Forum:Deck Guide/Earthbound Immortal

by Gadjiltron

Intro

The Dark Signer Arc in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's could be considered one of the more memorable parts of the 5D's plot for several reasons - first, it is a point where the series gets significantly darker, probably about as dark (or even more so) as Yu-Gi-Oh! GX mid-season 3, what with people dying left and right all of a sudden. Second, it introduced some crazy shenanigans used by the villains - starting with Dark Synchro which inverted the Synchro Summoning mechanism, and going up to the Earthbound Immortals, the mighty powerhouses that can basically punch right through the opponent's defenses while being nigh-invulnerable themselves.

Since RGBT, the Immortals have been made into real-life cards, allowing duelists to tap into their dark powers. However, the Earthbound Immortals weren't really meant to be used as an archetype, and are more of individual boss monsters much like how the Dark Signers use them as backup plans that match their archetype. SOVR did introduce some supplementary support but it wouldn't be until Legendary Duelists: Immortal Destiny where they receive some support that merges them with the Inca card theme to give them a home. Animation Chronicle 2023 went on to print the "Earthbound" cards that Sergey Volkov used in ARC-V to further supplement them!

Mechanics

Earthbound Immortals all share a series of effects - First, there can only be one Earthbound Immortal on the field, keeping you from fielding multiples of them. They can't be attacked and can attack directly, playing into the unstoppable powerhouse theme. However, they require a Field Spell to exist and self-destruct if there isn't one, so if the Field Spell is taken out, they vanish unceremoniously.

The Inca set was initially designed as a separate Synchro engine that focused on putting out its duo of Synchro bosses Sun Dragon Inti and Moon Dragon Quilla, and had no internal synergy with the Immortals until the new cards were introduced. Bringing everything together is a weird combo that can one-shot the opponent. We'll explore the joining cards when we get there.

Analysis

Strengths

• OTK-3TK - When the Inca combo goes off you can oneshot the opponent. In most other cases you can punch over your opponent's monsters repeatedly.

Weaknesses

• Field Spell Dependent - Your Field goes, your Immortal goes too. Back in the day, you had to bend over backwards to find a good Field Spell, but they've gotten increasingly strong lately. Very few defend themselves, though.

The Basics

The Immortals

Now, I've already covered the effects common across all Earthbound Immortals, but each Immortal has their own unique effects as well. You'd generally want to focus on one of your Immortals to reduce your odds of bricking.

• Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu - One of the strongest Immortals in the team with 3000 ATK. If it destroys a monster by battle, you inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's own ATK. Why bother? Just keep attacking them directly without worry of proccing a battle trap.
• Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu - While its 2500 ATK is not so great, it's got one of the most powerful effects. If it leaves the field except by its own effect, it destroys all your opponent's monsters and then inflicts 800 damage for each monster destroyed this way. What's truly wacky about it is that this monster did see competitive play... because people were using Union Carrier to equip it (it won't self-destruct without a Field Spell like this) while they were filling the board with Tokens from Black Garden. Then they'd Link off whatever Aslla piscu was equipped to, triggering the leaves-the-field by game mechanics, doing big loads of burn and mounting to an FTK. It's ingenious but also showcases glaring holes in "leaves the field" effects when you get a card that forcibly equips monsters that aren't designed to sit in the backrow.
• Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua - With 2800 ATK it will defeat the opponent in 3 hits, and when it is destroyed by a card effect (other than its own effect), it takes the entire field with it. Note that Ccarayhua's effect triggers regardless of whether its Summon was negated or where it ends up afterwards, meaning that not even Bottomless Trap Hole or Solemn Warning will stop the nuke from going off. If it somehow gets destroyed while not on the field (like, say, Crush Card Virus), it will still blow up the field. Take care.
• Earthbound Immortal Uru - Likely second most popular of the Immortals, Uru has a beefy 3000/3000 body, and as an Ignition effect you can Tribute a monster to temporarily take control of one of your opponent's monsters. No doubt it's a powerful effect, but getting this card onto the field while still having material up is a little tricky. You still run it for the sheer stats.
• Earthbound Immortal Cusillu - 2800 ATK is fairly beefy, but the effect will make anyone double-take. If this card would be destroyed in battle, you can Tribute one of your other monsters to negate destruction in battle and then halve your opponent's LP. Since this card is unattackable, you must be crashing this into something stronger. All to halve the opponent's LP. Why bother? Just attack them directly!
• Earthbound Immortal Chacu Challhua - Chacu Challhua is unique among the Earthbound Immortals as it has two effects. First, if it is in Defense Position, your opponent cannot conduct their Battle Phase at all. Second, it can inflict damage equal to half of its own DEF at the cost of attacking for the turn. This often means a constant 1200 damage each turn. Both effects combined make Chacu Challhua good for pressuring the opponent's LP back in the day if they're somehow stalled out, but you can do a lot of heavy lifting just with direct attacks.
• Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca - This is both the strongest and weakest Earthbound Immortal in the group. Its base ATK and DEF of 100 makes it laughably weak, but when you summon it, you can return up to 3 cards you control to your Deck, forcing your opponent to discard a card and giving Wiraqocha Rasca 1000 more ATK for each card returned. This would ideally raise its ATK to a max of 3100, trumping all other Immortals in the game. However, this card is capped by the number of cards in your opponent's hand, so unless your opponent bricked and/or is missing interruption you'll find this card stuck at 2100 or less. Also you're giving up too much of your own field for this, in an archetype that lacks the ability to fill the board enough. Don't bother.

