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Article 7: Banner of Restriction

As usual with a new booster set coming out, I will write a set overview and first impression article. As usual, I will look at cards from each color, listing the ones that I think will make some impact on the game.

Also, as extra, I would try to explain the 8/21 restriction before Carddas gave us the reason.

Set 19 - Overview:
First in a mechanic standpoint. This card gives us a preview of 2 cards for the upcoming Gundam series: Gundam OO. Gundam Exia and its pilot, Setsuna, both have a new type of cost. This type of cost is that the Designate NPs must be pay with 2 different colors, but those 2 colors can be anything.

Another new text is something called "lose control" of a card. 4 cards in the set make opponent's cards lose control until end of turn. It just means that the original player and the opponent player cannot play the text or sortie that card to the battle area (or, they cannot "use" that card this turn).

As for revisiting old things, this set gives the player a lot of new cards around the old "Team" mechanic from Set 13. As result, few old groups are revisited: the Black Tri-Star and the Joule Team. Also include is New Desides (a group from Gundam Sentinel), Gaza Storm Team, and Shuffle Alliance. For cycle, outside of the team "support" Command, there is also a 6 cards cycle that benefit the player that play a mono-color deck and punish people who don't. At last, there are also 6 cards that have "Split Second", or, people cannot cut into the effect if play first in cut!

As for other notes, S Gundam is finally newly "re-effect" after who knows how long, the including of cards from a lot of side stories (i.e. Gundam Sentinel, Crossbone Gundam Skull Heart, Gundam SEED Stargazer), and of course, Shin Mushu Gundam, the first "Purple" Gundam.

Color by Color Analysis:

Blue:
As usual with any new set, Blue get their usual amount of good and bad cards (unlike Green, Red, and Black in this set where they get total of maybe 24 cards). So how they did? Any crazy new things?

U-336 Gundam F90IIL - Although the effect is kind of situational, however, this card's effect can be reworded to ALMOST "when play by "Change", destroy an opponent's Unit". Remember...this is BLUE.
U-337 S Gundam - It's a 7 cost Gundam after all. This card is another of those "depending on Hangar" machine. With the G-Core/Attacker/Bomber have effect that revolved around getting from Hangar to Junkyard to field. The bad thing? Date is restricted...
CH-197 Amuro Ray - Although this card has a drawback, this card is a 3 cost 2/2/2 character, with built-in "mini-Blitzkrieg". So it's worth it, especailly since the drawback does not matter much if you set it onto an Unit that was just played.
CH-199 Kaite Bush - It's the last turn game saver...very nice in Draft.
C-126 Good Oppotunity to Counterattack - It's not just any O-destruction card. This card have Split Second which opponent have no chance to react to the destruction.

Green:
Comparing to other set, Green is relatively disappointing this set. The new Black Tri-Star is FAR from the power of the old ones. The lack of cards to release now does not help either.

U-301/302/303 Tri-Star Doms - Although their effect is not THAT good, looking at the cost, they are only 2 cost, and the stats of those card are pretty good for a 2 cost Units. Of course, they bost each other and gain extra if you play a Command [Jet Stream Attack] (ONLY the new one...). The lack of "Quick" hurts, however.
U-307 Gundam Prototype GP02 (Beam Bazooka Equipped) - This thing can bring some extra damages that cannot be stop by Special Shield. The downside of this card is of course the lack of size.

Black:
Black, the color of destruction, got pretty much destroyed in recent set because lack of any good cards. This set return to the theme of the color...and yes, there are some pretty good cards.

U-170 Xeku Eins (Josh Offshore Machine) - After a long time without such good Unit, here's one. This card is exactly what Black Medium need, 4 cost, not bad stats, but also destroy opponent's Unit in the process. This card makes Gottraltan joke when going against Medium size Units.
U-173 Gundam TR-1[Hazel Rah] (2nd Form Booser Equipped) - Well, we all know the biggest problem with Black: slow and high cost. This card can comes into play as fast as the first turn! Although the way is kind of situational as some deck may never use effect to bring out Units, against [Blitzkrieg] and [Voiture Lumiere], this card makes the opponent's Units looking funny. The second effect can also help out linking the whole TR-Rah deck together.
U-174 Gaplant TR-5[Fiver] (MS Mode): This card yells "end game card".
CH-91 Jamitov Hyman: Prevent(9), adding resource (which is only bad against Brown), then ALSO a hand destruction machine if use right. This card, however, is 0/0/0 and is only good from turn 4 and on (outside of Black Weenie...)
C-Z42 Wretched Trick: Nice being 2 cost and Split Second. Negative on "random" discard, or, you may not get the card you don't want to see.
C-Z45 Zanneck Cannon: Black Removal...enough say

Red:
So after Black, the color of destruction, is Red, the color of disruption. So how much this set disrupt opponent?

U-C92 Crossbone Gundam X1 Kai Kai (Peacock Smasher Equipped) - The effect of this card is really nice...X damages NOT DIVIDED to X opponent's Units. However, the effect randomly abolish cards, and also the requirement of a CG X1 is steep.
U-C93 Recordbreaker - A nice addition to Red Medium, even if it's kind of overcost. Quick + HM + Reroll out is nice, but also evasion ability with kind of drawback.
CH-C49 Europa Dugatie - With Set/G, this card can easily turn to early game draw engine.
C-87 Blunder in Succession - A 1 cost counter is always nice, it's just matter of if you think paying lot of resources is worth it.
O-91 Transport of Headquarter - I would say this card is better than [Cosmo Babylon]. One is the drawback, most of the time, does not matter. Unless you have a lot of other recovery cards in your deck, but I never think of a Red deck actually care about cards in their LCP (other than for Recovery).

