MW: The Age Of Machines Returns, Old Tech Rises, and Side Decks Adapt Once Again

Rise up with the age of machines and techs.

Starting off, let’s talk about a card I’ve been waiting for since it was revealed in the OCG months ago, that card being the new Orcust Link-1, Galatea-i, the Orcust Automaton. This has to be, hands down, one of the best Link-1s that has ever been printed in the past 8 years since the introduction of Link Monsters. By sending 1 card from your hand to the GY, you can either add an Orcustrated Babel or a World Legacy monster from your Deck or GY. This single effect alone is great, as it gets to Orcustrated Babel, which makes all of your Orcust monsters’ activated effects a Quick Effect while on the field or in the GY, or you can search for World Legacy – “World Crown”, a monster that can Special Summon itself in Defense Position to your zone a Link Monster points to. This can either be a free Link Material for Galatea, the Orcust Automaton, or be a negator when a monster on the field that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck activates its effect. The other best aspect of Galatea-i, the Orcust Automaton, is that you can Special Summon it from your GY by banishing 1 other Orcust card from your GY, which makes for another extender for your main Orcust Combo.

With it only having a printing in Battles of Legend: Monster Mayhem thus far, the new Orcust support has made a huge splash into the engine, cementing itself as a great option going into the Duelist’s Advance format.

With the wave of Machines returning, System Down has once again spiked in price. By paying 1000 LP, you banish all Machine monsters from your opponent’s field and GY. This is great against Orcust, as all of their cards are Machine. This card also has seen play over the past 20 years for going up against decks like Kozmo in 2016, Orcust and Sky Striker in 2019, and even if a new Machine deck props up in the future. This card will have plenty of uses going into the future, but will it be a staple in the Side Deck? Only time will tell on this answer.

Even with multiple printings over the past 20 years, the last one being in 2016, this card has been rising up in price because of the rise of modern-day Orcust post Battles of Legend: Monster Mayhem. Only time will tell if this card will receive a reprint again.

With the advent of K9 releasing in one month’s time, players are picking up Ghost Ship as a form of extension in the Pure Version, as you can banish 1 LIGHT monster from your GY to Special Summon Ghost Ship from your hand. The most notable LIGHT monsters that you can banish from your GY are Nibiru, the Primal Being, and Effect Veiler. The additional bonus of this card is that it is a LIGHT Fiend monster that can give you an advantage since you can use it to Link Summon Fiendsmith’s Requiem to bridge multiple engines in a deck. Even though this seems like a niche tech, there are many Decks that can utilize this monster to its fullest potential.

Currently with only 1 printing from Generation Force, this card has been rising in price along with listings dwindling fast.

Number 82: Heartlandraco has been seeing some recent sales as a useful Rank 4 for some Ryzeal Decks. Even though it doesn’t have any lists topping with the card, it can be extremely useful nearing the time of the round. While you control a face-up Spell, this card cannot be targeted for attacks, which is a great additional bonus as it forces your opponent to either remove the Ryzeal Cross or attack other monsters you control. Now, the main reason why Number 82 was brought up is that you can detach 1 material from it to allow it to attack directly, but other monsters cannot attack. This card is useful when time is close to being called, as you can deal 2000 damage to your opponent if you need to squeak through a little extra damage to get ahead in LP. Even though this monster does more damage than Gagaga Cowboy, it can be used if you happen to be going 2nd or run past turn 3 while the game is really close.

With only 2 printings of this card from its original Premium Gold print and the Yu-Gi-Oh! Advent Calendar, this card’s quantity on the market has been getting lower day by day.

The Black Goat Laughs has been seeing an uptick of play in the side decks of players, along with it being a card to set with Triple Tactics Thrust. By activating this Set card, you can declare 1 Monster Card name. It stops both players from Special Summoning monsters with the same name as the declared monster, except from the GY, which can halt certain combos from your opponent. Also, by banishing The Black Goat Laughs from the GY and declaring 1 Monster Card name afterwards, neither player can activate the effects of monsters on the field with that original name, which can get around certain monsters on the field.

With only 1 print still from Phantom Nightmare, it is impressive, but hopefully soon, this card receives a reprint in the 2025 Mega Tins, but only time will tell.

Deck Devastation Virus, like The Black Goat Laughs, is another card that certain decks are currently using with Triple Tactics Thrust as another card to Set off of it. By Tributing a DARK monster with 2000 or more ATK, you check all cards in your opponent’s hand, all monsters they control, and all cards they draw until the end of their 3rd turn, and you destroy all monsters with 1500 ATK or less from among all those cards. This single card can blow out multiple decks, from Maliss to even Mermail Atlantean and White Forest. It even hits almost every Hand Trap that is currently used in the modern format. This card has seen time on the banlist before, so it isn’t a stranger to being the center of attention for being used against multiple decks, like its sister Virus cards, Eradicator Epidemic Virus and the now errata’d Crush Card Virus.

With multiple printings, this card is easier to obtain, while the higher-end versions from Flaming Eternity and Quarter Century Bonanza have been going up and making a strong stance in the current metagame.

The H.A.T. format is on the table for the North American World Championship Qualifiers, and Mavelus has gotten hit up to extreme prices because of it. This 1 print Instant Fusion/Ready Fusion target from Astral Pack 4 has seen better days with its price, as it was bought out sometime over the past week, and it shows how much demand these old Fusion Monsters have, especially from a nostalgia standpoint too. Being a Level 4 Fusion is nothing special, but being a WIND Winged Beast can matter in some decks like Harpie Lady, where it can be used to Xyz Summon Harpie’s Pet Phantasmal Dragon or Lightning Chidori and can be a monster you can banish in order to Special Summon Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms, from your hand or GY. We can pinpoint the times it was used from around this time to even in 2020 with Adamancipator as a WIND monster to allow you to utilize Adamancipator Risen – Raptite’s banishing effect.

Even with this card’s single printing, hopefully we see a reprint for Mavelus like the other non-Effect Fusion Monsters, and let’s hope it is soon.

Finally, we will be looking at a very useful tech card going into this Nationals season, and that card is D.D. Crow. By discarding this card from your hand, you can target 1 card in your opponent’s GY and banish it. This can be devastating, as some decks rely on using certain cards from their GY. If you’re going against a deck running the Mitsurugi engine, you can target and banish the opponent’s Mitsurugi Ritual so they lose out on a massive swing in terms of their advantage. Banishing cards like Galatea-I, the Orcust Automaton, or even one of the cards targeted by the effect of Eclipse Twins can hurt them too.

With many prints over the years, this card is easier to pick up copies of, but for the higher-end versions from the Strike of Neos Ultimate Rare and the 25th Anniversary Rarity Collection 2 Quarter Century Secret Rare, they have been selling quickly over the past weeks. Maybe this is a tech many pro players have been secretly testing for the upcoming national events.

Next week, we will be looking at more cards that need reprints, like last week, as there were many more to look at than what was talked about prior. For the players heading to the Costa Rica WCQ, we wish you all the best of luck and hope you have a great time dueling!

Edited and co-written by Angryjon