Aesir
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 From left to right, "Loki", "Odin" and "Thor" (with Odin holding "Nordic Relic Gungnir" and wearing "Nordic Relic Draupnir") towering over Team Ragnarok. | |||||||||||||
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"Aesir", known as "Polar God" (
In the anime, the "Aesir" monsters are DIVINE Divine-Beast monsters. They are the only Synchro Monsters that are either DIVINE or Divine-Beast in any medium. However, their Attributes and Types were changed in the OCG. "Loki, Lord of the Aesir" is a DARK Spellcaster, "Thor, Lord of the Aesir" is an EARTH Beast-Warrior and "Odin, Father of the Aesir" is a LIGHT Fairy. Each member of Team Ragnarok possesses one of these cards.
Members
| Æsir | Supported archetype | Holder |
|---|---|---|
| Odin, Father of the Aesir | Nordic Ascendant | Halldor |
| Thor, Lord of the Aesir | Nordic Beasts | Dragan |
| Loki, Lord of the Aesir | Nordic Alfar | Broder |
History
The three cards are named for the most prominent among the Æsir of Norse mythology: Odin, the so-called Allfather and king of the Æsir; Thor, known as the god of thunder and strongest among the gods; and Loki, a notorious trickster and Jötunn who was usually associated with the Aesir until orchestrating the death of Baldr, for which he was tied to a stone as punishment until Ragnarök, the end of the world. The term “Polar God” could refer to the Scandinavian origins of Norse myths, as the region stretches up to the Arctic Circle and therefore towards the North Pole. Notably, while the term “Æsir” is usually spelled with the letter ash (Æ/æ), the TCG spells it “Aesir,” likely for familiarity with an audience that largely doesn’t use said character, being most common in Scandinavian languages like Danish and Norwegian.
In the anime, the 3 “Aesir” cards were found by the three Duelists who possessed the Rune Eyes. Each card was found within a cave dominated by a shrine made of tree roots, ostensibly in reference to the “World Tree” Yggdrasil, which connects the Nine Realms of Norse mythology. Among the Nine Realms are Asgard, land of the Æsir, and Midgard, home of humans and another name for Earth, thus these shrines may symbolize a connection to Asgard itself, hence the power of the “Aesir” cards.
Powers (anime)
The powers of these Gods rival that of the Crimson Dragon. When "Thor" clashed with "Red Dragon Archfiend", both monsters emitted a strange energy pulse, wreaking havoc around the Dueling arena and drastically upsetting the weather outside the stadium.[1] During Team Ragnarok's match against Team 5D's, the attacks of the Aesir dealt real damage to Jack and Crow.
These cards also protected Team Ragnarok and their memories from the Three Pure Nobles' alterations of the timeline.[2]
Playing style
The main goal is to summon "Odin" and "Thor" to lock your opponent from using Spell Card, Trap Card or Effect Monster's effect and have at least 1 beatstick on the field.
"Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant" is used, for versatile Synchro Summoning, deck thinning, and its ability to help summon both "Thor" and "Loki". However, be advised that "Vanadis" can only be tuned with other "Nordic" monsters.
Weaknesses
Since a "Aesir" Deck's de facto stratagem has Synchro Summons as its centrepiece, Anti-Synchro cards such as "Discord", "Synchro Control", and "Maxx "C"" can hurt this Deck's purpose.
"Koa'ki Meiru Drago" can keep "Loki" and "Odin" off of the Field, as "Loki" and "Odin", as well as all of the "Nordic Alfar" and "Nordic Ascendant" monsters, are LIGHT or DARK. Cards like "Archlord Kristya", "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" "Jowgen the Spiritualist" and the "Vanity's" cards can be a more complete solution in crippling "Nordics", though.
Banishing cards such as "Dimensional Fissure", "Macro Cosmos", and "Banisher of the Radiance" can hurt this Deck too, since "Nordic" Tuners won't be in the Graveyard anymore to revive fallen "Aesir"--on that note, these aces-in-the-hole can also be banished, making it almost impossible to bring them back in the Duel. "Orient Dragon", "D.D. Warrior Lady", "D.D. Assailant", "Chaos Sorcerer" and other monsters that banish can also be a huge threat against the "Aesir" due to their lack of protection against monster effects.
Cards that return monsters to the hand or Deck, such as "Penguin Soldier", "Compulsory Evacuation Device" and "Compulsory Escape Device", bypass the ability of "Aesir" monsters to revive themselves from the Graveyard.
One of the worst matchups for "Nordics" is Evilswarm, because they have access to "Evilswarm Ophion", which prevents you from Special Summoning your "Aesir" or Synchro Monsters of level 5 or higher and "Evilswarm Bahamut". Other bad matchups are the following: "Harpies", due to them having access to "Lightning Chidori"; "Constellars", due to having access to "Constellar Pleiades" and "Constellar Ptolemy M7"; "Fire Fists", for having access to "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Bear" and "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Cardinal"; and "Mermails, for having access to the Atlantean cards and "Mermail Abyssgaios". Decks that can run "Number 11: Big Eye", "Number 101: Silent Honor ARK" and/or "Abyss Dweller" have an advantage against "Aesir", since they are vulnerable to effects that take control of them or lock out access to their Graveyard.
Finally, without any of the three "Aesir" on the Field or at the very least, the use of "Nordic Relic Brisingamen" and/or "Nordic Relic Draupnir", "Nordic" Decks lack offensive power (perhaps save "Guldfaxe" to a minor extent).
References
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's episode 118: "A New Rival"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's episode 117: "The Distorted Past"
