Facing the New Frontier

Don't know which cards suddenly became good during the new format?
Well you won't have to wait much longer...

Cards that gain power:


Tour Guide from the Underworld
Oh here we have her, everyone's favourite random +1 and the worst enemy of your wallet. Being at 200$ each this card is expensive, but it IS good, and you have a much better chance at winning if your deck can implement it (which your deck probably can).
I hate this type of card, not because of the general idea but because of Sangan. More specifically because of the stupid Exceed ruling by that retard Kevin Tewart. If Sangan did not get its effect all you would have gained was a bigger monster and a very very slight deck thin.
But as long as the combo is alive, Tour Guide will remain one of the best cards in the coming format.

Effect Veiler
This magician (not an angel as an angel is the OCG name for Fairy) was good and has now turned into a considerable force. With more spell/trap removal, the "lasting" cards will be more effective.
She can stops Tour Guide, she can stop Chaos Sorcerer/Black Luster Soldier, and if they used their first effect they can't attack. She is also Light to help them, AND is a Tuner.
This means Effect Veiler effectively stops your opponent's best cards, makes your best cards easier to play, can be searched through Tour Guide+Sangan+Exceed, and is a Tuner.
It adds variety, while also making the deck overall better. Her bad point is that she doesn't do anything against an already played card, and has the not so superb stats of 0/0.
I think you should play at least 1 copy in every TCG deck, and even up to 3 main-decked copies because stopping that t1 Tour Guide, rendering her a vanilla 1000 beatstick is simply to powerful.
If you can't manage 3 copies 2 copies will be just fine.

Thunder King Rai-Oh
He is back. And he is going to stay. Seems like every card I post has some relation to Tour Guide...
He can stop Overlays, and he can stop the Sangan searches, all while being big and beefy. He is also the grandmaster of stopping Pot of Duality, Charge of the Light Brigade and Six Samurai decks in general.
Also Light, fitting well with Chaos Sorcerer and friends, being a great t1 drop and almost impossible to play around using traditional means except Book of Moon.

Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
A dark for Chaos Sorcerer and BLS, while simultaneously stopping them from hitting the opponenet's field, while stopping Gate of the Dark World, Spore, Dark Armed Dragon, Necro Gardna, Destiny Hero - Malicious, and making Judgment Dragon, Pot of Avarice, and Grapha nearly useless.
He is like soooo underrated right now, while he in reality is extremely good.

Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
Fewer backrows = more direct attacks and therefore more Gorz. This in my opinion quite possibly the best card in the game, even more so now.

Tragoedia
The same as Gorz. Keep in mind though to never set 3+ cards (even if Heavy Storm is gone) as you might draw one of the top of the deck and have it dead. Exceed greatly makes this card stronger.


Ally of Justice Decisive Armor
Here comes the game finisher! This card is often overlooked, but is is simply broken. There is no other word for this card. Sporting 3 powerful effects, including a simple +1, a Harpie's Feather Duster and a game finisher. All of this, placed in the Extra Deck and attached to a 3300 ATK body.
This is the reason Lightsworn struggled to win in Japan during the 3 Charge era. Their main nemesis, Zombies, can easily pull this out using Zombie Master+Goblin Zombie+Plaguespreader, and the effect might end the game right there. Not to mention it is a generic Level 10 Synchro, and with the rule of side-decking Extra decked cards, he doesn't even have to reside in your actual Extra deck.
As an added bonus, he is also good against Gemini beat by killing of their backrows, and against Fabled and Angel (his effect 'sends' the Fabled cards so their effects doesn't activate), but be on the lookout for Effect Veiler and Herald of Orange Light. If possible, declare them for Mind Crush before the effect as you will still lose your hand.
As far as my am concerned, he will be a star in the next format.
A huge, metallic, wicked star, but a star nonetheless.

Spell Calling
Yeah this one is a little trollface, but I think it could actually work. There are quite obviously better options like Dark Coffin, but this effect is probably the best one if you actually get it.

Mind Control
This is one overpowered card. What started out as a really bad card, became a staple in Synchro Cat-like decks, and was then consequently limited.
Now the card has reached epic proportions and can be played in any deck.
Have a Tuner in hand? Synchro time.
Have a monster of the same level? Exceed time.
Gladiator Beast mirror? Fusion time.
Don't have either but almost have game? Control for 1 turn allows for some direct attacks.
Even if you have none of the above, it is still possible to use the effect, for example nuking with Dark Armed, steal a face-down Spy or Ryko, or even a face-up Lyla. It is also a counter to the Chaos Cadre, letting them remove themselves.
The game's mechanics has changed, and this once bad card is now a great contender for being banned, in my opinion.

Enemy Controller
Allows for better Tour Guide shenanigans and has a similar effect to Mind Control, but is chainable. Also goes well with tokens, and is great for suprise Accel Synchro plays.
With so many cards like Ryko essentially being "dead" after using their effects, there is nothing better than stealing something for virtually no cost.

Smashing Ground
Here comes the great return!
It is an instant out to any annoying monster, and kills Exceeds along with the annoying aforementioned Kycoo and Rai-Oh.
Great against decks with either few monsters or decks with small capabilities of creating Stardust Dragon. Early on I can see it coming as a bit of a surprise as well, furthering the impact of its effect.


Starlight Road
This card was released and saw enormous play, then died with the banning of Heavy Storm.
Now is the time for a comeback, killing of Black Rose Dragon, Celestia, Judgment Dragon, Icarus Attack, Heavy Storm, Torrential Tribute, Mirror Force, Gladiator Beast Gyzarus and so on.
While using Rescue Rabbit/Rekindling it can also negate Bottomless Trap Hole. Extra deck space is more limited than ever, but making room for at least 1 Stardust Dragon shouldn't be impossible.

Bottomless Trap Hole
Contrary to popular belief that this card should be bad in a removal-heavy format, this card shines now. Most decks either don't readily have access to their removal or their removal are monster based, like Lyla. Strictly speaking, this card is in reality only really good in the OCG due to the lack of priority and the abundance of Vayu-based decks.

Mind Crush
Up on 2, fresh to kill of your opponent's Beckoning Light or Sangan search (which will be seeing a lot of play now) and it is really good against Agents. They often play multiple Pot of Duality, and their boss monsters are easy to read. In Dark World you can also purposely guess wrong, just to see your opponent's hand and discard a random card from your hand.

Chain Disappearance
This card kills Tour Guide, but there are some problems. First off, if you chose to remove Tour Guide and the other copies of her, your opponent will keep Sangan. If you chose Sangan, your opponent will still have 2 Tour Guides left in order to make Leviair and retrieve him.
Generally, removing Tour Guide is the way to go, but if facing a deck sporting double but not triple Tour Guides, or if holding another removal card to prevent Leviair, you should remove Sangan.