Beyond the Brave releases on October 8th, bringing multiple new Decks to the format like Dark Time Wizard, Umbral Horror, Ashtra, and Atlantis while also offering additional support for archetypes like Destiny HERO, Adamancipator, and Angelechy. As is typical for a new set, whether for the Advanced format or for Genesys, you can typically expect these cards to have an impact on the meta, especially when they aren't addressed indirectly beforehand. In Advanced, these Decks are typically free to enter the format with bare minimum changes to allow these strategies to enter at full power, only pre-hitting any potentially toxic interactions. In Genesys, on the other hand, we expect a balanced metagame of multiple Decks, so with new archetypes and support typically being more powerful than what comes before, they need to be given points upon entry to the format to keep a healthy metagame. Therefore, we have the expected points update for Beyond the Brave cards entering Genesys, and I'll be going through these cards by archetype to see how the points will affect these strategies when Deck-building and how they might impact the format.

Dark Time Wizard

We start with the face of Beyond the Brave with the Dark Time Wizard archetype, based, of course, around Dark Time Wizard. Dark Time Wizard is a Quick-Play Spell that searches any card that mentions Dark Time Wizard from the Deck before adding itself back to your hand at the end of the turn, or lets you flip a coin to destroy all the opponent's monsters if you call it right; otherwise, yours are destroyed. The second effect is key for board breaking, where if you hit, you basically get Raigeki, and if you whiff, then you basically get a Kaiju from the Extra Deck in the form of Red-Eyes Black Dragon Exceed that can revive a monster to restart your plays. This versatile power brings Dark Time Wizard itself to 5 points, making it harder to consider as a generic option, but not so expensive that it would be unplayable in that regard, as is in the intended Deck.

Now for the support, Swiftwind Panther Warrior is one of your starters for the archetype that tributes another monster from your hand or field to summon a monster that mentions Dark Time Wizard from the Deck. Considering this can get Fisherman of Legend for removal or Alligator's Dragon Knight for a double Spell/Trap search and discard, this card does make a Dark Time Wizard engine pretty powerful; therefore, you get 3 points on Swiftwind Panther Warrior for a small cost, meaning you'll likely spend 9 on a playset. Speaking of Alligator's Dragon Knight, a double searcher for backrow is very good, and the discard is fine considering cards like Graceful & Skull Dice and Foolish Graverobber have great graveyard effects, as well as getting your Dark Time Wizard itself potentially. That plus the fact that Alligator's Dragon Knight can summon itself from the hand by revealing a card mentioning Dark Time Wizard makes this searcher easy to use, so this gets 4 points on release, requiring 12 for a playset. Add all three of these cards as playsets together, and you're spending 36 points to play the theme. It limits you from running this as an engine too easily, but as a Deck it might stand a better chance in Genesys.

Umbral Horror

Umbral Horror might be an old archetype from 2013, but considering the state of those cards from back in the day compared to what we got now, you can basically consider it a new Deck. Not only that, but a pretty toxic Deck at that, with floodgates like CXyz Hope Chaos Barian Dragon and Barian's Seventh Untopia. Hope Chaos Barian Dragon being a Rank 7 you can summon over any Number C10X card and serve as a one-sided Mistake is very toxic for the format to have, not to also mention the fact that it can attach the top 2 cards from the opponent's Deck to itself as material, gets 100 points on the card, functionally making it unplayable in Genesys. As for Barian's Seventh Untopia, you get a Field Spell that only lets players summon non-Numbers from the Extra Deck up to twice per turn while it sits on the field, and it searches an Umbral Horror card and lets you discard after. There are a bunch of good Number monsters, but this Field Spell is pretty unfun, bringing Barian's Seventh Untopia to 33 points, so you likely use 1 max with 3 Thousand Umbral Horror to fetch it from the Deck if playing the card.

