Yu-Gi-Oh Space Time Showdown Super Starter Deck Review

by  ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

The Yu-Gi-Oh Super Starter Deck,  Space-Time Showdown   introduced a new type of Summon into the game of Yu-Gi-Oh called Pendulum Summoning. Previously, we have broken down Pendulum Summoning and the two Pendulum Monsters included in the deck. Now let’s take a look at the rest of the deck and how it works along with the Pendulum Summoning mechanic.

First, we’ll look at the monsters, starting with  Wattaildragon.

Wattaildragon  is a level 6 Light-attribute Dragon monster with 2500 ATK and 1000 DEF. He’s very similar to the classic  Summoned Skull  except as a Light Dragon.

Luster Dragon  is a classic level 4 Dragon-type monster of the Wind Attribute. It has 1900 ATK and 1600 DEF. Despite not having an effect, it’s a solid monster to Normal Summon and can hold its own against plenty of monsters out there.

Hunter Dragon  is a level 3 Dragon type Monster with the Dark Attribute. It has 1700 ATK but only 100 DEF. It’s a very aggressive monster, especially at only level 3.

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At one time, Millenium Shield was a highly sought after collector’s card, as it was only available as a McDonald’s promo. It’s since been put into a Gold Series as a common, and is now in this Starter Deck. It’s a 3000 DEF monster with 0 ATK and is a Level 5 monster, meaning that ordinarily it would need to be Tribute Summoned. 3000 DEF is still very hard to get past, however, so it can still stone-wall opponent’s attacks.

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Dark Blade  was once one of the most feared Level 4 creatures in the game. He’s a Dark-Attribute Warrior monster with 1800 ATK and 1500 DEF. He still packs quite a bunch for a Normal Monster.

Warrior Dai Grepher  is most famous for his fusion with Spirit Ryu to make Ryu Senshi. Here, though, he’s just a Level 4 Warrior with the Earth-type Attribute, along with 1700 ATK and 1600 DEF, middling stats at best.

Konami must be very fond of  Chamberlain of the Six Samurai,  as this is the fifth time he’s been printed. He was printed in Gladiator’s Assault for the first time, again in the Legendary Collection 2 Mega Pack, again in the Samurai Warlords Structure Deck, and even in the first of the Super Starter Decks. That’s an awful lot of mileage for a Level 3 Warrior monster with 200 ATK and 2000 DEF. That defense shouldn’t be overlooked, of course, but the fondness Konami seems to have for this guy is astounding.

The fondness for printing  Mystical Elf, on the other hand, makes a bit more sense, since she was one of Yugi Moto’s original monsters. The fact that she is a Spellcaster is also quite relevant.

So you might be wondering why there are so many Normal Monsters in here. Take note of their types: Dragon, Warrior, and Spellcaster. There is a good reason why they are in here.

We’ve gone over  Stargazer Magician  and  Timegazer Magician  already in our Pendulum Summoning article. When we take a look at the next few cards, you’ll see why Pendulum Summoning might become a big deal. We’ll start with the Empowered monsters, of which there are 5, one of each Attribute, except Dark.

Aether, the Empowering Dragon  is the first card we’ve seen so far that actually has a special effect when it is Pendulum Summoned. It’s a Level 6 Dragon type monster with 2300 ATK and 1600 DEF and the Light attribute. When it’s Pendulum Summoned, you can target 1 card on the field and return it to its owner’s hand. You can only activate the effect of an Aether, the Empowering Dragon once per turn, which makes sense. But if it’s not Pendulum Summoned, it’s basically just a vanilla monster.

Ventrda, the Empowered Warrior  is a particularly good card, in that it has 2000 ATK and can attack directly. It’s a Level 5 monster, however, so typically he would require a Tribute Summon. This is the beauty of Pendulum Summoning, however. Plus, not only can it attack your opponent directly, but if it is sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can target 1 Dragon, Warrior, or Spellcaster Type Normal Monster in your Graveyard and add it to your hand. There’s one reason to have all of those Normal monsters!

Arnis, the Empowered Warrior  is another cool Effect monster. When it’s destroyed by battle with an opponent’s attacking monster and sent to the graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 Spellcaster-Type monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck in Attack Position. It’s a bit specific, but as Arnis doesn’t have to be in attack position for that effect to resolve, it’s a useful ability.

