Mediaboss Marketing

May 2023's Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG booster pack is Cyberstorm Access. It adds many interesting and powerful new cards to the game, including support for past archetypes, two brand-new archetypes, and various Spell and Trap cards for players to add to their decks or collections.

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Cyberstorm Access is particularly notable for its cover card, Firewall Dragon Singularity. This is a new member of the Firewall series, primarily known for its infamous debut member, its relation to the larger Cyberse monster type, and its usage by the main character Playmaker in the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime series. The Firewall series also receives new support in the booster pack, finally upgrading it from a series into a full-fledged Yu-Gi-Oh! archetype.

RELATED: Why Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Traditional Format Is Perfect for New and Returning Players

Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Link Monsters arrived in 2017. These powerful Yu-Gi-Oh! monsters are blue Extra Deck monsters with a Link Rating based on how many Link Arrows they have, instead of a Level, Rank or Defense Points. Link Monsters can only be Link Summoned using a specific number of monsters as Link Material.

When they were first introduced, Link Monsters' Link Arrows that point to other Monster Zones on the field allowed players to summon additional Extra Deck monsters to the corresponding Monster Zones. As of Master Rule 6, Link Arrows usually matter when effects specifically mention them, but Link Monsters still can only be Link Summoned to the Extra Deck Monster Zones or the Main Monster Zones that Link Arrows of other Link Monsters point to.

Related: This Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Perfect For Beginners

Firewall Dragon is a notorious Link Monster that was on Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Forbidden list from December 2018 until April 2021 after some effect changes. Firewall Dragon's first effect allows players to target monsters on the field and in the Graveyard, up to the number of co-linked monsters, and return them to their hand. Players can use this ability once while Firewall Dragon is face-up on the field. Firewall Dragon's second effect was initially far more powerful than it is now -- the original effect allowed players to Special Summon any one monster from their hand if Firewall Dragon's arrows point a monster destroyed in battle or sent to the Graveyard.

Firewall Dragon's original effects enabled devastating board clears and Special Summoning combos combined with other card effects, especially the Link Monsters of the time. The card was so broken that Konami changed its second ability to only work with one Cyberse-type monster, as well as limiting both effects to once per turn.

RELATED: These Yu-Gi-Oh! Decks Are Crushing the Meta

Firewall Dragon was overpowered for a while, but this didn't stop Konami from adding new Firewall monsters to future Yu-Gi-Oh! booster packs. The first one added wasn't a Link Monster; instead, Konami added the Rank 4 Xyz Monster, Firewall eXceed Dragon, from 2019's Dark Neostorm booster pack. More Firewall Link Monsters appeared after Firewall eXceed Dragon, including Firewall Darkfluid Dragon from 2019's Chaos Impact booster pack and Firewall Darkfluid Dragon - Neo Tempest Terahertz from 2023's Maze of Memories booster pack.

Unlike the original version of Firewall Dragon, its successors didn't have absurdly powerful effects that needed nerfing. Some of their effects support Cyberse-type monsters in some way, while their other effects are relatively standard for their time of release. Unfortunately, as a result, they are also much less notable than their predecessor.

RELATED: Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Egyptian Gods Are the Most Iconic TCG Cards Ever Printed

Like past Yu-Gi-Oh! booster packs, Cyberstorm Access not only adds another Firewall Link Monster to the TCG with Firewall Dragon Singularity, but it also gives the series its first support, expanding it from a series of Cyberse-type monsters into its own archetype. It's not yet enough for a Firewall-specific deck, but the cards synergize well with other Cyberse-type monsters.

Firewall support in CyberStorm Access includes two Effect Monsters, Firewall Defenser and Firewall Phantom, as well as the Cynet Circuit Trap card. There's also the Cynet Rollback Spell card, which doesn't support Firewall monsters specifically, but instead serves as generic support for all Cyberse-type monsters.

RELATED: Why Yu-Gi-Oh! Could Be 2023's Best TCG

It took five years for Konami to expand the Firewall series into a proper Yu-Gi-Oh! archetype, but it doesn't necessarily mean there'll be another five years before more support arrives. However, fans of the archetype should be wary that due to the frequency of Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG set releases and the sheer number of cards, it will likely be some time before players get to experiment with new Firewall cards.

Although the Firewall archetype is newer than others, most archetypes receive support occasionally -- and with Yu-Gi-Oh! going strong for 25 years, the game features an astonishing number of archetypes overall. However, given the Firewall archetype's connection to a Yu-Gi-Oh! anime protagonist, it's more likely than other archetypes to receive future support. It will be interesting to see how the Firewall archetype evolves in the years to come.

Excerpt from:

Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Cyberstorm Access Finally Expands the Firewall Series ... - CBR - Comic Book Resources