Super Conductor Tyranno
Generation 2: GX
Users: Tyranno Hasselberry
Artwork:
ALL RIGHT SOLDIERS LISTEN UP! THIS CARD HERE IS FULL OF DINO DNA! THE DOCTOR SAYS IT MAKES YOU STRONGER THAN YOUR AVERAGE JOE! UNDERSTOOD? GOOD!
Tyranno Hasselberry is known for being the first character to use a Dinosaur deck
effectively. And of course, for having some of dat DINO DNA.
Hasselberry is a weird character, he's introduced in what appears to be the ultimate one-off villain of the week episode, he comes out of nowhere as a character demanding to be moved up to obelisk blue, then the gang finds out he's been stealing duel disks, Jaden confronts him and they duel, Jaden wins and he realizes the errors of his ways and says he's sorry, episode is about to end....And then he just moves in with Jaden and proclaims he will be part of the team from now on....And he does!
Hasselberry is a really fun character despite his addition not being meaningful to the greater plot, but if I have to give credit to GX for something, is for remembering people of color exist. Between Hasselberry and Axel Brody, GX shows that not only white/asian looking folks can be great duelists.
Hasselberry doesn´t really have an ace card per se, he always pulls up the craziest Dinosaur designs one after the other, but the play that struck the most with me is this one:
Where he just casually summons a 3300 ATK, Level 8, LIGHT, Dinosaur Type Monster, Super Conductor Tyranno!
In terms of design, I´m not really a fan of Super Conductor Tyranno, I feel like for all that DINO DNA!, the card doesn't really look like a T-Rex, it looks more like an Iguana, the metal implants of the monster are plain and look very bland and doesn't communicate very well the idea that this card is well...A Super Conductor. The background adds lightning to it to sell you that this card is somehow tied to electricity, but I still don't see it. I think much more could be done with the concept of a super powerful cyborg Dinosaur. Could be way better.
Gameplay-wise, Super Conductor is one of the few cards to break what we fans call "The Rule of 3000", which is that no monster with an attack higher than 3000 can be normal summoned, usually they're either Extra Deck monsters or monsters with a "This card cannot be Normal Summoned/Set" clause. But not this guy! You can tribute 2 monsters and get a 3300 Beatstick on the field. or you can actually use your DINO DNA! and play the card effectively like Hasselberry, who summons it with the card "Double Evolution Pill"
Unfortunately, once again, all that DINO DNA! is not enough to save Super Conductor from having a pretty mediocre effect, where you can inflict 1000 LP damage to your opponent but not get to attack with Tyranno that turn. With all the crazy cards I've already reviewed, you pr,bably already know that there's way better options to burn your opponent or beat it with high ATK points.
But the power of DINO DNA! is too strong to be contained, as Dinosaurs recently rose to meta-level tiers with brand new support, and when I say Dinosaur deck I mean just Dinosaur type monsters in a well built deck, as the Dinosaur deck doesn't really need an Archetype to work. (Even though Dinosaur archetypes such as "Jurrac" exist)
The support came in the form of "Ultimate Conductor Tyranno", one of the best cards I´ve ever seen.
With the Ultimate levels of DINO DNA!, Ultimate Conductor can be special summoned simply by banishing 2 Dinos in your graveyard this card can destroy 1 monster on the field and if it does it will flip all monsters your opponent controls to face-down defense position, this effect can be activated during either player's turn, meaning that you can disrupt an extra deck summon with it, as materials for those always need to be face-up for the summon to take place. And that's not all! If this card attacks a face-down defense position monster, it will inflict 1000 Damage to your opponent AND send their defense straight to the graveyard! It's amazing. This card not only provides some insane control to the field but it also has a high 3500 ATK. Probably the best Dinosaur card ever made right here, and it's all thanks to Super Conductor Tyranno for laying the foundation for this card to exist.
This card was very well used in tournament level play, sadly, the coming of Link monsters, which cannot exist face down or in defense position and thus are immune to battle position changing effects, stole some of Ultimate Conductor's lightning.
Support for Dinos doesn't stop there, as some great cards like "Souleating Oviraptor" and "Babycerasaurus" were released alongisde ultimate conductor
Oviraptor will add a Dino to your hand or graveyard and will also be able to destroy 1 of your Dinosaurs and destroy it to summon any Dino in your graveyard, while Babycerasaurus can special summon Dinosaurs from your deck if it gets destroyed by Souleating Oviraptor or Ultimate Conductor's effects. This insane levels of DINO DNA were so dangerous, that Oviraptor had to be limited to 1 per deck in the American TCG, while Babycerasaurus faced the same fate in the Japanese OCG.
Dinosaurs always get shafted in favor of Dragons in YGO, so I'm happy to report that if you were a Dinosaur fan back in the day and are thinking about coming back. The quality is here.
DINO DNA!
TRIVIA TIME!
Both Conductor Tyrannos were first released as the featured card in Structures Decks designed to give Dinos a boost
NEXT UP! We finally reached the card
Mandos has requested for a while!