Introduction

Hey, guys. Today, we’ll be going over the top rarity cards in the Evangelion Collab that arrived on August 10th. I hope that my perspective helps you gain some insight into the potential applications of these cards if you somehow manage to roll one of them.

Though I’m not going to take a good look at any of the bottom rarity cards, here are some highlights of the machine:

• Shinji&Eva Unit-01 (4★)
• Shinji&Kaworu&Unit-13 (5★)
• Ceres Regalia, Mari (5★)
• Gendoh Ikari (5★, Orb Skin)

With that said, let’s examine these diamonds.

Shinji&Rei

The base form feels a bit underwhelming to me because it doesn’t differentiate itself from the growing pool of universally strong damage subs that utilize the triple set of Enhanced Combos awoken skills. Its most notable feature in terms of awoken skills is the double Resistance-Skill Bind (SBR) awakenings; only one other card (Toyotomi Hideyoshi ) possesses two SBR on top of three Enhanced Combos.

Shinji&Rei possesses the fastest combination of a spike plus a full rainbow board within an active skill. This point is further elaborated in Kaworu’s analysis, but in general, spikes have become much more relevant due to the novel “anti-burst” effect that debuted with the release of A6. The six-turn cooldown is also incredibly fast for a rainbow board change active in general (regardless of spike), with only Light Menoa , Theor , and Bride Raijin having equal or faster cooldowns.

As a leader, the base form fits the mold of tanky teams with 7.11x eHP (effective health multiplier) that became extremely popular with the release of Mega Awoken Dark Metatron . While the meta has moved on to more powerful leader skills with newer effects such as automatic follow-up attack, the base form can still be a reasonable transitory leader that requires the player to understand slightly more nuanced teambuilding, mainly because the leader skill lacks a recovery multiplier.

With three natural machine killers and the ability to take on machine killer latents, the evolved form has already carved out a niche as the strongest anti-machine damage option; only two other cards (Brigid and Karasu ) possess three machine killers but are unable to take on machine killer latents, while eleven other cards have two machine killers and can take on machine killer latents. Generally, the popularity of such specialized killer subs waxes and wanes with the prevalence of certain types in endgame dungeons; for example, the release of AA3 meant that devil killer subs and latents became immensely desirable during that time because the dungeon contained many devil-type spawns, including most of the bosses.

(Since the active is the same in both base and evo forms, I’ll skip talking about it to reduce redundancy.)

The evo form continues on the new trend of leader skills that debuted in the third run of Draconic Orchestra (specifically Base Phenom and Base Mariel ) that provides relatively low attack multipliers in exchange for unparalleled survivability derived from moderate health multipliers and extremely large damage reduction shields. Before, the highest amount of effective health for normal teams was 4x HP and a 43.75% shield, which was basically an 7.11x eHP (effective health multiplier). Now, the new normal maximum effective health is a combination of 2.25x HP and a 75% shield, which totals up to 9x eHP. However, 9x eHP compared to 7.11x eHP does not currently provide a distinct advantage except in dealing with Dark Kali while running Complete Annihilation Endless Corridors in solo play.

In JP, a new dungeon called Shura Realm has been released and is very lucrative to farm, with every clear providing a Extra Slot Latent , an AA4 Latent , and either a Rainbow King Metal Dragon (which feeds for 50M Monster EXP) or a Rich Gold Dragon (which feeds for 25M Monster EXP but can be sold for 50M Coins); in addition, an Ancient Tri-God Mask can appear rarely and replace the Extra Slot Latent. Though I haven’t studied the dungeon details (like at all), it appears that many of the enemy spawns are machine-type and that the boss, Menoa , hits with immense gravities that range far beyond 100%. The evo form is obviously a machine-killing monster and has a leader skill that can reasonably survive the dungeon’s massive hits. Therefore, the release of Shura Realm will probably catapult Shinji&Rei from a niche anti-machine tech option into a popular leader option for beating (and possibly farming) the lucrative rewards of the latest endgame dungeon.

The equip basically provides an effective 3 SB when utilizing the inherited active, making it quite powerful in this day and age of transform teams. Unfortunately, the equip does not provide any other useful awakenings (besides the half second provided by the TE), making this a slightly different version of Demon Blood Talismans (i.e. Lina = Inverse Equip). While the immediate full heal and the unmatchable orb status removal is nice, the combination of the two effects isn’t really very necessary for anything, though it does counter Hera-Nyx in AA3 quite conveniently. Think of this equip as an amazing skill boost supplement that is extremely relevant for transform leads.

Eva Unit-01

Currently, the most popular monocolor blob leader of any attribute in NA is unquestionably Yugi from YGO Collab, boasting a loaded package of poison damage null, a ridiculously high true bonus attack, immensely high multipliers (HP, ATK, RCV), the gargantuan strength of his personal damage awakenings (4 VDP!), and his multi-turn damage absorption void active that also serves as a generator of Dark Orbs. It may not be too far-fetched to say that the row-based leader archetype revolves around Yugi. Even before Yugi triumphantly arrived, automatic follow-up attack leaders such as Ina and Haohmaru had already revitalized the blob playstyle and were dominating the meta in the latter half of 2019 (AA3).

