[Written] Heavensphere (13/13)

[towitori]

In contrast to Helvise, Heavensphere is based from the Seven Virtues. They are WIND Attribute Winged Beast type archetype focused on shuffling cards into the Deck. These are their way of Special Summoning and activating their effects (which is inspired from Serpentine Princess/Shuffle Reborn)

 

[spoiler=Monster]

[spoiler=Heavensphere Castitas]

Heavensphere Castitas

WIND / *4

Winged Beast / Effect

ATK / 1200 DEF / 1800

You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by shuffling 1 face-up "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck. You can only Special Summon 1 "Heavensphere Castitas" per turn this way. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can target 1 "Heavensphere" monster you control; it cannot be destroyed by battle, until the End Phase. If this face-up card you control returns to your Deck: Add 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Heavensphere Castitas". You can only use this effect of "Heavensphere Castitas" once per turn.

[spoiler=Heavensphere Temperantia]

Heavensphere Temperantia

WIND / *4

Winged Beast / Effect

ATK / 1600 DEF / 1400

You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by shuffling 1 face-up "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck. You can only Special Summon 1 "Heavensphere Temperantia" per turn this way. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can shuffle 1 "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck, except "Heavensphere Temperantia"; Negate any activation of cards that activate by paying their Life Points, until the End Phase. If this face-up card you control returns to your Deck: Add 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Heavensphere Temperantia". You can only use this effect of "Heavensphere Temperantia" once per turn.

[spoiler=Heavensphere Industria]

Heavensphere Industria

WIND / *4

Winged Beast / Effect

ATK / 1900 DEF / 1100

You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by shuffling 1 face-up "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck. You can only Special Summon 1 "Heavensphere Industria" per turn this way. Once per turn: You can target 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster you control, except "Heavensphere Industria"; it can attack your opponent directly this turn but shuffle that monster into the Deck during the End Phase. If this face-up card you control returns to your Deck: Add 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Heavensphere Industria". You can only use this effect of "Heavensphere Industria" once per turn.

[spoiler=Heavensphere Patientia]

Heavensphere Patentia

WIND / *4

Winged Beast / Effect

ATK / 1500 DEF / 1500

You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by shuffling 1 face-up "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck. You can only Special Summon 1 "Heavensphere Patientia" per turn this way. Once per turn, during either player's turn, if your opponent Special Summons a monster while they control another face-up Special Summoned monster: You can shuffle 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck, except "Heavensphere Patientia"; Shuffle 1 Special Summoned monster your opponent controls into the Deck. If this face-up card you control returns to your Deck: Add 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Heavensphere Patientia". You can only use this effect of "Heavensphere Patientia" once per turn.

[spoiler=Heavensphere Benevolentia]

Heavensphere Benevolentia

WIND / *4

Winged Beast / Effect

ATK / 1000 DEF / 2000

You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by shuffling 1 face-up "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck. You can only Special Summon 1 "Heavensphere Benevolentia" per turn this way. Once per turn: You can shuffle 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck, except "Heavensphere Benevolentia"; add 1 "Heavensphere" Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. If this face-up card you control returns to your Deck: Add 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Heavensphere Benevolentia". You can only use this effect of "Heavensphere Benevolentia" once per turn.

[spoiler=Heavensphere Humilitas]

Heavensphere Humilitas

WIND / *4

Winged Beast / Effect

ATK /1700 DEF / 1300

You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by shuffling 1 face-up "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck. You can only Special Summon 1 "Heavensphere Humilitas" per turn this way. Once per turn: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your hand, except "Heavensphere Humilitas", and if you do, shuffle this card into the Deck during the End Phase. If this face-up card you control returns to your Deck: Add 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Heavensphere Humilitas". You can only use this effect of "Heavensphere Humilitas" once per turn.

[spoiler=Heavensphere Caritas]

Heavensphere Caritas

WIND / *4

Winged Beast / Effect

ATK / 1500 DEF / 1500

You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by shuffling 1 face-up "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck. You can only Special Summon 1 "Heavensphere Caritas" per turn this way. Once per turn, during either player's turn, if your opponent adds a card(s) from their Deck to their hand, except by drawing them: You can shuffle 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster you control into the Deck, except "Heavensphere Caritas"; shuffle 1 random card from their hand into Deck. If this face-up card you control returns to your Deck: Add 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Heavensphere Caritas". You can only use this effect of "Heavensphere Caritas" once per turn.

