Nekroz

Nekroz
From the left to right: "Nekroz of Brionac", "Nekroz of Trishula", "Nekroz of Gungnir", with "Nekroz Mirror"
Japanese	影霊衣（ネクロス） 影霊衣 (base) ネクロス (ruby) Nekurosu (romanized)
French	Nékroz
German	Nekroz
Italian	Nekroz
Korean	네크로즈 Nekeurojeu (romanized)
Portuguese	Necroz
Spanish	Necroz
Sets Booster SP: Tribe Force Secrets of Eternity The Secret Forces Crossed Souls
Lists	Members Support

"Nekroz" (影霊衣（ネクロス） Nekurosu) is a Ritual Summon-based archetype comprised primarily of WATER monsters that debuted in Booster SP: Tribe Force with further support in Secrets of Eternity.

Lore

They're a clan that perfected magical rituals to weave the power of legendary monsters into armors via a magical mirror, and clad themselves into them. This power allows them to even control the power of the "Ice Barrier Dragons".

Background

Presumably, after the end of war against Sophia and the ascension of Sombre and Kerykeion, Avance (who has grown into Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz) and Emilia (who has grown into Dance Princess of the Nekroz) have formed a family and given birth to a child named Shurit. They are also joined by a Dragon warrior called Exa.

Design

Appearance

The archetype is based on Ritual Summoning humanoids that are wearing armor modeled after deceased monsters. The "Nekroz" monsters are based on monsters from Duel Terminal archetypes, such as "Ice Barrier", "Gishki", "Mist Valley", "Ally of Justice", and "Fabled", and have similar effects; also, the Ritual Monsters are counterparts of existing Synchro Monsters (with the exception with "Nekroz of Sophia", who is the counterpart of the Effect Monster "Sophia, Goddess of Rebirth") from the aforementioned archetypes whose Levels range from 3 to 11.

"Nekroz" counterpart	Original card
Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz	Gishki Avance
Dance Princess of the Nekroz	Gishki Emilia
Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz	—
Nekroz Cycle	Aquamirror Cycle
Nekroz Mirror	Gishki Aquamirror
Nekroz Kaleidoscope	Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier
Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz	the son of Gishki Avance and Gishki Emilia
Zefraxa, Flame Beast of the Nekroz	Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz (and possibly a Laval Monster)
Zefrasaber, Swordmaster of the Nekroz	Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz (and possibly a X-Saber Monster)
Nekroz of Clausolas	Mist Bird Clausolas
Nekroz of Unicore	The Fabled Unicore
Nekroz of Catastor	Ally of Justice Catastor
Nekroz of Brionac	Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Nekroz of Gungnir	Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Nekroz of Valkyrus	Fabled Valkyrus
Nekroz of Trishula	Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Nekroz of Decisive Armor	Ally of Justice Decisive Armor
Nekroz of Sophia	Sophia, Goddess of Rebirth

Etymology

"Nekroz" is a portmanteau of "necro" and "cloth/cross" ("Kurosu" can be translated to both words, both which fit the archetype's theme) refering to the armors (cloth/cross) based on legendary monsters(necro).

Playing style

"Nekroz" is an archetype that relies on Ritual Summoning. Its Ritual Monsters are counterparts of existing Synchro Monsters (with the exception of Nekroz of Sophia) and feature similar effects. The non-Ritual Monsters serve as conventional ritual support, fulfilling tribute requirements and/or fetching key cards to maintain consistency.

Primarily, the "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters ATK or DEF stats are the same as their Synchro counterparts (except "Nekroz of Clausolas", which has the reversed ATK and DEF as "Ally of Justice Clausolas"), while also having the same Level. The effects of those ones with Level from 3 to 6 are used to suppress monsters Summoned from the Extra Deck, while the effects of those ones whose Levels range from 7 to 11 give to the player more card/field advantage, mainly by destroying and/or banishing other cards. In addition, all of them feature a second ability that can be activated by discarding them; these effects range from protecting and empowering your "Nekroz" monsters to reviving them and searching for resources. This remarkable property alleviates the recurring problem with Ritual monsters becoming dead draws when the player does not have means of Ritual Summoning them. In addition, the discard-based effects of those ones with Level from 3 to 6 are Spell Speed 1, while the ones with Level 7 and above can be activated during either player's turn.

