Introduction

History Archive Collection is an OCG – Exclusive set that reimagines the best monsters and scene of the entire history of the Yugioh animation, from the classic DM to the modern Vrains. While similar to the structure of Prismatic Art Collection, this set features multiple support cards towards all mentioned eras, granting anime-dedicated players a fresh new perspective on their favorite archetypes.

Along with new cards came much needed reprints like Accesscode Talker, Utopic Future Dragoon and Magician Souls. This set is still extremely popular to collect, especially with a hidden chance of getting one of three alternate artworks of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon or even the coveted Dark Magician Girl!

As there are a lot of cards to cover, I want to talk about my top 10 favorite cards of this set. Unfortunately I do not have the fortitude to talk about all 28 new cards. I will highlight the best of this set so that American readers know what to expect when these cards get imported onto your shores.

Be sure to check out these cards, and let me know if you agree with my takes!

My Top Ten Cards of HAC1

The Legendary Swordmaster Black Luster Soldier

The Legendary Swordmaster Black Luster Soldier
Ritual/Warrior/Effect
Level 8 ATK/ 3000 DEF/ 2500

• You can Ritual Summon this card with "Chaos Form" or "Super Soldier Ritual".
• Must be Ritual Summoned.
• During your Draw Phase, before you draw: You can reveal this card in your hand; give up your normal draw this turn, and if you do, add 1 Ritual Spell from your Deck to your hand.
• Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects during your Battle Phase.
• When this attacking card that was Ritual Summoned using a Normal Monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can shuffle all cards they control into the Deck.

This celebrated warrior is the latest iteration of the Black Luster Soldier.

While it being a Ritual monster may prove difficult to summon, it self remedies this setback by handpicking your summoning spell. Once on board, this legendary soldier will display its full prowess. It can completely erase the opponent's board! And all your opponent can do is watch and cry. This is an absolutely insane effect that I would love to see resolve at least once in my dueling career.

Evolution Result Burst

Evolution Result Burst
Normal Spell

• Add 1 "Overload Fusion" from your Deck to your hand, also any monster you Fusion Summon with "Overload Fusion" using 6 or more materials this turn can attack a number of times each Battle Phase this turn up to the number of materials used for its Summon, but you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn after this card resolves, except with Spell effects.
• You can only activate 1 "Evolution Result Burst" per turn.

This card is dedicated to one of the most iconic moves of the GX era.

Evolution Result Burst is the cumulation of Cyber-style duelists constantly whining about having little support for their archetype placed into yet another tutor spell. Overload Fusion tends to summon Chimeratech Rampage Dragon for the reliable OTK, or Chimeratech Overdragon for that satisfying, overwhelming finisher!

Overload Fusion is one of the greatest tool for the Cyber Dragons, and this spell is a very welcome addition to the team.

Bridge of Salvation

Bridge of Salvation
Normal Trap

• If Level 10 or higher monsters with 2 or more different Types are on the field: Shuffle as many cards from each player's hand, field, and GY as possible into the Deck, except this card, then each player draws 5 cards.
• You can banish this card from your GY; add 1 "Crystal Beast" monster and 1 Field Spell from your Deck to your hand.
• You can only apply each effect of "Bridge of Salvation" once per Duel.

Although admittedly almost impossible to resolve, such unrealistic effects occurring are absolutely my jam. Just from the presence of two high leveled monsters, the game state will be reset back to the starting 5 cards. Getting two high leveled monsters out can be easy, like Timelords, Trains and even Nibiru! Or you can bypass this hefty cost with Junk Collector or Trap of Darkness. Although you are resetting the board, you can cheat out some resources prior, with unaffected cards like The Arrival Cyberse, PSY-Framelord Omega to dodge beforehand, or even Serpentine Princess for something unique. There are a lot of benefits to being able to dictate a reset of the game state!

Otherwise, the second effect of this card is what we actually came for. Simply banishing this card nets you two important resources for your Crystal Beast deck. So the real application of this card comes from dropping this card in the GY to tutor cards. I can foresee Magicians' Souls being an important addition to the Crystal Beast deck.

Return of the Reaper

Return of the Reaper
Normal Spell

• (This card is always treated as an "Infernity" card.)
• Special Summon 1 of your "Infernity" monsters that is banished, in your hand, or in your GY.
• If a face-up "Infernity" monster(s) you control is destroyed by battle, or leaves the field because of an opponent's card effect, while this card is in your GY: You can Set this card.
• You can only use each effect of "Return of the Reaper" once per turn.

