Elementsaber

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Elementsaber
"Molehu", "Malo", "Aina", "Makani", "Lapauila Mana" and "Nalu", with "Phosphorage the Elemental Lord" in the back
"Molehu", "Malo", "Aina", "Makani", "Lapauila Mana" and "Nalu", with "Phosphorage the Elemental Lord" in the back
Japanese
  • エレメントセイバー
  • Erementoseibā (romanized)
French
  • Élémentsabre
German
  • Elementsäbel
Italian
  • Elementsciabola
Korean
  • 엘리멘트 세이버
Portuguese
  • Sabrelemento
Spanish
  • Sablelemento
Sets
Lists

"Elementsaber" (エレメントセイバー Erementoseibā) is an archetype of Warrior monsters debuting in Flames of Destruction. It is a sub-archetype of the "Saber" archetype, and closely linked to the "Elemental Lord" archetype.

Lore[edit]

Design[edit]

The "Elementsaber" monsters released so far are shown to be humans wearing an armor with similar design to the "Elemental Lord" of their respective elements. Their names are based on various words from the Hawaiian language.

Members[edit]

Monster Name meaning Attribute Corresponding "Elemental Lord" Unique send "Elementsaber" from hand to GY effect
Aina Land EARTH EARTH.svg Grandsoil Special Summons targeted "Elementsaber" (except "Aina") or "Elemental Lord" monster from the controller's GY, ignoring its Summoning conditions.
Lapauila Lightning flash LIGHT LIGHT.svg Phosphorage Negates the activation of a Spell/Trap Card and destroys it.
Lapauila Mana Applies effect(s) to "Elementsaber" and "Elemental Lord" monsters on the controller's field, depending on the Attributes of the sent "Elementsaber" monsters, cannot be destroyed by battle (EARTH or WIND), cannot be destroyed by card effects (WATER or FIRE), cannot be targeted by the opponent's card effects (LIGHT or DARK).
Makani Wind WIND WIND.svg Windrose Adds 1 "Elementsaber" (except "Makani") or "Elemental Lord" monster from the controller's Deck to the hand.
Malo Dry FIRE FIRE.svg Pyrorex Sends 1 "Elementsaber" (except "Malo") or "Elemental Lord" monster from the controller's Deck to the GY.
Molehu Twilight DARK DARK.svg Umbramirage Changes targeted monster on the field to face-down Defense Position.
Nalu Wave WATER WATER.svg Moulinglacia Adds targeted "Elementsaber" (except "Nalu") or "Elemental Lord" monster from the controller's GY to the hand.

Playing style[edit]