It should be noted that the archetype's Ritual Monsters are all Nomi monsters that can only be Special Summoned by Ritual Summon. Additionally, all of them (with the exception of "Clausolas" and "Unicore") have restrictions regarding the requirements that can be used for their Ritual Summons. "Catastor" and "Brionac" prohibit the usage of other copies of themselves as Tributes in their Ritual Summons, while you cannot Tribute monsters that share the same Levels as "Gungnir", "Valkyrus", "Trishula", and "Decisive Armor" to Ritual Summon them. "Sophia" can only be Ritual Summoned from your hand using 3 monsters with different Types as Tributes.

"Nekroz"	Level	Self-discard effect	On-field effect
Clausolas	3	Adds 1 "Nekroz" Spell/Trap card from the Deck to the hand.	During either player's turn, targets 1 monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, negates its effects and makes it ATK 0, until the end of that turn.
Unicore	4	Targets 1 "Nekroz" card in the Graveyard and adds it to the hand.	Continuously negates the effect of monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck.
Catastor	5	Targets 1 "Nekroz" monster in the Graveyard and Special Summons it.	If an opponent's monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck battles a "Nekroz" monster, it is destroyed at the start of the Damage Step.
Brionac	6	Adds 1 "Nekroz" monster from the Deck to the hand, except another copy of itself.	Targets up to 2 monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck and sends them to the Deck.
Gungnir	7	Targets 1 "Nekroz" monster on the its controller's side of the field and prevents it from being destroyed during that turn.	Once a turn and during either player's turn, by the cost of a "Nekroz" card on the hand, targets and destroys any card on the field.
Valkyrus	8	Banishes 1 "Nekroz" card from the Graveyard, negates an attack and ends the Battle Phase.	Allows its controller to tribute up to 2 monsters from the field and/or hand in order to draw 1 card for each monster tributed.
Trishula	9	Negates the activation of an effect that targets 1 ally "Nekroz" monster.	Upon its Ritual Summon, banishes 1 card from the opponent's side of the field, hand (randomly) and Graveyard (without targeting them).
Decisive Armor	10	Targets 1 ally "Nekroz" monster and increases its ATK and DEF by 1000 until the end of that turn.	Targets, destroys and banishes 1 opposing Set card.
Sophia	11	By discarding itself along with a "Nekroz" Ritual Spell Card, prevents the opponent from Special Summoning from the Extra Deck during the Main Phase 1 this effect was activated.	Upon its Ritual Summon, banishes all other cards on the field and from both players' Graveyard.

Their Ritual Spell Cards are very flexible and have additional effects and conditions that help to achieve the requirements of the Ritual Summons:

• "Nekroz Mirror" can banish "Nekroz" monsters from your Graveyard as part of the Tributes needed for the Ritual Summon;

• "Nekroz Kaleidoscope" is a unique Ritual Spell Card, that can be used to Ritual Summon any number of "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters, and can send, from the Extra Deck, a monster whose Level is the same as the total Levels of the intended Ritual Monsters; this versatility helps to maintain card advantage by keeping the monsters on your field and/or hand intact;

• "Nekroz Cycle" can Ritual Summon a "Nekroz" monster from your Graveyard, and is the first Ritual Spell that can do so.

Each of them also have a second effect that lets you banish it and a "Nekroz" monster from your Graveyard in order to search for any "Nekroz" Spell Card, provided you control no monsters.

There are also other cards that can give more options to the Deck, such as:

• "Djinn of Rituals" monsters: if used for a Ritual Summon, they give that Ritual monster additional effects, such as immunity against Trap Cards, effects that target it, or even preventing any Special Summon your opponent may attempts.

• "Necroface": in a mid-game, if you used the second effect of the "Nekroz" Ritual Spell Cards several times, there will probably be many banished cards; use this monster to retrieve them while it also can be used as a tribute fodder for a Ritual Summon.

• "Gishki Chain": its effect lets you fetch a Ritual Monster/Spell Card from your deck to your hand upon its Normal Summon, provided it is among the first 3 cards revealed.
  • "Gishki Vision"/"Shadow": can be used as the entire Tribute for a Ritual Summon of a WATER monster.

• "Pot of Dichotomy": you can use it to simply fill your Deck with "Nekroz" monsters and draw 2 cards, but also can be used to send Synchro/Fusion monsters back to the Extra Deck tributed by the effect of "Nekroz Kaleidoscope", while giving you 2 free cards.

• "Mermail Abysspike": discard any WATER monster to add "Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz" or "Nekroz of Clausolas". For example, discard "Nekroz of Trishula", add "Nekroz of Clausolas" and discard Clausolas for a "Nekroz Cycle" and Ritual summon Trishula from the Graveyard.

