This month’s The Secret Forces contains a full contingent of Nekroz, Yosenju, and Ritual Beast Tamers—new monster themes that were secretly introduced in Secrets of Eternity without anyone knowing that they were going to be new monster themes!

Nekroz started out as just three cards out of a hundred in Secrets of Eternity: Dance Princess of the Nekroz, Nekroz Cycle and Nekroz of Gungnir. Those three cards are the template for the entire theme—crafting the dead husks of incredibly powerful Synchro Monsters into armor that’s worn to gain the power of those monsters.

Of course, it’s not quite that simple. The ritual to gain such power is immensely complex and doesn't always work quite right. There’s also a compatibility issue. Depending on which member of the Nekroz cabal wears each armor, the imitation of the Synchro Monster’s powers could be close to perfect, incomplete or, in rare cases, stronger than the Synchro Monster was in life!

Nekroz of Gungnir from Secrets of Eternity is in that last category. It represents the remains of Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier being worn by Dance Princess of the Nekroz. During your own turn, Gungnir lets you discard one or two WATER monsters to destroy that many of your opponent’s cards on the field. Nekroz of Gungnir stretches that ability beyond its limits: You discard one “Nekroz” card each time you use it, but you can do it during either player’s turn! You're still destroying up to two cards per cycle of turns, but now you can use the ability any time you want instead of just during your Main Phase. And you don't have to wait and give your opponent the chance to actually use their monsters before destroying them.

Nekroz of Gungnir also amplifies the powers of Dance Princess of the Nekroz. Without the Gungnir armor, she prevents your other “Nekroz” Ritual Monsters from being targeted by your opponent’s card effects. As Nekroz of Gungnir, she can shield any Nekroz monster from destruction by battle or card effects for an entire turn. This effect is played from the hand instead of the field, so even if you’re unable to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Gungnir, she can still protect your other monsters. Which other monsters? Find out next week for a primer on four key Nekroz Ritual Monsters from The Secret Forces!