In Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, high school student Theodore Hamilton gains a reputation as ‘Soulburner’, a fiery duellist who plays with passion, in the LINK VRAINS world. Inspired by the character who appears on the packs, the ‘Soulburning Volcano’ booster packs contain a strong selection of cards to leave your opponent’s life points up in flames. So with that out of the way, let’s face the fire head on and see what you will be using to turn up the heat in your next duel!
SALAMANGREAT
Let’s start by going through the centrepiece of the ‘Soulburning Volcano’ booster packs: the Salamangreat archetype, used by ‘Soulburner’ in VRAINS.
The heart of the Salamangreat archetype is a menagerie of FIRE Cyberse monsters such as “Salamangreat Heatleo”, “Salamangreat Spinny” and “Salamangreat Jack Jaguar” with effects to recycle cards from the Graveyard, summon monsters with the same name from the Deck or boost your battle capabilities.
Alongside these monsters are Spell and Trap Cards such as “Salamangreat Roar” and “Salamangreat Charge” to control the duel by limiting your opponent’s field, bringing more Salamangreats onto your side of the field and protecting your existing Salamangreat monsters.
If you’re determined to become familiar with all aspects of Yu-Gi-Oh! then the Salamangreats found in ‘Soulburning Volcano‘ have the huge advantage of showcasing monsters with most of the Extra Deck Summoning methods including Link monsters (“Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf”), XYZ monsters (“Salamangreat Miragestallio”) and Synchro monsters (“Salamangreat Burst Gryphon”).
KEY PICK: SALAMANGREAT CIRCLE
This card was limited to one copy per deck on the Yu-Gi-Oh! competitive scene for a while which shows how strong this card can be. With the first effect, you can add any Salamangreat to your hand from your deck which can be very useful to pick up a combo starter like “Salamangreat Gazelle” or “Salamangreat Spinny”.
The second effect may seem rather esoteric until you realise that the Salamangreat playstyle strongly encourages Reincarnation Link Summoning – whereby a Link Monster is summoned using a Link Monster with the same name as all of the required materials. As a result, the second effect of “Salamangreat Circle” can provide valuable protection for a Link Monster from any of your opponent’s Monster Card effects. It may not look like much but a clever use of “Salamangreat Circle” can turn the course of many a duel!
BATTLIN’ BOXER
If you want to use the power of XYZ Summoning to deliver a knockout blow to your opponents Life Points then you will want to be stepping into the ring with a Battlin’ Boxer deck!
Used by Alito in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL show, the Battlin’ Boxer archetype consists of FIRE Warrior monsters, some supporting Spell and Trap cards along with a few strong XYZ options in the Extra Deck.
As you might guess from the inspiration, the Battle Phase is where the Battlin’ Boxers really pack a punch. Monsters in this archetype have effects such as instantly destroying your opponent’s Defence Position monsters during battle (“Battlin’ Boxer Rabbit Puncher”), avoiding destruction from battle (“Battlin’ Boxer Big Bandage”) or boosting the ATK of your other Battlin’ Boxers (“Battlin’ Boxer Counterpunch”). Naturally with the focus on XYZ monsters, several Battlin’ Boxers (such as “Battlin’ Boxer Chier Second” or “Battlin’ Boxer Promoter”) have effects to add monsters to your field in preparation for XYZ Summoning.
KEY PICK: NUMBER 105: BATTLIN’ BOXER STAR CESTUS
With a large portion of Battlin’ Boxers being Level 4 and many Battlin’ Boxer effects bringing more of your monsters on to the field, it is a fairly simple task to achieve the Summoning conditions for “Number 105: Battlin’ Boxer Star Cestus”. And once you have then you’re ready to deliver the coup de grace!
A solid 2500 ATK and respectable 1600 DEF mean that Number 105 is able to hold it’s own in most battles even before you start factoring the effects. In simple terms, the effects of this XYZ monsters are completely unreal! For the cost of 1 XYZ material during the Battle Phase, you can prevent your Battlin’ Boxer (not necessarily Number 105 itself) from being destroyed in the battle, negate your opponent’s monster’s effect as well as redirecting any Battle Damage from you to your opponent. In terms of XYZ monsters, Number 105 is definitely a heavyhitter that you will want stepping into the ring for you!
VOLCANIC
After a long time laying dormant, Soulburning Volcano sees the Volcanic archetype erupt into life with new releases. For those familiar with Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, the Volcanic archetype was a staple in the deck of the brave and no-nonsense Axel Brodie.
The central strategy of Volcanic decks revolve around inflicting high amount of Burn (see ‘Playstyles’ article) to your opponent’s Life Points with cards like “Volcanic Hammerer”, “Volcanic Slicer” and “Volcanic Scattershot”. The Volcanic deck is designed to utilise “Blaze Accelerator” (also included in the ‘Soulburning Volcano‘ set) since it allows you to discard 1 Pyro monster with ATK below 500 – which your deck will likely have in abundance – to instantly destroy one of your opponent’s monster. In addition, “Volcanic
Scattershot” and “Volcanic Shell” both fit the criteria to trigger “Blaze Accelerator” and have the effect they inflict Effect Damage to your opponent’s Life Points when discarded to the Graveyard so you can both destroy a monster and reduce your opponent’s Life Points with one activation.
KEY PICK: VOLCANIC QUEEN
Summoning to your opponent’s side of the field may seem counter-productive but the tribute requirement means that you can use the summon of “Volcanic Queen” to send one of your opponent’s monsters to the Graveyard. This can be especially crucial when your opponent has a monster that you just can’t seem to destroy!
As well since it only has a DEF of 1200, if you Special Summon this to your opponent’s field in Defence Position then it is quite a simple job to destroy it before they get the chance to turn that 2500 ATK on to you.
It’s easy to see why this gameplay style would end up getting used a lot more later on as the basis for the Kaiju archetype.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In recent years, fans of FIRE Attribute-centric archetypes have been well served with a series of structure decks and booster packs and ‘Soulburning Volcano‘ continues that tradition with a flourish. The cards in this set are both beautiful artistic renderings (as is the standard for Yu-Gi-Oh!) and mechanically sound in game. This means whether you intend to Duel with your friends or just admire these cards as you add them to your collection, you are guaranteed to have a fun time!
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