Lady Elysia Posted May 2, 2016 Report Share Posted May 2, 2016 So this is probably my best archetype creation, and by far my personal favorite. I've tried hard to test this deck as much as possible; as far as I can tell, the archetype seems very well-balanced, though I haven't had a ton of opportunity to play various people (big shout-out to the person with the Black Testament archetype, since you were about half my games lol). If there's anything at all that you want to say about any of the cards posted here, feel free to tell me, even if it's harsh :) Written because finding good pictures for the monsters' flavor was completely and utterly impossible (seriously, I couldn't even find one). [spoiler=Main Deck monsters]Quaternary TravelerockLV2 / Rock / EARTH / EffectATK 200 / DEF 300If this Set card is targeted by an opponent's card effect: Flip it to face-up Defense Position, then apply the effect.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.If this card is banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: You can banish up to 2 "Travelerock" monsters from your Deck, except "Quaternary Travelerock". You cannot Special Summon monsters, except Rock-Type monsters, during the turn you activate this effect. You can only use this effect of "Quaternary Travelerock" once per turn. Neogene TravelerockLV2 / Rock / EARTH / EffectATK 400 / DEF 600If this Set card is targeted by an opponent's card effect: Flip it to face-up Defense Position, then apply the effect.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.If this card is banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: Target 1 card on the field; return it to the hand. If this card was banished from the field, you can target 2 cards instead. Paleogene TravelerockLV2 / Rock / EARTH / Tuner / EffectATK 600 / DEF 900If this Set card is targeted by an opponent's card effect: Flip it to face-up Defense Position, then apply the effect.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.If this card is banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: Special Summon it. If this card is used as a Synchro Material Monster, all the other Synchro Material Monsters must be Rock-Type. Cretaceous TravelerockLV4 / Rock / EARTH / EffectATK 800 / DEF 1200If this Set card is targeted by an opponent's card effect: Flip it to face-up Defense Position, then apply the effect.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.When this card is Normal Summoned, or banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: You can banish 1 "Travelerock" monster from your hand, except "Cretaceous Travelerock". Jurassic TravelerockLV4 / Rock / EARTH / EffectATK 1000 / DEF 1500If this Set card is targeted by an opponent's card effect: Flip it to face-up Defense Position, then apply the effect.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.When this card is Normal Summoned, or banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: You can add 1 banished "Travelerock" monster to your hand. Triassic TravelerockLV4 / Rock / EARTH / Tuner / EffectATK 1200 / DEF 1800If this Set card is targeted by an opponent's card effect: Flip it to face-up Defense Position, then apply the effect.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.When this card is Normal Summoned, or banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: You can banish 1 "Travelerock" monster you control; Special Summon 1 of your banished "Travelerock" monsters, except "Triassic Travelerock". Permian TravelerockLV6 / Rock / EARTH / EffectATK 1300 / DEF 1950If a "Travelerock" monster is banished: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand), unless a "Travelerock" monster has already been Special Summoned during the current Chain.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.You can banish this card (from your hand); add 1 banished Rock-Type monster to your hand, also for the rest of this turn, you cannot Special Summon any monster(s) with the same name as the card added to your hand by this effect. This effect of "Permian Travelerock" can only be activated once per turn. Carboniferous TravelerockLV6 / Rock / EARTH / EffectATK 1400 / DEF 2100If a "Travelerock" monster is banished: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand), unless a "Travelerock" monster has already been Special Summoned during the current Chain.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.If this card is banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: You can add 1 "Geologic" Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. Devonian TravelerockLV6 / Rock / EARTH / EffectATK 1500 / DEF 2250If a "Travelerock" monster is banished: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand), unless a "Travelerock" monster has already been Special Summoned during the current Chain.