The Christmas Fallout - 2019!

Happy Holidays, guys. Hope you had a great one. Christmas this year was kind of a rush, honestly. Thanks to a late Thanksgiving launching us straight from one season to another without much delay, it just kinda came and went.

Still, despite the strange holiday it's been, I was treated VERY well by my loved ones in the gift department. So welcome to the annual Christmas Fallout post, where I share my haul and you guys can join in by listing yours in the comments. Let's get the holly jolly started!

Toy Story 4 (4K Combo) (Target Limited Edition)

Spider-Man: Far from Home (4K Combo)

Teen Titans GO! to the Movies (Blu-ray Combo)

M.U.S.C.L.E. Street Sharks Sets

$20 Nintendo eShop Card

$10 Regal Gift Card

Peanut Butter M&Ms

Crispy M&Ms 

Other Candy

The stocking filling really hit it out of the park this year, with the Street Sharks M.U.S.C.L.E. figure sets being an absolute highlight. (These have actually only been found in the wild at Five Below stores so far, but you can also easily snag them up on Ebay.) Regardless of their bizarre, out-of-nowhere release, I HAD to have the first official Street Sharks toys in years.

Rounding things out are movies, eShop cash, Regal cash (perfect for Sonic in February), assorted candy, and both of my favorite (in production) flavors of M&Ms.

Luigi's Mansion 3

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (Switch)

Pokemon Shield

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition (Switch)

Spyro: Reignited Trilogy (Switch)

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Switch)

River City Girls (Switch) + Original Game Soundtrack + Limited Run Trading Card

GAMES! Quite a variety this year, including double the ghost-busting and monster-raising. (Thank you Switch for giving me a good opportunity to finally pick up Hacker's Memory.) Also looking forward to experiencing the original Spyro games in full after being more casual with them during the old PS1 days. (Can't beat more 3D platformers on Switch!)

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Set (Neon Red/Neon Blue)

Digimon Fusion: Season 1 (DVD)

Digimon Fusion: Season 2 (DVD)

More Joy-Cons to increase potential play options and the last of the Digimon DVDs I still needed to pick up. (With the exception of the out-of-print Digimon the Movie.) Interested in rewatching Fusion, as I remember feeling it was just "okay" by the end after keeping up with airings week-to-week. Maybe binging all of it together years later will give me a fresh perspective. (I also got these now because I was afraid they'd go out of print soon and I'd be screwed. Conveniently, the show also left Netflix this month.)

Power Rangers: The Ultimate Visual History 

Power Rangers: Shattered Grid Deluxe Edition 

Go Go Power Rangers Volume 1

Go Go Power Rangers Volume 2

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Lost Chronicles Volume 1

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Lost Chronicles Volume 2

Power Rangers: The Psycho Path 

A big theme of my wishlist this year was playing catch-up with Power Rangers' 25th Anniversary LAST year, so half of my stuff is PR-related. 

Been meaning to get ahold of the Visual History book ever since it was first announced. Looking forward to learning an interesting tidbit or two before sliding it on the shelf next to my TMNT one.

With the exception of The Psycho Path, this year's batch of comics is dedicated to one thing: SHATTERED GRID. The first two Go Go trades and the Lost Chronicles volumes help set the stage while the Deluxe Edition collects the whole event in one beautiful hardcover book. This is one that I CANNOT WAIT to dig into later.

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Lost Galaxy Red Ranger/In Space Psycho Red Ranger

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Magna Defender 

Power Rangers Lightning Collection In Space Psycho Blue Ranger

Wouldn't be a PR-heavy haul without some more Lightning figures! Especially happy about this particular selection, as I finally get to own figures of the sick Psycho Ranger suits and one of my favorite classic seasons, Lost Galaxy, even gets some love! (This is the first Magna Defender-related toy I've owned that actually has a cape.)

Tomy Metal Sonic Comic Pack

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Lord Zedd

My Sis and her husband got me these. Lord Zedd joins my Lightning figure haul with his best plastic representation yet and a couple of alright Metal Sonic figures present the REAL prize: an exclusive printed comic book featuring official translations of the adorable 25th Anniversary Sonic Channel webcomics. (Featuring stories starring everyone from Storm the Albatross to Eggman Nega!)

