It’s been nearly half a month since my last article about the “Fabled” archetype, and scheduling has not exactly been the kindest thing to me – during my time away from the Forums, I’ve kept up with the recent news of card releases, especially the archetypes being released in [Extreme Force], the next booster set to be released in the TCG next year in February. For those unfamiliar with what we’re to be expecting in “Extreme Force,” Konami’s card development team is planning to release two brand new archetypes on top of supporting [Altergeist], [Artifact], and [World Legacy], to name a few. The first in the line-up are the anticipated [Jack Knight] Link archetype, boasting a play style revolving around card columns and control unlike the game’s ever seen In years, as well as showing off their new Link Monster capable of striking directly with a whopping 3000 attack point value! To follow are the Flip-based [Tindangle] monsters, a DARK Fiend-type Link deck whose popularity stems from the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime series, as it is the titular deck used by Akira Zaizen. In the current game state, flipping monsters for effects hasn’t exactly been received well, considering the game moves too quickly for Flip effects to be utilized to their fullest; in recent times, before the release of “Tindangles”, the only notable examples of Flip archetypes have been [Subterror] and [Shaddoll] decks, with the latter taken down a notch after their star card – [El Shaddoll Construct] – was knocked into the Forbidden list as of November 2015, with no clear sign of its return to the game any time soon.
TINDANGLE
Stemming away from the usual format of my archetype reviews, I thought it’d be prudent to go over their boss monster, [Tindangle Acute Cerberus], as the deck tries its hardest to bring this beast onto the field as quickly as possible. A DARK Fiend Link-3 monster with the same marker positions as [Decode Talker], the cost to summon may seem a little steep, but the archetype comes equipped with ways to either summon enough material as soon as it can or immediately summon it from the Extra Deck. (And that’s to be covered later in the article) A particular detail to note about “Tindangle Acute Cerberus” is the attack value on the card – 0 attack points? Why put so much effort into creating a Link-3 monster that’s specific to the archetype? The card advertises itself with its effect:
Tindangle Acute Cerberus
ATK/0 Link-3
“ If you have 3 or more “Tindangle” monsters with different names, including at least one “Tindangle Base Gardna”, this card gains 3000 ATK. Gains 500 ATK for each “Tindangle” monster it points to. At the end of the Battle Phase, if this card declared an attack: You can Special Summon 1 “Tindangle Token” (Fiend/DARK/Level 1/0 ATK/0 DEF). ”
So, in actuality, you’d be sending 3 “Tindangle” monsters to Link Summon a 3000 beater that could rival anything on the field, and it buffs itself up to nearly 4000 if 2 other “Tindangle” monsters are connected to its Link markers, which continues to combo into their Continuous Spell card, which (again) I’ll cover later in the article.
The archetype’s monster line-up definitely shows synergy within the archetype, but their issues raise several flags for the deck’s consistency, which will start to become apparent as I go into detail. Starting from the lowest Level monster, we have [Tindangle Apostle], a Level 3 monster whose sole purpose is to flip other face-down cards face-up. While it can activate the effects of the other “Tindangle” monsters as well as outside support such as [Prediction Princess Coinorma], its real benefit only allows you to add as many “Tindangle” cards from your Deck to your hand for as many “Tindangle” monsters you flipped via Apostle – definitely more of a combo card rather than something substantial for setting up your board and can sit comfortably at two. [Tindangle Angel] is the Level 4 Flip monster that acts as a recovery agent for the deck, allowing you to Special Summon any Flip monster from the hand or from the GY whenever it’s flipped face-up. A definite “3 of” in the deck, as it sets up your plays while also ending your opponent’s Battle Phase if it manages to resolve its effect during their turn.
Straying away from the Flip motif for a small moment, [Tindangle Base Gardna] is the deck’s Level 5 Fiend that Special Summon itself onto the field if you control a face-down monster. While it sit on the field, it can Tribute itself when a monster(s) is summoned onto a zone that your opponent’s Link Monster points to in order to summon any “Tindangle” monster from the hand or from the Deck in either Attack Position or face-down Defense Position. Of all of the “Tindangle” monsters at your disposal, Base Gardna’s packing a decent 2300 DEF, but trades any sort of offensive capabilities to be more of a “wall” for the archetype. While not exactly the hardest thing to summon – in fact, summoning out “Base Gardna” is fantastically easy, as long as you control a face-down monster – it’s highly reliant on the fact that you do control face-down monsters to begin with. As such, it’s probably best to keep it down to two – don’t want to draw into it too often, but keep it at a nice ratio for your deck to utilize efficiently.
The last two cards in the “Tindangle” monster line-up act as the deck’s non-Link boss monsters, presenting themselves as the archetype’s beaters and combo starters. [Tindangle Intruder] is our Level 6 play maker, acting as one of the deck’s more consistent searchers and an archetypical [Foolish Burial] upon its Normal Summon. Additionally, it can also Special Summon itself from the GY in face-down Defense Position if a monster is Special Summoned face-down onto your board. Despite it being able to add any “Tindangle” card from the deck to the hand, its selection is rather limited due to a glaring flaw: the Spells are not “Tindangle” in name, only in their effects. Had “Tindangle Intruder” been able to add any card that says “Tindangle” in the text, then it would definitely improve this deck’s consistency, but as it stands currently, it’s a better searcher than “Tindangle Apostle” – run 3 for the necessity.
