It’s preview time again! The Light of Destruction Sneak Preview weekend is right around the corner, and this time around I get to review three cards in one article. Fortunately, the cards I’ve been given to review feature superb synergy and the revival of a forgotten family of monsters. Let’s start by looking at each new card and all of its effects.
Batteryman Charger
Light / Level 5
1800/1200
When this card is normal summoned, you can special summon any "Batteryman" monster except "Batteryman Charger" from your hand or deck. Batteryman Charger gains 300 ATK and DEF for each Thunder monster you control.
Batteryman Micro-Cell
Light / Level 1
100/100
Flip Effect: special summon a Level 4 or lower "Batteryman" monster from your deck, that isn’t named "Batteryman Micro-Cell." Once this card has been flipped face-up, draw a card if it’s destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard.
Batteryman Industrial Strength
Light / Level 8
2600/0
This card can’t be normal summoned or set. It can’t be special summoned except by removing two "Batteryman" monsters in your graveyard from play. Once each turn, you can remove a Thunder monster in your graveyard from play to destroy a monster and a spell or trap on the field.
Synergies
I’m glad to see such a big boost for the Batteryman family of monsters. From the beginning, they had the benefit of small synergies, but sadly they weren’t enough to make the Batterymen really see play. It’s easy to understand why: this set of monsters, which were released over the course of several sets one card at a time, couldn’t compete with the mega archetypes of their era. It just wasn’t possible. This time around, the beefy Batteryman Charger joins the fray with a worthy ability: the summoning of an additional Batteryman from the hand or deck, instantly balancing out the monster you gave up by tribute summoning it. With each new Thunder monster it gains 300 ATK and 300 DEF too. Not too shabby. However, the true potential of this card lies in combining it with a lost card called Inferno Reckless Summon.
The scenarios are simple to envision: normal summon your Batteryman Charger, activate its effect to special summon Batteryman AA, and then use Inferno Reckless Summon in response to special summon two more. The result: a field of one Batteryman Charger (3000/2400, counting himself), and three Batteryman AA cards (each 3000/3000). That’s a combined ATK of 12,000 points! Another positive side of this combo is its flexibility. Inferno Reckless Summon will grab a copy of the selected monster from the hand, deck, or graveyard. Batteryman Charger will even summon a Batteryman from your hand. There’s nothing worse than having the pieces of your combo in your hand when they need to be in the deck. That kind of deficiency can sometimes be seen in the Gladiator Beasts: they have the same issue. You don’t always want them in your hand since their effects can only special summon fellow Gladiator Beasts from the deck. Even if you’ve just played with recruiters like Mystic Tomato in the past, you probably know what I’m talking about.
Let’s move on to another card that gains some playability: Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon. You can set up a perfect tribute situation with the new Batteryman Micro-Cell and have complete control over which of the Voltech Dragon’s effects you’ll claim. You can play this one of two ways assuming you have both Micro-Cell and Voltech Dragon in hand.
1 - Set Micro-Cell. Wait for an opponent’s initial attack and scoop an extra level 4 or lower Batteryman from your deck, then draw a card for your trouble. You usually emerge with the upper hand in card presence as a result of that simple exchange, and even if your opponent summoned Elemental Hero Stratos or a Gadget monster, you break even. On the following turn, tribute your chosen Batteryman for Voltech to gain the appropriate effect.
2 - Assuming you’ve already set Micro-Cell and your opponent mirrored your face-down play, you manually flip Micro-Cell to get another Batteryman. Tribute your new Batteryman for Voltech Dragon—if you brought out Batteryman AA the Dragon will gain 1000 ATK. At this point, the play depends on your hand. If you decided to include Creature Swap in your Batteryman deck, then you can trade Micro Cell for your opponent’s face-down monster. You can strike your opponent for 3300 damage and draw a card in the process.
Are these moves pretty basic? Absolutely: these monsters let you pull off such rudimentary combinations all the time, and their simplicity is a big asset. If you add Dust Tornado or Mystical Space Typhoon to scenario #2, then you get an uninterrupted strike at your opponent. You can even add Inferno Reckless Summon on your newly summoned Batteryman AA to the equation and you get a near-win on turn 2 (3300+2000+2000 = 7300 damage). The likelihood of such an attack depends on your build, but it’s definitely possible.
Batteryman Industrial Strength deserves some attention as well. Summoning it is much like bringing out Chaos Sorcerer or Enishi, Shien’s Chancellor. It can function as a mid- to late-game control agent or an early game rush. The first obvious benefit is that it’s a special summon. The second benefit is the cheap cost for a double shot at your opponent’s field. You get to take down a monster and a spell or trap without giving up a card?! Sign me up please! If there’s a downside, it would be that you must destroy two cards on the field if you choose to activate this effect, so you might threaten your own cards too. It would be wise to set up your field to make the most of this drawback if it comes to that.
This super-strong Batteryman works well with the likes of Dimension Fusion and Return from the Different Dimension, especially if you removed two copies of Batteryman AA or two Batteryman Charger cards. Here’s another sample scenario that should be easy to pull off:
1 - Assuming you’ve got your Return from the Different Dimension set, special summon Batteryman Industrial Strength by removing two Batteryman AA cards in your graveyard.
2 - If the summon resolves successfully, then remove your third Batteryman AA from your graveyard to destroy your opponent’s back-row card and a monster—if need be, you can destroy your own Return.
3 - Chain that Return to the big battery’s effect to bring back your three Batteryman AA cards.
What this implies is obvious: the Batterymen have good OTK potential with a theme mirroring the current Dark Armed Dragon and Six Samurai decks. The challenge is to complement the Batterymen with a deck that highlights their strengths and preserves the integrity of their combo potential.
The Verdict
I like the new face of the Batteryman family. In my opinion, the OTK potential is staggering. Synergy with Inferno Reckless Summon, Dimension Fusion, and Return from the Different Dimension makes the Batterymen a formidable force. They have their own "Monster Reborn" in the form of Battery Charger, good tribute monsters, and swarm potential. I’m definitely eager for the Light of Destruction Sneak Preview event coming in just a few days. Between today’s Batteryman trio and next week’s powerful card, you’ll be sorry if you missed your chance to get first dibs.
—Bryan Camareno