Just when you thought Tour Guides were perfect for getting out that Number 17 and Tengus were perfect for getting out that Number 39, making them the best Xyz monsters available. Well, my friends, I'm afraid that title has been taken by none other than Daigusto Phoenix.
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Diagusto Phoenix
WIND
Rank 2
Pyro/Xyz/Effect
1500/1100
2 Level 2 monsters
Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to target 1 face-up WIND monster you control; that target can attack twice during this turn's Battle Phase.
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At first glance, it's not much - a Rank 2 Xyz with only 1500 attack. However, its effect is where it shines - you can detach a Xyz material to target one face-up WIND monster, and that monster can attack twice. Let that sink in for a bit. Attack twice. That means that your Great Tornado? Yeah, after halving those monsters, it's gonna attack twice. And you can use this effect up to 2 times, since Daigusto Phoenix comes into play with 2 Xyz Material monsters.
But wait - it gets better. Diagusto Phoenix is itself a WIND attribute monster, so you can use its effect to target itself, and Daigusto Phoenix will get a second attack. That's not much, though, considering that Daigusto Phoenix only has 1500 attack - but there are some ways to fix that.
United We StandStraight off the limited list, United We Stand is back to 3, and makes it a very, VERY good card to be used with Daigusto Phoenix. With no other monsters, Phoenix grows to 2300 Attack, allowing it to kill most level 4 or below monsters (Defender's a different story). It also hits Sirocco Hard, and will stay on level with Celestia, Goldd, and Armed Wing. Remember, it has two attacks, so you can kill one monster and crash into one of these monsters.
With 2 monsters on your field, Phoenix grows to 3100, enough to beat Black Luster Soldier, Judgement Dragon, Grapha, and most ace cards of decks, including Stardust, Red Dragon Archfiend, Leviathan, etc. Remember, it has two attacks, so effectively you're attacking with 6200 attack points.
With 3 or 4 monsters on your field, Phoenix just gets ridiculously powerful, growing to 3900 and 4700, enough to OTK your opponent (assuming you have another monster).
Axe of DespairThis one's a little more obvious, and is less versatile than United We Stand - however, you're still going to get a 1000 boost to 2500, enough to take out Goldd, Celestia, and even Evolzar Laggia.
Armory ArmI'm not gong to go into the specifics on how I would get this card out in a Daigusto Phoenix deck (because that would reveal my deck), but I will say that, if you can get this card out, and equip it to Daigusto Phoenix, you've got a lean, clean, destroying machine.
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Now, all that's great, but the real question lies within the ability to get Phoenix out on the field - being a rank 2 Xyz monster, Tour Guide and Tengu aren't really going to help get it out. However, there's some ways around that, using the same thing that made Tour Guide + Sangan so broken before the rulings were updated.
The Agent of Creation - Venus and
Mystical Shine BallThe Agent of Creation - Venus has a very nice effect, allowing you to pay 500 life points to special summon one Mystical Shine Ball from your Deck or hand. Mystical Shine Ball is a Level 2 monster, so by special summoning 2 of them, you can immediately overlay them to Xyz summon Daigusto Phoenix. If you've got a United We Stand in your hand, it's worth it to spend an extra 500 to special summon another Mystical Shine Ball - that way, Daigusto Phoenix will become a 3100 double attacker when equipped with United We Stand.
Quillbolt Hedgehog and
Plaguespreader ZombieFirst off, note that these monsters are both level 2 monsters. That makes them, again, ideal for using as Xyz Material monsters for Diagusto Phoenix. But that's not all. Say you have a Mystical Shine Ball on the Field, as well as a Tuner, and a Quillbolt Hedgehog in the grave. Using Quillbolt's effect, you can special summon it to the field, and then overlay it with Mystical Shine Ball for Daigusto Phoenix. Now, you use Diagusto Phoenix's effect, and detach Quillbolt. Quillbolt does NOT get Banished, because it never "left the field" - just like how Sangan doesn't get his effect when he's detached for Leviathan. Now, you still have a Tuner on the field, so you can use Quillbolt's effect again, this time to Synchro Summon whatever - Brionac to bounce, Catastor to get rid of nasty cards that Phoenix can't kill, etc.
The same thing applies to Plaguespreader - you can use his topdecking effect over and over, just like you can with Quillbolt, to continuously get out Phoenix.
Deep Sea Diva This one is pretty obvious - use Deep Sea Diva's effect to search out another Diva, overlay the two together to Xyz Summon Diagusto Phoenix.
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These are just some of the ways you can get Phoenix out, how you can use his effect effectively (heh), and how you can use it to kill. Daigusto Phoenix is a DT12 card, so expect it to be released in Hidden Arsenal 6, due in August 2012.
