Runick

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Runick
"Runick Fountain"
Japanese
  • 神碑ルーン
  • 神碑 (base)
  • ルーン (ruby)
  • Rūn (romanized)
  • Rune (translated)
Simplified Chinese
  • 神碑
  • Shénbēi (pinyin)
  • Divine Runestone (translated)
French
  • Runick
German
  • Runisch
Italian
  • Runick
Korean
  • 루닉
Portuguese
  • Rúnika(o)
Spanish
  • Rúnico/a
Sets
TCG
OCG
Lists

Challenge the mysteries of the world with "Runick"!

— The archetype's tagline in promotional material

"Runick", known as "Rune" (神碑ルーン Rūn) in Japanese, is an archetype introduced in Deck Build Pack: Tactical Masters/Tactical Masters.

Lore[edit]

Etymology[edit]

The Japanese name of the archetype uses the kanji characters 「神碑」 (Shinpi), literally meaning "Divine Runestone", which likely refers to "Runick Fountain"; however, it has the forced reading of 「ルーン」 (Rūn). 「神碑」 is also homophonous with the word 「神秘」 (Shinpi, "Mystery").

The English name of the archetype is likely a portmanteau of the words "rune" and "magick", the latter being an archaic spelling for the word "magic".

Design[edit]

The "Runick" monsters are based on Norse mythology and Germanic runes. They also feature elements from video games, primarily action RPGs.

The artworks of all "Runick" Spell Cards are drawn from a first-person perspective, usually with the hand of the POV character being visibly in frame. This is likely intended to mimic the appearance of a first-person RPG. Their artworks also each depict a different weapon/ability being used by the POV character, and have different settings.

The "Generaider" monsters, which are also based on Norse mythology and video games, are related to this archetype, as evidenced by "Loptr, Shadow of the Generaider Bosses" appearing in the artwork of "Runick Allure", and the same characters appearing in both "Generaider Boss Fight" and "Runick Dispelling".

Members[edit]

Spell Cards[edit]

The "Runick" Quick-Play Spell Cards are based on various spells and equipment that incorporate specific runes.

Most of the "Runick" Quick-Play Spells are related to "Generaider Boss" monsters, representing the player character's actions in their individual realms; the specific counterparts are identified in The Valuable Book EX 3 card storylines.

Runick Rune Meaning Norse origin Related "Generaider" Boss
Tip The god Týr Tyrfing -
Flashing Fire Sun - Frodi, Generaider Boss of Swords
Destruction Hail Járngreipr Utgarda, Generaider Boss of Delusion
Dispelling Man Seiðr Nidhogg, Generaider Boss of Ice
Freezing Curses Yew tree Ýdalir Naglfar, Generaider Boss of Fire
Slumber Birch Bragi's Harp (Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity)[a]
Golden Droplet Gift Draupnir Mardel, Generaider Boss of Light
Smiting Storm The god Thor Mjölnir Hela, Generaider Boss of Doom
Runick Norse origin Related "Generaider" Boss
Fountain Mímisbrunnr (Harr, Generaider Boss of Storms)[b]
Allure Lævateinn Loptr, Shadow of the Generaider Bosses
Laevatein, Generaider Boss of Shadows
  1. Implicit relations, based on visual appearance.
  2. Implicit relations, based on relations from Norse mythology.

Fusion Monsters[edit]

Runick Rune Meaning Norse origin
Hugin the Wings & Munin the Wings Cattle, wealth Huginn and Muninn
Geri the Fangs & Freki the Fangs Geri and Freki
Sleipnir the Runick Mane Joy, bliss Sleipnir

Playing style[edit]

"Runick" is an archetype almost entirely made up of Spell Cards (especially Quick-Play Spells), with a near-exclusive focus on a Stun and Deck out strategy. The archetype has no Main Deck monsters, is generally unable to inflict battle damage (whether due to their monsters having 0 ATK, or an effect that prevents battle damage), and the effects of all its Quick-Play Spells cause the player to skip their next Battle Phase.

All "Runick" Quick-Play Spells can be activated only once per turn, and each allows choosing between one of two effects: a unique effect that provides consistency/disruption/Deck milling and then banishes a varied number of cards from the top of the opponent's Deck, or a shared effect to Special Summon 1 "Runick" monster from the Extra Deck to the Extra Monster Zone. Activating either effect of a "Runick" Quick-Play Spell requires the player to skip their next Battle Phase.

Runick Role
Tip Searching
Flashing Fire Monster removal
Destruction Spell/Trap removal
Dispelling Force discard
Freezing Curses Monster negate
Slumber Battle protection
Golden Droplet Milling
Smiting Storm Milling

The central card of the "Runick" resource loop is its Field Spell "Runick Fountain": it lets the player activate "Runick" Quick-Play Spells from the hand during the opponent's turn, and once per turn (during either player's turn) it can place up to 3 "Runick" Quick-Play Spells from the Graveyard to the bottom of the Deck and have the player draw that many cards.

"Runick" Extra Deck monsters form the archetype's defensive strategy, providing additional searching or recursion, protection against battle or effects, and on-field bodies that can be used for monster-based combos. The two key monsters are "Hugin", who searches "Runick Fountain" and protects against destruction effects, and "Munin", who protects against targeting effects.

As a pure Deck, "Runick" is fully focused on countering the opponent's plays and decking out the opponent over multiple turns. Playing the deck pure maximizes the draw efficiency and quality of "Runick Fountain", and maximizes the milling speed with the increased amount of "Runick" activations.

However, the deck can also be hybridized with other engines to support their combos; "Runick" Quick-Play Spells provide the versatility of being able to both be used as utility, and also as pseudo-"Instant Fusion", able to easily Special Summon low-level Fusion Monsters to serve as combo extenders, and "Runick Fountain" provides quick boosts of card advantage. Such hybrid decks usually play closer to a control strategy, aiming to out-grind the opponent and eventually attack for victory once Battle Phases become available again.

Recommended cards[edit]

Weaknesses[edit]

  • Since this archetype focuses mostly on Quick-Play Spell Cards, cards that counter them (or counter Spell Cards in general) can be extremely dangerous, such as "Anti-Spell Fragrance", "Eradicator Epidemic Virus", "Secret Village of the Spellcasters", and "Spell Canceller".
  • The archetype critically depends on its Field Spell "Runick Fountain" to maintain its card advantage, making it a prime target for the opponent's removal effects. As "Runick" Quick-Play Spells can Special Summon "Hugin the Runick Wings" which can then banish itself to protect "Runick Fountain" in response to destruction effects, non-destruction removal options such as "Cosmic Cyclone" are highly preferred for ultimately dealing with "Runick Fountain".
  • The archetype has almost no Monster Zone presence, and is almost entirely dependent on randomly-drawn "Runick" Quick-Play Spells to provide disruption and protection, making it quite fragile.
  • Utilizing external engines, or even external cards in general, reduces the chances of the player drawing into additional "Runick" cards off of "Runick Fountain", slowing down the Deck's tempo significantly.
  • The Deck's playstyle is countered by anti-Graveyard floodgates like "Macro Cosmos", which can prevent "Runick Fountain" from returning cards to draw cards. Or anti-banishing effects, such as that of "Chaos Hunter" or "Imperial Iron Wall".
  • Decks with cards that activate their effects when banished, like the "Shiranui" monsters, could use this archetype's strategy of banishing the opponent's cards to their own advantage.