An Introduction to Overlay Universe
Overlay Universe is the 44th OCG structure deck. It introduces new support to archetypes released during the YuGiOh Zexal era. This support focuses around Yuma and his Utopia, Number, and Rank-Up cards. In the anime, Yuma's strategies focused around OTKs, summoning powerful XYZs and Ranking up his XYZ monsters. In Overlay Universe, these themes and strategies are highlighted and given more support so you can execute them more efficiently than ever. For today's article, we'll review all the new cards from Overlay Universe and see what works and what's just a gimmick.
Video Guide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kte8rk9dyao&ab_channel=BlueRainTCG
New Cards
Number 99: Utopia Dragner
Number 99: Utopia Dragner is the Utopia's new ace monster. It's a Rank 12 XYZ with a Quick effect to summon a Number monster from your Extra Deck. It's also one of two Number 99s (the other being Number 99: Utopic Dragon).
Dragner is a Rank 12 XYZ that is mostly summoned through the effect of Number 39: Utopia Double. Alternatively, you can also summon Dragner using the new Rank-Up-Magic and a variety of other less likely methods. Dragner's main highlight is its effect to summon Number monsters. Because you can choose any Number between 1 to 100, you have a wide variety of options to choose from. This gives Dragner a lot of flexibility as you can summon a monster based on the current game-state.
When going 1st, Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy is a solid option that provides a spell negate and a form of battle protection. If you're trying to OTK and have either Zexal Field active or Hope Force in the GY, Number 97: Draglubion into Number 100: Numeron Dragon is a powerful option. This is because Numeron Dragon gains ATK equal to the combined Ranks on the field and with 21000 ATK, you'll have more than enough firepower to wipe out your opponent's LP.
Overall, Dragner is a great new piece of Utopia support that gives the deck a lot of extra utility. It semi-replaces the role of Number S0: Utopic Zexal and is a great card both going 1st and 2nd. It's also a very fun card since there are so many cards you can summon. While most of the options aren't too out of hand, it does raise the question of how good Dragner would be if something like Number 16: Shock Master came back.
ZS - Utopic Sage
ZS - Utopic Sage is a Rank 4 XYZ that tutors a ZW or ZS monster out of your deck. It also has the same Type, Attribute, and Rank as Utopia with inversed stats.
Utopic Sage's value comes from its effect to summon ZS - Armed Sage and ZS - Ascended Sage. This increases the consistency of the deck as both sages help you advance your game-state. Ascended Sage in particular is powerful because it can search a Rank-Up-Magic. This is important because Rank-Up-Magics are a big part in how you develop your monsters. One option is the new Rank-Up-Magic which is good for summoning Dragner and having it in your GY. Another option is Rank-Up-Magic Zexal Force to rank up Utopic Sage into Leo Utopia Ray.
Alternatively, you can also choose to summon a ZW monster instead. One solid choice is ZW - Pegasus Twin Saber which provides a negate while it's equipped. Two other notable options are Lightning Blade and Tornado Bringer which provide protection effects while equipped. ZW monsters also provide extra ATK to the equipped target which help in beating over problematic monsters or going for game.
Overall, Utopic Sage is another XYZ with a lot of utility. It gives you access to your ZS monsters which are essential starters and if you already have them, it can get you your ZW monsters instead. Utopic Sage's 2nd effect is also nice as it serves as a shield for your Dragner or other applicable monsters. This helps cement your board even further and gives an extra layer of protection on top of what you already have.
Utopic Astral Hope
Utopic Astral Hope is a Level 4 WARRIOR that's an extender and searcher for the Zexal archetypes. It features 2 effects that are useful in both building and cementing your field.
Hope's 1st effect lets you special summon it from the hand if there's an XYZ on the field. Since you're playing Hope in a Zexal deck, it should be very common to have an XYZ on the field. This effect also applies to your opponent's XYZ which can be useful if they have an XYZ on the field.
Hope's 2nd effect lets you send 1 other card from your hand or field to the GY to search 1 XYZ, Onomat, Zexal, or Number S/T. This effect adds a lot of consistency since it searches a lot of cards you couldn't search before. Options range from disruptions such as XYZ Import and Numbers Protect to consistency cards like Onomatopickup and Zexal Construction. Furthermore, Hope's cost can be payed by cards you'd naturally want in the GY such as Dodododwarf Gogogoglove and Zexal Force.
Overall, Hope is another card with a ton of utility. It is comparable to what Magicians' Souls is for Dark Magician. The only thing that could make it better if it was easier to access. While Hope can search for everything, there aren't too many cards that can search for Hope. Nonetheless, it's a great card and a very welcomed piece of Zexal support.
Hyper-Rank-Up-Magic Hope Force
Hyper-Rank-Up-Magic Hope Force is the new Rank-Up spell in Overlay Universe. It's one of the main ways to summon Dragner and also has a nifty effect in the GY.
