#cybenet

Cynet Storm ———————————————— All Linked monsters on the field gain 500 ATK/DEF. Link Summons of Link Monsters cannot be negated. Once per Chain, if you take 2000 or more battle or effect damage: You can shuffle the face-down cards in your Extra Deck, excavate the top card, and if it is a Cyberse Link Monster, Special Summon it. Otherwise, return it to the Extra Deck. ———————————————— Can Be Found In: Powercode Link Structure Deck (SDPL-EN021)

Link Monsters immediately became a must have for any strategy involving the Extra Deck. With the Extra Monster Zone limiting the abuse of Special Summons like in previous years, players are forced to start many games by aiming for a Link Summon. Thanks to not only their effects but also arrows providing additional areas for our Extra Deck, Link Monsters is a commitment of our Extra Deck's space to achieve the swarming goals from the past. But although players are obligated to run several Link Monsters instead of other kinds of creatures, that doesn't mean that aren't weak on their own or in company.

"Cynet Storm" is a Field Spell based in some of the events occurring in the VRAINS series, and being all about Link Monsters obviously provides assistance to these cards. While active any monster linked by a Link Monster's arrow will gain a 500 ATK and DEF boost, while any kind of Link Summon will be protected from any negation effects. But "Cynet Storm" provides a one of a kind effect if we take atleast 2000 damage, as will shuffle the face-down cards in our Extra Deck to then excavate the top. If the shown card is a Cyberse Link Monster "Cynet Storm" will immediately summon it to our field, but otherwise will remain in the Extra Deck. In resume, while a stat increase and protecting our Link Summon from recurring counters are valuable option in a time Link Monsters are highly prevalent, "Cynet Storm" summoning effect can act as either a comeback tool or as a powerful card to shortcut the arrival of many powerful Cyberse monsters in some high risk high reward setups.

With the assitance of recurring searching effects like "Terraforming" and "Set Rotation" among others, "Cynet Storm" won't take long to make its pressence noticeable. Given the importance of Link Monsters nowadays, many Decks can benefit of "Cynet Storm" as soon they start Link Summoning with any of their gimmicks and mechanics. But there's no rush to bring our own Link Monsters, as if the opponent controls one and is pointing our monster(s) will assure the stat boost from "Cynet Storm" to overcome them in battle. Decks that heavily invest on Link Summon will welcome its protective effect, keeping even the most expensive summons safe from common defenses like "Solemn Strike". But while stat increases and protection are always welcome in any Deck, "Cynet Storm" ability to randomly summon Link Monsters can create interesting strategies arround it. Although the premise is to respond against opponent attacks and effects, "Cynet Storm" can trigger this ability by our own cards making us enough damage to follow with a summon from the Extra Deck. No matter if is summoning monsters like "Grinder Golem" to the opposite field to attack it with weaker monsters, and/or working along effects like "Ring of Destruction" that will damage us in the process, it will follow with the potential arrival of powerful Link Monsters like "Topologic Gumblar Dragon" and "Topologic Bomber Dragon" without the need of spending on materials and resources.

"Cynet Storm" might be seen as a defensive measure in most circumstances, with an stat boost that can take advantage of opponent's Link Monsters as well protecting Link Summons from being negated. However, "Cynet Storm" unique effect to summon Link Monsters in response of damage not only can keep the opponent under control, but fearless players can risk their Life Points if that means summoning powerful monsters wihtout spending several summons on a single Link Monster. Although "Cynet Storm" has the potential to lead Duels under Decks heavily focused on Link Summons, it suffers of some clearly flaws. The ability to increase stats and protect Link Summons also benefits the opponent, and with the popularity of Link Monsters in the current conditions of the game it can easily backfire. The ability to summon a Link Monster on the other hand will require a specialized Extra Deck arround it, not only assuring we pick a Link Monster by random chance but also that is Cyberse-Type and with stats solid enough for any situation is summoned into. "Cynet Storm" is far from being a prevalent card in Cyberse Decks or even its own build, but with a flexible purpose and the potential to summon several Link Monsters the more damage we take is worth experimenting with its possibilities.

