[MW] Fiendish Techs Rise From The Depths

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How do Fiendsmith cards keep dodging reprints?

So much has happened this week, from all of the OCG formats receiving Forbidden & Limited lists, to Rarity Collection V being opened by sponsored creators and plenty of reveals to fill the voids of the offseason before we see the rest of Chaos Origins this month. Let’s dive into this Market Watch and see what is going on. And even though today is April Fools, there won’t be any tricks in this article.

Worthwhile Cards To Keep An Eye On

Sky Striker is rising again, and this has caused the new Legendary Modern Decks 2026 Common print for Sky Striker Ace = Zero to rise up in price. This powerful Link-2 monster requires 2 Sky Striker Ace monsters for its Link Summon, or you can just Special Summon it by the effect of Sky Striker Ace – Raye or Sky Striker Mobilize – Linkage! If this card is Special Summoned, you can add any Sky Striker Spell from your Deck or GY to your hand, which is amazing for grabbing a copy of Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor, Mobilize – Engage!, Mobilize – Linkage! or Sky Striker Special Maneuver – Lemnisgate! You can also, Quick Effect, Tribute this card to Special Summon both a copy of Sky Striker Ace – Raye and Sky Striker Ace – Roze from your Deck and/or GY, and then you destroy 1 card on the field, which is a great type of interruption during the opponent’s turn and can let you use Raye’s effect to Special Summon Kaina for an additional type of interruption. Even though this card cannot be used as Link Material, you can still send it to the GY with Sky Striker Mobilize – Linkage! to Special Summon another Sky Striker Link Monster, which can let you OTK your opponent swiftly with multiple copies of Linkage!

With the recent OCG Forbidden & Limited list, some players went to the market to pick up copies of Zoodiac Ratpier, even though there are plenty left on the market. Zoodiacs were once the most dominant Deck and engine in their own format, but after nearly 9 years of being released, they aren’t as good as they once were due to power creep and multiple cards doing what their core function did, but better. On Normal Summon, Ratpier can send any Zoodiac card from your Deck to the GY. This card also allowed you to let your Beast-Warrior Xyz Monsters gain an additional effect, one that allowed them to detach 1 Xyz Material from themselves to Special Summon a copy of Zoodiac Ratpier from your hand or Deck, which is amazing for additional Xyz or Link Materials. Within this year, we could see both TCG and OCG finally release this card off the Forbidden & Limited List, and maybe we also could see a new wave of support for Zoodiac in the future to revitalize the Deck in the newer era of the game.

With Chaos Origins having the brand-new Ritual of Light and Darkness (YGOrganization Translation) theme, players have turned to Chaos Scepter Blast as a tech you could run for the Deck. If you control a Level 8 or higher Spellcaster monster, it allows you to banish 1 card on the field face down, and if this card in its owner’s Spell/Trap Zone is destroyed by an opponent’s card effect, you can Special Summon 1 Magician of Black Chaos or Dark Magician of Chaos from your Deck, ignoring the summoning conditions. Even though the 2nd effect won’t come up as often, it is a useful piece of removal for any Spellcaster theme at the end of the day, and the downside is that the last time this card saw a print was in Duelist Saga back in 2017, so it has time to catch up with a new reprint. The upside is that this card is a Quick-Play Spell, so you can pair it with Radiant Typhoon Vision to help out with Vision’s draw effect to gather more resources during your turn. 

Even though these are cards to watch out for, there are way too many to count for a single article, from ones that haven’t seen a reprint in a while to even seeing cards pick up traction due to new trends and players picking up a new Deck.

Cards That Dodge The Rarity Collection Again

It’s no Market Watch article without a mention of Fiendsmith, but all three, Fiendsmith’s Requiem, Fiendsmith’s Tract, and Lacrima the Crimson Tears, didn’t see a reprint in the new Rarity Collection V, once again missing out on a Rarity Collection. It’s strange that Fiendsmith’s Lacrima, Fiendsmith Engraver, and Fiendsmith’s Desirae all saw reprints in the Rarity Collection sets over the past 3 years, but yet these specific 3 have not seen a Rarity Collection print and have high demand from the players who want the engine to be accessible to play. One of the most important pieces, Requiem, is luckily cheaper than the others but still demands nearly $10 a copy, which isn’t as shocking since many Decks are starting to re-add the Fiendsmith engine to combat the meta. Taking just 1 LIGHT Fiend monster for its Link Summon, this card can, as a Quick Effect, Tribute itself to Special Summon 1 Fiendsmith monster from your hand or Deck, which is great for bringing out cards like Fiendsmith Engraver and Lacrima the Crimson Tears, which treats itself as a Fiendsmith card. You can target 1 LIGHT non-Link Fiend monster you control and equip Requiem to it as an Equip Spell that gives 600 ATK, which is great for attacking over higher ATK monsters with Engraver or Desirae.

With Fiendsmith’s Tract, it’s a staple for the Fiendsmith engine but also in Decks like Magical Musket and Fabled, as it can add any LIGHT Fiend monster from your Deck to your hand, and then you discard 1 card. Adding a copy of Fabled Lurrie just to discard it always feels great because it would special summon itself since it was discarded by a card effect, and it sets up your plays with Fiendsmith’s Requiem for a full Fiendsmith combo. You can also banish Tract from your GY to Fusion Summon any Fiendsmith Fusion monster using monsters from your hand or field as material, which can help in a pinch to Fusion Summon Fiendsmith’s Lacrima or even Fiendsmith’s Rextremende to extend your starting combos more.

As the new Kewl Tune support from Blazing Dominion is nearing, players are prepping cards for the Deck and one tech that I’ve seen plenty of is Shooting Riser Dragon in a few lists. The last time we saw this card reprinted was back in 2019 with the Dark Neostorm Special Edition, and shockingly, it has never seen a reprint since. You can use Mulcharmy Fuwalos and Kewl Tune Cue, or Psy-Frame Driver and a copy of Kewl Tune Rotary (YGOrganization Translation) or Effect Veiler to Synchro Summon this card. You can send 1 monster from your Deck to the GY with a Level lower than this card, and if you do, reduce the Level of this monster by the sent monster’s Level, but you cannot activate the effects of that sent monster or cards with its same name for the rest of the turn. Even with the Tuner lock from Kewl Tune itself, there is no need to fear, as this card is a Tuner that can be treated as any Level between 1 and 7, depending on what you send. Then during your opponent’s Main Phase, you can, with a Quick Effect, Synchro Summon using this card you control for any Synchro Monsters in your Extra Deck, including specific Kewl Tune Synchros you need for the opponent’s turn while also depending on which Tuner you have in hand, or Zalen the Shackled Dragon for different types of interruption.

Finally, let’s look at Shared Ride, a card that hasn’t seen a reprint in years, as it was last seen in Gold Series: Maximum Gold back in 2020. This card has been seeing scattered play over the course of the format with how useful it is against Decks that add cards from the Deck to the hand or recur cards from the GY to the hand. Effectively a great card to play against Sky Striker, Vanquish Soul K9, Yummy Fiendsmith, and even Mitsurugi. They all add cards from their Deck or GY to the hand, except by drawing, and if they do, you get to draw 1 card to increase your hand advantage, causing them to play cautiously if they can OTK you that turn.

With no major YCS, National/World Championship Qualifier, or State Championship events this weekend, it’ll be interesting to watch the format evolve more with Sky Strikers starting to appear more and the Fiendsmith Engine starting to come out in masses again. If you have any suggestions for cards to cover in a future article, come join our Discord and comment in the thread, as we would love to hear what you have to say!

Edited and co-written by Angryjon