Malefic support

[huf0001]

A while ago I made some custom custom cards for Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Malefic archetype, based on other classic dragons that Paradox might have considered stealing in the 10th Anniversary movie Bonds Beyond Time. I didn't like the low-effort art that I'd slapped together for them, so I decided to redo all of their artworks.

Using the original monsters' artworks or images sourced from yugipedia.com (and as such I do not own them), in GIMP I flipped and outlined the dragons, replaced the backgrounds with Malefic World, and re-coloured their heads and wings to be reminiscent of the black and white face masks and blocky wings on official Malefic monsters, since I don't have quite enough digital artistic skill to create similar masks and wings for my custom cards. The new artworks aren't masterpieces either, but they're significantly better than the originals, so I'm satisfied with that.

While I was working on them I decided to use a hybrid of the TCG's Problem-Solving Card Text and the OCG's numbered effect formatting, using the most recent cards as examples, so I also updated the effect text to reflect that.

The individual card images are available on my itch.io page (huf0001.itch.io) and ArtStation profile (artstation.com/huf0001), which also has design notes for each card. As always, all copyright for the artworks and the game goes to Kazuki Takahashi, Konami, Studio Dice, and Studio Gallop.

Malefic Black Rose Dragon

Stats: Level 8 / DARK / Dragon / Effect / 2400 ATK / 1800 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Black Rose Dragon" from your Extra Deck. You can only use effect ③ of "Malefic Black Rose Dragon" once per turn. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ When this card is Special Summoned by its own effect: You can destroy all cards on the field. You must control "Malefic World" to activate and resolve this effect. ④ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: If Paradox had used time travel to duel Akiza, Leo and Luna at the same time as Yusei, presumably this would be the first dragon he’d want to capture. I didn’t want it to be too easy of a board wipe, hence the hard once per turn and requirement of Malefic World.

Malefic Ancient Fairy Dragon

Stats: Level 7 / DARK / Dragon / Effect / 2100 ATK / 1800 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Ancient Fairy Dragon" from your Extra Deck. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ Once while this card is face-up on the field: You can pay 2000 LP; Set 1 "Malefic" Spell/Trap from your Deck or GY, but banish it when it leaves the field. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase the turn you activate this effect. ④ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: In an Akiza / Leo / Luna vs Paradox duel, Ancient Fairy Dragon would probably be Paradox's second priority after Black Rose Dragon, as it would have either a handy fetching effect or summoning effect. I opted for the former, though with a hefty cost and restrictions so it doesn’t make the deck too consistent.

Malefic Power Tool Dragon

Stats: Level 7 / DARK / Machine / Effect / 2300 ATK / 2500 DEF)

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Power Tool Dragon" from your Extra Deck. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ Once per turn, if this card is not equipped with an Equip Card: You can excavate the top 5 cards of your deck, and if you do, equip 1 excavated "Malefic" monster to this card, also shuffle the rest into your Deck. ④ If this card would be destroyed while equipped with a "Malefic" card(s), you can send 1 of those cards to the GY instead. ⑤ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: In an Akiza / Leo / Luna vs Paradox duel, if Paradox has already gotten his hands on Black Rose Dragon and Ancient Fairy Dragon, he may as well grab Power Tool Dragon while he’s at it. It could provide a way to get Malefic Truth Dragon into the graveyard faster, or at least be something that can remain on the board after using the effects of Malefic Black Rose Dragon or Malefic Gandora (while Malefic Territory is on the field, of course).

Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend

Stats: Level 8 / DARK / Dragon / Effect / 3000 ATK / 2000 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Red Dragon Archfiend" from your Extra Deck. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ After damage calculation, if this card attacked an opponent's monster: Target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy that target. ④ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: If Paradox had stuck around longer when dueling Yusei and Jack and Crow had butted in on the duel, why not steal Red Dragon Archfiend? I didn’t want Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend repeatedly clearing the board, there’s already Malefic Black Rose Dragon and Malefic Gandora doing that once each, so I opted for a smaller but more flexible post-battle destruction effect.

Malefic Black-Winged Dragon

Stats: Level 8 / Dark / Dragon / Effect / 2800 ATK / 1600 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Black-Winged Dragon" from your Extra Deck. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ If you would take damage, place 1 Malefic Counter on this card instead (max. 4). ④ Loses 700 ATK for each Malefic Counter on it. ⑤ Once per turn: You can remove all Malefic Counters from this card, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; that target loses 700 ATK for each Malefic Counter removed, then if its ATK is now 0, destroy it and inflict damage to your opponent equal to its original ATK. ⑥ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: If Paradox had stuck around longer when dueling Yusei, then Jack and Crow had butted in on the duel, and Paradox had already captured Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend, why not try and go 3 for 3? With its ease of summoning, I didn’t want it doing damage with every use of its effect, so I figured reserving it for when the target hit 0 ATK would be a neat way to go about it.

