Kaiju

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Kaiju
"Radian" and "Gameciel" in the artwork of "Kaiju Capture Mission".
"Radian" and "Gameciel" in the artwork of "Kaiju Capture Mission".
Japanese
  • かいじゅう
  • 壊獣 (base)
  • かいじゅう (ruby)
  • Kaijū (romanized)
French
  • Kaiju
German
  • Kaiju
Italian
  • Kaiju
Korean
  • 파괴수
  • 破壞獸 (Hanja)
  • Pagoesu (romanized)
  • Destruction Beast (translated)
Portuguese
  • Kaiju
Spanish
  • Kaiju
Sets
TCG
OCG
Korean
Anime appearances
Manga appearances
Lists

"Kaiju" (かいじゅう Kaijū in Japanese) is an archetype of high-Level monsters with different Attributes and Types introduced in Clash of Rebellions. It is one of two TCG-exclusive archetypes that premiered in that set, the other being the "Kozmo" archetype. The archetype is focused on Special Summoning "Kaiju" monsters to the opponent's field by tributing the opponent's monsters. This ability makes the archetype extremely potent at removing opposing monsters regardless of the amount of protection they have, and the archetype's members are commonly employed as staple removal cards in other decks.

Design[edit]

Appearance[edit]

Each "Kaiju" monster is based on a monster from different kaiju franchises, such as Godzilla, Ultraman, Pacific Rim and Gamera. Their Field Spell represents a common setting for the movies, while the other Spell/Trap Cards seem to be common scenes in these movies.

Etymology[edit]

Kaiju is a Japanese term meaning "strange beast" or "monster", frequently used to describe giant monsters from movies. However, the Japanese archetype name is a pun, as it is written as 「壊獣」 instead of 「怪獣」 , with a Kanji for "destruction" replacing the one for "strange".

Members[edit]

Kaiju
Monster Origin
Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju Burning Godzilla; named after Dogora
Gadarla, the Mystery Dust Kaiju Mothra/Battra
Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju Gamera
Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju Gigan
Kumongous, the Sticky String Kaiju Kumonga
Radian, the Multidimensional Kaiju Dark Lugiel; named after Rodan
Thunder King, the Lightningstrike Kaiju King Ghidorah; named after Eleking
Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine
Monster Origin
Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine Mecha-Dogoran Mechagodzilla
Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine Mecha-Thunder-King Mecha-King Ghidorah
Support
Card Origin
Interrupted Kaiju Slumber Breach
Kaiju Capture Mission G-Force
The Kaiju Files
Kyoutou Waterfront Kyoto/Tokyo, Japan

Playing style[edit]

The "Kaiju" archetype is divided into the "Kaiju" monsters proper, and the "Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine" monsters "Mecha-Dogoran" and "Mecha-Thunder-King". All "Kaiju" monsters have an archetype side-unique condition, meaning that only one "Kaiju" monster can be present on one side of the field. The main "Kaiju" monsters all share two Summon monster effects:

  1. "You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) to your opponent's field in Attack Position, by Tributing 1 monster they control."
  2. "If your opponent controls a "Kaiju" monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand) in Attack Position."

The first effect functions similarly to the Summoning procedures of "Lava Golem" and "Volcanic Queen" (as well as the effect of "Santa Claws"), and is a powerful method of generic removal that can Tribute away practically any monster in the game, including monsters with full effect immunity like "Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon". Unlike those three however, "Kaiju" monsters have far less restrictions and negatives ("Volcanic Queen" and "Lava Golem" both prevent Normal Summons/Sets, and "Santa Claws" gives the opponent a draw), making them far more effective as generic removal staples. Due to the side-unique condition though, they can only get rid of one of those problematic monsters at a time. The second effect, meanwhile, lets a "Kaiju"-focused deck easily summon a high-Level high-ATK beatstick after summoning a "Kaiju" to the opponent's field. This sets up a "Kaiju" on the player's field, allowing a "Kaiju"-focused deck to utilize their actual monster effects and attack with them. Each main "Kaiju" also has a third monster effect (their "main" monster effect), all of which involve the use of Kaiju Counters, which are only produced by "Kyoutou Waterfront", "The Kaiju Files", and "Kaiju Capture Mission". Notably, these effects remove Kaiju Counters as cost from "anywhere on the field", meaning that the opponent can use the player's Kaiju Counters to activate their "Kaiju" effects.

