Brotherhood of the Fire Fist.
(Firestar)
An in-depth look on this awesome archetype.
BotFF = Brotherhood of the Fire Fist.
The Brotherhood of the Fire Fist archetype is a new up and coming archetype that is being released in the new Cosmo Blazer booster pack by Konami. These monsters are FIRE attribute and are supported by the “Firedance” spell and trap cards. They are all effect monsters which all have connections to the Firedance spell/trap cards with the exception of BotFF Saint, who special summons a level three monster with 200 or less defense.
So how do the BotFF monsters work? They play quite easily, with a lot of deck searching involved. All the ones involved with the Firedance cards have an ability to pull another Firedance card from the deck. BotFF decks have to do with a ton of backrow, considering how many spell/trap cards are involved. Heavy storm and MST can hurt this type of deck to a degree, but they can usually bounce back quite quickly if you haven’t overextended your play. So let’s take a look at some of the cards. I’m going to separate this into four sections: Monsters, Spells/Traps, Strategy/Key Cards, and Other Cards.
MONSTERS
Celestial Master of the Fire Fist - Saint
This card cannot be used as a Synchro Material Monster, except for the Synchro Summon of a Beast-Warrior-Type monster. When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Target 1 Level 3 FIRE monster with 200 or less DEF in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target, but if you do, monsters you control that are not Beast-Warrior-Type cannot attack this turn. You can only use the effect of "Celestial Master of the Fire Fist - Saint" once per turn.
At first, Saint was rather useless because there was not a BotFF monster that had been released with 200 defense. However, with the release of BotFF - Chicken it works perfectly. Chicken's effect compliments Saint's, and they are both level 3 so you can tune it for Horse. Hawk and Raven are also level 3, so they can also work with Saint to tune for Horse.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Raven
If this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can set 1 "Firedance" Spell card from your Deck. "Firedance" Spell and Trap Cards cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects.
Raven is one of the best Fire Fist searcher monsters. He is the Sangan of the BotFF, allowing you to set a Firedance spell card from your deck onto the field once he gets removed. Hawk also has this effect except for one difference; Raven’s effect works if he gets removed by either you or your opponent, while Hawk needs to be removed by your opponent for him to search a card. With 1800 defense, Raven can also hold off on his own against lower attack point monsters. His second effect also protects your Firedance cards from being destroyed by cards like heavy storm or MST. He is a much needed card seeing how you can defend yourself and pull out a spell card that you might need to get ahead or win.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Hawk
When this card is destroyed by your opponent's card (either by battle or by card effect): You can choose 1 "Firedance" Spell Card from your Deck and Set it in your Spell & Trap Card Zone. While a "Firedance" Spell or Trap Card is face-up on the field, all "Fire Fist" monsters you control gain 500 ATK and DEF.
Hawk is the Fire Fist’s second primarily used card to search for Firedance spells, he can use his effect once he is removed from the field by your opponent’s doing. Like Raven, his effect limits him to only setting down a spell card, not a trap. His second effect grants 500 attack and defense to every Fire Fist monster on the field if there is a Firedance card activated (Which there usually is). This is a great ability if you have him in defense mode, because with 2000 defense he won’t be going anywhere soon and your monsters will get a boost.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Chicken
Chicken is a card you must have in your deck, especially if you plan on using the Synchro monster. He pulls out another monster from your deck when special summoned by a Fire Fist effect, which is fairly easy in this deck. Saint, Dragon, and Horse can do it. His second effect is also great, since it lets you trade a Firedance card for another. This allows you to pull out whatever Firedance card you need for your situation by trading in your current one. He is also level 3, so he can be tuned for Horse.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Monkey
Once per turn, when this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: You can Set 1 "Firedance" Spell Card from your Deck. Once per turn: You can send 1 "Firedance" Spell/Trap Card you control to the Graveyard to target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy that target.
Monkey is a must have in a BotFF Deck. He is one of the Fire Fist twins (as I like to call it.) He is your walking, breathing, and attacking MST. His effect allows him to destroy one spell/trap card on the field as long as you send one Firedance card to the grave. If he destroys one monster, he can set one Firedance card from your deck to the field. Probably the second best effect for the Fire Fist monsters in my opinion, since he can really make things safe for you.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Bear
Once per turn, when this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent: You can set 1 "Firedance" Spell Card from your Deck. Once per turn: You can send 1 "Firedance" Spell/Trap card you control to the Graveyard to target 1 monster on the field; destroy that target.