Malefic Horus

Stats: Level 8 / Dragon / Effect / 3000 ATK / 1800 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8" from your Deck. You can only use effect ③ of "Malefic Horus" once per turn. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ When a Spell Card or effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it. ④ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: Since Truman masquerading as Daigo Sorano used this in GX to devastating effect and it would have been perfect for protecting Malefic World, you can’t tell me Paradox wouldn’t have grabbed this at the first opportunity once he got to the GX era.

Malefic Vice Dragon

Stats: Level 8 / DARK / Dragon / Effect / ? ATK / 0 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Clear Vice Dragon" from your Deck. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ Once per battle, during damage calculation, if this card attacks an opponent's monster: The ATK of the attack target becomes 0 and this card gains ATK equal to the attack target's original ATK, during damage calculation only. ④ If this card would be destroyed by an opponent's card effect, you can banish 1 card from your hand instead. ⑤ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: Seeing as it was used by Yusuke Fujiwara, the second-in-command of the final villain of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, it wouldn't surprise me if Paradox had considered swiping Clear Vice Dragon for himself. Thematically, that would make for a very interesting card. The Clear archetype is themed around forgetting one's past, erasing one's future, surrendering one's identity and individuality, and becoming nothing. This is shown by Clear monsters not having an attribute in the anime, and Clear World punishing players based on the monster attributes they controlled. Meanwhile, the Malefic archetype's theme is to confront the sins of the past and weaponise them to change the future, hence its playstyle of corrupted monsters and its original Japanese name, "Sin". Given those two philosophies are completely at odds, I figured if Clear Vice Dragon became a Malefic monster, it could not remain a Clear monster, hence why I named it "Malefic Vice Dragon" and not "Malefic Clear Vice Dragon". In terms of its design, I decided to reflect that by adjusting its ATK gain effect, reducing the opponent's monster to 0 (taking the past's sins) and gaining its original ATK (weaponising those sins against your opponent), rather than just gaining double the opponent's monster's current ATK. As for the anti-destruction effect, I figured I'd align it with other Malefic monster effects and make the cost banishing from the hand rather than discarding, since that synergises better with my other Malefic monsters.

Malefic Cyberdark Dragon:

Stats: Level 8 / Dark / Machine/ Effect / 1000 ATK / 1000 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Cyberdark Dragon" from your Extra Deck. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ If this card is Special Summoned: Target 1 of your banished Dragon or Machine monsters; equip that target to this card as an Equip Spell that gives this card ATK equal to the equipped monster's original ATK. ④ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: Paradox stole Cyber End Dragon from Syrus anyway, so why not take the 2 for 1 deal and grab Cyberdark Dragon at the same time? Since Malefic banish dragons and machines to summon themselves, I figured Malefic Cyberdark Dragon equipping one of them instead of a monster from the graveyard would tie in neatly with how the archetype works. As for the last part of that effect, I didn’t want Malefic Territory cancelling out the ATK gain in battle, so having the equipped monster applying the ATK rather than Malefic Cyberdark Dragon itself seemed a neat way of getting around that.

Malefic Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon

Stats: Level 10 / DARK / Dragon / Effect / 2800 ATK / 2400 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon" from your Deck. You can only use effect ④ of "Malefic Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon" once per turn. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ Gains 400 ATK for each of your banished Dragon or Machine monsters. This effect cannot be negated by the effect of a "Malefic" card. ④ When a Spell Card or effect that targets a "Malefic" card is activated (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 card from your hand; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it. ⑤ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: If Paradox went and snatched cards from Syrus, namely Zane's former aces, and from Yusuke, the third member of their trio, there's a good chance that would put Paradox on Atticus's radar and give him an excuse to bust out his Red-Eyes'. For Paradox's part, the anime effects of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, like Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8's effect, would be too good to pass up. Profiting off of using stolen Dragons and adding more protection for Malefic World? The choice is obvious. To play into banishing the uncorrupted monsters needed to summon Malefic monsters, having it gain ATK from banished Dragons and Machines rather than Dragons in the Graveyard seemed obvious. Given how easy it is to summon, I figured restricting the Spell negation effect to just targeted Malefic cards might be warranted so it doesn't become too powerful in other decks, and making the cost banishment rather than discarding made sense to continue tying into the banishment effects of the real cards and my custom cards.

Malefic Armed Dragon

Stats: Level 7 / Dragon / Effect / 2800 ATK / 1000 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Armed Dragon LV7" from your Deck. You can only use effect ③ of "Malefic Armed Dragon" once per turn. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ You can banish 1 monster from your hand, then target 1 monster on the field; destroy that target. ④ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: Like with Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend, I didn’t want Malefic Armed Dragon being a repeatable board wipe given how easy Malefics are to summon, so I figured scaling it back to a single monster regardless of ATK would work nicely, and banishing rather than discarding would play into Malefic Cyberdark Dragon’s effect as well.