Now for the play enablers for the archetype, Shining Umbral Horror is your main extender that can summon itself after you summon an Umbral Horror, letting you then draw a card and summon what you draw if you hit an Umbral Horror monster, plus being able to be treated as 2 materials to Xyz Summon a Number monster. This card was given 7 points, which is fine considering you only need a single copy of it. Gorgonic Umbral Horror, on the other hand, you'd likely need multiples of, Special Summoning itself if you either control no monsters or only Umbral Horrors, then adding an Umbral Horror monster from your Deck to your hand, and it comes with the same ability to be 2 materials to Xyz Summon a Number, but this at least locks you to Numbers while you control the card. All this on a single card that can be a starter or extender also gets Gorgonic Umbral Horror 10 points, which you'll feel more than Shining Umbral Horror. Finally, we got V Umbral Horror as your Normal Summon to search an Umbral Horror monster, and it banishes itself from the grave to let you Rank-Up a Number you control, getting V Umbral Horror another 7 points. These points should make it impossible to run playsets of V and Gorgonic, but the main archetypal Xyz is also pointed, as Number 104: Masquerade V has 20 points for its ability to search a Barian's Spell/Trap, like Barian's Seal, then using it as material to Xyz Summon either makes your opponent banish 4 monsters with different Attributes and a Spell from their Deck, or the top 10 cards of their Deck if they are unable to. These cards are extremely powerful, especially if they were able to mix with other Rank 4 good stuff, but all these points should balance the strategy out a decent bit.

Atlantis

Umi returns yet again with a new strategy based around Atlantis, City of the Sea Dragon, which is limited in Genesys by the fact that you cannot access the archetype's Link Monsters like Levia-Dragoon - Daedalus or Azure Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo-Daedalus Rage to make most of their plays. So instead you work with the Main Deck monsters, which are all treated as Umi on the field, giving a unique twist on what we've seen from previous Umi support. The old cards, mainly cards like Electric Jellyfish and Ocean Dragon Lord - Kairyu-Shin, do make Umi support scary in Genesys, so they got a slight hit with Monstrous Arms of Atlantis getting 10 points, reviving your monsters that mention the Field Spell and banishing itself from the grave and sending Umi to the graveyard for a monster negate. These will really be the only points on the theme, and there might be something there despite not having Link Monsters.

Destiny HERO

Now for Destiny HEROes, getting a wave of legacy support to make pure Destiny HERO a viable option. They are already working with some decently pointed cards, as Fusion Destiny has 33 points, while Destiny HERO - Plasma and Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer are at 20 points each, not to mention Winged Kuriboh Sabatiel LV10 is 7 points for your Fusion Destiny searcher, Masked HERO Dark Law is 70 points to axe any hope of the Masked HERO package being effective, and Masked HERO Fountain is 6 points if you want to use the cards for Contrast HERO Chaos. Still, the Destiny HERO cards are powerful enough to warrant caution with this archetype. Destiny HERO - Doom Overlord is 5 points, serving as your Normal Summon to send a Destiny HERO from the Deck to the graveyard, like Destiny HERO - Malicious or Destiny HERO - Denier, to add Dark City at Midnight from your Deck to your hand; speaking of which, the new Field Spell is also 5 points for searching a Destiny HERO, and destroying it will summon something like Destiny HERO - Dreadmaster from the Deck to revive 2 names.

The Dreadmaster you summon from the Deck is even more useful than before now that you can turn it into Destiny HERO - Dreadnought Master, who gains the ATK of every Destiny HERO on your field and graveyard, on top of searching for 2 Destiny HERO monsters or cards that mention specific Destiny HERO monsters from the Deck, so this has been given 15 points on release. Finally, we get Destiny HERO - Destro-Dogma to burn the opponent for 2000 damage during their next Standby Phase after it is summoned, and it can Fusion Summon a DARK or Warrior by shuffling the materials from the hand, field, and/or graveyard into the Deck. The burn is risky for potential FTKs, so Destro-Dogma is also given 10 points. The support is powerful, but there are a lot of points to work with here. Some Destiny HERO players don't use Plasma with the new support, so it's likely cut in Genesys. You also likely need to cut down on Doom Overlords and Dark City at Midnights to fit in Fusion Destiny, especially if you want Winged Kuriboh Sabatiel LV10 to search it. It's tricky; there is not a lot of room for non-engine, and we don't have Xtra HERO Cross Crusader in Genesys, but you can figure out something to do with this potentially.