This is a very quiet, yet powerful effect, resembling the straightforward yet dangerous nature of the Reaper.

Return of the Reaper is a strong addition to the Infernity crew, as it summons even from the banished zone. This should ideally target a banished Infernity Mirage or Infernity General. But even just resurrecting Infernity Necromancer, or just the titular Infernity Archfiend is powerful enough. Being an archetypical Spell for revives fit perfectly within the Infernity theme, and the art of this card reflects the full solidarity epic-ness that hooked us onto Kalin Kessler's character.

Who would be foolish enough to oppose the Reaper?

Overlay Network

Overlay Network
Continuous Spell

• You can activate 1 of these effects.
• ① Target 1 face-up monster you control that has a Level; Special Summon 1 monster with the same Level from your hand or GY in Defense Position, but its effects are negated. You cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck the turn you activate this effect, except Xyz Monsters.
• ② Target 1 Xyz Monster you control; add 1 card attached to it to the hand.
• You can only use this effect of "Overlay Network" once per turn.

I cannot lie; Zexal is my favorite series, mostly due to the overwhelming stellar animations. Overlay Network is a picturesque screenshot of the exact moment two materials are overlapped, and this absolutely gives me nostalgic chills.

Anyway, the effect is very beneficial to all Xyz themed decks. The first effect helps accelerates the summon of your Xyz monster, which is always helpful. This sort of effect could be treated as a a simple and cheap upgrade for a singular monster into an Xyz monster. The second effect helps replenish your Xyz monster with additional materials. While most Xyz monsters now already fulfill their purposes with a single detach, this sort of niche is useful for specific monsters like Time Thief Redoer and Zoodiac Boarbow, where the quality of their materials matter. Overall, this is a very helpful card for the Xyz strategy and methodology.

Also, check out this very epic gif of Xyz summoning from the Zexal anime! It has never disappointed me.

Bariantopia

Bariantopia
Field Spell

• (This card is always treated as a "Barian's" card.)
• Your opponent cannot target "CXyz" monsters, "Number C" monsters, and "Number" monsters with a number between "101" and "107" in their names you control with card effects, also they cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects.
• Once per turn, if you Special Summon an Xyz Monster with a "Rank-Up-Magic" Spell's effect: You can target that Xyz Monster and 1 monster your opponent controls; attach that opponent's monster to that Xyz Monster as material.

Set as the parallel to the illustrious Astral World, Bariantopia is the homeland of the antagonist team in the Zexal anime. Fittingly, Bariantopia provides a continuous blanket protection against target and destruction for their Chaos Number crew. But the better part of this field allows you to absorb a card from the opponent upon your Xyz summon. This is a very strong effect that can be repeatedly used across multiple turns, especially with quick-play "Rank-Up-Magic" spells! I feel this card fits perfectly amongst the added Barian support from DP26 and Premium Pack 2022.

Dueling with the power of the Seven Emperors will feel super satisfying while you display this homeland for protection, that's for sure!

Battle Royal Mode - Joining

Battle Royal Mode - Joining
Continuous Spell

• Activate this card by targeting 1 Effect Monster on the field.
• The first 2 times that monster would be destroyed by battle each turn, it is not destroyed.
• When that monster is destroyed by battle, the player that destroyed it gains 2000 LP.
• If the turn player's opponent takes battle or effect damage: Activate this effect; they can apply the following effect: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your hand or Deck, and if you do, you lose 2000 LP.

This is a very weird card that reflects the tagging-in habits of the middle part of the Arc V anime. Players would pay 2000 LP to tag in and fight against their opponents at any given moment, creating some very... questionable moments of dueling.

This spell grants one monster battle protection. But more importantly, this card allows for rapid summons from the deck! So the ideal scenario would be to target your monster with this, and let it sit on your opponent's turn. Should they attack your monster, you can summon back-ups from the deck! But your opponent can do the same on your turn! Thankfully this is your card, so you should probably implement an off switch, like Eldlich the Golden Lord to send this card to the GY.

At first glance, this may look like a horrible card, but being able to summon rapidly from the deck is always an interesting effect to me. I want a card like this to see eventual play in the future, but is this an impossible wish?

