Dragons are reason. And the king of dragons, is the king of reason.
Stride (Released when both players’ vanguards are grade 3 or greater!)-Stride Step-[Choose one or more cards with the sum of their grades being 3 or greater from your hand, and discard them] Stride this card on your (VC) from face down.
[ACT](VC):[Choose a face down card named “Flame Emperor Dragon King, Root Flare Dragon” from your G Zone, and turn it face up] If the number of face up cards in your G Zone is two or more, choose one of your opponent’s rear-guards, and retire all of your opponent’s rear-guards in the same column as that unit. This ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn.
Flame Emperor Dragon King, Root Flare Dragon was the king in the Dragon Empire’s eastern region. The Dragon Empire was originally divided into an eastern region and western region. Root Flare Dragon single handily conquered the eastern region in just a few days. His power was unlike anything seen during his era. His body was as long as a river and he could easily destroy mountains. The arrogant king believe he was the ruler of Cray and he was the law of the land. However, he did not expect both regions to join forces and defeat him.
Root Flare Dragon’s Stride ability puts a big dent in your opponent’s formation. Once per turn his ability retires a column. You destroy an entire column for no cost. Your counter blasts are saved for your rear-guards. Furthermore, losing an interceptor and a booster are huge loses for any opponent to handle during the late-game. The path is clearer to hit your opponent’s vanguard. He or she must either replace the retired rear-guards or just save resources for defense or Stride.
He is slower to set up because his skill requires you to have two face up cards in your G Zone. The only time to play him is near the late-game or when the late-game begins. You most likely will only get to use him once or twice if you are lucky. You can use Divine Dragon Knight, Mustafa for your first Stride for you can have two face up cards in your G Zone when you finally stride the Flame Emperor. This is currently the fastest method to use Root Flare Dragon. If you have enough resources for a third Stride, then go to Root Flare Dragon again for another big play!
Finally, retro units gain a lot of benefits from Flame Emperor’s skill. Demonic Dragon Madonna, Joka gains 3K power when an opposing rear-guard is sent to the Drop Zone, and she becomes a strong 12K booster thanks to Root Flare Dragon. Demonic Dragon Mage, Rakshasa has the same skill, but he is slightly weaker by being a Trigger unit. He becomes a 9K booster in combination with the Stride skill. These boosters can easily boost Root Flare Dragon beyond 35K power.
Overall, Flame Emperor Dragon King, Root Flare Dragon is a decent G Unit to add in a Kagero deck. He uses Kagero’s classic tactic by controlling the battlefield. He fores your opponent to extend his or her resources. Losing two units on the field at a critical point in a game really limits your opponent’s options. They can either keep cards in their hand to defend or call replacements to regain an offensive presence. Personally if I play him in a deck, then I would just add two copies to my Extra Deck.
Card Rating: 3 out of 5
