Thursday, December 14, 2023

"Answered Prayers?" - New "Silenforc"/"Voiceless Voice" card review (LEDE)

Hiya! Arcknight here. I'm so glad that my work deliverables today are complete which means I can finally react on the two new "Silenforc" / "Voiceless Voice" cards in LEGACY OF DESTRUCTION! 

Will these cards see play in the future "Silenforc" builds? Are these cards really what the theme is lacking? Let's analyze everything in this new article!

My reaction:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (faints)

Backstory:
As some of you already know, I've been using "Silenforc" as my secondary deck back when it debuted in PHANTOM NIGHTMARE and I eventually used it in the recent Black Luster Soldier (Normal Monster) Event 2023 in the Philippines and placed 2nd with over 95 players.

While "Silenforc" may seem to be a great contender on its initial release, there's no doubt that the theme is lacking something on its debut.

Here are some of the things they lack based on weeks of testing:

1. "Silenforc" currently doesn't have any way to recycle "Sauravis, the Sagely Silenforcer Dragon" and "Silenforcing Authority. 

Once either of these cards are in the GY, you won't have an in-theme way to recycle them which may affect your mid to late game grind. Hence, I always ensure that I only use the removal effect of the trap when it's the only option left. There were also times I have to use "Sauravis, the Sagely Silenforcer Dragon" as a ritual material to make plays.

2. "Silenforc" doesn't have a way to recycle banished "Silenforc" cards. I experienced exhausting the graveyard effect of "Silenforcing Prayer" to survive my turns where I already have two of them banished. Without this ritual spell in my deck, I may not be able to discard "Saffira, the Wise Silenforcer Queen" from hand to search.

3. "Silenforc" may be resilient to "Super Polymerization" (due to the GY effect of Silenforcing Prayer allowing the user to summon a new Skull Guardian and revive Novox) but they are susceptible to "Kaiju" and "Lava Golem" like cards. Though uncommon in today's metagame, chances are not zero.

4. "Silenforc" doesn't have an in-theme draw power. You rely on your first five and if you're not careful, a single "Droll & Lock Bird", "Infinite Impermanence", or "Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion" can cripple your plays.

New card reveal:

With that being said, LEGACY OF DESTRUCTION introduced the wave 2 of "Silenforc" and it appears that it help in solving some of the deck's flaws:

Let's have a recap on what these cards do:

Saffira, the Silenforcing Deity of Dragons

The queen is back..ready to be heard! This new ritual monster provides additional draw power and a way for you to discard when it is ritual summoned so long as you have "Novox" on your field or GY. This is a good follow-up ritual summon as it helps you dig your hand traps or side deck inclusions. The discard is also helpful in sending "Silenforcing Prayer" to ensure you can survive the wrath of mass effect removal or "Super Polymerization." Sadly, this effect somewhat conflicts with "Pot of Extravagance" and "Pot of Prosperity" but may shine better in "Nadir Servant" builds.

The second effect is also a nice surprise as it lets you discard a card from your opponent's hand at random whenever an attack is declared involving your LIGHT Warrior or LIGHT Dragon ritual monsters. This means you can achieve the discard effect whether you're the one who battles with these monsters or they are targeted by an attack. 

The last effect is a powerful recursion of any LIGHT monster in every opponent's end turn. You can now recycle the monster you used for Saffira's ritual summon or even "Sauravis" or hand traps like "Effect Veiler", "Nibiru, the Primal Being" and Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit"! This is perfect in making sure that you maintain control of your card advantage making it easier for you to clap back in case they failed to finish you in one turn after they wasted so many resources.

Overall, it's an excellent new addition to the arsenal but I don't think I would main more than one copy. I said that because in reality (especially in OCG), you will meet a lot of hand traps that would slow your tempo. Maxx "C" would already make you think twice to further your swarm so sometimes, best you can do is to summon "Skull Guardian" + "Novox" combo.

Silenforcing Blessing

It is indeed what "Novox, the Silenforcer Disciple" is praying for - a way to recycle what we couldn't recycle before!!!

Its first effect lets you recycle any 1 "Silenforc" cards that is banished or in your GY. Now, we can recycle banished "Silenforcing Prayer", "Saffira, the Wise Silenforcer Queen", "Silenforcing Authority", and "Sauravis, the Sagely Silenforcer Dragon. It can also be placed by "Novox, the Silenforcer Disciple"as it is a continuous spell card!

Second effect lets you ritual summon a LIGHT Warrior or Dragon Ritual monster when a non-ritual monster is normal or special summoned. When your opponent tributes your monsters with a "Kaiju" or "Lava Golem", you can use these same monsters to ritual summon! If you have the right resources in hand, this is also another way to survive the wrath of "Super Polymerization"! Also, being able to ritual summon on your opponent's turn allows you to resume your ritual summon in case you face "Dimensional Barrier" or "Droll & Lock Bird."

Instead of searching "Silenforcing Authority", you can place this card in addition to "Silenforcing Barrier" thru "Novox". On your usual combo where you search using the effect of "Skull Guardian, the Silenforcing Protector", you can end the turn after searching "Saffira, the Silenforcing Deity Dragon" and let the opponent summon any monster on their turn. You can trigger your "Silenforcing Blessing offering the "Novox" you control to ritual summon "Saffira, the Silenforcing Deity of Dragons" from hand. Since you special summoned a Ritual monster, you can then revive the same "Novox" you used for its summon and draw 2 cards and discard 1 card. "Novox, the Silenforcer Disciple" can use its effect to place "Silenforcing Authority" to your field for additional interruption.

I really like this new spell card and I strongly believe this is one of the missing pieces of the theme. Like the new ritual monster, I won't be playing more than one copy in main deck as it is searchable and its main benefit is to help you grind mid to late game and not as a starter.

Summary:

Prayers are answered indeed and these new cards gave me so much joy today! I'm excited to see what else is in store for "Silenforc" in the near future but these two new cards helped solidify the stance of this theme in the OCG metagame. I can't wait to test these cards and update you with the results!

If I get good results, I promise I won't be "Silent" about it. :wink:

If you're interested to previous "Silenforc" articles, feel free to check the links below:


Thanks for reading 'til the end!

2 comments:

  1. Hello,
    I found your blog through Twitter and I want to say as a TCG player, the quality of your articles (particularly this SIlenforc series) is very high and gives a good glimpse into the OCG. Keep up the good work!

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Thank you so much for reading my articles! I appreciate it. :)

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