Santa Claus, what more can I say that’s already been said? He’s an otherworldly holiday icon that…..wait a minute. I wasn’t supposed to talk about Santa Claus today. That’s already been done a billion times over. Who took my script!? Oh wait here it is. Ah! Now I remember. In today’s article we will be talking about Santa Claws(get it? Please laugh), Yu-Gi-Oh’s awesome Duel Monster equivalent of Father Christmas.
Santa Claws’ Amazing Design
Santa Claws is quite the looker, with many resemblances to his inspiration, such as a predominantly red color scheme and the iconic white sack, but also many major differences that set him apart. He is very reptilian looking with an almost skeletal facial structure with razor sharp teeth. Santa Claws has 3 golden dragon-like eyes, 2 smaller eyes on his face, and 1 larger eye that is at the front of his scaly crown.
Sharp, bony horns extend from the middle of the cranium and are pointed at a downward angle, with 2 sets of antlers, with the smaller stick shaped antlers meshed in the middle between the horns and the larger branch-like antlers. Instead of Santa Claus’ regular cozy red and white attire, Santa Claws has red fur going from his lower abdomen to his feet. The only form of clothing Santa Claws wears is two scarves with a green and white color palette, with one being wrapped around his neck, while the other is wrapped around his hips like how one would wear a belt.
Santa Claws can be seen wearing 5 golden rings, 2 on his shins, 2 on his wrists and 1 on his front left antler. To wrap up this intimidating yet festive design are pairs of lush green pointed leaves that decorate both of his shoulders while 2 pairs of wings can be seen on his back. The top pair of wings are crimson red and have a very gargoyle-like look to them, while the smaller, green wings have the shape of large bats.
Game Mechanics
Santa Claws’ design isn’t the only unique aspect of the duel monster, he also offers a very rare mechanic in Yu-Gi-Oh, which is by getting rid of an opponent’s monster by tributing said enemy to summon Santa Claws to their field in return. That’s not all though, during the end phase of the turn you summoned him, Santa Claw’s will allow your opponent to draw 1 card. So all in all, Santa Claws can definitely get you out of some tough situations if you need to stop an opponent’s monster from running a muck if you have no traditional removal or if it can’t be destroyed by card effects a the cost of a little draw power. Sounds pretty handy to me. The final great thing about the card is its stats. 1200 Attack and 2500 Defense for a level 6 monster isn’t anything special in terms of raw stats, but if you take out the 0’s you get 12/25, the date when the Most Wonderful Time of the Year happens and is a very clever reference.
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