Rescue Rabbit (PHSW-EN037)

Card:  PHSW-EN037
Card Name:  Rescue Rabbit
Attribute:  Earth
Level/Rank:  4
Type:  Beast/Effect
ATK:  300
DEF:  100

Card Text:
This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck.  You can banish this face-up card you control; Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters with the same name from your Deck.  Destroy them during the End Phase.  The effect of "Rescue Rabbit" can only be activated once per turn.

Personal Comment:

Not only is Rescue Rabbit the best card to come out of Photon Shockwave, it might be one of the best card ever (right up there with Tour Guide From The Underworld).  Currently it is selling for more than $100 and every duelist wants it in their deck.  The difference this card makes is so significant that "having it" versus "not having it" will determine the outcome of a duel.  Even the 3 stipulations to prevent this card from being too powerful does absolutely nothing to hold it back.

1.  This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck.
Not a big deal.  He's going to end up in your hand or Graveyard soon enough for you to get him in play.  It's a Level 4 card so there's no need for a Tribute or anything of the sort.  This is the most basic play possible.

2.  Destroy the 2 monsters you Special Summoned at the End Phase.
The 2 monsters will be used up before the End Phase as part of another Special Summon.  Why else would you bring them into play?

3.  The effect of "Rescue Rabbit" can only be activated once per turn.
Excuse me?  It should be once per game!!!

The example of how to use Rescue Rabbit is one I'm sure everyone has heard about.  Get Rescue Rabbit on the field face-up.  Banish him and Special Summon two Alexandrite Dragon from your Deck.  Tribute the Two Alexandrite Dragon to Special Summon Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon.  Before your opponent can even blink you have on the field a Level 8 Monster with 3000 ATK and 2500 DEF that is nearly impossible to destroy.  Rescue Rabbit is one of the most game-changing and broken card to ever to be released.  If you have this card use it while you can.  I can't imagine it not being banned or limited soon.

Personal Rating:
Artwork - 9/10
Power - 10/10 (for what it can do...not for its stats)
Easy To Play - 9/10
Collectable - 10/10 (if it gets banned or limited this rating will drop)
Overall Score - 9.5/10

Drill Warrior (ABPF-EN041)

Card:  ABPF-EN041
Card Name:  Drill Warrior
Attribute:  Earth
Level/Rank:  6
Type:  Warrior/Synchro/Effect
ATK:  2400
DEF:  2000

Card Text:
"Drill Synchron" + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can halve this card's ATK (permanently).  If you do, it can attack your opponent directly this turn.  Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can discard 1 card and remove this card from play.  During your next Standby Phase, Special Summon this card, if removed by this effect.  Then, add 1 Monster Card from your Graveyard to your hand.

Personal Comment:

Drill Warrior is a very tricky card to play and needs a strategy in place to be successful.  So the following comment will be slightly hard to follow if you are new to dueling.

The requirement of "Drill Synchron" to Synchro Summon this card makes it a little difficult to bring into play but adding "Quickdraw Synchron" will definitely speed this up.  Once on the field, the first part of Drill Warrior's effect is pretty self explanatory.  Halve the ATK of this card (it becomes 1200 ATK permanently) and attack your opponent directly.  In most situation, I recommend activating this effect right away (Main Phase 1) and taking full advantage of it.  Now that he's weakened (1200 ATK and 2000 DEF) it is more important to utilize his second effect than keeping him on the field.  So during your Main Phase 2, send 1 card in your hand to the Graveyard to remove Drill Warrior from play (note: the card you sent to the Graveyard can be one of the cards you bring back to your hand and is not considered a cost).  The success of the second part of Drill Warrior's effect will depend on what monsters you have in the Graveyard and what the current situation dictates.  You need to think carefully about what monster(s) your opponent has on the field or what monster you want to put in play.  During your next Standby Phase, you can now Special Summon Drill Warrior back to the field and return a monster from the Graveyard to your hand (adding the card to your hand is a trigger effect that is part of the Special Summon).  Because he was removed from play, Drill Warrior's stats reset and he comes back with 2400 ATK and 2000 DEF.  This means you can start the whole process all over...halve his ATK and attack your opponent directly again.  If used properly, Drill Warrior can eat away an opponent's life points and strengthen your hand at the same time.  A very fun and challenging card.