[spoiler= Heavensphere Empyrean]

Heavensphere Empyrean

WIND / *10

Winged Beast / Effect

ATK / 4000 DEF / 2000

Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by shuffling 3 face-up "Heavensphere" monsters you control into the Deck, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can only Special Summon 1 "Heavensphere Empyrean" per turn this way. This card's Special Summon cannot be negated. When this card is Special Summoned: Shuffle all cards on the field into the Deck, except this card. Any battle damage involving this card is halved. Once per turn: You can target 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster you control: Shuffle that target into the Deck, then draw 1 card. If this face-up card you control returns to your Deck: Special Summon 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your Deck. You can only use this effect of "Heavensphere Empyrean" once per turn.

[spoiler=Spell Card]

[spoiler=Miracle of the Heavensphere]

Miracle of the Heavensphere

Spell / Quick-Play

Target 1 face-up Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster you control; Shuffle that target into the Deck, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your hand.

[spoiler=Trumpets of the Heavensphere]

Trumpets of the Heavensphere

Spell / Continuous

Once per turn: You can Normal Summon a "Heavensphere" monster in addition to your Normal Summon/Set (You can only gain this effect once per turn.) You can only control 1 face-up "Trumpets of the Heavensphere". If this face-up card you control is destroyed by a card effect: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere monster from your Deck.

[spoiler=Blessing of the Heavensphere]

Blessing of the Heavensphere

Spell / Normal

Target 5 "Heavensphere" cards you control face-up and/or in your Graveyard with different names; Shuffle those targets into the Deck, then, draw 2 cards.

[spoiler=Assumption of the Heavensphere]

Assumption of the Heavensphere

Spell / Quick-Play

Activate only if a face-up monster you control returns to your Deck. Special Summon 1 Level 4 "Heavensphere" monster from your Deck, and if you do, you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of the turn, except "Heavensphere" monsters.

[spoiler=Shield of the Heavensphere]

Shield of the Heavensphere

Spell / Equip

Equip only to a Special Summoned "Heavensphere" monster. The equipped monster's effects cannot be negated. If the equipped monster leaves the field: add 1 "Heavensphere" card from your Deck to your hand, except "Shield of the Heavensphere".

[towitori]

bump

[Major's Shadow]

Yo Yo Heyo~~~

 

Alrighty, so let's go ahead and begin! Since I haven't reviewed Helvise, I'll be reviewing this archetype with a fresh perspective. I'm looking forward to how this one turns out! As usual, I'll be providing more brief analysis of each card, then provide my overall opinion at the end. Without further ado, let's begin!

 

Monsters:

Heavensphere Castitas - Seems to replicate the idea of Gladiator Beasts, without the Battle Phase condition, at the cost of SS from hand instead of Deck. The on-field effect is Speed 2, but the Summoning Condition is inherent, similar to U.A's. It does search to reduce the cost of the Summoning. However, the condition to search is technically not legal, as you can't activate card effects from Deck (the condition would have to trigger after its been shuffled). I understand the idea here, but that kind of effect isn't feasible, unless it doesn't trigger. Unless the rest of the support is powerful, I can't see this being a very effective archetype.

Heavensphere Temperantia - Very powerful effect, being able to shut down entire archetypes! It can also disable plenty of trap cards that cost LP's, but commonly those cards will be used prior to the summoning of this card. From what's been shown so far, it seems relatively difficult to summon more than 1 Heavensphere in a turn, so actually generating a board state to use this effect is impractical. The entire archetype also uses the search mechanic to go even, which is appropriate for its summoning condition.

Heavensphere Industria - Another great effect for the archetype to use, pressuring your opponent's LP's by attacking directly with another monster each turn, while also having a decent body. However, a lot of the criticisms with this card are the same as Temperantia, so we'll see what the rest of the archetype offers.

