Starstrike Blast is only weeks away from player's hands, with the sneak peak happening the first week of November and the actual release on November 16th.
While the entire contents of the TCG set have yet to be revealed, today I'd like to take a look at a few confirmed cards in the set and analyze their effect on the current meta-game, as well as the impact they may have on things later on down the road. This is by no means a definitive analysis, it's more of a game of predictions. I think it will be fun to see both how accurate and wildly off I was!
Anyone who knows anything at all about the current state of the North American meta-game would probably agree with the assertion that Quickdraw and Debris-Plants are two of the top decks in the game right now, as they have clearly proven with top place finishes at the first 3 YCS tournaments of the current dueling season. The two decks, while incredibly similar overall, vary in subtle differences and play somewhat differently. Where Quickdraw decks focus on the Synchro Summoning of Drill Warrior and other Synchron-specific Synchros in order to get their infinite Dandylion loops going, Debris-Plants focus more on filling up the graveyard with Debris Dragon targets in order to flood the field with powerful Synchro monsters and to wipe the opponent's field and resources with multiple Black Rose Dragon nukes.
Both decks are set to benefit the most from Starstrike Blast, but I think Quickdraw is going to explode via two new cards: Tuning and Glow-Up Bulb, which are going to serve as the centerpieces of this article.
First off, let's take a look at what they do:
"Add 1 "Synchron" Tuner monster from your Deck to your hand. Then, send the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard."
"You can send the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard and Special Summon this card from the Graveyard. You can only use this effect once per Duel."
Quickdraw decks work almost entirely via reverse-toolboxing from the graveyard, and a vast majority of them tech in Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter and Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress, so it's easy to see why these two cards would be greatly beneficial to the deck. While Quickdraw Synchron itself adds a powerful loop to the deck, it's always proven to be somewhat inconsistent because it requires having both Quickdraw and a Dandylion in hand. With the release of Tuning, this makes that game-breaking combo all the more threatening. With three copies of Tuning and two to three copies of Quickdraw Synchron the deck is poised to open up with Drill Warrior turn one much more consistently, which in turn sets up the deck for the rest of the game. The effect of Tuning that also sends the top card of your deck to the graveyard may seem like a major drawback, but as the deck benefits greatly from having cards in the graveyard, this is actually a huge plus, particularly if you mill a Dandylion, or even better yet, if you mill Glow-Up Bulb!
Glow-Up Bulb is a one star plant tuner -- that alone should perk a lot of interest in it, but being able to special summon itself and also mill a card is huge. The benefits to Quickdraw players are immediately evident, and despite the fact that its effect can only be used once per duel no matter how many copies one runs, it can still get a player out of some tough situations.
The one-two combo of Tuning and Glow-Up Bulb is without a doubt going to break Quickdraw as a deck. I don't think it will become a tier 0 deck ala Tele-DAD or anything like that, but I think it's certainly going to be a staple deck for the rest of the format. X-Sabers have had their time at the top, and it seems that Quickdraw and Debris-Plants were already on the rise, but I think with the release of Starstrike Blast X-Sabers are going to have a very hard time keeping up with the explosiveness of the deck. It goes without saying then that I think most of the other tier decks, such as Gladiator Beasts, Blackwings, etc. are also in for some trouble.
The usefulness of Glow-Up Bulb doesn't just stop at Quickdraw, however. Lightsworn players like myself can also (very obviously) benefit greatly from playing the card, as it's likely to end up in the graveyard and Lightsworn doesn't have its own theme-specific tuner monster.
Glow-Up Bulb can also be used as a lynchpin in the Synchro Summoning of another new card from Starstrike Blast, Formula Synchron. Formula Synchron is a 2 star Synchro monster that allows the player to draw a card when it is Synchro Summoned, but the fun doesn't stop there -- it can also be used as a synchro material monster for a Synchro Summon on your opponent's turn! This card is singlehandedly responsible for making Frogs a tier 0 deck in Japan. Using Treeborn Frog and Fishborg Blaster the deck had a nearly unstoppable and completely broken loop, which eventually led to the banning of Substitoad.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), we as TCG players won't have access to Substitoad upon the release of Starstrike Blast and Formula Synchron, but that isn't to say the card won't be abused to great effect. There are so many possibilities. I think this card could easily make Frog Monarchs competitive again, as it allows them to maintain hand advantage as well as Synchro Summon with dead Monarchs, which are all level 6! Monarchs are also getting an addition to their own roster in the form of Delg the Dark Monarch! I fully expect Frog Monarchs to make a huge comeback after the release of Starstrike Blast. Losing Substitoad crippled the deck's speed, but it's still as dangerous as ever, and with the added Synchro and Tribute support of Formula Synchron and Delg, I think it may have a shot at being top tier again.
Formula Synchron can also be used to Accel Synchro Summon Shooting Star Dragon. It's also searchable via the effect of Synchron Explorer, which may negate its effect, but even so, it can assist players in the summoning of Shooting Star Dragon or even other high level Synchro monsters like Red Nova Dragon.
The fact that the card is being printed in the TCG as a rare is really just opening the flood gates. I can't wait to see what crazy decks and combos players come up with. Who knows if Formula Synchron will have a lasting impact on the meta-game, but I think upon its release it's going to make a huge splash.
Upon first glance it's easy to dismiss Starstrike Blast as a subpar expansion as there are only a handful of cards that are truly worth playing, and certainly in the shadow of Duelist Revolution anything would pale in comparison, but if you take a deeper look at the few cards I've mentioned here you'll see that this pack is going to be just as game changing as Duelist Revolution.
What do you think of Starstrike Blast and the cards within? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments!
The problem I find with Tuning is that Quickdraw decks only run three targets, sometimes even two. Mid to late game the card will be dead, especially if there's no way to get Drill Warrior out safely.
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