Bear is the most important Fire Fist to me. He is the other half to Monkey, and the other twin. Bear’s effect allows him to destroy one monster on the field by sending a Firedance card to the grave. He has an amazing effect and is an amazing monster. Being able to destroy a monster on the field for the price of a Firedance card is the best effect in my opinion. His second effect allows you to search for a Firedance spell card if he deals battle damage to your opponent.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Snake
Snake is a good card to use in conjunction with Monkey, Bear, and Dragon’s effects. He can search for Firedance trap cards when there is a Firedance card sent from the field to the grave, which is a great effect. His own effect lets him use his searcher effect, because he can send 2 Firedance cards to the grave to draw 1 card. He searches, and he lets you draw for the price of 2 Firedance cards. Snake is a good monster to have in your deck.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Dragon
Dragon is a card that is best used either early on or later depending on the duel. Every time a Firedance card is activated, Dragon can use his effect to set a Firedance trap from your deck. This is where he gets amazing though, coming in at third most important Fire Fist for me; Dragon can special summon a Fire Fist monster from the grave by sending 2 Firedance cards to the grave. Yes, that is correct, he is a breathing Monster Reborn. Another must needed addition to a BotFF deck.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Swallow
Swallow isn't a card that is absolutely needed in a Fire Fist deck, but still good to have. He isn't hard to summon although, since sending 3 to the grave isn't a hard thing to do. You can always just tribute summon as well. Both of his effects are nice, as he is the third Fire Fist monster that can set a trap card instead of spell, and as long as he is on the field your Fire Fist monsters cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects.
Synchro Monsters
Frontier Noble of the Fire Fist - Horse
Horse is the only Fire Fist Synchro Monster, he comes in with 2200 attack and defense. He is easy to summon, all the Firedance boosts apply to him as well so he can be a pretty good beatstick. His effect lets you set up for another synchro summon next turn. With the release of Chicken, you can special summon Chicken onto the field to bring another Fire Fist monster to your hand via Chicken's effect. This is extremely useful especially if you haven't drawn a Tenki, or if you have run out and were looking for a monster. He is the only synchro monster you can summon with Saint except for Sirius the Blue Wolf Star.
XYZ Monsters
Divine King of the Fire Fist - Lion
Lion is the Fire Fist's rank 3 XYZ monster, he is fairly easy to summon and has a nice effect to boot. He is a walking monster reincarnation without the discard. Although you can't summon that monster this turn, it does let you set up for next turn. It really helps if you needed to bring a monster back from the grave somehow, but couldn't use monster reborn or Dragon.
Fierce Leader of the Fire Fist - Tiger
Tiger is a magnificent monster, his effects are absolutely magnificent. When he is summoned, you get to set a Firedance card of any kind. When he detaches, he negates all monster effects except for Beast-Warriors until the end of your OPPONENT's next turn. This deals with pesky monsters like Wind-Up Zenmaines and company very very easily. His effects don't even stop there, when he is destroyed, if you control 3 Firedance cards you can send them to the grave to special summon 2 Fire Fist monsters with the same attack. This is a great effect considering the pairs of Fire Fist monsters with the same attack. Raven/Hawk, Monkey/Bear, and Snake/Dragon. If you'd like, you can even bring back 2 of the same monsters. Easily an amazing monster.
So now we've covered the Fire Fist monsters. A pretty good bunch of monsters with really nice effects, lethal as well. The synergy between the monsters is incredible, but we'll talk more about that in Strategy. Time to move onto spells/traps.
SPELLS/TRAPS
All Firedance cards are continuous, and give an ATK boost to your monsters. Spells give 100, and traps give 300. This usually lets you have your Fire Fist monsters with 2k ATK at least, so taking them down will not be that easy.
Firedance - Tenki
Tenki is the Fire Fist monster searching spell. You can bring any Fire Fist monster from your deck to your hand with this card with the exception of Swallow since he is level 5. This is extremely important because you can bring the monster and backrow killers, Monkey and Bear to your hand. Also since you have 3 of these you can pick and choose what Fire Fist you need at the time of the spell activation.