$20 Nintendo eShop Card

Finally, my favorite cousin got me some more eShop cash so I can prepare for Smash Ultimate DLC: Year 2.

(Also got some cash from my Grandma that I've already spent, so look forward to seeing just what I bought with it in the new year.)

How was everything for YOU guys this year? I'd love to hear about your own personal Christmas Fallout in the comments below.

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - FINALE!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE and welcome to the grand finale of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!!

LAST. BOX.

Our final card is one of the newest branches to be added to both the Kuriboh AND Performapal family trees: Performapal Kuribohble!

General Observation:

You can think of Kuribohble here as an official game take on the anime version of Kuribon. Much like that card's animated equivalent, when you're about to suffer a direct attack, you can special summon this card to take the blow. Then, again like Kuribon, your damage is converted to extra LP instead. 

However, there are two key differences. First, Kuribohble increases YOUR points rather than your opponent's, and secondly, he's destroyed like any other defending Monster instead of returned to your hand after battle. The former makes him quite a useful card for a last-ditch defense against an uber-powerful Monster. Plus, since he's both a Level 1 AND Performapal Monster, there are a myriad of ways to bring him to your hand with the right deck.

Trivia Observation:

Kuribohble is actually the first brand-new card to be featured in an Advent Calendar. This means it has no previous TCG set to mention. However, it DOES have a single manga appearance in Scale (Chapter) 23 of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V where Yuya Sakaki uses him to defend. Yuya joins the exclusive club with Yusei of protagonists who had to wait until their manga to get their own personal Kuriboh and his TCG art is even taken from that original manga appearance. (As seen above.) 

As for odder trivia, this card's actually called Kuribohrder/Kuriborder in Japan and the English manga respectively. Not sure why they changed it or what either name is a possible portmanteau of (Kuriboh and Snowboarder maybe?), but that's how it is.

Personal Observation:

Super neat to get a brand new card, especially one that uses appropriately festive reds, greens, and stars in its design. Still need to catch up with the ARC-V manga, so I can't wait to see this guy in action.

That's all she wrote for the Kuriquel! I'd like to thank every one of you for joining in for another year of me trying to seem knowledgeable about card games. It means a lot that you stuck with me through this fun holiday journey that briefly subverted my infamous laziness. These are a ton of fun to do. Will there be a follow-up? Well, we'll have to see what Konami says, but chances are, if I can find ANY kind of Advent Calendar based on something I'm interested in during future holiday seasons, you'll see it here.

Anyway, have the happiest of holidays and the merriest of Christmases. I hope all of you can find some peace and contentment this season and partake in a good bit of personal joy to top the year (and decade) off well. As for me, I'll be back for the annual Christmas Fallout post, so be sure to stay tuned to the blog in the meantime. As my furry friends above would likely say: KURIBYE!!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 23!

Welcome back to Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel! TOMORROW IS CHRISTMAS EVE!!

There's only ONE DOOR LEFT after this one!

It's the other half of our card combo that started yesterday, Winged Kuriboh LV10!

General Observation:

Winged Kuriboh LV10 can only be special summoned by the effect of yesterday's card, Transcendent Wings. With all that you have to give up for THAT card, you might be wondering if LV10 here is really worth it, especially after glancing at his unchanged ATK and DEF stats. Well, in true Kuriboh fashion, his effect MORE than makes up for his meager strength. 

Y'see, you can tribute this guy during your opponent's Battle Phase to destroy EVERY attack position Monster they have in play AS WELL AS inflict damage to them equal to the combined total of those Monsters' ATK values. This has the potential to be a HUGE game changer, especially if you're on the ropes and staring down a powerful opposition. 

Since Transcendent Wings is quick-play, I would highly recommend pulling off the full combo during your opponent's Battle Phase, that way they have less of a chance to avert the effect.

