Gemini (or Dual in Japanese)
monsters debuted long ago in GX era, but never been so popular and they were used more like support to various decks (Neos Aillus,
Gigaplant). But they experienced great comeback with release of Structure Deck:
Warrior's Strike and with support from
Stardust Overdrive. And even so,
Geminis aren't so popular. Today I will introduce the strongest
Gemini monster introduced in
Warrior's Strike -
Phoenix Gearfried.
Phoenix GearfriedWith 2800 ATK and his
effects (when unlocked), Gearfried is the strongest of the
Gemini monsters - maybe tied with
Darkstorm Dragon introduced in
Order of Chaos. With
Geminis' Graveyard swarming abilities, he is not so hard to summon and (once unlocked) his abilities are quite formidable.
Summoning
Easiest way to summon Phoenix is from the Graveyard, so 1st step is to send him there. You can discard him with
Polymerization to fuse Superalloy
Beast Raptinius (another strong
Gemini support) or discard him for cost of
Black Brutdrago (another strong
Gemini support). Or he can be sent straight from deck to graveyard using
Featherizer and draw extra card.
So 1st step done - Phoenix in Graveyard. And now - how to revive it? We can use basic revival cards like
Monster Reborn or CotH. But
Geminis are great in reviving from Graveyard. You can use
Blazewing Butterfly ro revive him and unlock his
effects at once. Or he can be summoned with
effect of
Supervise or
Black Brutdrago. Or you can use his trait as he is treated as
Normal monster in Graveyard -
Birthright or Soul Ressurection are good choices.
AbilitiesGearfried is
Gemini monster, so you need to
Normal summon him again once he's summoned - basically waste of
Normal summon in
exchange for strong-
effect monster. This can be skipped by Summoning Gearfried with
Blazewing Butterfly or
Black Brutdrago,
effect of
Gemini Booster or simply equipping him with
Supervise. Now we examine his
effect once unlocked.
First
effect is the best - Special summoning
Gemini monster each time opponent activates a
Spell card, so opponent must choose: use
Spells freely and let you build huge army of
Geminis (
Darkstorm Dragon or
Grasschopper are unwelcome surprise) or to don't use
Spells at all - whatever he/she chooses, it will be advantage for you. You can then use revived
Geminis for quick Exceed summon or, if you revive
Tuned Magician,
Synchro summon (another easy way to
Synchro summon in this deck is
Natural Tune, just for information).
Second
effect is a bit more situational - send
Equip card you control to Graveyard to negate activation of
Spell/
Trap that targets a
monster you control.
Gemini decks runs mandatory 3
Supervises, other
Equip options are
Gemini Boosters (very nice ATK-boost) or some splashable
equips like
United We Stand. Remember, they don't have to be equipped straight to Phoenix, you only have to control that
Equip card. Use it to negate cards like
Karma Cut - remember, they must TARGET, so it won't work aganist
Mirror Force or
Lightning Vortex.
Stats2800 is really nice ATK for easy-summonable
monster. It can be further booster by
Gemini Booster- this way he'll have 3500 ATK, or use
United We Stand to boost him for 800 for each
monster you control - minimally 3600, maximally 6800 - this can benefit from Phoenix's reviving ability.
SummaryPlayablity: 8/10
Stats: 8/10
Artwork: 9/10
Geminis are good deck for beginners, as most cards are in SD:
Warrior's Strike and other cards are mostly cheap and not very
rare. And even pros can try it out: forget about Dino-Rabbits, Inzecters or other trashy meta-decks, try something new!
Geminis aren't as bad and slow as they seems - there is little disadvantage in unlocking their abilities, but their summoning using
Gemini Scorpion,
Herculean Power or
Woodland Archer is really fast-paced and can bring out
Synchros or Exceeds with ease.
