ACSCR: Number 198: Temple of the Sun

Do you know what is worse than a bad card from the Anime that gets adapted into the TCG? A bad Card from the Anime, that was not even featured in the Anime. I know this sounds very weird, but it is the best Way to describe “Temple of the Sun”.

The Card was released 2010 in Absolute Powerforce, which was not the best Set in the History of the Game, but had a few very good Cards like “Battle Fader”, “Card of Consonance”, “Gale Dogra” and first and foremost “Fiendish Chain”.

Cards that were wildly played, among many different formats. “Temple of the Sun” however, is not one of these good cards, it is on the flipside laughably bad. All it does is give all Monsters that were Special Summoned from the Graveyard 300 ATK. So not only is the Attack Boost it gives absolutely miniscule and easily outclassed by many, many other cards, but it also requires you to do something to get the Boost in the First Place, namely Summon a Monster from the Graveyard. The Fact that it requires an Action to give only such a small Boost and does absolutely nothing else, is hilarious and sad at the same time. Even Decks that Special Summon a lot from the Graveyard like Zombies, which already have a better Attack boosting card with “Pyramid of Wonders”, have no incentive to use “Temple of the Sun” in any capacity.

Also not super great, but leagues better than the Temple

 But some of you, that did not know this card before, could wonder what Archetype or Series this Card belongs to, because it does not mention any specifics and is quite generic. But it actually belongs to the “Inca” Series of Cards, which were played by Rex Godwin, the final Antagonist of the second Season of 5Ds, in a whole total of one Duel. It revolves around Cards that represent Inca Mythology and its actually about Special Summoning from the Graveyard, so “Temple of the Sun” technically supports the Theme. But it’s “Support” is so underwhelming, that you can’t even truthfully call it that. And the Worst thing is, this Card was not even in the Anime. If it were a Card that was played in the Anime and either got nerfed or had this Effect in the Anime, because of a specific interaction that happened in the Duel, I maybe could tolerate it. But no, this Card was made specifically to give further support to the Theme. And thinking of this, it is a darn shame it turned out so horrible, because the Deck has a lot of Potential.

 It revolves around the Level 8 Synchro Dragon Monster “Sun Dragon Inti” and the Level 6 Synchro Dragon Monster “Moon Dragon Quilla”, who each Special Summon the other one from the Graveyard if they are destroyed and also have an Effect when they are Attacked. But of these, only “Inti’s” is good, because he inflicts Burn Damage, while “Quilla” only gives you Life Points, which is much worse and not really worth it. But the Important Part is that these two always resurrect themselves, “Quilla” even does it on the Spot, while you must wait one turn to revive itself with “Inti’s” Effect.

These Cards are quite good, but they have Downsides, mainly that they need a specific tuner, in “Intis” Case “Fire Ant Ascator” and in “Quillas” Case “Supay”, which I think has a really funny Name. To get this Cards and a Level 5 Tuner on the field is not always easy, but there was some Support to help this Strategy. In “Legendary Duellists: Immortal Destiny”, one of the Duellists who got new Support was Rex Goodwin. He got “Ascator, Dawnwalker” and “Supay, Duskwalker”, two Level 5 Monsters that can Special Summon their corresponding Tuner and work as One-Card “Inti” or “Quilla”.

Better consistency and beautiful Artwork, that's how you make good Legacy Support

That helps the Deck a lot, but it has still many Problems and it didn’t helped, that the other three Rex Goodwin Cards in the Set had nothing to do with “Inca” and were instead Support for “Earthbound Immortals” of all Things, which are in my Opinion very boring and could have easily been replaced with more interesting Inca support. And in Light that “Temple of the Sun” is so bad and boring, I thought I will design three new Support Cards for the “Inca” s Series, that could have been in “Legendary Duelists: Immortal Destiny”, and make them all Continuous Spell Cards, so this Article is not only me saying “It’s bad, don’t play it” to “Temple of the Sun”.

