Guide to Playing Blackwings

At the start of the Duel, Black-Winged Dragon and Blackwing Armor Master are added to the Extra Deck, and the summoning is locked to Blackwing and Synchro DARK Dragon/Winged Beast Level 10 and below. Therefore, when building your deck, you must accept that this is a relatively pure Synchro deck.

• Just reveal a monster that mentions Black-Winged Dragon, you can take 2 Blackwings from the Deck and send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard. This makes cards like Vata, Shamal, Sudri, Chinook.. available. This serves both as the Skill activation condition and as the starting point for various other combos. So when building your deck, don't just look at the number of Blackwings; ensure you have enough monsters that actually trigger the Skill.
• The next important point is that you shouldn't always activate the Skill immediately. If you already have a card that meets the conditions in your hand, you can deploy before playing Simoon/Sudri, and even use Sudri to check if your opponent has Droll & Lock Bird before deciding to activate the Skill. This way, you don't turn the Skill into a reflex button but use it at the most advantageous moment.
• The card sent to the Graveyard is also very important. When going after, you can proactively send cards like Shamal, Auster or Zephyros to turn the "discard" part of the Skill into a resource for combos and follow-ups. So always think ahead what kind of card I want to send to the Graveyard, rather than just discarding any card.
• The third effect is how the Skill completes the end board. Once you have Blackwing Synchro or your opponent has a monster on the field, the Skill brings Blackwing Armor Master onto the field and uses Blackbird Close from the Outside Deck. The key thing to remember is that timing is crucial: in combos that use the Skill to draw Close, perform this step before the Synchro Summon of Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss, otherwise you may lose the condition to use the Skill.

In addition, the Skill can only use its second and third effects once per Duel, so don't treat them as unlimited resources. Depending on the match, you might want to use the Skill early to complete the end board with additional disruption, or save the Skill for a follow-up on the next turn. This is one of the most important decisions when playing Blackwings

Simoon is one of the most important starters of the deck. It lets you bring Black Whirlwind onto the field immediately, thereby opening up the search chain that Blackwings needs to start the combo. So, when you have Simoon in hand, most of the time you want to use it to fetch Whirlwind and begin your setup.

An important point is not to rush using Skill if your hand already has enough conditions. You can deploy Simoon/Sudri first to check out Droll & Lock Bird before deciding to use Skill. Simoon also releases a Spell/Trap Zone for you at the End Phase, so having many Black Whirlwinds on the field does not necessarily mean you will get stuck yourself.

Sudri is the key Normal Summon of the deck and can search Blackwings that mention Blackwing Dragon. This is why Sudri is often the card you want to Normal Summon after Simoon, and it is also one of the cards most frequently retrieved by Skill.

Notably, Sudri’s search is not restricted as a hard once per turn, so when you gain an additional Normal Summon from Nothung, you can Normal Summon Sudri again and continue searching. During the combo, make use of both Sudri and Black Whirlwind to continuously fetch the missing pieces instead of focusing only on a single search.

Vata is one of the most important combo pieces. It can Special Summon itself and help bring Black-Winged Dragon onto the field, while also sending a Blackwing from the Deck to the Graveyard. This makes Vata both an extender and a Graveyard setup tool.

In practice, Vata is often an important search target after Sudri/Black Whirlwind. It also allows you to actively send cards like Zephyros to the Graveyard to continue the combo, so when there are multiple options for searching, Vata is often one of the cards that needs priority.

Shamal is a special-value card because it works very well from both hand and Graveyard. You can discard Shamal to set up Feather Whirlwind, then continue using Graveyard effects to retrieve a Blackwing and expand your combo. Therefore, Shamal is both a starter and a follow-up resource.

Especially when playing defensively, Skill allows you to actively send Shamal to the Graveyard, turning the discard of Skill into an advantage. Once you have a Blackwing Synchro on the field, Shamal in the Graveyard can become a quick effect to destroy the opponent's face-down card, making it one of those cards worth actively sending to the graveyard.

Chinook is the most important hand trap of Blackwings. When playing defensively, it allows you to negate your opponent's monster effects without needing a Blackwing on the field, so this tool helps the deck not be completely dependent on going first.

When playing offensively, Chinook becomes an extra interaction layer kept in hand. Therefore, if you already have enough resources for a combo, searching for Chinook instead of grabbing another combo piece often gives the end board an additional layer of protection.

Zephyros is not primarily a card you want to Normal Summon but rather a resource to send to the Graveyard and reuse it. When in the Graveyard, it can Special Summon by bouncing a Continuous Spell, especially Black Whirlwind, thereby both clearing the Spell/Trap Zone and creating an additional body to continue Synchro.

So, Zephyros is often one of the very good cards to send to the Graveyard via Skill or through Vata/Boreas. It is particularly important in long combos and situations that require additional resources to continue Synchro or make a follow-up on the next turn.

Auster is mainly for situations that come after. When sent to the Graveyard, it can become a tool to create a Wedge Counter on opponent's monsters, from which it can be combined with Blackwing Full Armor Master to bring them down to 0 or take control of monsters with counters.

