Alien

Alien
Alien
Japanese	エーリアン
Japanese (romanized)	Ērian
English	Alien
Other names French: Alien Arabic: ّالمخلوق الفضائي
Appears in (sets)	Power of the Duelist Cyberdark Impact Strike of Neos Force of the Breaker Tactical Evolution Gladiator's Assault Crimson Crisis Raging Battle Absolute Powerforce
Lists	members support

The Aliens are a series of Reptile-Type cards introduced in "Power of the Duelist", with further support added in "Cyberdark Impact", "Strike of Neos", "Force of the Breaker, "Tactical Evolution, "Gladiator's Assault", "Crimson Crisis" and "Raging Battle". "Alien" Decks focus heavily on exploiting "A-Counters", which weaken opposing monsters battling against "Aliens" and permit "Alien" users to activate a variety of specific theft, revival, and destruction effects. This is the first true Reptile archetype and one of the only archetypes, along with "Reptilianne", that focuses heavily on manipulating the opponent with giant Tenticles

They seem to be based on many science-fiction views of aliens, and the way they operate in stories, such as brainwashing, genetic manupulation of some sort, and strange biological experiments (as evidenced by "Interplanetary Invader "A"", which appears to be a mutated, living, or even intelligent form of an A-Counter). Their appearance seems to draw inspiration from these as well, like big eyes, a tail instead of feet, large claws, long tentacles, slender bodies, multiple arms, etc.

There is another Reptile-type archetype that's based on alien-like creatures, the Worm Reptiles, making it kind of a theme for the type. Nevertheless, both Archetypes play differently.

Playing style

"Aliens" have a variety of lower-level monsters, such as "Alien Warrior" and "Alien Grey", that generate essential A-Counters. However, prior to "Crimson Crisis," they suffered from a distinct lack of effects to exploit these counters once they have been created. Cards like "Alien Telepath", "Alien Hypno", and "Alien Mars" have potentially disruptive, yet situational, effects. By contrast, the powerful field-clearing effect of "Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar", as well as the revival provided by "Code A Ancient Ruins", now give the Deck a more reliable means of converting A-Counters into Card Advantage. "Crimson Crisis" also introduced "Planet Pollutant Virus", a card which doubles as mass-removal and lingering A-Counter generation. Cards like "Alien Overlord" from "Crimson Crisis" and "Alien Dog" from the subsequent "Raging Battle", also gave "Aliens" a newfound ability to Swarm the field.

"Crimson Crisis" and "Raging Battle" have indeed added a variety of needed support for "Alien" monsters, and as such there are now several different builds and play styles for the archetype. The "Alien" cards prior to "Crimson Crisis" emphasized lower-level effect monsters like "Alien Psychic" and "Alien Hunter", and monster manipulation, such as "Brainwashing Beam" and "Mass Hypnosis". While such a strategy is still possible, it is distinctly suboptimal when compared to modernized builds that emphasize "Gol'gar" and the easy destruction and revival (through its quick counter generation for "Code A Ancient Ruins") that it supplies. "Gol'gar" can further be paired with powerful Continuous Spell Cards, like "Prohibition" or "Burden of the Mighty", along with cards like "Ancient Forest" and "Swords of Revealing Light" to create a strong Control archetype that excels at A-Counter generation via Gol'gar's effect.

No monster in the archetype has over 2600 ATK, a value shared by "Gol'gar" and its underpowered predecessor, "Cosmic Horror Gangi'el", together the so-called "boss monsters" of the "Aliens". However, the Reptile-type "Evil Dragon Ananta" can have some amazing field clearing abilities. None of these monsters counts as "Alien" monsters per se, and hence does not weaken opposing monsters burdened with A-Counters. This drawback is largely irrelevant, however, especially in the case of "Gol'gar", which is the highest ATK Level 5 Monster Card in the game and able to eliminate most threats from the field either by its effect or said disproportionately high ATK.

