[Archetype] Delzhark - Military Android Unit

[Darj]

How was this archetype conceived (for anyone who might care):

I have been longing to make an "original" DP archetype of my own for a while now, instead of playing with archetypes that support or "adopt" official cards, such as Darzorcs. Last weekend, I remembered this Machine Ritual I made about a year ago, and that's when I decided "screw it, I will do the same I did to Zorc to this Ritual". And thus, this archetype was born. So yeah, their playstyle is blatantly the same as Darzorc.

In addition, while I was at it, I decided to splash in the infamous Mercenary + Fiendish Chain combo that some may be familiar with. So, in a way, this archetype combines some of my most notable contributions (fair or not) to DP.

 

 

Introduction

Delzhark is an archetype of DARK Machine-Type monsters based on androids and a machine boss, with somewhat of a military theme. Flavorwise, they are a secret warfare project developed by a currently unknown organization, and have now been deployed to accomplish an undisclosed mission.

 

Playstyle

Delzhark have the following going for them:

1. A "Ritual Boss", designed to be summoned straight from the Deck by the Ritual Spell and other tricks to pressure the opponent as early as possible.

2. Access to the Rank4 cardpool, mainly through the archetype "Wolfbark".

3. A monster that not only can search for their Ritual Spell, but also a couple of backrow, allowing them to approach the opponent in different ways.

 

Effect Monsters

[spoiler=Delzhark Unit - Soldier X001]

When this card is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 "Protocol" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck to your hand. If you Ritual Summon exactly 1 "Delzhark" Ritual Monster with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement.

 

[spoiler=Delzhark Unit - Tracker X002]

If this card is sent from the hand or field to the Graveyard: You can add 1 "Delzhark" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Delzhark Unit - Tracker X002". If you Ritual Summon exactly 1 "Delzhark" Ritual Monster with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement.

 

[spoiler=Delzhark Unit - Engineer X003]

If you Ritual Summon exactly 1 "Delzhark" Ritual Monster with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement. You can only use 1 of these effects of "Delzhark Unit - Engineer X003" per turn, and only once that turn.
• Target 1 Level 4 or lower "Delzhark" monster in your Graveyard, except "Delzhark Unit - Engineer X003"; Special Summon that target in face-up Defense Position.
• Tribute monsters from your hand or field, except this card, whose total Levels and/or Ranks equal 7 or more, then Ritual Summon 1 "Delzhark Secret Weapon - Erradicator X0023" from your Graveyard.

 

[spoiler=Delzhark Unit - Destroyer X004]

If you control a Machine-Type monster other than "Delzhark Unit - Destroyer X004": You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: You can target 1 face-up card on the field; destroy it. You can only use each effect of "Delzhark Unit - Recruiter X004" once per turn. If you Ritual Summon exactly 1 "Delzhark" Ritual Monster with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement.

 

 

Xyz Monster

[spoiler=Delzhark Secret Weapon - Eliminator X0021]

2 Level 4 Machine-Type monsters
Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 face-up card and 1 face-down card in the same column; destroy the first target, and return the second target to the hand. If this card on the field is destroyed: You can Ritual Summon 1 "Delzhark Secret Weapon - Erradicator X0023" from your Deck or Graveyard.

 

 

Ritual Monster

[spoiler=Delzhark Secret Weapon - Erradicator X0023]

You can Ritual Summon this card with "Top Secret Protocol". Once per turn: You can reveal this card in your hand until the end of the turn; this card's Level becomes 8 while it remains revealed in your hand, also if you control a "Delzhark" monster, you can draw 1 card, and if you do, place this card on the bottom of the Deck. Once per turn: You can target up to 2 cards your opponent controls in the same column; destroy any targeted monster, and return any targeted Spell/Trap Card to the hand.

 

Tip: The Level-changing effect is to make the monster compatible with Machina Fortress. You can both use Fortress as Tribute for Erradicator, or dead Erradicators as fuel for Fortress.

 

 

 

Ritual Spell

[spoiler=Top Secret Protocol]

This card is used to Ritual Summon "Delzhark Secret Weapon - Erradicator X0023" from your hand or Deck. You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels and/or Ranks equal 7 or more. While you have no cards in your hand: You can target 2 "Delzhark" monsters in your Graveyard; shuffle this card and those targets into the Deck, then draw 1 card. You can only use each effect of "Top Secret Protocol" once per turn.

 

 

Trap Cards

[spoiler=Unauthorized Protocol]

Target 1 face-up "Delzhark" monster you control and 1 face-up monster your opponent controls whose total Levels are equal 7 or more; send them to the Graveyard, then Ritual Summon 1 "Delzhark Secret Weapon - Erradicator X0023" from your hand or Deck. When this card leaves the field, destroy that monster.

 

[spoiler=Self-Destruction Protocol]

Target 1 Machine-Type monster you control or in your Graveyard and 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; equip the first target to the second target. Also, the effect of the first target becomes:
• A monster equipped with this card cannot attack, also its effects are negated. If this card would leave the field, banish it instead. At the end of the 3rd turn after this card was equipped to a monster: Destroy the equipped monster.

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Changelog]

08/11/15

- Updated the "Ritual Material" clause on the Effect Monsters with a Shurit clause.

 

08/14/15

- Erradicator X0023: Its protection effect only lasts 1 turn, and now it destroys the monster in the chosen column, while it bounces the Spell/Trap.