That is why Auster is not usually the card you want to play to open a one-turn combo. Its value lies in being able to send Skill to the Graveyard and becoming a way to defeat large boss monsters when you have to go through an opponent's end board.

Gale is an extender and tuner that gives decks more Synchro paths. The notable point is that it can reduce opponent monster ATK by half, so after using it helps break down the board while providing necessary Levels to continue the combo. Gale is currently evaluated quite low compared to its actual value because of its good ATK and easy search with Black Whirlwind.

In the combo, Gale is often kept as a necessary piece to go up to final Synchros, especially in lines using Full Armor Master or when needing an additional tuner to complete the matchup.

Bora is a very simple but useful extender: you can Special Summon it when Blackwing is on the field. This is one of the cards that can be searched with various options such as Black Whirlwind, Sudri and Skill, so only one copy is needed in many builds.

Bora is not usually an objective that you need to keep multiple copies of; its main role is to provide additional bodies to continue Synchro and support sending Zephyros or other resources down to the Graveyard through related combos.

Oroshi is primarily used as a Level 1 tuner to complete the Synchros needed in combos. It is especially important on lines that end with Level 8-10 boss monsters, because just one Level 1 tuner allows you to continue converting the bodies currently on the field into appropriate Synchro Monsters.

Because Oroshi can be searched by Black Whirlwind and is mainly used as a combo piece, you typically don't need many copies of it. Its value lies at the exact moment it goes onto the field to complete a Synchro, rather than its standalone effect.

Sharnga is a very useful extender because it can Special Summon from hand when you are controlling a monster with 2000 ATK or more. This makes it very easy to bring onto the field during combos, especially when your deck has Black-Winged Dragon or other boss monsters.effect banish, not a cost, so the opponent may chain reaction effects triggered by the banish to deal with it.

In practice, Sharnga is often used as a combination of disruption backup piece, not necessarily having to keep it on hand until the end of the turn. This is also why combos have lines that actively search for Sharnga, put it into the Graveyard and reuse it through Feather Whirlwind.

Black Whirlwind is the most important engine search for Blackwings. Every time you Normal Summon a Blackwing, this card can help you find additional suitable Blackwings in your Deck, so the longer the combo and the more Normal Summons you have, the more times you get searches. This is also why lines with Nothung are very strong: an additional Normal Summon can become another search opportunity.

A thing to remember is that Black Whirlwind can search any Blackwing, which is how it lets you draw cards like Black Shadow Squall that Sudri cannot search. When comboing, pay attention to the order of activating Black Whirlwind and Sudri's effect so you don't lose a search; proper Chain ordering can also help you chain Block effects of Blackwing.

Additionally, Black Whirlwind doesn't have to be used only once per turn. Zephyros can push Black Whirlwind to your hand and then you reactivate it, turning a Continuous Spell card into a source of searches for multiple deployments in the same turn or later turns.

Black Feather Whirlwind is the part that helps the Blackwings combo shift from "search and summon" to actually creating multiple layers of resources. Shamal can self-discard to place this card down, then each time you Synchronize Summon Blackwing, Whirlwind can Special Summon a Blackwing from the Graveyard; so Shamal both sets up a Trap/Spell card, while also preparing resources to continue the combo.

Blackbird Close is the most important monster negation on the end board and is especially valuable because Skill can add it to the hand without having to put this Trap itself into the Deck. It negates a monster's effects by Tributing a Blackwing, so you usually want to keep a Blackwing valuable enough to use as material or as a Tribute when needed.

The important point when playing Close is don't use it too early just because it can negate. If your Deck has another copy of Blackbird Close in addition to the one added by Skill, you can create more layers of monster negation, making you less afraid of being baited

Another point to note is not to mistake Close being able to activate from the hand for it being able to stop all of your opponent's hand traps. An old ruling once allowed a broader interaction, but currently you should not rely on Close to protect yourself from monster effects activated from the hand as you did before.

Twin Shadows is a Trap card that leans toward follow-up and board breaking, especially strong when playing defensively. It uses Blackwings from the Graveyard or banished to Synchronize Summon a Synchro Monster, and because the summoned monster is considered already Synchronized, you can fully utilize the effects of those Synchros.

Black Shadow Squall is a Counter Trap that negates a Spell/Trap Card by removing one Black Feather Counter from the field. Since it is a Counter Trap, this is one of the hardest forms of disruption to answer in Blackwings' end board.

The most important point when building a combo is to find the right way to get Squall. Black Whirlwind can search it because Whirlwind can search any Blackwing, while Sudri cannot search Squall because Squall does not mention Black-Winged Dragon. Therefore, in many lines, you use Sudri to get the necessary monster and let Black Whirlwind get Squall.

Squall also has the ability to return to play on its own: during your turn, it can be banished and then Set again from the Graveyard when you control Blackwing Dragon. Therefore, do not view this as merely one negation; if you can maintain the condition, it can become a resource for the following turns.

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Black-Winged Dragon is a very important combo piece because it serves both as the condition to bring Blackwing Assault Dragon onto the field, and helps activate interactions around Black Feather Counter. Therefore, in many combos you should not rush to banish it from the field if you still need to use Black Shadow Squall or subsequent lines.