Here's what I just talked about simplified:

- Your Turn
- Draw Phase
- Standby Phase
- Main Phase 1 (Synchro Summon Drill Warrior, halve his ATK, attack opponent directly)
- Battle Phase
- Main Phase 2 (Send 1 card from hand to the Graveyard, remove Drill Warrior)
- End Phase

- Opponent's Turn

- Your turn
- Draw Phase
- Standby Phase (Bring back Drill Warrior with full stats, return card from Graveyard to hand)
- Main Phase 1 (Halve Drill Warrior's ATK, attack opponent directly)
- Battle Phase
- Main Phase 2 (Send 1 card from hand to the Graveyard, remove Drill Warrior)
- End Phase

Personal Rating:
Artwork - 8/10
Power - 7/10
Easy To Play - 6/10
Collectable - 7/10
Overall Score - 7/10

Thor, Lord Of The Aesir (STOR-EN038)

Card:  STOR-EN038
Card Name:  Thor, Lord Of The Aesir
Attribute:  Earth
Level/Rank:  10
Type:  Beast-Warrior/Synchro/Effect
ATK:  3500
DEF:  2800

Card Text:
1 "Nordic Beast" Tuner + 2 or more non-Tuner monsters
Once per turn, you can negate the effects of all face-up monsters your opponent controls, until the End Phase.  During the End Phase, if this face-up card on the field was destroyed by your opponent's card (either by battle or by card effect) and sent to the Graveyard this turn, you can remove from play 1 "Nordic Beast" Tuner monster from your Graveyard to Special Summon this card from the Graveyard.  When it is Special Summoned by this effect, inflict 800 damage to your opponent.

Personal Comment:
I'm still on the fence with this card.  Thor has some great stats with 3500 ATK and 2800 DEF but it will take a lot of work to bring him into play.  On top of that, once in play your opponent can easily get rid of him with various Spell/Trap cards.  For dueling purposes, there are plenty of other monsters with comparable stats and more staying power than Thor (Odin or Loki are simply better).  But as a collector, this is one of my favorite card.  The artwork is superb.  If you're going to spend money on a card you don't want to feel ripped off due to a lack of effort in the art (I refuse to buy The Wicked Avatar for this reason).  This card is worth the money.  Plus, it's one of the three Nordic God cards which makes it a pivotal part of any collection.

Update - 10/28/2011
I've heard a lot of disagreement with my assessment of Thor as a dueling card.  Apparently there are many duelist who have been very successful using this card and others who have been beaten by an opponent who uses this card.  So I need to clarify.  I think Thor is a very powerful card (my Personal Power Rating has him at 8/10).  The 3500 ATK and 2800 DEF is nothing to laugh at.  Those stats will hold up against most monsters and if you get him on the playing field there's a very good chance you will win your duel.  Having said that, why build a deck around Thor when you can build it around Odin instead?  Odin brings with him 4000 ATK and 3500 DEF with an effect that negates Spell/Trap cards.  Odin is simply the most powerful of the three Nordic Gods.  So the question is this...if you had a "winner takes all" match with the choice to build a deck around Odin, Loki, or Thor...which one would you choose?

Personal Rating:
Artwork - 10/10
Power - 8/10
Easy To Play - 6/10
Collectable - 8/10
Overall Score - 8/10

T.G. Halberd Cannon (EXVC-EN043)

Card:  EXVC-EN043
Card Name:  T.G. Halberd Cannon
Attribute:  Earth
Level/Rank:  12
Type:  Machine/Synchro/Effect
ATK:  4000
DEF:  4000

Card Text:
1 Tuner Synchro Monster + 2 or more non-Tuner Synchro Monsters
This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Synchro Summon.  Once per turn, while this card is face-up on the field, you can negate the Summon of a monster and destroy it.  When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can select 1 "T.G." monster in your Graveyard, and Special Summon it.

Personal Comment:
This card is on the top tier of all stats (level 12, ATK 4000, DEF 4000) so getting him on the playing field is a little difficult (having a card like T.G. Hyper Librarian in your deck will help significantly).  However, if you succeed there is a very good chance he could end a duel in your favor.  The ability to negate the Summon of an opponent's monster and destroy it is absolutely devastating.  This prevents them from bringing out an Effect Monster that could counter T.G. Halberd Cannon's brute power.  But the down side is that there are plenty of Spell and Trap cards that have the ability to remove him from play.  So all that hard work to bring him into play can easily be negated if your opponent has the proper cards to deal with him (but that is true for any monster card).  Ideally you want to be using a "T.G." deck to utilize his second effect but it isn't necessary.  Because of T.G. Halberd Cannon's powerful stats any Synchro deck that has the ability to bring him out should include him.  Having said that, this card isn't for everybody (unless you like a challenge).  Great stats, great effects, great card...just a little difficult to play for the novice duelist.

Rulings For This Card:
- The effect that negates the summoning of a monster and destroys it does not target.
- The effect can be activated during either player's turn, except the Damage Step.
- You can negate summons that happen during the resolution of a card or effect (such as Monster Reborn).

Personal Rating:
Artwork - 8/10
Power - 9/10
Easy To Play - 6/10
Collectable - 7/10
Overall Score - 7.5/10