A Tale of Two Cities and the HERO Archetype
The "Skyscraper" series, intrinsically linked to the Elemental HERO archetype, offers a unique look into the TCG's design evolution. Consisting of two distinct Field Spells, the archetype tells a story of a game shifting from battle-phase centric strategies to resource recursion and engine building. The original "Skyscraper" embodies the classic underdog story of a weaker HERO triumphing in battle, while "Skyscraper 2 - Hero City" laid the groundwork for a dominant control strategy known as "Big City," a deck that defined an entire competitive era by generating relentless advantage. This analysis explores the mechanics of these two iconic cards and the strategic rise and fall of their place within the ever-evolving HERO archetype.
Effect: If an "Elemental HERO" monster attacks a monster with higher ATK, the attacking monster gains 1000 ATK during damage calculation only.
A purely offensive, battle-focused tool designed for the GX era. It allows smaller HEROes to overcome larger threats, embodying the underdog narrative of the anime.
Effect: Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 "Elemental HERO" monster from your Graveyard that was destroyed by battle.
A powerful recursion engine. This card shifts the strategy from single battles to long-term resource generation and card advantage, forming the heart of the "Big City" deck.
The competitive apex of the Skyscraper strategy was a control deck named "Big City." Its goal was to establish a resilient, self-sustaining loop to out-resource the opponent over several turns.
Send Elemental HERO Stratos to the GY by battle. On summon, Stratos can search any "HERO" monster, making it the deck's primary searcher and advantage engine.
During your Main Phase, use Skyscraper 2 - Hero City to revive the Stratos destroyed by battle, triggering its search effect again for free.
Elemental HERO Ocean makes the loop resilient. During your Standby Phase, it returns a HERO from your field or GY to the hand, ensuring Stratos can be re-used even if the opponent avoids destroying it.
The "Big City" end board was a masterclass in value generation. Instead of a wall of negates, it established a resilient three-card engine designed to methodically out-resource the opponent over multiple turns, ensuring a steady flow of advantage.
The Protector
Returns Stratos from the GY/field to the hand, ensuring the loop continues even if the opponent doesn't destroy it in battle.
The Heart of the City
The primary advantage generator. Every summon searches for another HERO, fueling your hand and maintaining board presence.
The Engine
Revives Stratos from the GY each turn after it's destroyed by battle, restarting the search loop for free.
This engine wasn't about winning quickly; it was about ensuring you couldn't lose. By consistently generating +1 or +2 in card advantage each turn, "Big City" would slowly dismantle the opponent's resources until victory was assured through simple battle damage.
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