The unique aspect about these automatic follow-up attack leads is that they encouraged asymmetrical pairings; only one lead needs to provide the resolve-breaking effect because an increase in magnitude provides no additional value in most situations, which means that it is more advantageous to pair said lead with a different card that reduces the shortcomings of the other. Usually, true bonus attack leads prefer to pair with extra combo leads or big board leads to mitigate the naturally low combo counts of the blob playstyle. This reasoning was the basis for popular pairings in the past such as Ina/Phenom , Haohmaru/Tifa , and Yugi/Nelle .

How does this relate to Eva Unit-01? Well, at first glance, Eva Unit-01 seemed to be another extra combo lead that would just pair with Yugi (or Ina, though she has been effectively powercrept by Yugi). However, after closer examination, I noticed that there is no clause in the leader skill that mandates (even partially) the presence of monocolor subs, though one may initially imply that from the activation requirement of linked orbs. This is because survivability and damage are completely separated by two very stylistically different activation clauses, with the former reliant on rainbow and the latter dependent on monocolor blobs.

Theoretically, Eva Unit-01 could pair with an automatic follow-up attack rainbow lead or even a big board lead (i.e. Fasca) and safely stall for Dark Orbs in order to deal damage, though I do concede that the linked orbs clause does match better with monocolor blob leads (specifically Ina, though Yugi could also make for an uglier fit) despite the full attribute coverage requirement.

As a sub, I immediately look at the awakenings and think damage; over half of the base form’s natural awakenings cater to personal damage. It can also possess up to 4 SB via SB+ SA, making it a viable damage stick for transform teams. Furthermore, the ability to take on god killer latents on top of the natural god killer awakening makes this card an excellent damage option for A6/AA4, in which many enemy spawns along with all the bosses are predominantly god type. Then you have the active, which creates almost enough orbs for combos of Water and Dark Orbs that can be used every two turns while also reducing awoken binds as well in a manner very similar to Diaochan . 

At this point, I find it plain to see that Unit-01 is an excellent sub for Vergil from DMC Collab. Vergil is a transform lead who depends on matches of Water and Dark Orbs to activate. Eva Unit-01 reduces the burden of SB significantly with his possible 4 SB while also nearly ensuring consistent activation every other turn barring enemy board change preemptives.

Triple jammer resist equips (very specific category) are already uncommon despite their obvious utility as all of them are locked behind collabs. (Yes, every single one.) The keychain form stands above the rest with an additional Resistance-Immobility, but the tricolor board active may make the equip a little undesirable for some teams (even with the full awoken bind clear effect). Overall, the equip is really strong as it packs a ton of value but may not find that much use due to a rising prevalence of super hazard resists, super awakening coverage, and a middling/forgettable active.

Myr Regalia, Rei

While players should always strive to combo faster, it is undeniable that more time makes comboing much easier. I will be the first to admit that I am greatly afflicted at times by PSI (which others can confirm, sometimes eagerly) and therefore would welcome the two seconds of movement time that 2 TE+ provide on almost any team. Rei can also give the entire team Resistance-Blind+ via SA, making her quite the formidable utility stick.

What makes Rei truly special is her active; after all, bottom rarity cards like Matier from DMC Collab and Kotarou Katsura from Gintama Collab can also bring an equivalent 2 TE+ and Resistance-Blind+. The ability to generate a staggering seven Heal Orbs is extremely versatile; for example, that many Heal Orbs can be used to match a cross for activating heart cross leads, or a column (even on a big board) to activate FUA, or a row (again, even on a big board) to activate Recover Bind awakenings, or even just to match multiple combos in order to recover health. With this much flexibility packed in one active (not to mention the time rebuff), the short cooldown length is ridiculous. It should be noted that if the active does overwrite all other orbs except for Light Orbs, which can limit its value on other monocolor teams.

The heart cross playstyle at one point used to reign supreme, with cards such as Kaede and Ronove being highly coveted as leads. In fact, the playstyle was so strong that the farmable Myr stood as a top tier leader. Ultimately, GungHo indirectly weaned off the playstyle’s popularity by adding in new content that included mechanics such as combo shields and resolves with which heart cross leaders had a hard time dealing with.

As Rei is clad in Myr Regalia, it is no surprise that she has adopted a leader skill that requires a heart cross to activate. What sets her apart is the fact that she has an extra combo effect that is extremely easy to activate if the team is built correctly; the extra two combos are critical because it greatly helps in dealing with the high combo shields that heart cross teams have an extremely difficult time with due to their naturally low combo counts. (While Lisheilla does exist and has an extra combo effect as well, hers is half as potent and much more inconsistent to activate.) I believe that Rei marks yet another revitalization of an old and obsolete playstyle, especially after seeing the release of Menitte in JP.

