Burst Protocol Announced: New Rokket Support Revealed

Konami just announced a brand-new expansion, Burst Protocol, launching in Japan this coming October for the Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG. Within this new expansion, it looks like we're getting a new wave of support for the Rokket archetype.

Main Deck Monsters

Rokket Loader, Hollowrokket Dragon, and Rokket Detonator

Credit: Konami

^{Rokket Loader}

^{Dragon/Effect Monster}

^{You can only use the 1st and 2nd effect of this card's name each once per turn.}

^{(1) If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 Level 7 Dark Dragon monster from your Deck to your hand, also you cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except DARK monsters.}

^{(2) You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 face-up monster on the field; its Attribute becomes DARK until the end of this turn.}

^{Hollowrokket Dragon}

^{Dragon/Effect Monster}

^{You can only use the 1st and 2nd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.}

^{(1) When a Link Monster’s effect is activated that targets this face-up card on the field (Quick Effect): You can destroy this card, then excavate up to 6 cards from the top of your opponent’s Deck, and if you do, banish 1 of them, also place the rest on the top of the Deck in the same order.}

^{(2) During the End Phase, if this card is in the GY because it was destroyed on the field by battle or card effect and sent there this turn: You can Special Summon 1 “Rokket” monster from your Deck, except “Hollowrokket Dragon”.}

^{Rokket Detonator}

^{Dragon/Effect Monster}

^{You can only Special Summon with the 1st effect of this card’s name once per turn. You can only use the 2nd effect of this card’s name once per turn.}

^{(1) If you control a Dark Dragon Link Monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand).}

^{(2) You can target 1 Dark Dragon Monster Card in your Spell & Trap Zone; Special Summon it, but it cannot attack, its effects are negated, also you cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except Dark monsters.}

Among the new main deck monsters, Hollowrokket Dragon seems to have the least efficacious ability. While Hollowrokket’s ability to scope out an opponent’s deck and subsequently rip a target to the banishment zone could be useful, it heavily relies on luck and skill; luck to excavate a particularly important card, skill to actually recognize the said card.

Being a Level 6 monster, it doesn’t change the fact that a player will have to jump through hoops to get Hollowrokket Dragon onto the field in the first place.

Rokket Loader sits on the other side of the scale as it’s an easy-to-summon card, normal or special, and functions as a ‘Stratos’. Despite Rokket Loader’s narrow targeting pool, it can reliably combo into another Rokket card or allow a deck to pivot into another archetype, like Red-Eyes or Odd-Eyes, at the player’s discretion due to how widely supported the Dragon archetype normally is.

As for Rokket Detonator, it sits firmly between Rokket Loader and Hollowrokket Dragon in terms of ease of summoning and overall combo potential.

While Rokket Detonator can easily summon itself onto the board, it’s still reliant on another Dark Dragon Link monster’s presence. There’s also the fact that Rocket Detonator’s second effect still requires a player to set up a target to bring out from the back row. Overall, Rokket Detonator is a good extension piece but not necessarily a strong combo starter.

Extra Deck Monsters

Borreload Fatal Flare Dragon, Trisborrel Dragon, and Borrelshroud Dragon

Credit: Konami

^{Borreload Fatal Flare Dragon}

^{1 Dark Link Monster + 1 Dark monster} 

^{You can only use the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.}

^{(1) If this card is Fusion Summoned: You can add 1 “Rokket” monster from your Deck to your hand.}

^{(2) You can target 1 Dark monster you control; equip 1 Dark Link Monster from your GY or banishment to it as an Equip Spell that gives it 500 ATK.}

^{(3) If this card is sent to the GY as Link Material: You can target 1 card on the field; destroy it.}

^{Trisborrel Dragon}

^Link-3

^{2+ Dark Dragon monsters, including a “Rokket” monster}

^{You can only use the 1st and 2nd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.}

^{(1) If this card is Link Summoned: You can add 1 “Rapid Trigger”, “Heavy Interlock”, or “Double Trigger” from your Deck to your hand.}

^{(2) You can target 1 face-up card you control and 1 Dark Dragon monster in your GY; destroy that card on the field, and if you do, add that other monster to your hand.}

