Yang Zing
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"Yang Zing", known as "Dragon Star" (
Contents
Lore
A group of Wyrms who dwell inside the "Stars" of the Heavens and Earth. They are incarnations of elements found on the planet and the power of the bright stars in the sky brought forth by "Constellar Sombre", who has the same amount of power as a god. It's said that when the "Yang Zing" come together, a shining radiance will consume everything.[1]
Etymology
"Yang Zing" was likely an altered form of "Yang Xing", in order to avoid pronunciation difficulties. In Chinese, "Yang Xing" may be interpreted as either 陽星 yáng xīng, literally meaning "sun star", or 陽性 yáng xìng, meaning "positive" or "masculine".
The Japanese name 竜星 ryūsei uses kanji that literally translate to "dragon" and "star"; combined, it's a homonym of 流星 (ryūsei, "meteor"). It's also likely a reference to 竜生九子 Ryūsei Kyūshi, the "Nine Offspring of the Dragon".
Design
The "Yang Zing" monsters are based on the nine sons of the dragon in Chinese mythology. The nine sons of the dragon are legendary creatures that are said to be the children of the Dragon King, with forms that feature elements from both Chinese dragons and animals. In real life, they are common decorative motifs on traditional Chinese architecture and art objects. There are many different variations regarding the exact list of names and descriptions of the nine sons; the two most prominent lists came from the Ming-dynasty works Sheng'an Waiji (升庵外集) by Yang Shen and Huailu Tangji (怀麓堂集) by Li Dongyang.
"Yang Zing" monsters resemble oriental dragons with bestial traits, possessing a mane, tiger stripes, or mammalian paws. Additionally, each have a bead inside a triangle on their chest and 3 others on their horns. All of them are Wyrm, which was a new Type back at the time of their debut.
Each of the non-Pendulum Main Deck members are color-coded according to their Attribute, and there's a member for each Attribute but DIVINE. The Pendulum Monsters possess dark, nearly washed-out color, giving the impression of living statues. The Synchro Monsters have more elaborate designs, and (with the exception of "Yazi") are usually golden and brighter in appearance.
The given names of the "Yang Zing" monsters in Japanese are written in katakana. Some names are stylized derivatives of the Japanese readings of the nine sons' Chinese names, rather than their exact readings.
Members
Each "Yang Zing" monster is based on one of the sons from the various interpretations of the nine sons of the dragon.
Nine Yang Zing
According to Master Guide 5, "Constellar Sombre" created the nine "Yang Zing" monsters by materializing the energy from powerful ley lines (known as 'dragon veins' in feng shui). Eight of the "Yang Zing" monsters were created at first, then "Denglong, First of the Yang Zing" was created much later as the ninth and final "Yang Zing" monster.
Before they were chosen to become "Zefra" monsters, "Zefraniu, Secret of the Yang Zing" and "Zefraxi, Treasure of the Yang Zing" were known as "Qiuniu, Secret of the Yang Zing" and "Fuxi, Treasure of the Yang Zing", respectively.
The sons of the dragon used for the nine "Yang Zing" monsters don't align exactly with any known list of the nine sons of the dragon.
| Yang Zing | Son of the dragon |
|---|---|
| Bi'an, Earth | Bì'àn |
| Bixi, Water | Bìxì |
| Chaofeng, Phantom | Cháofēng |
| Denglong, First | Dēnglóng |
| Pulao, Wind | Púláo |
| Suanni, Fire | Suānní |
| Taotie, Shadow | Tāotiè |
| Zefraniu, Secret | Qiúniú |
| Zefraxi, Treasure | Fùxì |
"Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing" is a "Yang Zing" monster based on Chīwěn, another son of the dragon. While "Sombre" created "Chiwen" before "Denglong", it is not considered the ninth "Yang Zing" monster as it was manifested from the energy of the stars (instead of the energy of ley lines).
Combinations
The combined forms of the "Yang Zing" are fused through the power of 'connecting the stars' that was inherited by "Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing" and "Shaddoll Squamata" ("Satellarknight Unukalhai").
| Yang Zing | Visual components | Son of the dragon |
|---|---|---|
| Baxia, Brightness | Bi'an, Earth of the Yang Zing + Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing + Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing | Bāxià |
| Jiaotu, Darkness | Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing + Shaddoll Squamata | Jiāotú |
| Yazi, Evil | Yázì |
Playing style
The "Yang Zing" archetype is a Wyrm-based, Synchro-focused archetype, with a playstyle revolving around triggering floating Trigger Effects when a "Yang Zing" monster is destroyed.