The keychain looks really cute, but also packs quite a punch, as it not only adds a cloud resist to the set of triple resists (one Resistance-Blind, one Resistance-Jammers, one Resistance-Poison) first featured by Trojan Horse . It also possesses an incredibly strong active that can neutralize a large part of Odin Dragon’s dangerous preemptives. Though it isn’t as effective as something like Roche’s Scissors from the Bride Seasonal and it is more expensive than other options like Ceres Regalia, Mari’s Keychain (which comes from Rei’s own collab), the combination of the resists with the active makes this equip quite potent. One slight downside is that some of the hazard resists may not provide any value due to the increasing presence of super hazard resists (much like Eva Unit-01’s Keychain).

Kali Regalia, Kaworu

Kaworu can either serve as a damage stick with triple Enhanced Combos (third via SA) plus Guard Break[awkt] or serve a more utility-based role with [awkt id=69]Resistance-Jammers+. There are only twelve cards that possess triple Enhanced Combos and Guard Break, but unfortunately for Kaworu, some of the twelve such as Reincarnated Ra Dragon (MP Shop) and Super Reincarnated Raphael (Pantheon) are quite accessible, even though they may require a little more investment. In addition, the other eleven cards besides Kenshiro also bring SBR, which has become increasingly relevant due to the preemptive skill binds in A6/AA4.

The base form’s active provides a combination of effects that is quite rare, with Ichigo and Shinji&Rei being the only cards to possess a similar active. Unfortunately, the other two alternatives are much better, with Ichigo being faster by two turns and providing a time rebuff on top while Shinji&Rei being significantly faster by four turns. Furthermore, the active lacks a real applicable niche due to the nature of spikes in today’s game and the lack of demand for rainbow board changers. 

A spike/burst active is primarily used to significantly augment damage for a short duration (usually one turn) in order to kill an extremely tanky spawn. With the arrival of A6/AA4, spikes have gained a secondary use in directly countering the “anti-burst” effect some spawns preemptively cast. Unfortunately, the low magnitude and long duration of Kaworu’s spike makes it ill-suited for fulfilling its primary purpose of killing significantly thicker spawns, which means that the only real use for that effect is to counter the “anti-burst” mechanic. While the long spike may be convenient for shorter dungeons, Kaworu’s active is mostly just a full rainbow board change active which happens to have an additional effect that is desirable in current endgame content. 

Full rainbow board change actives used to be incredibly valuable at one point due to the popularity of Ra Dragon , whose leader skill provided a scaling attack multiplier based on the number of colors matched; for example, matching three colors would give 3x ATK, while matching all six colors would provide 12x ATK. While the ability to control damage was quite nice versus damage absorb spawns like Sopdet, not all boards provided full activation. Thus, subs that had rainbow board actives (mainly Dark Kali ) were highly coveted. Nowadays, most popular rainbow leaders such as Valentine’s Ideal , NY Reeche , and Dyer from Sacred Relic Dragon Saga all provide a flat multiplier after matching a set number of attributes. Since most boards naturally possess four or more attributes, the demand for rainbow board changers has drastically decreased. Granted, there are still leads with scaling attack multipliers like Akine who desire rainbow board actives, but these are few and far between. While full rainbow board change actives were immensely desirable in one era due to the nature of scaling multipliers, most modern rainbow leaders operate reasonably well with natural orb generation, which means Kaworu’s active would have a hard time outcompeting similar actives based on a weak secondary spike effect.

As a leader, Kaworu is far too difficult to consistently activate on a regular board due to the strange requirement of matching and attacking with Fire, Water, Wood and Dark; however, he does provide hefty survivability and reasonable damage if the shield is constantly maintained. Thus, an ideal pairing would most likely provide a big board along with more survivability either via a health multiplier or another damage reduction shield. At first, I thought of Mega Awoken Aten , who is certainly a great candidate due to the matching typing requisite and big board, but then I realized that Uruka would also be a potential candidate as well due to the identical color match activation requirement along with the big board, though Uruka’s contrasting typing requirement (Dragon) may make teambuilding somewhat difficult (Attacker/God + Dragon).

While skill boost equips have become much more relevant due to the advent of transform leaders, Kaworu’s cute keychain only provides questionable secondary utility. Theoretically, orb enhance awakenings are a decent source of minor teamwide damage augmentation, but in reality, the lack of reliability and inconsistency makes this set of orb enhance questionably good at best and completely unwanted at the worst. Furthermore, this particular set of OE was obtainable as either a farmable from an old collab (Weatherlight , MTG Collab) or as a bottom rarity roll from another collab (Yoshitora Tokugawa , Samurai Shodown Collab). The inherited active is decent as a rainbow board change with a recovery buff effect; it is the only card besides Valentine’s Ideal to possess this combination of active skill effects.

Conclusion

To be perfectly fair, most of the top rarity cards except Kaworu are exceptionally strong and/or interesting in some way or another. However, the god-forsaken rates plus the lack of a 6★ Monster Exchange makes these wonderful diamonds extremely tough to get and drastically reduces the appeal of the machine overall. I would only recommend a couple rolls at most due to the highlights in the bottom rarity and because I personally do not think the machine will return for another rerun, as much as I’d like it to. Whatever you decide to do, good luck and have fun!