Changes

 They focus on stymieing the opponent's attackers with their defensive monsters and plenty of Spell/Trap Cards to compensate for their inability to maintain hand advantage. The ace monsters of this archetype are the three dragons of the Ice Barrier (namely "[[Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier|the]] ", "[[Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier|three]] ", and "[[Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier|Dragons]] and "-including [[General Raiho Trishula, Zero Dragon of the Ice Barrier|theits retrained counterpart]] [[General Gantala ), and the generals of the Ice Barrier|three]] ("[[General Grunard Raiho of the Ice Barrier|Generals]] of the Ice Barrier. Both ", "[[Brionac, Dragon General Gantala of the Ice Barrier (character)|Brionac]]" and , "[[Medium General Grunard of the Ice Barrier (character)|Medium]]" appears as character in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2009: Stardust Accelerator]]'', and both "[[Gungnir, Dragon General Wayne of the Ice Barrier (character]]").==Lore=={{Main|Duel Terminal Master Guide card storylines|Gungnir]]The Valuable Book EX card storylines#No. 10: Duel Terminal World Addendum: The Sealing of the Three Dragons}}<div style=" and float:right">[[Secret Guards of the File:Crest-Ice Barrier (character).svg|thumb|right|100px|Secret Guards]]The "Ice Barrier" appears in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2010: Reverse of ArcadiaCrest]]''.</div>