Trivia Observation:

As it's paired with Transcendent Wings, Winged Kuriboh LV10 debuted in the same TCG set, Cybernetic Revolution, as both an Ultra Rare and an Ultimate Rare. It also debuted in the same episode of the GX anime as the Wings and even got in a couple of GX manga appearances starting with Chapter 3.

A unique thing about Winged Kuriboh's level forms (both LV9 AND LV10) is that they aren't affected by Spell and Trap cards that typically deal with other level-changing Monsters such as Armed Dragon and Horus the Black Flame Dragon. (For example, a Spell like "Level Up!" would have absolutely no effect on a base Winged Kuriboh because LV9 and LV10 aren't listed on its card text.)

Personal Observation:

Yep, seems like things have played out exactly how I figured they would when we got the flute. This is an especially neat one for me, as I don't believe I've ever owned this card. (I've owned the Ultimate version of Transcendent Wings, but never this card.)

Winged Kuriboh's multi-day saga has come to an end and set us up for our grand finale tomorrow. I actually already 100% know what it's gonna bring (it's featured on the other side of the Calendar and was the biggest selling point), so come back tomorrow for the first brand new card in Yu-Gi-Oh! Advent Calendar history as we wrap up Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 22!

Happy weekend-before-Christmas and welcome back to Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel! If you don't know what we've been up to by Day 22, then I highly suggest not starting with this part.

Just three more doors counting today's! THE HOLIDAYS ARE NIGH.

Looks like I was right on the money once again! It's the Spell Card, Transcendent Wings!

General Observation:

Strategy section's gonna be a bit lighter today, as this card HEAVILY relies on another that I'm sure we'll get tomorrow. Anyway, in exchange for two cards from your hand and one Winged Kuriboh, you can then special summon probably-tomorrow's-card from your hand or deck. It's quick-play, meaning you can spring it on your opponent's turn and the two-card hand cost has big potential for planting cards with grave effects.

Trivia Observation:

Transcendent Wings was originally printed in the TCG set, Cybernetic Revolution as both a Rare and Ultimate Rare. It debuted in the GX anime with Episode 4 where it was gifted from Ms. Dorothy to Jaden in time to help him save his skin in a duel against Chazz Princeton. It made a few appearances in later GX episodes as well.

Personal Observation:

Called it! Think I know EXACTLY what awaits us in those last two boxes.

We're winding down, so don't miss the final two installments of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 21!

Feliz Navidad and hello again from Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel, a little series about trading cards that's going by WAY faster than it seems like it would. Guess that's what a late Thanksgiving gets ya.

Day 21! (Which is also the last door on this side of the Calendar!)

Had a feeling we'd be getting this one today after we got the flute! It's Jaden Yuki's spirit partner, Winged Kuriboh! (Winky variant!)

General Observation:

Winged Kuriboh is really the first on-the-frontline kinda Kuriboh ever printed. If he's destroyed while on the field and sent to the graveyard (either through battle or an effect), you take absolutely no damage for the rest of the turn. This makes him great for stalling and defense. (Especially when called directly to the field by the flute from yesterday.) Plus, combine him with two specific cards (which may or may not show up tomorrow and the next day if that feeling I had continues to be accurate) to increase his versatility further.

Trivia Observation:

Winged Kuriboh was first printed in the premiere GX era TCG set, The Lost Millennium. However, this winky version was initially offered as a promo card included with the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Duel Academy Gameboy Advance game. 

His anime debut was, of course, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX where he became Jaden's partner from the very first episode through all four seasons thanks to a little introduction from the King of Games. (He also backed Jaden up in the GX manga where his backstory was given an Ancient Egyptian twist.) Despite being Jaden's primary duel spirit friend, though, the only appearance he made in the Bonds Beyond Time movie was a cameo on the art of The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh. (Guess between Banner and Yubel, Jaden had enough spiritual intervention for one movie.)

Personal Observation:

Yep, my feeling from yesterday was right on the money! (Also figured they'd save him for towards the end since his winky variant was one of the most highly-advertised inclusions in this set through both press releases and him fronting one side of the box.) Now to see if the next two days play out like I think they will! (With a Spell Card and another LV Monster.)