Personal Rating: B

+ All monsters linked by Link Monster(s) gain 500 ATK and DEF + Link Summons cannot be negated while active on the field + If we take 2000 or more damage we might randomly summon a Cyberse Link Monster + Able to work with cards making us take damage to summon Link Monsters with

Cyberse Witch ———————————————— 2 Cyberse monsters If a monster is Special Summoned to a zone this card points to (except during the Damage Step): You can banish 1 Spell from your GY; add 1 Cyberse Ritual Monster and 1 "Cynet Ritual" from your Deck to your hand. During your Main Phase, if this effect was activated this turn: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster in your GY; Special Summon it. You can only use each effect of “Cyberse Witch” once per turn. ———————————————— Can Be Found In: Cybernetic Horizon (CYHO-EN035)

Now with the Extra Monster Zone restricting the abuse of the Extra Deck like in previous years, Link Monsters became a staple for most builds thanks to their supportive role during a Duel. Is undeniable that many Link Monsters will lead Duels on their own with their abilities alone, but in most scenarios the use of their arrows will allow the user to expand their summons as well gain additional benefits. But although Link Summon alone is capable to overwhelm opponents from the first turns, depending of the Deck's direction they can become of great help of other goals we can aim for.

"Cyberse Witch" is an interesting Link Monster among its kind as its effects tries to assist Ritual Summons, one of the oldest mechanics in the game. If a monster is summoned where one of the "Witch" arrows is pointing at, we can banish a Spell Card from the Graveyard to obtain a Cyberse Ritual Monster as well the card "Cynet Ritual" from our Deck. Then, right after using that effect "Cyberse Witch" will revive a Level 4 or lower Cyberse from our Graveyard during the Main Phase. So while Cyberse recently debuted in the game and mostly focuses on Link Summon, the many benefits "Cyberse Witch" provides from a single Special Summon makes it a great tool to follow its arrival with a Ritual Summon effortlessly.

Despite being restricted to be summoned using Cyberse materials, "Cyberse Witch" has enough support for its arrival that we can spare some options to follow with another summon and activate its effects right away. In early game monsters like "Linkslayer" and "Backup Secretary" will arrive along other Cyberse(s) to prepare our Link Summons from our first turn, while others like "Balancer Lord" and "Widget Kid" will provide additional summons on their own. As the Duel progresses and keep using materials we will take over revival effects to assure the arrival of "Cyberse Witch" in mid to late game, from "Cyberse Gadget" reviving a low Level monster to "Knightmare Corruptor Iblee" bringing back a Link Monster. Interestingly "Cynet Ritual" itself can become a tool to summon "Cyberse Witch" if needed, being banished from the Graveyard to summon two Tokens ready for a Link Summon.

"Cyberse Witch" won't take long to activate its two effects thanks to the many methods its Type provides for their summons. The same options we used to summon "Witch" and single target cards such as "One-Time Passcode" and "World Legacy Inheritor" will trigger its abilities as long is brought under one of its arrows, leading to obtaining two Ritual cards and reviving a monster. The monster we will summon by its effect as well the one responsible of triggering this outcome will likely become the main materials of the Ritual Summon, as otherwise previous copies of "Cynet Ritual" will gather Tokens to either use the effects of "Witch" and/or prepare materials on its own. While "Cynet Ritual" is a basic Ritual Spell outside of its Graveyard effect to summon Tokens, there are few Ritual Monsters we can choose from to aim for their summon. "Cyberse Magician" might become our main objective, as by being along "Cyberse Witch" will provide various defensive abilities to restrict the opponent's options. A cheaper alternative able to simply use the revived monster by "Witch" is "Paladin of Storm Dragon", either bouncing enemies during battle or tributing itself to summon a Cyberse of higher Level. Finally there's the archetype boss "Salamangreat Emerald Eagle", able to wipe out the opponent's field if we use its own copy as material for the Ritual Summon. However, while the premise of "Cyberse Witch" is to assist Ritual Summons, its revival effect as well "Cynet Ritual" ability to summon Tokens can aim towards other summons like even bigger Link Monsters by working together.

"Cyberse Witch" is a card with much more possibilities than might look, allowing it to become more flexible during a Duel. With a simple Link Summon allowing us to follow with other Special Summons, "Witch" won't take long to quickly prepare our field for a Ritual Summon of any kind. "Witch" might be limited to a single Ritual Spell and (for now) three Ritual Monsters to choose from, but on the bright side gives us the opportunity to prioritize other summons with the help of its revival effect as well the Graveyard effect of "Cynet Ritual" if any. Probably the main issue is the very poor ATK of "Witch", as unless investing on "Cyberse Magician" and its protective abilities or using it for another Link Summon, it will become a very easy target of high damage in battles. Overall, "Cyberse Witch" can provide wonderful setups on its own by very low conditions, but on the other hand requires a Deck of its own for its peak potential.

Personal Rating: A-

+ Searches "Cynet Ritual" and a Cyberse Ritual Monster if a monster is Special Summoned under one of its arrows + After using its searching effect we can revive a Cyberse monster + Great setup potential arround Ritual Summons and other objectives