The God of the Sun has risen again. Konami’s Immortal Phoenix [TCG] booster set brings Marik’s monsters back from the ashes, remade as the “Sun God” theme. The set also pushes forward the “Salamangreat,” “Sinful Spoils,” and “Winter Raven” storylines. Here is what the cards actually do.
Ra’s Eternal Rebirth
The Immortal Sun God is the standout card here, a Quick-Play Spell with a two-part effect. It lets you Summon The Winged Dragon of Ra monsters, or you can get rid of “Sun God” cards to move The Immortal Sun God back to your hand. The true strength of the card, though, waits for the End Phase.
You can retrieve four “Sun God” monsters from your Graveyard into your hand if The Immortal Sun God was sent to your Graveyard this turn for any reason. The four monsters you can return are Helpoemer, Chanter of the Sun God, Makyura, Destructor of the Sun God, Gil Garth, Exterminator of the Sun God, and Viser Des Shock, Tormentor of the Sun God.
Winged Dragon Meets Sun God
The Fusion Monsters close the set’s big arc. The Winged Dragon of Ra, Sun God of Darkness is the first ever Divine and Divine-Beast Extra Deck monster. It is unaffected by other cards’ effects and lets you discard “Sun God” cards as a Quick Effect to eliminate your opponent’s monsters.
It can be treated as both a “Winged Dragon of Ra” and a “Sun God”, which means it plays well with cards that target either category.
Lava Golem’s New Form
The card’s old trick still works: Tribute your opponent’s monsters to Special Summon it. Its two Fusion Materials come from face-up monsters anywhere on the field, and it summons itself straight from the Extra Deck without needing “Polymerization.”.
The new set overhauls the Salamangreat deck. Two Main Deck monsters take Spell or Trap cards when they are summoned and then summon FIRE Cyberse monsters as Link Material. One of them can mess with your opponent’s Level-based schemes and grab an extra Trap as it leaves the field.
The White Forest Returns
The “Sinful Spoils” story moves into the Winter Raven realm. Deep Forest of the Winter Raven is a Field Spell that grabs a “Winter Raven” monster from your Deck, protects all “Winter Raven” monsters from being destroyed, and Sets a “Winter Raven” Trap every turn.
Purifire of the Winter Raven’s Forest can Summon itself if you control a “Winter Raven” card, and grabs a “Winter Raven” Spell/Trap or any “Sinful Spoils” card from your Deck. It also rescues monsters hidden in the Spell & Trap Zone.
Knights and a Heiress
You can Special Summon monsters from your hand using Anu, Knight of the Winter Raven, whether you reveal the card or hide a monster in the Spell & Trap Zone instead.
Diabellze, Heiress of the Winter Raven’s Forest returns up to the same number of cards on the field to the owner’s hands when Summoned. If you want to crank that number up, she can also hide monsters you control in the Spell & Trap Zone first.
Inside the set, two Level 5 Synchro Monsters come as part of the package: Zaltys, Knight of the Winter Raven and Aitvaras, Knight of the Winter Raven. Each of these two cards carries distinct rules for how they work when they are Summoned and how they behave once they are sent to the Graveyard.
What the Set Changes
The Sun God theme stands out as the most obvious addition. The Quick-Play Spell and the four hand return monsters offer a means to reconstruct your hand after a poor turn. The Fusion Monsters unlock a completely new area of the Extra Deck.
The Salamangreat cards bring two new monsters and a reworked Field Spell to the game. The Winter Raven storyline also receives its own expansion with new cards and a new setting.
“Sentence any foe you face to the torment of the Shadow Realm with 10 new ‘Sun God’ cards!”
The opening draw is exactly the sort of pull that hooks people in straight away. It is a good one. However, once the set is opened up, the cards beneath are the same kind of cards that have been circling the game for years.
The Sun God theme carries this booster set, and it demands work from the player. But the new tools and stories justify the effort, making Immortal Phoenix [TCG] a solid addition to any collection.
This is not a game-changer. It is not a set that will be spoken of in a year. It is a set for players who seek additional cards and additional stories.
The set is out now.
Source material: “Immortal Phoenix [TCG],” YGOrganization.
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