Through The Looking-Glass

I started playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game this year, and, having been to a fair few tournaments, I've seen a bunch of different Decks. In this blog series, I'll review some of the most notable ones, and offer some suggestions as to what cards one should use to make a Deck of one's own based upon the theme.

The first Deck theme I'll be reviewing is the Elemental HERO archetype.



Overview


The Elemental HEROES are one of the older archetypes, first appearing in the Lost Millennium expansion back in 2005. The archetype was used by Jaden/Judai Yuki, the protagonist of the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX series, as well as the character Aster/Edo Phoenix early in the show's second season.

Despite their age, E-HEROES continue to thrive in the metagame due to their ability to fill the field rather quickly with their powerful Fusion monsters. The release of the Attribute-specific E-HERO Fusions has breathed even more new life into the archetype, as these Fusions are much more versatile and non-situational than the standard E-HERO Fusions.


Useful Cards


In an E-HERO Deck, the most important cards to have are Fusing cards. The classic Polymerization is the most obvious card to have, though Miracle Fusion, Parallel World Fusion, Super Polymerization, and Fusion Gate are also useful. Parallel World Fusion can be combined with Fusion Gate for some very useful combos, as Fusion Gate banishes its Fusion Materials. For example: using Fusion Gate, fuse Elemental HERO Avian and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix to form Flame Wingman or Phoenix Enforcer, then use Parallel World Fusion to bring out heavy hitters such as Great Tornado or Nova Master. Using an E-HERO Deck, I pulled off a combo by which I was able to summon Flame Wingman, Shining Flare Wingman, Nova Master, and Great Tornado - all in one turn. It completely turned the Duel around for me.

Elemental HERO Woodsman is a great card to have if you run out of Polymerizations, since it fetches one from your Deck or Graveyard during your Standby Phase, and can be brought out during your opponent's turn with Phantom Magician and Hero Signal. I only have access to one copy of Polymerization in my E-HERO Deck, so Woodsman is an impossibly important card for it.

E-HEROES mix well with other HERO monsters, such as Vision HERO Trinity, whose ATK is doubled the turn of its Fusion Summon and can attack three times per Battle Phase (albeit with no ability to launch a Direct Attack), as well as Destiny HERO - Doom Lord. Doom Lord is especially useful due to its ability to banish the opponent's monsters. If you have Parallel World Fusion on hand, it is possible, due to the card's effect, to then use the monster you just banished as a Fusion Material for one of your own Fusions! How cool is that?

Searcher cards are a must in an E-HERO Deck, because you need the right HEROES at all times to pull of Fusions. Hero Signal and Phantom Magician, as previously noted, can help accomplish this, as well as E - Emergency Call, Elemental HERO Stratos, Field-Commander Rahz, Freed the Matchless General, Sangan, and Reinforcement of the Army.


Weaknesses

The E-HEROES' biggest weakness is also their greatest strength: Fusion. Most individual E-HEROES are not strong enough to hold their own against a strong foe, so Fusion makes up the bulk of the Deck's strength. Cards that counter Fusion monsters, like De-Fusion, Mispolymerization, and Fusion Devourer can hurt an E-HERO Deck. Non-Fusion Area, in particular, absolutely cripples an E-HERO Deck. Since Fusion Summoning counts as Special Summoning, the ever-popular Steelswarm Roach can cause no small amount of grief.


Bottom Line

Elemental HEROES start out slow, but given time can explode into an amazingly powerful theme. Their reliance on Fusion Summoning can hurt them, but if they can pull it off, there's very little the opponent can do to stop them.

Overall, I give the Elemental HERO Deck four Flame Wingmen out of five.



The next theme I'll be looking over is the Gravekeeper's/Necrovalley Deck. I'll also be taking requests, if you'd like to see me review a specific theme.

Until next time, may the Heart of the Cards be with you!

~Jabber