 [[File:Crest-Ice Barrier.svg|thumb|left|100px|The "Ice Barrier" Crestarchetype consists of a large amount of Main Deck Effect Monsters, several [[Synchro Monster]]Most s that act as boss monsters, and some archetypal Spell/Trap support. The archetype's playstyle is roughly focused on summoning multiple different Main Deck "Ice Barrier" monsters require another of , combining their kind - usuallyindividual protection effects to handicap the opponent, but not alwaysand ideally summon its Synchro boss monsters to break the opponent's board and push for game. However, on the field - in order to activate their archetype had historically lacked consistency cards, lacked synergy between its card effects, which are oriented towards field advantage. For examplehad no swarming capabilities, many "Ice Barrier" monsters have and its individual protection effects are not strong enough to protect other "sustain the deck as the game's power level increased.''[[Structure Deck: Ice Barrier" monsters, be it from attacks ("[[Cryomancer of the Ice BarrierFrozen Prison]]" forbids all monsters '', and cards added after the Structure Deck, gave the archetype some much needed support cards that adresses some of Level 4 or higher from attacking while its owner control another "Ice Barrier") or card effects (issues with consistency and swarming.* "[[Dai-sojo Revealer of the Ice Barrier|Revealer]]" protects all of your can summon an "Ice BarriersBarrier" Tuner monster directly from being destroyed by Spell/Trap Cards)the Deck, setting up the summons of the archetype's Synchro Monsters. These effects It can overlap, making also banish itself from GY to substitute for other "Ice BarriersBarrier" capable of creating resilient fields if several of their monsters are out' discard costs. One of the three Generals of the Ice Barrier, * "[[General Raiho Hexa Spirit of the Ice Barrier|RaihoHexa Spirit]]", does not need other is a Tuner that can send an "Ice Barrier" monsters for its effect monster from the Deck to work, but it can stand on the GY and modulate its own as well as complement their lockdowns by taking a toll on levels, enabling indirect searches via the opponent's hand if they rely on monster effectsGY, and also enables more Synchro options. Many of the "Ice Barrier" monsters are not very useful if alone, making this archetype have issues if not able to establish field presence. While not plentiful, Ice Barriers do have effects of their own to facilitate having several monsters out, such as * "[[Magic Triangle General Wayne of the Ice Barrier|General Wayne]]", and this is also assisted by a Level 5 extender that can be Special Summoned from the effects of their remaining two Generals, hand if you control an "[[General Grunard of the Ice Barrier|Grunard]]" monster and your opponent controls a monster, and searches an "[[General Gantala of the Ice Barrier|Gantala]]"Spell/Trap when summoned. The aforementional * "General Gantala of [[Speaker for the Ice BarrierBarriers|Speaker]]" is one of the archetype's trump cards, being a 2700 ATK monster that can Special Summon herself from the hand if the player controls an "Ice Barrier" monster , and can banish herself from its controller's the GY to summon a Token.* "[[Graveyard]] during each Zuijin of their turns' [[End Phasethe Ice Barrier|Zuijin]]. It " can revive any Tribute itself to Special Summon a Level 5 or higher "Ice Barrier" besides other copies of monster from hand, and can revive itself, be in the GY (except in the turn it monsters such as is sent to the GY) by decreasing a friendly WATER monster's Level by 2.* "[[Defender Freezing Chains of the Ice Barrier]]" is a Continuous Spell that grants some protection to create or rebuild a defensive field, "General Raiho of the Ice Barrier" to apply more pressuremonsters, and can revive a Level 4 or even their Synchro Monsters, making it powerful and versatilelower "Ice Barrier" monster when activated. * "[[Strategist of Winds Over the Ice Barrier]]" can discard summon low-Level "Ice BarriersBarrier" monsters from the hand to speed up the Deck. Specific by tributing "Ice Barrier" monsters the player controls, and can be discarded by using banish itself from GY to recover an "StrategistIce Barrier" monster in conjuction with the GY or the banish pile.Some cards released before the Structure Deck are still useful for the archetype's strategy: "[[Medallion of the Ice Barrier|Medallion]]", making revival effects such as is a monster searching Spell with no restrictions attached. "[[Call Prior of the HauntedIce Barrier|Prior]]" is a Special Summon extender and can Tribute itself to revive an "[[Back to Ice Barrier" monster in the GY, though it restricts the player from Special Summon Level 5 or higher monsters the Front]]" viable options to build fieldsturn it's summoned by its own effect. "MedallionIce Barrier" can also be Synchro Monsters are very strong, but were historically better used in other decks than in "Ice Barrier" due to gather enough different names for the activation archetype's weakness with swarming, and the generic material requirements of "Magic Triangle"these monsters. * "[[Prior Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier|Dewloren]]" is a multican return friendly face-purpose card - it can be used for up cards to the hand to boost its own ATK. (Prior to its easy Special Summonfunctional errata in 2020/2021, quickly enabling another this effect was a standard "[[once per turn]]" effect rather than a strict "Ice Barrier[[only once per turn]]" monster's effect, or be used enabling the potential for its effect to Special Summon any other infinite hand-returning loops in dedicated builds.) In "Ice Barrier" monster from the Graveyard - the usual target being , "GantalaDewloren", as it can in turn revive more be used to return "Freezing Chains of the Ice BarriersBarrier" turn after turn, but it can revive other monsters for Synchro and Xyz Summons as wellto the hand to reuse its activation effect. "Prior" himself can be easily retrieved by * "[[SalvageGungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier|Gungnir]]" and "[[Surface]]"Brionac, making it possible to use a single copy Dragon of "Prior" several times. For the most part, "Ice BarriersBarrier|Brionac]]" want can discard cards to establish a solid field anddestroy or return the opponent's cards, if possible, keep itclearing out the opponent's board. While they are definitely capable of Synchro Summoning with their own * "[[Tuner monsterTrishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier|Tuner monstersTrishula]], " and all of their its retrained "[[Synchro MonsterTrishula, Zero Dragon of the Ice Barrier|Synchro MonstersTrishula, Zero Dragon]] " are very goodboth powerful monsters that trigger mass banish effects upon being summoned, caution must be exercised though they require 2+ non- their Tuners themselves have defensive effects you must give up on in order Tuner monsters to Synchro Summon, be summoned and "Ice Barriers" as a whole are not very good at gaining and keeping card advantagethus harder to make. Due to In terms of generic support, the archetype's lack of draw powerdeck benefits from generic WATER and Aqua support, you can use cards like such as "[[Shard Moray of Greed]]" and , "[[Maxx Salvage]]"C, "[[Surface]]". , and "[[Dewloren, Tiger King Barrier Statue of the Ice BarrierTorrent]]" and its ability to return face-up cards to the hand make it possible for players to dedicate a build to it and use a variety of Spell/Trap Cards that remain on the field such as . "[[Swords Ties of Revealing Lightthe Brethren]]" can be used to pressure the opponent while you can replay them constantly as long as "Dewloren" is around. The many means of revival the assist in swarming "Ice Barrier" monsters with the archetype has makes it difficult to break through "Dewloren" combos permanently without banishing it or returning it to the Extra Deck's many monsters that share Level, Attribute, and Types. 

