The King has Arrived! - King of the Sky Prison (BODE) Card Review

Hey RespectYGOers, Arcknight here! It's time for another card review featuring one of the newest cards revealed in Burst of Destiny (BODE) called "King of the Sky Prison". Is this the newest Meta Defining card we've been waiting for?

Before we dive in, let's check its effects first:





BODE-JP030 天獄の王 King of the Sky Prison
DARK Rock / Effect
LV10 3000/3000
You can only use 1 of this card name’s 1st and 2nd effects per turn, and only once that turn.
(1) During your Main Phase: You can reveal this card in your hand (until the end of your opponent’s turn), and if you do, while this card is revealed by this effect, Set cards on the field cannot be destroyed by card effects.
(2) If a Set Spell/Trap Card is activated: You can Special Summon this card from your hand, then, if this effect was activated while this was was revealed in the hand, you can Set 1 Spell/Trap directly from your Deck to your field, but banish it during the End Phase of the next turn.

Initial Thoughts:

At first glance, the card looks massive literally. The artwork is also amazing and I'd love to see it in full detail once it releases. I was talking to a friend and he said it resembles Subterror in a way. Interesting enough, the effect also is related to Subterror as it protects set cards and we know that Subterror loves to set cards.

STATS review:

DARK Rock / Effect
LV10 3000/3000

• It's a DARK with 3000 ATK/DEF monster which means it can be used as a fodder for Virus cards with ease. It can also be used as Allure of Darkness fodder or a fusion material for a Shaddol Winda. Neat.
• 3000 ATK is nothing to scoff at. 3 Attacks of this card is basically game over and it can even face the almighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon. (On special occasions)
• It's a Rock-type monster so it is searchable by Gallant Granite! Could we see a rank-4 turbo deck that focuses on Gallant Granite to search King of the Sky Prison with heavy backrow?
• It's level 10 so it can be used as an XYZ Material for your favorite Trains.

Effect Review

As for the first effect,

You can only use 1 of this card name’s 1st and 2nd effects per turn, and only once that turn.

(1) During your Main Phase: You can reveal this card in your hand (until the end of your opponent’s turn), and if you do, while this card is revealed by this effect, Set cards on the field cannot be destroyed by card effects.

• It has a HARD OPT effect where the first effect protects your set cards (not just spell/traps) for as long as you keep it revealed. At first, I thought of .... Penguins. That effect alone is game breaking considering cards like Lightning Storm, Harpie's Feather Duster, Twin Twisters etc. are popular.
• Psy-Frame Gamma could be the only main deck handtrap commonly used that can prevent this card from resolving it's 1st effect . We can see how this effect can be useful in backrow-heavy decks like Anti-Meta, Paleozoic, Traptrix, Subterror, Altergeist, Ghostrick (Because it sets), Code Talker, Salamangreat, Rock Stun, etc.
• You can use its effect again and again and you don't have to summon it if you don't like!
• It also protects your opponent's set cards so be sure you are maximizing it on your turn.

For the second effect,

(2) If a Set Spell/Trap Card is activated: You can Special Summon this card from your hand, then, if this effect was activated while this was was revealed in the hand, you can Set 1 Spell/Trap directly from your Deck to your field, but banish it during the End Phase of the next turn.

• If you go second, you can use this to surprise your opponent with a massive beat-stick. Because this card is so huge in terms of ATK, it can even force your opponent's effects. If they chain their set spell/trap, you can special summon this card at no extra cost!
• If you keep it revealed from the first effect, you can also set any Spell/Trap card! Yes! ANY SPELL/TRAP card from DECK to your FIELD! Wow! You can use it to prepare your next set-up or even your side deck to your opponent.
• This effect works great on any deck that has Spell/Trap cards which is basically any deck in the meta right now. Most decks no longer main cards that destroys Spell\Traps so technically, you will use this as part of your strategy to make your opponent think twice when they activate their set Spell/Trap.

CONS:

• Based on testing, if you are using decks that do not summon Gallant Granite, there's a chance that you will not see this card in your starting hand. Drawing this card on the next few turns is still fine as it is almost never dead considering it has its built in Special Summon effect. Drawing multiples might hinder your strategy as it's a hard once per turn for each effect and only 1 can be used per turn.
• It also protects your opponent's set cards which is okay since whoever reveals this first will have the chance to have an almost unstoppable back row.
• Really, I just mentioned the first two bullets because I can't think of any as this card is super good.

Final Thoughts:

• This card will be an absolute money card once it releases. Meta impact, definitely, as it encourages back rows like there's no tomorrow.
• With the advent of King of the Sky Prison, we can expect the rise of non destruction back-row removal such as Hey! Trunade, Cosmic Cyclone and Evenly Match.
• Time will tell if this will be used in the current meta as space is also considered during deck building and while it searches all Spell/Trap card possible in YGO, you would still want to see your combo pieces other than this card early game especially for decks that relies on combo pieces. As you know, every turn in this game counts and a turn missed could be game changing.

What about you RespectYGOer? What are your thoughts on this card? Share your insights in the comment section and I'll see you again soon!


Arcknight signing out!

Also, this is the penguin I am thinking of