Raging Battle Preview - Blackwing - Qal'at of the Moonlight - Kalut the Moon Shadow

(He might not be the nicest looking Blackwing but he'll make your opponent think twice before attacking. Not that it matters anyways if you use him to boost and attack for game!)

If you've been on our forums recently, you'll notice all the hype that is building up there about the blackwings team.

There was an agreement among our team that the previous hype was mostly a bunch of hot air.
The previous hype was incorrect because blackwings didn't have enough support to stand as Tier one, when they were first released.

Now with the release of Raging battle though, we get a sharper set of tools and enough support to make any team a threat.

Today's preview has been long awaited by the staff, because of the power this single card gives to the blackwing's team. UniMetagame now introduces, Blackwing - Qal'at of the Moonlight.

Ignore the very hard to pronounce name so you can quickly read it's effect and understand what all this hype is about:

By sending this card from your hand to the Graveyard during the Damage Step when 1 face-up "Blackwing" monster you control battles, that monster gains 1400 ATK until the End Phase of that turn.

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Honest and Qal'at

The first thing that comes to most people's mind is Honest and it's understandable why that would be so.

Here are some of the similarities:

• 1) Neither monsters target, so all blackwings or lights are protected until the end phase.
  

• 2) Both cards are played in the Damage step and can be played right before Damage Calculation. When damage calculation hits though, both cards cannot be activated.

• 3) Both boosts last until the end phase of the turn.

Differences

• 1) 1400 attack increase, versus the attack of your opposing monster.

This isn't really a big problem because the vast majority of the time you'll only need about 1400 to beat most monsters.
Even Blackwing gale, with it's puny 1300 attack, does fine with Qal'at boosted to 2700.

• 2) Honest bounces from the field to the hand. This is something that's overlooked but becomes very useful in certain duels.

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The offensive 1-2 punch

Gale the whirlwind is powerful enough on his own.

• 1) He's a 3 star tuner; which is very versatile.
• 2) He permanently halves the attack of any monster on the opponent's field, once per turn.
• 3) He's a free summon if you have another blackwing on the field.

Well now with Qal'at he just became EVEN more versatile.

He can basically take down any monster in the game.

Summon him, half any monsters attack, declare an attack against them, and when the Damage step hits, Qal'at to make him a 2700.

Most bothersome monsters you'll be dealing with will be 2400. With this one-two punch you'll be dealing 1500 damage. Dark Strike fighter burns for 1400 and is a $24 card. While this may be no dark strike fighter, it is a tuner, with a potential free summon, that can take down nearly any monster in the game right now.

In short, this 1-2 punch is very deadly and it only requires 2 cards to complete.


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Defense

The defensive capabilities are obvious. Blackwings love to rush and their main problem was holding the fort once their rush was finished.

Now with Qal'at you can rest a bit easier knowing that they won't take over your field with strength alone.

Not only that but you'll take a good chunk of their life points away too, when they attack; opening them up for another chunk when it's your turn again.

Qal'at is very useful in filling those voids that were left after blackwings were first released.


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Final thoughts

Qal'at is the first of many must play cards that are being released in Raging Battle. If you're going to be a future blackwing player than Qal'at is the strength you need to take down your competition.

While Qal'at may become the strongest new blackwing released, it definitely isn't the only one and there are others vying for that coveted title.

One thing is clear though, blackwings will become a real threat in the post-Raging Battle metagame. The only question left is if you'll be ready for it.

The Raging Battle sneak peak is on May 2nd-3rd; make sure to be prepared.