Mekk-Knight
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 "Mekk-Knight Blue Sky", "Red Moon", and "Green Horizon" cornering "Ib the World Chalice Priestess" in "World Legacy Key" | |||||||||||||
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"Mekk-Knight", known as "Jack-Knights" (ジャックナイツ Jakkunaitsu) in the OCG, is an archetype largely comprised of LIGHT Psychic monsters debuting in Extreme Force. The archetype is both related to, and is supported by, the "World Legacy" archetype, and is a part of the 'World Legacy' storyline.
Contents
Lore
Etymology
The kanji kikai-kishi (機界騎士, lit. "Machine World Knight") is applied to the "Jack-Knights" (ジャックナイツ Jakkunaitsu) reading in the Japanese names of the main "Mekk-Knight" monsters. Unlike the other members, "Mekk-Knight of the Morning Star" uses the kanji kikai-kishi (機械騎士, lit. "Machinery Knight") instead. Kikai (機械 "machinery") is a homophone of kikai (機界, "machine world"), substituting the kanji kai (界, "world") with kai (械, "contraption"). The archetype's OCG name "Jack-Knights" is named after jack plugs, a type of electrical connector typically used for analog audio signals. Fittingly, several of the "Mekk-Knights" possess jack plugs for arms, implying that they plug their arms into their weapons. The act of plugging may also be a reference to the archetype's Link Summon playstyle. The audio aspect of jack plugs is thematic with the musical themes of the related "Knightmare" and "Orcust" archetypes. Jack plugs can also be seen as analogous of keys, which relates to the original role of the "Mekk-Knights" as machines that harness the power of the 'Key'. The TCG names of the "Mekk-Knight" monsters reference various celestial phenomena.
Design
The main seven Main Deck "Mekk-Knight" monsters take the form of robotic humanoid beings. Each "Mekk-Knight" possesses star-shaped cores, along with glowing energy lines on their bodies, color-coded with the colors of the visible spectrum. In the 'World Legacy' storyline, the cores of the "Mekk-Knights" were extracted by "Knightmare Corruptor Iblee" to create the "Knightmare" monsters, with the exception of "Mekk-Knight Blue Sky". "Blue Sky" passed down its power onto "Auram the World Chalice Blademaster" instead.
| Color | Mekk-Knight monster | Knightmare counterpart |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Red Moon | Phoenix |
| Orange | Orange Sunset | Cerberus |
| Yellow | Yellow Star | Unicorn |
| Green | Green Horizon | Goblin |
| Blue | Blue Sky | - |
| Indigo | Indigo Eclipse | Mermaid |
| Violet | Purple Nightfall | Gryphon |
The main "Mekk-Knight" Link Monsters possess special statuses among the "Mekk-Knights". "Mekk-Knight Spectrum Supreme" is the combination of all 7 "Mekk-Knights", and it is represented by the visible spectrum of colors. "Mekk-Knight of the Morning Star" was the original "Mekk-Knight", while the other 7 "Mekk-Knights" were created as secondary support machines.
| Mekk-Knight | Color |
|---|---|
| Morning Star | White |
| Spectrum Supreme | Rainbow |
Several "Mekk-Knight" monsters are upgraded counterparts to the protagonists in the 'World Legacy' storyline. Their archetypal names also connect them to their own secondary archetypes. Notably, "Mekk-Knight Avram" and "Mekk-Knight Crusadia Avramax" are color-coded with the color blue. This represents the power that "Auram" inherited from "Blue Sky", as depicted in "World Legacy Succession" and "Crusadia Testament".
| Mekk-Knight | Base counterpart | Secondary archetype |
|---|---|---|
| Avram | Auram the World Chalice Blademaster | - |
| Crusadia Avramax | Crusadia Maximus | Crusadia |
| Girsu, the Orcust | Longirsu, the Orcust Orchestrator | Orcust |
Playing style
The "Mekk-Knight" archetype's playstyle focuses on Special Summoning high Level monsters while there are two or more cards in the same column, in order to swarm the field and generate hand advantage. In addition to depending on column setups for the Summoning effect of the Main Deck monsters, most of the Effect Monsters and much of their Spell/Trap support are based on being in the same column as an opponent's card (or the opposite, with "Morning Star" and "Spectrum Supreme"). The archetype is played in a control-beatdown playstyle, focusing on strategic disruptions, resource accumulation, and high-ATK monsters to close the game quickly over a few turns. The seven key Main Deck "Mekk-Knight" Effect Monsters share the following effect:
"If 2 or more cards are in the same column, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand) in that column. You can only Special Summon "..." once per turn this way."
If the opponent controls a card (such as when going second), this condition can be easily fulfilled by setting a Spell/Trap in the same column as an opposing card. However, against an empty board (such as when going first), fulfilling this condition becomes more difficult, but still possible. Methods include:
- Perform a low-cost Extra Deck Summon (e.g. with "Instant Fusion", or by normal summoning a monster and linking it for "Salamangreat Almiraj") to summon a monster in an Extra Monster Zone, and set a Spell/Trap in its column.