Firedance - Tensu
Tensu is your swarming card, it allows you to normal summon one more Fire Fist monster during your turn. With this, you can XYZ, or Synchro summon quite easily. It lets you build monster presence and it is a continuous effect so you can pick and choose when to do it.
Firedance - Tenken
Activate only during a Main Phase 1. When this card is activated: Target 1 Beast-Warrior-Type monster you control; during this Main Phase, that target's effects on the field are negated, and it is unaffected by card effects, except this card. Beast-Warrior-Type monsters you control gain 300 ATK.
This is the card that will save your Fire Fist monsters from effects from your opponents. Pretend they use a dark hole, or mind control; with this card you can save your monster from destruction or from being used.(At least during Main Phase 1) Very useful card, it also gives your monster a 300 attack bonus.
Firedance - Tensen
This is your attack power up card, it gives your monster a total of 1000 more attack, 300 of which stays as long as the card is on the field. You can use it to destroy a monster on your turn, or your opponent's turn after they attack. Useful for saving your cards during battle, because they don't start out with much attack.
Extreme Firedance - Seito
This is your end all card, you can probably fire this baby at least once during a medium to long lasting duel. I say once because not everyone runs all Firedance cards at 3. It is the Fire Fist version of the Six Samurai card Backs to the Wall, without the life point cost. It also lets you set Firedance cards to the amount of monsters brought back by this effect. Awesome, right? You'll fill up your field, and your backrow all at the same time. A great, useful card.
Strategy/KeyCards
So I'm sure you have a pretty good picture of how a Fire Fist deck should run; Swarming the field with constant backrow, increasing your monsters' attack with the Firedance cards, and using their effects to maintain your field presence, while getting rid of your opponent's. I'm going to point out a couple of key cards that you should focus on using to do all of this within the cards I just mentioned.
BotFF:
Bear
Monkey
Dragon
Tiger
Firedance - Tenki
Firedance - Tensu
Firedance - Tensen
^ These are the cards I consider the most important in a Fire Fist deck.
-Bear lets you get rid of a monster by giving a small cost, so big beat sticks are not a problem for you.
-Monkey lets you eliminate your enemy's backrow, giving you a safe opportunity to attack, or summon.
-Dragon lets you bring back your monsters from the grave very easily, and when teamed up with Snake you can bring your traps to the field very quickly.
-Tiger lets you negate your opponent's effects, because it is highly unlikely that they are also running beast warriors. He also brings another spell/trap to the field when he is summoned.
-Tenki is a life saver, because you can choose what Fire Fist monster best matches your situation when you use this card. If there is a high beat stick, then Bear. If you're afraid of backrow, then use Monkey. If you need to bring back a monster, then use Dragon.
-Tensu is your field swarming card, allowing you to XYZ and Synchro properly.
-Tensen is your main power up, allowing you to give your Fire Fist monsters enough attack to fight against your opponent's. Keeping them alive, and making them stronger for any situation is what this card does.
Fire Fist strategy is very simple, establish field presence as fast as you can with a safe backrow. Use your effects of sending Firedance cards to the grave to get rid of your opponent's cards, and letting you bring out more Firedance cards at the same time. Here are a couple combos you can use to your advantage.
Bear & Monkey:
Together, these two make quite the pair. I call these the twins because one gets rid of monsters, while the other gets rid of backrow. They both have the same attack, and a similar searching effect. Let Monkey destroy the monster to search, and attack with Bear when it is all clear to search within the same turn. This way you get 2 Firedance spells back on the field after using their effects.
Dragon & Snake:
These two have effects that completely compliment each other. Summon Dragon first, and then follow up with Tensu, which allows you to summon Snake. Dragon's effect lets you bring out a trap card when you activate Tensu, and if you have Snake out you can send the trap(if you don't need it, you can just wait till next turn) and the spell to draw a card. If you wait till next turn to activate the trap, Dragon gets to use his effect again which lets you bring out another trap, and then Snake lets you draw a card which lets you set yet ANOTHER trap, leaving you back at 2 Firedance cards in your backrow.
Saint & Chicken or Raven:
Saint + Chicken: These two are the best combo to synchro, since Saint can special summon Chicken from the grave, and Chicken's effect would activate bringing a Fire Fist monster from your deck to your hand.