All "Alien" Decks ultimately rely on A-Counters to operate. A swarming "Alien" Deck needs ample A-Counters to Special Summon "Overlord" and activate "Code A Ancient Ruins". "Alien" Decks that manipulate the opponent's monsters via "Alien Hypno", "Brainwashing Beam", and "Mass Hypnosis" require A-Counters to maintain control of the pilfered monsters. Another important effect of an "Alien" Deck is the A-Counter 300 effect, an effect that reduces the ATK and DEF of a monster by 300 points for every counter on it. Most "Alien" monsters have this effect included, such as "Alien Warrior", "Alien Grey" and "Alien Telepath", however some "Aliens" with powerful effects like "Alien Hypno" and "Alien Dog" do not. Not only this, the effect that reduces the Attack of Monsters fighting "Aliens" works for each "Alien" with that effect on the field. Easily explained, (Number of monsters with ability) X (Number of counters on monster fighting an "Alien") X 300 = Amount of Attack lost.

Gol'gar control variants obviously exploit "Gol'gar's" ability both to generate A-Counters and to instantly convert those counters into free removal. There is a combo that uses "Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar" and "Swords of Revealing Light". By using "Gol'gar's" ability to return face up Spell and Trap cards of your choosing back to the owner's hand, you can return your "Swords of Revealing Light" back to your hand and play it back on the field. By repeating this you'll have unlimited "Swords of Revealing Light". Also you'll put A-counters on all face up monsters on the field including your own, and destroy pesky cards that your opponent controls (you can only use this combo once per-turn).

Weaknesses

"Aliens" are weak against Decks with superior speed, such as "X-Saber","Legendary Six Samurai, or "Blackwing". The Deck itself has little draw power outside of "Grey" which causes it to have trouble against faster Decks like the ones above. Specialized Searchers such as "Gold Sarcophagus", "Oshaleon", "Snake Whistle", and "Damage = Reptile" can partially alleviate this problem by letting you retrieve your combo pieces more efficiently, but not all of them fit comfortably into the Archetype and many of them can be situational as draws.

The "Alien"-based Deck is also bad against "Gladiator Beast" for one sole reason: A-counters. When a "Gladiator Beast" tags out, it removes the A-counters on it. So since they can all tag out with a few exceptions, the basis of this Deck, the A-counters, become useless rendering the main strategy useless. After that you can only fight back with sheer power and thats one thing most "Aliens" don't have. You can stash a "G.B. Hunter" in your Side Deck to counter this.

"Aliens" also have no native, major offensive threat outside of Gol'gar. Although "Warrior" and "Shocktrooper" boast high ATK scores for Level 4 Monster Cards, they quickly lose value after the few first turns of the game, when Synchro Monsters, Fusion Monsters, and other powerful cards begin hitting the field. Gol'gar helps to keep "Aliens" in the race. Other Synchros like "Ally of Justice Catastor" (instantly Summonable by "Ammonite" and useful against "Lightsworns" in particular) also help the Deck to keep a solid footing against those "speedy" Decks. "Counter Cleaner" can make this Deck useless if used correctly.

Recommended Cards

An reptile monster that can reduce mother monsters to 0 attack points and it cant be destroyed by battle and you can also use it for an extra syncro material monster

