I am unable to edit the wiki front page, so I can't change the featured card from Hourglass to Devourer.
Devourer already has an analysis written by me, so it just needs some minor changes. I'm going to write the analysis for Hourglass afterwards (about f***ing time, somebody screams).
Devourer is one of the iconic creatures of Darkness. Its ability drains one quantum from your opponent, then gives you one
. This creature is the foundation of quantum denial, a popular strategy that denies your opponent of his or her quanta, and thus stops him or her from playing any cards. Its ability to steal quanta from your opponent fits perfectly into Darkness's theme of stealth and exploit.
Stats wise, Devourer doesn't look too promising: a measly 2 HP with zero ATK. However, the Devourer only costs
to summon, which means that you can often get one on the field on turn two or even turn one; the low summoning cost also means that you can simply splash a Mark of Darkness in your deck, and use your Mark to fuel the Devourers alone. The upgraded Pest has 4 HP, which means that it is strong enough to survive one Rain of Fire.
The Devourer is one of the few quanta-producing creatures in the game; and without a doubt, Devourer is the best quanta-producing creature in the game. Why? Because of quanta advantage. Devourer takes away one quantum from your opponent, and at the same time produces one Darkness quantum for yourself. The net quanta advantage is two, which exceeds all other quanta-producing creatures in the game. Unlike other quanta-producing creatures, the Devourer is not simply a "pillar"; with its denial capabilities, it is more useful than a pillar. What's more, with one single
, you can render Devourer completely invulnerable, via its Burrow ability; no other quanta-producing creature is capable of this. Devourer has an ATK of zero, which means that it would not attack and trigger enemy shield effects; not even Fire Shield can take it down. Simply put, the Devourer is a very useful card for an extremely low cost.
A single Devourer by itself may not accomplish much, because 1 quantum loss from your opponent will usually not hurt him. However, everything is more powerful in greater numbers. If you have six Devourers in the field, all of them burrowed, then your opponent essentially has six of his pillars negated. And aside from its denial capabilities, Devourers can also serve as quanta acceleration, enabling you to gather Darkness quanta quicker.
The Devourer, while useful on its own, can be very formidable when used alongside other cards, such as Fractal and Earthquake. Fractal can create copies of Devourers in your hand, and it enables you to summon far more than six Devourers on your field. Fractal Devourers is a very deadly strategy, because if you manage to summon an entire field of Devourers, you can completely drain your opponent of all his/her quanta, preventing him/her from playing anything; Devourers can also accumulate massive amounts of
, allowing your Drain Life spell to deal devastating amounts of damage. Earthquake is another card that works well with Devourer: it destroys your opponent's pillars, while Devourers absorb what leftover quanta your opponent has. Devourers use
to burrow, which only strengthens the synergy between Darkness and Earth.
Some other things about Devourer that you might want to know:
Devourer is one of the only cards with two abilities, one active and one passive. Its active ability is Burrow, and the quanta-draining ability is passive, nameless and unique to Devourer. The passive ability cannot be removed, which makes Devourer that much more awesome.
Devourer's quanta draining ability only works if your opponent actually has quanta. If your opponent has zero quanta, then Devourer will not produce
for you because there are no quanta to absorb and convert.
If you cast Adrenaline on Devourer, it will only absorb quanta from every other attack, thus absorbing 2 quanta per turn. Devourer, among some other creatures, get this "special treatment" from Adrenaline, because it would be severely overpowered if it was allowed to absorb 4 quanta per turn.
Burrowing halves a creature's ATK. If you buff Devourer with other cards such as Blessing or Chaos Power, then burrow it, its ATK will be halved like normal. However, if a Nightfall is on the field, it will give Devourer a +1 ATK bonus regardless of whether it's burrowed or not; same applies for Eclipse. Even if you burrow Devourer, play Eclipse, then unburrows it, its ATK would still be 2.
Because Devourer's quanta-draining ability is passive, it will always retain that ability even if the Devourer is a mutant. For example, if a Devourer is a mutant with
Destroy, it would still absorb one quantum per turn from your opponent. If you have a Devourer with an ability that costs 1
, it is literally the best mutant ever, because it can generate its own source of quanta for itself. Fun stuff, eh?
Facts:- Devourer absorbs 1 quantum from your opponent each turn.
- If the absorption is successful, then Devourer generates 1
for you.
- For 1
Devourer can Burrow itself, rendering itself untargetable but halving its ATK.
Synergies:- Fractal | Fractal
- Drain Life | Siphon Life
- Earthquake | Quicksand
Decks:- Fractal Devourer Deck
- Dark/Earth Denial Deck
Sigh... I can't think in this stifling heat. I know, Vancouver is much, much better than China, but the weather is still too hot for me. I hope I can concentrate better after taking a shower...
