Green in Set 1: Call of the Core
Prior to the release of Set 2: Rise of Angels, Green was a regular giant in the competitive format. It focused heavily on beatdown and was one of the decks to beat in large events. Despite its popularity, Green had several flaws, especially against a deck that was able to remove cores from opposing spirits. However, that flaw has been rectified and Green has been strengthened, thanks to several cards in Set 2.

Improved Core Generation

The DarkFeather Yatagross contributed vastly to the increased core generation in Green. The ability to gain cores to your reserve equal to the amount of cores on him at the time he was destroyed is quite amazing. This ability is one of many that allowed Green to get the edge on Purple, its nemesis from Set 1: Call of the Core.

Further improving upon Green's core generation was the combo existing between DarkFeather Yatagross and Life Chain. Combining these cards allowed for massive core generation, giving Green the cores it needed to no longer worry about losing cores on its spirits. This combo made sure that there were certainly enough cores to go around. It also opened the door to playing expensive spells and rushing the field with spirits and leveling them up immediately.


Bathopper was one of the best things that could have happened to Green. Upon its release, Green immediately became a force to be dealt with in the early, mid, and late game. Bathopper provided the necessary core generation Green needed on your very first turn. It helped Green players to expand and quickly transition into playing bigger spirits and combos. It's battle points aren't too shabby either. It doesn't get much better than 4000 battle points on turn one.


High Speed Staple

Another contributing factor to Green's improvement was the addition of a low costing High Speed spirit, MachG. This spirit quickly became a staple in several competitive decks in the format. There is no reason to argue with a spirit who can surprise your opponent on their turn and costs so little to play. The other aspect of this card is that it was the perfect counter against any deck that had the ability to clear the field or cripple your field. MachG became a lifeline that was thrown overboard when your opponent made a big move, forcing you into a situation where you may have lost the game otherwise.


Parasite Theme

Set 2: Rise of Angels gave Green the addition of a new theme called "Parasite" which is a characteristic that many green spirit cards were printed with. The theme focuses on playing spirits out with the Parasite characteristic during the flash step and sacrificing Parasites in order to summon bigger spirits for free. The Parasite deck didn't make it far in competitive play due to the lack of reward for pulling off the combos. The other problem Parasite decks had was being forced to pay the cost of every Parasite you summon during the flash step with Soldier Ant's ability. That's not to say that the deck doesn't have potential. The Parasite deck could definitely be a force to be reckoned with in future sets. Unfortunately, it did not make the cut for competitive Green decks in the Set 2 meta.


Improved Beatdown Capability

Green also got a boost in the beatdown department with the addition of the low costing Caprihorn and X-Scissor. These two cards were essential in any Green beatdown deck. Caprihorn could reduce to a cost of 0 and had the ability to increase his battle points to astronomical amounts. This type of card can only prove useful in any beatdown deck.

X-Scissor helped in a different way. While he did have very high battle points and it cost little to get him there, he also sported an extremely nice effect that made him more than useful in a Green beatdown that runs the nexus Hermit Wise Tree. Most, if not all, Green beatdown decks ran Hermit Wise Tree and it was always a problem to place three cores on the nexus in order to achieve its refreshing ability. X-Scissor solved that problem by creating a beatstick in itself and using its effect to give Hermit Wise Tree those cores as well.


OldSage Trenton Increases Greens Speed

The OldSage Trenton was a card that Green had been dying to get for some time. While Green did sport some very high cost reductions, it didn't have the means to play a lot of high cost spirits in one turn. That all changed when OldSage Trenton hit the card pool. Cards like The Charger Blanboar, HungryTree, and DarkFeather Yatagross were now much more playable with OldSage Trenton in your deck since you no longer have to pay their costs. This created a much more stable and faster Green deck, especially when playing against another beatdown or rush deck.


Special Mention: Nature Forces
I want to give Nature Forces a special mention because I believe it was a good card from the second set that really didn't see much play because of the meta. Nature Forces gave Green decks a lot of possibilities in terms of how they want to use their cores. If you wanted to pay all your cores that turn and not worry about having enough battle power on your opponent's turn, then Nature Forces worked for that. It also worked to surprise the opponent by placing cores from your trash onto a spirit, leveling them up and thereby increasing their battle points higher than your opponent's attacking spirit.


Wrapping Up!
I was quite pleased with all the support that Green received from Set 2: Rise of Angels. Bandai did a good job with the additions to Green's card pool. Green received a new theme that can only expand as future sets are released. More core acceleration helped, especially when it is as useful as Life Chain, DarkFeather Yatagross, and Bathopper. Additional beatdown support from OldSage Trenton, X-Scissors, and Caprihorn gave Green what it needed needed to be able to continue pushing forward with its beatdown theme in order to stay in top tier contention. Overall, I'd say Green had a very good Set 2. Now, all we need is a playable draw card for Green and we'll be on our way to the top!

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