It has been a little over a year since the 2019 Gold Sarcophagus Tin came out. The main appeal of that tin was the Mega-Tin promo cards. Today we'll be looking at the three biggest ones and how they have fared so far.
Check out the other promos in the set here!
Wake of the Primal Being
Overview
The influence that this tin promo had warped the format and how people played Yu-Gi-Oh.
Because of this card, most decks that rely on building boards have to account for it, or else. Decks like Salamangreat felt quite the massive hit when it was released. Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess was quite popular in particular and still is, partly thanks to Nibiru's presence.
Strategies that are able to bypass it entirely are also popular thanks to their safety against it. Invoked Dogmatika and Dinosaurs are able to ignore the Primal Being for the most part. Mechaba works nicely for the former, able to summon itself way before five and blocks it handily. Dinos on the other hand are able to dodge thanks to Miscellaneosaurus.
Herald of the Arc Light is a common sight in high-level play not only because of its floodgate effect. Its ability to help fight against Nibiru comes up a lot as well.
Another dynamic that comes with Nibiru is extending past it. A lot of the optimal decks in the format have ways to play even after the rock drops.
One key element is to force your opponent to use it by routing towards the negate. Infernoble and Dragon Link are more than capable of doing this.
Let's dive a little and check out this card's history.
Rocky Beginnings
Nibiru has had quite a rocky career in terms of competitive Yu-Gi-Oh. For the majority of 2019, it's been a choice that only came up occasionally as it did not queue too well against the decks at the time. Being able to grief Salamangreat heavily if they didn't open Will was a massive plus though.
Thunder was able to play around it while Sky Striker didn't mind it too much. Orcust could play around or extend past Nibiru with little impunity and even had a line of play that abused its effect. Endymion's consistency was plenty high with three Servant and Electrumite up, so they could always pivot for early Jackal Kings.
If Babel is up, one could do Nibiru as Chain Link 1 and Knightmare as Chain Link 2. Knightmare would send as usual and then apply the DARK attribute lock to your summons.
Since Nibiru has already been activated, it'll try to resolve as much as possible and wipe the field but stay in hand, meaning you don't have to deal with the token and get to keep the hand trap too.
As time went on and the eternal format of TOSS was shattered, DUOV and Halqifibrax loomed in the distance and SPYRAL popped back into the scene, Nibiru became a lot more prevalent. The card was already considered decent, but it really hit its strides once the meta shifted.
This is due to the fact that a lot of the decks that were quite good got screwed over by a well time Nibiru and the pressure it exerted was unlike any other hand trap.
Return of the King
Later on, as the metagame progressed, Nibiru remains steadily strong as a catch-all hand trap against most combo-centric and midrange archetypes. It also started pairing itself a little more with friends like Infinite Impermanence and PSY-Framegear Gamma to great effect.
Such a combination meant that with proper play, you were able to bypass your opponent putting up a negate by using the other HT to stop that entirely.
Even when paired with the likes of Ash Blossom or Ghost Ogre, it can get some great results as those two can choke out lines that would try to put up negations.
In terms of the current landscape, it remains a household contender and is one of the most commonly played hand traps right now. Most if not all lists will have a playset of this card either in their Main or Side Deck.
All in all, one of the best, if not the best Mega-Tin promo we've had released in this game's history. Even if there are decks that can play around it, it's unlikely for Nibiru to fall out of favor for the foreseeable future.
The Reign Breaker
Overview
Dark Ruler No More is another potent going second card from the Mega Tin, being one of the best board breakers around. You drop this onto your opponent and their setup is no longer a problem.
The opponent does get a small breather by avoiding damage for the turn, but this is a small price to pay.
It can tear through some of the toughest boards because it stops monster effects from responding. However, there are ways around this as well.
One classic method was chaining a spell or trap card/effect on the Mega Tin promo, then replying with Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss as Chain Link 3.
DBDS via Union Carrier is a menace and is often attached to large threats such as Borreload Savage Dragon. Because it is an equip spell, it gets around Ruler negating it. Since Dragon Link is one of the decks to beat right now, it's something to keep in mind.
