Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X “Bureido” is an all new Level 8 Synchro Monster with 2800 ATK, enough to take down several widely-played cards in opposing Decks. When it’s Synchro Summoned, you get to Special Summon any Karakuri monster from your Deck, which will help out greatly when setting up attacks, cards like Karakuri Klock, or more Synchro Summons. For example, when you Summon Bureido you can use its effect to Special Summon Karakuri Strategist mdl 248 “Nishipachi”, and then use Nishipachi’s effect to turn one of your opponent’s monsters to Defense Position, making it easier to destroy. If your opponent controls a low ATK monster in Defense Position like a Fluff Token, you can change its position and hit your opponent for a huge amount of damage!

If you use your Special Summoned Nishipachi’s effect to change the position of a Karakuri monster though, you’ll be able to use Bureido’s second effect. Once per turn, whenever a face-up Karakuri monster changes its battle position you get to draw a card, and since most Karakuri monsters have some way of switching their battle positions you should be able to keep drawing cards while Bureido’s on the field. One quick combo involving Bureido and Nishipachi for example will let you draw a card right away! First off you Synchro SummonKarakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X “Bureido” and use its effect to Summon Karakuri Strategist mdl 248 “Nishipachi” from your Deck. Next, you use Nishipachi’s effect to change its own battle position (or that of Bureido) and draw a card for Bureido’s effect.

The other card we’re going to look at today is Karakuri Muso mdl 818 “Haipa”, a World Premiere card making its debut in Storm of Ragnarok! The first thing you’ll notice when you see this card is that it’s got 2100 ATK, which is incredibly high for a Level 4 monster and makes it one of the strongest Karakuri monsters in your Deck. Haipa must attack your opponent when it’s in Attack Position, and once the Battle Phase is over it switches itself to Defense Position. That makes it another handy monster to Summon with Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X “Bureido” since you can Summon it, destroy one of your opponent’s monsters in battle, and then draw a card when Haipa switches to Defense Position.

Karakuri Muso mdl 818 “Haipa” also helps you to set yourself up for another of the Deck’s top cards, Karakuri Klock. You can only activate Karakuri Klock when your opponent declares an attack on a Karakuri monster that’s already in Defense Position, and not one that switches to Defense Position when your opponent declares an attack. Since Haipa’s already in Defense Position after you attacked with it the previous turn however, you’re all set up to destroy your opponent’s monsters with Karakuri Klock! You can also combine Haipa’s effect with Karakuri Trick House to destroy another one of their cards after you take one down in battle, or add counters Karakuri Anatomy to draw more cards.

Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X “Bureido” and Karakuri Muso mdl 818 “Haipa” are two cards that no Karakuri Deck can do without; they work fantastically well with your existing Karakuri cards and also open up several new combos and possibilities. If you’re looking to make your Karakuri Deck even stronger or are ready to start building one from scratch be sure to attend your local Storm of Ragnarok Sneak Peek on February 5^th and 6^th!