Brown:
So it's time for Brown. This set have cards from all 3 stories covered by the color. So how are the cards?

U-110 Turn-A Gundam (Moonlight Butterfly Equipped) - 7 cost...but with also Prevent(9). Once this card stays on the field for more than 3 turns, opponent's field would pretty much be turn to dust (I mean that literately)
U-X94 Rosa Cruiser - This card can be turn into "infinite" Blocker to Earth Area.
U-G35 Gundam Spiegel - Having Quick means you can bring 2 into field during a turn. Also built in revival ability is pretty nice even if it's a bit slow.
CH-G28 Schqarz Bruder - One is this card keeps coming back, two is not only it comes back, this card can act as two GF character at once per turn! Ever worry about you not getting another GF character...no need anymore with this card.
O-G11 Isolated without Help - I just love this cycle...even if they are not THAT good. However, considering this: opponent player paying 2 extra resource per card play is just not fun...
O-G15 Title of Knight - Nice if use correctly, since it can turn a Borjarnon into a Freedom.

White:
Finally! Almost finish. The last mono-color!

U-112 Gundam Griepe - Just how nice is this card? A potential 3rd turn drop for a 5 cost Unit, that's how nice.
U-S174 Gundam Astray Outframe (Launcher Striker Equipped) - This card can do a lot of damages to one Battle Area with lowering the defense.
U-S178 Akatsuki - It's Akatsuki...so what can I say? Almost-untargetable, Wings of Light effect, AND change...
CH-S112 Yzak Joule - The new Yzak is just amazing...4 cost Unit can be a lot of things, so watch out for him the next time he's in battle.
CH-S116 Cagalli Yula Athna - This card have an effect that can bring out your expensive Units to the field. The drawback? Well, you NEED the TNP cost to attack with that Unit, but using that Unit as blocker is a "no problem".
CH-S120 Barry Ho - Semi-Toho Fuhai.
O-S31 Management of Public Opinion - White is the "king" of Restrict to 1...but what happens if opponent suffer from the same thing? Fun times!

Purple/Dual:
Of course, at last last cards, there are the Duals and the non-affliate cards.

C-21 Resonance of Psycho Frame - Having no Gs...wait, the 4th turn, your # of NPs goes from 4 to...8? That's not fair. Drawback? Slow, inconsistant...
C-22 The Blow that Change History - That's the reason they restrict [Fate of Blood]? OK, this semi-Fate is good, considering the color combination is right now the most powerful!
U-22 Shin Musha Gundam - Well, it's Purple, it does gives some Zaku to opponent...so what? I mean, they WILL get destroy (since you choose "an Area"...a.k.a. raping the Disposition Area)
U-OO1 Gundam Exia - Have the "sudden strike" effect, it's Quick, then also a good defensive ability where melee damages is nothing.
G-19 Londo Bell Guest/G-20 Jaburo Reminant Detachments - Any Dual Gs is good.

ALMOST to Last Word:
Well, as many players had said, this set had its share of some good cards (i.e. Gundam Exia), but overall the power level of this set is nowhere close to the few sets before. The reduce in number of cards for unknown reason does not help out either. Some anticipated cycle like the Joule Team or Tri-Star is just disappointing, but as does the big push for Team and Team after team.

The set is not without positive, however. The design for the Double O gundams are good: since they are neutral, they should not be White, not Brown, not Red or Black, certainly not Blue and Green. Since pure Purple is broken, you need 2 colors...and it's fine, there are a lot of 2 color decks out there, but of course it's hard also to get to 2-2-4-1.

SERIOUS Last Comments...on the latest restrictions:

Last week, Bandai intoduce 8 new restrictions. The restriction is actually a shock to a lot of player: since nobody see THAT coming as the metagame right now is kind of balance.

Then why they choose 8, and yes...EIGHT freaking cards and restrict them to 1?

- Threatening Armor (O-70 Blue): This card, combine with U-289 GM Command (Morumoto Team Spec) form a potent draw engine that let Blue Sligh (a.k.a. Taiwan Blue) be good.
- Cruz Moses (CH-163 Green): This card stops a lot of deck because of its ability...the restriction is questionable by that not much people use more than 1 anyway!
- Suppression Operation (C-8 Green): It's STILL the most powerful disruption card in the game...this single cards makes any sort of Green weenie too good so that's why this card is restrict.
- Von Braun Suppression (C-56 Black): Bandai wants to encourage more Special G and variable cards play...
- Internal Rift (C-Z14 Black): While above stop Special Gs, this one stops a lot of non-Monocolor deck and deserved the axe.
- Fate of Blood (C-5 Red): Try opening 3 during the SAME turn...although a [Restrict to 1/Turn] errata can stop that...
- Date (O-X35 Brown): God of combo deck (i.e. 7th Space War) so this card needs to be stop.
- THE ORIGIN (C-1 Purple): Hey...it's PURPLE reset! This card is also not the easiest card to be found...

- Baron, 8/27/2007