The archetype's Main Deck members each have 0 ATK and/or DEF. The Main Deck non-Tuner and non-Pendulum monsters each have three effects:
- When this card is destroyed (on the field, by battle or card effect, and sent to the GY), the player can Special Summon 1 different "Yang Zing" monster from their Deck (in Attack or Defense).
- In the opponent's Main or Battle Phase, the player can perform a Synchro Summon using only "Yang Zing" monsters.
- A Synchro Monster that used this card as a Synchro Material gains a bonus effect.
| Yang Zing | Attribute | Level | ATK | DEF | Floating Effect | Individual effect summary (Synchro Monster becomes:) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulao |  WIND |
1 | 0 | 1800 | Summons in Attack | Unaffected by Spell Cards/effects. |
| Bixi |  WATER |
2 | 0 | 2000 | Unaffected by Trap Cards/effects. | |
| Bi'an |  EARTH |
3 | 1600 | 0 | Summons in Defense | Cannot be destroyed by battle. |
| Suanni |  FIRE |
4 | 1900 | 0 | Gains 500 ATK and DEF. | |
| Taotie |  DARK |
5 | 2200 | 0 | Possession cannot be switched. |
"Yang Zing" Tuner monsters each have two effects: a floating effect they share with their non-Tuner counterparts, and an individual effect to support field swarming for Synchro Summoning; they are the central monsters that enable "Yang Zing" monster swarming and Synchro plays. Both monsters have an only 1 effect once per turn condition between their floating effects and individual effects.
| Yang Zing | Attribute | Level | ATK | DEF | Floating Effect | Individual effect summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiwen |  LIGHT |
1 | 0 | 0 | Summons in Attack or Defense | When a "Yang Zing" is destroyed and sent to GY, Special Summon this card from GY.[a] |
| Jiaotu | DARK |
2 | 0 | 2000 | Summons in Attack | If you control no other monsters, send 2 "Yang Zing" cards from hand to GY, Special Summon 2 "Yang Zing" monsters (1 w/ 0 ATK, 1 w/ 0 DEF) from Deck.[b] |
"Yang Zing" Pendulum Monsters, who are also members of "Zefra", lack the floating effects on their non-Pendulum counterparts, and instead have supportive monster effects. Their existence gives the deck the potential to utilize Pendulum Summoning, as well as "Zefra" and Pendulum support.
| Yang Zing | Attribute | Level | ATK | DEF | Scale | Individual effect summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zefraxi | EARTH |
3 | 1500 | 0 |  1 |
If Pendulum Summoned or Special Summoned from Deck, make 1 different "Yang Zing" or "Zefra" monster become a Tuner this turn.[c] |
| Zefraniu | EARTH |
6 | 0 | 2600 | 7 |
When Pendulum Summoned or destroyed in the Monster Zone, search 1 "Yang Zing" or "Zefra" Spell/Trap. |
"Yang Zing" Synchro boss monsters heavily interact with the archetype's usage of floating effects and its diverse Attributes.
- "Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing" (Level 8) is a board-breaker and a combo extender. It can shuffle cards on the field into the Deck when Synchro Summoned, and it can destroy 1 friendly card to revive a monster in GY (triggering "Yang Zing" float effects).
- "Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing" (Level 7) is a board-breaker and a monster-searching combo enabler. It can target and destroy both 1 friendly "Yang Zing" monster and 1 opposing card (triggering "Yang Zing" float effects), and if it is destroyed itself (including by its own effect), it can summon any 1 Wyrm monster from the Deck, enabling a variety of combos involving non-"Yang Zing" Wyrm monsters (e.g.: "Mare Mare").
- "Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing" (Level 9) is a suppressive boss monster, providing floodgate and advantage-generating effects to overwhelm the opponent. It prevents the opponent from activating the effects of monsters with the same Attribute as the "Yang Zing" monsters used in its Synchro Summon, and if an opposing monster is destroyed, it summons 1 Wyrm monster from the Deck. It also searches a Tuner when destroyed, providing some resource recovery.
- "Denglong, First of the Yang Zing" (Level 5) is an extremely powerful searcher and combo enabler, able to rapidly generate advantage and set up the player's field. When summoned, it searches any "Yang Zing" card, it can mill 1 Wyrm monster to copy its Level (useful for further combos as it's a Tuner Synchro Monster, though it can also be "Chiwen" for its self-revival effect), and it summons a "Yang Zing" monster from Deck when it leaves the Field, including by being used as Sychro Material.
- It can set up a 1-card double negate by itself: the player would search for "Nine Pillars of Yang Zing" and mill "Chiwen". "Nine Pillars" would destroy "Denglong" to negate a card, triggering "Chiwen" to summon itself and "Denglong" to summon the Level 3 "Bi'an, Earth of the Yang Zing", who would then Synchro Summon on the opponent's turn to make "Herald of the Arc Light".