Ashtra

Ashtra feels like the Blitzclique of the set, where it doesn't do that much in Advanced, but it can certainly take over Genesys. The Ashtra monsters are easy to summon, just setting any Spell/Trap from your hand to reveal and return to hand, able to do this over and over for each of the Ashtra names. Yoa the Plague Ashtra lets you immediately set any Ashtra Spell/Trap from the Main Deck each turn, plus the fact that it can level-modulate any monster on the field with an increase/decrease by 1 every turn, getting 3 points on this card, requiring 9 for a playset. Mikumari the Banisher Ashtra is your searcher for any other monster in the archetype, on top of the fact that it can also reset any Ashtra Trap in your graveyard back to your field after being used as Synchro Material, so this has been given 5 points per copy.

Now for the archetypal Field Spell in Ashtrashen - Gateway to the Worlds Beyond, sending face-down cards you control to the graveyard to add that many Ashtra cards from your Deck to your hand with different names that are not Field Spells, plus the fact that it is disruption by bouncing a card on the field to the hand if a card is Set while you control an Ashtra monster and a face-down card. The ability for this card to create a massive amount of advantage by searching multiple cards from the archetype, plus the disruption, gets you 7 points on the card. Ashtra can be a solid meta contender, as these monsters are easy to summon, with both the archetype's Traps and Synchros being fairly powerful. The 7 points on the Field Spell might let you get away with fewer copies, considering Yoa fetches it from the Deck and only costs 3 points, all while Mikumari can access Yoa and be searchable off of First Penguin, an Ashtra staple for consistency. It likely won't be Blitzclique powerful, but it wouldn't shock me for this archetype to perform in Genesys.

Ars Magna

Ars Magna is tricky, as while these monsters aren't very useful without Link Summoning, they are also extra consistency for Artmage, DoomZ, and Elfnote by making Medius the Pure even more searchable than before. He even got a new form as well with Theorealized Medius, who summons itself when you control a Power Patron card, immediately searching for a Theorealize card after you summon it this way. Then you get the fact that after you banish a card while you control this card, you can either add an Ars Magna card from your Deck to your hand, or banish this card to summon a Diactorus from your Extra Deck, which will likely be Artmage Diactorus to give you a potential omni-negate. Konami is keeping this card out of the format, seemingly giving it 80 points on release. It feels a bit extreme, as I think 30-40 was fair, but it should never enter the format free, and thankfully it isn't.

Now for Ars Magna "Citrinitas", which isn't as powerful in Genesys, but it can search for Medius the Pure. All this while also being an Artmage, DoomZ, or Elfnote card to be searchable for all 3 archetypes. This extra consistency gets 10 points on the card, still being viable if you want extra consistency for Medius the Pure, considering 3 archetypes can search it, but it didn't need any more with how the Ars Magna cards struggle without Links.

Adamancipator

Adamancipator can be a decent Genesys contender with new support, even with its best Synchro in Adamancipator Risen - Dragite being 20 points and Block Dragon being 33 points. Sure, you don't get Adamancipator Luminous in this format, but the Deck can still do a lot. Baronne de Fleur is too expensive at 80 points, but Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon remains free for now. Adamancipator Risen - Tiamite is a backrow searcher if you have a DARK monster in the graveyard, and it can respond to the opponent's card or effect by excavating the top 5 cards of your Deck to return cards the opponent controls to the hand up to the number of Rock monsters you hit. It's been given 10 points initially, which is fine for a 1-of, as it certainly won't stop you from playing the card.