Terratiger, the Empowered Warrior, when he’s Normal Summoned, allows you to Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from your hand in Defense Position. Who doesn’t like free summons, especially for Xyz summoning?

We finish off the Empowered monster cards with  Hydrotortoise, who is actually a Flip Effect monster! His flip effect allows you to destroy 1 Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls. This is relevant because it can target cards in Pendulum Zones. Spell/Trap Card destruction is always useful, and even better when attached to a monster.

The final five monsters in the deck are called Summoners, one for each Attribute much like the Empowered cards, with Dark still being an exception.

The  Golden Dragon Summoner  is a Spellcaster with 1000 ATK and 1000 DEF. While it doesn’t have very impressive stats, it does have an interesting effect. You can tribute one of your monsters, then target another monster on the field and return it to the hand. You can only use the effect of a “Golden Dragon Summoner” once per turn. This effect could be fairly helpful, especially when facing Synchro and Xyz Summoned monsters and forcing them to be un-summoned can set your opponent back considerably, even at the cost of one of your own monsters. It would seem you could tribute this card for its own effect, as well.

The  Blue Dragon Summoner is yet another card in this deck that cares about having Normal Monsters in the deck. If he’s sent from the field to Graveyard in any way, you can add 1 Dragon, Warrior, or Spellcaster-type Normal Monster from your Deck to your hand.

Red Sparrow Summoner  is the Spellcaster version of Arnis, the Empowered Warrior. In this case, she seeks out Warriors from the deck with 1500 or less ATK, whereas Arnis instead seeks out Spellcasters. It’s an interesting synergy.

The White Tiger Summoner is very similar to Terratiger, the Empowered Warrior except that it’s a level 3 monster with more defensive stats (1000 ATK/1700 DEF). However, in addition to allowing you to Special Summon a level 4 or lower Normal Monster from your hand, this Summoner gives all monsters you control an additional 100 ATK and DEF.

The final Summoner is another flip effect monster, and this one destroys creatures your opponent controls. Green Turtle Summoner is basically a better version of the classic Man-Eater Bug and Old Vindictive Magician, as it has more defense than either of them at 1500 DEF. This is a great card, although not quite as good as Snowman Eater. It does have the advantage of being a Spellcaster, however.

That’s it for the monsters. Now onto the Spell Cards.

Sorcerous Spell Wall  is an interesting field spell card. On your turn, all monsters you control gain 300 ATK only during your turn and only 300 DEF during your opponent’s turn. While the defensive side of the card may not be as relevant, gaining 300 ATK during your turn is a pretty strong effect.

The last new card in the deck,  Supply Squad, is a cool Continuous Spell Card. Once per turn, if a monster or monsters you control are destroyed by battle or a card effect, you can draw a card. Card draw is always good, especially when it comes from something that often happens in a game.

To round out the spell cards we have: Lightning Vortex,  Mystical Space Typhoon,  Ego Boost,  Axe of Despair,  Lucky Iron Axe,  Monster Reincarnation,  Dark Factory of Mass Production, and  Poison of the Old Man. You can click on each card’s name to find out more about it on Yu-Gi-Oh Wikia.

For the Trap Cards:  Trap Hole,  Sakuretsu Armor,  Raigeki Break,  Dust Tornado,  Shadow Spell,  A Hero Emerges,  Soul Resurrection, Jar of Greed,  Magic Jammer, and  Seven Tools of the Bandit. Again, click the card name’s for more info.

Overall, the reprints I’m most excited to see among the Spell/Trap cards are  Mystical Space Typhoon  (which you can never have enough of),  Monster Reincarnation  (which is a good card for many decks) and  Seven Tools of the Bandit, which is a Trap card that has really been coming back into style with the banning of  Heavy Storm.

Taking a look at the deck as a whole, it introduces a bunch of new cards into the game, especially with the Summoner and Empowered monsters, plus obviously the two Pendulum monsters and the two Spell cards. The deck has some interesting synergies within it, and while the deck is not itself highly competitive, it’s a great starting place for players new to the game or returning after a long while to discover that there’s this Pendulum Summoning thing going on (like myself!)

But wait, the deck list might be finished, but there’s more! The reason they call this a Super Starter Deck is that it comes with two packs of five cards, as well! What’s in this pack? We'll review what you can get from those packs soon!