Is it TIME for new "Harpie" support? - Future Support Discussion

Lately, I have been checking some of the reprints in QUARTER CENTURY CHRONICLE Side: Pride and I noticed that "Harpie" got some important reprints. Then, I realized that "Harpie" never had any follow-up in OCG or TCG from LINK VRAINS PACK 2 aside from "Cyber Slash Harpie Lady","Toon Harpie Lady", and "Harpie's Pet Dragon Fearsome Fire Blast."

I have seen reprints here and there and I wonder, is this them giving us a hint supporting one of the popular archtypes of the DM era? What kind of support will they get to be on par with the current meta? Let's discuss that in this featured article!

Overview:

Currently, there are only 35 "Harpie" related cards in OCG/TCG. To be fair, not all of them are utilized for competitive play.

When making an old theme competitive, there are two common paths that I observed - It's either giving them a boost that circles back to their original goal or giving them support that gives the theme an entire new win condition (wincon).

In the case of "Harpie" being a seasoned archetype with an established fan base (I suppose), it would be nice to give harpie a revamped of the classic "Harpie" monsters and cards. Two of the most powerful "Harpie" cards in the game such as "Harpie's Feather Duster" and "Harpie's Feather Storm" are good centering factor to the end goal of the game. Imagine if these two cards are highly searchable in the theme? How broken would that be? (Especially for the latter)

What kind of support should "Harpie" get?

"Harpie" is known for their ability to mess with Spell/Traps by destroying them with the help of their field spell "Harpie's Hunting Ground" and recently, having the ability to return (bounce) cards from the field to the hand with the aid of "Cyber Slash Harpie Lady" and "Harpie Conductor". With this in mind, below are some of the concepts that I hope they get in the future:

1. "Harpie Lady Sisters" Fusion retrain

"Harpie Lady Sisters" is an effect monster that can only be special summoned with "Elegant Egotist". Competitively, I don't think it's nice to main a brick in the deck that doesn't do anything worthy, unless you really want to reannact the anime scenes (which is so satisfying to do by the way).

As a "Harpie" fan, I would really want to have the ability to summon "Harpie Lady Sisters" without having the need to go through the line of "Elegant Egotist". Since "Harpie" already received a Synchro, Link, and XYZ support, a Fusion would be ideal since the idea is combining all three "Harpie Ladies." "Harpie" lacks a formidable ace monster that can serve as a win condition. It would be nice if it has an ability to disrupt or search "Harpie" cards. Among the three, we only received "Cyber Slash Harpie Lady" but we never had the updated version of "Harpie Lady #2 and #3" (except in Rush Duel). Something to cope about 

2. A way to search "Harpie's Feather Storm"

This idea is quite scary as resolving "Harpie's Feather Storm" would normally mean game over against the opponent as it shuts monster effects the entire turn. This is probably why most of the "Harpie" searchers specifically mentions "Harpie Lady Sisters" and not "Harpie" card. In addition, this trap can be activated directly from hand by controlling a "Harpie" monster. I'm uncertain if they will really give "Harpie" a way to search this trap in the theme but the idea remains.

3. A "Harpie" Reinforcement of the Army / Generic searcher

A searcher for a searcher. If others can, why can't "Harpie" get theirs?

I feel that the +3 search of "Hysteric Sign" is very slow considering you only add cards during the end phase. In this generation, the winner can be decided in just a few turns and a turn delay search doesn't sound fitting to me. "Harpie Perfumer" and "Harpie Channeler" are great starters for the theme and getting their own searcher would be nice. A theme "Emergency Teleport" sounds good too so their normal summons don't compete with each other.

4. A card that protects "Harpie" effects/cards

While "Harpie Channeler" and "Harpie Perfumer" are great searchers for the theme, a single "Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring" or negate could instantly cripple that strategy.

 "Harpie" is known for being swift creatures able to dodge attacks with their speed so it's just right for them to either get a targeting protection or the ability to chain block with the help of this new card if ever. It can also have an effect that searches when a "Harpie" monster is summoned ala "Black Whirlwind".

Imagine it as a secondary field spell of "Harpie" except it'll be a continuous spell. Again, this is pure cope for now but who knows?

5. A revamped "Harpie Lady!

It always look cool when "Mai Valentine" summons her ace monster "Harpie Lady" as if it's a scary strong monster. In reality, it's just a normal monster with mediocre stats. I still want to have that moment where the preferred starter is "Harpie Lady" so it would be nice if it gets a retrain and it can search the entire phone book right?

Summary:

"Harpie" remains one of the coolest theme created and the hope to get new support remains in tact. With these hints of reprints in several sets, one can dream that someday, they'll get what they deserve.

What do you think will "Harpie" get in their next wave of support? Will they finally have a chance to "Slash" the opponent competitively? 

Thanks for reading 'til the end! This has been ArcKnight! :)