Saint + Raven: You would have to get them both on the field, but if manage to synchro these two you would get a Firedance card from your deck due to Raven's effect.
OTHER USEFUL CARDS
All I've talked about so far was purely just Fire Fist cards. There are however a ton of cards that can easily fit well within a Fire Fist deck.
The Beast King cards:
These cards work perfectly with a Fire Fist deck, allow me to explain.
Enthusiastic Beast King Bearman
This card is great for a BotFF deck, considering all the Fire Fist cards are beast-warriors. The BK's have a rank 8 XYZ monster, so this is the card that is going to let you pull that out.
Enthusiastic Beastman Wolfberk
Just like Dragon, Wolfberk is a walking monster reborn. Though effects may be negated, you can still XYZ easily, or if you already have Bearman on the field already you can use Bearman's effect for rank 8 XYZ.
Enthusiastic Coaching King Giant Trainer
This big guy here is a big plus. With 2800 attack, he isn't going anywhere unless your opponent has something great on the field. His effect is where he shows his true worth though. By detaching 1 XYZ material, you get to draw 1 card from your deck. Not bad right? Well it gets better, because you can activate this effect up to 3 times per turn, letting you draw 3 cards. That isn't even the end, because for every monster card you draw, you deal 800 damage to your opponent. You cannot activate your battle phase during the turn you activate his effect though, so it's a good idea to just use all 3 materials. You also have to reveal your cards to your opponent, but that's a small price to pay for drawing 3 cards.
Here is a list of some that you should look into that also work well BotFF.
Pyrorex the Elemental Lord
Beast King Barbaros
Emergency Provisions
Double Cyclone
Magic Planter
Horn of the Phantom Beast
Starlight Road
Sirius the Blue Wolf Star
Utopia
Gagaga Gunman
Lavalval Chain
Well there you have it, an in-depth look at the brand new Archetype Fire Fist.
I hope you liked it as much as I liked writing it, if you have any comments or questions please post and I'll try to get to them as quick as I can.
(Firestar)
An in-depth look on this awesome archetype.
BotFF = Brotherhood of the Fire Fist.
The Brotherhood of the Fire Fist archetype is a new up and coming archetype that is being released in the new Cosmo Blazer booster pack by Konami. These monsters are FIRE attribute and are supported by the “Firedance” spell and trap cards. They are all effect monsters which all have connections to the Firedance spell/trap cards with the exception of BotFF Saint, who special summons a level three monster with 200 or less defense.
So how do the BotFF monsters work? They play quite easily, with a lot of deck searching involved. All the ones involved with the Firedance cards have an ability to pull another Firedance card from the deck. BotFF decks have to do with a ton of backrow, considering how many spell/trap cards are involved. Heavy storm and MST can hurt this type of deck to a degree, but they can usually bounce back quite quickly if you haven’t overextended your play. So let’s take a look at some of the cards. I’m going to separate this into four sections: Monsters, Spells/Traps, Strategy/Key Cards, and Other Cards.
MONSTERS
Celestial Master of the Fire Fist - Saint
Effect :
This card cannot be used as a Synchro Material Monster, except for the Synchro Summon of a Beast-Warrior-Type monster. When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Target 1 Level 3 FIRE monster with 200 or less DEF in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target, but if you do, monsters you control that are not Beast-Warrior-Type cannot attack this turn. You can only use the effect of "Celestial Master of the Fire Fist - Saint" once per turn.
At first, Saint was rather useless because there was not a BotFF monster that had been released with 200 defense. However, with the release of BotFF - Chicken it works perfectly. Chicken's effect compliments Saint's, and they are both level 3 so you can tune it for Horse. Hawk and Raven are also level 3, so they can also work with Saint to tune for Horse.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Raven
Effect :
If this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can set 1 "Firedance" Spell card from your Deck. "Firedance" Spell and Trap Cards cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects.