Associated Support

• Earthbound Linewalker - Okay, so he's not an Immortal, but he lends great support to them. At 1900 DEF, Linewalker serves as a good defender in early stages of the game, but he also has an effect to sustain the Immortals in the absence of a Field Spell. Protect him with your life if necessary if you have plans to summon your Immortal without a Field.
• Hundred Eyes Dragon - More of an Infernity related monster since you're going to need to bend over backwards to gather the Fiends to make this card. It's got solid stats, a nice DARK effect copying ability, and if destroyed and sent to GY, you get to tutor an Immortal. The last effect sees no use in Infernities, and the Earthbound Deck is largely uninterested in making this card even though they could.
• Earthbound Immortal Revival - At the cost of one card from your hand, you can retrieve a Field Spell and Earthbound Immortal from your Graveyard, which is good for recovering from having your Field Spell (and subsequently, your Immortal) destroyed.
• Earthbound Wave - A Counter Trap that allows you to negate a Spell/Trap activation for free once you have an Immortal on the field. Shame it's not an omni-negate, but you take what you can get.
• Earthbound Whirlwind - Essentially a Harpie's Feather Duster for Earthbound Immortals, allowing you to clear the path to attack without fear or to break any locks your opponent created.
• Offering to the Immortals - While you have 3000 or less LP, you can negate a direct attack and Special Summon 2 Ceremonial Tokens for Tribute, while also adding an Earthbound Immortal (or related card) to your hand for its summoning right next turn. It's great to prepare for a Summoning, but the activation restrictions only allow you to use it in a pinch, not to mention your opponent can attack the Tokens as well. Better use Battle Fader which can be used any time.
• Revival of the Immortals - You get to revive an Earthbound Immortal from your Graveyard, but it can't attack this turn and it does no Battle Damage when it battles. This renders the direct attack ability moot, but you still can use the Immortal's burn ability (if applicable) to do damage to the opponent. Ccapac Apu and Chacu Challhua come to mind in circumventing this limitation.
• Roar of the Earthbound Immortal - Once per turn, when your opponent's monster attacks with anything weaker than an Earthbound Immortal you control, you can destroy that monster and do burn damage to your opponent equal to half of the destroyed monster's ATK. If you're playing your cards right, you're not giving your opponent a chance to even attack so long as you have your Immortal down. Don't bother.
• Call of the Earthbound - Doesn't do anything relevant. Pay it no heed.
• Earthbound Geoglyph - Finally, the Immortals gain their own Field Spell. If you have a LV10 monster out, it's untargetable and indestructible, patching the main weakness of the Immortals. You can search for "Earthbound Immortal" S/Ts if you Synchro Summon monsters, which is an irritatingly specific string since you have all of three cards you can search, only one of which is actually good. You can also treat a Synchro Monster as 2 Tributes for an Earthbound Immortal's Normal Summon, the utility of which is not evident until we get to the Inca archetype. It's a clumsy arc-weld but you regrettably resort to this card because it's one of the better Field Spells for the deck.
• Ultimate Earthbound Immortal - While you control a Normal Summoned Immortal, you get to destroy 1 face-up monster. No strings attached. It's great recurrent removal once you've worked out the hoop to keep an Earthbound Immortal down.