^{Borrelshroud Dragon}

^Link-5

^{3+ Effect Monsters}

^{(1) Your opponent cannot Tribute this card on the field.}

^{(2) Once per turn, during the Main Phase (Quick Effect): You can target 1 “Rokket” monster you control; negate the effects of 1 face-up card your opponent controls, then destroy that monster. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this effect’s activation.}

^{(3) Once while face-up on the field, at the start of the Battle Phase: You can Special Summon 1 Link-4 or lower “Borrel” Link Monster from your Extra Deck.}

Borreload Fatal Flare Dragon was not the extra deck monster we were expecting for the Rokket archetype. This Fusion monster practically shouts ‘Super Polymerization’ with how generic its recipe is, not to mention the subtle attribute change offered by Rokket Loader. 

Once on the board, you have a two-for-one method of recursion and Link climbing when paired with Rokket Detonator. Additionally, when used as Link material on the way out, it can take another card with it as targeted destruction. 

Fatal Flare Dragon is one of those cards that can instantly carve itself into the zeitgeist just by being generically helpful regardless of deck configuration.

Trisborrel Dragon, on the other hand, is one of the more utilitarian cards whose mileage may vary depending on the player. This Link monster practically excels in sustaining tempo if you happen to make use of its search function and can easily tag out a Rokket monster on the field to return a sibling back to the hand. 

Trisborrel Dragon does suffer a little on the arrow front, limiting where on the board it should be summoned on, which is important for an archetype that heavily relies on such a mechanic. Otherwise, Trisborrel Dragon is a tech choice a player doesn't necessarily need to run, but can easily leverage if they choose to.

Borrelshroud Dragon closes out this list of new extra deck monsters, and it’s pretty powerful. It easily becomes an endboard piece that a Rokket deck should try to aim for, regardless of whether going first or second.

Borrelshroud Dragon comes with a pretty niche anti-tribute protection, so the opponent can’t just out it with a random Kaiju or Sphere Mode. Its negate does require a Rokket monster on the field, but it’s a small price to pay for Quick Effect speed and an anti-interruption clause.

Borrelshroud’s most powerful effect, however, is that it can just summon any of the Link-4 or lower Borrel Link monsters straight out of the extra deck by just existing once any Battle Phase starts. This last effect alone makes Borrelshroud Dragon a card advantage generator and a priority target for the opponent.

Players will definitely need to layer several protection points to make sure Borrelshroud Dragon sticks around for longer than a turn, since it lacks any of the more common protection effects.

New Backrow Support

Credit: Konami

^{Double Trigger}

^{Normal Spell Card}

^{(1) Activate 1 of these effects (but you can only use each effect of this card’s name once per turn);}

^{● Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, by banishing its material from your GY, including a “Rokket” monster.}

^{● Ritual Summon 1 Ritual Monster from your hand, by banishing monsters from your GY whose total Levels equal or exceed that monster’s Level, including a “Rokket” monster.}

^{Borrel Reboot}

^{Counter Trap Card}

^{You can activate this card from your hand by paying half your LP.}

^{(1) When your opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card, if you control a “Rokket” or “Borrel” monster: Negate the activation, and if you do, Set that card. It cannot be activated this turn.}

Double Trigger’s presence in this reveal solidifies the value of running a copy Trisborrel Dragon in the extra deck. 

The archetype’s analogy to Miracle Fusion, Double Trigger can allow a player to easily cheat out any of its targets. Borreload Riot Dragon may be a little bit more difficult to summon than the Fusion monsters since you’d need to get it into hand first, but the Ritual monster easily makes up for it by being an aggravating interaction point to play against with its special summon negate.

As for Borrel Reboot, it’s a high-risk, high-reward deal. On one hand, it’s a powerful anti-spell and anti-trap card; a lot of board breakers can fall under this category. While its life point cost is expensive, this effect can nonetheless be invaluable at times.

On the other hand, there are a lot of monster cards in modern Yu-Gi-Oh! that can be considerably more dangerous in a match, and there’s also the fact that the card/s Borrell Reboot stops don’t necessarily go away. 

Borrell Reboot can heavily swing the tempo of a match in a player’s favor, but the opening it provides is small. If a player using Borrell Reboot can’t win right away after its use, the tides of the match can swiftly turn against them in the grind game.

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