True King of All Calamities is a threat that's currently abused by Virtual World at the moment, and its effect when fired off the Standby Phase can get around DRNM too. (or with DRNM + the Gate Trap)
With all this in mind, how about we check out how it fared from release all the way till now?
A Strong Start
Dark Ruler was more applicable than Nibiru when it first came out, faring decently against a variety of decks. Not as flexible since it's dead going first, but was better in busting past threats at the time.
Thunder Dragon Colossus was the biggest foe to slay, as searching is a core mechanic for most duelists. Bagooska was a popular card that Salamangreat loved to throw around and DRNM answered it in a great fashion. Other combo strats like Endymion were hurt quite if they didn't have Secret Village or Magician's Right Hand.
With such a wide array of applications, this spell continued to remain useful all throughout the season of TOSS.
Consistently Decent
Once the January 2020 banlist hit, things shook quite a lot in terms of the meta and Dark Ruler No More became even better than ever. It was able to answer the likes of HERO, SPYRAL, Lunalight, and Shaddoll Invoked.
Somewhere around the release of Secret Slayers, both Adamancipator and Eldlich shook up the format heavily. DRNM was still okay but started to lose a bit of its luster when Ada adapted by making Extra Deck lock + Dweller in almost every hand.
The evolving meta shifts again a few months with Rise of the Duelist's release, bringing Infernoble and Dogmatika. Adamancipator also fell out of the format with Block Dragon's ban.
DRNM was again initially subpar as players went hard into hand looping with Vylon Cube combos and the like. Later on, when Nibiru became more popular, players tunneled into safer lines of play which meant good news for the spell.
Right now it sees decent use in a variety of decks for its ability to help muscle past the current meta boards. Buster Blader, Dinosaurs, Dragon Link, Invoked Dogmatika and Zoodiac all quite hate seeing it. Even if Dlink is able to put up the DBDS lock, you're still getting past Savage and Spheres.
These methods of playing around it and its prominence in the meta are a testament to how strong the card is. When paired with hand traps or correct support, it can still help muscle through most combo oriented board states.
At the end of the day, a pretty strong Mega Tin promo card.
High Roll Banish
Overview
Dimensional Shifter is the third card out of three big Mega Tin promos and is one of many extremes. It's another hand trap that can make or break a game but needs a lot of things to go right. A definition of high risk, high reward.
If you can make it work, this hand trap rewards you with one of the best payoffs in the game.
After a quick glance, it doesn't take much to see that banishing all that goes to the GY is huge. Dim Fissure and Macro sitting in the Limited list highlights this viewpoint.
Most if not all decks in the game rely on the GY, one way or another. Denying that locks out a lot of duelists in their power play unless they can benefit from the banished cards.
Due to its effect hitting both players, it's rare to see as only a few decks can function under Shifter.
Fringe yet Fatal
This card is the epitome of hit and miss in Yu-Gi-Oh. Dimension Shifter can be great for duelists who can high roll it. But if you don't see it, that's three dead draws to stomach.
Historically, some Thunder players were able to use this card to good effect. Thunder Dragon is one of the few who love getting their cards banished, and partnered it with Colossus. A walking Mistake + Macro Cosmos was no joke to answer.
Gren Maju Da Eiza decks were able to also use it well, thanks to how that style works. Shifter threw a wrench on your opponent's game plan, making easier pickings for Maju and get their big hits in.
The card remained dormant for the majority of 2020, until a few brave souls wielded it as a spicy tech.
One Zoodiac list in the recent LCS was able to use the power of this card, and place high at the 200+ person event. There were also a few others who used it in the tourney. Shifter crushed the rest of the meta decks whenever it resolved. Zeus gained a lot as well from it, turning into a pseudo-Evenly Matched.
In conclusion, this Mega Tin promo is of two extremes. It is either completely terrible or straight up busted. There is no in-between for Dimensional Shifter.
Conclusion
And that about does it for the 2019 promo cards! An honorable mention goes to Magician of Black Chaos MAX for being one of the wildest rituals out there. Megalith's showing gave it a lot of presence after all. Until next time!