Raven is one of the best Fire Fist searcher monsters. He is the Sangan of the BotFF, allowing you to set a Firedance spell card from your deck onto the field once he gets removed. Hawk also has this effect except for one difference; Raven’s effect works if he gets removed by either you or your opponent, while Hawk needs to be removed by your opponent for him to search a card. With 1800 defense, Raven can also hold off on his own against lower attack point monsters. His second effect also protects your Firedance cards from being destroyed by cards like heavy storm or MST. He is a much needed card seeing how you can defend yourself and pull out a spell card that you might need to get ahead or win.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Hawk
Effect :
When this card is destroyed by your opponent's card (either by battle or by card effect): You can choose 1 "Firedance" Spell Card from your Deck and Set it in your Spell & Trap Card Zone. While a "Firedance" Spell or Trap Card is face-up on the field, all "Fire Fist" monsters you control gain 500 ATK and DEF.
Hawk is the Fire Fist’s second primarily used card to search for Firedance spells, he can use his effect once he is removed from the field by your opponent’s doing. Like Raven, his effect limits him to only setting down a spell card, not a trap. His second effect grants 500 attack and defense to every Fire Fist monster on the field if there is a Firedance card activated (Which there usually is). This is a great ability if you have him in defense mode, because with 2000 defense he won’t be going anywhere soon and your monsters will get a boost.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Chicken
Effect :
When this card is Special Summoned by an "Fire Fist" monster: You can add 1 "Fire Fist" monster from your Deck to the hand. This effect of "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Chicken" can only be activated once per turn. Once per turn: You can send 1 face-up "Firedance" Spell/Trap Card you control to the Graveyard; select 1 "Firedance" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck and Set it under your control.
Chicken is a card you must have in your deck, especially if you plan on using the Synchro monster. He pulls out another monster from your deck when special summoned by a Fire Fist effect, which is fairly easy in this deck. Saint, Dragon, and Horse can do it. His second effect is also great, since it lets you trade a Firedance card for another. This allows you to pull out whatever Firedance card you need for your situation by trading in your current one. He is also level 3, so he can be tuned for Horse.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Monkey
Effect :
Once per turn, when this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: You can Set 1 "Firedance" Spell Card from your Deck. Once per turn: You can send 1 "Firedance" Spell/Trap Card you control to the Graveyard to target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy that target.
Monkey is a must have in a BotFF Deck. He is one of the Fire Fist twins (as I like to call it.) He is your walking, breathing, and attacking MST. His effect allows him to destroy one spell/trap card on the field as long as you send one Firedance card to the grave. If he destroys one monster, he can set one Firedance card from your deck to the field. Probably the second best effect for the Fire Fist monsters in my opinion, since he can really make things safe for you.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Bear
Effect :
Once per turn, when this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent: You can set 1 "Firedance" Spell Card from your Deck. Once per turn: You can send 1 "Firedance" Spell/Trap card you control to the Graveyard to target 1 monster on the field; destroy that target.
Bear is the most important Fire Fist to me. He is the other half to Monkey, and the other twin. Bear’s effect allows him to destroy one monster on the field by sending a Firedance card to the grave. He has an amazing effect and is an amazing monster. Being able to destroy a monster on the field for the price of a Firedance card is the best effect in my opinion. His second effect allows you to search for a Firedance spell card if he deals battle damage to your opponent.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Snake
Effect :
Once per turn, if a "Firedance" Spell/Trap Card is sent to the Graveyard: You can set 1 "Firedance" Trap Card from your Deck. Once per turn: You can send 2 face-up "Firedance" Spell/Trap Cards you control to the Graveyard; draw 1 card(s).
Snake is a good card to use in conjunction with Monkey, Bear, and Dragon’s effects. He can search for Firedance trap cards when there is a Firedance card sent from the field to the grave, which is a great effect. His own effect lets him use his searcher effect, because he can send 2 Firedance cards to the grave to draw 1 card. He searches, and he lets you draw for the price of 2 Firedance cards. Snake is a good monster to have in your deck.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Dragon
Effect :
Once per turn, if a "Firedance" Spell/Trap Card is activated: You can Set 1 "Firedance" Trap Card from your Deck. Once per turn: You can send 2 "Firedance" Spell/Trap cards you control to the Graveyard to target 1 "Fire Fist" monster in your Graveyard, except "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Dragon"; Special Summon that target.
