It's that time of the year that budget players love: Reprint Season. Let's scour through the dust left by the arrival of Crossout Designator and unearth the stealthy format shift underneath.
Budget players stand up!
We all know that Crossout is THE thing to look out for, the money card. You pull one or two of these bad boys in a case of Tin of Ancient Battles and you're happy. An interesting oversight, however, is decent archetypal reprints we got in the set.
The two great staples, AA-Zeus and Triple Tactics Talent got an Ultra Rare treatment aside from Crossout. But there are a lot of other good ones.
Yes, the format technically will probably see most of the same old decks top, but people overlook something. Not everyone who plays Yu-Gi-Oh! does so at the highest level. Some even only play locals strictly! Budget players will now be able to play some of the better decks that were previously financially out of reach!
Sleeper Reprints
I swear people are sleeping on @Ignisters. I made an article about this deck and I am aware of what it's capable of. Ignisters will finally truly be budget thanks to the 2021 tin. A.I.Land spiked to as much as $30 when people caught on to how the deck can catch people off-guard. Ignisters got a few tops in Extravaganzas and it saw the prices of even Achichi and Pikari rise up! With all of the essential cards except one (Bururu) of the deck now reprinted, the deck's floor price will absolutely plummet. This will make it a cool budget deck for your locals who might not have an out to The Arrival!
I'm still not okay with Engage! coming back. Yes, the deck does nothing competitively as of the moment. But you will hear this here first, we are one slow format away from Strikers potentially climbing up the tier ladder.
Anyways, after the initial buyouts that resulted in ridiculous price surges, most of these Striker cards have calmed down. Most of them have reprints, to be fair. The only one who noticeably didn't? Sky Striker Ace - Roze. It's finally been reprinted to a Prismatic Secret Rare version. The Ultra Rare printing nearly reached the $50 mark but the PScR one, as of writing, is only at around $3. So if you were looking to pick up this waifu deck as a budget option, now's your chance!
Rogue Decks that are finally budget?
Remember when Adamancipator was a top deck? Yeah, Pepperidge Farm remembers. It feels like an eternity ago that the deck was truly competitive. Maybe because it got butchered really quickly even though there weren't any events that time? Maybe. But that quick downfall didn't really make the deck "budget" by any means. Adamancipator Researcher fell a few bucks but for the most part, retained its value. With the reprints in the tins, Adamancipator might see more play at a locals level as a niche budget option.
Ah yes, my boy Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight. With him being reprinted as an Ultra Rare, practically all of the expensive Orcust cards now have a cheap version. It started with Dingirsu, then Orcustrated Return. Now we finally have the deck's starter as a cheapie.
Will this make pure Orcust see more play? Maybe. It's a fan favorite, after all. It's interesting, though, since Girsu IS a Mekk-Knight after all. Some Mekk-Knight players might finally muster up the courage to grab the deck. Mekk-Knight Purple and Blue Sky are still a little pricey, but that's pretty much it. You could probably build the deck for less than $100.
Konami, Eldlich trap reprints when?
Dogmatika - the scariest budget addition
We've come to this. Nadir Servant. A card that gives you what, a 3, 4, 5 whatever card advantage? The card is crazy good and has been a consistent inclusion in Invoked Shaddoll Dogmatika topping lists.
Granted, the megatin reprint is still a little pricey at around $20, but that's already decent! $60 for a playset of a ridiculously good card is so much more tolerable than $300 for three pieces of cardboard. I purposely didn't make a section with Shaddolls, because I intended to include them here. Schism, often the most expensive Shaddoll card, has finally gotten its cheaper version.
This will open the doors to a bunch of budget players who are contemplating dipping their toes in the competitive scene. Invoked Shaddoll Dogmatika is an absurdly powerful deck and these reprints will probably lead to a surge of appearances in the locals level, and potentially Regionals and Extravaganzas, too.
What's that? Archosaur? Nah, I don't think we'll talk about Dinos. Just kidding. Okay, Dinos are budget now, too. Happy now? Let's move along.
Conclusion
Oh, and for those wondering why I didn't mention Lulu. Well... I'm going to say this. Virtual World is the best budget deck that you can get right now. Is it viable without Zeus and/or Triple Tactics? Why yes! After all, I got TTT and Zeus from grinding locals for store credits! I didn't include Virtual World here as I'm planning on making a budget guide for it, so stay tuned!
Anyways, what I'm trying to say is watch out for these decks as they can potentially be in the deck boxes of mates you wouldn't expect. With the reprints making them more reasonable along with the format being particularly stale until next year, it's very possible. Keep your guards up, everybody! Stay safe.