- Special Summon a monster to the opponent's field (e.g. with "Knightmare Corruptor Iblee" or "Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight"), and set a Spell/Trap in its column.
On the field, each of the seven "Mekk-Knight" monsters have different effects. Some are more situational: "Red Moon" and "Yellow Star" have situational card destruction effects, while "Orange Sunset" and "Green Horizon" have situational swarming and recovery effects. The key "Mekk-Knight" monsters are "Purple Nightfall", "Blue Sky", and "Indigo Eclipse".
- "Purple Nightfall" is a "Mekk-Knight" searcher; it temporarily banishes a "Mekk-Knight" monster (typically itself) as a Quick Effect to search out another one.
- "Blue Sky" is also a "Mekk-Knight" searcher; it searches upon being Summoned from the hand, the number searched out being equal to the number of opposing cards in its column (i.e. a maximum of 3 at once).
- "Indigo Eclipse" has a Quick Effect to move a "Mekk-Knight" to another column; it can be used to make space to Special Summon more "Mekk-Knight" monsters, and, if either "World Legacy Key", "Secret" or "Whispers" is active, can disrupt the opponent's plays by moving a "Mekk-Knight" to the same column as opposing cards.
In terms of supportive Spell/Traps, the archetype's specific support Spell/Traps are all "World Legacy" cards, tying the archetype to the greater "World Legacy" series and their own support (e.g. "Lib the World Key Blademaster").
- "World Legacy's Memory" is a powerful consistency tool that can Special Summon any "Mekk-Knight" monster from the hand or Deck in either player's turn, but will return the summoned monster to the hand in the End Phase, and locks the player into only summoning "Mekk-Knight" monsters for the turn; "Memory" is typically used to summon "Purple Nightfall" on the opponent's turn, who would then banish itself for a search, alleviating the negative effects of "Memory".
- "World Legacy Scars" is the Deck's Field Spell, providing situational stat buffs and card cycling, and a costly but devastating effect to completely empty the opponent's hand and Extra Deck, by banishing 8 different "Mekk-Knight" monsters from the face-up field or GY. It is usually only played in dedicated decks focusing on activating its second effect as quickly as possible.
- "World Legacy Key", "Secret" and "Whispers" are Continuous Spell/Traps that serve as the archetype's primary disruption tools. While on the field, each of them continuously negates a specific type of card's effect that the opponent resolves in the same column as a friendly "Mekk-Knight" monster: "Key" negates Traps, "Secret" negates monsters, and "Whispers" negates Spells. As mentioned, "Indigo Eclipse" can move "Mekk-Knight" monsters as a Quick Effect, allowing it to reactively negate opposing cards alongside these three cards. If the player occupies all five columns with "Mekk-Knight" monsters, then the opponent will be effectively shut out of using a specific type of card.
"Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight" is a unique "Mekk-Knight" monster that can be Normal Summoned without Tributes, can send a "World Legacy" card to the GY, and can Special Summon a Token to the opponent's side of the field, which helps facilitate the conditions for "Mekk-Knight" Special Summons. Naturally, as they are related, splashing in other "World Legacy" cards could provide an extra boost to the Deck; "World Legacy - "World Armor"" can help out by searching Spells and Traps, as well as provide material for additional Summons when combined with "Lib the World Key Blademaster" after being milled by "Girsu", as "Lib" can then revive it with "World Legacy Succession". "Knightmare Corruptor Iblee" is also a good choice as it can bring back any of your used Link Monsters for more mileage as well as help set-up the Special Summon effects of most "Mekk-Knight" monsters. It can also be used as material for "Linguriboh". Due to the archetype being comprised largely of Psychic monsters, "PSY-Framelord Lambda" may also help as it can allow for more disruption as well as search a strong card like "PSY-Framegear Gamma" due to a monster like "Purple Nightfall". "Galatea, the Orcust Automaton" can help recycle banished copies of "Girsu", "Morning Star", and ""World Armor"", on top of allowing one to use "Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star" as a solid form of protection.
Recommended cards
Official Decklist
Konami's "Mekk-Knight" Deck
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Weaknesses
- Cards that prevents the player from Special Summoning can hurt the Deck's capability to swarm. Examples include the Vanity's series, "Archlord Kristya", "Evilswarm Ophion", etc.
- Minimizing the amount of cards placed on the field can reduce the number of active columns that a "Mekk-Knight" can be Summoned to.
- Floodgates such as "Lose 1 Turn" make the "Mekk-Knight" archetype more vulnerable to destruction.
References
- ↑ NeoArkadia (October 5, 2017). "[Deck Recipe] Konami's Example "Jack Knight" Deck Recipe". The Organization. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
