Difference between revisions of "Ice Barrier"

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==Playing style==
 
==Playing style==
  
[[File:Crest-Ice Barrier.svg|thumb|left|100px|The "Ice Barrier" Crest]]Most "Ice Barrier" monsters require another of their kind present on the field in order to activate its effect(s), which often generate field advantage. For example, many "Ice Barrier" monsters have effects to protect other "Ice Barrier" monsters: "[[Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier]]" forbids all monsters of Level 4 or higher from attacking while its owner control another "Ice Barrier", and "[[Defender of the Ice Barrier]]", which stops your opponent's monsters with ATK greater than or equal to its DEF from attacking. This condition of having two "Ice Barriers" on the field can be easily fullfiled if you control "[[General Grunard of the Ice Barrier]]", since it allows an extra Normal Summon of an "Ice Barrier" monster.
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[[File:Crest-Ice Barrier.svg|thumb|left|100px|The "Ice Barrier" Crest]]Most "Ice Barrier" monsters require another of their kind - usually, but not always, on the field - in order to activate their effects, which are oriented towards field advantage. For example, many "Ice Barrier" monsters have effects to protect other "Ice Barrier" monsters, be it from attacks ("[[Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier]]" forbids all monsters of Level 4 or higher from attacking while its owner control another "Ice Barrier") or card effects ("[[Dai-sojo of the Ice Barrier]]" protects all of your "Ice Barriers" from being destroyed by Spell/Trap Cards). These effects can overlap, making "Ice Barriers" capable of creating resilient fields if several of their monsters are out. One of the three Generals of the Ice Barrier, "[[General Raiho of the Ice Barrier|Raiho]]", does not need other "Ice Barrier" monsters for its effect to work, but it can stand on its own as well as complement their lockdowns by taking a toll on the opponent's hand if they rely on monster effects.
  
Aside from sheer attack-blocking, "Ice Barriers" can also protect themselves in other areas. "[[Dai-sojo of the Ice Barrier]]," for example, protects "Ice Barrier" monsters from Spells and Trap destruction, while "[[General Raiho of the Ice Barrier]]" penalizes an opponent for relying on the activation of multiple monster effects by negating them or taxing a discard. Likewise, "[[Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier]]" protects your monsters from being targeted by monster effects. It is difficult to maintain consistency in your Deck, however, by trying to rely on all of these forms of protection. Also, "Ice Barriers" are difficult to summon in swarms, making them all the harder to protect with their defensive monsters, all of which are tailored to defending a specific kind of effect.
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Many of the "Ice Barrier" monsters are not very useful if alone, making this archetype have issues if not able to establish field presence. While not plentiful, Ice Barriers do have effects of their own to facilitate having several monsters out, such as "[[Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier]]", and this is also assisted by the effects of their remaining two Generals, "[[General Grunard of the Ice Barrier|Grunard]]" and "[[General Gantala of the Ice Barrier|Gantala]]".
  
"Ice Barriers" can mount swarms under the direction of their "[[General Gantala of the Ice Barrier]]" if left unimpeded. It can fetch other "Ice Barrier" monsters from the Graveyard during each of its owner's [[End Phase]]. This allows for great flexibility in strategy: not only can it revive heavy-hitters with devastating live effects, but also cards like a Defense Position "Defender of the Ice Barrier" or Tuners for still more threats.
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The aforementional "General Gantala of the Ice Barrier" is one of the archetype's trump cards, being a 2700 ATK monster that can Special Summon an "Ice Barrier" monster from its controller's [[Graveyard]] during each of their turns' [[End Phase]]. It can revive any "Ice Barrier" besides other copies of itself, be it monsters such as "[[Defender of the Ice Barrier]]" to create or rebuild a defensive field, "General Raiho of the Ice Barrier" to apply more pressure, or even their Synchro Monsters, making it powerful and versatile.
  