Inca

Okay, so, Rex Goodwin pulled these cards out for the final duel of the Dark Signer arc. It's set up around a loop between Sun Dragon Inti and Moon Dragon Quilla. Destroy one, the other revives. For convenience sake, Quilla was made a regular Synchro monster instead of Dark Synchro. Building the Inca/Immortal Deck means you're using the Inca as the base with an Immortal as icing boss monster. Let's see what they're about:

• Sun Dragon Inti - A fearsome 3000/2800 LV8 Synchro that needs Fire Ant Ascator as its Tuner. When destroyed, you pop the monster that destroyed it, inflict some burn damage, and revive Quilla next turn. The conditions for the delayed revival mean that you won't get endless blockers in a Battle Phase.
• Moon Dragon Quilla - 2500/2000 LV6 needing Supay as its Tuner. When attacked, you gain LP equal to the attacker. When destroyed in any way, you immediately Special Summon Inti. It's more defensive than Inti, but it's more secure in maintaining the Sun-Moon cycle.
• Fire Ant Ascator - A 700/1300 LV3 Tuner that is designed to make Inti alongside a LV5 monster. In times of emergency, if this card is destroyed by battle, you get a LV5 monster from your GY. Make it count, because that LV5 will not last.
• Supay - A 300/100 LV1 Tuner designed to make Quilla. If sent to GY by card effect, you get an Oracle of the Sun with double ATK. Make it count, though, because it goes to hand at the end of the turn. You're better off using Supay for Tuning right away as opposed to triggering its effect.
• Oracle of the Sun - The LV5 that acts as the conduit between Sun and Moon. You get to Special Summon it from the hand while your opponent's got monsters, freeing up your Normal Summon for either of the prerequisite Tuners. If destroyed and sent to GY, you also get to search the Deck for either Tuner, though you'll need to find a way to revive it to get a proper Synchro Summon off.
• Ascator, Dawnwalker/Supay, Duskwalker - The retrained deities are LV5 monsters that Special Summon themselves by discarding another card. Then, they Summon the Tuner they're associated with. Essentially they make Inti and Quilla all by themselves, though you can go into any LV8 or LV6 Synchro with them - in fact, the Supay duo sees play in Ghoti as an instant access to their all-important Arionpos!
• Apocatequil - Meant to serve as a Normal Summonable substitute for Oracle of the Sun, as it turns into LV5 while you have a Tuner down. If destroyed, you can Summon Oracle from the GY. Was okay back in the day, now outclassed by the Ascator/Supay retrains.
• Weeping Idol - Banish a Tuner from your GY to Special Summon this card. It's not a Tuner, and it's the wrong Level to facilitate either Inti or Quilla. Why include this card? Goodwin used it with a Dark Tuner for anime Quilla in the anime.
• Earthbound Greater Linewalker - The final punchline to this whole welding job. Special Summon this card if you have a Synchro monster on your field and in your GY, easily established with the Inti-Quilla loop. Kinda. Search an Earthbound Immortal with this card. Then, using the effect of Geoglyph, Tribute the one Synchro you got for your Earthbound Immortal, and then this card will make the opponent's LP 3000, clearing the way for Uru or Ccapac Apu to oneshot them. He's not searchable, though. Run three if you want to use him!

ARC-V Earthbound

And now we get the ARC-V cards. They kinda do their own thing but are open to supporting the original Immortals.