Dragon is a card that is best used either early on or later depending on the duel. Every time a Firedance card is activated, Dragon can use his effect to set a Firedance trap from your deck. This is where he gets amazing though, coming in at third most important Fire Fist for me; Dragon can special summon a Fire Fist monster from the grave by sending 2 Firedance cards to the grave. Yes, that is correct, he is a breathing Monster Reborn. Another must needed addition to a BotFF deck.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Swallow
Effect :
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by sending 3 face-up "Firedance" Spell/Trap Cards you control to the Graveyard. When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can select 1 "Firedance" Trap Card from your Deck and Set it under your control. This effect of "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Swallow" can only be activated once per turn. Beast-Warrior-Type monsters you control cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects.
Swallow isn't a card that is absolutely needed in a Fire Fist deck, but still good to have. He isn't hard to summon although, since sending 3 to the grave isn't a hard thing to do. You can always just tribute summon as well. Both of his effects are nice, as he is the third Fire Fist monster that can set a trap card instead of spell, and as long as he is on the field your Fire Fist monsters cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects.
Synchro Monsters
Frontier Noble of the Fire Fist - Horse
Effect :
1 FIRE Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monster
When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 FIRE monster from your Deck. During the turn this card is Synchro Summoned, you cannot Special Summon other Level 5 or higher monsters.
When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 FIRE monster from your Deck. During the turn this card is Synchro Summoned, you cannot Special Summon other Level 5 or higher monsters.
Horse is the only Fire Fist Synchro Monster, he comes in with 2200 attack and defense. He is easy to summon, all the Firedance boosts apply to him as well so he can be a pretty good beatstick. His effect lets you set up for another synchro summon next turn. With the release of Chicken, you can special summon Chicken onto the field to bring another Fire Fist monster to your hand via Chicken's effect. This is extremely useful especially if you haven't drawn a Tenki, or if you have run out and were looking for a monster. He is the only synchro monster you can summon with Saint except for Sirius the Blue Wolf Star.
XYZ Monsters
Divine King of the Fire Fist - Lion
Effect :
2 Level 3 FIRE Monsters
Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to target 1 FIRE monster in your Graveyard; add that target to your hand, but you cannot Normal or Special Summon a monster with that target's name this turn.
Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to target 1 FIRE monster in your Graveyard; add that target to your hand, but you cannot Normal or Special Summon a monster with that target's name this turn.
Lion is the Fire Fist's rank 3 XYZ monster, he is fairly easy to summon and has a nice effect to boot. He is a walking monster reincarnation without the discard. Although you can't summon that monster this turn, it does let you set up for next turn. It really helps if you needed to bring a monster back from the grave somehow, but couldn't use monster reborn or Dragon.
Fierce Leader of the Fire Fist - Tiger
Effect :
2 Level 4 Beast-Warrior-Type monsters
When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can Set 1 "Firedance" Spell or Trap card from your Deck. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; negate the effects of all face-up monsters currently on the field, except Beast-Warrior-Type monsters, until the end of your opponent's next turn. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can send 3 "Firedance" Spell/Trap cards you control to the Graveyard; Special Summon 2 Level 4 Beast-Warrior-Type monsters with the same ATK from your Deck in face-up Defense Position.
When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can Set 1 "Firedance" Spell or Trap card from your Deck. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; negate the effects of all face-up monsters currently on the field, except Beast-Warrior-Type monsters, until the end of your opponent's next turn. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can send 3 "Firedance" Spell/Trap cards you control to the Graveyard; Special Summon 2 Level 4 Beast-Warrior-Type monsters with the same ATK from your Deck in face-up Defense Position.
Tiger is a magnificent monster, his effects are absolutely magnificent. When he is summoned, you get to set a Firedance card of any kind. When he detaches, he negates all monster effects except for Beast-Warriors until the end of your OPPONENT's next turn. This deals with pesky monsters like Wind-Up Zenmaines and company very very easily. His effects don't even stop there, when he is destroyed, if you control 3 Firedance cards you can send them to the grave to special summon 2 Fire Fist monsters with the same attack. This is a great effect considering the pairs of Fire Fist monsters with the same attack. Raven/Hawk, Monkey/Bear, and Snake/Dragon. If you'd like, you can even bring back 2 of the same monsters. Easily an amazing monster.
So now we've covered the Fire Fist monsters. A pretty good bunch of monsters with really nice effects, lethal as well. The synergy between the monsters is incredible, but we'll talk more about that in Strategy. Time to move onto spells/traps.