Winged Kuriboh's gotta fly, but come back tomorrow to see if there are more feathers on Day 22 of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 20!

Mele kalikimaka and welcome back to Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel, a thing I've been doing to combine my loves of Christmas and Yu-Gi-Oh! through the magic of card game mumbo jumbo technobabble.

The big 2-0! We only have FOUR days of this left!

Day 20 has brought us a song, courtesy of The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh!

General Observation:

The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh is a quick-play Spell Card that allows you to bring either a basic Kuriboh or a Winged Kuriboh to either your hand or field. This allows you to easily set up for activating either of their effects depending on which one you choose to bring out, and thanks to this, the flute is an ideal defensive card. (You could also combo this card with Detonate on your opponent's turn and make whatever card they were about to use blow up in their face.)

Trivia Observation:

The first English-printed version of the flute was actually a promo card from a 2006 McDonald's Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Happy Meal. It was then given a mass release years later in Legendary Collection 2.

The card made its anime debut in Episode 46 of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX as a part of Jaden Yuki's deck and went on to make several more appearances. (Including in Bonds Beyond Time where it was used by Jaden to bring Yugi's Kuriboh to his hand so he could discard it to negate incoming damage.) Yu-Gi-Oh! diehards will know that this wasn't the first Spell to include "The Flute of Summoning" in its name, as Lord of D. had a bit of experience tooting his own horn.

Personal Observation:

Another I blanked on that I should've figured would be a part of this! (Depending on what card we get tomorrow, I might have a guess as to how the rest of this is gonna play out.)

The flute is going silent, but come back tomorrow for another Kuriboh's tune on Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 19!

Non-specific holiday greeting and welcome back to another frosty edition of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel! We've been trucking on through a trading card Advent Calendar in the spirit of the holidays while also finding out what we can on each cardboard creature, so sit a spell, won't ya?

Day 19, courtesy of Winged Kuriboh's forearm.

Whoa, we've released a one-eyed bandit! It's Kuribandit!

General Observation:

Kuribandit is definitely one of the most interesting Kuribohs yet, as he's not a Level 1 Monster, doesn't have an effect that activates by discarding him and/or blocks attacks or damage, and he's the strongest of our easily-summoned crew yet, with 1000 ATK. Not exactly a beast, but impressive among Kuribohs that can be summoned without a tribute or special summon requirement.

So what CAN he do? Well, you can tribute him at the end of the turn you normal summoned him and then excavate (meaning pick up from the top of your deck and look at) your deck's top five cards. You can then pick a single Spell or Trap card among what you picked up and add it to your hand. (The others are sent to the grave.) Risky if he's your only Monster out, but useful for searching for specific Spells and Traps as well as for planting specific cards in the grave to activate their effects. He's also a Fiend, meaning he helps feed strategies for cards like Dark Necrofear.

Trivia Observation:

Kuribandit was printed for the first time ever in the anime-realizing set Dragons of Legend. (Which you might also remember from when we got Sabatiel.) He's only had a single anime appearance (played by Yami Yugi during his rematch with Rafael in the Waking the Dragons arc of the DM anime) as well as a brief resurgence in the non-canon scripted VA duels as part of Yugi's deck. (Used when he dueled Astral and Kaiba.) 

His effect was also pretty different in the anime, originally being summoned by bringing together the five Kuriboh brothers (Much like how another member of the Kuriboh family that I still SOOOOO want to finally be printed, Kuribabylon, was summoned) and allowing the player to keep ALL Spell and Trap cards they excavate using his effect rather than just one.

Personal Observation:

Haha, I knew this guy was coming, but he slipped to the back of my mind since the last DM card was a while ago.

Kuribandit's gotta go into hiding, but come back for more Kuriboh craziness tomorrow on Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 18!

Hola hola and welcome to another shiny new installment of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel! Lay your eyes upon these Kuriboh-related cards and let your eyebrow raise ever so slightly!

We're officially one week away from Christmas. Hope you guys have completed most of your pre-yule preparations!