Malefic Five-Headed Dragon

Stats: Level 12 / DARK / Dragon / Effect / 5000 ATK / 5000 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Five-Headed Dragon" from your Extra Deck. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ The first time this card would be destroyed by battle with a DARK, EARTH, WATER, FIRE, or WIND monster each turn, it is not destroyed. ④ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: I like to think that if Paradox did take Five-Headed Dragon, it'd be towards the bottom of his priority list, given its 1-3 track record of losing against Yugi and Kaiba, Yugi and Joey, and Jaden by himself, and only winning against a nameless Kaiba Land patron playing against a duel bot. Then again, a 5K beater is a 5K beater. Given its ease of summoning, I figured reducing the indestructability effect to once per turn would be reasonable. I did consider giving it a stronger weakness to LIGHT and DIVINE monsters, but decided against it.

Harpie’s Pet Malefic Dragon

Stats: Level 7 / Dragon / Effect / 2000 ATK / 2500 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Harpie's Pet Dragon" from your Deck. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ Gains 300 ATK/DEF for each "Malefic" monster on the field. This effect cannot be negated by the effect of a "Malefic" card. ④ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: With how many Malefics Paradox was flooding the field with in the movie, Harpie’s Pet Malefic Dragon would fit right in. In the TCG, you’d have to use Malefic Territory to get more than 300 ATK/DEF out of it’s effect, and I didn’t want Malefic Territory making that useless in battle, so I added the anti-negate part.

Malefic Gandora

Stats: Level 8 / Dragon / Effect / 0 ATK / 0 DEF

Effects: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Gandora the Dragon of Destruction" from your Deck. ① There can only be 1 "Malefic" monster on the field. ② Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. ③ You can pay half your LP; destroy all other monsters on the field, and if you do, banish them. Gains 300 ATK for each monster banished this way. This effect cannot be negated by the effect of a "Malefic" card, and you must control "Malefic World" to activate and resolve this effect. ④ During the End Phase: Send this card to the GY. ⑤ If there is no face-up Field Spell on the field, destroy this card.

Design Notes: Like with Malefic Black Rose Dragon, since it doesn’t stick around, I figured keeping its full board wipe functionality and requiring Malefic World would be fine. Like with Malefic Cyberdark Dragon, I didn’t want Malefic Territory cancelling the ATK gain. Originally I had it equipping one of the destroyed monsters with an effect to give it ATK, like Malefic Cyberdark Dragon does, but that felt clunky in comparison, so I changed it to just outright be immune to negation by other Malefic cards, like Harpie's Pet Malefic Dragon. I also didn’t want it to be a one-card method to summon Malefic Truth Dragon, hence why it just goes to the graveyard rather than destroying itself.

Malefic Planetary Gear

Stats: Level 3 / Machine / Tuner / Effect / 0 ATK / 0 DEF

Effects: You can only use effect ① of "Malefic Planetary Gear" once per turn. ① You can discard this card; add 1 "Malefic World" from your Deck or GY to your hand. ② When you Synchro Summon a "Malefic" monster, you can banish this card from your GY as 1 of the monsters required for the Synchro Summon.

Design Notes: I figured a way to retrieve Malefic World would be nice, and plenty of other Field Spell fetchers discard themselves, so that seemed the natural route to take. Given that, banishing itself from the Graveyard as a Synchro Material in the same manner that the Ritual Djinn monsters do for Ritual Summons seemed a natural fit for enabling more Synchro plays.

Malefic Exchange

Stats: Normal Spell

Effects: ① Reveal 1 "Malefic" monster in your hand or Deck; shuffle 1 non-"Malefic" monster specifically listed on that "Malefic" monster from your hand into the Deck, and if you do, draw 2 cards. ② If a "Malefic" card you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can banish this card from your GY instead.

Design Notes: With all the new Malefic monsters I'd designed that were based on Main Deck monsters, recycling the non-Malefic monsters used to summon them that got stuck in your hand was always the core goal of Malefic Exchange. For its activation condition, I settled with revealing the Malefic monster whose counterpart you want to shuffle back into the Deck. I contemplated making the condition revealing the non-Malefic card, but besides potentially not being a legal category of cards to reference, I didn't want to risk non-Malefic decks using those monsters normally trying to abuse Malefic Exchange. Some of the newer official Malefic cards also have Graveyard effects, so I figured why not add one to Malefic Exchange, and opted for a general protection effect to cover effects that might get past existing Malefic monsters' effects.