It’s preview time once again, and I have to say that I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen from Elemental Energy so far. In fact, there’s an excellent chance that you’re impressed with what you’ve seen so far, as well. Jason’s preview card yesterday was certainly impressive, and it’s a real threat for all you tournament players out there to watch out for when building your decks after December 1. Today’s card, while not as flashy or groundbreaking as yesterday’s card, is still definitely something to consider—especially if you’ve been struggling to build a competitive Elemental Hero deck. Let’s have a look, shall we?

EEN-EN035

8 Stars

EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect

“Elemental Hero Wildheart” + “Elemental Hero Bladedge”

This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon.

This card can attack each monster on your opponent’s side of the field one time each.

ATK 2800/DEF 2300

EEN-EN035, which will be henceforth referred to by its codename “Elemental Hero Angryman,” is another addition to the lineup of fusion monsters that the Elemental Hero deck is capable of producing. While our current Elemental Hero fusions prefer to defeat opponents by using finesse and carefully worded effects—I’m looking at you, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant, and your clever use of the words “target’s original attack”—Elemental Hero Angryman prefers to take out its opponents in a fit of blind rage. You know, like Wolverine from the X-Men, but without the mutant healing factor.

Sadly, a mutant healing factor is exactly what Angryman could really use. Like all of the Elemental Hero Fusions, Angryman can only be special summoned by a fusion summoning, meaning once Angryman hits the graveyard, that’s where it’ll stay. Fortunately, the Elemental Heroes can sort of compensate for the fragility of their fusions by using Miracle Fusion to remove the material monsters used for the first fusion in order to summon another copy of the fusion monster to the field. It should be noted, though, that this method assumes that you used Polymerization to summon the original fusion monster, rather than Fusion Gate or the aforementioned Miracle Fusion.

The other thing to keep in mind for the current environment is that we don’t have any idea what the fusion material monsters for Angryman actually are. I’ll alleviate half of the mystery next week, but the other half will remain unsolved until the Elemental Energy Sneak Preview, which you should all be attending. Speaking of the Sneak Preview, if you see this card pop up in one of your Sealed Pack events, be sure to hold on to it. You won’t be able to play it in your deck (due to rarity issues and the lack of Polymerization in the set), but it’ll certainly make a nice collection piece and an excellent leverage point for trades with Elemental Hero fans.

In actual Constructed play, if your Elemental Hero deck can get Angryman into play, there’s a good chance that it’ll balance out the resources that it cost you to summon. Take the case in which you summon it with Polymerization. This costs you three cards to pull off—two fusion materials and Polymerization itself. Angryman can attack all the monsters on the opponent’s side of the field, though, so if it can destroy three monsters (which is easily possible due to its effect), then you’ve broken even in card count.

Also, keep Miracle Fusion in mind. Even if the opponent destroys Angryman during his or her next turn with Smashing Ground or some other similar card (one-for-one) you can bring it back during your next turn with a Miracle Fusion, netting another one-for-one). The best part is that each time you bring out an Angryman, it’s probably going to take down a couple of your opponent’s monsters before being destroyed, meaning that Angryman can be a source of long-term card advantage.

At this point, I’d like to mention that long-term card advantage is something that most players tend to ignore in favor of immediate one-for-one trades. Remember, if you do nothing but make one-for-one trades, you aren’t going to win the game, as you’ll have traded all of your resources for all of the opponent’s resources. You need something on your side that’s going to go above and beyond the normal one-for-one call of duty in order to take control of the duel. Whether that something is Spirit Reaper or an Angryman, it doesn’t make a difference. If you’ve got the long-term advantage and your opponent doesn’t, you’re probably going to win the game.*

Based on the current card text, there’s one major question that is bound to come up repeatedly until it’s clarified on the Specific Card Rulings section of the official website. That question would be, “If I attack all the monsters on the opponent’s field with Angryman and destroy them, can I then attack my opponent directly?” I’m going to tentatively say that the answer to this question is “no.” Angryman’s effect is very similar to that of Asura Priest, whose text includes a reminder that, “This monster cannot attack your opponent directly if it attacks any monsters first,” and since Angryman does essentially the same thing, it’s reasonable to conclude that Angryman will also not be able to attack directly if it hits any monsters first.

Finally, I’m sure that there are plenty of you out there who are enjoying the new Yu-Gi-Oh! GX series on Cartoon Network. I know I am. Unfortunately for us, though, Angryman has yet to make its debut in animated form, and it won’t do so until the beginning of the first major story arc. Until then, we get to enjoy the antics of Jaden and company as they continue to learn that all is not what it seems at DuelAcademy . . .

Elemental Energy previews will continue all this week and again all next week, so enjoy them and make sure you get to the Sneak Preview event nearest you. I’ll definitely be at the Butler, PA event, so if you’re planning on going there, make sure you drop by and say hello. Until next time, play hard, play fair, and most importantly, have fun!

NEXT WEEK: Do you hate Mondays? I know I do. Next week, I’ll be changing your dull, dreary Monday into “One Wild Knight” with a preview of another one of Elemental Energy’s new Elemental Hero monsters!