The "Ice Barrier" engine works in a circle. The idea is to start with "[[Strategist of the Ice Barrier]]", whose main objective is to discard "General Gantala" to the Graveyard all while netting you a draw every time you discard. "Gantala" then sits in the Graveyard until revived by "[[Prior of the Ice Barrier]]". Once you have "Gantala" on the field, you can begin reviving your other "Ice Barriers" that have fallen in battle or have been discarded by "Strategist", most notably "Defender of the Ice Barrier" to Synchro and block almost all attackers or even "[[Samurai of the Ice Barrier]]" to gain an extra draw during your next turn. The main win condition of this Deck is to summon "Gantala" to generate field advantage, use powerhouses like itself and "[[Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]]" to destroy your opponent's field and deliver the final blow using "[[Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]]", while also hurting your opponent's field, Hand and/or Graveyard with its effect. Utilizing "Strategist" as a draw engine and "[[Medallion of the Ice Barrier]]" to grab the right card at the right time makes this deck consistent even without the use of cards like "[[Pot of Duality]]" or "[[Upstart Goblin]]". Finally, even if "Gantala" is defeated, you can use "[[Surface]]", resurrecting "Prior" and then using it to revive "Gantala".
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"[[Strategist of the Ice Barrier]]" can discard "Ice Barriers" from the hand to speed up the Deck. Specific monsters can be discarded by using "Strategist" in conjuction with "[[Medallion of the Ice Barrier]]", making revival effects such as "[[Call of the Haunted]]" and "[[Back to the Front]]" viable options to build fields. "Medallion" can also be used to gather enough different names for the activation of "Magic Triangle".
  
"Medallion of the Ice Barrier" is a [[staple]] for "Ice Barrier" Decks. It functions exactly like "[[E - Emergency Call]]" in an "[[Elemental HERO]]" Deck, down to the wording, but serves slightly different purposes: the monster can become part of a [[Synchro Summon]], a third monster for "[[Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier]]", a discard cost later retrieved with "[[Salvage]]," or to fulfill the requirements for the effect of "[[Moray of Greed]]."
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"[[Prior of the Ice Barrier]]" is a multi-purpose card - it can be used for its easy Special Summon, quickly enabling another "Ice Barrier" monster's effect, or be used for its effect to Special Summon any other "Ice Barrier" monster from the Graveyard - the usual target being "Gantala", as it can in turn revive more "Ice Barriers" turn after turn, but it can revive other monsters for Synchro and Xyz Summons as well. "Prior" himself can be easily retrieved by "[[Salvage]]" and "[[Surface]]", making it possible to use a single copy of "Prior" several times.
  
A large hand facilitates the effects of one of the archetype's Synchro trump cards, "[[Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]]". It can destroy up to two cards per turn, at the cost of a discard per target. With a stocked hand, "Gungnir" can apply pressure by whittling defenses down so it and "Gantala" can push for the win.
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For the most part, "Ice Barriers" want to establish a solid field and, if possible, keep it. While they are definitely capable of Synchro Summoning with their own [[Tuner monster|Tuner monsters]], and all of their [[Synchro Monster|Synchro Monsters]] are very good, caution must be exercised - their Tuners themselves have defensive effects you must give up on in order to Synchro Summon, and "Ice Barriers" as a whole are not very good at gaining and keeping card advantage.
  
Due to the lack of Draw Power, you can use cards like "[[Shard of Greed]]", "[[Maxx "C"]]", and the aforementioned "Strategist of the Ice Barrier".
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Due to the archetype's lack of draw power, you can use cards like "[[Shard of Greed]]" and "[[Maxx "C"]]".
  
"[[Eisbahn]]" can also be a good support to them, making all non-WATER monsters change to Defense Position at the time it hits the field; with this, you can slow down your opponent's moves and pave the way to attack with the huge ATK of "Gantala", "Grunard" or "Gungnir". "[[Soul Drain]]" can be used to stop Graveyard-reliant decks, such as "[[Dark World]]", "[[Sylvan]]", etc., from working, while this deck will remain untouched; this can give an "Ice Barrier" player even more control of the game.
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"[[Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier]]" and its ability to return face-up cards to the hand make it possible for players to dedicate a build to it and use a variety of Spell/Trap Cards that remain on the field such as "[[Swords of Revealing Light]]" to pressure the opponent while you can replay them constantly as long as "Dewloren" is around. The many means of revival the "Ice Barrier" archetype has makes it difficult to break through "Dewloren" combos permanently without banishing it or returning it to the Extra Deck.
 
 
Another popular strategy is the "Dewloren Lock", which relies on "[[Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier]]" and its ability to return face-up cards to the hand. Cards like "[[Swords of Revealing Light]]" and "[[Fiendish Chain]]" can be continuously returned to the hand, which helps to maintain a continuous defense while you mount an offense with cards like "[[Call of the Haunted]]", which can revive monsters to be used for a Synchro Summon before returning the used "Call of the Haunted" to the hand (since it won't be destroyed if the monster is used as Synchro Material). Even outside of Synchro Summons, if "Call of the Haunted" is used to summon "Prior of the Ice Barrier", you can Tribute "Prior" to get any other monster (usually "Gantala of the Ice Barrier") without needing to worry about it being linked to "Call of the Haunted". "Call of the Haunted" can also be used to block attacks by summoning "[[Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier]]" or "[[Defender of the Ice Barrier]]" while Dewloren's on the field; then you can Synchro Summon to get the monster of the field. If you choose, you can also return Call of the Haunted and the monster simultaneously so "[[Strategist of the Ice Barrier]]" has something to discard for its effect. Even if "Dewloren" is destroyed, the numerous methods of Graveyard revival via "Prior" and "Gantala" will ensure that "Dewloren" won't stay off the field for long. The only two surefire ways of destroying this combo are if "Dewloren" is [[Banish]]ed or if its initial Synchro Summon is negated.
 
