The Advanced format has evolved quite a bit since the Forbidden and Limited lists last changed. While the format still remains primarily fast, it has moved from a dominant combo environment to a much more beatdown-oriented format. Instead of people going off in the first two turns with explosive Rituals and long bouts of card-sifting, players are now attacking with multiple monsters as a follow-up to an activated Trap Dustshoot. They have finally adjusted to the power level combos in this format and have managed to bring down such combos through powerful tech.
One of the defining elements of this format is that, unlike some others before it, tournaments are defined by face-up monsters that do something immediately when they hit play, and we’re talking more than Monarchs. The Advanced format is currently built around monsters with effects that trigger when summoned, or effects that can be used when the monster is immediately brought into play thanks to the turn player’s priority. Card Trooper is among the most influential monsters around, since it not only works well with numerous decks, but it also usually has 1900 ATK when it attacks. Even when it leaves the field, its user often gets to draw a card to keep his or her options flowing.
Cyber Phoenix, in particular, is the very representation of what this format is all about, even though its tournament success took a little time. It doesn’t have the big stats that would indicate its major status in aggro decks. Its 1200 ATK doesn’t even get over monsters like Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude or any of the Gadgets, and the thought of setting a Cyber Phoenix isn’t that appealing since Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive offers the same card-cycling power while actually working in defense position. The reason Cyber Phoenix sees play is because of its effects.
The first effect of note is the protection it offers Machine monsters. One of the primary reasons players are running Cyber Phoenix is because it can keep Cyber Dragon safe. This small Machine gives its user a powerful early-game play (as long as the opponent sets a card in each zone for his or her first turn) by allowing the Machine player to special summon Cyber Dragon, normal summon Cyber Phoenix, and then attack into the opponent’s face-down monster without worry of any tricks beyond Mirror Force. The plan is not entirely invulnerable—it can fall to plays like Torrential Tribute with a set Treeborn Frog or Sangan—but it works because of the state of the current format. Sakuretsu Armor is still considered one of the premiere removal cards, and Cyber Phoenix shuts it down.
The importance of this first effect cannot be emphasized enough. A player could certainly play multiple copies of Cyber Dragon and Card Trooper and call his or her deck Machine aggro, but it would still be vulnerable to any of the opponent’s targeted removal . . . which can bring an aggressive deck to a screeching halt. This is one of the easiest ways to see your game plan countered and then wrecked by a huge Monarch the following turn. Running Cyber Phoenix with multiple copies of Cyber Dragon and Card Trooper offers some resilience against this sort of backfire, allowing the aggressive player to maintain field advantage and tempo over the course of the game. This makes Cyber Phoenix the perfect offensive weapon . . . thanks, surprisingly enough, to its very defensive ability.
On that note, there are also some important defensive reasons for running Cyber Phoenix in Machine aggro as well. After looking through any of the past Shonen Jump Championships’ Top 16 decklists, you may recognize how important Brain Control is. It’s one of the fastest enablers for a Monarch strategy, and one of the best aggressive tricks in the game, too. A well-played Brain Control can immediately end a game through one huge aggressive turn, or it can act as targeted removal when combined with a tribute monster like Cyber Dragon or a Monarch. Regardless of what it is used for (and those uses can be limitless), it is a completely useless card against a face-up attack-position Cyber Phoenix. This is especially important in halting Brain Control during its user’s main phase 1, since it doesn’t allow any of a Machine aggro player’s primary monsters to be used against him or her during the battle phase. The opposing player will have to summon a monster, attack Cyber Phoenix (which will simply give the Machine player a free draw), and then look at his or her Brain Control helplessly . . . having already used up the normal summon for the turn. No free tribute summons.
Another nifty Cyber Phoenix trick arises when a Machine is brought back to the field by Premature Burial and Call of the Haunted. Once it comes into play, Cyber Phoenix will negate the destruction effects of those two recursion cards. Even if Premature Burial or Call of the Haunted is destroyed, you’ll get to keep your Machine monster.
Cyber Phoenix’s final treat is the card draw it provides when it’s destroyed. In a Machine aggro strategy, Cyber Phoenix will almost always be in face-up attack position. Your opponent has to destroy it, or else its effect will tie up too many of his or her cards. There is no other option. The opponent can’t use Enemy Controller to shift Cyber Phoenix’s position since it’s a Machine and therefore negates spells and traps that target it! The opponent has to waste a battle phase destroying Cyber Phoenix if he or she wants any say in what can or can’t be played on any of your Machine monsters. And you receive a new card when your opponent does this, so you can continue to draw and play new Machine monsters as each turn passes!
The presence of Cyber Phoenix is especially frustrating when you have one or more copies of Card Trooper out. Typically, your opponent will want to destroy the Card Trooper since it can be a real pain when its ATK gets boosted. However, if the opponent doesn’t deal with Cyber Phoenix, then you will have little to worry about during your battle phases. No matter what your opponent does, you are going to draw a card when he or she destroys one of your Machine monsters in this situation.
Cyber Phoenix is helping to reshape the current Advanced format. Its effect doesn’t have the explosive appearance of a lot of other high-impact cards seeing play right now, but it’s actually one of the most relevant effects that the Machine aggro deck can utilize. The current format’s vast collection of Sakuretsu Armor and Brain Control cards are left powerless when this monster is in face-up attack position, and its card draw effect keeps your options flowing even if Cyber Phoenix is destroyed through battle. Looking at the results from SJC Phoenix, Machine aggro will be around for the remainder of the format, and Cyber Phoenix is one of the deck’s most important stabilizing forces. Think of it not as an average monster, but rather as a very powerful continuous effect that just happens to require a summon.