Hope Force is a rank up spell that can summon Dragner, Utopia Kaiser, Utopic Dragon, and Utopic Dark Infinity. While its main summon will be Dragner, it can also summon Kaiser with 4+ materials. This lets Kaiser fill your board with monsters.
Hope Force also has a GY effect to attach itself as material to a XYZ monster summoned by a Rank 10+ Utopia or Utopic XYZ monster. This effect synergizes well with Dragner since it gives the monster Dragner summons a material. This is useful on the majority of Number monsters since they need a material to activate their effects. This effect can also work well with Utopic Dragon. If Utopic Dragon summons Utopia, Hope Force can attach itself to it giving you 2 materials for Utopia the Lightning.
Hope Force is arguably the best Rank-Up Spell for an Utopia deck. It's easy to search and also synergizes with 3/4 of the monsters it can summon. Overall, the card is just made to work with Dragner and that makes it great to have.
Zexal Field
Zexal Field is a Field Spell for XYZ monsters and their support cards. It has 3 effects which all look great on paper but may not perform as well as they look.
Zexal Field's 1st effect makes your opponent unable to respond to the activation and effects of cards that target an XYZ you control. This effect ensures your Rank-Up spells go through along with any other effects that you would target your XYZs with. One card that can abuse this is XYZ Import which can steal your opponent's monster without contest.
Zexal Field's 2nd effect attaches a XYZ from your extra deck as material to an XYZ you summon. This effect is easy to trigger since you're always summoning XYZ monsters. This effect also works well with Dragner to give any XYZ it summons a material. You can also utilize this combo to summon Chaos Numbers with their proper materials without going through the "proper" summoning method. This gives you access to some powerful monsters that don't often see play due to their troublesome summoning methods.
Zexal Field's last effect is a gimmicky way to trigger Shining Draw. While this effect isn't bad, the main problem comes from needing to play Shining Draw in the 1st place. This is problematic because Shining Draw is dead if you open with it or drawn outside of your normal draw. The other issue is whether or not triggering this effect is even good. While Shining Draw is a powerful card, it's often more of a liability than an asset.
Overall, Zexal Field is an okay field spell that's good when it's good and bad when it's bad. While the 1st and 2nd effect is nice, it's rare to find moments where they'll be meaningful outside of specific interactions.
Contract of Destiny
Contract of Destiny is a Continuous Trap with an effect to cheat out a LIGHT Utopia/Utopic XYZ. It also requires you to play The Door of Destiny which sounds like a huge red flag.
Contract is a card with a lot of problems. Firstly, it's a trap which means it takes time to setup. This conflicts with the idea of Utopia since it's an archetype that prefers to play fast. Secondly, it's a reactive card that requires your opponent to summon from the Extra Deck in order to cheat out your monster. This can be problematic because this will almost always trigger on your opponent's turn. Furthermore, in order to activate this effect, a card must be destroyed while this card is active. Another issue is that Contract requires you to play The Door of Destiny. I won't go into this too much but just know you don't want to play this card.
In the modern meta, traps are generally played for their high impact or oppressive effects. The final problem with Contract is even if it manages to not have any of the issues previously mentioned, it doesn't do enough. Summoning a Utopia/Utopic XYZ is nice but since it'll almost always happen on the opponent's turn, the effect becomes far less appealing. This can be good with Number F0: Utopic Future Dragon but all the other problems make Contract not worth playing.
Numbers Protect
Numbers Protect is a Counter Trap that is similar to Salamangreat Roar for the Number archetype. It provdes an omni-negate if you control a Number XYZ and it can reset itself if a Number XYZ is destroyed by battle or card effect.
Numbers Protect is good for many reasons. It helps cement your field while also protecting you from board breaking cards. This is strong against cards like Dark Ruler No More, Evenly Matched, and Forbidden Droplets (if they didn't send a Trap). This is great for the new Utopia deck since they like spamming the board but previously didn't have a solution to these board breaking cards. With the release of Numbers Protect, Utopia now has a searchable tool to counter this problem.
Overall, Numbers Protect is a card that provides exactly what the Zexal archetypes need. The only thing I dislike about Numbers Protect is its resetting conditions. It would have been perfect if it reset on the summon of a Number XYZ monster but then it might have been too strong and abusable. Nonetheless, it's a great card and a great tool for Zexal.
Overall Thoughts
In review, Overlay Universe is a Structure Deck that did a lot for the Zexal archetypes. It promotes creativity, increases consistency, and provides tools to deal with modern meta threats all while retaining Utopia's playstyle. The quality of the support is great, with most cards being playable. I also like how the deck has a lot of options and flexibility. An example of this is the combo between Dragner and Zexal Field giving you access to forgotten territory which is still widely unexplored.
Overall, Overlay Universe seems like a huge success in terms of what it brought to Zexal. It gave Utopia new lines of play going 1st while retaining its glorified OTK elements going 2nd. It also provides indirect support to archetypes like Galaxy-Eyes, Numeron, Gimmick Puppets, and etc. With all this new support along with Astral Kuriboh, I'm excited to see how Zexal would perform in the upcoming OCG meta.
