Is anybody else as pumped about this as I am?

2008 was a huge year for dueling and 2009 is kicking off in a big way, as two major Japanese promo cards finally hit the TCG. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon and fan-favorite Dandylion are finally making their way to American soil, and you can get both of them just by subscribing to Shonen Jump magazine.

If you’re really into following the Japanese metagame, you’ll already be familiar with what Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon can do. There, it was the basis for a strong Dragon swarm deck nicknamed "Hopeless Dragon", and there’s no reason it can’t serve the same function here. But it’s capable of more than that, and since it’s such an accessible support monster it’s the kind of card that’s only going to get better every time a new Dragon is released. Here’s what it looks like:

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon

This card can be Special Summoned by removing from play 1 Dragon-Type monster you control. Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type monster except "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon" from your hand or your Graveyard to your field.

Pretty sweet, huh? Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon is big enough to trade blows with Dark Armed Dragon, and it can stomp a lot of popular Synchro monsters into the ground. Its effect has the potential to bolster your card count and leverage it straight into field presence each turn, meaning that the traditional compromise between the two is a null factor. More than all that though, Red-Eyes is incredibly easy to play, and any discussion of it has to start with that fact.

While Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon can be special summoned by removing a Dragon monster from play, you can also just tribute two monsters to summon it normally. Like Cyber Dragon before it, the special summon effect is strictly a bonus ― not a requirement or a handicap. That means you can activate Brain Control and tribute your opponent’s monster alongside one of your own, or even tribute two of your own monsters (say, to get your third Dark into the graveyard for Dark Armed Dragon). You can even use Monster Reborn or Decoy Dragon to special Red-Eyes from your graveyard. These moves won’t always be relevant, but I’ll take options over restrictions any day.

Beyond the lack of summoning restrictions, there’s also no real limit on what Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon can special summon with its effect. While plenty of cards like Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner or Zombie Master limit you to summoning a low level monster, Red-Eyes will summon some of the biggest and baddest Dragons in the game. And because there’s no restriction on when you can use Red-Eyes’ effect, you can use its ability the moment it hits play. Summon a Dragon, remove it to summon Red-Eyes, and, as long as you’ve got one other Dragon in your graveyard, you’ll instantly compensate for the card you removed.

The result is two potentially enormous Dragons on the field for no loss of card presence. If Red-Eyes survives another turn, you’ll start racking up more and more free monsters until you win.

Playing Armageddon Knight means that Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon can be sent to the graveyard at will, allowing its owner to mimic its ability with Phantom of Chaos. The Knight can also load your graveyard with companion Dragons to special summon ― traditionally the favorite has been Dark Horus. By removing Red-Eyes with Phantom’s effect or Allure of Darkness, you open up the option to summon it back again with Escape from the Dark Dimension or D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation. Again, the discard cost of the latter card is instantly compensated for by the extra monster you’ll get to summon.

And that’s basically the deck in Japan ― toss in some Trade-Ins to get Dark Horus into the graveyard, add The Dark Creator to support Trade-In and allow for even more summoning madness, and you’ve got the core of a deck that was mildly popular for some time. It’s important to note that at the time Hopeless Dragon emerged in Japan Allure of Darkness was not legal in their tournaments ― it was still a TCG exclusive. So if you’re wondering why the deck never seemed to take off over there, that’s a big reason.

No such problems here though, as we’ve got everything the deck needs and more! Yet another new promo card makes for a strong addition to the deck, giving it another powerful Dragon and another summoning trick.

During your End Phase, if you did not Normal Summon or Set a monster that turn, you can remove from play this card from your Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Red-Eyes" monster from your Graveyard, except "Red-Eyes B. Chick".

Hands-down, the best monster to summon with Red-Eyes Wyvern is a fallen copy of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, though you can also remove it to summon a second copy of itself. Red-Eyes Wyvern might not have the Dark attribute that a Hopeless Dragon deck would love for it to have, but it does have great stats, and having more Level 4 Dragon beat sticks for Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon to team up with is invaluable. The fact that it removes itself from play also gives it synergy with D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation and Escape from the Dark Dimension too, making it easier to put those cards to use.

Red-Eyes Wyvern is essentially a Mezuki for the Red-Eyes theme, and it brings a lot of Mezuki’s familiar assets to the table. The big one is protection when you go all-out. There’s not much mystery here: decks built around Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon like to explode with a flurry of big attacks, but even with Red-Eyes’ potential to gain you card presence over time, you’ll lose cards if you blunder into Mirror Force or Torrential Tribute. If one of the monsters destroyed is Red-Eyes Wyvern, not only will you be able to recover a monster as soon as your end phase, but the card you bring back is likely to be Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, which means even more cost-free recovery a turn later.

I mean really, how cool would it be to activate Future Fusion, sending three White Stones to the graveyard along with one Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon and a Wyvern? You’ll pull three Blue-Eyes from your deck courtesy of the Stones, and in the end phase you’ll remove the Wyvern to summon Red-Eyes. Next turn you start dropping copies of Blue-Eyes for free. It won’t win you a Shonen Jump Championship, but it will turn some heads at your neighborhood game store.

Cracked a few Blizzard Dragons in your Dark Legends packs? Put them to work with Red-Eyes and you can freeze a monster every turn, even if Blizzard Dragon’s destroyed. Cool stuff, no pun intended.

Oh, and Red-Eyes is great with Synchros, too. A free monster every turn means free Synchro material fodder, and once you bring out a big hitter like Stardust Dragon or Red Dragon Archfiend, it’s fair game for special summoning with Red-Eyes effect. I’m a fan of summoning Stardust Dragon, but summoning it for free over and over? Seems like a good deal. Remember too that there’s no shortage of Dragon-type Synchro monsters coming out in 2009, since those monsters are a big focus of the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s TV show.

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon is one of those awesome cards that has a ton of fun uses in casual play, but also the strength, synergy, and high utility that can make it a star in competitive tournaments. You can use this card to create a ridiculous, but totally fun Blue-Eyes deck that only wins one out of every ten duels. You can also use it to create tournament-winning strategies just as easily, and I’m pretty convinced there’s at least one competitive deck here. Time will tell, but for now it’s a hugely promising card and a great way to start off 2009!

And don’t forget ― it’s practically free. It doesn’t really get better than that.