Card Concepts #1 - Reaching Equilibrium

I've been playing Yu-Gi-Oh since right around when the Synchro Era began. I was around for the release of both Xyz and Pendulum monsters, and I was always excited to see how Konami would spice up the game next. As a result of this fascination, I've decided to dedicate a section where I spotlight some of my personal favorite fanmade mechanics I've found on the Interwebs, as well as showcase some of my own ideas. I actually put in some work to make the template you currently see. Artist's Note: It took far too long to take one line off of the space between the Pendulum Effect and a Scale. Still, I think it was worth it in the end.

The concept of Equilibrium Monsters was created by , and I bet they would really shake up the game if they were official. Much like Pendulum Monsters, they have their own dedicated Zone on the field called the E-Zone (Equilibrium is a big word so shortening it makes sense). The original rulings state that they must be set in the E-Zone first and activated like a Trap Card, hence the Trap half. The green scale on the left is the monster's E-Scale which is where things start to get a little interesting. Normally, when you perform a Pendulum Summon you can only Special Summon monsters within your Pendulum Scales. While you have an Equilibrium Monster in your E-Zone you can Special Summon a monster regardless of if their Level is outside of your Scales or not. The only condition is that the monster in question must have a Level equal to the E-Scale. This Special Summon is treated as an Equilibrium Summon, and the mechanic itself is very useful. For example, let's say you're playing something like Odd-Eyes Magicians and wind up with Pendulum Scales of 2 and 7, meanwhile you had an Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon in your hand that you want to Summon. Since Odd-Eyes is a Level 7 monster, you couldn't Pendulum Summon it since it's Level isn't between the Scales. However, if you have an Equilibrium Monster like our example card with an E-Scale of 7, then you can Special Summon Odd-Eyes. Strategically, this allows Decks with diverse monster Levels to take advantage of their entire roster. A couple more things to note: You cannot Pendulum Summon the same turn you perform an Equilibrium Summon and vice versa. Also, since you can't ignore your Pendulum Scales if they're not there, your Pendulum Scales need to be set in order for you to perform an Equilibrium Summon.

Equilibrium Summons compliment Pendulum Summons by allowing Decks to utilize more variety. I only have a few critiques about the original rulings though. Setting the monster before activating it thematically makes sense since these are technically Trap Cards, but it makes the card much more vulnerable to being destroyed. Whereas Pendulum Monsters can potentially defend themselves immediately upon activation. Personally, I wouldn't require these to be set, yet they can still be treated as Trap Cards in the E-Zone. Also, and this is just cementing something I thought of, even though your Pendulum Scales do need to be set, you should still be able to activate the Equilibrium Effect of the monster. It's also not clearly defines where these cards go when they would be destroyed. I myself would have them go the Extra Deck face-up like so they can be Pendulum Summoned/Equilibrium Summoned back to the field. Lastly, while the mechanic is handy because you can disregard your Pendulum Scales, the Equilibrium Summon itself is a little lackluster since you're only Summoning 1 monster. I feel like you should be able to Equilibrium Summon monsters from the Graveyard as well as from your hand and face-up Extra Deck. This offers a different type of utility that can't just be covered by Pendulum Summoning.

I find this concept really unique in its design and applications. I could actually see Konami going in this direction for their next official mechanic. Since Pendulum cards are the newest mechanic (at the time of me typing this ) I could see them wanting to continue supporting it, but keeping that support reasonable. I think Equilibrium Summoning is reasonable; you can only do it once per turn if your Pendulum Scales are set, and you can't Pendulum Summon the same turn you do it. Overall, this is a really solid mechanic and a really great start to this segment.

Artist's Edit: I'm finally going back to the original display of the image, with gold rare, proxy foil, etc. All I had to do was shrink the image a little bit. The big problem I had with the original is that if an image is too big you can't always see a thumbnail. That issue happened to this image and it was bothering me a bit, so I fixed. Now its big enough to read and compare, but small enough for a thumbnail so its a win-win. 

Talisman Magician (LIGHT)
Level: 3
[Spellcaster/Equilibrium/Effect]
Scale: 7
Equilibrium Lore: Once per turn, when a “Performapal, “Odd-Eyes” or” “Magician” Pendulum monster(s) you control is sent to the Graveyard: You can destroy this card in your E-Zone, and if you do; During your End Phase Special Summon 1 monster sent to the Graveyard this turn, but its effects are negated.
Lore: During either player's turn, if you control a “Performapal”, "Odd-Eyes" or “Magician” card in your Pendulum Zone: You can target 1 monster you control, except this card; it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. You can only use this effect of "Talisman Magician" once per turn.
ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200

I do not own the artwork (which belongs to its respective owner/s), the game of Yu-Gi-Oh (which is © of Konami and Kazuki Takahashi) or the template I used to make this. I made this using a Series 9 version of Magic Set Editor that I have heavily customized with a little help from Photoshop.