Today's a unique one! Our first card to have no direct connection to the Kuriboh family (other than it just generally involving Level 1 Monsters)! It's One for One!

General Observation:

One for One is a Normal Spell that allows you to special summon a Level 1 Monster from your hand or deck for the price of one Monster in your hand. While this could handily be used in a Kuriboh-focused deck (since almost every previous Monster we've covered is Level 1), you could also use it to plant Monsters in your grave with effects that only activate there. (Such as Darklord Marie or Archfiend of Gilfer.) It also gives you more options for gathering tributes or Tuners for a Tribute or Synchro Summon respectively.

Trivia Observation:

Speaking of Syncho Summons, this card made its anime debut as part of Yusei Fudo's deck in Episode 28 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. It was then used as a part of Yusei's bag of tricks in a couple subsequent 5D's episodes (as well as in non-canon scripted VA duels with Yami Yugi and Akiza) before going on to make a couple cameos in ARC-V's Synchro Dimension arc.

As far as general trivia goes, this card was first printed in the 2009 set Raging Battle and the two Monsters depicted on the card are Samsara Lotus and Scarr, Scout of Dark World.

Personal Observation:

Definitely a curveball today! Never imagined we'd get a non-specifically-Kuriboh-focused card after 17 straight days of just hairball-affiliated ones. It's also our third Ultra Rare! Weird.

One for One is going to the grave, but hop on back to The Lazy Shell tomorrow for the next day of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 17!

Happy Holidays and welcome back to another fuzzy edition of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel, where I unearth a new Kuriboh card every day leading up until Christmas while also dishing out the occasional factoid.

17! My, how December flies by.

We've crossed into the Spirit World! It's Kuribon!

General Observation:

Kuribon's interesting. Rather than a discard effect, you have to put it in harm's way in order to use it. If Kuribon is attacked, you can negate all battle damage you would take from that particular altercation and return it back to your hand. However, you also have to increase your opponent's LP by the amount of their Monster's ATK, meaning you'll be helping them out unless you're squirrely. 

You can BE squirrely with Kuribon by using it in a combo with Bad Reaction to Simochi, a Trap Card that changes all LP your opponent gains through effects into damage. This'll allow you to use Kuribon as a landmine to take a big chunk out of their points and potentially change the whole game depending on how strong of a Monster they attack with.

Trivia Observation:

Kuribon was first printed in the TCG set Ancient Prophecy. It made its anime debut in Episode 18 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's as Luna's spirit partner and it followed her through many future appearances as one of her best duel spirit chums. Kuribon was actually the first original Kuriboh Monster that didn't belong to the main protagonist of one of the anime shows and would set a precedent for Kuriphoton to follow later. Like some Kuriboh spin-offs, this card's effect slightly differed in the anime, giving it the extra skill of voiding damage from a direct attack and being special summoned from your hand on the spot.

As for non-anime general trivia, Kuribon's name is a portmanteau of "Kuriboh" and "ribbon," hence the tail ribbon.

Personal Observation:

Kuribon is honestly ANOTHER one I somehow forgot existed until I started researching Kuribohrn despite its numerous anime appearances. A non-main protagonist using it is probably what threw me off.

Kuribon's gotta go back to decorating for the big day, but be back here tomorrow for another door and another Kuriboh on Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 16!

Season's greetings and welcome to another festive edition of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel, a little fun we've been having going through the 2019 Yu-Gi-Oh Advent Calender in a slightly interesting way.

Thus begins the last full week before Christmas!

A bright light blasts out the sixteenth door! It's Kuriphoton!

General Observation:

Kuriphoton has a damage-nullifying effect, but for a price. You have to discard it and also give up 2000 life points. However, after paying that cost, you take absolutely no damage for the rest of the turn. It's best pulled out when you still have a relatively high number of points (or a lot of effects to restore them) and you're about to take a big hit from an opponent's Monster or damaging effect. On top of that, you can discard another Photon Monster from your hand to bring Kuriphoton back there from your graveyard once per turn, meaning you could potentially use it more than once. (Especially if you have a combo to constantly restore your LP to help mitigate the cost.)