The monsters of the "Elementsaber" archetype focus on sending copies of themselves to the GY to activate their various effects, which range from extending field presence to disrupting the opponent's field. Also, while in the GY, the "Elementsaber" monsters can temporarily change their Attributes to help facilitate the Summoning conditions of the "Elemental Lord" monsters. It has to be mentioned right away that "Palace of the Elemental Lords", the archetypal Field Spell, is of paramount importance to any plays this archetype tries to achieve. First of all, the stat increasing effect is rather strong, reaching boosts up to 1400 ATK/DEF (with all six Attributes + DIVINE chosen for "Elementsabers" in the GY). Furthermore, it has a search effect, which allows the player to plus off it for the cost of the battle phase. And finally, it allows any "Elementsaber" effect to ditch cards from the deck instead of discarding them from the hand, which is crucial for all of the effects in the archetype as cards like "Elementsaber Lapauila Mana" are almost unplayable without it. Playing around the Field Spell is both a blessing and a curse. With the Field Spell, the aforementioned "Elementsaber Lapauila Mana" not only summons itself for the cost of playing "Foolish Burial" twice, but the player can also decide which Attributes should be picked in order to protect the board. "Lapauila Mana" alone becomes quite a force with the "Palace of the Elemental Lords", since it also already boosts the board for 400 ATK/DEF after it was summoned. The boost from "Palace of the Elemental Lords" is also very necessary for every other monster in the archetype: "Elementsaber Molehu", a 1900 ATK with a flip face-down Quick effect, and "Elementsaber Malo", a 1700 ATK "Foolish Burial" monster, are the biggest options stat-wise and are therefore both boosted to admirable stats aswell as not costing valueable hand cards when the Field Spell is involved. The other members are as follows: "Elementsaber Nalu", who can fetch back cards from the GY, "Elementsaber Makani", the archetypal searcher monster, "Elementsaber Aina", a "Monster Reborn" on legs, and "Elementsaber Lapauila", who can disrupt Spells and Traps. All these effects are formidable when the costs are paid from the deck, since "Elementsaber" need the GY-setup for their stats boosts aswell. Without the Field Spell, things aren't quite as rosy as before. "Lapauila Mana", while useful for his board protection, forces you to go -2 in card economy and is basically a Level 6 Normal monster if he summoned other than through his effect. "Molehu" and "Malo" are the only passable beaters ATK-wise that can be Normal Summoned without Tribute, "Nalu's" effect basically switches one "Elementsaber" in hand against one in the Graveyard, "Makani's" effect is no longer a gain in card advantage, and while both "Aina" and "Lapauila" are still useful, they both suffer from having 900 ATK and 400 ATK respectively. One cannot talk about "Elementsabers" without mentioning their respective bosses, the "Elemental Lords". All of these monsters are Level 8, have 2800 ATK and 2200 DEF and bring an effect which basically mimics another card in the game. They cannot be Normal Summoned, but they can be Special Summoned by having exactly five monsters of the right Attribute in the GY. Fortunately, this is where the second effect of the "Elementsabers" comes into play: By simply having five "Elementsabers" in the GY, one can switch them to whatever Attribute is necessary, technically allowing for the summon of every "Elemental Lord". Paradoxically, every "Elemental Lord" has an effect that states that the next Battle Phase is skipped if it leaves the field for whatever reason, which could cause you to lose the advantage or even the duel by your opponent displacing your own boss monster in whatever way imaginable. The question of which "Elemental Lords" should be played in the deck depends on what exactly is needed: Both "Pyrorex the Elemental Lord" and "Phosphorage the Elemental Lord" bring monster destruction in form of "Ring of Destruction" for added burn damage or a board-wipe "Raigeki"-style. "Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord" attacks the opposing resources directly by forcing the opponent to discard cards, "Windrose the Elemental Lord" brings a "Harpie's Feather Duster" as an effect and "Grandsoil the Elemental Lord" revives a monster from the GY. Only "Umbramirage the Elemental Lord" seems a bit weaker with his search, but can still fetch some helpful "Elementsaber" monster if necessary. For generic support, there are certain cards to consider. "Reasoning" can be helpful due to the "Elementsabers" sporting Level 2, 3, 4 and 6, but playing it also depends on the number of "Elemental Lords" in the deck, as every one of them increases the chance of filling the GY with potentially indespensable Spells and Traps only to show an "Elemental Lord" and putting all of it out of reach. "Terraforming" and "Metaverse" are important to get "Palace of the Elemental Lords" as consistently as possible. "Reinforcement of the Army" can search for any "Elementsaber" monster, and due to the Attribute-changing effect of "Elementsabers" cards like "Salvage" can be used to get card advantage. "Trade-In" is a potent spell for card draw, since every "Elemental Lord" can be used for it. Combine that with "Nalu", who has the ability to get them back to the hand. Monster-wise, there is also a number of options to talk about. The Attribute-changing effect makes them compatible with "Chaos" cards like "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning", "Chaos Dragon Levianeer" and "Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End". By the same token, "Dark Armed Dragon" can be used for swift board control. "Elemental Grace Doriado" can also find a place in this deck: The Attribute requirements are easy to fulfill for "Elementsabers" and with the Field Spell having enough ammunition for her effect should also pose no big issue. A small "Invoked" engine of multiple "Aleister the Invoker" and one "Invocation" can use the varied Attributes in GY to summon whatever the player needs at the time. Finally, "Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights" is as good in "Elementsabers" as she is in any other Warrior deck.

Recommended cards[edit]

Weaknesses[edit]

  • First of all, "Elementsabers" are quite bricky and have no easy outs when drawing badly. If the opponent has options to further worsen the situation for the "Elementsaber" player, either by forcing the player to discard hand cards or by playing an appropriate floodgate, "Elementsabers" will struggle to make a comeback.
  • Like many other Yugioh archetypes, "Elementsabers" are weak to Summon negation like "Solemn Judgment" or "Solemn Warning".
  • Pre-"Lapauila Mana" boards also suffer from being weak against board-wipes and single target monster removal, which could be anything from "Dark Hole" and "Raigeki" to "Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer" and "Number 101: Silent Honor ARK".
  • Since the "Elementsaber" gimmick is changing their own Attribute in the GY, any card that manipulates that cards enter the Graveyard will be effective; examples include, but are not limited to, "Necrovalley, "Macro Cosmos", "Dimensional Fissure" or "D.D. Crow".
  • Furthermore, "Elementsabers" can be critically hurt by destroying their Field Spell "Palace of the Elemental Lords" via cards like "Mystical Space Typhoon", "Twin Twisters" or "Heavy Storm Duster". However, they do have "Elemental Training" as protection which should keep most single-use destruction cards in check.