Archfiend Mandragora (+Toon version)

[Sleepy]

Archfiend Mandragora

DARK Level 2 [Plant / Effect] 200/400

If sent to the GY: You can send up to 2 "Archfiend Mandragora" from your hand, field, or Deck, to the GY, and if you do, Special Summon 1 monster from your Deck or GY with a Level equal to the number of "Archfiend Mandragora" sent to the GY this way.

 

 

Toon Archfiend Mandragora

DARK Level 2 [Plant / Toon / Effect] 200/400

Cannot attack the turn it is Summoned. If "Toon World" is on the field, and your opponent does not control a Toon monster, it can attack directly.If Normal or Special Summoned while Toon World is on the field: You can add up to 3 Equip Cards with different names from your Deck or GY to your hand, then, after this effect resolves, activate them targeting monsters your opponent controls. You cannot attack directly the turn you activate this effect.

 

 

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The concept behind this is a pretty straight-forward combo.

You discard the non-Toon in any way (Raigeki Break or whatever) OR ditch it via Armageddon Knight or Mathematician.

It then will get the 2 other copies of it into the GY and Summon the Toon version, which then proceeds to search out (and activate) these:
-Comic Hand

-Falling Down

-Mark of the Rose

 

^You can also make convoluted searches for Axe of Fools, Moon Mirror Shield, Darkworld Shackles, Axe of Despair, or anything else you might want. But the card was made with the legal Snatch Steal cards in mind since it works with all 3.

In theory, Armageddon/Mathematician + Toon World = You having 5 monsters after the combo ends. It also makes a ton of deck thinning and allows you to run those Equips as 1 of techs without much problem.....

 

 

 

Tell me your thoughts on it please.

[Darj]

This has to be the strangest pair of cards I have ever seen. Normally if a Toon version of an Effect monster retains some of the effects from the original form, but in this case they are completely different. At first I thought the Toon one was the odd one, but after munching on its effect, name and intended use, I realized why it's a Toon, an Archfiend and a Plant. So, I would say the odd one of the pair is actually the non-Toon monster.

Then you have this strange duality on their effects and power:

Toon Mandragora is an outright +3 if the opponent controls enough monsters for you to steal or cripple, and that sounds, well, unfair, even for a deck as non-relevant as Toons.

And regular Mandragora, although it is designed to search the Toon version, IMO it has more impact as a generic "engine" that can search any Level 1~2 monster, which is quite potent.

So one is crazy strong in a specific deck, while the other one can be good in a wider array of decks. I can ge behind the regular form, but the +3 from the Toon it's pushing it IMO.

Not to mention that both get "Archfiend" support (e.g. searchable by Heiress)... for whatever that's worth.