Doom of Dimensions: New Doom-Z Archetype Revealed

A picture from the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Jupiter the Power Patron of Destruction.

A picture from the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Jupiter the Power Patron of Destruction.

With a new expansion comes the opportunity for a new archetype. Thankfully, for those looking for something new, Konami hasn't disappointed in Doom of Dimensions. With it comes the aptly named Doom-Z archetype.

The Main Engine Trio: Amalthe, Elara, and Drastia

A picture of the Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, Doom-Z Five – Amalthe, Doom-Z Seven – Elara, and Doom-Z Zero – Drastia.
expand image
Credit: Konami
From left to right: Doom-Z Five – Amalthe, Doom-Z Seven – Elara, and Doom-Z Zero – Drastia.

Shared Clause:

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

Shared 2nd Effect:

While this card is equipped with an Equip Card (Quick Effect): You can Special Summon 1 WIND Machine Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck with a Rank equal to this card’s Level (this is treated as an Xyz Summon), and if you do, attach this card and all cards equipped to it to that monster.

Doom-Z Five – Amalthe

If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, or destroyed by card effect: You can add 1 “Doom-Z” monster from your Deck to your hand, except “Doom-Z Five – Amalthe”.

Doom-Z Seven – Elara

If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, or destroyed by card effect: You can Set 1 “Doom-Z” Spell/Trap from your Deck.

Doom-Z Zero – Drastia

You can target 1 “Doom-Z” card you control; destroy it, and if you do, Special Summon this card from your hand, then you can equip 1 Equip Spell from your Deck to it.

These are the main trio of main deck monsters for the Doom-Z (sub-)archetype. Konami has made sure each card has some form of extension or can be used as a combo starter if the need arises.

Amalthe and Elara are the definitive in-archetype engine components as they can target any sibling card in the deck to bring out.

Drastia breaks the mold a little by being able to search for any Equip Spell in the game, which may lead to some surprising interactions if the right targets can be found.

Unfortunately for Amalthe, they get the short end of the design package by being a regular searcher.

Elara one-ups its sibling with its ability to bypass some staple hand traps like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring by immediately setting a card from the deck to the field. Drastia, meanwhile, is the only one of the trio to get a self-special summon package.

To make up for a bit of the disparity, Amalthe and Elara can also float into their search targets if destroyed by card effect. This difference gives them a little bit of inherent protection from the opponent’s destruction effects.

At the same time, it can allow Drastia to go into combo by blowing up one of its sibling cards.

Each of these three main deck monsters also come with an ability to easily turn themselves into an XYZ monster as long their parameters are met: a) needing an Equip Spell card equipped to the monster, and b) having a Wind-attribute Machine-type XYZ monster of the same level as the Doom-Z monster on the field.

Surprisingly, Konami has allowed these three monsters to XYZ summon at Quick Effect speed. This gives a large degree of flexibility when it comes to board interaction with the opponent.

Between the three siblings of Amalthe, Elara, and Drastia, the archetype is off to a pretty solid start.

The Modular Piece

Power Patron Machine Doom-Z

A picture of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Power Patron Machine Doom-Z.
expand image
Credit: Konami
While possibly not a main engine piece, it does facilitate more access to the Extra deck.

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

(1) You cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck, except Xyz Monsters.

(2) You can target 1 other Effect Monster you control; Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 “Doom-Z” Xyz Monster or “Jupiter the Power Patron of Destruction” with a Rank equal to the Level of that monster you control, by using it as material (this is treated as an Xyz Summon), and if you do, equip this card you control to it.

(3) If this card is destroyed: You can add 1 “Doom-Z” card from your Deck to your hand.

The role of this card isn’t as clear-cut as the rest of the main deck monster roster.

Firstly, the XYZ lock may look detrimental, but a skilled player can easily sequence their plays around such a restriction.

Furthermore, with the second effect of Machine Doom-Z, a player could summon an XYZ monster and turn off the XYZ lock by turning this monster into a pseudo Equip Spell.

Like Amalthe and Elara, Machine Doom-Z also enjoys a floating effect should it be destroyed.

