Forum:Deck Guide/Nordic

Nordic

By Lappyzard

Nordics are a series of monsters introduced in Storm of Ragnarok. The archetype is composed of 3 sub-Archetypes: Nordic Beast, Nordic Alfar, and Nordic Ascendant. The ace monsters of the Nordics are not actually within the Archetype. Instead they turn to another small Archetype, consisting of only 3 Synchro monsters and a number of weak support cards: Aesir. Nordics swarm the field to make fast Synchro Summons, bring out Aesir monsters, and revive them through their effects. The decktype has never had much success in any major tournaments.

Strengths

• Nordics are fast, and can swarm the field for quick Synchro Summons.
• Nordics can summon some of the highest-ATK Monsters in the game.
• They have a lot of search power, adding consistency.

Weaknesses

• Nordics lose Card Advantage through high-level Synchro Summons.
• Nordics rely on Special Summons.

Card Choices

Meet the Archetypes

Monsters:

• Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts Guldfaxe is the Tuner of the Nordic Beasts. Weighing in at level 4 and 1600 ATK, it's stronger than most Nordics, and its level is perfect for making Thor, Lord of the Aesir. It's also LIGHT, which allows the use of Ancient Sacred Wyvern.
• Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts A level 3 non-Tuner with a Dandylion-like effect: when destroyed in battle, it generates 2 level 3 Tokens. Perfect for use with Guldfaxe or Vanadis to make an Aesir monster.
• Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts A level 3 non-Tuner with an interesting, yet powerful effect: it Special Summons itself from the hand when one of your monsters is destroyed in battle, and when changed into Attack position, it Special Summons a Nordic Beast from your deck. This lets you make Black Rose Dragon for virtually no cost, and sets up Aesir plays.
• Garmr of the Nordic Beasts A level 4 non-Tuner with a troublesome bounce effect, but it has to battle the monster, and it only works on Level 4 or below monsters. Overall, his only redeeming quality is his name. Not the best card.
• Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar A level 5 Tuner (ouch) that returns a Nordic to your hand from the Grave when normal summoned. Its level severely restricts its usability.
• Ljosalf of the Nordic Alfar A level 4 non-Tuner with complicated, Marauding Captain-like effect. when its Normal SUmmoned, you can select one other monster you control, and Special Summon a Nordic from your hand with a level less than or equal to that monsters level. It's good with level 5 monsters like Cyber Dragon to get Svartalf to the field. Add a Level Eater to the mix and you've got a one turn Loki right there.
• Mara of the Nordic Alfar A level 2 Tuner with an Eccentric Boy-like effect: The other Synchro materials are 2 Nordic monsters in your hand. This card is a much more reliable way to make Loki than Svartalf.
• Dverg of the Nordic Alfar A level 1 non-Tuner intended to make the summoning of Svartalf easier. It allows one additional Normal Summon of a Nordic, and recovers a Nordic Relic when sent to the Graveyard.
• Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant A level 4 Tuner that can be used as any other type of Nordic Tuner, but all Synchro Materials must be Nordic Monsters. It can screw with its level to make Synchro Summoning different leveled monsters much easier.
• Mimir of the Nordic Ascendant A level 2 non-Tuner that joins another Nordic on the field from your graveyard at the cost of a Spell card from your hand. It adds Extra levels to the Synchro Summon, but is generally not very useful. Avoid this card.
• Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant A weaker version of Mara, but it lets you make Odin instead of Loki. You have to control no cards, and your opponent needs to have at least one monster.
• Tyr of the Nordic Champions An unusual Nordic that doesn't fall into any of the 3 sub-Archetypes. It's the strongest monster of any Nordic, but requires the presence of another Nordic to stay on the field. Its effect prevents other Nordics from being attacked.
• Thor, Lord of the Aesir The ace monster of the Nordic Beasts, it has the same effect as all Aesir monsters: if it's destroyed while face-up, you can remove the corresponding Tuner to revive it. When it revives itself, it deals 800 points of damage.
• Loki, Lord of the Aesir The ace monster of the Nordic Alfar, with the same recursion effect as Thor. It adds a Trap card from your Graveyard to your hand when revived.
• Odin, Father of the Aesir The ace monster of the Nordic Ascendants, it has the same recursion effect as Loki and Thor, and lets you a draw a card when it comes back. It can also make itself immune to Spells and Traps during your turn, protecting it from Mirror Force, Dimensional Prison, and the like.

Spells:

• Nordic Relic Draupnir An Equip Spell that gives Nordics an extra 800 ATK. it grabs another Nordic Relic when destroyed by an effect. Overall though, the effect is weak and the card should be avoided.
• The Nordic Lights The field Spell of the set, it prevents Nordics from being destroyed in battle. For Nordic Beasts, this can be a bit counter-intuitive. It also takes all Nordics with it when it goes down.

Traps:

• Gleipnir, the Fetters of Fenrir The RotA of the Nordics, in Trap form! The fact that it can be chained allows for opportunities to plus.
• Nordic Relic Gungnir A rather weak destruction effect that is outclassed by many other cards.
• Nordic Relic Laevateinn An interesting destruction effect that can't be negated. It's useful for taking out Stardust Dragon and Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En.
• Nordic Relic Megingjord A rather weak ATK-boosting effect that is outclassed by many other cards.

Other Card Choices

Monsters:

• Super-Nimble Mega Hamster Allows you to set a Tanngrisnir or Tanngjostr for the deck. Adds consistency and generates card advantage.
• Tour Guide From the Underworld Tour Guide adds consistency and power to the Deck.
• Sangan Sangan completes the Tour Guide engine.
• Photon Sabre Tiger It works well with Hamster, and generates advantage.
• Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter Adds some much-needed speed and destruction effects to the deck.
• Cyber Dragon Useful in Loki builds with Level Eater and Svartalf.
• The Tricky Useful in Loki builds with Level Eater and Svartalf.
• Level Eater Useful in Loki builds to get the extra Synchro Material and generate Tribute fodder for Svartalf.
• Reborn Tengu A powerful addition to any Synchro deck.
• Gravekeeper's Spy Works well with Valkyrie for a quick Odin.
• Gravekeeper's Guard / Gravekeeper's Descendant Add 1 copy of one or the other to complete the GK Spy engine.

Traps:

• Horn of the Phantom Beast A powerful Trap card that gives a much needed power boost and draw engine to the Nordic Beasts.

Sample Decks

Nordic Chaos

This Deck takes advantage of LIGHT and DARK Monsters for a Chaos Engine.

Nordic Beasts and Thor

This deck is focused purely on Thor.

Nordic Alfar and Loki

This deck is focused purely on Loki.

Nordic Ascendant and Odin

This deck is focused on Odin but incorporates Nordic Beasts to generate Synchro Material

Double/Triple Aesir

This deck focuses on 2 or more Aesir monsters.