Oh man. I’ve got to get me some of these . . .

Upper Deck Entertainment did a great job keeping secrets about the extra cards they added into Phantom Darkness, but a handful of them leaked through this week, and they’re all pretty amazing. Dark Red Enchanter is another one of those Japanese promos we thought we’d never get, and it’s been on my personal wanted list for quite a while. Check it out!

Dark Red Enchanter
Spellcaster Effect
Dark / Level 6
1700 ATK / 2200 DEF
When this card is normal summoned, place two spell counters on it. Every time a spell is activated, put a spell counter on this card. It gains 300 ATK for each spell counter it has. Once per turn, you can remove two spell counters from this card to force your opponent to discard a card at random.

Anyone who’s reading this and knows me personally probably knows that every time a new format rolls around, I try to make a Spellcaster deck. I generally do so with the expectation of competitive failure—so far I’ve only found one format where Spellcasters were actually good enough to sweep repeated tournaments, and it’s been a few lists since that golden era. But that doesn’t stop me from trying.

There are basically two reasons to play Spellcasters: Magician’s Circle and Magical Dimension. Themed archetypes usually hinge on just a few cards that make them worth dedicating an entire deck to, and while I think Spellcasters have only had two such cards in the past, both of them are really good.

Well, Dark Red Enchanter gives Spellcasters a third key card to build around. You can bring him out in a pinch with Magician’s Circle (though he won't come into play with any counters), and he has some nice synergy with Magical Dimension. He’s really a theme-worthy monster all on his own.

The successful Spellcaster builds I’ve managed to make all revolved around abusing Magician’s Circle and Magical Dimension with Magical Marionette. The Marionette was great because it took advantage of both key cards. It used the spell counter mechanic to act as a dominating presence on the field while also destroying the opponent’s stuff, whittling down his or her options.

What Dark Red Enchanter isn't nearly as good with Magician’s Circle, he more than makes up for that in the two fields where Magical Marionette excelled. The Marionette’s destruction effect was great, but sometimes it wasn’t useful because the opponent wouldn’t have a monster on the field—it actually sort of interfered with Magical Dimension’s destruction effect by overlapping it. Dark Red Enchanter has a far better chance of peeling a card from the opponent since it’s more common for them to have at least one card in hand, as opposed to a monster under their control. You can eliminate Monarchs before they hit play, turf Gadgets before they turn into more Gadgets, and take out Breaker before he wrecks one of your cards. In the case of a renewable effect you’d hope to use multiple times, forcing a discard is just flat-out better than destroying a monster.

Another problem with Magical Marionette was its low starting ATK and low bonuses. Its ATK only climbed by 200 points for each spell counter it got, and it couldn’t take down Cyber Dragon without a boost. Though Marionette’s starting ATK is a bit higher than Dark Red Enchanter’s if each has been brought to the field by a special summon, a tributed Enchanter is infinitely better than a tributed Marionette. Your worst-case scenario playing Marionette (drawing it and having to tribute for it instead of bringing it out with Magician’s Circle) is essentially your best-case scenario running the Enchanter.

The huge backside is also a precious asset—Magical Marionette’s 1000 DEF was easily stumped via Enemy Controller or Book of Moon, but Dark Red Enchanter’s hide is more than twice as thick, clocking in at an admirable 2200 DEF.

The big difference between Marionette and Dark Red Enchanter is that thanks to Enchanter’s two spell counters, you almost always get to use his discard effect at least once. That means you can instantly balance out the tribute you paid to bring Enchanter to the field, or you can wait, swing over anything with less than 2300 ATK, and then make the opponent discard in main phase 2. If the monster you tributed was Treeborn Frog, or had already earned you another card in the process, then you’re up a card as soon you toss the first two spell counters.

Dark Red Enchanter fills the role Magical Marionette used to play, but does it faster, better, and more often. Get out a pair of them at the same time and you’ll devastate your opponent’s hand.

There are a lot of great ways to get more spell counters onto Dark Red Enchanter: enough that it often makes sense to special summon him, just so you can drop a few more counters on him yourself and then cause some mayhem. Apprentice Magician is a classic. Just like Breaker the Magical Warrior, Dark Red Enchanter can claim a free spell counter when Apprentice Magician is summoned. That can put the Enchanter’s starting ATK up to 2600 points, high enough to take down any Monarch or Jinzo.

The Enchanter might not get any spell counters from his own effect when you use Magical Dimension to bring him out, but he will get one when you activate Magical Dimension at any other time. You’ll often find yourself in a situation where Dimension blows away one of your opponent’s monsters while the resulting spell counter then gives you enough ATK to press the Enchanter over another. Since Dark Red Enchanter gains more ATK from each spell counter than Magical Marionette, there’s also more leeway to run an invested spell lineup and forego traps. High-utility spells like Mystical Space Typhoon, Shrink, Book of Moon, and Enemy Controller are all great with Dark Red Enchanter, because each time you active two of them you’ll get to force a discard. If each spell you’re using costs your opponent a card as well, you’ll create more options than the opponent does. In today’s environment, just two successful discards with Dark Red Enchanter can be enough to win the duel.

There are lots of other combos readily accessible in the average Spellcaster deck. Gravekeeper’s Spy makes it easy to tribute for Dark Red Enchanter and get his two counters. The Spies will also make it easier to fire up Magical Dimension or tribute for Enemy Controller, and get an additional counter in the process.

Don’t forget that Dark Red Enchanter is a Dark monster too. Spellcasters can get Darks into the graveyard with surprising speed thanks to Gravekeeper’s Spy and Apprentice Magician, feeding into Dark Nephthys. Dark Nephthys can in turn eliminate spell and trap cards that would threaten Dark Red Enchanter, while acting as tribute fodder. Escape from the Dark Dimension can special summon Enchanter should he be removed from play, and he can even contribute to The Beginning of the End.

Beyond that, Dark Red Enchanter’s text says that he gets spell counters when he’s "normal summoned," not just when he’s tribute summoned. That means he doesn’t suffer from the same wording deficiency that keeps Monarchs from seeing play with Mausoleum of the Emperor. Pay 1000 life points, bring down the Enchanter without tributing, and you’ll still get to force a discard. For reference, the last time we saw an effect that let you force a discard for 1000 life points at no loss of card presence to yourself, it was called Delinquent Duo.

The current format rewards decks that can play both aggressive and defensive roles equally well, not to mention strategies that run a lot of chainable effects to outwit Light and Darkness Dragon. Spellcasters have both those factors on their side, and with Dark Red Enchanter as their newest secret weapon, they may have a place in competitive tournaments once again.