As for this card’s function, it mainly helps to facilitate a path to the large XYZ boss monster of this archetype. That said, it can also fuel the ability of one of the smaller XYZ summons if need be.

Notably, due to the naming convention, Machine Doom-Z can be searched out by Medius the Pure. This ties both the Doom-Z and Artmage archetypes on some level.

The synergy between both can be questionable, though, since Artmage has a focus on Fusion monsters. It might take a lot of testing to see if combining both may be possible at all.

The XYZ Paths

Doom-Z Break Diactorus

A picture of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Doom-Z Break Diactorus.
expand image
Credit: Konami
This card bridges together Artmage and Doom-Z.

2 Level 4 monsters

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

(1) If this card is Special Summoned: You can destroy 1 “Doom-Z” card in your hand or face-up field, then you can destroy 1 monster on the field.

(2) If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect while it has a “Doom-Z” monster or “Medius the Pure” as material: You can add to your hand, or send to the GY, 1 Equip Spell from your Deck.

The first of the archetype’s XYZ monsters. Diactorus is one of the simpler pieces of the Doom-Z engine.

Once summoned, he’s a non-targeted destruction if you can pop one of your own Doom-Z cards first. Diactorus also shares similarities with Drastia in that he can search for any Equip Spell in the deck.

This kind of versatility in accessing a long list of targets is usually what people are looking for in a search tool. If needed, Diactorus can masquerade as a copy of Foolish Burial Goods if you’re trying to sidestep the usual hand trap staples.

Diactorus might be best brought out with the help of Power Patron Machine Doom-Z, but in a pinch Amalthe and Elara can do as well.

Doom-Z End – Drastrius

A picture of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Doom-Z End – Drastrius.
expand image
Credit: Konami
This XYZ Monster has one of the best forms of board removal.

3 Level 8 monsters

You can only use the 1st and 3rd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.

(1) if this card is Xyz Summoned: You can equip 1 other face-up monster on the field to it.

(2) The first time this card would be destroyed by battle or card effect each turn, it is not destroyed.

(3) When your opponent activates a monster effect on the field or in the GY (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 material from this card; negate that effect, then you can equip 1 face-up monster your opponent controls to this card.

This is the XYZ monster that players may end up seeing the most due to Doom-Z’s easy access via Drastia or Machine Doom-Z.

Paired with Drastia’s Quick Effect speed for XYZ summoning, Drastrius has one of the best aspects of board removal: a) it’s non-targeting, and b) it bypasses generic protection.

Drastrius even comes with a single instance of anti-destruction each turn.

To add to this card’s quality, it can negate a monster effect on the field at Quick Effect speed, as well as do another round of non-targeting field removal. Paired with some respectable stats, and it’ll get really irritating really fast to get rid of Drastrius.

Thankfully, Drastrius isn’t invincible. Its monster negate doesn’t include the hand. This leaves Drastrius very susceptible to our favorite ‘rock’ (aka. Nibiru, the Primal Being). Or if you want to be a little more classic, the usual gamut of spell or trap cards (e.g. the Dominus twins, Impulse and Purge).

Jupiter the Power Patron of Destruction

A picture of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Jupiter the Power Patron of Destruction.
expand image
Credit: Konami
This a pretty huge attack stick.

3 Level 10 monsters

Once per turn, you can also Xyz Summon “Jupiter the Power Patron of Destruction” by using a monster you control equipped with 3 or more Equip Cards.

(1) If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can equip any number of appropriate Equip Spells from your GY to it.

(2) Gains 3000 ATK while it has an Xyz Monster as material.

(3) Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card; Special Summon 1 “Doom-Z” monster from your GY, then you can destroy 1 card on the field.

This is one of the beefier monsters we’ve seen in a while. The already respectable attack stack can grow into a gargantuan 6,500 if the second effect is met.

Given how easy it is for the archetype to do so, getting this guy out onto the field is easier than it looks.

As for its other capabilities, Jupiter can generate a lot of card advantage if the opponent cannot deny its existence from sticking to the board.

Just by its summoning, Jupiter returns any number of Equip Spell cards from the graveyard.

It can also revive another Doom-Z to further extend any combo for the archetype. This is done while popping another card on the field.