- Self-Destruction Protocol now banishes the Machine-type equip.

- Unauthorized Protocol became a Continuous Trap, and destroys the monster if it's removed from the field.

 

09/04/15

- X002 was renamed as Tracker, and now searches for both Delzhark monsters and Protocol Spell/Traps.

- Engineer no longer tributes itself as cost for its second effect.

- X004 was renamed as Recruiter and has a different effect now: searching for Delzhark monster when it inflicts battle damage.

- The Ritual monster lost its protection effect, in exchange of a built-in dead draw fixing effect.

- The grave effect of the Ritual Spell was replaced with a mini-avarice effect for Delzhark. Also it no longer stuns the effect of the Ritual Summoned monster.

- Unauthorized Protocol is chainable now, instead of activating upon the Normal/Special Summon of an opponent's monster.

 

11/04/15

- Renamed the archetype as Delzhark

- Changed X004: Renamed as Destroyer, and its battle damage effect now targets and destroys a face-up card on the field.

- X002 no longer is able to search for "Protocol" Spell/Traps.

 

 

[VCR_CAT]

Problem with the OCG on the maindeck monsters and the ritual spell. Taking a look at Nekroz, the single-tribute effect should read:
 

If you Ritual Summon "Hakvortz Secret Weapon - Erradicator X0023" with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement.

Shurit uses very similar wording and his all-tribute effect works from the grave as well as the hand or field; so where the monster is doesn't need to be specified. As for the Ritual Spell, it doesn't actually specify that you can banish monsters from the grave as part of the tribute. On top of that, the monsters' OCG doesn't specify where they go if they're tributed for the ritual spell. So if you want the Graveyard to be actually used in the Ritual Summon, the Ritual Spell should read:

 

You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field, and/or banish "Hakvortz" monsters from your Graveyard whose total Levels equal 7 or more.

 

This wording specifies that you can use any monster to tribute from the hand or field, but you have to use Hakvortz monsters if you're going to banish tributes from the grave. It also works with the previous wording that they can be used as a single tribute for the whole summon.

 

Working the from-grave banish effect into the monsters instead of the ritual cards makes the card text kind of messy and clogged. This way the deck functions the same way you probably intended (the Trap does not tribute monsters and specifies field, so it wouldn't work with the graveyard tributes. Also that would be sacky af so right now that trap works well the way it does with its existing wording), but this cleans up the OCG and makes the rulings more clear.

[Azuriena]

Well, I can see the merit in the monsters having the use from Graveyard effect and not the Ritual Spell. It's like a Djinn/Kuriball and Abyss/Shadow/Shurit hybrid. That way it'll work with cards like Contract with the Abyss or whatnot. Might be useful since Top Secret Protocol is hard OPT, but who knows.

 

But at the moment it is quite messy because you have a Trap that sends for cost so it's iffy whether the Hakvortz Unit work with it (well they wouldn't because it's not a Tribute, but I'm not sure if the game will recognise the cost of the effect being part of the Ritual Summon process). And also the fact that you can't Tribute from the Graveyard, of course.

 

Though pretending that the Trap sent (or Tributed) for effect, the Hakvortz Units should be able to banish themselves from the Graveyard, if they could be banished.

 

So here's an example of a possible Hakvortz Unit Soldier X001:

 

When this card is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 "Protocol" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck to your hand. If you Ritual Summon "Hakvortz Secret Weapon - Erradicator X0023" with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement, also you can banish this card from your Graveyard as 1 of the monsters required for the Ritual Summon.

[Darj]

To be honest, I was too lazy to update the Ritual Tribute clause on the main deck monsters, since I wrote them for Darzorcs before Shurit was even a thing and I didn't have any specific reference for the effect at that time.

They aren't intended to work like Djinns, who can be used from the grave as fodder by any Ritual Spell, so a Shurit clause should be more accurate.

 

And to clear up on the "Ritual Trap": It doesn't Tribute the Hakvortz, but instead sends to the grave, so you still have to fill the 7+ total level requirements to activate it; it cannot use Hakvortz from the grave either. This is to keep this trap fair, and even then I have my doubts because a Super-Transformation/Dark Renewal is quite strong.

 

At the moment I'm not interesed in using Hakvortz as ritual fodder from the grave, because I feel it could get stupid considering they can Ritual Summon the boss straight from the Deck. The perk of being able to use them from the grave is more of a remnant from Darzorcs, the monsters I copy/pasted, since the latter used to be able to do that through the Ritual Spell. Still, I didn't bother with updating this effect.

[Azuriena]

Then I'm confused as to why you would include that they could be used as the entire Tribute in the Graveyard, despite knowing that you can't Tribute them from the Graveyard.

 

But anyway.

[Darj]

well, as I already stated, it's a remnant perk from the archetype I copy/pasted, also I figured it would be fine as preemptive PSCT, so to speak, in case I ever make a nekroz mirror for the archetype and/or we get a generic one from konami in the future.

 

Anyway, I have fixed them with shurit clause so they should be clear now.

[Darj]

bump because major updates. Changes are on the OP.

[Darj]

almost 3-month bump, but because updates:

Renamed the archetype as Delzhark. Still edgy, but I didn't really like the previous name.

Some changes on X002 and X004, details are on the OP log.