One notable point is that Black-Winged Dragon can be created very early through Vata, and then kept aside as a foundation for the rest of the combo. Some lines will deliberately create an additional Black-Winged Dragon second one since decks use them quite quickly, at the same time this also opens up additional ability for Black Shadow Squall.

is one of the most important Synchros for expanding combos. Its greatest value does not lie in dealing damage but in additional summon turns, which allows you to Normal Summon an additional Blackwing and continue receiving extra searches from Black Whirlwind or the effect of that very monster.

This is why a typical line goes from small monsters up to Nothung first, then uses additional Normal Summon to gain another search turn. In combos with Sudri, this approach allows you to continue searching for missing pieces instead of stopping the combo after just one Normal Summon. Nothung also serves as a very natural bridge to proceed to larger Synchros.

Boreas is a Synchro primarily used for graveyard setup and Level adjustment for combos. When Synchro Summoned, it can send a Blackwing from the Deck to the Graveyard and adjust the Level according to the monster just sent, so you can actively choose the setup material instead of just summoning an intermediate Synchro.

In practice, Boreas often serves as a bridge between Nothung and larger bosses such as Full Armor Master or Assault Dragon. An important option is sending Zephyros to prepare a follow-up, or sending a necessary Level 4 to bring Assault Dragon online faster. Therefore, do not view Boreas as just a "Level 6 Synchro"; see it as a Graveyard setup tool and Level adjuster for the entire combo.

Full Armor Master is a boss that gives Blackwings a very strong foothold on the field. We usually aim to bring it out after setting up enough in the Graveyard, and its Skill also allows you to place Armor Master from the Extra Deck face-down and then Flip Summon it at the appropriate time.

The most valuable point of Armor Master is its interaction with Wedge Counter. When the opponent has a counter, you can use Armor Master to handle or take control of that monster depending on the situation. Therefore, this card is especially useful when going after something or when needing to deal with large ATK/DEF bosses that Blackwings cannot overcome through normal battle.

An important note is that the Skill must be used to obtain Armor Master before creating Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss, because after entering Abyss you may lose the condition to activate the Skill part which requires a Blackwing Synchro on the field.

Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss is an omnipotent negate mainstay on the end board. Standard combos typically try to hold back one line to enter Abyss after completing the main setup phase, thereby adding a layer of negation that can handle various types of opponent cards.

Abyss timing is very important. You shouldn't just see Level 8 and immediately Synchronize it; complete the parts of the combo related to Skill and the resources you need first.

< p class="isSelectedEnd" style="text-align: justify;">Blackwing Assault Dragon is the main boss of the deck and one of the reasons why Blackwings can create an unstoppable end board. It can be normally Synchronized or Special Summoned by banishing appropriate Blackwing resources from the field/Graveyard, so you can usually create one in your combo then use remaining resources to create a second one.

The value of Assault Dragon increases very quickly when the opponent begins using monster effects: each time they activate the effect, the Dragon accumulates Feather Counters and deals damage. When there are enough counters, it can tribute itself to clear the remaining cards on the field. Two Assault Dragons on the field significantly increase the damage output, so an end board with two will put tremendous pressure on the opponent.

However, note that if Assault Dragon is Special Summoned via its own banish method, it is not considered a proper Synchro Summon, so after that it cannot be freely revived. If this resource needs to be recovered, we typically aim for using Feather Whirlwind to revive an Assault Dragon summoned this way.

Silverwind mainly appears through Blackwing Twin Shadows, especially when you need a game-breaking play on your opponent's turn. When Special Summoned by Twin Shadows and treated as if it had been Synchronized Summoned, Silverwind can use its effect to process up to two face-up monsters of the opponent that match the DEF condition.

So, Silverwind doesn't necessarily have to be summoned in Turn 1 for a combo. Keep Twin Shadows as a tool to reach the opponent's turn so they can banish resources from the Graveyard/banished into a Synchro removal. This is also why Silverwind is particularly valuable when playing defensively or when the opponent has set many monsters on the field.

Raikiri is a sideboard and board-clearing choice. When you have another Blackwing on the field, it can use its effect to destroy opponent cards, so in situations where you need to clear the backrow or monsters before continuing Synchro, Raikiri can be a very effective intermediate step.

A special point is that Raikiri can be used as a Synchro Tuner in a combo. Therefore, after using it to clear the board, you can still continue stacking larger bosses like Blackwing Assault Dragon instead of ending the combo right there.

Obsidian Hawk Joe is primarily a recovery spell, not the first target of the combo. Its role is most clearly demonstrated when the combo is broken or you need to replay after eating Nibiru: Joe can use his effect to return a Synchro Tuner to the field, thereby reopening the Synchro lines that were thought to be lost.

A typical line is after being eaten by Nibiru, you use Zonda to create Level 6, summon Obsidian Hawk Joe, then use Joe's effect to revive the Synchro Tuner. After that, Zephyros and remaining resources can help you continue up to Assault Dragon or Full Armor Master. Therefore, this is a card to remember when your battle phase has been broken but your Graveyard still contains many resources.