The Supreme King's Soul

The Supreme King's Soul
Normal Trap

• Pay half your LP; Special Summon 1 "Supreme King Z-ARC" from your Extra Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions, but its effects are negated, also return it to the Extra Deck during the End Phase of the next turn.
• When your opponent activates a Spell Card or effect: You can banish this card from your GY and 1 "Supreme King Z-ARC" from your Monster Zone; Special Summon up to 4 monsters from your hand, Deck, Extra Deck, and/or GY (up to 1 each with "Pendulum Dragon", "Xyz Dragon", "Synchro Dragon", and "Fusion Dragon" in their names).

That is a lot of text, but the conclusion is that you will end up with four dragons on your field at the mere cost of half your life points!

Getting your opponent to activate a spell may prove tricky, but the payoff is immense, especially when Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon and Starving Venom Predator Fusion Dragon are prime targets to summon. If you failed to get your opponent to activate a spell, this Trap still does the bare minimum of placing a 4000/4000 body to use against ongoing assaults. The Supreme King's Soul is a strong card individually regardless of whether it fully resolves or not.

Angel with Blue Tears

Angel with Blue Tears
Normal Spell

• Target 1 face-up monster on the field; its controller's opponent takes 200 damage for each card in their hand, then negate that monster's effects until the end of this turn.
• If either player takes effect damage (except during the Damage Step): You can banish this card from the GY; Set 1 Normal Trap directly from your hand or Deck, and if it was Set from the hand, it can be activated this turn.
• You can only use 1 "Angel with Blue Tears" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

This card refers to the book that Blue Angel's brother used to read to her every night, and is the source of inspiration of the current Blue Angel in the anime! This trivia can be read here.

This nifty book doubles as an effect negation, while dealing ping damage to the opponent. But the key part lies in its secondary effect. Once a player takes effect damage, the user can directly tutor a trap and use it all within the turn! Naturally this opens up a lot of potential, as Trap cards tend to be more powerful in exchange for a delayed turn. To trigger this, we could consider using Blue Angel's signature Trickstars; they excel in dealing effect damage. Or we can inflict the damage onto ourselves, through cards like Performage Trick Clown.

Regardless, the ability to directly activate a trap card from the deck is nothing to scoff at. This book wields great potential, and I cannot wait to see what duelists have experimented with. Otherwise, why would Blue Angel's brother read this every night?

Into the VRAINS!

Into the VRAINS!
Normal Spell

• Special Summon 1 monster from your hand, but negate its effects, then, immediately after this effect resolves, Link Summon 1 Link Monster using materials you control, including the Summoned monster. This Link Summon cannot be negated, also your opponent cannot activate cards or effects when a monster is Link Summoned this way.
• If a Link Monster(s) you control is destroyed by battle or card effect while this card is in your GY: You can banish this card; add 1 monster with the same original Type as 1 of those destroyed monsters from your GY to your hand.
• You can only activate 1 "Into the VRAINS!" per turn.

This is Playmaker's signature yell, "Into the VRAINS!"

This card supports the Link summoning strategy perfectly! It takes one monster from your hand to perform an immediate Link summon, while your opponent cannot interrupt this process. This sort of effect is extremely useful for Link monsters that trigger upon summon, or monsters that trigger as Link Materials. Notably, Prank-Kids and Magical Musketeers could benefit greatly from having their Link monsters resolve. This card has even seen meta usage for Link reliant decks, such as Marincess and Salamangreat! It is without a doubt the strongest card in the set. This card can and will see usage for decks with this particular requirement, which is quite a fair number.

So say it with me, everybody:

My Thoughts and Animation

I realized at the end of this, I subconsciously wrote about only one monster and nine spell/traps. Apparently these scenes had a way bigger impact on me then I thought! The Yugioh anime has been really good throughout all seven iterations. There are so many memories and moments, oh my goodness. Although we may all agree that 5Ds is a phenomenal series, ARC V should have never been penned, and Zexal has the greatest animations; all of these heated discussions really just mean that we loved the anime! The true treasure was the entertainment we had from the series. It has been an honor to see the best moments and references to the anime immortalized into physical cards. I loved analyzing all the little details from this set.

These cards are clearly not meant to be meta defining, but they provide a much needed consistency boost to replicating these epic moments from the anime. What do you think of this set? And more importantly, what did you think about the 20 years of the Yugioh Animation?