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.If this card is banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: You can add 1 Rock-Type monster from your Deck to your hand. Silurian TravelerockLV6 / Rock / EARTH / Tuner / EffectATK 1600 / DEF 2400If a "Travelerock" monster is banished: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand), unless a "Travelerock" monster has already been Special Summoned during the current Chain.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.During your Main Phase: You can banish this card in your hand or that you control; until the End Phase of this turn, the Summon of any "Travelerock" monsters cannot be negated. Ordovician TravelerockLV6 / Rock / EARTH / EffectATK 1700 / DEF 2550If a "Travelerock" monster is banished: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand), unless a "Travelerock" monster has already been Special Summoned during the current Chain.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.When this card is Special Summoned by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: Target 1 card your opponent controls; banish it.When this card is banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: Draw 1 card. Cambrian TravelerockLV6 / Rock / EARTH / EffectATK 1800 / DEF 2700If a "Travelerock" monster is banished: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand), unless a "Travelerock" monster has already been Special Summoned during the current Chain.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Banish it.When this card is Special Summoned by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: Draw 1 card.When this card is banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster: Target 1 card your opponent controls; banish it. [spoiler=Extra Deck monsters]Cenozoic TravelerockRank 2 / Rock / EARTH / Xyz / EffectATK 1500 / DEF 18002 Level 2 Rock-Type monstersOnce per turn, if this monster would be destroyed (by battle or card effect), it is not destroyed.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: You can banish up to 2 Rock-Type monsters from your Deck.Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then select and activate 1 of these effects:* Both players select 1 monster they control; banish the selected monsters.* Special Summon 1 of your banished Rock-Type monsters. Mesozoic TravelerockRank 4 / Rock / EARTH / Xyz / EffectATK 2100 / DEF 24002 Level 4 Rock-Type monstersOnce per turn, if this monster would be destroyed (by battle or card effect), it is not destroyed.If this card is removed from the field by a card effect that does not destroy it: Special Summon 1 of your banished Rock-Type monsters.Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then select and activate one of these effects:* Return the face-up monster on the field with the lowest ATK to its owner's hand.* Return the face-up monster on the field with the highest ATK to its owner's hand. Paleozoic TravelerockRank 6 / Rock / EARTH / Xyz / EffectATK 2700 / DEF 30002 Level 6 Rock-Type monstersOnce per turn, if this monster would be destroyed (by battle or card effect), it is not destroyed.While this card has Xyz Material: This card cannot be removed from the field, except by being destroyed.Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Special Summon 1 of your banished Rock-Type monsters. Cryptozoic TravelerockLV8 / Rock / EARTH / Synchro / EffectATK 1500 / DEF 25001 EARTH Tuner + 1 or more EARTH monstersYou can only control 1 "Cryptozoic Travelerock".Once per turn, if this monster would be destroyed (by battle or card effect), it is not destroyed.You can Synchro Summon this card using 2 "Travelerock" monsters whose combined Levels are 6, but if you do, you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn.Once per turn, when a Level 5 or higher monster is Summoned: You can select and activate 1 of the following effects:* Negate the effect of the Summoned monster, also it is unaffected by Spell/Trap effects.* Draw 1 card.* Draw 2 cards; also your opponent can then select 1 monster you control, and if they do, banish the selected monster. Phanerozoic TravelerockLV10 / Rock / EARTH / Synchro / EffectATK 2000 / DEF 30001 Rock-Type Tuner + 1 or more Rock-Type monstersYou can only control 1 "Phanerozoic Travelerock".Must first be Synchro Summoned, also cannot be Special Summoned during the same turn a "Phanerozoic Travelerock" was removed from the field.Once per turn, if this monster would be destroyed (by battle or card effect), it is not destroyed.If a face-up "Travelerock" monster would be destroyed: Banish it instead.Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can banish 1 "Travelerock" monster from your hand and draw 1 card. [spoiler=Spell Cards]Geologic Spatial RiftNormal SpellBanish 1 "Travelerock" monster from your Deck, and treat it as if it was banished by the effect of a "Travelerock" monster. You can only activate 1 "Geologic Spatial Rift" per turn. Geologic Temporal RiftNormal SpellTarget 3 banished "Travelerock" monsters; shuffle them into the Deck, then draw 2 cards. You can only activate 1 "Geologic Temporal Rift" per turn. Geologic Celestial RiftField SpellWhen this card is activated: You can banish up to 3 "Travelerock" monsters in your Graveyard.Once per turn: You can shuffle 1 "Travelerock" monster in your hand into the Deck; draw 1 card.While you control an Attack Position "Travelerock" monster: Switch the ATK and DEF of all face-up monsters on the field. Negate the effect of any other cards that would change the ATK/DEF of a monster(s) on the field, other than itself. Geologic Spiritual RiftQuick-Play SpellTarget 1 banished "Travelerock" monster; Special Summon it, but its effects are negated and it is banished during the End Phase.If this card is in your Graveyard: You can banish it, then target 3 "Geologic" Spell Cards in your Graveyard; your opponent selects 1 of them to add to your hand, and the other 2 are shuffled into the Deck.You can only activate 1 "Geologic Spiritual Rift" effect per turn, and only once that turn. [spoiler=Competitive teal deer]My main goal in creating what ended up being Travelerocks was to create an archetype that effectively reverses the way the Graveyard and the Banished Zone function for most decks. Something you might have missed looking at the effects above: there is nothing that Travelerocks can do (within their own archetype, anyway) to bring back any of their monsters that go to the Graveyard. Instead, they have ample ways to work with their Banished Zone; even what amounts to an archetype specific CotH in the canon card "Release from Stone". One thing that might have stuck out is the lack of an OPT clause in most Main Deck monsters. This is intentional; I've been extremely careful to avoid any infinite loops here (which is why Permian is the only non-Quaternary monster to get an OPT). This fact becomes arguably the biggest strength of this archetype, a reason to try it in spite of its weaknesses, and something that makes Travelerocks very unpredictable in their plays. Their main power play is Spatial Rift to Quaternary, which basically lets you do anything you want, allowing for an excellent toolbox playstyle - only exacerbated by the mix-and-match nature of the main deck monsters (since you can't viably run them all in one deck). Finally, Travelerocks can be quite good at disrupting the opponent's playstyle, since Macro Cosmos and Dimensional Fissure are almost always teched in, and Celestial Rift's passive effect can seriously mess up an opponent's offense and force them into a constant defense. All of this might seem OP at first glance, but there are definite weaknesses here. First of all, Travelerocks absolutely depend on Celestial Rift to pose any sort of offensive threat, leading to the simple answer of flipping MST in the battle phase and completely dunking on the Travelerock player. Secondly, Travelerocks have very, very little in the way of removal - the only two Travelerocks with removal effects are fairly inconsistent LV6s, leading to plenty of deck space being filled with teched removal cards. Which leads to arguably the Travelerocks' biggest issue: bricks. Most of the LV6 banish effects are strong, but the absolute last thing you want to see is a hand full of LV6s. Initial plays rely on a few cards (mainly Spatial, and Cretaceous to a lesser extent), so simply not drawing key cards can become a major problem. Celestial helps somewhat, but it's not entirely reliable, and it's quite possible to not draw that, either (I run Terraforming, for what it's worth.) Finally, while the Extra Deck monsters are very strong, they need to be played carefully, since summoning them usually results in Travelerocks in the Graveyard, which (as stated above) is the last place they want to be. Here is my personal build right now; I'm still working on this (especially the Extra Deck, but I need more Main Deck variety too). I've spent more time building the cards themselves than playing them viably, lol. It's all public on Duel Portal, feel free to try it yourself or offer ways to improve on it. Monsters: 213 Quaternary Travelerock3 Silurian Travelerock3 Carboniferous Travelerock2 Cambrian Travelerock2 Cretaceous Travelerock2 Devonian Travelerock2 Koa'ki Meiru Overload2 Paleogene Travelerock2 Jurassic Travelerock Spells: 143 Geologic Celestial Rift3 Geologic Spatial Rift3 Geologic Spiritual Rift2 Geologic Temporal Rift1 Dimensional Fissure1 Raigeki1 Terraforming Traps: 52 Release from Stone1 Compulsory Evacuation Device1 Macro Cosmos1 Solemn Warning Extra:3 Cenozoic Travelerock2 Mesozoic Travelerock2 Number 55: Gogogo Goliath2 Paleozoic Travelerock1 Number 52: Diamond Crab King3 Cryptozoic Travelerock2 Phanerozoic Travelerock [spoiler=Flavor and backstory]Travelerocks, at their essence, are rocks from various eons of Earth history that have gained sentience. The Travelerocks communicate using their own unique language, creating symbols through their rifts. As such, the names given