With the current format as aggressive as it is, the release of the new Gemini Summoner from Tactical Evolution (along with other stall-related cards coming up, such as Marshmallon) couldn’t have come at a better time.

You have probably heard a lot about Gemini Summoner by now. Jerome covered him as one of the first sneak peaks Metagame.com gave you of Tactical Evolution. The main purpose of that introduction was to emphasize his usefulness with the new Gemini monster type that premiered with this set. However, there is a whole lot more to Gemini Summoner than well-designed support for a new strategy.

One thing that Jerome covered extremely well was how useful Gemini Summoner’s stats are. 1500 ATK is really the perfect ATK value to have for an effect monster such as this. It’s the biggest you can get while still being searchable via Sangan and Mother Grizzly, which is a huge boon when running this card. Spellcasters also have some nifty support in the form of Magical Dimension and Magician’s Circle, with the former being a valuable quick-play removal trick. Plays like Magical Dimension tributing your only face-up monster in response to Raiza the Storm Monarch can instantly muck up an opponent’s turn.

That point has been repeated a lot when speaking about Gemini Summoner. In terms of utility, he is one of the most efficient monsters to be printed in awhile. 1500 ATK is just high enough to survive an attack from a recruiter while still being searchable by them, and his Spellcaster type has some versatile uses with overlooked but powerful cards. He also has an effect that can be very good for the Gemini strategy by letting you have more normal summons outside of just your one per turn.

However, the reason I am excited about this new monster isn’t because of Geminis. That’s just a little bonus in my eyes. What is really impressive about Gemini Summoner is that other effect he possesses. It’s the one that should allow him to survive until your opponent’s end phase, but, really, it is the main reason I feel this card can see some major success. Gemini Summoner, to put it plainly, is just really, really hard to destroy through attacks.

Gemini Summoner’s effect prevents him from being destroyed as a result of battle the first time that he would be destroyed as a result of battle. This means that if your opponent only has one monster on the field, he or she will not be able to take out Gemini Summoner during the battle phase. This is an important trick to keep in mind if you are to set the Gemini Summoner, since he would be immune to destruction the first time he is attacked.

Technically, the “special summon Cyber Dragon, summon another monster” play would get around this. However, how often does it work out when you lead with a play like that? This is a very popular format for cards like Sakuretsu Armor and Widespread Ruin, and Gemini Summoner shares remarkable synergy with removal-based trap cards like that in mucking up the battle phase. If your opponent thinks leading off with Cyber Dragon will let him or her get through Gemini Summoner, a well-timed Sakuretsu Armor can stop the opponent’s battle phase entirely.

The most practical use of Gemini Summoner’s protective effect (other than keeping him alive long enough to support Gemini monsters), is that it makes him reliable tribute fodder. This works quite nicely with the Monarchs, who all have effects worth tributing for. Thanks to Gemini Summoner’s Water attribute, he has nice line-up of support for getting him onto the field in order to slow down the game. Mother Grizzly is a solid way to get Gemini Summoner onto the field, and it can also special summon the ever popular Treeborn Frog as well.

Sharing an attribute with Treeborn Frog has its advantages, but working well with one of the most efficient tribute-supporters in the game isn’t the only perk to being a Water monster. There are plenty of useful Water-based cards that have often gone overlooked due to a lack of monsters to use them with: cards like Spiritual Water Art - Aoi and Salvage. Gemini Summoner works with both cards, and Spiritual Water Art - Aoi is a very powerful form of disruption that can be great in response to a Smashing Ground. Gemini Summoner—an efficient monster to have on the field that can stall out the opponent—is the perfect candidate for fulfilling the tribute cost of that trap. It also has that critical 1500 ATK that lets you return him to your hand via Salvage, which is a solid piece of recursion that helps ensure a constant supply of cards to summon each turn.

Tactical Evolution is all about synergy too, and Gemini Summoner shares lots of synergy with the cards in the newest set. All of those good things I said about Gemini Summoner can also be applied to Crystal Seer, which is a monster that will most likely be seeing tournament play the moment she is legal. Running both cards in your deck gives you plenty of ways to use Spiritual Water Art - Aoi and more targets for Salvage. The two monsters also feed well off of the same Spellcaster support, acting as valuable tributes toward Magical Dimension!

That’s a lot of use out of Gemini Summoner’s effects that don’t relate to the Gemini theme. This Spellcaster is certainly a valuable and versatile monster, but his support toward the Gemini monsters also can’t be ignored. Perhaps the best use for Gemini Summoner is setting up Chthonian Emperor Dragon, which has solid stats and a field-wrecking effect. Attacking twice with that effect lets you put some serious aggressive pressure on your opponent without committing unneeded cards to the field. Attacking twice with Chthonian Emperor Dragon can easily take out two monsters a turn or deal a blistering amount of damage, and Gemini Summoner is one of the easiest ways to normal summon the big Dragon once it’s already out on the field. All you have to do is let that Gemini Summoner survive until the end of your opponent’s turn, and then pay the 500 life points to tribute summon the big Dragon from your hand. This gives you your next turn to normal summon it and claim its effect.

Another Gemini monster that works particularly well with Gemini Summoner is Aquarian Alessa, who also possesses the Water attribute and the important 1500 ATK. That means she can be special summoned through Mother Grizzly as well, and can also be returned to your hand via Salvage. Returning both Gemini Summoner and Aquarian Alessa to your hand sets up for a solid sequence of plays over two turns.

Gemini Summoner is made for synergy. His effect for the Gemini monsters is one of the easiest ways to build around the new archetype, allowing you to mitigate the downside of skipping a normal summon in order to upgrade your monster for just 500 life points. Synergy is also what makes this monster good in other strategies, since his Water attribute is useful with some very solid spell and trap support (along with one of the best support monsters in the game). His Spellcaster attribute works well with Magical Dimension, and the qualities he shares with Crystal Seer make the two monsters very useful together with the same Salvage support. All of these benefits makes this Spellcaster one of the more interesting and unique elements to be added to the game this year.