It hasn’t been long since the update to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Forbidden/Limited list. Due to this, Konami has unsurprisingly been keeping its moves close to its chest in regards to any further updates, especially with the World Championship closing in.
Now, however, it looks like some members have uncovered some potential leads that point to new Battlewasp cards to be added to Master Duel.
As a general disclaimer, there is no confirmation that the cards discussed in this article will be added to Master Duel, since these leaks could be fakes. With this in mind, it's worth looking at these leaks with a healthy dose of skepticism until Konami makes an official announcement.
Possible Main Deck Battlewasp Additions
A subset of one of Yu-Gi-Oh’s oldest archetypes (Insect), Battlewasp focuses on swarming the field with bodies, manipulating the attack and/or defense stats of the opposing field, and applying some burn damage.
If the information of these leaks proves true, Battlewasp will get some of its best main deck tools in the form of Battlewasp - Rapier the Onslaught and Battlewasp Wind.
The former has the hallmarks of a good combo starter. Rapier the Onslaught can summon itself and can search for the next piece in the play line, Battlewasp Wind.
The latter effect is even protected from staple hand traps, Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, or Droll & Lock Bird, because Battewasp Wind is immediately placed onto the field. With Battlewasp Wind on the field, the controlling player can drum up more bodies to continue their combo.
Of course, these interactions are not without their own liabilities. Rapier the Onslaught locks the player to Insect monsters when it comes to the extra deck summons. Furthermore, Battlewasp Wind can still be susceptible to the aforementioned hand traps.
The Insect lock isn’t anything new. Over the course of Yu-Gi-Oh’s history, powerful monster effects with such restrictions can be played around as long as there’s enough support or end board targets to float into.
As far as hand traps go, the Insect archetype has about three decades worth of support to rummage through. This means there’s some obscure card, like Beetrooper Fly & Sting, that can be appropriated to handle such threats.
Extra Deck Extender and End Board Piece
The support for Battlewasp doesn’t end there. Supposedly, two new extra deck monsters will be joining Master Duel’s roster: Battlewasp - Sachi the Ceremonial Bow and Battlewasp - Grand Partisan the Revolution.
Battlewasp - Sachi the Ceremonial Bow comes in as another extender for the Battlewasp archetype. Its most important feature is the interaction Sachi has with Rapier the Onslaught and Battlewasp Wind.
Rapier the Onslaught allows their controlling player to bypass Battlewasp Wind’s “You can only activate 1 ‘Battlewasp Wind’ per turn” clause. This is because Rapier’s exact wording is “place 1 'Battlewasp Wind' from your Deck, face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone”
With Sachi hitting the field, Battlewasp Wind can be bounced back to hand to be usable a second time, as Wind’s twice-per-turn search and once-per-turn level manipulation are both soft once-per-turn clauses.
A player unfamiliar with Battlewasp’s combo-lines may find themselves facing an innumerable amount of bodies if they don’t properly identify the deck’s chokepoint.
This assumes that the Battlewasp engine isn’t paired with one of the many other Insect sub-archetypes like Beetrooper.
As for Battlewasp - Grand Partisan the Revolution, it’s a big, beefy Insect. Enjoying an anti-destruction blanket, Grand Partisan the Revolution can bring itself back from the banishment zone once a turn as well.
This means the best way to deal with Grand Partisan the Revolution is to either spin it back into the extra deck or just beat over it the old-fashioned way, through battle.
Even then, the latter may not be a detriment as the Insect archetype has access to the likes of Doom Dozer, who can banish Insect monsters from the graveyard.
to rub salt in the wound, Grand Partisan the Revolution can become a one-sided board wipe when it does come back, which can possibly inflict a good amount of burn damage.
Wily players can also pair up Grand Partisan the Revolution with Heavy Cavalry of the Indestructible Insects for some quick effect disruption antics.
Paired with the relative obscurity of the Insect archetype, these new support cards may give even the frontrunners of the competitive scene of Master Duel (e.g. Blue-Eyes White Dragon) some trouble.