Our true star of the deck is [Tindangle Hound], our Level 7 Flip beater sitting at 2500 attack points that can buff itself to formidable heights. When flip summoned, it targets any monster on the field and takes half of the original attack points before flipping the targeted monster face-down – for example, you can target a face-up “Tindangle Intruder” you control to add 1100 attack points on top of 2500 ATK and flip it back face-down to ready it for its own effect next turn. Additionally, it can drop your opponent’s monsters attack values by 1000 for every Link monster “Tindangle Hound” is linked with; if you have a [Proxy Dragon] on field while “Tindangle Acute Cerberus” is in the Extra Monster Zone, and they have an arrow on “Tindangle Hound,” your opponent’s monsters are losing 2000 attack points! It can also extend your plays in the chance of it being destroyed and sent to the GY, flipping a monster on your field into the face-up Defense Position and activating the monster’s effect. This monster is packing a number of effects that help the deck immensely, and a definite staple in any “Tindangle” variant.
Now that we got the monsters analyzed and out of the way, the rest of the archetype is a cake walk to explain, considering the “Tindangle” deck only has 2 Spells and a single Trap card in its current arsenal. In terms of what they do for the deck, its varied – the Field Spell card is not exactly the most influential while its active, but the Continuous Spell can keep your boards intact while you build up for your Link Summoning. Unfortunately, they are not “Tindangle” in name, meaning they can’t readily be searched from the deck in the chance you either don’t open with it or can’t seem to draw into it. Thankfully, Konami’s card development team didn’t slip up when they made the in-theme Trap card on both the naming and the effect.
Their Field Spell, [Euler’s Circuit], has a few things going for it, but it serves no real practical use for the archetype. It can potentially lock your opponent out from attacking you while you control three or more “Tindangle” monsters on the field, which is nice, but it doesn’t provide them any protection from card effects that would destroy them, shuffle them back into the deck, or remove them from play. In a bizarre turn of events, it gives you the choice of giving your opponent a “Tindangle” monster, which serves no other purpose than to give them a “Tindangle Base Gardna” in attack position just to hit into a 0 attack wimp. The only solid effect on it is that it can search a new copy of itself from the deck at the cost of banishing itself from the GY and discarding a “Tindangle” card. As far as cards go for this deck, I would opt out of using this one – it’s good In theory, but you won’t use the card unless you decide to use [Set Rotation] and the [Krawler] Field Spell, [World Legacy in Shadow] and even then you’d set “Euler Circuit” on your opponent’s side.
As if on the opposite side of the coin, their Continuous Spell card, [Nagel’s Protection], provides the deck with the protection they need to stay on the board as well as maximize their damage output, as well as have the same recovery effect as their Field Spell. All “Tindangle” monsters in the Main Monster Zone are protected from destruction by battle and card effects – unfortunately, “Tindangle Acute Cerberus” would be open for destruction, since it would need to sit in the Extra Monster Zone to maximize its efficiency on the field, but it’s of little consequence, considering the archetype in question. Additionally, “Nagel’s Protection” can double the damage dealt by the first “Tindangle” monster to do battle, charging up your beaters to incredible levels. Going back to my previous points about “Tindangle Acute Cerberus,” if you meet the conditions for it to become 4000 attack points in value and it attacks directly, “Nagal’s Protection” beefs up the damage into 8000, an instant kill; the same could carry over to “Tindangle Hound,” who can reach even higher attack values than “Tindangle Acute Cerberus.” (an example would be [Five-Headed Dragon], who sits at 5000 – with “Tindangle Hound,” 2500 attack would be added onto 2200, and with “Nagel’s Protection,” the damage output would be an incredible 9400 total!) An amazing card in the archetype, and something most decks would envy in terms of blanket protection – no question, play at 3.
Their last card in the Extreme Force wave is their Trap card, [Tindangle Delunay], which provides the deck a means of recovery for a small cost of Life Points. If you already have 3 different “Tindangle” monsters in the GY, you can activate the Trap to destroy the attacking monster after it has dealt damage to you and Special Summon a “Tindangle Acute Cerberus” straight from the Extra Deck. (little disclaimer, but because it doesn’t count as a Link Summon, it cannot be revived from the GY if it gets destroyed) Additionally, if you control no cards in the Extra Monster Zone, you can banish the Trap card from the GY to Special Summon 3 “Tindangle” monsters onto the field, face-down, effectively recovering your resources in the off chance that your monster sitting in the Extra Monster Zone was sent off from the field whether by battle or card effect while setting up your monsters for their flip effects. Despite the nature of Trap cards and how slowly they can handle, this card makes up its speed with both its effects on the field and in the GY, as well as being a readily searched out card in the deck, thanks to the naming convention. As a personal preference, I would suggest having two at least for the sake of having a good ratio while also accommodating space for other tech options.
And so, after nearly a month and a half of trying to write about this archetype, I finally reached the conclusion of it. It wasn’t exactly a lack of interest in the designs or the play style; I just didn’t have much to say about it. Konami’s strange interest in Flip effects in 2017 going 2018 is a little baffling to me, especially when they’ve been spitting out decks that can easily get around these sorts of effects, more recently the aforementioned “Jack Knight” archetype. As anime-based decks go, it isn’t the worst adaptation, as the cards provided can at least make a functioning deck with a focused win condition, unlike the [Vehicroid] archetype that I went over a while back ago. If you’re looking to play something on the side or for fun, the “Tindangle” cards can provide an at interesting experience, to say the least, as it has the opportunities to create a field of indestructible monsters while locking your opponent out of even declaring an attack, if your opponent doesn’t decide to wipe out your back row or banish your monsters out right. In terms of what could help the deck move at a faster pace, the tried and true [Prediction Princess] engine helps this deck get the monsters it needs onto the field and flips monsters on the fly, all thanks to [Prediction Princess Tarotrei]. Personally, I have no idea whether or not I’ll be making the deck out of spite or out of actual, genuine enjoyment after putting in the time and effort to learn how to play the deck.