“What select language they have is learned from the cries of their victims.”

Power of the Duelist marks the beginning of a new era for the Dinosaur monsters. I think we can all agree that they have waited long enough. They have received new effect monsters with useful effects and they have gained a support card that makes even their highest-level monsters easy to summon. This week, we examine a few of these new Dinosaur cards and dissect how they function.

Our first combatant is Black Ptera. Its stats may not inspire adulation, but its effect is hard to dismiss. The text for Black Ptera says:

“When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, except when destroyed by battle, it is returned to the owner’s hand.”

Sending a monster from the field to the graveyard is a broadly defined action that can be satisfied in many ways. Destroying a monster with a card effect sends it to the graveyard. Tributing a monster for a summon will send it to the graveyard. Some card effect costs will even specifically tell you to send a monster to the graveyard, like Altar for Tribute. Also, some monster effects will result in cards being “sent to the graveyard,” like Chimeratech Overdragon.

Offering Black Ptera as a tribute will prove a reliable way of satisfying its effect and doing so effectively offsets the cost you had to pay for the Tribute. It is hard to find many things more satisfying than summoning a large monster with little to no payment involved. Black Ptera will give you this ability with ease.

Note that the card text for Black Ptera specifies that it is always returned to its owner’s hand. It doesn’t matter who actually controlled the little winged menace when it was sent to the graveyard because in this case its owner will always receive the benefit of its effect. So when your opponent snags control of your Black Ptera, one Fissure will reclaim it right back to your hand again. This effect is not optional and will activate even if it is sent to the graveyard during links in the chain. If this occurs, it will simply begin a new chain at the first chance it gets, in the same way that Sangan does when it is sent to the graveyard during a chain.

Babycerasaurus, another little Dinosaur with a fearsome bite, has a more specific requirement for its effect, but in some ways it can be even more rewarding. Babycerasaurus says:

“If this card is destroyed by an effect and sent to the Graveyard, select 1 Level 4 or lower Dinosaur-Type monster from your Deck and Special Summon it.”

Being destroyed by a card effect is quite specific. It precludes tributes immediately, so you can forget about trying to get its effect via a tribute summon. It will, however, function quite well against cards like Mirror Force and Sakuretsu Armor. You essentially force your opponent to stop using these cards, because if they do, then your little Babycerasaurus is just going to be replaced by something larger.

Like Black Ptera, Babycerasaurus doesn’t care whose side of the field it’s on when a card effect destroys it. Its effect will activate in its owner’s graveyard, so its owner will receive its effect. Keep this in mind if your opponent takes control of your Babycerasaurus or if you give him or her control by using Creature Swap.

If you feel like having fun, combine Babycerasaurus with Heart of Clear Water. Your opponent can forget about destroying it with a targeting effect or in battle, and if he or she does manage to destroy it with a card effect, it will just replace itself.

Next we have Miracle Jurassic Egg. What grows inside the egg is a mystery only you can uncover. Let’s see how it’s done.

“While this card is face-up on your side of the field, this card cannot be removed from play. Place 2 counters on this card each time a Dinosaur-Type Monster Card is sent to your Graveyard. By Tributing this card, select and Special Summon 1 Dinosaur-Type monster from your Deck whose Level is equal to or lower than the number of counters on this card when it was Tributed.”

The first line of text can be confusing, so let’s clear it up right away. It only refers to card effects like that of Chaos Sorcerer. Being “removed from play” refers to the act of moving a card from its current location to the “removed from play” area. Destruction in battle, destruction from a card effect, or the act of tributing a card does not, under ordinary circumstances, remove a card from play.

This text is intended only to interfere with the effects of cards like Chaos Sorcerer and Dark Core. If you have Macro Cosmos in play and something dastardly befalls your giant egg, it will still be removed from play while en route to the graveyard. This effect is only intended to prevent direct removal attempts.

The remainder of its effect determines what monster grows inside of the egg. Every time a Dinosaur is sent to your graveyard—no matter what method was used—you place two counters onto your Miracle Jurassic Egg. As the duel progresses, these counters will accumulate, two at a time, until you think the time is right to hatch the egg.

You hatch the egg during one of your main phases by tributing the Miracle Jurassic Egg after it has accumulated a number of counters equal to or greater than the level of the dinosaur monster you want to Special Summon. If you want to hatch an Ultimate Tyranno, you will need at least 8 counters built up on the egg, because Ultimate Tyranno has a level of 8.

Ultimate Tyranno is arguably the most vicious Dinosaur in the game. Its strength rivals that of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but its effect creates a strong distinction between the two.

“If this card is in Attack Position at the beginning of your Battle Phase, first, you can and must attack all monsters on your opponent’s side of the field once each with this card.”

Ultimate Tyranno can clear the room with the best of them, but in some ways this raw power can become its undoing. If Ultimate Tyranno is in attack position when you enter your Battle Phase, it will lead the charge of battle even if you really don’t want it to.

These attacks from your Ultimate Tyranno don’t have any kind of special protection. If your opponent decides that he or she wants to wreck your plans with Sakuretsu Armor, he or she is more then free to do so. Cards like Gravity Bind and Swords of Revealing Light will also prevent your Ultimate Tyranno from attacking. When nothing gets in its way, however, the Ultimate Tyranno will attack each of your opponents’ monsters once until it has battled every monster on his or her side of the field. If another monster happens to show up during these battles (sometimes even as a result of these battles), it will become yet another victim to the Tyranno’s wrath.

Suppose your opponent has a Mystic Tomato, a defense position Spirit Reaper, and a Destiny Hero - Fear Monger. Your Ultimate Tyranno will tear into each of them, one at a time, until it has battled them all. When your Tyranno destroys the Tomato in battle, your opponent can use its effect to special summon another monster, but his or her new monster will become another victim of your Ultimate Tyranno. Destiny Hero - Fear Monger will not special summon a monster until your opponent’s next standby phase, so whatever monster it brings out won’t appear immediately and will be safe from your Tyranno. Spirit Reaper will also receive an attack, even though the attack will not result in its destruction. Tyranno will only attack the Spirit Reaper once, per Tyranno’s effect.

After clearing out your opponent’s monsters, Ultimate Tyranno cannot then proceed with a direct attack. Any other monsters you have will be able to attack after Tyranno is finished, however, so you still have a way to move in and finish off your opponent’s life points. This is the same kind of restriction placed upon monsters like Asura Priest and a Spellcaster affected by Diffusion Wave-Motion. The ability to attack every monster your opponent has normally means that it cannot attack directly afterwards.

Is this the last act for the Dinosaurs? I wouldn’t count them out just yet. You never know what the future may have in store for them.

Until next time, send all comments to Curtis@Metagame.com