Adamancipator Mates is a new Spell that does what Adamancipator Friends wishes it did, searching any Adamancipator card from your Deck to your hand, and in the graveyard it can put a card from your hand back to the top of your Deck to add it back to your hand, ensuring you hit off an Adamancipator effect. It's another 10-point-per-copy card, which the Deck will feel more, considering this is the major consistency piece the Deck was missing. I do imagine Dragite's points will be lowered soon, considering the rest of the cards with lower points that are much more powerful than it. You mostly mess around with whether you want to spend 33 points on Block Dragon and how many Koa'ki Meiru Guardian you want to play for 3 points each. You use 1 Tiamite and you use as many Friends as the points you are not spending on non-engine or generic Synchros. 

Light and Darkness Ritual

Light and Darkness Ritual gets some new support, with the best card being Spell Shattering Sword, which can either destroy all Spells the opponent controls or reveal a Light and Darkness Ritual from your Deck or graveyard to target and negate the effects of a face-up monster the opponent controls, plus it destroys a random card in the opponent's hand or field if they destroy it by any means, working well with Chaos Magical Hats. Light and Darkness Ritual has already been a decent engine in Genesys, despite all the points on the card, so they didn't want to give them another free tool; therefore, the card has 5 points. It's a fine cost for a 1-of you can search, even if the searchers have a lot of points already.

Sacred Beasts

Sacred Beasts get a new card with Sacred Beasts Skyfall, giving Sacred Beasts better ways to play around hand traps against their monster effects, a searcher for Illusion Gate, and shuffles 3 Traps from your graveyard and/or banishment to the Deck to destroy a card on the field. The first two effects are the main selling points, as Sacred Beasts have typically run 1 Trap max. The hand trap counter and the Illusion Gate searcher are both insane, and Sacred Beasts already perform at a high level in Genesys, so it has been given 10 points. For now, this is fine for a 1-of that Calamity of the Sacred Beasts - Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder can search for. It might be a sign of things to come for Sacred Beasts, however, due to how well the Deck has performed up to this point.

Blitzclique

Now for a new Blitzclique card in Blitzclique - Overvoltage: a Normal Spell that targets and destroys any face-up card on the field, on top of the fact that it can recover itself from the graveyard if you destroy a card via a Blitzclique effect. It isn't an insane card for Blitzclique, but it is a non-HOPT, searchable removal option that's probably the easiest to activate out of any Blitzclique card. It's been given 5 points, likely from the performance of Blitzclique already, which is fine for a new 1-of in the Deck, as this theme was already spending a ton of points to even play in Genesys. It might get more expensive with the next update, which will change the discussion when that happens, but Overvoltage is a fine 1-of for now since it does recover itself.

Endymion, Magistus, and Witchcrafter

We get new cards for the Magistus lore, with one already being a part of the set, while the other is an OCG import. Starting with the card already in the set, Spell Power Attainment, this Quick-Play Spell lets you add any card mentioning Spell Counters from your Deck to your hand, plus controlling a Level 7 or higher Endymion monster lets you remove Spell Counters from your field to negate that many cards your opponent controls. The card is limited due to the lack of Pendulum Endymion cards, but there is likely something dangerous to come from here. You don't want more consistent Royal Magical Library when that card is 100 points, so Attainment has been given 11 points. I don't know what else this card can search in Genesys besides Royal Magical Library that would have any chance at impact if it was free, but another case to be cautious.

Now we finally get Verre, the Maid of Endymion, a new extender for Witchcrafter and the Regulus, the Prince of Endymion strategies, since she can Special Summon herself if you already activated a Spell that turn, being a searcher for any Witchcrafter Spell/Trap or Magical Dimension upon Special Summon. This has been given 5 points, likely as a precaution to the Witchcrafter support in Magnificent Maestros that will most likely make Witchcrafter a top contender in Genesys if pointed low enough on release. Verre is a 1-of in that new version of Witchcrafter, so it won't be that expensive for them, but it can be great in Fairy Tail Endymion or some other Spellcaster strategies that might exist in the format. The card is powerful enough to warrant these 5 points.

