Heart, Nahas
4x Bouquet Toss Messenger
4x Critical Hit Angel
4x Rocket Dash Unicorn/Rampage Guard Angel (these two are functionally the same, being skilless Crits, it comes down to your preferred artwork basically)
4x Sunny Smile Angel
Grade 1:
4x Crimson Mind, Baruch
4x Thousand Ray Pegasus
3x Burst Shot, Bethnael
3x Pure Keeper, Requiel
Grade 2:
4x Crimson Drive, Aphrodite
4x Million Ray Pegasus
4x Love Machine Gun, Nociel
Grade 3:
4x Crimson Impact, Metatron
3x The Phoenix, Calamity Flame
The point of this deck is get massive columns and beat things to pulp. The Pegasi and Calamity Flame go massive for beatdown, while Nociel helps them get even more massive while unflipping for Metatron and adding more consistency by switching out useless cards for useful ones. Overall the deck's aim is simple, beating things into paste with monstrous columns and using Metatron in tandem with Nociel to switch out useless cards in the hand for useful ones.
That however isn't the only potential build for Metatron. There is another one I thought up, using this gal:
Medical Gunner, Hermieres
Grade 3/Twin Drive!
United Sanctuary/Angel/Angel Feather
10000 Power/No Shield/Critical 1
Auto [R]: [Counterblast 1, put this Unit into your Damage Zone] When this Unit's attack hits a Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If paid, choose 1 face-up <Angel Feather> in your Damage Zone other than a Unit named 'Medical Gunner, Hermieres' and call it to a Rearguard Circle.
Hermieres is basically an Angel Feather equivalent to Death Seeker, Thanatos. However, an advantage she has over Thanatos and Nightmare Doll, Alice is the aforementioned three Units which +2k every time a card goes to your Damage. They activate when Hermieres uses her skill, making things even more painful for your opponent in tandem with the +4k off of Metatron's Limit Break.
So without further ado, that second deck:
Wings of Radiant Love
Grade 0:
1x Crimson Heart, Nahas
4x Aurora Ribbon Pigeon
4x Happy Bell, Nociel
4x Bouquet Toss Messenger
4x Sunny Smile Angel
Grade 1:
4x Crimson Mind, Baruch
4x Thousand Ray Pegasus
3x Battle Cupid, Nociel
3x Pure Keeper, Requiel
Grade 2:
4x Crimson Drive, Aphrodite
4x Million Ray Pegasus
3x Love Machine Gun, Nociel
Grade 3:
4x Crimson Impact, Metatron
4x Medical Gunner, Hermieres
The point of this deck is POWER combined with Stands and Hermieres for more attacks. Metatron's Limit Break can recover Hermieres from the Damage Zone after she's used her skill or if she's Damage Checked, and the Stands allow you to attack once more with Hermieres for a second chance to get her skill. The key trick is getting Thousand Ray to 11k via Metatron and then boost Hermieres with it to force 15k at least to stop her unless she's attacking a Crossride or Majesty. Nociel again serves the purpose of unflipping Damage, which is useful even more so in this deck due to Hermieres' Counterblast.
Anyway, that's my thoughts on Metatron and her squad done. I hope this article helps to detail at least some of the neat combos Metatron and co enable, and I look forward to seeing many fun decks using her in future. So, my next article will be my UK Qualifier tournament report. Until then, good luck to everyone, and I hope you found this article useful.
Have you tested it yet?
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