 I went with one card that supports the Main Deck and two that Support one of the Dragons each, so every part of the strategy gets new material. I think we should begin with the Card for the Main Deck. The Card is Called “Altar of the Twin Dragongods” and has the following effect:

“When this Card is activated: You can add one Level 5 EARTH Spellcaster monster from your Deck to your Hand. You can only activate one Card with this Cards Name per Turn. Once per Turn: You can destroy one face-up EARTH monster on your side of the field; destroy one card your opponent controls. If this Card is sent from the Spell & Trap Zone to the GY: You can Special Summon one “Supay” or “Fire Ant Ascator” from your Graveyard in Defense Position.”

So, this Card would boost the Consistency of the Deck a lot, by allowing you to add either one of the “Walker” Cards from the Deck to your Hand, so that you have easy access to the Synchros. And if you ask, the only other things this Card could Fetch from the Deck are three “OCG” only Normal Monsters from 1999 and “Altergeist Kunquery”. So, you also could play this Card in Altergeist to search “Altergeist Kunquery”, but I think no one would, because they have better Search Options in “Altergeist Meluseek” and “Personal Spoofing”.

Or you could play this in Inca, if you want to, I'm not one to judge.

The Second Effect provides some much-needed Spot Removal and can trigger most of your monsters effects to help you further swarm the Field swarm the Field. You can trigger the Effect of “Supay” to Special Summon an “Oracle of the Sun” from your Deck or destroy the Oracle to search one of your Tuners. It makes the Deck less reliable on your Opponent and gives you free Advantage. I also designed the destruction of your monster as a cost, so you would at least get the floating effects, if the card gets negated. On top is a Floating Effect, that resurrects your Tuners and can help you with Comeback Plays. I think this Card would help the Deck significantly, so that its Synchro Engine can work more efficiently.

The Cards I designed for the Dragons are called “Temple of the Sun Dragon” and “Temple of the Moon Dragon”.

“Temple of the Sun Dragon”:

“Every “Sun Dragon Inti” you control cannot be targeted by, or destroyed by, your opponent’s card effects. If “Sun Dragon Inti” you control is destroyed by Battle: Special Summon 1 “Fire Ant Ascator” from your Graveyard. If “Sun Dragon Inti” is Special Summoned from your Graveyard: You can Draw one Card. You can only activate this Effect of “Temple of the Sun Dragon” once per Turn.”

“Temple of the Moon Dragon”:

“Every “Moon Dragon Quilla” you control cannot be destroyed by Battle. If “Moon Dragon Quilla” you control is destroyed by a Card Effect: Special Summon one “Supay” from your Graveyard. If “Moon Dragon Quilla” is Special Summoned from your Graveyard: You can destroy one Card your opponent controls. You can only activate this Effect of “Temple of the Moon Dragon” once per Turn.”

So, these two Cards give the Dragons more Protection. “Sun Dragon Inti” wants to be attacked, so it can burn the Opponent, therefore “Temple of the Sun Dragon” prevents it from being targeted or destroyed by Card Effects and gives it much needed longevity. To get rid of it, your Opponent either has to use non targeting, non-Destruction Removal (which is still pretty rare) or kill it by Battle, in which Case it will burn him for a significant amount. Also, if he is destroyed this way, he revives “Ascator” for further Protection or Synchro Plays during your next turn, alas this could be a little slow. At last he gains you more advantage when you Summon him from the Graveyard by “Quilla” or even some other effect like “Monster Reborn”, allowing you to draw one Card to extent your Plays or keep you in the game in the long run. But I made it a Hard Once Per Turn, so it could not be looped.

“Temple of the Moon Dragon” ignores “Quilla’s” underwhelming Battle Effect and forces the Opponent to get rid of it with other means. It also mimics the two other Effects of “Temple of the Sun Dragon”, but Special Summons Supay when the opponent destroys it and allows you to pop a Card your Opponent controls, which gives you more Spot Removal, which is what “Incas” really need more of, because they mostly relay on destroying your opponent’s monster by battle with your Dragons.

All in all, this new Support would make Inca an okay going Second Deck, with okay Consistency, very good Comeback Ability and some good Protection. Your Opponent will have a hard Time getting rid of your two well protected, ever rejuvenating Dragons. The Deck would not be broken, but it would at least be more playable then now and you had no need to even consider running gutter-trash like “Temple of the Sun” in your Deck.