* [[Dai-sojo of the Ice Barrier]]* [[Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier]]* [[General Gantala of the Ice Barrier]]* [[General Raiho of the Ice Barrier]]* [[Pilgrim Wayne of the Ice Barrier]]

* [[Samurai Revealer of the Ice Barrier]]* [[Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier]]* [[Spellbreaker of Speaker for the Ice BarrierBarriers]]* [[Strategist Zuijin of the Ice Barrier]]

* [[White StingraySilent Angler]]* [[Tin Goldfish]]* [[Silent Sea Nettle]]* [[Atlantean Dragoons]]* [[Tenyi Spirit - Shthana]]* [[Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju]]

* [[Cryomancer Hexa Spirit of the Ice Barrier]]

* [[Dewdark of the Ice BarrierDeep Sea Diva]]* [[Crystron Citree]]* [[Lappis Dragon]]

* [[Armory Arm]]* [[ArmadesTrishula, Keeper Zero Dragon of Boundariesthe Ice Barrier]]

* [[Number 4: Stealth Kragen]]* [[Stealth Kragen Spawn]]* [[Bahamut Shark]]* [[Toadally Awesome]] (Traditional Format Only)* [[Number 37: Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark]]* [[Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir]]* [[Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder]]

* [[IsoldeCrystron Halqifibrax]] (Traditional Format Only)* [[Eria the Water Charmer, Two Tales of the Noble KnightsGentle]]

* [[Back to the FrontIce Barrier (card)|Ice Barrier]]* [[Call Terror of the Haunted]]* [[Dimension Guardian]]* [[EisbahnTrishula]]

* [[Powerful Rebirth]]* [[Soul DrainTorrential Reborn]]* [[Torrential RebirthTribute]]

* As "Ice Barriers" thrive on having several monsters on the field, an easy way of dealing with them is to not let them do sohave a decent board. While cards like "Dai-sojo" can protect the board, most "Ice Barrier" players will skip him in deck building or struggle to get him on the field. Also, their lockdowns are never absolute and they rely on several monsters being on the field at the same time, so disposing of one or two of those will can already be enough to tip the field on your favor. "[[Raigeki]]", "[[Dark Hole]]", "[[Torrential Tribute]]" or even single target removal can do the trick. You can * "Ice Barriers" are also negate their effectsweak against effect negation, which since that makes them virtually useless, so cards like "[[Skill Drain]]" and "[[Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King]]" can work well. * You can also prevent the archetype (especially "Gantala" ) from swarming the field by using Special Summon-blocking cards, such as "[[Vanity's Emptiness]]", "[[Archlord Kristya]]", or "[[Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo]]". They are also weak against any of the non-WATER "Barrier Statues".* "Ice Barriers" do need quite a number of generic Spell cards to get started, which makes any option that eliminates Spells effective against the archetype; therefore, etc"[[Imperial Order]]" and the like can seriously dampen their potential.* The "Ice Barrier" archetype mostly builds defense against attacks but has little to nothing against burn effects, so decks like "[[Chain Burn]]" or "[[Trickstar]]s" can simply melt the player's life points while completely ignoring any defensive setup.