Phantom Nightmare, the third Core Booster of Series 12 of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG, introduced many new cards designed to strengthen decks built around the Snake-Eyes archetype. One such card was the Snake-Eyes Poplar card—and it went on to make Snake-Eyes decks among the metagame’s most powerful almost as soon as it was introduced.

After this card is either Normal or Special Summoned, Snake-Eyes Poplar allows the player to add a Snake-Eye Spell or Trap card to the player’s hand. Combining it with Divine Temple of the Snake-Eye gives the player a second search for the cost of just one. It’s also possible to pair this card with Sinful Spoils of Subversion – Snake-Eye and use it as a board breaker.

Additionally, if Snake-Eyes Poplar is sent to the Graveyard, the player has the opportunity to target and place any FIRE monster from the Graveyard into the player’s Spell/Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell. By doing so, it’s able to set up the effects of cards such as Snake-Eye Oak, Snake-Eye Birch, and Snake-Eyes Flamberge Dragon—all cards from the Age of Overlord Core Booster.

This makes Snake-Eyes Poplar a perfect fit in many FIRE-based tactics—in particular the Fire Kings Snake-Eye decks which rank among the leading decks in today’s meta.

From a visual perspective, the illustration alludes to Snake-Eyes Poplar’s FIRE attribute with the monster being coated in blue flames. The Quarter Century Secret Rare version of this card comes in holofoil which makes those flames appear even more striking.

Additionally, although Snake-Eyes Poplar’s gender isn’t mentioned, its eyes are drawn in such a way that resemble those of some of the biggest beneficiaries of the stereotypical “female character value boost”.

This card has already been released in English.

The price of a Snake-Eyes Poplar (Phantom Nightmare PHNI-JP012) card is 4,080 JPY (~US$26).

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