aren't their own names for themselves, but rather the geologic eon they had come from. Being rocks, they have de facto immortality unless they are destroyed like the three from the war had been; as such, the strongest Travelerocks are also the oldest, because they gain experience manipulating rifts as they "age". The younger Travelerocks, while sentient in their own right, tend to gravitate towards one of the three major leaders. While Paleozoic has the largest following, the other two leaders have much to teach those under their tutelage. Rift manipulation is something that takes many millions of years to truly master, however; as such, most of the Travelerocks have decided to specialize in their own unique talents, trying to aid their family whenever they can through techniques no other Travelerock has yet mastered. Cryptozoic was the first Travelerock; despite being almost certainly the first Earth entity to gain true sentience, there was little it could do with this, since it was still an immobile rock. However, as it spent its time pondering its existence and the universe, it gradually discovered the power to bend the world around it to accommodate for its lack of what later organisms would consider basic mobility. Eons later, its power had grown to the point where it could create interdimensional rifts, to different times, different planets, different planes of existence. Bending reality to its whim, it decided to seek out similarly sentient rocks and gather a union of its own kind. The Travelerocks were given purpose by the original Cryptozoic, discovering the ability to communicate through their created rifts. Noticing that their power was greatest under stress, Phanerozoic - by now the de facto leader, as Cryptozoic simply did not want to lead - decided to actively work for peace, traveling to various eons and creating disruptions almost unnoticeable to most, in an effort to stop the efforts of warmongers throughout time and space. However, one such group discovered the Travelerocks, and immediately made efforts towards destroying them - succeeding in destroying three, the Proterozoic, Archean, and Hadean Travelerocks. Sadly, the Travelerocks' power over rifts simply could not bring back their own kind from destruction - as such, Cryptozoic decided that Phanerozoic could no longer lead, since its actions had led to this. Cryptozoic gave ruling authority to a triumvirate: Cenozoic, Mesozoic, and Paleozoic, hoping that this new system would prevent a similar tragedy. These three then collectively decided that the Travelerocks would remain hidden from other entities, using their rifts to communicate and adore the wonder of the universe around them, and never again using their powers in combat, except for self-defense when strictly necessary. Since all the known Travelerocks had come from planet Earth, it was easily agreed that their time would be best spent searching other planets for more sentient rocks to add to their ranks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dova Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 The first thing that comes to mind with the "if this card is removed from the field by a card effect that did not destroy it" is the fact that it is then impossible to move these cards anywhere, unless you use destruction. I don't really know why this was chosen over destruction, or even sent to the Graveyard. I also wish it had "would leave the field" but then again, you can't activate an effect if you do that, and this archetype really likes that. The first four cards are alright, and together make a neat foundation for the archetype. The fact that two of the monsters have almost reversed effects "adding to hand from banished/banishing from hand" would seem kinda pointless, but the fact that it works on Summon for one of them, and banishing does really plus you. It's at Triassic were things start to get more interesting. The first thing to note is that it banishes as a cost in order to Summon, as it is placed between the colon and semicolon, so it won't activate any of your monster's effects. However, I'm glad it doesn't activate any effects, because if it did, you could Summon this card, banish itself, Special Summon Paleogene, then use its banished effect to banish Paleogene to Summon it back to the field again. Another minor thing: You could endlessly banish 1 copy of this card you control, then special summon another from your grave, then repeat with the effect on its banish. The summon on a banish for the rest of the main deck monsters are good, but I feel if you just changed "If" to "When" you wouldn't need the chain addition to the effect. Effects are mostly fine, and for once a continuous lingering effect is good in a deck with Silurian, but you should add a soft Once per turn on that card so that you can signify its just during your turn. Onto the Extra Deck, and it is with a sad face that I still see that