Archetype condition
An archetype condition is a condition that specifies a card as being a member of an archetype when the card's name does not.
Most occurrences are on non-Japanese prints of cards where the card's name was established before the archetype was; the most common usages are on old "Archfiend" cards such as "Summoned Skull" and "Axe of Despair" for which the localized name is well-known and it would not be appropriate to rename the card.
For Effect Monsters, archetype conditions are always listed at the beginning of the card text (but after Materials, if any); non-Effect Monsters instead list it at the very bottom of the text box. On Japanese cards, they are simply written as a regular sentence as part of the main body; on non-Japanese cards, they are always in parentheses and on a separate line from the rest of the card text.
Because an archetype condition is a condition and not an effect, it is unaffected by cards such as "Skill Drain". It is also the only text that can be printed in the lore box of a Normal Monster that can affect gameplay in any way (and is therefore not italicized).
Contents
Purpose
Archetype membership is ordinarily determined by a card's name: an archetype's support (and anti-support) cards list a specific string in their effect, and a given card is a member of that archetype if its name includes that string. Because Yu-Gi-Oh! is originally a Japanese franchise, most such support is determined by Japanese names, and when cards are localized for non-Japanese regions, a suitable translation is chosen to name the archetype and be used in the names of all of that archetype's members and the effects of its support cards, and no other cards ever use that string in their names.
There are two cases where this system may break down: where the first support cards are released much later than the first members, and those members were localized without the archetype's string in their names (sometimes including anime localizations); and where previously-localized nonmembers were given names that contain the archetype's string. In both cases, there are two possible solutions: rename the card, or specify its membership status; both ways have been used in the past. For example: the English card text of "Arsenal Summoner" specifies that "Celtic Guardian", "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1", "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #2", "Guardian of the Labyrinth" and "The Reliable Guardian" are not "Guardian" cards; and "Oscillo Hero #2" had its English name changed to "Wattkid" to include it in the "Watt" archetype. Archetype conditions can be considered a formalized type of the first method, used where a card cannot be renamed because its current name is well-established and well-known by fans and players, as is the case for "Summoned Skull" and "Axe of Despair".
Text
Card
| Language | Text | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| English | (This card is always treated as a(n) "[archetype]" card.) | |
| French | (Cette carte est toujours traitée comme une carte "[archetype]".) | (This card is always treated as a "[archetype]" card.) |
| German | (Diese Karte wird immer als „[archetype]“-Karte behandelt.) | (This card is always treated as a "[archetype]" card.) |
| Italian | (Questa carta viene sempre considerata come una carta "[archetype]".) | (This card is always treated as a "[archetype]" card.) |
| Portuguese | (Este card é tratado como um card "[archetype]".) | (This monster is always treated as a "[archetype]" card.) |
| Spanish | (Esta carta se trata siempre como una carta "[archetype]"). | (This card is always treated as a "[archetype]" card.) |
| Japanese | このカードはルール上「[archetype]」カードとしても扱う。 | This card is also treated as a "[archetype]" card as a rule. |
| Korean | 이 카드는 룰 상 "[archetype]" 카드로도 취급한다. | This card is treated as a "[archetype]" card as a rule. |
Monster
| Language | Text | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| English | (This monster is always treated as a(n) "[archetype]" monster.) | |
| French | (Ce monstre est toujours traité comme un monstre "[archetype]".) | (This monster is always treated as a "[archetype]" monster.) |
| German | (Dieses Monster wird immer als ein „[archetype]“-Monster behandelt.) | (This monster is always treated as a "[archetype]" monster.) |
| Italian | (Questo mostro viene sempre considerato come un mostro "[archetype]".) | (This monster is always treated as a "[archetype]" monster.) |
| Spanish | (Este monstruo se trata siempre como un monstruo "[archetype]"). | (This monster is always treated as a "[archetype]" monster.) |
| Japanese | このカードはルール上「[archetype]」モンスターとしても扱う。 | This card is also treated as a "[archetype]" monster as a rule. |
| Korean | 이 카드는 룰 상 "[archetype]" 몬스터로도 취급한다. | This card is treated as a "[archetype]" monster as a rule. |
History
This type of condition was first seen in Absolute Powerforce on "Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast". While "Archfiend" cards without "Archfiend" in their name had long been listed on the official website and in rulebooks, the condition text was not added to them until Battle Pack 2: War of the Giants.
The first Japanese card with an archetype condition was "Number 39: Utopia Beyond", a Master Guide 4 promotional card. In TCG languages, this card does not include any archetype condition, as its localized name contained the required string whereas its original name did not.
In the TCG, archetype conditions have been used to include cards in the "Phantom Beast", "Archfiend", "Noble Arms", and "Elemental HERO" archetypes; in the OCG, archetype conditions have been used to include cards in the "Utopia", "Elemental HERO", "Superheavy Samurai", and "Frightfur" archetypes. As there is only support for "Phantom Beast" monsters rather than "Phantom Beast" cards, the archetype condition used on "Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast" only includes it as a "Phantom Beast" monster, whereas other cards with archetype conditions are included as cards of that archetype.
In OCG languages, if a card has an archetype condition it has that archetype condition in all languages. In TCG languages, only "Archfiend Solider" has an archetype condition that is not used in all of the languages. "Edge Imp Frightfuloid" and "Contrast HERO Chaos" are the only cards to have archetype conditions in both the OCG and TCG.