[Written, AGM] Arachne Pirate [13/13]

[Octosquid]

Here is an updated version of the Arachne Pirate Archetype I made for the 1st AGM Design Contest. Check out the versions the other contestants made here.

[spoiler=Original Prompt]Archetype of WATER Insects that, as their name implies, focus on piracy and looting the opponent's resources with extreme ease. They're not that powerful (think of Majespecter stats), but what they do, they are extremely proficient at it. Unless the opponent can handle multiple direct attacks and losing their resources, it's going to be a long day for the opponent as they struggle with resource deficits.

The main difficulty for me in making this archetype was that every zone in yugioh nowadays (and AGM) was a potential resource. Mill your opponent's cards and GY effects trigger, banish them and mermaids Synchro Summon in response, return them to the Deck your opponent searches them... I tried to get around this by making the Archetype as a whole good at moving cards from one place to another, into whichever zone is least convenient for your opponent, while also inflicting damage and boosting your LP. They're also fairly good at milling your opponent's Deck, allowing decking out to also be used as a backup strategy.

The Main Deck monsters handle field removal (with a couple of exceptions). The Spells and Traps support them by enabling some of their effects as well as moving cards from and to the opponent's Deck. The two bosses of the archetype focus on supporting the main deck monsters' effects and being beatsticks able to inflict large amounts of damage.

There are two enablers of direct attacks in the archetype, Tetragnath, a monster that forces the opponent to either discard the card that they added to their hand or allow your weaker WATER monsters to attack directly, and Three Pieces of Eight, an Equip Spell Card that lets the equipped monster attack directly if it has low enough ATK and mills your opponent's deck. If you have multiple Tetragnath on the field, you can also force your opponent to discard, since they can only choose the alternative once per turn.

[spoiler=Desgn Notes Details]The Main Deck monsters (other than Tetragnath) focus on removal effects that activate when they attacked directly including field removal and banishing from the GY. There are 3 Level 3 monsters and 2 Level 4 Pendulum monsters. The 2 Pendulums both have a Pendulum effect that allows them to summon pendulum monsters of their own scale provided you can't Pendulum Summon otherwise, allowing them to summon themselves or the Level 3 monsters even with just 2 copies of the same Pendulum, hopefully improving consistency. The LP gain from several cards that remove monsters is there to both fit the theme of stealing resources as opposed to just destroying them, and to offset the amount of damage you receive. Since the monsters are pretty weak stat wise and are used to attack directly, they have a good chance of getting run over by a 1900~2000 beatstick the next turn. Silkbeard is also unique in that it temporarily banishes 1 card and allows you to force your opponent to draw up to 3 cards, synergizing well with Tetragnath.

The spells and traps are most effective when used in combination with each other and with the monsters. Vulnerable Shipping Routes (Normal Spell) can be used to shuffle cards back into deck from both players as well as mulligan one of your cards that you can't use right now. Used in combination with a Tetragnath, it forces your opponent trigger its effects and possibly discard 2 cards.

 

Widow's Black Market (Field Spell) boosts the value of your LP "loot", allows you to convert the LP from your monsters' effects into card advantage.

 

Treasure Map Trap (Counter Trap) combos well with it as well as Tetragnath, since if you force your opponent to gain enough LP, they draw instead of gaining LP, triggering both Tetragnath's and this card's effect, making your opponent potentially discard 2 cards or discard 1 and let you direct attack.

 

Descent into Maelstrom (Trap) is an easy negation of a card or effect's activation if you control a WATER monster. What makes it interesting is that it Sets both your WATER monster and your opponent's card, and potentially flips your monster back up, with an extra attack too. An important thing to note is that this resets soft OPT's, letting your monsters attack again for extra removal or letting Tetragnath trigger yet again. You can even chain it to your own cards or effects.

 

Calypso's Medallion (Continuous Trap) gives targeting protection, and can even be used as handtrap, if your monster is equipped with Three Pieces of Eight. Normally, it mills your opponent's Deck, but can optionally also return the cards back into the Deck, keeping the cards you want in the GY, in the GY, and those you don't, in the Deck. The Equip Card's counters also fuel its ability to send more cards from the GY to the Deck, disrupting your opponent if they rely on their GY as a resource.

As for the bosses...

Anansi is the first card in this archetype that allows you to directly give your opponent a -1 for the turn, at least temporarily. If you can successfully do direct damage, your opponent won't get their normal draw next turn. Also it almost guarantees Tetragnath's effect to go off if they can survive until the End Phase since your opponent is going to either add cards by card effect during their Main Phase to try and make plays, or during the End Phase by Anansi's. This'll let you attack directly with your smaller WATER monsters next turn, or alternatively make your opponent lose even more advantage.

