Unchained
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"Unchained" (
Lore[edit]
- Only One Thought Remains, "Destroy Everything"
Once, there was a practitioner who mastered all the arts of the Taoist immortals. But the awe of the people at his incredible power changed into fear, and they were shackled by those who shunned their might, sealed over and over again by various means. Countless years passed, and before long, the soul of the master was stained with evil, as they became driven by their resentment to the world and all who lived in it. Little by little, their power began to leak from their seals, and the magical master created two duplicates of their original form, using them to manifest their former Shikigami and break their seals one-by-one.
- The Shikigami Transformed Into An Evil Being
The Twins, who destroyed the devices sealing their master away, ended up calling forth a humongous Shikigami that lusted for further power. This Shikigami, that was once used by the magical master, had been transformed into a wicked beast as a result of the current shape of the soul of its master. It absorbed the Twins, transforming it into one gigantic being. The Shikigami became even stronger, marching to the place where its master was sealed, destroying everything around it. When the magical master's seals are finally broken, the world will surely be destroyed and covered in endless darkness.[1]
An underground space dominated by darkness. A sealed coffin, large enough for one person and approximately 2~3 meters tall, hangs suspended in the air. The coffin is bound by chains reaching out in every direction, allowing one to see how secure the entire thing is.
A copy of the sealed sorcerer, created by their leaking spiritual energy. Its mind hasn't fully matured due to having been just manifested into existence, making them both as innocent yet cruel as a child.[2]
Like "Rakea", they were born from the spiritual power of the sorcerer. When they first manifested, their eyes were blindfolded and their limbs were restrained with magical sealing devices.[3]
A Shikigami summoned from the other world by the Twins. Its limbs were wrapped in chains, which have been torn apart by incredible power. Unlike in the past, when it served the great sorcerer, it now carries a sinister aura.
The magical beast has transformed into a diabolical appearance absorbing "Aruha" and "Rakea". On its forehead are Taijitu-esque magatamas made of "Aruha" and "Rakea", after being merged into its body. Its very surrondings are destroyed by the power it gained.[2]
Etymology[edit]
The archetype's Japanese name is complex, multi-layered wordplay. First, it is an homophone to both 「破壊」 ("destroy"; fitting to their playstyle to say the least) and 「破戒」 ("breaking a religious commandment"; in reference to the theme's visual design being somewhat reminding of 'tortured heretics'). In addition, the 「械」 kai kanji is part of 「機械」 kikai ("machine"), but also takes the meaning of "fetter" or "shackles" if written separately (in which case it reads as kase), alluding to the many restraining devices on the monsters' bodies.
Design[edit]
"Unchained" monsters encompass three broad designs:
- "Unchained Twins": Consisting of "Rakea", "Aruha", and "Sarama", they represent the projection copies of the sorcerer described in the archetype's lore. They have the appearance of children wearing loose-fitting traditional Japanese garments, with long, unkempt hair. "Rakea" and "Aruha" are also both restrained with shackles, and are color-coded with blue and red respectively, while "Sarama" is not and is color-coded with purple.
- The names of "Rakea" (「ラキア」, rakia) and "Aruha" (「アルハ」, aruha) are based on the kun'yomi reading of the name of famous Japanese onmyōji Abe no Seimei (Japanese: 安倍晴明), "haru akira"; inverting "haru akira" produces "rakia ruha", which can be split into "rakia" and "aruha".
- "Unchained Soul": Consisting of "Disaster", "Rage", "Anguish", and "Unchained Abomination", they represent the Shikigami of the sorcerer and its powered-up forms. It takes the form of a shackled dog-like spirit, and is variously color-coded with blue, red, and purple.
- The Japanese names of "Rage" and "Anguish" are "Ragia" and "Aruba". They are both are modified versions of the names of "Rakea" and "Aruha", with their middle syllable becoming voiced.
- The Japanese name of "Unchained Abomination", "Raigou", is likely a reference to the Raigō concept in Japanese Buddhism.
- "Abominable Unchained Soul": This monster represents the imprisoned sorcerer as described in the lore.
Playing style[edit]
The "Unchained" theme primarily focuses on destruction, either as a condition to a trigger effect, or as a part of their card effects. Secondarily, the archetype's "Unchained Soul" sub-theme focuses on using the opponent's monsters as Link Materials to Link Summon.