  
 
==Recommended Cards==
 
==Recommended Cards==
  
Using a small monster lineup, keep it consistent and simple, relying on obnoxious Spell/Trap Cards to keep you in the game long enough to capitalize off of the effects of "Gantala" and "Gungnir". A really good card that you can use to instantly summon any General to the field is "[[Big Wave Small Wave]]". The cost is minimal and if you use it to summon "General Grunard", you get to score another Normal Summon of an "Ice Barrier" monster. Since the entire deck is made up of WATER monsters, it can benefit from using monsters such as "[[Barrier Statue of the Torrent]]" and "[[Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord]]", the latter of which shrinks your opponent's hand size, making the effect of "General Raiho" even more potent.
+
Using a small monster lineup, keep it consistent and simple, relying on Spell/Trap Cards to keep you in the game long enough to capitalize off of the effects of "Gantala" and "Gungnir". Since the entire archetype is made up of WATER monsters, it can benefit from using monsters such as "[[Barrier Statue of the Torrent]]" and "[[Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord]]", the latter of which shrinks your opponent's hand size, making the effect of "General Raiho" even more potent.
  
"[[Ties of the Brethren]]" can be used to create locks and combos with "Cryomancer" + "Dewdark" + "Secret Guards", or with "Dance Princess" + "Spellbreaker" + "Strategist". "[[Moon Mirror Shield]]" is a good way to protect the lower-ATK "Ice Barriers" from destruction in battle by always letting the equipped monster be 100 ATK stronger than the opposing monster.
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"[[Ties of the Brethren]]" can be used to create locks and combos with "Cryomancer" + "[[Dewdark of the Ice Barrier|Dewdark]]" + "[[Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier|Secret Guards]]", or with "[[Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier|Dance Princess]]" + "[[Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier|Spellbreaker]]" + "Strategist". "[[Moon Mirror Shield]]" is a good way to protect the lower-ATK "Ice Barriers" from destruction in battle by always letting the equipped monster be 100 ATK stronger than the opposing monster.
  
 
<!-- This is not an exact Decklist. Do not add multiples or staples.-->
 
<!-- This is not an exact Decklist. Do not add multiples or staples.-->
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* [[Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[General Gantala of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[General Gantala of the Ice Barrier]]
* [[General Grunard of the Ice Barrier]]
 
 
* [[General Raiho of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[General Raiho of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier]]
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* [[Samurai of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Samurai of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier]]
* [[Shock Troops of the Ice Barrier]] ''(best if in the Side Deck)''
 
 
* [[Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Strategist of the Ice Barrier]]  
 
* [[Strategist of the Ice Barrier]]  
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* [[Defender of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Defender of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Dewdark of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Dewdark of the Ice Barrier]]
* [[Reese the Ice Mistress]]
 
 
|synchro monsters =
 
|synchro monsters =
 
* [[Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]]
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* [[Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]]
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* [[Coral Dragon]]
 
* [[Coral Dragon]]
 
* [[Mist Bird Clausolas]]
 
* [[Mist Bird Clausolas]]
* [[Giganticastle]]
 
 
* [[Graydle Dragon]]
 
* [[Graydle Dragon]]
 
* [[Star Eater]]
 
* [[Star Eater]]
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* [[Mermail Abyssgaios]]
 
* [[Mermail Abyssgaios]]
 
* [[Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack]]
 
* [[Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack]]
* [[Toadally Awesome]]
 
 
|spells =
 
|spells =
 
* [[Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Medallion of the Ice Barrier]]
 
* [[Medallion of the Ice Barrier]]
* [[Swords of Revealing Light]]
 
 
* [[Forbidden Lance]]
 
* [[Forbidden Lance]]
 
* [[Instant Fusion]]
 
* [[Instant Fusion]]
* [[Miracle Synchro Fusion]] (for [[Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste]])
 
 
* [[Moray of Greed]]
 