"Yang Zing" Spell/Traps provide further swarming, disruption, and recursion. The Spell "Path" recycles GY resources and provides draws, the Continuous Trap "Creation" supports field swarming by summoning a "Yang Zing" from Deck when a monster is destroyed (in addition to normal "Yang Zing" float effects), and the Counter Trap "Nine Pillars" is an omni-negate searchable by "Denglong" and "Zefraniu", that destroys a "Yang Zing" card at resolution (triggering "Yang Zing" float effects).
Some "Yang Zing" Spell/Traps, namely "Prana", "Unleashed", and "Brutality", are focused on battle (and secondarily provide protection and utility), and support a battle-based lockdown by turning opposing monsters to attack position and forcing them to attack. This lockdown can help trigger "Yang Zing" float effects and "Chaofeng"'s Special Summon effect, but are overall ineffective due to their slow speed and need for setup.
Generally, "Yang Zing" is played as a supporting engine in non-"Yang Zing" (and non-"Zefra") Decks, in one of two ways:
- Decks that destroy friendly cards for advantage, such as "Metalfoes", can use "Yang Zing" monsters to offset their destruction costs and provide more monsters for combo plays.
- Decks that can easily make Level 5 Synchros can include the "Denglong" double negate package to provide additional interruptions.
Recommended cards
Weaknesses
- "Yang Zing" decks lack the ability to perform quick and reliable swarming, as most "Yang Zing" cards lack swarming effects, and those that do have significant weaknesses:
- "Yang Zing" floating effects only float into one other monster, which does not increase the number of on-field monsters.
- "Creation" provides swarming, but it is a slow Continuous Trap.
- "Chiwen" provides provide swarming between its floating and self-revival effects, but its self-revival effect is conditional and slow, due to its "one effect per turn" condition.
- "Jiaotu" provides rapid field swarming, but its effect is very costly and requires a heavy concentration of archetypal cards. Its heavy cost also turns it into a critical chokepoint, as negating its effect puts the player at a crippling card economy disadvantage.
- Searching out "Chiwen" and "Jiaotu" in the setup also requires accessible effects that actively destroy "Yang Zing" monsters to Summon them from the Deck, which the archetype does not have; its destruction effects are either conditional or tied to its Synchro Monsters. Non-archetypal cards that destroy friendly monsters thus become necessary for "Yang Zing" setup combos, but this also makes "Jiaotu" harder to use.
- Because most "Yang Zing" floating effects are optional "When" effects, they can easily miss the activation timing if they are destroyed in certain ways.
- "Yang Zing" monsters cannot activate their float effects if they are destroyed by a two-part effect with a "then" conjunction after their destruction effect, such as "Interrupted Kaiju Slumber" or "Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend".
- "Yang Zing" monsters cannot activate their float effects if they are destroyed by an effect activated as Chain Link 2 or higher.
- Anti-Special Summon floodgates, such as "El Shaddoll Winda", "Vanity's Emptiness", and "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo", can shut down most of the Deck's plays.
- Since they rely on Special Summoning from the Deck, "Deck Lockdown" is a direct counter to the Deck's strategy.
- Since they heavily relying on Synchro Summoning, cards like "Dimensional Barrier" and "Discord" are direct counters to the Deck's strategy.
- Anti-GY floodgates, such as "Macro Cosmos", "Dimensional Fissure", and "Abyss Dweller", can prevent "Yang Zing" floating effects from being triggered.
- Their variety of Attributes makes them vulnerable to "Gozen Match" and "Battle of the Elements".
- Their dependence on Level 5 or higher Synchro monsters makes the Deck vulnerable to high-Level floodgates like "Evilswarm Ophion" and "Grave of the Super Ancient Organism".
Trivia
- This is the first Wyrm archetype introduced to the game.
- At the time of its release, the deck was the first solely Synchro-based archetype to be released since the debut of Xyz Monsters, with no Xyz support whatsoever.
- This archetype has many similarities with the "Gusto" archetype:
- Both of them are Synchro Summon-oriented Duel Terminal archetypes, and they also have their own set of "recruiter loops" which also work similarly.
- Both of these archetypes also have exactly 2 of their monsters corrupted and become "Shaddoll" monsters, with one of each combined in the form of "El Shaddoll Winda" ("Winda, Priestess of Gusto" + "Pulao, Wind of the Yang Zing").
- The lore blurb that introduced this archetype most likely referenced to the deck's primary Synchro Monster, "Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing", and its effect to clear away almost the entire field when Summoned.
Notes
References
- ↑ YGOrganization - [Lore] Shadoll and Ryuusei
