Paleozoic
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"Paleozoic", known as "Burgesstoma" (バージェストマ Bājesutoma, 버제스토마 Beojeseutoma) in the OCG, is an archetype of mostly Level 2 WATER Aqua-Type Normal Pseudo-Trap Monsters with 1200 ATK and 0 DEF, introduced as Korean exclusives in Clash of Rebellions.
Design
Appearance
The archetype's cards are based on animals from the Cambrian Period, specifically those found in the Burgess Shale Formation, a fossil field in Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada.
Origin
The archetype's OCG name, "Burgesstoma", is derived from the Burgess Shale, where the animals the archetype derived its appearance from were found. Its TCG name, "Paleozoic", is derived from the Paleozoic Era, the first geological period of which is the Cambrian Period.
| Name | Origin | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Anomalocaris | Anomalocaris | Excavates the top card of the Deck when a Spell/Trap Card is sent from the Spell/Trap Zone to the Graveyard and adds any Trap Card that was excavated; otherwise it is sent to the Graveyard. Targets and destroys a card on the field, provided it has a Trap Card as an Xyz Material. |
| Opabinia | Opabinia | Allows its controller to activate "Paleozoic" Trap Cards from the hand. Searches a "Paleozoic" Trap Card, provided it has a Trap Card as an Xyz Material. |
| Canadia | Canadia | Changes a targeted opposing monster to face-down Defense Position. |
| Dinomischus | Dinomischus | Banishes a targeted face-up card. |
| Eldonia | Eldonia | Increases a targeted face-up monster's ATK and DEF by 500 until the end of the turn. |
| Hallucigenia | Hallucigenia | Targets a monster and halves its ATK and DEF until the end of the turn. |
| Leanchoilia | Leanchoilia | Targets a banished card and returns it to the Graveyard. |
| Marrella | Marrella | Sends a Trap Card from the controller's Deck to the Graveyard. |
| Olenoides | Olenoides | Targets and destroys a Spell/Trap Card. |
| Pikaia | Pikaia | The controller draws 2 cards after discarding a "Paleozoic" card. |
Playing Style
The "Paleozoic" archetype is mainly composed of Normal Trap Cards. Each one have its particular effect but they have in common the capacity of Special Summoning themselves from the Graveyard as a Level 2 WATER Aqua-Type Normal Monster with 1200 ATK and 0 DEF whenever a Trap Card is activated, thus allowing them to quickly swarm the field through normal usage of their own Trap Effects. The ace cards of the Archetype are their Xyz monsters, namely "Paleozoic Anomalocaris" and "Paleozoic Opabinia".
"Anomalocaris" helps to maintain hand advantage by excavating the Deck and adding an excavated Trap Card to the hand (be it a "Paleozoic" Card or not); this effect triggers when a Trap Card is sent from the Spell/Trap Zone to the Graveyard. "Opabinia" speeds up the Deck's strategy, by allowing "Paleozoic" cards from being activated directly from the hand. Both of them are unaffected by other monster's effects and have an additional effect that basically rewards their owner for using them in a dedicated "Paleozoic" Deck, by either destroying a troublesome card on the field or fetching a "Paleozoic" Card from the Deck.
The archetype's Trap Cards banish themselves when they leaves the field after being Summoned from the Graveyard by their own effects, which can be avoided by using them as Xyz Materials. Thus, the archetype also benefits from utilizing other Rank 2 Xyz Monsters such as "Armored Kappa" and "Sky Cavalry Centaurea" in concert with "Anomalocaris" and "Opabinia". As the archetype's Trap Cards are all Level 2 WATER Aqua-Type monsters while they are treated as monsters, "Wetlands" can be included in the Deck to give these cards a much needed power boost, as they all have low ATK, which can raise issues regarding their ability to survive on the field.
Weaknesses
Due to their own self-banishing effect, which can serve as a deterrent from using the archetype's cards for any purpose other than Xyz Summon (such as Tribute or Synchro Summons), this archetype is best suited only for Xyz Summoning Rank 2 Xyz Monsters, which can prove to be inflexible, given the low number of different Rank 2 Xyz Monsters in the game. This weakness can, however, be mitigated through the use of "Imperial Iron Wall" to keep the Trap Cards from banishing themselves. The effect of "Paleozoic Leanchoilia" can also be used to return banished "Paleozoic" Trap Cards to the Graveyard for later re-use.
Additionally, as the archetype is dependent on activating Set Trap Cards to trigger their effects to Special Summon themselves from the Graveyard, "Denko Sekka" and, to a lesser extent, "Jinzo" are capable of easily locking them down, preventing the Set Trap Cards from even activating, as well as additional Trap Cards from being Set in the case of the former. Cards such as "Royal Prison" and "Vanity's Emptiness" can also inhibit the Trap Cards' re-usability, but they can be cleared away with the effects of "Paleozoic Olenoides" and "Paleozoic Dinomischus".
