Vastorus Rex Full Effect!

EDIT: Correction, this effect was originally mistranslated. Thank you to twitter user @wtken for pointing this out! Our original thoughts on the mistranslated effect can be found at the bottom of article, but now let's talk about the correct effect.

Vastorus Rex's effect to destroy a card and heal 1 life actually activates when its Abyss Summoned, rather than whenever it attacks, which lines up with how this archetype has been advertised to function more closely. Vastorus Rex ends up as a lackluster beatstick without Abyss Summon, especially when compared to GS01's Grand Galac. The effect is still very strong, and makes much more sense as a one-off on summon effect rather than constant pressure. Its defensive zone restriction makes much more sense now, since it doesn't create continual pressure that your opponent would need to deal with anyways, so forcing it to play it to the side prevents you from using it too defensively.

All that said, Vastorus Rex still seems very powerful. The condition of its Abyss Symphonia is rather low, and removal of any card on the field and healing 1 life seems very good. In games with similar life systems, like Vanguard or Duel Masters, a single heal is always very valuable. In this case, assuming healing puts the card into your cemetery, it also sets up for your next Abyss Summon. In the case of summoning another Vastorus Rex, by healing a Darkness card you already get yourself a third fifth of the way there, and of course your current Vastorus Rex being dealt with by your opponent gives you a copy in the cemetery to target.

We know that the big Abyss Summon unit of the 1st Booster Pack will be able to clear the entire board, but its safe to assume that it will have a heftier Abyss Symphonia requirement for that stronger effect. Because of that, it seems likely that Vastorus Rex will still find a place in the archetype as an Abyss Summon target that requires less set-up.

One oddity is that Vastorus Rex does not get any additional benefit from being summoned through Abyss Summon/Abyss Symphonia. Of course, under the assumption that Level is some kind of cost, being played for a lower cost through Priest of Demonic Dragon (who you can read about in our Revealed Cards article) and from the graveyard may be enough of a benefit in and of itself.

All that said, its on attack ability seems very powerful. The very first healing effect we've seen, repeatable each turn he remains on the field, and unconditional removal of any card on the board makes Vastorus seem like a high pressure unit. While the game does seem to carry Buddyfight's center mechanics of needing to destroy the unit in the center to attack directly, the key difference is that destroying the center unit mid-battle will cause the attack to go to the opposing player, so this ability is able to ensure a direct attack. It definitely seems like a threatening unit that your opponent will need to deal with as soon as possible.