SPELLS/TRAPS
All Firedance cards are continuous, and give an ATK boost to your monsters. Spells give 100, and traps give 300. This usually lets you have your Fire Fist monsters with 2k ATK at least, so taking them down will not be that easy.
Firedance - Tenki
Effect :
When this card is activated: You can add 1 Level 4 or lower Beast-Warrior-Type monster from your Deck to your hand. All Beast-Warrior-Type monsters you control gain 100 ATK. You can only activate 1 "Firedance - Tenki" per turn.
Tenki is the Fire Fist monster searching spell. You can bring any Fire Fist monster from your deck to your hand with this card with the exception of Swallow since he is level 5. This is extremely important because you can bring the monster and backrow killers, Monkey and Bear to your hand. Also since you have 3 of these you can pick and choose what Fire Fist you need at the time of the spell activation.
Firedance - Tensu
Effect :
Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can Normal Summon 1 Beast-Warrior-Type monster in addition to your Normal Summon or Set. All Beast-Warrior-Type monsters you control gain 100 ATK.
Tensu is your swarming card, it allows you to normal summon one more Fire Fist monster during your turn. With this, you can XYZ, or Synchro summon quite easily. It lets you build monster presence and it is a continuous effect so you can pick and choose when to do it.
Firedance - Tenken
Effect :
Activate only during a Main Phase 1. When this card is activated: Target 1 Beast-Warrior-Type monster you control; during this Main Phase, that target's effects on the field are negated, and it is unaffected by card effects, except this card. Beast-Warrior-Type monsters you control gain 300 ATK.
This is the card that will save your Fire Fist monsters from effects from your opponents. Pretend they use a dark hole, or mind control; with this card you can save your monster from destruction or from being used.(At least during Main Phase 1) Very useful card, it also gives your monster a 300 attack bonus.
Firedance - Tensen
Effect :
When this card is activated: Target 1 face-up Beast-Warrior-Type monster you control; it gains 700 ATK until the End Phase. While this card is face-up on the field, Beast-Warrior-Type monsters you control gain 300 ATK.
This is your attack power up card, it gives your monster a total of 1000 more attack, 300 of which stays as long as the card is on the field. You can use it to destroy a monster on your turn, or your opponent's turn after they attack. Useful for saving your cards during battle, because they don't start out with much attack.
Extreme Firedance - Seito
Effect :
Banish 7 "Firedance" Spell/Trap cards from your Graveyard; Special Summon as many "Fire Fist" monsters from your Graveyard as possible, and if you do, Set "Firedance" Spell/Trap cards from your Deck, except "Extreme Firedance - Seito", up to the number of monsters Special Summoned by this effect.
This is your end all card, you can probably fire this baby at least once during a medium to long lasting duel. I say once because not everyone runs all Firedance cards at 3. It is the Fire Fist version of the Six Samurai card Backs to the Wall, without the life point cost. It also lets you set Firedance cards to the amount of monsters brought back by this effect. Awesome, right? You'll fill up your field, and your backrow all at the same time. A great, useful card.
Strategy/KeyCards
So I'm sure you have a pretty good picture of how a Fire Fist deck should run; Swarming the field with constant backrow, increasing your monsters' attack with the Firedance cards, and using their effects to maintain your field presence, while getting rid of your opponent's. I'm going to point out a couple of key cards that you should focus on using to do all of this within the cards I just mentioned.
BotFF:
Bear
Monkey
Dragon
Tiger
Firedance - Tenki
Firedance - Tensu
Firedance - Tensen
^ These are the cards I consider the most important in a Fire Fist deck.
-Bear lets you get rid of a monster by giving a small cost, so big beat sticks are not a problem for you.
-Monkey lets you eliminate your enemy's backrow, giving you a safe opportunity to attack, or summon.
-Dragon lets you bring back your monsters from the grave very easily, and when teamed up with Snake you can bring your traps to the field very quickly.
-Tiger lets you negate your opponent's effects, because it is highly unlikely that they are also running beast warriors. He also brings another spell/trap to the field when he is summoned.
-Tenki is a life saver, because you can choose what Fire Fist monster best matches your situation when you use this card. If there is a high beat stick, then Bear. If you're afraid of backrow, then use Monkey. If you need to bring back a monster, then use Dragon.
-Tensu is your field swarming card, allowing you to XYZ and Synchro properly.
