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You can send this card from your hand or field to the GY, then target 1 Dragon monster you control; it gains 500 ATK/DEF until the end of your opponent’s turn. If a Normal Monster(s) is sent to your GY, while this card is in the GY (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card, but banish it when it leaves the field. You can only use this effect of “Guardragon Promineses” once per turn.
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Currently Found In: Savage Strike (SAST-EN014), 2020 Tin of Lost Memories (MP20-EN010)
Guardragon is one of the many archetypes forming the World Legacy storyline. Although quite small in numbers, Guardragon provided too many benefits to Dragons in general that some of their key cards had to be added to the banlist. Most of their potential comes from their few Link Monsters with incredible setup potential, but because two out of the three Guardragons in that category have been banned is very rare to see them in their own Deck or along other Dragons. This doesn’t mean that Guardragons lost all their potential, but might require a few additions to the build to become a strong engine towards big summons.
“Guardragon Promineses” is the tiniest monster among Guardragons, but such small stats puts it on a major advantage along its effects. “Promineses” can be sent from our hand or field to the Graveyard so a Dragon of ours gains a 500 ATK and DEF boost until our next turn, a respectable buff to assure the best from any battles. However, “Promineses” true potential comes once is in the Graveyard, as once a Normal Monster is sent to the Graveyard “Promineses” will revive itself in return. This last effect has the demerit that “Promineses” will be banished once leaves the board, but with a simple requeriment many Decks arround Normal Monsters can achieve makes this Guardragon a quite reliable little monster for a variety of plays.
“Promineses” is in an interesting situation when comes to its availability, not only due the activation of its effects but the advantage of having very low stats to work arround with. Guardragons themselves won’t provide too much support aside of the banned “Guardragon Elpy”, but fortunately a variety of Dragon cards such as “Starliege Seyfert” or “Red-Eyes Baby Dragon” provides us various methods to access to this monster. However, with its low Level “Promineses” gains most of its best resources from generic support, as while “One for One” grants us the opportunity to summon this monster directly from our Deck, others such as “Jack in the Hand” and “Where Arf Thou” will instead add it to our hand. The rest is all up to how we handle the effects of “Promineses”, more specifically its ability to revive itself from the Graveyard. While various milling options can send this monster ready to be summoned by its effect, “Promineses” can simply activate its stat boost ability if it lands in our hand during a Duel to be summoned from our Graveyard afterwards. Sending a Normal Monster to the Graveyard has no limitations to how we can achieve such condition, as from becoming a material towards any kind of summons (Or be detached from a Xyz Monster), to be milled from the Deck by the likes of “Foolish Burial” or “Dragon Shrine” (The latter can also mill “Promineses”, but won’t activate its effect unless there was another copy in the Graveyard beforehand), “Promineses” won’t take long to make an appearance. Lastly, if we wanna keep the revival of effect of “Promineses” for later uses, its low stats also allows it to be easily brought by many revival effects like “Debris Dragon” and “Junk Synchron”.
With a very simple revival effect to achieve, “Promineses” true role comes from its availability towards other summons. The stat boosts that grants to a Dragon are decent, but the fact that is sent to our Graveyard as its cost is truly the main purpose of this effect unless disposed by other methods. As pointed out there’s a wide variety of simple methods to send a Normal Monster to the Graveyard and thus trigger the revival of “Promineses”, which in conjunction with “Guardragon Garmides” being summoned from the hand by the same requeriment it can provide us a solid number of monsters to work with along other summoning methods. A “Promineses” on the field will clearly aim towards a material role for any summons we need its assistance for, no matter if is one of many Link Summons one after another, or piling various Levels towards Synchro Summons among other summoning goals. This is without including the Normal Monsters we will add to the mix to work arround “Promineses”, as not only a variety of cards like “Unexpected Dai” and “Swing of Memories” gives us full access to many of these creatures, but some highly supported creatures such as “Blue-Eyes White Dragon” will summon “Promineses” between plays as they start dominating the Duel with their pressence.
Guardragon might only offer a handful of archetype cards to work with, but the likes of “Guardragon Promineses” can suffice to make these creatures stand out. The stat boosts might last for two turns, but because is not a chainable effect and the many possibilities arround its Graveyard effect it becomes a barely reliable function for “Promineses”. Once this monster hits the Graveyard things will become quite favorable, as with no limitations to how we dispose of a Normal Monster “Promineses” will make an immediate arrival the moment it becomes available in that location. Because requires Normal Monsters to function “Promineses” might only be suitable for some Decks, but the cheap arrival along other cards to support its accessibility makes it a small monster worth its inclusion.
Personal Rating: A
+Can be send from our hand or field to the Graveyard to give a Dragon 500 ATK and DEF for two turns
+Revives itself if a Normal Monster goes to the Graveyard
+Strong support along simple methods to be summoned by its effect and other methods
-Banishes itself if leaves the field once brought by its effect
-Stat boost has very limited uses
-Requires a Deck invested on Normal Monsters
Judgment of the Pharaoh 