Set 12 Reveal #1 - Launch & The King
What a hectic 24 hours it has been. Bandai once again spoiling us with reveals. This time, not only set 12 - but the "Ultimate Deck" as well.
Too many cards for one article for this man with a brain the size of a peanut to process. As such - this article will focus on the Reds. Future articles will go through each colour.
*Deep Breath* Let's go!
BT12-001: Launch//Launch, Nothing to Sneeze at
I love what they have done with this leader mechanic. It fits perfectly with the character "Sneeze-Awaken". Worth noting that this is an Auto - not an Awaken. No exploiting Heartfelt etc.
We have seen allusions to Flipping cards in life face up with "Trunks, Power to Save the Future" from EX14. Little did anyone realize how much of a lynchpin this would be for set 13.
BT12-003: Bulma, Secret Supporter
Launch & Bulma - fanboys rejoice!
A nice card for Launch, allowing you to strategize which cards you want in life.
Also a general 1 drop red unison that can activate your free counterplays on turn 2.
BT12-026: Achoo! & BT12-013: Launch, the Pure-Hearted
I can't get the visual image of sneezing out a Launch from my mind.
Some nice synergy here. Achoo! letting you KO an opponents battle card and flip life face up. Ideally, you want to be comboing with her first from hand and then using Achoo! on a subsequent turn to combo from drop.
BT12-003: Bulma, Secret Supporter: Bulma & Launch, a match made in fanboy heaven. Working nicely with the Launch engine, Bulma allows you to plan your "From-life" plays.
Things that get Sneezed out
These are the cards you want to be "Flipping face up" in life. Paying an energy (or 2) and being replaced with a card from top deck. A similar principle to what we will see with King Piccolos "Instruments" and what we have seen with the Ginyu Force.
BT12-010: Master Roshi, Ready for Anything. Everyones favourite dirty old man is a Revenge Blocker. He is also Unique.
BT12-009: Tien Shinhan, Ready for Anything. The Double Striker of the family. Unique.
BT12-006: Son Goku, Ready for Anything. The Critical piece. Unique.
BT12-005: Son Goku, Eye for an Eye. Same, same not same. Costing 2 energy and with an auto that burns your opponents life once per turn when activating Counter. I No Barrier or Deflect. Your opponent isn't leaving this guy on board.
BT12-012: Launch, Brown County's Most Wanted. Angry Launch is a Critical hitter that can KO an opponents battle card on play.
Provided that you pay the 1 red energy cost, Launch is played when your leader flips to its back side. Good defensively, once your opponent has commited to comboing on a 15k base swing. She is also Unique.
I like her, but the more I explore this engine, the more energy poor it feels.
BT12-011: Bulma, Confident Friend. Useful as a combo tool that allows you to flip a life face up. Draw on play is also nice.
BT12-024: Master Roshis Mafuba. A Red Mafuba for 1 energy? Amazing card. Enough said.
That's really the last piece of Launch support we have seen revealed so far. Let's move on to the King.
The Lead Singer
BT12-002: King Piccolo/King Piccolo, Demonic Rejuenation
This leader is wild. START THE GAME WITH 6 LIFE??? EXCUSE ME?? That's okay - I'll just Rejuvenate it.
Bandai have been throwing us a ton of King Piccolo content of late - which is great! Character diversity is something that is sometimes lacking in releases (looking at you Broly & Gogeta). It excites me to see more love for the saga that started it all.
Get used to constantly cycling cards between life and hand and Rejuvenate is key.
The Backup Singer
BT12-004: Piccolo Jr., Descendant of the King. Fucking yes. Great card. Not only for the King Piccolo engine, it's amazing for almost any Red deck. His auto.. note that it is not once per turn.
His Activate:Main #1 - draw a card. Titillating . His second giving you removal AND your leader rejuvenate for the turn. Sexual.
The Instrumental Section
I wonder if Akira Toriyama intended to also give us "Bass" and "Guitar"? Our favourite 4 instruments are back. I had to reach every card several times to really get my head around what they are doing.
BT12-023: Piano, Reign of Terror: Play me on turn 1, you're the Piano man. Allowing you to capitalize on your leader skill to draw a card. I really like that he doesn't go away easily. allowing you to play him from drop by flipping a card in life face down. He is also Critical.
BT12-021: Cymbal, Reign of Terror: I have no lyrics for this. Why couldn't it be "Cowbell, Reign of Terror"? Plays for free from your life. You want to get this guy out AFTER activating your unison effect to add rejuvenate to the itself. Netting you a 15k beater, a marker on unison, a card under the unison and draw 1. Oh - he's not unique either. Fucking wot.
BT23-022: Drum, Reign of Terror: Parum parum pum. Similar to Cymbal, this guy plays for free when comboing from life. negging an opponents Battle card by 10k. Barrier and Blocker are what you provide some defence. Nice to get out on your opponents turn.
BT12-020: Hey, Mr. Tambourine, Reign of Terror man, play for free for me. This bad boy is effectively a 20k Dual Attack. With this engine - you will meet the criteria.
The Albums
The King himself.
BT12-019: King Piccolo, Dragon Ball Obsession. Another first turn option and an excellent searcher if you can't find your pieces. Also an EX-Evolve target for our next card...
BT12-018: King Piccolo, Time to Fight. This fella searches deck for any missing pieces that his predecessor didn't find. Yum. Oh and buffing a Demon Clan once per turn by 20k? This guy is not mucking around.
BT12-017: King Piccolo, Evil Dictator. This card.... is mental. It was smart on Bandais part not to give him Barrier. Deflect, Double Strike and Dual Attack were more than enough. Not to mention he plays for 1 energy by sacking of 40k worth of battle cards. He also brings out a Piccolo jr. costing 4 or less on removal. Interestingly, there are no 4 cost Piccolo jrs that we have seen (yet).
The Producer
BT12-025: Attack of the Demon Clan is how you are getting those cards from life > Combo.
The Roadie
BT12-007: Krillin, Dearest Friend. This is the new flavour of Super Combo for set 12 and will be crucial in making sure that you get your Rejuvenate pieces in place. Do make sure that your Unison has activated its main to add rejuvenate for the turn before using this guy...
That's the main engine pieces covered. On to the odds and bods. I'm not going to talk about these as they are all things we have seen before. BT12-014: Pilaf, the Gang's All Here! gets honorable mention as a spicy way to introduce some skillless shenanigans into the set 10 Pilaf engine.
That's it. Thanks for reading my ravings. I'll be back soon with the next colour explosion.
Ché
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