A classic casual favorite from the 5D’s Era was the concept of Plants centered around Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, a larger than life plant that would bring itself back every turn, enabling a slow burn strategy! Well, with the introduction of Malina, Princess of Sunflowers, Amaryllis gets a new lease on life, backed with some new tricks involving FIRE and Plant-Type Monsters!
The New Princess of Flowers:
Malina, Princess of Sunflowers
(Level 8 2800 ATK 1600 DEF)
If exactly 1 other Plant-Type monster you control is destroyed by battle or by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy that target. This card must be face-up on the field to activate and to resolve this effect.
A big bruising plant with 2800 ATK (a hard number for many monsters to swing over), and a useful destruction effect! Now to use her effect, Plant-Type monsters need to be destroyed. Of course you could wait on your opponent, but why not bring the game to ’em yourself?
There’s three cards she can immediately work with, with regards to card effects:
● Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis
● Circle of the Fire Kings
● Fragerance Storm
And some top choices for battle destruction:
● Lord Poison
● Mystic Tomato
● Cherry Inmato
With Amaryllis, you can attack with it, and after it does, it’ll destroy itself and inflict 800 damage. And then Malina can follow up with destroying a card your opponent controls. But as you steadily peck away at the opponent’s Life Points, Malina allows you to secure that advantage by also taking out their best cards, leaving you with the advantage.
Eternal Reincarnation:
Circle of the Fire Kings
(Quick-Play Spell Card)
Target 1 FIRE monster you control and 1 FIRE monster in your Graveyard; destroy that monster you control, and if you do, Special Summon that other monster from your Graveyard. You can only activate 1 “Circle of the Fire Kings” per turn.
Usually not seen in Plants, this card has some opportunities with this new strategy of FIRE Plant-Type monsters. How? Well, there’s its obvious uses with Malina, but it doesn’t stop with just swapping monsters; no, we can get pretty mean with this card. Consider some of the following combos:
● Fire King Kirin
By destroying Kirin, you can also send a FIRE monster from the Deck to the Graveyard. This allows you to quickly send Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis to the Graveyard, allowing you to employ your strategy of repeatedly reviving Amaryllis and inflicting burn damage to the opponent.
● Seed of Flame
This old guy. No one could ever find a use. Well, let’s let you into a little secret: Using Circle of the Fire Kings on Seed of Flame works. You’ll get back not only your FIRE monster, but another Plant-Type monster, and a Seed Token. It might not let you entirely dominate since your opponent gets a free guard, but you get a whole lot more than you put in.
The Bird on the Wire:
Crane Crane
(Level 3 300 ATK 900 DEF)
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 Level 3 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target. Its effects are negated. You can only use the effect of “Crane Crane” once per turn.
Why this guy? Well, Lonefire Blosson, Fire King Kirin and Seed of Flame are all Level 3s. And you’re asking me: “So?” Well, they can easily be used with this card to make a Rank 3 Xyz Monster. Outside of the normal Acid Golem and Leviair Dragon choices, we have some other cards that you might find useful:
These three are perfect walls to maintain your field, shrugging off opponent effects in various ways. Zenmaines offers destruction reprisal, but only if you can ensure it will live through 3 attacks or damage. Fortune Tune allows you to recycle itself and the monsters that made it back into the Deck, and can’t be targeted by card effects. Finally, Angineer gives you two free turns of guaranteed protection from destruction by cards or battle.
(Fortune Tune and Angineer, presently legal in the TCG, come to the OCG via Collector’s Pack: Zexal in two weeks. Malina, presently legal in the OCG, comes to the TCG via Shadow Specters, in some months.)
Do you feel interested in making a new age Amaryllis Deck? Maybe these three cards will get you interested!