Heavensphere Patentia - Same as Temperantia, it's entirely matchup dependent whether this card is useful or not, but it's a generally powerful effect. A non-target shuffle with a relatively easy condition to meet is fantastic, while also being easy enough to work around for your opponent. Seems so far this deck is heavily toolbox-based, which begs the question whether its consistent or powerful enough to warrant using.

Heavensphere Benevolentia - While having a search effect is insanely powerful for the Deck, especially when it goes +1 w/ a spell and a monster, the targets have to be good enough to loose that kind of board presence. Its good the engine actually has a search mechanic for everything besides the monsters, but it's still difficult to tell whether its powerful enough or not, based on the rest of the support.

Heavensphere Humilitas - This is the only card thus far that actually doesn't provide the archetype with many good options. While the other cards require established board states to work, this card provides small amounts of support towards a part of the archetype that doesn't need it. From what's been shown, getting destroyed by battle means you're already in a poor position with the current pool of monsters, and Castitas provides protection from that weakness.

Heavensphere Caritas - Interesting this effect is entirely reactive, while the other cards offer Speed 2 semi-floodgate effects for the same cost. Seems out of flavor in comparison, but regardless, is still a genuinely good effect. A lot of the feedback I have stems from Temperantia and Benevolentia, so nothing has changed.

Heavensphere Empyrean - From all the monsters presented, they all have a "win more" mentality that doesn't provide mechanics to recover bad game states. I'll go in-depth after the Spell cards, but unless they provide support for this archetype's issue, I can't see this card reach its summoning condition very easily. Otherwise, very powerful card!

 

Spells:

Assumption of the Heavensphere - That's good the archetype gains a mid-late game tool to generate more of a board state, but its kinda choppy. It seems impractical to have any of the Heavenspheres actually go to the Graveyard, w/o direct interaction from your opponent (destroying by battle, card effect, etc), or by using discard or sending to grave outlets. Kinda a messy condition, but at its worst, it's a Swallow's Nest for the archetype.

Trumpets of the Heavensphere - Finally, a card that directly contributes to establishing stronger board states! However, in the implications of a Continuous Spell, that makes the whole mechanics clunky. Yes, it gives you 2 monsters each turn, but it's incredibly easy to remove before you can achieve the additional summon, w/o any consistent ways of adding it to your hand. From what I've seen, it's so far a 3/40 in order to generate more than 1 monster per turn.

Miracle of the Heavensphere - Again, another win-more card. That's assuming you have 5 cards to shuffle in the 1st place, since the archetype doesn't directly use the Graveyard in anyway. Also, the deck clause is completely unnecessary, considering you'll almost certainly have more cards in your Deck than your opponent, since you performed the shuffle for 5 in the 1st place.

Blessing of the Heavensphere - This is a nice addition to provide more fast and consistent plays, but the fact it has to be in-hand, and has to trigger upon shuffling, means you have to have the following hand in the early game to effectively use this card: (Heavensphere Monster x3 + Blessing. NS 1st monster, Shuffle into deck with another Heavensphere, then activate Blessing, then SS 3rd monster from hand, since the search effect of the 1st monster wouldn't activate in time to meet this condition). Also, since the monster that was summoned leaves field, it doesn't allow you to establish a board for the Speed 2 effects that are semi-floodgates for your opponent.

 

Overall:

My fears for this archetype came true, and that's a damn shame. OCG was clean enough to understand what was going on. There are a lot of good ideas in place here, but none of them are consistent, powerful, or cohesive enough to make a good archetype. The biggest issue is the mentality of "win-more", meaning when you're in a leading position, you can potentially cripple your opponent from ever coming back. This is a fine mechanic when earned, but this archetype can't get into a winning position. There are very few cards that help establish more of a board state, which makes the archetype nearly impossible to pilot. It boils down to "Normal Summon my 1 monster, SS others in-hand and search for the ones I want, then pray you don't do anything to me. The Typing and Attributes also don't add anything to the archetype, as many WIND techs are based around returning to hand, and Winged-Beast work around tribute for cost, Graveyard advantage and Xyz Summoning. When the Summoning Condition boils down to U.A's w/ a little more spice, the expected result should be more than a single Level 4 monster. Keep working on it, cause this could turn out to be a phenomenal archetype!