Trivia Observation:

Kuriphoton was originally exclusively printed in the Zexal Collection Tin before later appearing in Legendary Duelists: White Dragon Abyss. Its anime debut was in Episode 69 of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal where it was used during the three-on-one duel where Yuma Tsukumo, Kite Tenjo, and Shark took on Dr. Faker. As it's a Photon card, it was used by Kite, whose hair this Kuriboh's spike is modeled after, much like with Yuma and Kurivolt. Its effect also differed in the anime, where instead of giving up 2000 LP, you had to give up half. (Meaning you could theoretically use it more times in a row by just continuing to halve your points.)

Personal Observation:

Another I forgot existed! Kuribohs exist in all flavors.

Kuriphoton's dashing away at lightspeed, but come back tomorrow for another Kuriboh contender on Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 15!

Bienvenue again to another fresh edition of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel! It's officially ten days until Christmas and I've still got nine days worth of Kuribohs to dish on, so let us proceed.

We're nearing the home stretch!

KABOOM! We've found the Spell, Detonate!

General Observation:

Detonate is a Spell that destroys every Kuriboh (OG flavor only) and Kuriboh Token on your field, but in exchange, allows you to destroy an equal number of cards that your opponent controls. It's a quick-play Spell as well, meaning that you could potentially use it as a sort of self-destruct switch depending on your situation. Mix this card with Multiply and Kuribohrn for a wealth of potential destruction opportunities.

Trivia Observation:

Detonate was first printed in Hidden Arsenal. While the card itself was never used in any of the anime shows or manga, it's quite obviously based on Kuriboh's odd power to self-destruct as seen in the Duelist Kingdom arc of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! (As well as in a couple of early post-Duelist Kingdom stories from the anime.) 

Personal Observation:

Yep, knew this one had to be coming when we got Multiply. 

Detonate blew up in our faces, but stay tuned for Day 16 of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel for another card!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 14!

Alola and welcome back to Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel, an odd series where we open Christmas-themed ramblings about Yu-Gi-Oh! cards with the most summer-y Pokemon references. 'Cuz that's the way we do.

Wow, already two whole weeks in! Christmas is a hop, skip, and jump away!

Day 14 nets us a copy of Kuribohrn!

General Observation:

Kuribohrn returns us to effects via discard by allowing its holder to resurrect a Monster that fell in battle that turn by tossing the fuzzball after the Battle Phase. Pretty nice way to give one of your heavy-hitters a second chance against a tougher opponent. 

Not only that, but if Kuribohrn is in the graveyard when your opponent declares an attack, you can banish it to special summon as many other Kuriboh Monsters from your grave as you want. So if you want to run a deck based around Kuriboh, this card is absolutely essential.

Trivia Observation:

Kuribohrn was first printed in the 2016 Yugi Muto Structure Deck. It has yet to make an anime or manga appearance, but its name is an obvious play on the word "reborn," referencing its ability to special summon Monsters from the graveyard. (Of course, the word "reborn"'s most famous tie to Yu-Gi-Oh! is the original graverobber, Monster Reborn.)

Personal Observation:

Another that completely slipped my mind! (Despite how great those 2016 Yugi and Kaiba decks looked, I never actually got around to buying them.)

Kuribohrn's returning to the grave, but keep it tuned for Day 15 of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 13!

Hey, ya'll and welcome back to this little dog and pony show we call Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel. We're going for 24 straight days of hairball appreciation, strategies, and trivia, so stick around, why don't you?

Day 13! We're a-gettin' there!

The 13th box relinquishes...Relinkuriboh!

General Observation:

Unlike a good chunk of its brethren, Relinkuriboh has no effect related to discarding it. Instead, you can draw a card if it's tributed for either an effect or a summon and if one of your other Monsters is in danger after Relinkuriboh is already in the grave, you can banish it to protect your guy on the field from being destroyed. A bit simpler, but handy in a pinch.

