Konami surprised its Western audience by revealing that the R.B. (Revel Bots) archetype introduced back in Duelist Advance will be getting a new wave of support in Doom of Dimensions.
New Main Deck Arsenals
R.B. Lambda Blade, R.B. Lambda Cannon, R.B. Ga10 Pile Bunker
R.B. Lambda Blade
Level 8, Dark
Machine/Effect Monster
If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can send 1 "R.B." card from your Deck to the GY, except "R.B. Lambda Blade". During your opponent's Main Phase, if this card is linked to an "R.B." Link Monster (Quick Effect): You can pay 1400 LP, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy this card, and if you do, take control of that monster, but destroy it during the End Phase. You can only use each effect of "R.B. Lambda Blade" once per turn.
R.B. Lambda Cannon
Level 6, Dark
Machine/Effect Monster
If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 "R.B." monster in your GY, except "R.B. Lambda Cannon"; add it to your hand. While this card is linked to an "R.B." Link Monster: You can pay 1200 LP; destroy this card, and if you do, look at your opponent's hand, then you can Special Summon 1 monster from it to their field, but negate its effects. You can only use each effect of "R.B. Lambda Cannon” once per turn.
R.B. Ga10 Pile Bunker
Level 8, Earth
Machine/Effect Monster
If you control no face-up monsters, or the only face-up monsters you control are "RB." monsters, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can only Special Summon "R.B. Ga10 Pile Bunker" once per turn this way. When an attack is declared involving an opponent's monster and "R.B. The Brute Blues" that points to this card: You can pay 1500 LP; destroy all cards your opponent controls and this card. You can only use this effect of "R.B. Ga10 Pile Bunker” once per turn.
This new trio of main deck monsters differs from their predecessors by being a lot higher level. Between the three, it’s only R.B. Ga10 Pile Bunker that can bring itself out from the controlling player’s hand. This makes R.B. Lambda Blade and R.B. Lambda Cannon heavily reliant on other cards to cheat their way onto the field.
Despite their lack of starter capabilities, R.B. Lambda Blade and R.B. Lambda Cannon pull double-duty as extenders into the R.B. playbook while being interaction points for the opponent to watch out for.
R.B. Lambda Blade is the obligatory in-archetype Foolish Burial when summoned and surprisingly acts as a Quick-Play Change of Heart. The latter effect only lasts until the End Phase of the current turn, but its Quick Effect speed and flexibility make up for it.
R.B. Lambda Cannon, meanwhile, will definitely elevate this archetype’s capability going first, as it presents the opponent with a very awkward interaction. If left to resolve, not only will the controlling player get valuable hand knowledge, but a monster hand trap could be brought onto the field. The latter will not only nullify the hand trap capability of the targeted monster, but this effect can also prevent Infinite Impermanence from activating from the hand altogether. R.B. Lambda Cannon is the kind of effect you don’t want to spend a precious negate on, but at the same time, letting it resolve presents an even worse scenario.
As for R.B. Ga10 Pile Bunker, it presents its own creative problem to be solved. While R.B. Ga10 Pile Bunker enjoys a self-special summon ability that is easy to activate, this monster card needs the controlling player to set up R.B. The Brute Blues first.
Assuming that all parameters are met, Ga10 Pile Bunker is an indiscriminate destruction-based board wipe. It’s a simple card with a rather large payoff. Like R.B. Lambda Cannon, this card will more than likely force a response out of the opponent, whether they like it or not.
New Backrow Support
R.B. Operation Test, R.B. Last Stand, R.B. Next Phase
R.B. Operation Test
Continuous Spell Card
When this card is activated: You can target 1 Level 3 or higher "R.B." monster in your GY; Special Summon it. You can target any number of "R.B." monsters you control; gain LP equal to their combined original ATK, and if you do, return them to the hand/Extra Deck, then you can Special Summon 1 "R.B." monster from your hand. You can only use this effect of "R.B. Operation Test" once per turn. You can only activate 1 "R.B. Operation Test" per turn.
R.B. Last Stand
Normal Trap Card
Special Summon 1 "R.B." monster from your Deck, Extra Deck, or GY, with a different name than the cards you control. For the rest of this turn after this card resolves, you cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck, except Machine monsters with 1500 or less ATK. When your opponent activates a card or effect that targets an "R.B." monster(s) you control: You can banish this card from your GY; negate that effect. You can only use 1 "R.B. Last Stand" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
R.B. Next Phase
Counter Trap Card
When your opponent activates a monster effect, while you control an "R.B." monster: Destroy 1 monster you control, and if you do, negate the activation, and if you do that, destroy that card, then gain 2000 LP. You can only activate 1 "R.B. Next Phase" per turn.
The in-archetype backrow tools are very complementary towards the capability of the main deck R.B. monsters.
To start, R.B. Operation Test has a lot to offer; it has lingering recursion, it can heal the lifepoints used by the gimmick of the archetype, and it can recycle any on-summon effects through its bounce and subsequent special summon. While not necessarily a combo piece, R.B. Operation Test can definitely help players in the mid-to-late game grind phase of a duel.
Meanwhile, R.B. Last Stand’s ability to cheat out R.B. monsters from all but the banishment zone is only hampered by two particular aspects. For starters, it’s a trap card, meaning that it’s slow to deploy. On top of that, the controlling player would have to choose between setting this card up as a special summon tool or a pseudo-omni negate because of its once-per-turn clause. It’s not an easy choice to make, but at the very least, R.B. players can enjoy the versatility R.B. Last Stand can provide.
Lastly, R.B. Next Phase is a monster negate that can use any non-essential pieces currently on the board while recurring any lifepoint deficit. While this negate is a bit limited in scope, the fact that it’s on a Counter Trap card means that the opponent will have very few tools they can respond with as well.
New Extra Deck R.B Combiner
R.B. Shepherd's Crook
Link-3, Dark
Machine/Link/Effect Monster
2+ monsters, including an "R.B." monster
Gains 500 ATK for each monster you control, except this card. You can only use each of the following effects of "R.B. Shepherd's Crook" once per turn. During your Main Phase: You can Set 1 "R.B." Trap from your Deck or GY. During your opponent's Main Phase (Quick Effect): You can target 3 Level 3 or higher "R.B." monsters in your GY; place 2 on the bottom of the Deck in any order, and if you do, Special Summon the other in Defense Position.
Distinguishing itself from its cousin (R.B. The Brute Blues), where R.B. Shepherd’s Crook lacks in overall combat prowess, it makes up for it with utility.
Just by going into this monster, you’re already recycling three R.B. monster cards: one to special summon the field and two to return to the deck. While most of the R.B. main deck monsters don’t have any special on-summon effects, having the capability to bring back cards into rotation through a standard action can still reap value even if it can only be done during the opponent’s Main Phase.
R.B. Shepherd’s Crook can also bring out one of the new in-archetype trap cards. This preserves the search function of the Field Spell (R.B. Funk Dock) for any of the other R.B. cards that would be needed for the turn.
In a pinch, this Link monster could technically scale to over 3,000 attack power if the controlling player can swarm the board with enough monsters. It may not be the most ideal application of this card, but it’s nice that the option still exists.