* [[Moray of Greed]]
* [[Polymerization]]
 
 
* [[Reinforcement of the Army]]
 
* [[Reinforcement of the Army]]
 
* [[Salvage]]
 
* [[Salvage]]
 
* [[Surface]]
 
* [[Surface]]
 +
* [[Swords of Revealing Light]]
 
* [[Ties of the Brethren]]
 
* [[Ties of the Brethren]]
 
|traps =
 
|traps =
 
* [[Back to the Front]]
 
* [[Back to the Front]]
 
* [[Call of the Haunted]]
 
* [[Call of the Haunted]]
 +
* [[Dimension Guardian]]
 
* [[Eisbahn]]
 
* [[Eisbahn]]
 +
* [[Fiendish Chain]]
 
* [[Gozen Match]]
 
* [[Gozen Match]]
* [[Magician's Circle]]
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* [[Powerful Rebirth]]
* [[Magicians' Defense]]
 
 
* [[Soul Drain]]
 
* [[Soul Drain]]
 
* [[Spiritual Water Art - Aoi]]
 
* [[Spiritual Water Art - Aoi]]
 
* [[The Huge Revolution is Over]]
 
* [[The Huge Revolution is Over]]
 
* [[Torrential Rebirth]]
 
* [[Torrential Rebirth]]
|fusion monsters = * [[Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste]]
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|fusion monsters = * [[Mudragon of the Swamp]]
* [[Mudragon of the Swamp]]
 
 
* [[Sea Monster of Theseus]]|link monsters = * [[Code Talker]]
 
* [[Sea Monster of Theseus]]|link monsters = * [[Code Talker]]
 
* [[Crystron Needlefiber]]
 
* [[Crystron Needlefiber]]
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==Weaknesses==
 
==Weaknesses==
The best way is to stop them from swarming the field and using their defensive tactics, the latter of which works if they control two or more "Ice Barriers" monsters; "[[Kaiser Colosseum]]" can prevent this (Traditional Only). You can also negate their effects, which makes them virtually useless, so cards like "[[Skill Drain]]" and "[[Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King]]" can work well. You can also prevent "Gantala" from swarming the field by using Special Summon-blocking cards, such as "[[Vanity's Emptiness]]", "[[Archlord Kristya]]", "[[Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo]]", etc.
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As "Ice Barriers" thrive on having several monsters on the field, an easy way of dealing with them is to not let them do so. Also, their lockdowns are never absolute and they rely on several monsters being on the field at the same time, so disposing of one or two of those will tip the field on your favor.
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 +
You can also negate their effects, which makes them virtually useless, so cards like "[[Skill Drain]]" and "[[Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King]]" can work well. You can also prevent "Gantala" from swarming the field by using Special Summon-blocking cards, such as "[[Vanity's Emptiness]]", "[[Archlord Kristya]]", "[[Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo]]", etc.
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 17:38, 6 December 2017

Ice Barrier
"General Gantala", "General Grunard" and "General Raiho" in the artwork of "Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier".
Japanese
  • ひょうけっかい
  • 氷結界 (base)
  • ひょうけっかい (ruby)
  • Hyōkekkai (romanized)
French
  • Barrière de Glace
German
  • Eisbarriere
Italian
  • Barriera di Ghiaccio
Korean
  • 빙결계
  • 氷結界 (Hanja)
  • Binggyeolgye (romanized)
Portuguese
  • Barreira de Gelo
Spanish
  • Barrera de Hielo
Other names
Arabic
ّالحاجز الجليدي
Croatian
Ledena Fronta
Sets
Anime appearances
Manga appearances
Lists

"Ice Barrier" (ひょうけっかい Hyōkekkai) is an archetype consisting of WATER monsters resembling, for the most part, famous concepts, figures, warriors, and mythological beings of different Asian cultures. Their team symbol resembles a hexagonal snowflake. They focus on stymieing the opponent's attackers with their defensive monsters and plenty of Spell/Trap Cards to compensate for their inability to maintain hand advantage. The ace monsters of this archetype are the three Dragons and the three Generals of the Ice Barrier.

Playing style

The "Ice Barrier" Crest

Most "Ice Barrier" monsters require another of their kind - usually, but not always, on the field - in order to activate their effects, which are oriented towards field advantage. For example, many "Ice Barrier" monsters have effects to protect other "Ice Barrier" monsters, be it from attacks ("Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier" forbids all monsters of Level 4 or higher from attacking while its owner control another "Ice Barrier") or card effects ("Dai-sojo of the Ice Barrier" protects all of your "Ice Barriers" from being destroyed by Spell/Trap Cards). These effects can overlap, making "Ice Barriers" capable of creating resilient fields if several of their monsters are out. One of the three Generals of the Ice Barrier, "Raiho", does not need other "Ice Barrier" monsters for its effect to work, but it can stand on its own as well as complement their lockdowns by taking a toll on the opponent's hand if they rely on monster effects.

