Every now and then, there is this one card that gets printed which players glance at and say: "This card is amazing, and it can benefit my deck(s) so much." The topic of today's article fits the description perfectly, turning the extra deck into a way of gaining advantage in card economy.
Seeing this card while going first can put you in a strong position to keep your opponent in check, while using it when going second helps break boards. It is nice to have such versatile cards, and I am not exaggerating when I say that is one of the—if not the—most powerful Rise of the Duelist addition we have at our disposal nowadays. It can accomplish so much on its own.
The Card and Its Search Targets
First let's break down the card. It is a normal spell that reads:
- Send 1 monster from your Extra Deck to the GY, then add 1 "Dogmatika" monster or "Fallen of Albaz" from your Deck or GY to your hand, that has ATK less than or equal to that sent monster in the GY, also, for the rest of this turn after this card resolves, you cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck. You can only activate 1 "Nadir Servant" per turn.
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There are two cards that are ideal search targets for Nadir Servant. The first is . This card acts as an additional plus one when summoned, as it can add a Dogmatika card from deck to hand: for example , which can send more extra deck monsters to the graveyard; or , which is a powerful beatstick that also acts as a hand trap that can special summon itself and negate the effect of an opponent's monster. What makes Nadir Servant such a powerful card is its ability to add back from graveyard instead of searching, allowing players to include a more compact Dogmatika engine in their deck. Sometimes this can mean one Ecclesia and one Fleurdelis only in addition to the playset of Nadir.
The second card is one that Ecclesia can search as well: . Punishment can destroy an opponent's face-up monster by sending an extra deck monster with a similar or higher attack to the graveyard. It is a very strong disruption card; however, it comes with a somewhat annoying restriction that stops its controller from accessing the extra deck until the end of their next turn. Strategies that do not utilize the extra deck much will not be bothered by the restriction. But those who play decks where the restriction has an impact should weigh the pros and cons before including it.
The More Important Context
However, the true power of Nadir Servant is not necessarily in what it searches. Instead, in my opinion, its true power lies in what it sends to graveyard from the extra deck. Let's talk about the most widely used extra deck targets for Nadir nowadays.
Titaniklad the Ash Dragon
During the end phase, in addition to whatever was added to the hand by Nadir Servant, can either special summon or add to hand (from deck) or any Dogmatika monster. So, in addition to what Ecclesia will get you, you end up going plus two from the activation of one card. As for Albaz, it seems Titaniklad might be quite useful in the future as the Albaz is getting a few archetypes based on it.
El Shaddoll Apkallone
Possibly the best target for , sent to the graveyard searches any Shaddoll card from deck or graveyard to hand, including the most powerful support card the deck has seen in a long time, . Schism—once activated at least a turn later—will banish Apkallone and any other dark or Shaddoll monster in the graveyard to fusion summon , which stops the opponnet's special summons in its tracks. Schism is of course even better if utilized in a Shaddoll deck with a mini-Dogmatika engine as there are more extra deck options to choose from. Schism by itself is also a removal card as it sends to the graveyard one of the opponent's monsters that has the same attribute as the fusion summoned Shaddoll monster.
Elder Entity N'tss
Who wouldn't love to destroy a card for free? does exactly that! Once it is sent to the graveyard, it can target and destroy any one card controlled by the opponent. It is simple yet a very effective minus one for your opponent just because you decided to search for something with Nadir Servant. Not a bad deal at all if you ask me!
Apart from the above, honorable mentions go to , , and .
In Conclusion
is an incredible card and is key for Dogmatika to see play as an engine. Currently it is most popular with Invoked, Shaddoll, and Eldlich in any combination of these strategies. However, that doesn't mean it cannot benefit other strategies. The Dogmatika engine taking up on average five to six slots, means it can fit almost any deck that has some space in the extra deck to benefit from Nadir.
Nadir reminds me of in a way. It is not a direct copy of Engage but similarly adds a card to hand, then has an additional effect that can result in either further gain for its controller or a loss of cards for the opponent. Nadir is a card that provides solutions whether by tutoring a searchable negate or a searchable anti-extra-deck wall that searches negates/destruction cards while dumping a card from the extra deck to gain more resources. At this point, one might begin to wonder if still deserves to be banned as its effect seems quite innocent in comparison.
However, I fear that the card's popularity and power will warrant a place on the Forbidden & Limited List. Far away in the OCG land, this card is limited already, yet the Dogmatika engine lives on with a bigger emphasis on to search Nadir Servant. It remains to be seen in which capacity the card will enter the list. Alas, it is inevitable, I'm afraid.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily Cardmarket.
