In November 2019, Predaplant Verte Anaconda made its appearance in LINK VRAINS PACK 3 in the OCG. I made a bold prediction that Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon was the strongest card of the set. Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon proceeded to prove me wrong, thus embedding me with nightmares for the following months of Yugioh. With Master Rule 5 lifting undesirable restrictions, Verte Anaconda will see future use. As a step towards universal Fusion support, I'm analyzing the current functions of Verte Anaconda.
It's all Vine, Thanks For Asking
Predaplant Verte Anaconda is a love letter to all polymerizing strategies. Easy summoning conditions, a simple effect to summon your favorite boss monster, and an attribute changing effect. On the other hand, it stops further special summoning for the turn. Verte Anaconda is a welcome addition to struggling fusion-based decks, like Shaddolls and Thunder Dragon. However, Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon forced players to adapt to a new strategy, reminiscent of Orcust with Knightmare Mermaid. Despite that, Verte Anaconda continues proving its worth through other strong Fusion Spells.
The Plant-astic Supports
Although multiple Fusion Spells lack "Fusion" in their names such as Ostinato and Invocation, Verte Anaconda boasts an impressive array of Fusion Spells in its arsenal. It is important to note that Verte Anaconda sends the Spell as cost and copies the Spell effect. This means Verte Anaconda does not activate the Spell directly from the deck; it copies the effect of the Spell. Because of this Anaconda can avoid any Spell negation that would otherwise stop fusions.
Super Polymerization
In every format, there will always be a Dark Monster in the meta (as of this article, Borreload Savage Dragon). A well-timed Super Polymerization can easily remove these threats. Verte Anaconda also possesses the ability to transform monsters into the Dark Attribute, fueling the summon of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon.
Red-Eyes Fusion
This card instantly warped the OCG's format.
Red-Eyes Fusion instantly produces Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon using materials from hand or deck. An indestructible, untargetable, omni-negate, ATK gain, non targeting destruction, AND damage dealing monstrosity… Dark Dragoon pushes the limits of card design. Any deck could set up familiar boards, then proceed to make Verte Anaconda with leftovers to summon Dark Dragoon. If you can't perform your ideal combo, you could resort to making Verte Anaconda for Dark Dragoon. Verte Anaconda with this Spell has allowed many decks to adopt an additional unfair winning strategy for seemingly no cost.
Neos Fusion
As of this article, the TCG does not have Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon. The TCG improvised by using Neos Fusion to summon Rainbow Neos. He's also a strong boss monster with the ability to wipe opposing Fields or Graveyards, while the fusion spell itself protects Rainbow Neos. Neos Fusion allows summons before the card is activated manually from hand, which makes it more flexible then Red-Eyes Fusion.
Shaddoll Fusion
With Verte Anaconda, you can bypass the HOPT restriction on Shaddoll Fusion, allowing El Shaddoll Winda and El Shaddoll Construct to be summoned together! Being able to tutor this Spell from deck straight to the Graveyard to pick up later is an effect worth considering for Shaddolls.
Magicalized Fusion
Magicalized Fusion saw play in Dark Dragoon decks - to summon a second Dragoon by banishing Dark Magician and Red-Eyes B. Dragon from the Graveyard. This enchanting Spell also has its applications by banishing Shaddolls to summon El Shaddoll Winda or even Quintet Magician!
Thunder Dragon Fusion
In the OCG, Thunder Dragon without Batteryman Solar normally ended on subpar boards. With Verte Anaconda, Thunder Dragon can end on Thunder Dragon Colossus and Thunder Dragon Titan, with Thunder Dragon Fusion in the Graveyard for follow up plays. In the TCG, although Colossus is currently banned, summoning two Titans can usually dish out heavy-to-lethal damage for the win.
Instant Fusion
Despite Instant Fusion destroying its target at every End Phase, it still found usage with Verte Anaconda's utility. Verte Anaconda would be summoned after Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star, or Stardust Spark Dragon, and activate Instant Fusion to summon El Shaddoll Winda or Millennium-Eyes Restrict. During the End Phase, Dingirsu/Stardust would protect your summoned Fusion Monster from destruction. This combination resulted in one additional interruption with a layer of defense.
Overload/Cyberload Fusion
I put Overload Fusion and Cyberload Fusion together as they seek to achieve the same purpose: summoning Chimeratech Rampage Dragon. Chimeratech Rampage Dragon alone can deal up to 6300 damage. Paired with Cyber Dragon Infinity or Cyber Dragon Sieger, Cyber-style players can secure quick and easy victories.
Ancient Gear Fusion
Ancient Gear is notorious for having extremely poor consistency and resource generation, producing boss monsters with subpar effects outside of Ancient Gear Fusion. Nevertheless, die-hard Ancient Gear fans have rekindled their love for the archetype with Verte Anaconda, easily summoning any of the Ancient Gear Boss monsters with this card alone, specifically Chaos Ancient Gear Giant.
Dimension Fusion Destruction
Ever wondered what the strongest Monster in Verte Anaconda's arsenal is? Dimension Fusion Destruction summons the strongest powerhouse in Yugioh- Armityle the Chaos Phantom packing a colossal 10000 ATK! Summoning Armityle usually requires prior setup through Chaos Core and Salamangreat Almiraj.
De-Fusion
Surprisingly, De-Fusion falls within Verte Anaconda's uses as well. As the adversary to all Fusion based decks, this card efficiently deals with opposing Fusion based threats you may encounter. In that case, be wary of the materials summoned; a consequence you may want to exploit from your Fusion monsters instead.
Branching out to other uses
Barring its polymerizing talents, Verte Anaconda can also be summoned as a generic Dark Link Monster. It can serve as the setup for summoning The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche or Curious, The Lightsworn Dominion through its Attribute modifying effect.
My thorns and conclusions
All things considered, Predaplant Verte Anaconda has soundly exceeded my expectations in its various uses and applications. It rooted itself as the foundation of Fusion-centric decks and as a solution with Super Polymerization and Red-Eyes Fusion/Neos Fusion. Of course, Verte Anaconda has limitless potential which I could not cover the entirety of in this article. There is no doubt that this card is strong, but whether the Fusion mechanic will excel, only time can tell.
