Burst Protocol Reveals New Wave of Archfiend Support

With the Burst Protocol set scheduled for release on October 25th, Konami has steadily been revealing new cards for the set as usual. While this is all as expected, we have to admit that we definitely didn’t see Konami releasing a new wave of Archfiend support coming.

Doom Emperor Archfiend

Credit: Konami

^{Level 7, Fire} 

^{Fiend/Ritual/Pendulum/Effect Monster}

^{Pendulum Effect}

^{You can only use the Pendulum Effect of this card’s name once per turn.}

^{(1) You can target 1 other face-up Spell/Trap on the field; destroy it and this card.}

^{Monster Effect}

^{You can Ritual Summon this card with “Throne of Archfiends”.}

^{Must be Ritual Summoned. You can only use the (1)st and (3)rd monster effect of this card’s name each once per turn.}

^{(1) If this card is Ritual Summoned from the Extra Deck: You can banish all monsters on the field, except those in the Extra Monster Zone.}

^{(2) Unaffected by other monsters’ effects while in the Extra Monster Zone.}

^{(3) If this card is in the Extra Monster Zone: You can Special Summon 1 Fiend monster from your hand, Deck, GY, or banishment.}

As an overall package, Doom Emperor Archfiend is rather subpar by itself. Its Pendulum effect is pretty generic but needs an eligible target, which makes it pretty inflexible. This monster’s stats are also on the lower side, so you'll have to put in some extra work to keep it around.

If you are successful in protecting this card, however, then Doom Emperor Archfiend can eventually pay for itself with all the card advantage it can generate. To be fair to this card, it does pull its weight by being unaffected by monster cards while it’s in the EMZ (Extra Monster Zone). 

While not being a cure-all for every occasion, Doom Emperor Archfiend’s card design offers some very interesting opportunities. For one, its  2,500 attack stat makes it a potential bridge for the Regenesis archetype, especially with Regenesis Archfiend. 

On top of this, the TCG (Trading Card Game) does have exclusive access to Miracle Raven, which could easily be used as a one-card tribute to bring out Doom Emperor Archfiend. Additionally, there are actually some Normal-type Archfiends in the card pool that could facilitate a play line into the Primite engine.

All of the above doesn’t even count the fact that the Archfiend family is one of the oldest names in the history of Yu-Gi-Oh. So while some cards may not be up to par when it comes to the game’s modern design, Yu-Gi-Oh! is known for accidentally making an older card busted due to an unintended interaction.

The Archfiend High Court

Royal Archfiend, Highness Archfiend, and Duke Archfiend

Credit: Konami

^{*Shared Effect:}

^{When your Ritual Monster(s) is destroyed by battle while this card is in your GY: You can Special Summon this card.}

^{Royal Archfiend}

^{Level 7, Fire} 

^{Fiend/Effect Monster}

^{You can only use the (1)st and (2)nd effect of this card's name each once per turn.}

^{(1) You can Tribute this card from your hand or field; add 1 “Archfiend” card from your Deck to your hand, except “Royal Archfiend”, also, for the rest of this turn, you cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck, except “Archfiend” monsters, also you can Normal Summon 1 Fiend monster in addition to your Normal Summon/Set (you can only gain this effect once per turn).}

^(2)*

^{Highness Archfiend}

^{Level 3, Light} 

^{Fiend/Effect Monster}

^{You can only use the (1)st and (2)nd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.}

^{(1) If this card is Normal Summoned: You can banish 1 “Archfiend” card from your GY; add 2 "Archfiend" cards from your Deck to your hand, except "Highness Archfiend”, also you cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except “Archfiend” monsters.}

^(2)*

^{Duke Archfiend}

^{Level 4, Water} 

^{Fiend/Effect Monster}

^{You can only use the (2)nd and (3)rd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.}

^{(1) Gains ATK equal to its Level x 200.}

^{(2) You can target 1 face-up monster you control; send 1 “Archfiend” monster from your Deck to the GY, except “Duke Archfiend”, and if you do, increase its Level by the sent monster’s.}

^(3)*

Despite how dysfunctional these three cards may look at first, they have some solid capabilities.

Royal Archfiend is your one-card combo starter. Not only is Royal Archfiend this wave’s obligatory ‘Stratos’, it also lets the controlling player do a second normal summon for any Fiend monster. This secondary effect can allow players to easily swarm the field for any extra deck plays, or if you want to build tall, go for a tribute summon.

Royal Archfiend also feeds very well into Highness Archfiend. Unfortunately, the latter sits firmly in extender territory as her first effect needs a seeded resource in the graveyard before it can be activated.

For these first two cards, Royal and Highness Archfiend come with some downsides. The more obvious one is the fact that there is an extra deck lock. It’s not the worst kind of drawback, and there are some pretty good extra deck Archfiends in the card pool. Unfortunately for all their search capabilities, both of these cards will undoubtedly become hand trap magnets.