Angelechy

Now for Angelechy, which has already been a decent engine in Genesys, considering the only points on Angelechy cards themselves are Angelechy Destrier having a single point to prevent Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons FTKs. This could change in the future, and new support can certainly help with that. Chaospawn Bishop is a new Level 4 Tuner that summons a copy of itself from the Deck while locking you to LIGHT and DARK monsters and Synchros from the Extra Deck for your Special Summons. Basically, this is an instant way to Glitch Clutch Nullgainer to search Witness of the Ancient to turn the Angelechy engine on, despite the 33 points on Witness. This can also be a starter for something like Red Dragon Archfiend as well, considering it does summon The Crimson King. It also doesn't require bricks like other Level 8 Synchro engines, only worrying about drawing multiples of these instead. Therefore, the card has been given 7 points on release.

Then we come to Angelechy Castellan, who banishes an opponent's monster in an adjacent column or an opponent's Spell/Trap that is 2 columns over, on top of the fact that it sends an Angelechy card from the Deck to the graveyard when it is placed into the Spell & Trap Zone. The most powerful part, however, is likely the fact that it prevents both players from using more than a single card in a chain, which basically means your opponent cannot respond to any action you might take in response to whatever they might do, as well as the fact that they cannot build Chain Links of multiple effects that have to be activated. This is a very strong floodgate effect, getting Castellan 20 points on release. It's the only actual Angelechy card with any real number of points, which could change later as Angelechy Shatranga might be a target, but it's fine to spend 20 points when you only need 1 of these.

Generic Cards

Finally, for the three generic cards that are pointed in this set. We start with Elemental Saga Doriado, who can summon itself and any monster from your graveyard if you have 3 different Attributes in your graveyard, on top of the fact that it can summon a monster with a different Attribute from the monsters on your field or in your graveyard if you have at least 3 different Attributes in your graveyard. You likely were never going to use Spell Canceller with its 100 points, but there is some powerful extension that this card can allow, especially when neither player can use cards or effects in response to either effect. This new Doriado is 15 points due to the potential it has, which might stop it from seeing play with this cost being so high.

The set also comes with two board breakers that are the most anticipated cards of the set. Starting with Hey, Space Trunade!, a new Normal Spell that returns up to 2 cards from the field to their owner's hand; then, players who had cards return to their hand also return an equal number of their cards from their hand to the Deck. This is an extremely powerful Normal Spell, not only removing massive threats, but then eating at the opponent's card advantage if cards hit their hand. It's way too powerful to be free, so we have been given 11 points for this card. Enough maybe to still see play, but also costing enough to be wary about. Then we get The Great Gallant Bandit, a new monster you can Tribute Summon by using monsters in your hand or that your opponent controls if you control no monsters, coming with a Quick Effect if it was Normal Summoned to negate a monster effect the opponent activates in the hand or graveyard every turn, on top of a Battle Phase effect to reveal your hand to switch all your opponent's monsters to Defense Position. Being a much better Lava Golem in most scenarios, Gallant Bandit has been given 20 points, which, considering how conservative of points players need to be in this format, I can see players just sticking to Lava Golem for Genesys.

Conclusion

I think the new Decks and support have been fairly hit, proving more and more that Konami has learned their lesson from Radiant Typhoon entering the format completely free. They also had to point these archetypes properly; otherwise we get another Blitzclique where a Deck becomes dominant, despite on-release points. Umbral Horror has thankfully been heavily pointed enough that it likely won't be too much of a concern, while the other archetypes are fairly balanced for their power level, I feel like. The main thing from this update is the fact that we are getting another general point update after YCS Ecuador and before YCS Houston, likely addressing the current top strategies and reassessing many of the initial points from a year ago. Hopefully, the next update gets the format and all the Decks to where they deserve to be now that we have had the players testing this format and not just Konami.