-Tensen is your main power up, allowing you to give your Fire Fist monsters enough attack to fight against your opponent's. Keeping them alive, and making them stronger for any situation is what this card does.
Fire Fist strategy is very simple, establish field presence as fast as you can with a safe backrow. Use your effects of sending Firedance cards to the grave to get rid of your opponent's cards, and letting you bring out more Firedance cards at the same time. Here are a couple combos you can use to your advantage.
Bear & Monkey:
Together, these two make quite the pair. I call these the twins because one gets rid of monsters, while the other gets rid of backrow. They both have the same attack, and a similar searching effect. Let Monkey destroy the monster to search, and attack with Bear when it is all clear to search within the same turn. This way you get 2 Firedance spells back on the field after using their effects.
Dragon & Snake:
These two have effects that completely compliment each other. Summon Dragon first, and then follow up with Tensu, which allows you to summon Snake. Dragon's effect lets you bring out a trap card when you activate Tensu, and if you have Snake out you can send the trap(if you don't need it, you can just wait till next turn) and the spell to draw a card. If you wait till next turn to activate the trap, Dragon gets to use his effect again which lets you bring out another trap, and then Snake lets you draw a card which lets you set yet ANOTHER trap, leaving you back at 2 Firedance cards in your backrow.
Saint & Chicken or Raven:
Saint + Chicken: These two are the best combo to synchro, since Saint can special summon Chicken from the grave, and Chicken's effect would activate bringing a Fire Fist monster from your deck to your hand.
Saint + Raven: You would have to get them both on the field, but if manage to synchro these two you would get a Firedance card from your deck due to Raven's effect.
OTHER USEFUL CARDS
All I've talked about so far was purely just Fire Fist cards. There are however a ton of cards that can easily fit well within a Fire Fist deck.
The Beast King cards:
These cards work perfectly with a Fire Fist deck, allow me to explain.
Enthusiastic Beast King Bearman
Effect :
You can Normal Summon this card without a Tribute. If you do, its original ATK becomes 1300. Once per turn: You can have all Level 4 Beast-Warrior-Type monsters you control become Level 8 until the End Phase. This card cannot be used as Xyz Material, except for the Xyz Summon of a FIRE Warrior-Type monster.
This card is great for a BotFF deck, considering all the Fire Fist cards are beast-warriors. The BK's have a rank 8 XYZ monster, so this is the card that is going to let you pull that out.
Enthusiastic Beastman Wolfberk
Effect :
You can target 1 Level 4 FIRE Beast-Warrior-Type monster in your Graveyard: Special Summon it in face-up Defense Position, but its effects on the field are negated. The effect of "Enthusiastic Beastman Wolfberk" can only be activated once per turn.
Just like Dragon, Wolfberk is a walking monster reborn. Though effects may be negated, you can still XYZ easily, or if you already have Bearman on the field already you can use Bearman's effect for rank 8 XYZ.
Enthusiastic Coaching King Giant Trainer
Effect :
You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; draw 1 card and reveal it, and if it is a monster, inflict 800 damage to your opponent. During the turn this effect is activated, you cannot enter your Battle Phase. The effect of "Enthusiastic Coaching King Giantrainer" can only be activated up to thrice per turn.
This big guy here is a big plus. With 2800 attack, he isn't going anywhere unless your opponent has something great on the field. His effect is where he shows his true worth though. By detaching 1 XYZ material, you get to draw 1 card from your deck. Not bad right? Well it gets better, because you can activate this effect up to 3 times per turn, letting you draw 3 cards. That isn't even the end, because for every monster card you draw, you deal 800 damage to your opponent. You cannot activate your battle phase during the turn you activate his effect though, so it's a good idea to just use all 3 materials. You also have to reveal your cards to your opponent, but that's a small price to pay for drawing 3 cards.
Here is a list of some that you should look into that also work well BotFF.
Pyrorex the Elemental Lord
Beast King Barbaros
Emergency Provisions
Double Cyclone
Magic Planter
Horn of the Phantom Beast
Starlight Road
Sirius the Blue Wolf Star
Utopia
Gagaga Gunman
Lavalval Chain
Well there you have it, an in-depth look at the brand new Archetype Fire Fist.
I hope you liked it as much as I liked writing it, if you have any comments or questions please post and I'll try to get to them as quick as I can.