Kaiju Attribute Level ATK Cost Effect summary
Dogoran FIRE FIRE.svg 8 3000 3 KaijuCounter-DULI.png (OPT) Destroy all opposing monsters. (cannot attack the turn this effect is activated)
Gadarla WIND WIND.svg 8 2700 3 KaijuCounter-DULI.png (OPT, Quick) Halve the ATK/DEF of all other monsters.
Gameciel WATER WATER.svg 8 2200 2 KaijuCounter-DULI.png (Quick) When your opponent activates a card/effect: You can [Pay cost]; negate the activation and banish that card.
Jizukiru LIGHT LIGHT.svg 10 3300 3 KaijuCounter-DULI.png (Quick) When a card/effect that targets exactly 1 card is activated: You can [Pay cost]; negate the effect, then you can destroy 1 card on the field.
Kumongous EARTH EARTH.svg 7 2400 2 KaijuCounter-DULI.png When your opponent Normal or Special Summons a monster(s): You can [Pay cost]; until the end of the next turn, that monster(s) cannot attack and it has its effects negated.
Radian DARK DARK.svg 7 2800 2 KaijuCounter-DULI.png (OPT) Special Summon 1 "Radian Token" (cannot be used as Synchro Material).
Thunder King LIGHT LIGHT.svg 9 3300 3 KaijuCounter-DULI.png (OPT) Your opponent cannot activate cards/effects this turn, and this card can attack 3 monsters this turn.

The "Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine" monsters, "Mecha-Dogoran" and "Mecha-Thunder-King", lack the standard "Kaiju" effects, and have more interesting "Kaiju"-adjacent effects.

  • "Mecha-Dogoran" can Special Summon itself to the player's field if the opponent controls a "Kaiju", and can remove 2 Kaiju Counters to equip a "Kaiju" from hand or GY to it, with it gaining the combined ATK of the "Kaiju" monster it is equipped with, giving it high ATK over several turns.
  • "Mecha-Thunder-King" meanwhile is a specialized "Kaiju" counter, with a hand-activated Quick Effect that banishes an opponent's "Kaiju" that's been summoned to the player's field, and then revives a monster from GY, essentially making it a Quick Effect revival for a monster that's been Tributed by a "Kaiju".

In terms of supportive Spell/Traps, "Interrupted Kaiju Slumber" is a "Dark Hole"-styled board wipe that then summons 2 "Kaiju" monsters from Deck, 1 on each side, and can banish itself from GY to search a "Kaiju", giving it significant value both for "Kaiju"-focused decks and general non-"Kaiju" decks as a staple board wipe. "Kyoutou Waterfront" is a Field Spell that can rapidly produce Kaiju Counters to activate "Kaiju" monster effects, and is also a searcher for "Kaiju" monsters, making it incredibly important in "Kaiju"-focused decks. "The Kaiju Files" and "Kaiju Capture Mission" are also Kaiju Counter producers, but are slower and have more situational additional effects. The "Kaiju" theme is almost completely incapable of swarming due to their side-unique condition, requires giving the opponent 1 potentially dangerous "Kaiju" to make any plays, and is wholly reliant on its Spells and Traps to generate card advantage, improve consistency, and generate Kaiju Counters to enable their monster effects. "Kaiju" decks are often played alongside other engines to minimize their weaknesses and maximize their strengths.

Pure[edit]

Recommended cards

A pure "Kaiju" deck has high board-breaking power as relatively few monsters in the game cannot be Tributed, and it can easily Special Summon high-ATK "Kaiju" monsters armed with strong monster effects that can control the opponent's field and prevent them from being able to mobilize. Pure "Kaiju" builds generally benefit from other cards that can negate or destroy opponent's cards in order to benefit from the full strength of "Kaiju" monsters, such as "Dinowrestler Pankratops" for removing problematic monsters or "Harpie's Feather Duster" for removing Spell/Traps.

Cards that return opposing monsters to the hand, such as "Fairy Tail - Luna", synergize especially well with the archetype, as they can bounce the player's own "Kaiju" monsters on the opponent's field back to the hand in order to be reused to Tribute another one of the opponent's monsters.

Most pure "Kaiju" builds either focus on having high draw power with cards such as "Sekka's Light" or "Trade-In" to generate card advantage, or on generating Kaiju Counters through cards such as "Kyoutou Waterfront" which can search out and enable the effects of "Kaiju" monsters.

