The Frontier - Keep on Drillin'!

Ah, finally, the first article of my first series of articles - The Frontier. Before I get into the cards I'll be discussing int his article, I'm first going to tell you all what exactly this series is about. "The Frontier" is just that. In these articles I'll be discussing cards on the frontier of the North American TCG, that is, cards that are going to be releasing in the newest set. Hopefully you guys can find these articles useful in future, since they're intended to give you a heads-up about those unrated commons or holos you might look over when you  pull them at your local sneak peek event.

Two of the more unrated cards in the upcoming Absolute Powerforce set actually originates from a Yu-Gi-Oh fan in Japan. Any fans of the anime, such as myself, have likely already narrowed it down to a few cards. Well, as the name of this article implies, I'm talking about "Drill Warrior", and it's Tuner counterpart - "Drill Synchron".

Drill Warrior is a new Earth attribute, Warrior-type Synchro monster clocking in at Level 6 with stats of 2400/2000. His effect reads as follows:

"Drill Synchron" + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters. 

Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can halve the ATK of this card. If you do, then this card can attack your opponent directly during this turn. Also, once during your Main Phase, you can discard 1 card from your hand and remove this card from play. During your next Standby Phase after this card has been removed from play by its own effect, Special Summon this card to your side of the field, and then add 1 Monster Card from your Graveyard to your hand.

Just from reading it's effect, you can tell it's a card with potential. Not only can it swing behind enemy lines for 1200 damage a turn, but, after it attacks, you can discard a card to remove it from play until your next Standby Phase and add a Monster back to your hand once it returns. First, I'll get one thing out of the way - the ATK drop doesn't disappear at the end of the turn, which is a big disadvantage for any monster. However, thanks to the wonders of game mechanics, when Drill Warrior removes itself from play, it's stats are reset when it returns to the field, making him much easier to abuse, and much harder to kill.

Now while attacking directly is fine, it's never been something that solely made any card playable since the days of hiding under Gravity Bind and attacking directly with tiny monsters like "Magical Lamp" and "Jinzo #7". It's this cards second effect that makes it worth playing. By removing itself from play until your next turn, it can avoid destruction effects like "Smashing Ground", "Lightning Vortex" and even "Judgment Dragon". This allows you to maintain some field presence when your turn comes around again, making it easier to survive.

"But wait Dave, you need to discard to use it's effect! That's a minus one!"

Sure it is, but only for one turn. On your next turn, providing you discard a monster for it's cost, Drill Synchron let's you get that same card back in your Standby Phase, or, even better, let's you dump that "Plaguespreader Zombie", "Destiny Hero Malicious", or any other card that benefits from being in the Graveyard, in exchange for another live card.

Drill Warrior also has a lot of synergy just from his type, letting all generic Warrior-type support work for him. However, the best of it all, since requires the use of a "Synchron" tuner monster, "Quickdraw Synchron" works perfectly. Just tune it to a level one monster, and go to town.

Speaking of tuners, "Drill Synchron" is the intended tuner for "Drill Warrior", and is a good stand-alone monster and tuner in it's own right. It's a level three Earth Tuner monster, Machine-type, with stats of 800/300 and the following effect:


During battle between a Warrior-Type monster you control and a Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of that card, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent. Once per turn, when you inflict Battle Damage to your opponent using this effect, you can draw 1 card.

Drill Synchron screams potential. A built-in Pierce/Draw effect a la "Airknight Parshath" that can apply to every Warrior on the field is a definite good card. Being a Tuner just makes it all the more awesome. Thinking of what this card can accomplish in any deck that runs a decent amount of Warriors and can swarm easily gives me goosebumps. Decks like Six Samurai quickly come to mind. They lack a non-universal tuner monster (think "Plaguespreader Zombie" and "Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind") to use in their deck, but with Drill Synchron available, the deck suddenly has the ability for monsters like "Grandmaster of the Six Samurai" to inflict damage through the opponent's set "Sangan", and gain a quick plus one, followed by a Synchro Summon in the Main Phase 2. Since Samurai have so many ways to swarm, like "Backs to the Wall" and "Double Edged Sword Technique", Drill Synchron fits in nicely. Imagine summoning Drill Syncrhon and following up with a copy of Backs to the Wall. You now have four piercing monsters on the field and the chance to get a total of a plus five that turn (which is actually viable if the opponent is running something like "Scapegoat"), then tuning for a Synchro monster in your Main Phase 2. The only downside to this card is that the draw effect only works once per turn.

Drill Synchron itself is an awesome card with an awesome effect. However, it does have a downside. Defense position monsters are scarce in this format, and since this card's effect only kicks in when the Warrior monsters inflict piercing damage, you may not get the extra draws you want very often. But, fear not. A new format is just around the corner of Drill Syncrhon's release, so who knows what the future may hold for this card and it's Synchro counterpart.

Until then, keep an eye out for more "The Frontier" articles and remember, Keep on Drillin'! ;)

-Dave on the Rock