Trivia Observation:

Relinkuriboh was first printed as a Shonen Jump promo back in September 2015 for Japan and April 2016 for North America. It's made no appearances in any Yu-Gi-Oh media as of yet, but it appears to have a connection to Pegasus' ace Monster, Relinquished. The claws are similar, Relinkuriboh has an eye attached to its back, and both the English and Japanese names for this card combine the names of both Monsters. (Relinquished + Kuriboh = Relinkuriboh and Sacrifice + Kuriboh = Sakuribo.) This could be a reference to how Kuriboh was essential in helping to take down Thousand-Eyes Restrict in the DM anime and manga.

Personal Observation:

Bit of a weird one today. Not used to seeing Kuribohs without starring roles anywhere, even small ones.

Relinkuriboh has relinquished all its secrets, but report back for Day 14 of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 12!

Welcome back to Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel! Hope you've been enjoying things so far and that I've done a moderately decent job of providing mildly entertaining content related to trading cards.

Day 12! We're officially halfway there!

This guy gets aROUND! It's Sphere Kuriboh! (Sorry, I was having too much of a ball.)

General Observation:

Not only is Sphere Kuriboh super useful for protection thanks to its ability to switch any of your opponent's attacking Monsters into defense position, but you can also use this card from the graveyard as fodder for a ritual summon, making this card a definite boon for Ritual Decks.

Trivia Observation:

Sphere Kuriboh was originally printed in the TCG set Dimension of Chaos. He's made only a single appearance in an anime so far: in VRAINS when Playmaker uses copies of him to dodge security during a hacking attempt.

Other trivia of note is that he might be based on The Winged Dragon of Ra's Sphere Mode due to the similarities in design and his Japanese name actually translates to "Kuriball." (Sharing the name of one of the effects of the five Kuriboh Brothers in Season 4 of the original anime.)

Personal Observation:

Heh, I mostly know this guy for being ANNOYING in Duel Links. Someone ALWAYS seems to have a copy in their hand.

Sphere Kuriboh's gotta roll, but stay tuned for tomorrow's entry on Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel! (Most likely with significantly less ball puns.)

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - DAY 11!

Hello again for the eleventh time and welcome back to another sparkly new (at least until tomorrow) edition of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel! We've been having some festive fun with a little help from a box full of Kuriboh cards. What will we find today?

Box #11 brings us...

...our first Link Monster, Linkuriboh!

General Observation:

Gonna level with you guys: I'm still only one full season into VRAINS and a bit more casual on the card game side of things, so I haven't wrapped my head fully around all the rules and such involving Link Monsters. Thus, this installment'll be a little lighter on the potential strategies.

Anyway, Linkuriboh has the power to reduce any opponent's Monster's ATK to 0 by tributing itself when your foe declares an attack from said Monster. He can also bounce back to the field from the grave once per turn as long as you tribute a level 1 Monster (which you'll probably have since that's his summoning condition), so as long as you have the proper Monster, Linky'll always have your back!

Trivia Observation:

Linkuriboh was originally printed as a Shonen Jump promo card (for September and November 2017 in Japan and North America respectively) before later being reprinted in both the Codebreaker Starter Deck and the Duel Power box. It's currently the ONLY member of the Kuriboh family who resides in the Extra Deck.

Aside from some minor cameos in Season 1, he made his full-on anime debut in Episode 43 of Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS (the beginning of Season 2) where Ai meets his old buddy Linky after returning to a ruined Cyberse. After finding the place otherwise deserted, Ai took Linky with him to reunite with Yusaku/Playmaker and Linky was added to his deck soon after. Ai's pretty affectionate towards Linkuriboh (He was the one who gave him the nickname "Linky") and cheers him on whenever he's called to help out in a duel.

Personal Observation:

Haha, I knew Linky would be along eventually, but not this soon! Very fun card to finally own now that I've started VRAINS Season 2. Wait...DM, GX, 5D's, Zexal,...and VRAINS? Why do I get the feeling that something's very conspicuously missing here? #knowingsmile

Linky's gotta bounce, but be back here tomorrow for another Kuriboh spotlight on Day 12 of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!