Almost all members of the archetype have some form of floating Trigger Effect (or equivalent) that activates after the card is destroyed on the field by battle or by card effect. These floating effects give the archetype an extreme level of resilience against battle and effect destruction, and the deck's overall game plan revolves around them; the deck uses these floating effects to Special Summon monsters from the Deck, recover GY resources, and even generate card advantage.
| Unchained | Float effect summary | |
|---|---|---|
| Unchained Twins | Rakea Aruha Sarama |
If destroyed[a]: Special Summon 1 different "Unchained" monster from Hand/Deck. |
| Unchained Soul | Abominable Soul | If destroyed: Special Summon this card from GY in the End Phase.[b] |
| Disaster | If destroyed: Special Summon 1 different "Unchained" monster from GY. | |
| Rage Anguish |
If destroyed: Add 1 different Fiend monster from GY to hand. | |
| Spell/Traps | Prison Wailing Escape Chamber |
If destroyed[c]: Special Summon 1 "Unchained" monster from Deck. |
The "Unchained Twins" low-level Main Deck monsters have effects focusing on triggering the floating effects of other "Unchained" cards. "Aruha" can Special Summon itself from the hand by destroying 1 friendly card, "Rakea" can destroy 1 friendly card as a Quick Effect, and "Sarama" can set 1 "Unchained" card from the GY onto the field, and then destroy 1 friendly card. While the former two's effects are card advantage neutral, "Sarama"'s effect grants a +1 in card advantage (if the floating effect of the cards they destroy successfully resolves).
The "Unchained Soul" high-level Main Deck and Link Monsters serve as the deck's boss monsters. The Main Deck "Disaster", as well as the Link-2 and 3 "Rage" and "Anguish", all share an effect to use an opponent's monster as a Link Material to Link Summon a 1 DARK Link Monster. This effect serves as an efficient form of non-destruction removal and Quick Effect disruption (for "Rage"), provides a clean +1 in card advantage (in contrast to most other removal effects in the archetype, which are 1-for-1 trades), and lets the player easily Link-climb through the deck's Link Monsters.
| Unchained Soul | Monster card type | Link effect requirements | Link effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disaster | Level 8 Main Deck |
In your Main Phase, target 1 opposing face-up monster | Link Summon 1 [different] DARK Link Monster using only this card and that monster. |
| Rage | Link 2 | In your opponent's Main Phase, target 1 opposing face-up Special Summoned monster | |
| Anguish | Link 3 | In your Main Phase, target 1 opposing face-up monster |
The Level 8 Main Deck "Abominable Unchained Soul" serves as an additional piece of disruption for the deck. "Abominable Soul" can Special Summon itself from the hand if a friendly card is destroyed by battle or card effect, and if Special Summoned, lets the player discard 1 card to destroy 1 card on the field. This effect triggers regardless of how it's Special Summoned; "Abominable Soul" can be summoned from the Deck with the Deck's many floating effects, or summoned from the GY with its own effect or "Abominable Chamber". However, the player can only Special Summon "Abominable Soul" once per turn, restricting its power level somewhat.
The ultimate in-archetype boss monster, "Unchained Abomination", has three once-per-turn Trigger Effects that each destroy 1 card on the field: once if an on-field card is destroyed by another card's effect, once if a monster is destroyed by battle, and once during the End Phase. "Abomination" can rapidly shift the balance of the game state towards its user, and can even be used to trigger more "Unchained" floating effects. It is also technically a fully generic monster, able to be splashed into other decks as a standalone boss monster.
The individual effects of the archetype's Spell/Traps provide additional searching, disruption, and recovery. "Abomination's Prison" searches any "Unchained" card (but notably isn't an "Unchained" card itself, meaning that it can't be set from GY by "Sarama"), "Wailing" once per turn destroys a card when an "Unchained" Links Monsters is Link Summoned, "Escape" destroys 1 "Unchained" monster and 1 other card on the field (making for a 1-for-1 trade if the monster's floating effect successfully resolves), and "Abominable Chamber" summons 1 "Unchained" monster from hand or GY, which can be used as a disruption by summoning "Abominable Unchained Soul" or "Unchained Soul of Rage".
