The Elemental Energy Sneak Preview Weekend is fast approaching, and that means that duelists everywhere will have a chance to take a look at the new Yu-Gi-Oh! set before its actual release! Veteran duelists should be familiar with the routine of these Sneak Preview articles by now. We tempt you to go to a Sneak Preview event location near you, and then you think about the cool stuff you get just for participating in a single event—cool stuff such as the new Exchange of the Spirit promo card, Elemental Energy booster packs, Shonen Jump samples, and more! Some duelists may also walk away with nifty Elemental Energy T-shirts. Of course, the reason that many of you are still reading this article right now is because you’re here to see a new card from Elemental Energy, so let’s get right to that.

Last week, you found out that Yugi’s King’s Knight, Queen’s Knight, and Jack’s Knight monster cards would finally make their debut in Elemental Energy. Today’s fusion monster is an expansion of Seto Kaiba’s popular X-Y-Z monster lineup. Take a look at VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon, the final fusion of Kaiba’s old Union monsters.

VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon

Level 8

LIGHT Attribute

Machine Type

ATK: 3000

DEF: 2800

Fusion of XYZ-Dragon Cannon and VW-Tiger Catapult

Effect:This card can only be Special Summoned from the Fusion Deck by removing the above monsters on your side of the field from play. Once per turn, remove from play 1 card on your opponent's side of the field. When this card attacks, you can change the battle position of the attacked monster. (Flip Effects are not activated).

A grand total of five Machine monsters have been fused together in order to create VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon. You could also refer to it as the Megazord. What’s the background of this new monster?

Many Yu-Gi-Oh! fans may recall that Kaiba’s X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank made their debut during the Battle City semifinals. This was the same duel in which Yugi’s Knights first appeared. Kaiba’s intention was to unite his three Machine monsters in order to build up their power. X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank were also Kaiba’s strategy for summoning Obelisk the Tormentor. The ability to combine their strength was merely a method of providing stability in Kaiba’s future tributes to his Egyptian God Card.

However, after Kaiba gave Obelisk the Tormentor to Yugi after their match, he incorporated the elements of XYZ-Dragon Cannon into his standard deck. These three monsters made numerous appearances throughout the animated series, and in other places, too. XYZ-Dragon Cannon was Kaiba’s strategy in defeating Pegasus in Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie, and Kaiba also created XYZ-Dragon Cannon during his second duel against Allister.

However, we have yet to see Kaiba in the new Yu-Gi-Oh! GX animated series. He may be the founder of Duel Academy, but I’d imagine Kaiba regards himself as too good to appear at the school itself. In the absence of Kaiba, Chazz Princeton has been more than happy to keep the popularity of XYZ-Dragon Cannon alive. With the help of Dr. Crowler, who collected all the new rare cards that were sent to Duel Academy, Chazz was able to create an entire deck that centralized its strategy around the X-Y-Z union monsters.

Along with the original three machines, Chazz’s deck also incorporates the new V-Tiger Jet and W-Wing Catapult. These two Union monsters could be combined into the VW-Tiger Catapult. On the show, Chazz managed to summon all the monsters necessary in order to create both the VW-Tiger Catapult and the XYZ-Dragon Cannon. Once both of these monsters appeared, Chazz combined them into today’s sneak peek card, VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon. Despite Chazz’s efforts, he lost his duel against Jaden—thanks to the interference of Winged Kuriboh LV10.

Competitively speaking, it’s hard to predict whether VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon will see any play. The current Advanced format loves cards that provide one-for-one trades, such as Smashing Ground and D. D. Assailant. This may make this fusion monster a bit difficult to maintain, if you manage to summon it.

However, unlike XYZ-Dragon Cannon’s effect, VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon provides an unconditional advantage. Once per turn, you have the ability to remove any threatening element on your opponent’s field from play. This can be a nasty trap card, such as Gravity Bind, a continuous effect that is holding you back, such as that of Swords of Revealing Light, or an annoying monster that wants to show your giant robot a new dimension, such as D. D. Assailant. It doesn’t matter what the threatening element is, since you can remove just about anything with VWXYZ-Dragon Cannon.

This ability is definitely powerful—and, more importantly, it requires no additional costs from you. This makes VWXYZ-Dragon Cannon much more threatening than XYZ-Dragon Cannon, which required a discard from your hand in order for its effect to trigger. This wasn’t painful in the previous Advanced format, when you could set up a Night Assailant loop and make your opponent cry, but with Night Assailant’s limiting last month, Kaiba’s old Machine took a hit to the face.

The second effect of VWXYZ-Dragon cannon is also deadly, as the giant robot can switch the position of any monster that it attacks. This nullifies annoyingly powerful flip effects, like those of Mask of Darkness and Magician of Faith. This ability also allows you to win the game faster, which should be your top priority if you’ve spent enough resources to summon this fusion monster. While cards such as Frontline Base and Cyber Jar can assist you in summoning the monsters necessary to special summon VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon, the cost to bring out this giant robot is definitely steep. However, if you manage to bring out VWXYZ-Dragon Cannon, you’re probably going to win the duel. The amount of field control that this giant robot provides is ridiculous.

While you may not be able to use VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon during the major events of the Elemental Energy Sneak Preview Weekend, it’s still a fresh spin on an old series of monsters. Seeing as how this card just made its debut on Yu-Gi-Oh! GX a few weeks ago, you can expect this monster to be pretty popular at your local Sneak Preview event. Perhaps you can throw together an XYZ-Dragon Cannon deck for the weekend and incorporate this fusion monster along with its components. You’re bound to have some fun if you summon VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon during a Constructed side event!

We’re getting closer to the Elemental Energy Sneak Preview Weekend, and only two more sneak peeks are left here on Metagame! Be sure to check them out, and also be sure to attend a Sneak Preview location near you. You know you want that Exchange of the Spirit promo card!