Many of the "Ice Barrier" monsters are not very useful if alone, making this archetype have issues if not able to establish field presence. While not plentiful, Ice Barriers do have effects of their own to facilitate having several monsters out, such as "Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier", and this is also assisted by the effects of their remaining two Generals, "Grunard" and "Gantala".

The aforementional "General Gantala of the Ice Barrier" is one of the archetype's trump cards, being a 2700 ATK monster that can Special Summon an "Ice Barrier" monster from its controller's Graveyard during each of their turns' End Phase. It can revive any "Ice Barrier" besides other copies of itself, be it monsters such as "Defender of the Ice Barrier" to create or rebuild a defensive field, "General Raiho of the Ice Barrier" to apply more pressure, or even their Synchro Monsters, making it powerful and versatile.

"Strategist of the Ice Barrier" can discard "Ice Barriers" from the hand to speed up the Deck. Specific monsters can be discarded by using "Strategist" in conjuction with "Medallion of the Ice Barrier", making revival effects such as "Call of the Haunted" and "Back to the Front" viable options to build fields. "Medallion" can also be used to gather enough different names for the activation of "Magic Triangle".

"Prior of the Ice Barrier" is a multi-purpose card - it can be used for its easy Special Summon, quickly enabling another "Ice Barrier" monster's effect, or be used for its effect to Special Summon any other "Ice Barrier" monster from the Graveyard - the usual target being "Gantala", as it can in turn revive more "Ice Barriers" turn after turn, but it can revive other monsters for Synchro and Xyz Summons as well. "Prior" himself can be easily retrieved by "Salvage" and "Surface", making it possible to use a single copy of "Prior" several times.

For the most part, "Ice Barriers" want to establish a solid field and, if possible, keep it. While they are definitely capable of Synchro Summoning with their own Tuner monsters, and all of their Synchro Monsters are very good, caution must be exercised - their Tuners themselves have defensive effects you must give up on in order to Synchro Summon, and "Ice Barriers" as a whole are not very good at gaining and keeping card advantage.

Due to the archetype's lack of draw power, you can use cards like "Shard of Greed" and "Maxx "C"".

"Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier" and its ability to return face-up cards to the hand make it possible for players to dedicate a build to it and use a variety of Spell/Trap Cards that remain on the field such as "Swords of Revealing Light" to pressure the opponent while you can replay them constantly as long as "Dewloren" is around. The many means of revival the "Ice Barrier" archetype has makes it difficult to break through "Dewloren" combos permanently without banishing it or returning it to the Extra Deck.

Recommended Cards

Using a small monster lineup, keep it consistent and simple, relying on Spell/Trap Cards to keep you in the game long enough to capitalize off of the effects of "Gantala" and "Gungnir". Since the entire archetype is made up of WATER monsters, it can benefit from using monsters such as "Barrier Statue of the Torrent" and "Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord", the latter of which shrinks your opponent's hand size, making the effect of "General Raiho" even more potent.

"Ties of the Brethren" can be used to create locks and combos with "Cryomancer" + "Dewdark" + "Secret Guards", or with "Dance Princess" + "Spellbreaker" + "Strategist". "Moon Mirror Shield" is a good way to protect the lower-ATK "Ice Barriers" from destruction in battle by always letting the equipped monster be 100 ATK stronger than the opposing monster.

Recommended cards

Official Konami Decklists

The following Decklists may or may not contain copies of cards that exceed the maximum amount allowed by the current Forbidden & Limited List. These should not be changed, as these Decklists are copied verbatim at the time they were published.

Weaknesses

As "Ice Barriers" thrive on having several monsters on the field, an easy way of dealing with them is to not let them do so. Also, their lockdowns are never absolute and they rely on several monsters being on the field at the same time, so disposing of one or two of those will tip the field on your favor.

You can also negate their effects, which makes them virtually useless, so cards like "Skill Drain" and "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King" can work well. You can also prevent "Gantala" from swarming the field by using Special Summon-blocking cards, such as "Vanity's Emptiness", "Archlord Kristya", "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo", etc.

References

  • V Jump editorial department (February 26, 2013). 遊☆戯☆王デュエルターミナルマスターガイド (in Japanese). Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-782493-4. Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)