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We love our cards and archetypes to have lore and stories to tell! The creative minds and artists over at Konami really have a way of storytelling that is admirable and memorable. There are so many different cards and series of cards that, together, tell fun and interesting tales. And a card that would make Edgar Allen Poe proud, Ritual Raven, is one such card with a story to tell! So, if you hear “some one gently rapping, rapping” at your chamber door, it could be this little fiendish fowl!
Ritual Raven
Ritual Raven is a humble Lv. 1 Dark Fiend monster with the effect “If you Ritual Summon a DARK Ritual Monster, this card can be used as the entire Tribute.” A very handy card for any Ritual decks that enter around Dark monsters. Usually, when performing a Ritual Summon, you need to tribute two or more monsters to reach the necessary Lv. to summon the Ritual Monster. But with this little guy, you only need this one card for the whole Ritual Summon! And, when looking into the artwork of some other cards, it seems some shady cultists learned of this bird and have some plans of their own…
The Dark Cult
As Ritual Raven is a useful Tribute for a Ritual Summon, a group of unknown cultists sought out this magical magpie for their own dark designs. In the artwork of Readying of Rites, the Ritual Raven is seen sitting on a platform and being measured by a man in black robes. The Raven is visibly confused as to what is happening to it, as other nearby robed figures hurry to set a table with a lavish meal. Our Raven friend is then seen again on the card Pre-Preparation of Rites engorging itself on the food prepared for it by the cultists. In the background, the cultists point and snicker as their plan to fatten up the bird seems to be working.
Miracles and Monsters
It seems that the cultists want their sacrificial sparrow to be nice and plump for their upcoming ritual. But, to add insult to injury, before the ritual, the cultists dress up the Ritual Raven in an elegant gown and hat. They all gather round the bird and refer to it as the Miracle Raven! The Raven stands proud on its pedestal, but below, the robed figures laugh and quietly make fun of the innocent bird. Then, in the art of Preparation of Rites, three cultists are seen preparing the ritual space for use. If you look closely, the little Ritual Raven can be seen peeking out from behind one of the stone pillars.
Nevermore!
Sadly, our little fiendish friend did not catch on to what was about to happen. The cultists captured him, fattened him up, and sacrificed him on their altar to their dark patron. But, it’s not all sad, perhaps. It seems that, even though Ritual Raven was tributed for a dark ritual, his innocent heart was pure! We see him one more time in Ascending Soul, his spirit passing on into the next world.
“Once upon a midnight dreary,” a little fiendish fowl was abducted by some shady dudes in black robes and… the rest is history! Who or what exactly the cultists were summoning is anyone’s guess.