Jupiter isn’t perfect, though, and lacks any form of protection that is usually enjoyed by archetypical boss monsters.

Given how Doom-Z has an inherent focus on Equip Spell cards, players can run cards like Angelica's Angelic Ring to work around this flaw.

The Backrow Support

Doom-Z Raider

A picture of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Doom-Z Raider.
expand image
Credit: Konami
Added consistency piece with a built-in reprisal.

Continuous Spell Card

You can only use 1 of the 1st and 2nd effect of this card’s name per turn, only once that turn.

(1) During your Main Phase: You can destroy 1 other “Doom-Z” card in your hand or face-up field, then add to your hand, or Special Summon, 1 “Doom-Z” monster from your Deck, also you cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except Xyz Monsters.

(2) If this card is destroyed by card effect: You can target 1 face-up monster on the field; destroy it.

Doom-Z Raider is an added consistency tool to the archetype. It can pop copies of Amalthe and Elara in hand to start their search effects while preserving your normal summon for the turn.

The opponent can’t just run this card over with card destruction either, as Raider can return fire with its own targeted destruction for any face-up monster on the field.

The only downside this card has is its once-per-turn choice clause for either of its abilities. Konami has shown some wisdom in realizing the lengths players will go to make any tool into some degenerate combo piece.

Doom-Z Command “D.O.O.M.D.U.R.G”

A picture of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Doom-Z Command “D.O.O.M.D.U.R.G”.
expand image
Credit: Konami
This is one the more drastic Equip Spells we've seen in recent memory.

Equip Spell Card

(1) Once per turn, during the Standby Phase: Inflict 500 damage to the equipped monster’s controller.

(2) A “Doom-Z” monster equipped with this card, or a WIND Machine Xyz Monster that has it as material, gains these effects.

● Your opponent cannot target this card with card effects.

● Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can destroy 1 other face-up card you control, also, until the end of this turn, this card gains ATK equal to its own Level/Rank x 100, it can attack directly, also if it battles, destroy it at the end of a Damage Step.

This in-archetype Equip Spell can be quite the double-edged sword. On one hand, it can turn any of its listed XYZ Monsters into an untargetable tower. That, however, will come at the cost of 500 lifepoints each Standby phase.

A 500 lifepoint cost isn’t a lot, but it can stack up pretty fast when it triggers on both players’ turns. That’s not counting any battle/burn damage done throughout a match.

There’s also its Quick Effect function, where the monster “D.O.O.M.D.U.R.G” is equipped to get a small boost to its attack and can swing directly at the opponent. But this will come at the cost of the monster’s destruction at the end of a damage step.

On Drastrius, the self-destruction is pretty negligible due to its inherent destruction protection.

On Jupiter the Power Patron of Destruction, you’d be well within One-Turn Kill (OTK) range with that potential 7,500 attack power beat stick. You’d just need to find a way to bridge that remaining gap.

Doom-Z Destruction

A picture of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Doom-Z Destruction.
expand image
Credit: Konami
If this card isn't your own copy, you'll need to get rid of it asap.

Normal Trap Card

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

(1) Target 1 “Doom-Z” Xyz Monster you control; equip this card to it as an Equip Card with this effect.

● Your opponent cannot add cards from the Deck to the hand, except by drawing them.

(2) If this card is destroyed by card effect: You can target 1 face-up monster on the field; equip 1 “Doom-Z” monster from your Deck to it.

This trap card, easily searched out by Elara, can remind players of Thunder Dragon Colossus. It’s also a pretty hefty tax for a lot of modern Yu-Gi-Oh! Decks.

Most decks nowadays are designed around being able to search specific cards and have eschewed using plain draw power.

Once activated, this card will more than likely be ‘Public Enemy Number 1’ for the opponent and will be on the highest list of priorities to get rid of. That’s assuming the opponent even has access to any backrow removal from the start.

Going first, a Doom-Z player activating Destruction at the start of the Standby Phase can easily close a lot of play lines until addressed.

If the opponent does manage to get rid of this card, at least through destruction, then Jupiter the Power Patron of Destruction will be one step closer to hitting the field.

Doom of Dimensions: New Artmage and Psychic Support