It’s been a roller coaster of a week for us here at UDuelists; on one hand, news has been relatively slow, but on another, we’ve recently begun our entry in to Newsboiler sites such as N4G and FilmWatch a few days ago! We managed to break our latest daily viewing record a couple days ago, and reached quite a few milestones. Also, we’re in the works of making some awesome UDuelists swag for you, with t-shirts coming your way in the near future! So, to celebrate, we’ll be celebrating by previewing a few cards over the next couple of weeks that have yet to be released to the TCG, but will in due time!
Our Card of the Night tonight is Heroic Champion – Excalibur, who first debuted in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal anime as the trump card for Gauche! As a Rank 4 warrior with 2000 attack and 2000 defense defense base stats, Excalibur may not seem much, but it can do quite a bit of damage.
Excalibur’s effect is simple: by detaching 2 Xyz materials, you can double its attack until your opponent’s next end phase, bringing its total attack to at least 4000 attack! Heroics will be known for their heavy beatdown and swarming strategies, and their Xyz monsters will be the ones to lead the pack.
Of course, it must be known that in order to summon Excalibur, you’ll need 2 level 4 warrior-type monsters, limiting its use with certain decks. Decks that can quickly summon Excalibur include Heroics, Ninjas, and Six Samurais (the most popular of warrior-based decks of course), but other off-key decks such as Photons can manage under some circumstances.
Goblindbergh is highly recommended to kick start an Excalibur summoning; with its effect, you can switch Goblindbergh to defense mode, but also gain the ability to special summon any 4 or lower monster. Since Goblindbergh is a level 4 earth-attribute warrior-type, it fits in quite well with generic warrior decks in which you may use Excalibur in.
Though Excalibur is indeed a warrior-deck supporter, its greatest strength lies when used with its own Heroic archetype. By using Heroic Chance in combination with Excalibur’s effect, you can raise its attack to 8000 without any other modifiers! Of course, by using Heroic Chance, you’re unable to attack your opponent directly for a surefire OTK, but it’s a small price to pay (just aim for their weaker monsters and your gold!). Keep in mind, however, that you’ll need to activate Excalibur’s effect AFTER you boost its attack through various other methods to ensure maximum effect. With the swarming capabilities of Heroics, Ninjas, and Six Samurais, however, it is greatly recommended that you also carry a United We Stand with you as well (minimum attack with 5 monsters on the field, United We Stand, Excalibur’s effect=(4000+2000)*2=12,000, adding Heroic Chance=24,000). It’s quite safe to say that if your opponents have any face-up attack position monsters on the field when you pull out Excalibur’s combos, it’s a sure win.
As with all other attack-based monsters, Excalibur is threatened by the common anti-attack cards like Mirror Force, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, and Battle Fader. Its combos are easier to use than one might think, but it’s the counter maneuvers your opponent has set that’s the hard part to get around. Prepare cards such as Seven Tools of the Bandit, Solemn Judgment, or even Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of your opponent’s traps before setting up your combos, and Soul Drain to prevent cards like Battle Fader or Swift Scarecrow from stopping your attacks.
Overall, Heroic Champion – Excalibur is a great one-shot beatdown monster, deserving of a rating of 8.5 out of 10 for its battle-devastating effect. Of course, the real challenge with using Excalibur is predicting your opponent’s moves in terms of battle phase counters or even what happens after the effect wears off after your opponent’s next end phase. Thankfully, there are plenty of cards to keep doubling Excalibur’s effect enough to ensure a near-perfect OTK strategy!
Stats:
Rank: 4
Attribute: Light
Type: Warrior/Xyz/Effect
Attack: 2000
Defense: 2000
Summon Conditions: Overlay 2 Level 4 Warrior-Type monsters
Effect: Once per turn: You can detach 2 Xyz materials from this card; until your opponent’s next end phase, this card’s original attack is doubled.
Set Name: ROTD-EN041
Set: Return of the Duelist
Current Price: N/A