Graydle Kaiju[edit]

The "Kaiju" monsters hybridize well with the "Graydle" archetype, as the "Graydle" monsters focus on taking control of the opponent's monsters, allowing the "Kaiju" monsters to be used as quick spot removal and then reclaimed. The effect of "Graydle Dragon" can also revive "Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju" from the Graveyard when it is destroyed. Due to the heavy use of the "Graydles", which will often be used to take control of more than just "Kaiju", "Owner's Seal" and "Remove Brainwashing" are more detrimental than helpful. The "Graydle" monsters also give access to Level 8 Synchro Monsters and Rank 3 and 8 Xyz Monsters (the latter through use of overlaying both Level 8 Synchros and "Kaiju".)

Weaknesses[edit]

  • "Kaiju" monsters cannot Tribute monsters in the Extra Monster Zone if that player's Main Monster Zones are all occupied.
  • This Deck focuses entirely on Special Summoning "Kaiju" monsters in order to win, so cards that disable or counter Special Summoning, like "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" or "The Last Warrior from Another Planet", can greatly hinder this Deck.
    • "Fog King" and "Mask of Restrict" can also be used to hinder the Summons of "Kaiju" monsters, as their Special Summons require Tributes of the opponent's monsters. However, these cards cannot prevent "Interrupted Kaiju Slumber" from being used.
    • As the "Kaiju" monsters consists of monsters from various Types and Attributes, "Rivalry of Warlords" and "Gozen Match" can also proven to be devastating, as it will prevent the player from summon a "Kaiju" on the opponent's side if that monster is not the same Type or Attribute.
  • "Kyoutou Waterfront" is a key element of the Deck, as it can search out "Kaiju" monsters from the Deck once it has 3 or more Kaiju Counters (which can be easily accumulated in most situations). It can be difficult to eliminate, as it can also remove 1 Kaiju Counter from itself to prevent its destruction. However, Decks that are capable of Rank 4 Xyz Summons can use "Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer" to dispatch it with ease. An alternate option is "Spiritualism", which can avoid negation by the effect of "Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju".
    • "Cosmic Cyclone" can be used to banish "Kyoutou Waterfront", completely bypassing its protection effect.
    • "Gate Blocker" can also be somewhat effective, as its effect will negate "Kyoutou Waterfront" and remove its counters as a result. While it may use up one's Normal Summon and be vulnerable in Attack Position, it also has some merit against the "Kaiju-Graydle" hybrid Deck by drawing the effects of "Graydle" monsters to itself.
    • "Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell" and "Prohibition" can disable "Kyoutou Waterfront" near-permanently. "Spell Vanishing" is another option, although some "Kaiju" players will use cards that recover Spells from their Graveyard to counter attempts to destroy their Field Spell.
    • Another option is to use a card effect to banish cards that would normally be sent to the Graveyard (for instance, "Banisher of the Light", "Macro Cosmos", or the Pendulum effect of "Amorphage Goliath"). This will prevent "Kyoutou Waterfront" from accumulating Kaiju Counters, as well as limit the "Kaiju" player's ability to use the second effect of "Interrupted Kaiju Slumber" to search their Deck for more "Kaiju" monsters.
  • "Kaiju" monsters can activate their effects by using Kaiju Counters from anywhere on the field, so your opponent can easily use their effects against you (although "Kaiju Capture Mission" can hinder them by forcing the "Kaiju" into face-down Defense Position before its effect can resolve).
    • In general, careful thought must be made when deciding which "Kaiju" monster you're going to give to the opponent - always make sure that you have a way to retake it or destroy it before your opponent can use it against you.
    • For this reason, if you intend on using cards that generate Kaiju Counters, it is not recommended to give the opponent "Kaiju" monsters with Quick Effects, such as "Gameciel", "Jizukiru", or "Kumongous". "Radian" or "Gadarla" recommended instead.
  • As the Deck is heavily reliant on Tributing opponent's monsters, this Deck heavily benefits from going second. Decks that do not generally focus on Summoning monsters (such as "Exodia) or do not keep cards in the Monster Zone during the opponent's turn (such as "Yosenju") are much harder for this Deck to play around.
  • Monsters that cannot be Tributed, such as "Eater of Millions" or "Quintet Magician", cannot be used to Summon "Kaiju" monsters, and thus must be removed from the opponent's field through other means.