Iskandra, Avatar of War

[weeb 14]

 

Art Source: Ulia by Aleksei Vinogradov

 

Iskandra, Avatar of War

Level 10 | Warrior/Synchro/Effect | EARTH

ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000

Effect:

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

For this card’s Synchro Summon, you can treat 1 Warrior Monster you control as a Tuner, but the other materials must also be Warrior monsters. If a monster your opponent controls battles this card, or targets it with an effect: you can target that monster; send a number of Equip Spells (max. 5) from your Deck to the GY and decrease that target's ATK by that number x1000, then if its ATK was reduced to 0 as a result, negate that activation (if any), also destroy it.

 

Design Notes:

This is a proof-of-concept card intended to represent an alternative kind of Synchro Summon. The basic rundown is, the Synchro monsters of this hypothetical class are generic if Summoned using traditional materials (1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuners), but provide the option to utilize any monster of its Type as a Tuner, on the condition that every other material is of that same Type. To compensate for this versatility, its Level is somewhat higher than normal (I imagine a Synchro monster with Iskandra’s effect would normally be Level 8, rather than 10). Keep in mind the materials must still add up to be the appropriate Level, regardless of how you Summon it.

A couple ruling notes: since its destruction effect is predicated by an “also” clause and not an “and if you do" clause, it can destroy the card even if it doesn’t negate the effect (but you still have to reduce the monster’s ATK to 0). This is why it is able to destroy stuff it battles. Also, a neat fun fact is if you attack with this card, and it destroys the attack target by this effect, provided you did not activate this effect during the Damage Step, it will trigger a replay battle. That means, if you are running enough Equip Spells, you can just keep attacking monsters and blowing them up over and over again. Another detail is that its ATK reduction is permanent.

I wanted to design a card with a strong Warrior-theme, which is why the effect is centered on interaction with other monsters and Equip Spells. The name “Iskandra” is a feminine form of the Greek name “Iskander,” of Alexander the Great fame (an intentional reference to him), and also means “Defender of Mankind.” Your opponent could try to attack over it, or hit it with a monster effect, but they risk you dumping a bunch of Equip Spells and blowing up their monster. Granted, the fact you have to run Equip Spells may be a downside depending on your deck… but its alternate Summoning condition means you don’t need to run Tuners either. At any rate, this card means you are just three Equip Spells away from destroying a Borrelsword, so hopefully it all pays for itself at the end.

So, what do you think about this card? Is the Equip Spell-centered effect worth the Main Deck space? Could you see this in competitive play? Is the Synchro Summoning condition a good idea, or do you think its powercreeping a mechanic that doesn’t need it? Am I asking too many questions? Well, I’d like to hear what you all think either way.

 

 

[Summer Darj 292]

IMO the concept is fine. Is similar to Miko Ib and Nirvana Magician in that they can use Non-Tuners as Tuner substitutes, so the idea is not foreign. The effect seems fine to me. Potent, but requires Deck dedication, and most likely this would only be played in decks that already run Isolde.

Dropping a text fix, but I still think some parts can be improved:
For this card’s Synchro Summon, you can treat 1 Warrior Monster you control as a Tuner, but the other materials must also be Warrior monsters. If this card battles an opponent's monster, or is targeted by an opponent's monster effect: You can target that opponent's monster; send up to 5 Equip Spells from your Deck to the GY, and if you do, that target loses ATK equal to the number of Equip Spells sent to the GY x 1000, then, if its ATK has been reduced to 0 as a result, negate that attack or activation (if any), also destroy it.

Edited April 14, 2019 by A Crap Guide to CC