Mayakashi

Mayakashi
The transformation of the "Mayakashi" monsters in the artwork of "Mayakashi Metamorphosis"
Japanese	魔妖（まやかし） 魔妖 (base) まやかし (ruby) Mayakashi (romanized)
French	Mayakashi
German	Mayakashi
Italian	Mayakashi
Korean	마요괴 魔妖怪 (Hanja) Mayogoe (romanized)
Portuguese	Mayakashi
Spanish	Mayakashi
Sets Dark Neostorm Ignition Assault TCG Hidden Summoners Savage Strike Special Edition Duel Overload 2021 Tin of Ancient Battles Magnificent Mavens OCG Deck Build Pack: Hidden Summoners 20th Secret Rare Challenge Pack LINK VRAINS Pack 3 World Premiere Pack 2020 Secret Shiny Box Korean Special Pack Vol.1
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"Mayakashi" (魔妖（まやかし） Mayakashi) is an archetype of Zombie monsters that debuted in Deck Build Pack: Hidden Summoners.

Lore

Main article: Master Guide 6 card storylines § File No. 04: The Quarrel Between the "Mayakashi" and the "Shiranui" Continues with the Tale of "Ghost Meets Girl"

The archetype is related by lore to the "Shiranui" archetype.

Etymology

The Japanese name of "Mayakashi" combines the kanji ma (魔, "evil spirit") and the kanji ayakashi (妖, "attractive; calamity"), a general term for spirits or yōkai. The reading for Mayakashi (まやかし) is also a homophone of the Japanese word for "deception" (贋 mayakashi), which refers to the archetype's theme of specters disguised as humans.

Design

The members of this archetype are based on various yōkai from Japanese folklore. The Main Deck monsters appear to be the human disguises of the Extra Deck monsters of the same kind of "Mayakashi" (e.g. "Dakki, the Graceful Mayakashi" transforms into "Yoko, the Graceful Mayakashi"). "Yuki-Onna, the Ice Mayakashi" and her counterparts are the only Extra Deck monsters that are Link Monsters. The rest of the Extra Deck monsters are all Synchro Monsters.

Members

Attribute	Main Deck "Mayakashi"	Name origin	Extra Deck "Mayakashi"	Name origin
WATER	Yuki-Musume, the Ice	Yuki-musume (another name for Yuki-onna)	Yuki-Onna, the Ice / the Icicle / the Absolute Zero	Yuki-onna
EARTH	Shafu, the Wheeled	Shafu (rickshaw puller)	Oboro-Guruma, the Wheeled	Oboroguruma
	Tsukahagi, the Poisonous	Yatsukahagi (rebellious aborigines)	Tsuchigumo, the Poisonous	Tsuchigumo
WIND	Hajun, the Winged	Hajun	Tengu, the Winged	Tengu
FIRE	Dakki, the Graceful	Daji	Yoko, the Graceful	Yōko (Japanese name for Huli jing)
DARK	Yasha, the Skeletal	Yaksha	Gashadokuro, the Skeletal	Gashadokuro

Playing style

The "Mayakashi" playstyle is focused on using the effect of "Dakki, the Graceful Mayakashi" to repeatedly Special Summon it from the GY after using it as Synchro or Link Material, and Synchro/Link climb through the archetype's entire Extra Deck. Secondarily, the archetype is focused on triggering monster effects by Special Summoning its monsters, including Extra Deck monsters, from the GY. "Dakki, the Graceful Mayakashi" has the non-once per turn effect where when a "Mayakashi" monster is Special Summoned to the player's field from the Extra Deck, while it is in the GY, it can Special Summon itself back onto the field. This effect also triggers when "Dakki" itself is used as a material for the summon of the "Mayakashi" Extra Deck monster, allowing the archetype to perform its Synchro and Link climbs. The archetype's other Main Deck monsters provide more utility and board building capabilities. The two most valuable ones are "Hajun, the Winged Mayakashi", who can Special Summon "Dakki" from the Deck and immediately set up the Deck's Synchro and Link plays, and "Yuki-Musume, the Ice Mayakashi", who is an extender that can mill "Mezuki" for another extension. Notably, all "Mayakashi" Main Deck monsters prevents the player from Special Summoning non-"Mayakashi" monsters from the Extra Deck, either as a Continuous Effect, or as a Condition attached to their effect activations. This strict restriction greatly limits the Deck's Extra Deck options. The archetype has five Synchro Monsters at Levels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and three Link Monsters at Link Ratings 2-4. Each of them have a side-unique condition. Using the effect of "Dakki", each of these monsters can be summoned one after another, cycling through the archetype's entire Extra Deck. Each "Mayakashi" Synchro Monster has 2 effects. The first effect is a "level down" effect, where, if a friendly Link Monster (for "Gashadokuro") or Synchro Monster whose original Level is 2 higher than themselves (for all except "Gashadokuro") is destroyed by battle or an opponent's card effect, they can banish 1 other Zombie monster from GY to Special Summon themselves from the GY. Their second effect is a trigger effect activated if they're Special Summoned from the GY.

Mayakashi	Level	GY Summon Trigger Effect
Gashadokuro	11	Activate this effect; this turn, this face-up card is unaffected by other cards' effects.
Yoko	9	Destroy 1 monster your opponent controls.
Tengu	7	Destroy 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls.
Tsuchigumo	5	Have each player send the top 3 cards from their Deck to the GY.
Oboro-Guruma	3	Activate this effect; this turn, your monsters cannot be destroyed by battle.