• Earthbound Prisoner Ground Keeper - A LV1 Tuner that brings out a LV5 or lower Earthbound monster from your Deck, setting the stage for an easy LV6 Synchro. If you somehow get this to stick on the field, then it lends destruction immunity to all your Earthbound monsters (not just Immortals) when a Field is active. Good starter, easy One for One target.
• Earthbound Prisoner Line Walker - When Summoned, you get either the new Field Spell or the spicy new Fusion Spell. It's also got a GY effect that shuffles and re-Summons an Extra Deck your opponent controls which is used to proc the new boss monsters.
• Earthbound Prisoner Stone Sweeper - This LV5 monster is the best you can fetch with Ground Keeper, but if it finds its way into your hand you can Special Summon it if there is a Field Spell up. You can also discard it for any LV3 or lower Fiend Tuner, which is intended to fetch the Earthbound Tuners or even get the Resonators. Yeah, go figure. Turns out alt-universe Jack had it in him to be a Dark Signer. So you can either have Ground Keeper put this card straight on the field, or use Line Walker search the Field to put this card on the board to set up the Extra Deck monster.
• Earthbound Servant Geo Kraken - A Fusion monster that requires 2 Earthbound cards, and searches a Field Spell on Summon. If your opponent Special Summons a monster from the Extra Deck, you get to smash everything they Special Summoned that turn and inflict 800 damage for each monster blown up this way. Great when going first as it obstructs your opponent's main line of play, but it's going to need Line Walker to proc when going second.
• Earthbound Servant Geo Gremlin - A LV6 Synchro with middling 2000/1000 stats but two Quick effects. First effect targets a monster and forces your opponent to either destroy it or let you gain LP equal to that monster's ATK (guess which one will happen more often than not). Second effect is where it's at, by banishing materials to facilitate a Fusion Summon. Geo Kraken is a flexible target, but you've got a better target to go for.
• Earthbound Servant Geo Gryphon - A LV8 Synchro with a Quick revival effect. If destroyed, you get to destroy a card in retaliation, and then inflict burn damage for different Earthbound names among your field and GY. Seems simple at first touch, and in a vacuum this revival effect doesn't get you much - you'll need other assistance to get Ground Keeper in GY - but when it's Summoned later in a Duel it can make something really work.
• Earthbound Servant Geo Grasha - The big daddy of this sub-archetype, needing you to fuse a Fusion and Synchro monster. Sounds like a lot of work but Geo Gremlin really facilitates the process. For all that hard work, you get two effects - first one lets it run over literally anything, and second one blows up the opponent's field whenever you destroy one of their monsters. If it does go down, you can Special Summon an Earthbound monster from your Deck or Extra Deck, leading into a surprise Immortal when your opponent least expects it.
• Earthbound Prison - On activation, apply a sticky negation on an opponent's monster. You also get an extra Normal Summon of an Earthbound card, and when this card gets destroyed, you heavily punish the opponent by halving their LP and then negating their whole field. It's significantly less resilient than Geoglyph given that it's fully open to removal, but it applies a very heavy backlash that makes the opponent reluctant to try.
• Harmonic Synchro Fusion - Send a Tuner and non-Tuner from your field to GY to simultaneously get a Fusion monster and a Synchro monster that both cards can make. With Ground Keeper and Stone Sweeper you can pull out Geo Gremlin and Geo Kraken with this card, then follow up with Geo Gremlin's effect to fuse for Geo Grasha. Warning: The monsters summoned by Harmonic Synchro Fusion are not treated as properly Fusion or Synchro Summoned, so you can't revive them afterwards. Hope you have extras!

Example Deck

Decklist left deliberately incomplete to show the core of the Deck. Fill in the blank spots with cards as you see fit.

Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
Main Deck Monster Cards Fire Ant Ascator x2 Supay x2 Ascator, Dawnwalker x3 Supay, Duskwalker x3 Earthbound Immortal Uru Earthbound Greater Linewalker x3 Spell Cards Earthbound Geoglyph x3 Earthbound Immortal Revival Terraforming Trap Cards Ultimate Earthbound Immortal Earthbound Wave Extra Deck Synchro Monsters Sun Dragon Inti Moon Dragon Quilla

Supplementary Cards

• Hardened Armed Dragon - Tribute it for an Earthbound Immortal and it can't be destroyed by card effects, even its own! This lets you get a backup plan to get an Immortal on the field without needing a Field Spell.
• Mound of the Bound Creator - Your Earthbound Immortal becomes indestructible and untargetable. Defend the Field, though.