The reason Anansi gives your opponent a choice between the 4 bottom cards of their deck to "draw" is because of Calypso's Medallion and the potential to brick your opponent. You can still do so, but it's harder to do since cards can only be run at 3 copies max. You can't just give them a choice between 3 of the same monster they can't summon for example. You do have some control over the card they add though.

The Summoning condition means that you can make a Yuki Onna or Marching Tide or any other Xyz you run in the Deck, which are usually easier to make, and after using its materials for cost, Xyz Summon Anansi. This includes Anansi itself if you do use it's inherent 3 materials to Summon it. You can Summon Anansi, attack directly, then in MP 2, Xyz Summon another Anansi on top of it so that it's untargetable.

Macrocheira is a semi-generic WATER support beatstick boss that helps Arachne Pirates do what they're intended to do, make your opponent's resources unusable. There is 1 place where your opponent's card are almost completely useless to them: attached to your own Xyz monsters.

Macrocheira eats the remains of your opponent's cards and gets gradually stronger. You get the option to choose whether or not to attach though, so if you'd like removed cards to be somewhere else, you can go ahead and let it slip by this hungry spider crab. Also when it leaves the field, you can choose whether each of your opponent's cards go into the GY or Banished Zone, whichever is less convenient for them.

The peculiar ATK restriction and its "during damage calculation only" stat gain helps it disguise itself as a weak monster when in reality, it can grow to have huge ATK/DEF. You can activate Maelstrom using this and you can attack directly by the effect of Tetragnath for 2000+ damage, even 3000+ if it eats enough cards beforehand. It's balanced a little with no protection and a modest 2000 starting stats though. The Aqua typing and Rank 4 lets it be Summoned with Beloved Child of Yuki Onna, and trigger Deep Blizzard's End Phase effects.

As an added bonus, you can reuse your level 4 Pendulums you used in making this, and if for some reason, you wanted to return your opponent's Pendulums to their Extra Deck, you can too. In a pinch, you can Summon Anansi using this card too, although every material goes into the GY in that case.

[spoiler=Main Deck]Tetragnath, Weaver of the Arachne Pirates
Level 3 - WATER - Insect/Effect - 1000/0
Once per turn, except during the Draw Phase, if your opponent adds a card(s) to their hand, or adds a card(s) to their hand during the resolution of a chain: You can activate this effect; Your opponent must discard that card(s). Your opponent can choose not to discard that card(s), but if they do not discard, until the end of your next turn, WATER monsters you control with 1900 or less ATK can attack directly. Your opponent can only choose not to discard cards by the effect of "Tetragnath, Weaver of the Arachne Pirates" once per turn.

Latrodek, Toxin of the Arachne Pirates
Level 3 - WATER - Insect/Effect - 1000/500
If this card attacks, cards and effects in either players' GY cannot be activated until the end of the Damage Step. Once per turn, if this card attacks directly and inflicts battle damage: You can banish 1 monster from your opponent's GY face-down, then, you gain LP equal to its Level/Rank x 200.

Theraphos, Might of the Arachne Pirates
Level 3 - WATER - Insect/Effect - 1200/1200
During the Battle Phase, this card is unaffected by your opponent's monster effects. Once per turn, if this card attacks directly and inflicts battle damage: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy it, then gain LP equal to its Level/Rank x 200.

Arachne Pirate Queen Mothership
Level 4 - WATER - Insect/Pendulum/Effect - 900/2000 - Scale 4
Pendulum Effect - While the difference between your Pendulum Scales is 1 or 0, you can Pendulum Summon WATER or Insect monsters with Level/Rank equal to this card's Pendulum Scale.
Monster Effect - You can destroy 1 card in your Pendulum Zone, and if it is an "Arachne Pirate" card, you can return it to the hand, also, place this card in your Pendulum Zone. You can only activate this effect of "Arachne Pirate Queen Mothership" once per turn. During the Battle Phase, this card is unaffected by your opponent's Spell/Trap cards. If this card attacks directly and inflicts battle damage: You can target 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls; destroy it, then gain 800 LP. That target cannot be activated until this effect resolves.

Silkbeard the Arachne Pirate Captain
Level 4 - WATER - Insect/Pendulum/Effect - 1100/500 - Scale 3
Pendulum Effect - While the difference between your Pendulum Scales is 1 or 0, you can Pendulum Summon WATER or Insect monsters with Level/Rank equal to this card's Pendulum Scale.
Monster Effect - You can destroy 1 card in your Pendulum Zone, and if it is an "Arachne Pirate" card, you can return it to the hand, also, place this card in your Pendulum Zone. If this card attacks directly and inflicts battle damage: You can banish 1 card at random from your opponent's hand until their next End Phase, then declare a number 0-3, they must draw that many cards. You can only activate each effect of "Silkbeard the Arachne Pirate Captain" once per turn.

