Card of the Week #19: Treeborn Frog
Treeborn Frog is another old card, but it's one that sees its fair share of play in the modern game. This is down to the many uses of a monster that can summon itself. However, almost all of these uses involve tributing it in some way. While you can't have any Spells/Traps when you want to summon it, it's not the worst of limitations considering you can play your Traps on your opponent's turn. In general, the card works quite well in any deck requiring tribute fodder, and for those who need some recaps I will now explain why.
The most common use of Treeborn is in Frog Archs. Frog Archs are a type of deck that involves use of both Frogs and Monarchs. The two archetypes together, alongside other Tribute Summonable monsters, make up a powerful deck revolving around the easily Special Summoned Frog archetype and a number of mid-high Level monsters to Tribute Summon over them. Treeborn is one of the main reasons Frog Archs work as a deck, and this is because it gives off a free Tribute Summon every turn. While this is the main use, there are also a few others.
The next use for Treeborn is as a tribute for Spells and Traps, perhaps the most crucial of which being Enemy Controller. Quick Play Spells like Enemy Controller go great with Treeborn, as they can be played from the hand duringthe Standby Phase, which is when Treeborn is summoned. This means you can activate Enemy Controller immediately after summoning Treeborn, then Special Summon Treeborn back again, essentially nullifying the cost of Enemy Controller. Since Enemy Controller has such a gamechanging effect, when the game draws close to its end, being able to use it pretty much for free can often put victory within immediate grasp.
So, in general, Treeborn Frog may have little to no use in decks that don't do tributing, but the card's use in decks that need tribute fodder goes beyond that of most other cards. This is even more applicable to the aforementioned Frog Archs, as he allows the summon of a Monarch or Sea Lancer every turn, and can also lead to devastating plays with cards like Obelisk or LADD. Overall, Treeborn is an excellent card, and, while old, still offers a great deal of support to many decks in the current format.