Card Name	Reason
Monsters
Alien Ammonite	Allows you to instantly Synchro Summon for a "Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar" by Special Summoning any level 4 "Alien" from your Graveyard.
Alien Dog	Gives you the ability to quickly control the field. By summoning "Warrior" and Special Summoning this card allows you to have two counters to summon "Alien Overlord". Then, by playing a "Code A Ancient Ruins", your "Aliens" are almost unstoppable, apart from mass monster removal. You can also Special Summon in response to "Alien Ammonite" for a level 4-8 Synchro Monster.
Alien Grey	This card adds only one A-Counter, however it also grants draw power that is missing in this Deck type, drawing an extra card.
Alien Hypno	Special Summon it with "Mysterious Triangle" or "Code A Ancient Ruins" and you can Gemini Summon it. If you played "Planet Pollutant Virus" before reviving "Hypno", you could take control of all your opponent's monsters.
Alien Kid	Helps when an opponent swarms the field, especially when combined with "Mass Hypnosis".
Alien Mars	This card negates the effects of monsters with A-Counters, so it can be used as a "Skill Drain" on your opponent's monsters. Doesn't negate the activation so cards like "Stardust Dragon" will still work. Can be used with "Alien Ammonite" to make "Armory Arm".
Alien Mother	Is similar to "Goyo Guardian", helping your swarm but lacks the A-Counter 300 effect, making it hard to use against monsters stronger than itself.
Alien Overlord	One of the key cards of the Deck, due to being easily summonable and fast to generate A-Counters.
Alien Psychic	Useful by having its ability, being a DARK-Type for "Chaos Sorcerer", and can be used with "Crop Circles" to pull "Alien Ammonite" out easier. Combined with a card like "Overlord" or "Gang'iel" you can maintain control over the field and stop all summoned monsters from attacking. With a "Sakuretsu Armor" or "Magic Cylinder" in case of swarming, it gives you a good control of the field.
Alien Telepath	Handy for Spell and Trap removal.
Alien Warrior	A nice beatstick that helps generating A-Counters. Its effect allows you to Special Summon it from the Graveyard with "Code A Ancient Ruins" after it has been destroyed by battle.
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning	Many strong "Aliens" are LIGHT and DARK attribute, making this a surprising trump card. This is a little better than "Chaos Sorcerer" (below) due to the same effect with optional double attack in exchange for not using the effect.
Chaos Sorcerer	Many strong "Aliens" are LIGHT and DARK attribute, making this a surprising trump card. Capable of removing troubling Monsters without having to attack them as well as banish them if they are a searcher like "Pyramid Turtle".
Cosmic Horror Gangi'el	A nice alternative to "Overlord", which can generate A-Counters each turn giving you good command of the battlefield, and is only held back with its high level. Combining with either "Brainwashing Beam", "Alien Mother", or "Alien Hypno", it is easily summonable however.
Evil Dragon Ananta	Powerful either as a finisher move or as a last resort.
Honest	Quite a large amount of "Aliens" are LIGHT attribute. Along with the ATK reduction effects, this card can provide extra protection against strong monsters.
Oshaleon	A possible searcher for "Alien Ammonite".
Shining Angel	Can search "Alien Ammonite" and "Alien Dog" easily while thinning your Deck.
Extra Deck
Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar	The best generating card in this Archetype, with the best attack of all the Level 5 Monsters, and being easily synchro summoned by "Alien Ammonite", you can gain control almost instantly by summoning "Ammonite" and dumping an "Alien" to the Graveyard with "Lightning Vortex" or "Raigeki Break". Also, combined with "Swords of Revealing Light", you can generate A-Counters without being attacked. Can additionally bounce your opponent's Spells and Traps, causing some effects to not affect you properly.
Ally of Justice Catastor	A very powerful Synchro that can help stall for a finishing move. Can also be summoned easily with "Alien Ammonite" and a Level 4 "Alien" Monster.
Ancient Sacred Wyvern	Great card to finish your opponent off and can be easily summoned with "Ammonite" and "Overlord".
Armory Arm	Easily Synchro Summoned using "Alien Ammonite" and "Alien Mars" or "Alien Dog". Adds serious Effect Damage to "Gol'gar" or a stolen opponent's monster along with a huge boost in attack
Light End Dragon
Spells
"A" Cell Breeding Device	Steady way for dispensing A-Counters.
"A" Cell Incubator	Take counters off this card to effectively use effects for free. Each time an effect removes an A-Counter(s), you can add up to 3 more to the Field (one per ""A" Cell Incubator" on the Field). Can be destroyed using "Alien Telepath" in order to distribute the A-Counters.
