Alien

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Alien
""A" Cell Breeding Device", ""A" Cell Incubator", "Alien Grey", and "Corruption Cell "A"" in the artwork of ""A" Cell Recombination Device".
Japanese
  • エーリアン
  • Ērian (romanized)
French
  • Alien
German
  • Außerirdisch
  • Außerirdischer (formerly)
    Außerirdische (formerly)
Italian
  • Alieno
Korean
  • 에일리언
  • Eillieon (romanized)
Portuguese
  • Alienígena
Spanish
  • Alienígena
  • Alien (formerly)
Sets
TCG
OCG
Korean
Anime appearances
Manga appearances
Lists

"Alien" (Japanese: エーリアン Ērian) is an archetype of Reptile monsters introduced in Power of the Duelist. "Alien" Decks focus heavily on exploiting A-Counters, which weaken opposing monsters when they battle "Alien" monsters and facilitate the effects of "Alien" cards and related support.

Design[edit]

Appearance[edit]

They seem to be based on many science-fiction views of aliens, and the way they operate in stories, making use of such tropes as brainwashing, genetic manipulation, and biological experimentation (as evidenced by "Interplanetary Invader "A"", which appears to be a mutated, living, or even intelligent form of an A-Counter). Their appearance seems to draw inspiration from these as well, like big eyes, tails instead of feet, large claws, long tentacles, slender bodies, multiple arms, etc. Some "Alien" monsters resemble the stereotypical Grey aliens, while others are more reptilian in appearance. Design-wise they also appear to be inspired by "Zeta Reticulant", a monster who debuted in the manga as part of the alien-based Cosmic series before the "Alien" archetype was created. The archetype features three supporting non-archetypal monsters that contain the string "Cosmic" in their names: "Cosmic Horror Gangi'el", "Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar", and "Cosmic Slicer Zer'oll". They have the appearance of large, multi-tentacled monsters.

Etymology[edit]

The archetype's name comes from the term: "Space Alien", an extraterrestrial being from outer space.

Playing style[edit]

"Aliens" have a variety of lower-Level monsters, such as "Alien Warrior" and "Alien Grey", that generate A-Counters. However, prior to Crimson Crisis, they suffered from a distinct lack of effects to exploit these counters once created. Cards like "Alien Telepath", "Alien Hypno", and "Alien Mars" have potentially disruptive, yet situational, effects. The powerful field-clearing effect of "Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar", as well as the revival engine provided by "Code A Ancient Ruins", lends the Deck a more reliable means of converting A-Counters into card advantage. "Crimson Crisis" introduced "Planet Pollutant Virus", a card which doubles as mass-removal and lingering A-Counter generation and "Alien Overlord". "Alien Dog" from the subsequent Raging Battle also gave "Aliens" a bit of swarming power. There are several different builds and play styles for the archetype. The "Alien" cards prior to "Crimson Crisis" emphasized lower-Level effect monsters like "Alien Psychic" and "Alien Hunter", and monster manipulation in the form of "Brainwashing Beam" and "Mass Hypnosis". Modernized builds emphasize on utilising Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar to destroy the field or Cosmic Slicer Zer'oll to disrupt the opponent from generating an effective field. The easy destruction and revival it supplies through its quick A-Counter generation for "Code A Ancient Ruins". "Gol'gar" can further be paired with powerful Floodgate Continuous Spell Cards like "Prohibition" No monster in the archetype has over 2600 ATK, a value shared by "Gol'gar" and its underrated predecessor, "Cosmic Horror Gangi'el" as well as Zer'oll together the so-called "boss monsters" of the "Aliens". The Reptile "Evil Dragon Ananta" is often included as a final "boss monster" However "Reptilliane" and "Ogdoadic" versions of the deck have become common. None of these monsters count as "Alien" monsters, and hence do not weaken or generate Counters on opposing monsters. "Alien" Decks ultimately rely on A-Counters to operate. A swarming "Alien" Deck needs ample A-Counters to Special Summon "Overlord" and activate "Code A Ancient Ruins". "Alien" Decks that manipulate the opponent's monsters via "Alien Hypno", "Brainwashing Beam", and "Mass Hypnosis" require A-Counters to maintain control of pilfered monsters. Another important effect of an "Alien" Deck is the A-Counter's ability to reduce the ATK and DEF of a monster by 300 points for every counter on it. The effect reduces the ATK of Monsters fighting "Aliens" for each "Alien" with that effect on the field. More easily explained, (Number of monsters with ability) × (Number of counters on monster fighting an "Alien") × 300 = Amount of ATK lost. Most "Alien" monsters have this effect built in. Some "Aliens" with powerful effects, like "Hypno" and "Dog", do not. The main difficulty of the Deck is that "Gol'gar" requires "Alien Ammonite" to used as the Tuner for its Synchro Summon, which is difficult to Special Summon with "Alien" cards.

Recommended cards[edit]

Weaknesses[edit]

  • "Counter Cleaner" and "Book of Lunar Eclipse" can seriously hamper "Alien" Decks if used correctly due to their high reliance on A-Counters. "Ghostrick" also has no difficulty in removing counters placed on their monsters.
  • "Gozen Match" can also slow down how quickly they progress through their strategy, often forcing a choice between LIGHT or DARK unless the FIRE Attribute "Telepath" is on the Field.