This week we conclude our look at the new Synchro monsters.
Colossal Fighter
Colossal Fighter isn’t a very complicated monster, but I still want to touch on it briefly.
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
This card gains 100 ATK for every Warrior-Type monster in any Graveyard. When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 Warrior-Type monster from either player’s Graveyard.
Colossal Fighter’s first ability is a continuous effect that is applied as long as it is face up on the field. Its second effect is a trigger effect that activates when Colossal Fighter is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard. Colossal Fighter can special summon a Warrior from any graveyard, including itself. If your opponent manages to destroy your Colossal Fighter in battle, it can come right back. Colossal Fighter targets the selected Warrior-type monster, so your opponent is probably going to want to use D.D. Crow. Well, remind that player that he or she can’t use D.D. Crow’s effect in the damage step.
Nitro Warrior
Once during each of your turns, if you activated a Spell Card, this card gains 1000 ATK during its next attack, for damage calculation only. Once per turn, if this attacking card destroys an opponent’s monster by battle, you can change 1 face-up Defense Position monster your opponent controls to Attack Position, and attack it with this card.
Nitro Warrior’s first effect is a continuous effect that is satisfied if your Nitro Warrior is face up on the field when you activate a spell card. This effect isn’t applied until Nitro Warrior attacks and it won’t start a chain, so it isn’t possible to negate it with cards like Divine Wrath. When the attack proceeds to the damage step and you calculate damage—figuring out which monsters are destroyed and how much life point damage is inflicted—Nitro Synchron has an extra 1000 ATK.
Nitro Warrior’s second effect is a trigger effect that activates at the end of the damage step, when monsters that are destroyed in battle are sent to the graveyard or removed from play. In order to activate this effect, your opponent must have a monster in face-up defense position that you can target with Nitro Warrior’s effect. Naturally this can’t be the monster you attacked. It is going to have to be someone else.
When the effect resolves, the selected monster is shifted into attack position and Nitro Warrior primes itself to attack the selected monster. Play returns to the battle step and Nitro Warrior is declared as the attacking monster, and the monster it shifted into attack position becomes the defending monster. At this time it is possible to activate effects that respond to the attack being declared, like Mirror Force or Dimensional Prison. This attack is treated like a regular attack, except that the attacking and defending monsters are pre-determined by Nitro Warrior.
Sometimes the monster destroyed by Nitro Warrior will also have an effect that activates at the end of the damage step. When this occurs, Nitro Warrior and the destroyed monster’s effects form a chain according to the rules for simultaneous effects. If the destroyed monster has an effect that will destroy Nitro Warrior before its effect resolves (like Newdoria), Nitro Warrior will still shift its target into attack position. It just won’t be able to attack it.
Goyo Guardian
When this card destroys an opponent’s monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon that monster to your side of the field in face-up Defense Position.
Goyo Guardian’s effect activates at the end of the damage step, when the monster it destroyed by battle is sent to its owner’s graveyard. The monster must be sent to the graveyard, because Goyo Guardian’s effect specifically demands this. With this criteria met, the effect activates and special summons the destroyed monster from the graveyard in defense position. Even if the destroyed monster was actually your monster being controlled by your opponent, it will be special summoned.
When the monster Goyo Guardian destroys has an effect that activates when it is destroyed by battle, the destroyed monster’s effect will form a chain with Goyo Guardian. Goyo Guardian’s effect is an optional trigger effect, so the order of effects on the chain will depend on the destroyed monster and whose turn it is, following the rules for simultaneous effects.
In order to activate its effect, Goyo Guardian must be on the field when the monster it destroys by battle is sent to the graveyard. If Goyo Guardian is also destroyed by the battle or is removed from the field before the end of the damage step—by cards like D.D. Warrior or Penguin Soldier for example—its effect will not activate.
Red Dragon Archfiend
If this card attacks a Defense Position monster your opponent controls, destroy all Defense Position monsters your opponent controls after damage calculation. During your End Phase, destroy all other monsters you control that did not declare an attack this turn.
The timing to activate Red Dragon Archfiend’s first effect is a bit unusual for this type of ability. You activate this effect after damage calculation, when the effects of cards like Robbin’ Goblin and Don Zaloog activate. The Red Dragon Archfiend uses this "I have inflicted battle damage, so I activate my effect" timing in the damage step. These types of effects are activated before dealing with flip effects and before sending the destroyed monster to the graveyard. If Red Dragon Archfiend attacks a face-down defense position Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, Red Dragon Archfiend’s effect will destroy all of your opponent’s monsters before Ryko can destroy it with its effect.
This destruction effect causes problems for non-flip effect monsters that activate their effects after damage calculation. The effects of a defense-position D.D. Warrior Lady or D.D. Warrior destroyed by Red Dragon Archfiend’s effect will not be able to remove it from play because they are destroyed and sent to the graveyard before they get their chance to activate their effects.
Monsters with effects that activate when they are destroyed by battle will also not activate, because they are destroyed and sent to the graveyard by Red Dragon Archfiend’s effect. Even if the defense-position monster Red Dragon Archfiend attacks should be destroyed by the battle, it will be destroyed by the Dragon’s effect instead.
In order to activate this effect, the monster Red Dragon Archfiend attacks must remain in defense position. If you are playing an opponent who uses Final Attack Orders, his or her monster will shift into attack position before damage calculation and Red Dragon Archfiend’s effect won’t be able to activate. Red Dragon Archfiend does have 3000 ATK though, so the monster it attacked isn’t likely to survive the battle without some serious help.
During your end phase, Red Dragon Archfiend’s second effect activates and intends to destroy any monster you control that did not declare an attack during your turn. If the attack of one of your monsters was negated, it will be destroyed in your end phase. It is interesting to note that this effect will activate even if every monster you control attacked during your turn, although this won’t mean much a majority of the time.
Until next time, send all comments and questions to Curtis@Metagame.com.
—Curtis Schultz