"A" Cell Scatter Burst	A quick way to place A-Counters on the field. Destroys your "Alien" Monster and places A-Counters equal to that Monster's level on any Monster your opponent has. If you have "Code A Ancient Ruins" on the field, a level 4 Alien equals 4 A-Counters, and you can resummon your monster again, works well with "Mass Hypnosis", placing A-Counters on as many cards as possible. Also, due to to the large amount of A-Counters that it creates, it can be used with basically any A-Counter using card.
Burden of the Mighty	Very powerful continuous spell that helps keep the usually low attack "Aliens" on par with powerful beatsticks. It can also be bounced with "Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar".
Code A Ancient Ruins	You can use this card's effect, then return it to your hand with "Gol'gar". You can then play this card again to Special Summon a second "Alien" from your Graveyard because returning this card to your hand bypasses the "Once per turn" limit.
Molting Escape	Equips to all "Aliens", prevents battle destruction once per turn, "Gol'Gar" can bounce to reuse on another "Alien" and gain A-Counters.
Mysterious Triangle	This card destroys your "Alien" Monster as well, so it can work with "Code A Ancient Ruins". It also works well with "Gol'gar", clear the opponent's field, swarm and attack for game.
Nightmare's Steelcage	Stops the opponent from attacking during their turn. "Gol'gar" can bounce it so you can attack and gain A-Counters; play it again before you end your turn.
One for One	For Special Summoning "Alien Ammonite" and possibly "Alien Psychic".
Otherworld - The "A" Zone	Guarantees an extra ATK and DEF loss: your weaker "Alien"s can survive longer. It is also bounceable with "Gol'Gar".
Solidarity	Gives a great ATK advantage and is good along side with "Gol'Gar". However, it isn't recommended because it forces you to abandon using non-Reptile monsters, like "Honest" or "Chaos Sorcerer".
Swords of Revealing Light	Prevents your opponent from attacking. "Gol'gar" can bounce it so you can gain A-Counters; play it again before you end your turn.
Viper's Rebirth	This card destroys your "Alien" monster; it can work with "Code A Ancient Ruins".
Traps
Alien Brain	Use to take control of your opponent's strongest monster when they attack, for turning the tides or summoning "Gang'iel".
Brainwashing Beam	Useful to steal the only monster your opponent has. Unloading an ""A" Cell Incubator" on the targeted monster will keep it yours for a while. Will also allow you to have opponent's monsters for tribute and Synchro Summon. This card can also be bounced with "Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar" to switch monsters.
Cell Explosion Virus	A "Mirror Force" with a slight requirement that is easily met through this Deck. Nasty response when your opponent thinks that your end is near. Bypasses "Mirror Force's" limited ban.
Crop Circles	This nifty card can trade in any monster on your side of the field (including opponent's monsters you have taken) for an "Alien", you can tribute "Psychic" for "Ammonite", "Mother" for "Overlord" and "Skull" for "Warrior". If your opponent attempts to use "Dimensional Prison" or "Sakuretsu Armor" you can use this card, which will stop the effect. You can also trade in multiple cards to combine their levels, such as "Alien Dog" and "Mars" for "Overlord" or other combinations.
Damage = Reptile	A good card for swarming or replacing "Aliens" on the field. When a weak reptile monster gets killed, you can bring out a monster with attack less then the damage you took. Difficult to use as most "Aliens" have 1600 ATK with the except of "Alien Dog" (whose effect is useless through this card), "Alien Mars" (useful but situational), and weaker cards like "Ammonite" or "Alien Psychic" and "Gray".
Detonator Circle "A"	Can counter an opponents attack, but has a double edged effect.
Gravity Bind	"Gol'Gar" can bounce this to reuse, gain A-Counters, and cause a One-Sided affect limiting opponent from attacking.
Light of Intervention	You can't place counters on face-down monsters.
Mass Hypnosis	A great card. Use with "Alien Overlord's" effect and you can gain all your opponents monsters. Acts like a temporary "Alien Hypno" without having to do any summoning. Bounce it with "Gol'gar" to allow control during each of your turns.
Offering to the Snake Deity	This card destroys your "Alien" Monster, making it work well with "Code A Ancient Ruins". If you have two "Ancient Ruins" face-up on the field, you can instantly bring the "Alien" you destroyed back. This also puts "Aliens" in the Graveyard for "Alien Ammonite's" effect.
Planet Pollutant Virus	Great field clearer that allows you to save yourself in a pinch. Places counters on monster summoned for the next three turns, and combined with a control trap, summoned monsters are quickly taken away.
W Nebula Meteorite	Easy way to bring "Cosmic Horror Gangi'el" onto the field.