destruction is a prominent theme in this archetype. Yes. some cards return to hand, but most cards today destroy. EVEN BOTTOMLESS. I mean, the effect won't even activate if the card is Solemned D: I wish it had been done some other way, like "if this card would be sent from the field to the Graveyard, banish it instead", but now it's not fast at all. Also, the mirror matches with these cards would be annoying, as you can Special Summon your opponent's banish Rock-Types, as the cards do not specify which player they SS the banished monsters from. And looking at these effects...these cards are weak. Yes, they speed up the archetype, but its not hard to get rid of them at all. Meso and Ceso are okayish, but they are slow, and Paleo leaves a lot to be desired. I don't really see why I would want him out rather than other LVL 6 Xyzs. Crypto is a nice concept, but I prefer Moonlight Dragon over this thing, as this card does little to locking down your opponent's field, and the draw 2 effect is a -1 rather than a +0, and I doubt it would ever be used. Phaneo is...actually really good, or it would be, if you could summon it back. I mean, if you put a lot of effort into bringing out this R10 and then it gets Bottomlessed or something, that's it. All your energy wasted. Perhaps limit it instead to one SSing of it per turn? Onto the Spells. Instead of making the Spells have "treated as being banished by a Travelerock monster", just change all of your card's effects to "When this card is banished by the effect a Travelerock card". Temporal is this archetypes version of Yang Zing Path, and, while I can't really see a way of buffing it without making it OP, this card is different from Path, because you don't want your Yang Zings in your Grave, but you do want your Travelerock monsters banished. Perhaps make it shuffle from your Graveyard, as you cannot really get them back from there as you said? I know you don't want banish interaction, but banished cards are interacted a lot even in Graveyard orientated decks. I don't understand why Celestial is there. It prevents bricking, true, but it doesn't really add anything to the archetype, other than attack boosting, and I wouldn't waste deck space for that, and I don't get how it fits in with the archetype's theme. Spiritual is great. I have nothing bad to say about it, and I think that it's very good design. All in all, I'd give this archetype a 7/10. Yes, the cards don't fit together well sometimes, but the idea is rather interesting, and it certainly is playable at the very least. While weak, this is certainly not a bad deck, it just needs a bit of buffing. And surprisingly, you did the lack of OPT very well. Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Elysia Posted May 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 -snip-Thanks for the feedback! I've made some changes based on it: - On Triassic, added the phrase "except "Triassic Travelerock"" to the summon effect. (PS: Yes, the banish being a cost was intentional, for exactly the reason you mentioned.)- On Silurian, its self-banish now starts with the phrase "During your Main Phase:"- All Extra Deck monsters now have this new clause at the start of their effects: "Once per turn, if this monster would be destroyed (by battle or card effect), it is not destroyed."- On Triassic and all Xyz Monsters: "Special Summon 1 banished Rock-Type monster." changed to "Special Summon 1 of your banished Rock-Type monsters."- On Meso, detach effect changed to make it more easily hit a monster you want to hit. I still like the fact that it's non-target non-destruct removal, which is arguably Meso's biggest selling point, so it's hard to change it much without either removing that aspect or making it OP.- On Crypto, "Draw 2 cards, then banish this card;" changed to "Draw 2 cards;"- On Phanero: "Cannot be Special Summoned, except by Synchro Summon." changed to "Must first be Synchro Summoned, also cannot be Special Summoned during the same turn a "Phanerozoic Travelerock" was removed from the field."- On Celestial, new effect added: "When this card is activated: You can banish up to 3 "Travelerock" monsters in your Graveyard." Also, Geologic spell names (and Travelerock monster vs Travelerock card) left unchanged, so that this effect isn't broken. (That, and I like the pun on "geology + logic" too much to rename the rifts to "Travelerock" cards instead.) Thank you very much for your well-thought-out review! I'll still be practicing with this deck, testing if the changes made are enough to make it viable, or if I still need to buff it further. Still thinking of ways to buff Neogene, and to make Celestial feel less like a shoehorn... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstrike1122 Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 this has lots of thought put into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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