Recommended Cards

Recommended Cards

Main Deck Monster Cards Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz Dance Princess of the Nekroz Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz Nekroz of Clausolas Nekroz of Unicore Nekroz of Catastor Nekroz of Brionac Nekroz of Gungnir Nekroz of Valkyrus Nekroz of Trishula Nekroz of Decisive Armor Nekroz of Sophia Senju of the Thousand Hands Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands Armageddon Knight Djinn Releaser of Rituals Djinn Presider of Rituals Djinn Prognosticator of Rituals Djinn Disserere of Rituals Djinn Demolisher of Rituals Spell Cards Nekroz Cycle Nekroz Kaleidoscope Nekroz Mirror Preparation of Rites Reinforcement of the Army Ritual Cage Trap Cards Aquamirror Cycle Royal Decree Solemn Scolding Urgent Ritual Art Vanity's Emptiness Extra Deck Synchro Monsters One can put any Synchro Monster that would match the Level of the Ritual Monsters, in order to use them as fodder for "Nekroz Kaleidoscope"; the same is valid for Fusion Monsters. A particularly good candidate is "Herald of the Arc Light", which adds any Ritual Monster/Spell Card from the deck to the hand whenever it is sent to the Graveyard.

Weaknesses

• The main threat to the "Nekroz" strategy are cards that lock its owner's Deck from searching effects, such as "Thunder King Rai-Oh" and mainly "Mistake". This counter-strategy is especially threatening because it can single-handedly shut down the effects of "Clausolas", "Brionac", "Shurit", "Reinforcement of the Army", "Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands", "Senju of the Thousand Hands", "Preparation of Rites", and the second effect of their Ritual Spells.
  • One can also use "Shared Ride" to take advantage of their many searching effects and gain a strong hand advantage.
• "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters are also vulnerable to effects that shut down in-hand effects, such as "Mind Drain", "Debunk", etc. "Imperial Iron Wall" can lock your Graveyard from the effect of the Ritual Spell Cards and the effects of "Valkyrus", "Trishula" and "Decisive Armor".
• "Nekroz" archetypes rely entirely on Special Summoning, so "Vanity's Emptiness", "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo", or even their own "Djinn Releaser of Rituals" (in mirror matches) can detain the deck for a while.
• "Masked HERO Dark Law" is also very powerful, since it will banish any Tributes for the Ritual Summons while also banishing the Ritual Spell Cards themselves after their resolve, making the Deck run out of resources in the long run. It also banishes a random card from the hand after a searching effect resolves, potentially crippling the "Nekroz" strategy.
  • Any decks that can utilize "Number 80: Rhapsody in Berserk" can use it to banish the Ritual Spells from the Graveyard, preventing them from adding a new one from the Deck to the hand with their effects.
• Cards that negate the effects of Spell Cards, such as "Naturia Beast" and "Spell Canceller", are also major threats to this deck as they stop the deck from Special Summoning any of its Ritual Monsters (albeit they can be easily mitigated with the monster effect of "Zefrasaber").
• "El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis" stops "Nekroz" decks in their tracks as its effect forbids any Special Summoning from the hand or Graveyard with Spell or Trap effects, essentially making all three of their Ritual Spells useless in the hand.
• "Virus" cards such as "Crush Card Virus" and "Deck Devastation Virus" will work well against them due to the fact they must discard monsters from the hand and destroy the ones they control on the field. Using "Eradicator Epidemic Virus" and declaring "Spell Cards" can rid their hand of any Ritual Spells they may have, and send any other Ritual Spells they may draw to the Graveyard.

Trivia

• "Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz", "Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz", and "Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz" are all featured in the artworks of "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters whose Levels are divisible by their own Levels: 3, 4, and 5, respectively. "Dance Princess of the Nekroz" on the other hand, appears in the artworks of "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters whose Levels are prime numbers.
• It seems that the "Nekroz" armors have innate ability to affect its wearer's age; the higher their Level, the older they becomes, and vice-versa.
  • In Shurit's case, he's at his oldest when he wears Trishula's armor, as evidenced by "Nekroz of Trishula" has the highest Level (9) among his Ritual Monster form.
  • In Great Sorcerer's case, he's at his youngest when he wears Unicore's armor, as evidenced by "Nekroz of Unicore" has the lowest Level (4) among his Ritual Monster form.
  • Despite this, it seems that "Dance Princess of the Nekroz" and "Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz" is unaffected by this phenomenon for some unknown reason.