As for Duke Archfiend, it’s a Foolish Burial on legs that can manipulate its level. This gives the controlling player some breathing room when dabbling in Synchro or XYZ monsters. In an emergency, Duke Archfiend could also function as a beatstick if you can throw a high enough level monster into the graveyard.

Notably, all three of these monsters can all float back onto the field from the graveyard if a ritual monster is destroyed by battle. 

While the ‘destroyed by battle’ stipulation puts a wrinkle on their accessibility, their in-built recursion does help this family of Archfiend cards have some value when a duel transitions into the late game. The fact that these three cards don’t discriminate on the kind of ritual monster destroyed helps loosen the grip the lackluster activation condition has.

Spell Card Support

Throne of Archfiends and Archfiend’s Strategy Game

Credit: Konami

^{Throne of Archfiends}

^{Ritual Spell Card}

^{You can only use the (2)nd effect of this card’s name once per turn.}

^{(1) Ritual Summon 1 “Archfiend” Ritual Monster from your hand, face-up Extra Deck, GY, or banishment, by Tributing monsters from your hand and/or field whose total Levels equal or exceed that monster’s Level.}

^{(2) During the Standby Phase, if “Doom Emperor Archfiend” is face-up in your Extra Deck: You can add this card from your GY or banishment to your hand.}

^{Archfiend’s Strategy Game}

^{Field Spell Card}

^{You can only use the 2nd effect of this card’s name once per turn.}

^{(1) Fiend monsters in the Extra Monster Zone gain 1000 ATK.}

^{(2) You can activate 1 of these effects;}

•  ^{Banish 1 Fiend monster or “Archfiend” card from your hand or GY; add 1 “Archfiend” card from your Deck to your hand, except a Field Spell.}
• ^{Add 1 “Archfiend” Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your Extra Deck face-up.}

Starting off our backrow support, Throne of the Archfiends is not only a player’s path to Doom Emperor Archfiend, but can surprisingly summon Archfiend's Awakening just since these cards share the same naming convention. While ritual summoning a target from the deck may have been preferred, being able to recur ritual monsters when face-up in the extra deck, banishment, or graveyard, gives this card a lot more flexibility than normal.

Throne of Archfiends even comes with a self-recursion package if Doom Emperor Archfiend is face-up in the extra deck. The second effect may not always be readily accessible, but the self-recursion is nice to have if you happen to center your tactics around the new Ritual-Pendulum Archfiend.

As for Archfiend’s Strategy Game, it's nice to know that this new wave of support has a secondary search function. The added 1,000 attack to a Fiend or Archfiend monster in the EMZ is a nice touch, but the real meat of this card is its ability to set up Doom Emperor Archfiend in the extra deck.

Depending on the resources in hand, the player could lead with Archfiend’s Strategy Game, then use Throne of Archfiends to get Doom Emperor Archfiend onto the board. Just from that alone, a player can continue into an Archfiend playbook or start detouring into other engines if they’re available.

Trap Card Support

Archfiend’s Jest and Archfiend’s Vigor

Credit: Konami

^{Archfiend’s Jest}

^{Normal Trap Card}

^{You can only activate 1 card with this card’s name per turn.}

^{(1) Special Summon 1 Level 7 or lower “Archfiend” monster from your hand or Deck, or, if you have a face-up “Archfiend” Ritual Monster in your Extra Deck, you can Special Summon 1 “Royal Archfiend”, 1 “Duke Archfiend”, and/or 1 “Highness Archfiend” from your hand and/or Deck instead.}

^{Archfiend’s Vigor}

^{Continuous Trap Card}

^{You can only use the (1)st and (2)nd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.}

^{(1) If you control an “Archfiend” Ritual Monster in the Extra Monster Zone: Target 1 face-up card your opponent controls; negate its effects until the end of this turn.}

^{(2) If this card is banished from the hand or field: You can add 1 “Archfiend” card from your Deck to your hand, except “Archfiend’s Vigor”.}

Suffice it to say, these new Archfiend trap cards can feel pretty fair. They are trap cards, so unless the player has a way to search and activate them on the first turn, their capabilities can be limited.

On the other hand, you have Archfiend’s Jest that has probably one of the best special summoning packages on a card. Either bringing out 1 to 3 Archfiends with impunity from the deck, depending on whether you have Doom Emperor Archfiend face-up in your extra deck or not.

As for Archfiend’s Vigor, it can either turn off any one of the opponent’s face-up cards on the field for a turn or become a resource for more searches if banished from the hand or field. This first effect can be a little suspect, but it’s overall useful just because it can target any type of card on the field without adequate protection. 

Its search function, though, can generate a solid amount of card advantage if used with Archfiend’s Strategy Game. Assuming hand traps aren’t an issue, a player could open up with the Field Spell, banish Archfiend’s Vigor, grab a copy of Royal Archfiend and Highness Archfiend due to the search effect from both cards activating, and start going into whatever play lines you have available.

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