Tactical Evolution World Premiere Review

Hey guys! I mentioned in my Judgment of the Light WP Review that I'd take a stab at reviewing some other batches of WPs since it's so fun, and so here am I again. Although I probably won't always be going in order, I figured the best place to start would be the place where it all started - Tactical Evolution. Before I start, I do have to note that for the most part I'll be reviewing these older cards by modern day standards, since I'm lacking a time machine and older formats are very difficult to recreate in their entirety. Don't be surprised if most of them get low ratings, as they hail from a time of less overall power in this game. So let's begin!

000 Gemini Summoner
I honestly believe that this card is what helped to establish Konami's trend of using World Premieres to sharpen the strengths or shore up the weaknesses of the decks or strategies they were made for. Even by modern standards this card is excellent for Gemini Decks, allowing you to speed up their fundamentally slow effects while not having to deal with that inherent slowness since it isn't a Gemini Monster itself. And to make things even better, they helped make sure that the card could survive long enough to use its effect. Awesome! 6.5/10.

081 Ocean's Keeper
This card begins a line of three totally random related cards that support Fish and Water decks. Keeper himself is a neat card, dealing piercing damage to speed up your wins while replacing himself with a search if he's killed in battle. Even better, the cards he searches are the cards that combo with him. I just wish they could've saved the poor fish from Mike Tyson if they were going to put its face on a card for everybody to see. 4/10.

082 Thousand-Eyes Jellyfish
You can't deny how cool it is to permanently force your opponent to reveal their hand and the strategic advantage that it provides, but without some offensive prowess to back it up this card quickly becomes little more than a novelty, just like its art. Also, it really hurts that it can only be summoned by tributing Ocean's Keeper. Tributing a Water monster or a Fish-Type monster would've been a good enough restriction in my book. 0.5/10.

083 Cranium Fish
And here's the end of the trio! Cranium Fish is a cool card, packing Monarch stats and an effect that reminds me a lot of Atlantean Marksman, all for one (unrestricted) Tribute. It's an awesome coincidence that this card also happens to trigger Atlantean effects! There's not much to say about it beyond that, but it warms my Attribute-loving heart to see a good card that specifically supports an Attribute. 7.5/10. 

084 Abyssal Kingshark
Interesting card, but you probably won't be using his effect very often. Built-in protection is always nice, but insurance has to have coverage to be effective. 3/10.

085 Mormolith
Always nice to see Earth support, since it's so hard to come by! This card only makes things better since it can tribute itself for its effect, potentially taking out multiple monsters all at once. It's harder to get away with nowadays since Extra Deck monsters are everywhere and those tend to not have terrible DEF, but it's still useful. Kind of sucks that it still dies if you tribute a different Earth monster that happens to have enough ATK, but oh well. 4/10.

086 Fossil Tusker
Yeah, this card doesn't really do much of anything noteworthy. 1/10.

087 Phantom Dragonray Bronto
Is it just me, or does this card look a tiny bit like Dracossack? Anyways, he basically changes into Goblin Attack Force after a Double Summon, which begs the obvious question... Why wouldn't I just use Goblin Attack Force? Of course, GAF is terrible anyways, so I guess that speaks volumes about this card. They should've just let him have the ATK boost with no strings attached, honestly. I'm not putting my time and energy into Double Summoning just to get a fucking Goblin Attack Force, no matter how fishy it may taste once I catch it and eat it. 0/10.

088 Il Blud
Another WP Gemini! Except that with all of the support Zombies have, this one is far from sucking. I haven't seen anybody do anything with this card in a long time, but in modern times it could potentially make some easy Rank 6 plays. Il Blud really is a good card, it's just hard to think about the possibilities when nobody's explored them for years. 8/10.

089 Blazewing Butterfly
Like Gemini Summoner, this is another catalyst for Gemini decks. I think the best use of this card would be as an easier Double Summon for monsters that need a tribute, like this set's Chthonian Emperor Dragon. Pretty decent concept for a card, though the actual result is not super strong. 6/10.

So that's it! On average, this set of WPs earned a rating of 4.05/10, which, interestingly enough, is higher than the average rating for the World Premieres from Judgment of the Light - though, to be fair, that set only had nine ratings since I abstained from one of them. Anyways, I'll see you guys again soon with another World Premiere review!