Supreme King Z-ARC plays a key role inYu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V. It is one of the most powerful monsters out there, merging the four Summoning dimensions into a single mighty Dragon. The biggest drawback to Supreme King Z-ARC is how difficult it is to Summon, but thanks to new cards from Pendulum Evolution, it’s a lot easier!

Normally you need to fuse four Dragons together to Summon Z-ARC. Plus each one has to be one of the special monster types: Fusion Monster, Xyz Monster, Synchro Monster and Pendulum Monster. Pendulum Evolution introduces an alternative method to Summoning Z-ARC, and it involves playing a lot of new cards that are good enough to play on their own, even without Z-ARC!

Double Iris Magician is a Level 4 DARK Spellcaster Pendulum Monster with 1500 ATK and 1000 DEF. It has a high Pendulum Scale of 8 and is always treated as a “Pendulum Dragon” card. Its Pendulum Effect allows you to double the battle damage a monster you control would inflict on your opponent this turn if it battles a monster, similar to the Monster Effect of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Double Iris Magician will be destroyed during the end of the turn if you use its Pendulum Effect, but that’s hardly a downside because when Double Iris Magician is destroyed by battle or card effect, you can add a “Pendulumgraph” from your Deck to your hand. Time Pendulumgraph and Star Pendulumgraph are especially powerful tools for the Pendulum “Magician” theme, so having ways to search them is a really big help.

Black Fang Magician is also a Level 4 DARK Spellcaster Pendulum Monster but has a bit more ATK at 1700 and a little less DEF at 800. It also has a high Pendulum Scale at 8 and is always treated as an “Xyz Dragon” card. Its Pendulum Effect is similar to Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, letting you halve the ATK of a face-up monster your opponent controls until the end of the turn. Black Fang Magician will destroy itself immediately after using its Pendulum Effect, but just like Double Iris Magician, it has a Monster Effect that will be triggered when it’s destroyed—you can target a DARK Spellcaster in your Graveyard and Special Summon it!

Purple Poison Magician is another Level 4 DARK Spellcaster Pendulum Monster but focuses a little less on ATK at 1200 and a bit more on DEF at 2100. It has a low Pendulum Scale of 1 and is always treated as a “Fusion Dragon” card. Its Pendulum Effect is sort of a mini version of its counterpart Starving Venom Dragon, allowing you to boost the ATK of a battling DARK Spellcaster by 1200. Purple Poison Magician will destroy itself the same way the others do, but when it is destroyed, you can target a face-up card on the field and destroy it as well! Helping one of your monsters win a battle via its effect is great, but getting the additional destruction of a troublesome card is the real payoff.

White Wing Magician is the most unique of the bunch. It is a Level 4 WIND Spellcaster Pendulum Tuner Monster with 1600 ATK and 1400 DEF. At Pendulum Scale 1, it is another low option like Purple Poison Magician. Its Pendulum Effect is a play off of Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, allowing you to negate the effect of a card that targets a DARK Spellcaster you control. White Wing Magician will destroy itself just like the rest of these “Magicians,” but unlike the others, it doesn’t have a bonus when it is destroyed. This is primarily because White Wing Magician is a Tuner, so you can Synchro Summon using it as a material, then Pendulum Summon it right back to do it again. It will be banished if it is used as a Synchro Material after it is Pendulum Summoned, but getting two Synchros out of the deal, mainly made of free cards you Pendulum Summoned, is excellent.

Because each of these Magicians has an effect that adds a bit to its name, each one becomes eligible for the final effect of Astrograph Sorcerer and Chronograph Sorcerer that banishes an “Xyz Dragon,” a “Synchro Dragon,” a “Fusion Dragon” and a “Pendulum Dragon” to Summon Supreme King Z-ARC, giving you a surprise finishing move for when all seems lost!

If you’re a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, make sure to check out Pendulum Evolution , available now!