[spoiler=Spells & Traps]Vulnerable Shipping Routes
Normal Spell Card
Declare a number 0-2. Return 1 card from your hand to the top or bottom of your Deck, and randomly choose and shuffle the declared number of cards from your opponent's hand into the Deck, then, both players draw the same amount of cards they returned by this effect. You can only activate “Vulnerable Shipping Routes” once per turn.

Three Pieces of Eight
Equip Spell Card
Equip only to a WATER monster. When activated, place 3 Spider Leg Counters on this card. A monster equipped with this card can attack directly while it has 1900 or less ATK and this card has Spider Leg Counters, but if it does using this effect, battle damage the equipped monster inflicts to your opponent is halved. If it attacks directly and inflicts battle damage: Remove 1 Spider Leg Counter from this card, and if you do, you can send the top card of your opponent’s deck to the GY.

Widow’s Black Market
Field Spell Card
Activate only while you control an “Arachne Pirate” monster. If you would gain LP while your opponent has taken battle damage this turn, increase the LP you would gain by half the LP you would have gained. Once per turn, if either player would gain 1800 LP or greater, they draw 1 card instead, also, they cannot gain LP until the end of the next turn. If this card is destroyed by your opponent’s card effect: both players draw 1 card.

Treasure Map Trap
Counter Trap Card
While a chain includes a card(s) or effect(s) that would make you gain LP: During this chain, your opponent gains LP you would have gained instead, and you can send cards from the top of their deck to the GY up to the number of WATER Monster Cards anywhere on the field. Once this turn, after that chain resolves, while your opponent’s LP is equal to or lower than their LP at this card’s activation, they must immediately discard 1 card at random. You can only use “Treasure Map Trap” once per turn.

Descent into Maelstrom
Normal Trap Card
When a card or effect on the field is activated: Target 1 WATER monster you control; Negate the activation of the activated card or effect, then set it and that Target in their current zones, then, if that Target had 1900 or less original ATK at this card’s activation, change it to face-up Attack Position, and it can attack again this turn.

Calypso’s Medallion
Continuous Trap Card
Send 3 cards from the top of your opponent’s Deck to the GY, then you can return any number of those cards to the bottom of the Deck. Once per turn: You can remove 1 Spider Leg Counter from your field; return up to 3 cards in your opponent’s GY to the bottom of the deck. If a monster equipped with “Three Pieces of Eight” is Targeted by a card or effect: You can banish this card from your hand, field, or GY; negate the activation, and if you do, return it to the bottom of the deck.

[spoiler=Extra Deck]Anansi, Trickster of the Arachne Pirates
Rank 3 - WATER - Insect/Xyz/Effect - 1900/1900
3 Level 3 Insect monsters
You can also Xyz Summon this card using 1 Xyz Monster Summoned using an "Arachne Pirate" Material (even if it is no longer attached), as Material. While this card has Xyz Material, it cannot be targeted for an attack or by your opponent's cards or effects. If this card attacks directly and inflicts battle damage: You can detach all Materials from this card (min. 1); your opponent skips their next Draw Phase, but if they do, at the start of their next End Phase, they must add 1 of the bottom 4 cards of their Deck to their hand (their choice, without looking), ignoring card effects that would prevent them from doing so.

Macrocheira, Scavenger of the Endless Sea
Rank 4 - WATER - Aqua/Xyz/Effect - 1600/1600
2+ Level 4 WATER monsters
If a card(s) would be sent to your opponent's GY or banished in their possession, both by the effect of a WATER monster you control, you can attach it to this card as a Material instead. This card cannot gain ATK except by its own effect. This card gains 200 ATK/DEF for each material attached to it during damage calculation only. If this card leaves the field, you can return any number of its Pendulum Monster Materials face-up to the Extra Deck instead of sending them to the GY, also, you can banish any number of Materials your opponent owns instead of sending them to the GY.

 

 

Changes from Competition Entry

~ Mothership locks its target from activating until its effect resolves

~ Anansi DP skip effect wording clarification (during the End Phase of the turn that they skipped their Draw Phase, they're forced to add the card, not the turn you activate the effect)

~ Silkbeard updated to allow you to not make your opponent draw after randomly banishing but HOPT added. Also now has handtrap immunity during the Battle Phase. 

~ Reworked the weakest spell in the archetype, Vulnerable Shipping Routes, to be more versatile

~ Three Pieces of Eight now only halves damage if you direct attack using its effect. Milling effect is now optional.