Introduction
With many cards from Extra Booster 3 (EB03) being revealed, the one that has received the most attention is Spectral Duke Dragon. With the card art and effect somewhat appearing Shadow Paladin-like, it seems that this card (and ride chain) will be what Ren will be using in the anime. Some debate has broken out however, about the usefulness and general competitiveness of the card itself, due to it's effect. I will analyse the card in order to give people a better understanding of what to expect from this card in the competitive scene.
Spectral Duke Dragon
I can't go on without introducing the card itself, so here it is:
At first glance, we can see that the effect has a steep price: counterblasting 2 cards and retiring three of our rearguards. And for what? Standing JUST itself with no Twin Drive. I can sort of see why some people may think this card is good, especially newer players; "It's similar to Dragonic Overlord the End, it must be good!". The usefulness of the card however, depends on the meta you are playing, either English or Japanese. For Japanese, the card in the highest tiers of play, ie. against Dragonic Overlord the End or Majesty Lord Blaster is subpar. The reason being is that even with the power of a trigger, a 12k Majesty Lord Blaster and 13k Dragonic Overlord the End can guard the attack for 5k for no triggers and 10k for sure as Spectral Duke Dragon can only get one trigger when it stands as it loses Twin Drive. The only time I would ever pay it's cost is if my opponent is at 5 damage, has no hand, has no interceptors, and/or Spectral Duke Dragon has the power of two triggers on it. For English on the other hand, the card is a little better due to the fact that all Vanguards in the English format are 10k/11k meaning Spectral Duke will force out at least a 10k guard from the other player. Once again, a little better but still a little situational.
The Ride Chain
However, what makes this card more viable is it's ride chain. Both the Grade 1 and Grade 2 units in the ride chain allow you to Retire one of your own rearguards in order to call onto the field the top two cards from your deck, netting you a +1 overall, but only if you ride them over their respective parts of the ride chain. Not only that, but when you ride the Grade 1, you can check the top seven cards of your deck for either the Grade 2 or Spectral Duke Dragon himself. In the end, before you ride Spectral Duke Dragon, you can plus up to three times, in some way balancing out the minus you will experience when you use Spectral Duke Dragon's effect. The 3 rearguards that you will sacrifice for it's effect will have been essentially "free" therefore will not cause you to lose hand advantage the turn after when you try to replenish your field. But is it still worth it? Standing Spectral Duke Dragon with the power of one trigger will force a 10k-15k guard from your opponent in the English meta, for reasons stated earlier. As so, the whole deck's central focus becomes simply forcing your opponent to drop 1-2 more cards once, and more rarely, twice per game, keeping in mind that the second time you do it, it will cost you cards from your hand as the ride chain simply sets you up to be able to use it once without costing you additional cards. There also exists the problem of missing a ride on one of the parts of the chain. If this were to happen, your whole set-up will be nullified making Spectral Duke Dragon's effect more costly to you. The way I see it, the deck commitment required along with consistency issues will give this deck a hard time to reach the highest tiers of play, especially with non-Spectral Duke Dragon Gold Paladin builds being more consistent and harder hitting.
The Ride Chain
However, what makes this card more viable is it's ride chain. Both the Grade 1 and Grade 2 units in the ride chain allow you to Retire one of your own rearguards in order to call onto the field the top two cards from your deck, netting you a +1 overall, but only if you ride them over their respective parts of the ride chain. Not only that, but when you ride the Grade 1, you can check the top seven cards of your deck for either the Grade 2 or Spectral Duke Dragon himself. In the end, before you ride Spectral Duke Dragon, you can plus up to three times, in some way balancing out the minus you will experience when you use Spectral Duke Dragon's effect. The 3 rearguards that you will sacrifice for it's effect will have been essentially "free" therefore will not cause you to lose hand advantage the turn after when you try to replenish your field. But is it still worth it? Standing Spectral Duke Dragon with the power of one trigger will force a 10k-15k guard from your opponent in the English meta, for reasons stated earlier. As so, the whole deck's central focus becomes simply forcing your opponent to drop 1-2 more cards once, and more rarely, twice per game, keeping in mind that the second time you do it, it will cost you cards from your hand as the ride chain simply sets you up to be able to use it once without costing you additional cards. There also exists the problem of missing a ride on one of the parts of the chain. If this were to happen, your whole set-up will be nullified making Spectral Duke Dragon's effect more costly to you. The way I see it, the deck commitment required along with consistency issues will give this deck a hard time to reach the highest tiers of play, especially with non-Spectral Duke Dragon Gold Paladin builds being more consistent and harder hitting.
Verdict
In my opinion, Spectral Duke Dragon, in the current state of Gold Paladin, will have a hard time seeing the light of high competitive play, but will remain a popular choice for Gold Paladin players due to it's art and ride chain. With a steep albeit supplied cost and an okay effect, some players will find it easier than others to justify the deck space required to run and to ignore the consistency issues. Once again, only time will tell if our assumptions in the card and ride chain are true.
-HerO
Don't forget to go to KS Games for all your Cardfight!! Vanguard needs!
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