 

~

[towitori]

Thanks for that review. And I made some heavy changes and additions in response to the review.

 

Assumption, Blessing and Miracle have their name changed to Miracle, Assumption, Blessing respectively. Those names makes more sense now.

I've felt that Humilitas was indeed a weak link. Now I've heavily changed it and it now carries the Assumption's original effect albeit it returns itself during the end phase, to represent humility.

Castitas now acts kind of similar to Dark Law's effect.

Added a bonus for Trumpets if it gets destroyed.

Removed that Deck clause from Blessing.

Miracle now summons from the hand, instead of the grave.

Added Shield of the Heavensphere. I've been wanting to add this card but i was looking for an effect if the equipped monster leaves the field. The review helped so this card can kind of help the early game problems the archetype was kind of lacking. It doesn't fully patch it but it does speed up the archetype a little more.

[Major's Shadow]

Yo Yo Yo!!!~

 

Gonna give this a brief re-review, to provide my opinions on each of the major changes implemented. Let's do this!

 

Monsters:

Heavensphere Humilitas - Phenomenal kickstarter for the archetype, being able to bring out pretty much any suitable targets, so long as you have enough monsters in-hand to use the search effects. It's exactly what the archetype needed!

Heavensphere Caritas - I believe you made some OCG changes here to make it fit mechanically w/ Dark Law. That's fine, as it's fairly easy to work around this mechanic, and requires an established board on your part to actually use its effect.

Heavensphere Empyrean - I understand this card hasn't changed at all, but if you recall my last review, I did say this card could potentially be scary. From the notes you provided regarding the changes, this card seems WAY too easy to bring out now. I'm not sure the degree in which the S/T cards speed up the engine, but bringing this guy out w/o a significant cost (except loosing potential board state to a Solemn Strike by its monster eff) and shuffle the entire board back into the deck! Not to mention this summoning is impossible to negate, so it makes it a towers turbo on speed w/ removal & 2 draws a turn minimum. Due to the rest of the archetype changing, I feel this card either has to be removed, or heavily re-worked to balance out w/ the rest of the cards.

 

Spells:

Miracle of the Heavensphere - It went from a better Swallow's Nest, to a worse one. True, it is a Speed 2 shuffle and SS, but it requires you to have another target in-hand to use its additional benefits, meaning it requires more setup. This turns it from an OK card w/ non-synergetic, but potentially powerful, bonuses, to a weak option overall. Not a fan of the changes made here.

Trumpets of the Heavensphere - Well... I did say removal was super easy, and mitigated the potential benefits of the card, but perhaps this is a little too far? It's not impossible to work around by any means, but it doesn't warrant free floating mechanics (consider Kozmos, that's no fun). This is done so much more fairly, as your opponent can easily deal w/ the summoned monsters, or remove the card by other means, but its the fact you generate your own advantage by removing the card. Again, I'm fairly certain this is fine, but it's something that should be heeded w/ caution.

Blessing of the Heavensphere - I'm OK w/ this, due to the amount of board presence that has to be lost in order to actually plus off the monsters, and it's still a mid-late game tool that can brick. It's fine

Assumption of the Heavensphere - Yeah, the archetype kinda needed this. A +0 that nets you more board advantage, is Speed 2, and has an incredibly easy activation requirement, w/ archetype-based summoning restrictions for the turn. It's a good card.

Shield of the Heavensphere - Ooo a new one! Yeah, it's a faster Saqlifice, w/o a OPT restriction. It's definitely a more consistent means of gathering your S/T cards, so that's nice, and it leaves additional bonuses for actually being used as an Equip Spell. Seems fine.

 

Overall:
Very impressed on the direction you took the archetype! The more I read the improved cards, the more I desire for this archetype to come into fruition! There's a lot of potential from the new spit polish and balancing you put on the cards, giving it a nice variety of Rank 4/ Semi-Floodgate control. It still has flaws, but that's what makes it interesting to duel against! My biggest concern is Empryan, but again, I covered my concerns on the actual card review. Nice work you've done here, and looking forward to future iterations of this archetype!

 

Laters~