Hieratic

"Hieroglyph" ( Seikoku) is an archetype consisting of LIGHT Dragon-Type monsters. One of the few sets of cards based on Egyptian motifs, they are based on Egyptian hieroglyphics and Ennead, a group of Egyptian gods in mythology.

The cards of this archetype relies on Special Summoning and destroying cards mainly by Tributing other "Hieroglyph" monsters. What makes this archetype powerful and interesting is that many of its monsters allow you to Tribute from your hand, in a manner similiar to Ritual Summoning.

There is another effect which all mid-Level monsters, such as Level 4, 5 and 6, have in common is that when they are Tributed, they are able to Special Summon a Dragon-Type Normal Monster either from the hand, Deck, or Graveyard. It is also mandatory to Special Summon, which means that even though you Tribute them for cost, this effect may still go through. So, despite the idea that you're getting rid of your own monster, you won't lose that much field advantage. Almost all "Hieroglyph" monsters have relatively simple Summoning conditions.

Playing Style
The greatest strength of this archetype lies in an ability that almost all its members possess: upon being tributed, be it by cost or effect, you are able to summon any normal Dragon type monster from your hand, deck or graveyard, at the cost of reducing it's attack and defense to 0. This gives the Hieroglyph archetype the ability to swarm the field and bring out powerful Xyz monsters in a manner similar to the famous (or infamous) Wind-Up or Inzector archetypes. Another interesting thing to note is the ease of summoning the archetype's regular members, and the ease of which you may activate their effects. For instance, both Hieroglyph Dragon - Nephthe Dragon and Hieroglyph Dragon - Shiyu Dragon are capable of getting rid of problematic monsters or spells/traps simply by tributing a "Hieroglyph" monster from your field OR hand. Not only that, but by tributing a "Hieroglyph" monster, you activate its effect to special summon a normal Dragon type from your hand, deck or graveyard, which means you literally get to destroy your opponent's cards and get a free monster for your troubles.

Taking all these points into consideration, one should now be able to see the true worth of having a level 8 normal monster with 0 attack and defense as the mascot. Not only can it be used for the effects of the other Hieroglyph monsters because of it's name, but it can be special summoned by nearly any of the other Hieroglyphs, can be used for Trade-In, and being an easily summonable lvl 8 normal monster grants players access to the powerful Thunder End Dragon, as well as the boss of the archetype, Hieroglyph God Dragon - Ennead. Should one be fortunate enough to have 3 of them on the field, or 2 of them and one Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, it would then be possible to summon the strongest Xyz monster (soon to be) released to date: Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon.

But why stop there? Because (asides from Hieroglyph Dragon - Dragon Geib) the only restrictions to the special summoning effect are "Normal" and "Dragon", one is capable of summoning normal dragons of ANY level to the field. This makes xyz summoning ridiculously easy, and is the reason why this deck is fully capable of abusing Rank 5, 6 and 8 Xyz monsters with impunity. One of the most powerful strategies available is to have Hieroglyph Dragon - Shiyu Dragon on the field, use it's effect to tribute another Hieroglyph effect monster, and special summon Luster Dragon 2 with the tributed monster's effect. Then use both monsters to Xyz into the second boss of the archetype, Hieroglyph Dragon King - Atumus, who can then use it's ability to special summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon from the deck. Even though Red-Eyes has lost it's impressive attack and defense, it is still fully capable of utilizing it's ability to special summon a Dragon from the hand or grave, effectively giving one the opportunity to continue abusing the abilities of the Hieroglyphs and performing a One Turn Kill.

Red-Eyes Hieroglyphs
One of the most basic builds for this archetype, it focuses on bringing out Hieroglyph Dragon King - Atumus and through him Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon for explosive plays. Has a fairly high One Turn Kill ratio.

Monster Cards

 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Aset Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Shiyu Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Nephthe Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Tfeni Dragon
 * Divine Dragon Apocralyph
 * Dragorado
 * Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Seal of the God Dragon
 * Honest
 * Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
 * Red-Eyes Wyvern

Spells

 * Hieroglyph Seal of Gathering
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Dragon's Mirror
 * Enemy Controller
 * Future Fusion
 * Monster Gate
 * Share the Pain
 * Super Rejuvenation
 * Trade-In

Traps

 * Burst Breath
 * Champion's Vigilance
 * Dragon Reincarnation
 * Dragon's Rage
 * Horn of Heaven
 * Photon Rising Stream
 * Xyz Reborn

Extra Deck

 * Daigusto Emeral
 * Five-Headed Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon King - Atumus
 * Hieroglyph God Dragon - Ennead
 * Lavalval Chain
 * Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon
 * Sacred Pleiades
 * Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7
 * Super Dreadnought Cannon Express Gustaph Max
 * Thunder End Dragon

Weaknesses
Cards like "Mask of Restrict", "Fog King", etc. that prevents Tributes would lockdown this archetype's main goal of Tributing monsters. Also, "Light-Imprisoning Mirror" can also shutdown their effects in the Graveyard as their effects activate when Tributed (they go to the Graveyard this way), since all of them are LIGHT Attribute. Ally of Justice monsters, "Koa'ki Meiru Drago" and "Penumbral Soldier Lady" can pull their plug on the field also. Because most Inzektor cards like Inzektor Hornet don't care about being in the graveyard, they can pose a decent threat against you. Since most of Hieroglyph cards are Level 5 or higher, "Verz Ophion" can put this deck into almost perfect deadlock situation.

Finally, a huge problem with the deck is that it is common to Dead Draw, which puts you in deep trouble, meaning once you lose all momentum to something like Dark Hole, you might find yourself stuck until you find a card that can save you.

Monsters

 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Aset Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Dragon Geib
 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Shiyu Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Nephthe Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Setekh Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Tfeni Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon - Usir Dragon
 * Alexandrite Dragon
 * Blue-Eyes White Dragon
 * Divine Dragon Apocralyph
 * Dragorado
 * Delta Flyer
 * Eclipse Wyvern
 * Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Seal of the God Dragon
 * Honest (If you don't use Solidarity)
 * Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
 * Vanguard of the Dragon
 * Debris Dragon

Spells

 * Hieroglyph Seal of Gathering
 * Hieroglyph Seal of Superstrength
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Dragon's Mirror
 * Dragonic Tactics
 * Enemy Controller
 * Future Fusion
 * Minimum Guts
 * Monster Gate
 * Mystic Wok
 * Photon Lead
 * Photon Sanctuary
 * Share the Pain
 * Solidarity
 * Super Rejuvenation
 * Silent Doom
 * Trade-In
 * White Elephant's Gift
 * Xyz Territory
 * Xyz Burst

Traps

 * Hieroglyph Seal of Erasure
 * Burst Breath
 * Champion's Vigilance
 * Dragon Reincarnation
 * Dragon's Rage
 * Horn of Heaven
 * Photon Rising Stream
 * Xyz Reborn

Extra Deck

 * Daigusto Emeral
 * Five-Headed Dragon
 * Hieroglyph Dragon King - Atumus
 * Hieroglyph God Dragon - Ennead
 * Inzektor Exa-Beetle
 * Lavalval Chain
 * Number 15: Gimmick Puppet - Giant Killer
 * Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon
 * Photon Streak Bouncer
 * Sacred Pleiades
 * Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7
 * Super Dreadnought Cannon Express Gustaph Max
 * Thunder End Dragon
 * Trident Dragion

Trivia

 * Each monster in this archetype has an Egyptian symbol somewhere on its body.


 * The monsters in this archetype have designs similar to "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" and "Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" for their illuminating bodies, scaly armors, and wings.