These effects can be preemptively used with generic effects like "Book of Life", "Mezuki", and "Call of the Haunted", or with in-archetype cards like "Mayakashi Metamorphosis", "Mayakashi Winter", and "Yuki-Onna, the Icicle Mayakashi". "Yoko" and "Tengu" in particular can be Special Summoned in the opponent's turn as disruption. The archetype has three Link monsters, the Link-2 "Yuki-Onna, the Ice Mayakashi" and her Link-3 and Link-4 evolutions.

• The Link-2 "Yuki-Onna" has conditional protection and stat reduction effects. Both effects are very situational, so she's primarily used as a bridge for Link climbing.
• The Link-3 "Yuki-Onna" can negate the effects of 1 opposing monster when Special Summoned, and can banish itself from the GY as a Quick Effect to Special Summon a Zombie Synchro Monster from banish pile or GY. Her effects are useful for board-breaking, board building, and Quick Effect disruption (by Special Summoning "Yoko" and "Tengu" in the opponent's turn).
• The Link-4 "Yuki-Onna", as a trigger effect, can negate the effects of 1 monster and reduce its ATK to 0, triggered if any monster is Special Summoned from the GY, or if a monster effect is activated in the GY. Due to her high ATK, and relatively more flexible effect activation requirements, she is the main board presence for the archetype.

"Mayakashi" Spell/Traps back up its playstyle with more consistency, board suppression, and conditional tools. The most valuable "Mayakashi" Spell/Traps are "Mayakashi Return", the Deck's search Spell, and "Ghost Meets Girl - A Masterful Mayakashi Shiranui Saga", a powerful suppression Trap that prevents the opponent from Special Summoning from all locations except the Graveyard for a turn, if the player Tributes a "Mayakashi" or "Shiranui" Synchro or Link Monster. Because the archetype Special Summons so many Zombie monsters in one turn, the archetype is an excellent enabler for a "Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower" mill strategy. The archetype can Special Summon at least 28 times in a single turn (10 in Synchro climb, 6 in Link Climb, then repeat Link climb twice more), letting "Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower" mill 56 cards in one turn, enough to Deck out all Decks regardless of Deck size. Since this deck can place many different monster in the GY in one turn, "Orbital Hydralander" can be easily summoned and its effect allows the player to destroy a opponent's card while milling the deck.

Recommended cards

Recommended cards

Main Deck Monster Cards Effect Monsters Hajun, the Winged Mayakashi Shafu, the Wheeled Mayakashi Yasha, the Skeletal Mayakashi Yuki-Musume, the Ice Mayakashi Goblin Zombie Gozuki Hela, Generaider Boss of Doom Jack-o-Bolan Mezuki Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon Orbital Hydralander Shiranui Solitaire Shiranui Spiritmaster Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower Zombie Master Tuner monsters Dakki, the Graceful Mayakashi Tsukahagi, the Poisonous Mayakashi Plaguespreader Zombie Shinobi Necro Shiranui Spectralsword Uni-Zombie Spell Cards Normal Spells Mutamorphosis Book of Life De-Synchro Foolish Burial Foolish Burial Goods Extra-Foolish Burial Gold Sarcophagus Mayakashi Return One for One Zombie Necronize Zombie Reborn Pot of Avarice Field Spells Zombie World Continuous Spells Mayakashi Winter Call of the Mummy Pyramid of Wonders Synch Realm Spell Economics (to be used with "Extra Foolish Burial") Quick-Play Spells Ghost Meets Girl - A Mayakashi's Manuscript Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui's Story Burial from a Different Dimension Trap Cards Normal Traps Ghost Meets Girl - A Masterful Mayakashi Shiranui Saga Mayakashi Metamorphosis Fateful Hour Back to the Front Haunted Shrine Trap Trick White Howling Counter Traps Tutan Mask Mannadium Reframing Continuous Traps Mayakashi Mayhem Call of the Haunted Rivalry of Warlords Extra Deck Synchro Monsters Gashadokuro, the Skeletal Mayakashi Oboro-Guruma, the Wheeled Mayakashi Tengu, the Winged Mayakashi Tsuchigumo, the Poisonous Mayakashi Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon Lord Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon Yoko, the Graceful Mayakashi Shiranui Sunsaga Link Monsters Yuki-Onna, the Absolute Zero Mayakashi Yuki-Onna, the Ice Mayakashi Yuki-Onna, the Icicle Mayakashi Underworld Goddess of the Closed World Vampire Sucker

Weaknesses

• "Mayakashi" depends on its GY to perform its combos and disrupt the opponent. Cards that shut down or disrupt the GY, such as "Necrovalley", "Abyss Dweller", "Skull Meister", or "D.D. Crow", can cripple the Deck's strategy.
• "Hajun, the Winged Mayakashi" is the largest choke point in the Deck's combos, and negating "Hajun" stops the Deck's combos in its tracks.
• Without "Ghost Meets Girl - A Masterful Mayakashi Shiranui Saga", the archetype's usual end board, consisting of the conditional negates of "Yuki-Onna, the Absolute Zero Mayakashi" and the GY Special Summon of "Yuki-Onna, the Icicle Mayakashi", is generally not very effective at halting decks with multiple extenders.