To kickstart Gen 5, our main character
Yuya gets not 1, not 2 but 3 cards in a row! These cards are almost always played together during season 1 and hold such a significance to Yuya's character that there really is no other way!
Timegazer Magician
Generation 5:
Arc-V
User: Yuya Sakaki
Artwork:
No, you're not tripping, that IS a half monster, half spell card. Pendulum Monsters are 2 cards in 1! And they're probably the most complicated mechanic in the game, I'll try to keep it as concise as posible.
They go in your normal Deck and can be summoned as monsters normally or you can activate them as continous spells in one of the
2 Pendulum Zones of the field . They have an effect box for their monster effect and a separate one for their spell effect. Their Spell effect box is surrounded by a number called a "Scale". Pendulums that are destroyed never go to the Graveyard, instead, they will go rest on your Extra Deck Face-Up.
When 2 Pendulum cards are face-up on your field as spells, you get access to a once per turn Pendulum Summon, where you can summon as many monsters from your hand or Pendulums in your Extra Deck as you can, as long as their levels are inbetween the 2 "Scales".
The lore being that the magic of 2 spells with different scales will generate energy that will bounce back and forth in between them, like a Pendulum, eventually opening a portal for your monsters to come through.
Insane huh? Pendulums revolutionized the game and added a complexity that was never there before by letting 1 card take on different roles depending on where it's played. Loved by many (myself included) and deeply hated by others, you could consider Pendulums to be "The Last Jedi" of Children's Card Games. (
Yes, I went there)
Our protagonist Yuya Sakaki wants to become an "Entertainment Duelist", Duelists whose duels are an exciting show that keeps the audiences engaged and excited, like the Harlem Globetrotters! For that reason Yuya usually plays with cutesy animal circus performers in his deck, such as
"Performapal Hip Hippo" and "
Performapal Elephammer" all to give some laughs for his audience. Still, deep within Yuya's deck, he keeps some darker cards for when he need to play seriously...When backed into a corner during a duel where his family's honor is on the line, Yuya's pendant radiates energy that transforms those cards into Pendulum Monsters!
The first of which is Timegazer. And I LOVE Timegazer. The design has the evocative "Dark Magician" style that is a staple of the franchise, but it puts it's own unique spin on it, so that it doesn't feel too derivative, which is something ZEXAL suffered from, the black coat and the clock gears as his armor weapon are a really inspired choice, when I heard the name, I expected a not-Time Wizard down to a staff with a clock. Thankfully they went with a much cooler design and a pose that brings attention to his clock gear blade thingy. The background is reminiscent of the 5D's era with a lot of energetic colors in it, and the distorted clocks in it are a GREAT little detail.
Timegazer is a Level 3, Scale 8, DARK, Spellcaster-Type Pendulum Monster. As a monster the card is good enough, a lowish 1200 ATK but with an effect to protect other cards in your pendulum zones, not bad, not great, decent enough for a low level monster.
As a spell, Timegazer has the restriction of lowering it's scale to 4 if the card in the other pendulum zone is not a part of his theme, which is a good way to keep balance and avoid making an effective Pendulum summon too easy to achieve, regardless it will shield any attacking pendulum monster from traps as longs as it's active which is fantastic for pendulum focused decks.
Stargazer Magician
Generation 5:
Arc-V
User: Yuya Sakaki
Artwork:
Timegazer's pair to enable Pendulum Summon, Yuya's original Magician became Stargazer when his cards were bathed in the energy of his pendant.
Timegazer's design is a good contrast of Stargazer's, he is white as opposed to Stargazer's Black, he looks more regal and chill, where Time looks way more agressive and immature, and he uses an apparently more defensive weapon. His design gives the impression that he's a more seasoned magician, which can also explain his higher level and stats. I wish the background communicated the "Stars" a bit better,the blue background make them look as sparkles and it's nowhere near as interesting as Timegazer's distorted clocks.
Stargazer is a Level 5, Scale 1, DARK, Spellcaster-Type Pendulum Monster. With a monster effect that let's you immedaitely return to the field a monster that has been bounced to your hand, that is hardly worth his asking price of 1 tribute, but if you can get him out for free through a pendulum summon, it might save you from a nasty bouncing trap.
As a Spell, Stargazer compliments Timegazer by protecting an attacking Pendulum Monster from the effects of spells, a really cool combo that lets you attack in peace.
Trivia Time!
Originally,Pendulum Zones were
located at the sides of the field and where essentially additional Spell Zones for Pendulum users only.
This was deemed too powerful and they were nerfed, so now Pendulum Zones are counted towards your
5-Spell/Trap zone limit by having 2 Pendulum/Spell/Trap Zones amongst the 5 .
Next up, Yuya's 2500 ATK ace!