Pendulum Evolution is jam-packed full of powerful new “Magician” Pendulum cards. While the theme is mostly about Pendulum Summoning in Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, a new Xyz Monster from Pendulum Evolution is a real game changer for the strategy.

Timestar Magician is a Rank 4 that requires two Level 4 “Magician” Pendulum Monsters to Xyz Summon it, so you still want to focus on Pendulum Summoning to easily Summon the necessary Xyz Materials. At 2400 ATK and 1200 DEF, Timestar Magician doesn’t have the highest ATK in the world, but it can still hold its own. Once per turn you can detach one Xyz Material from Timestar Magician to add any DARK Spellcaster-Type monster from your Deck, Graveyard or face-up from your Extra Deck to your hand! Timestar Magician can play very different roles depending on what point in the game you are in because you can search for whatever DARK Spellcaster you need for a particular situation.

The second effect of Timestar Magician protects your Pendulum Monsters as well as cards in your Pendulum Zone. Once per turn, whenever a Pendulum in your Monster Zone or Pendulum Zone would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can send one Spellcaster-Type monster from your Deck to the Graveyard instead. This effect may seem purely defensive at first, but you can also use it offensively. You can either use this effect to make sure your opponent can’t get through one of your monsters, or you can use it to protect them while you are trying to make a push during your own turn. Regardless of which way you use the effect of Timestar Magician, being able to send a Spellcaster from your Deck to the Graveyard is hardly a downside because you can use it to enable a Graveyard effect.

To make Xyz Summoning Timestar Magician even easier, you can use Harmonizing Magician to help you get the necessary materials. While Harmonizing Magician cannot be Pendulum Summoned from the Extra Deck, when it is Pendulum Summoned from the hand, you can Special Summon one “Magician” Pendulum Monster from your Deck in Defense Position. The monster will have its effect negated and it’ll be banished once it leaves the field, but that doesn’t really matter if you will use it as Xyz Material for Timestar Magician! The Pendulum Effect of Harmonizing Magician can also help you deal a ton of damage. All monsters you control gain 100 ATK and DEF for each face-up “Magician” Pendulum Monster with different names in your Extra Deck, and even if there are only a few, giving your whole field a boost can be very useful.

Pendulum Evolution has a ton of cool cards from Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V! Pendulum Evolution  hits shelves June 23rd!