Card Review: Chronodragon GearNEXT

Our newest Chronodragon with a funny name has been revealed, skill and all, though I do have to say I'm a bit 50/50 on it though. 

Chronodragon GearNEXT has the following skill: 

[Stride]-Stride Step-[Choose one or more cards with the sum of their grades being 3 or greater from your hand, and discard them] Stride this card on your (VC) from face down.
[ACT](VC)[1/Turn] Generation Break 2:[Soul Blast (1) & Choose a face down card from your G zone with the same card name as this unit, and turn it face up] This unit gets "[AUTO](VC)[1/Turn]:At the end of the battle that this unit attacked, if you have a <Gear Dragon> heart card, reveal up to three <Zodiac Time Beast> from your hand or (RC) in total, and put them on the bottom of your deck in any order. If you put three cards, [Stand] this unit, and it gets drive-2."
[CONT](VC) Generation Break 4:During this unit's second battle, it gets [Power]+10000/Drive+1.

Just looking it over, GearNEXT at best is essentially a Spectral "Diablo" with 5 drive checks total, rather than 4, with a lesser counterblast cost. I'm quite sure that everyone is in agreement that it is a very good card, so I'm just gonna skip over to the biggest issue that plagues the card...

It's just not as good as Nextage.

For one, Nextage has much less restrictions. Nextage is fully live the moment GB2 is active, while GearNEXT needs to wait til GB4 to do his thing. Nextage is also open to discard any cards in hand, while GearNEXT is limited solely to losing ZTBs. Nextage also leaves the Vanguard Circle after battle, giving you access to Jet G's CONT skill, which is very crucial to increasing the potency of your finisher turns. Nextage is in general just more consistent and more potent than GearNEXT. 

I do have to give credit though, GearNEXT is still a very good pressure-midrange stride when you want to aggro, but need to conserve hand. GearNEXT is able to use rearguards as well as hand as cost, letting you trade 3 rearguards, which come very easily in Gear Paladins, for two cards in hand. GearNEXT also retains triggers given to it and fills deck if you're fearing deckout. It still finds a use within the deck, unlike a couple other "finisher" cards cough Crossover cough Beyond Order cough.

Other than that, it does irk me that it has a <Gear Dragon> restriction rather than <ZTB> restriction, which would have allowed Tiger and Demiurge to run him, but at least it gives way to a couple more memey ZTB decks. Ephemeral Wand ZTB GB8 Turbo anyone? 

Those are my thoughts on the card. I'd say that it is a very good 2-of in ZTB Jet decks, and maybe Time Leap decks that tech in ZTBs. Definitely go test it out. I can't say I'm fully satisfied, but I'm definitely not upset with it. 

-Chang

Just a note for some of you Groovy-dick sucking shits~

NO, this should NOT have been an Auto so you could Nextage-GearNEXT. I don't care what you say, 3 Vanguard attacks for cheap as hell is NOT a good idea.