Railway

Railway is a series of train-themed Machine monsters, introduced in Galactic Overlord. They are prominently used by both Anna Kaboom in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL and Allen Kozuki in Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V. All members of this series are EARTH monsters, except for the WATER "Number 27: Dreadnought Dreadnoid".

Design
Most cards of this series are based on either trains or railway infrastructure. Other cards are based on German warfare.

Overview
The Deck supports the rapid Summoning of Level 10 monsters to Summon Xyz Monsters, particularly "Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max" and "Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora". To this end, the Level 10 members of the series have effects that let them be Special Summoned or Summoned without tribute, at the cost of some drawback. The archetype is mostly not devoted to attacking, many cards in it either penalizing the player's monsters if they attack or preventing them from attacking and doing damage. Instead the series is more focused on Burn Damage, especially via the effect of "Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max." The Introduction of "Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Juggernaut Liebe" gives the Deck a heavy focus on OTK strategies, easily finishing an opponent in one move if they lack a good defence.

Main Deck monsters
The series heavily relies on "Revolving Switchyard" and "Ruffian Railcar" to maintain hand and field advantage by continuously summoning and searching out Level 10 EARTH Machine monsters. The player can create a loop using these two cards and "Night Express Knight" - Summon "Night Express Knight" from your hand, use the effect of "Revolving Switchyard" to Special Summon "Ruffian Railcar" from the deck and increase it to Level 10, and then overlay them for an Xyz Summon. Detaching "Ruffian Railcar" for that monster's effect will trigger the effect of "Ruffian Railcar" at the End Phase, letting the player search out another "Night Express Knight" so they can repeat the combo next turn, presuming "Revolving Switchyard" remains in play.

"Runaway Railcar Flying Pegasus" helps with consistency and recursion, being a one card Rank 10 if an appropriate target is in the graveyard, or if "Heavy Freight Train Derricrane" is in the hand. "Speedy Express Bullet Liner" also gives more consistent options for many Rank 10 or even Link plays, and its Graveyard effect helps the deck become even more consistent and have good longevity and recoverability.

Other good monsters to include in the Deck are: "Malefic Cyber End Dragon", a 4000 ATK monster and also a Level 10. With "Revolving Switchyard" already in play, this card cannot destroy itself. "Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord", which recycles your entire Graveyard and can be Special Summoned. "Planet Pathfinder", which can be Tributed to bring out "Revolving Switchyard" in case you run out of "Terraformings".

Extra Deck monsters
"Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora" should be the player's focus on Summoning, as it can instantly avoid almost any effect by detaching a Xyz Material. "Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max" is a great option to finish off weakened opponents by instantly dealing 2000 damage. "Superdimensional Robot Galaxy Destroyer" is an excellent third option, as the Deck will not have much difficulty getting three Level 10 monsters on the field, and "Superdimensional Robot Galaxy Destroyer" possesses a 5000 ATK and an effect to destroy all of your opponent's Spell and Trap cards, while your opponent cannot respond to this effect.

As for other Extra Deck monsters, "Number 35: Ravenous Tarantula", "Number 77: The Seven Sins" and "Number 84: Pain Gainer" are also good Extra Deck options. Number 35 can bump up your monsters' ATK as long as you and your opponent have different LP values and remove all monsters with ATK lower than this card's. "Number 77" can banish all of your opponent's Special Summoned monsters, attach 1 of them as Xyz Material and avoid destruction. "Number 84" can destroy all face-up monsters your opponent controls with DEF less than or equal to this card's.

While not in play most of the time, "Skypalace Gangaridai" can help you destroy two cards your opponent controls at once when you detach "Derricrane" as a cost to activate this card's effect.

"Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Juggernaut Liebe" is a fantastic OTK enabler. If combined with "Gustav Max" the damage will become exactly 8000; assuming your opponent doesn't control a monster. However its multiple attacking can still allow an OTK if the attack of the opponent's monsters is low enough. Utilise Derricrane to remove any cards hindering an OTK. Liebe shouldn't be summoned during turn 1 however as it lacks protection.

Spell and Trap Cards
The staple Spell Card for this deck is "Revolving Switchyard" as it can make "Ruffian Railcar" a Level 10 monster or discard 1 unwanted card to add "Night Express Knight" or "Derricrane" from your Deck to your hand. You can Summon "Night Express Knight", Special Summon "Ruffian Railcar" from your Deck, then Overlay both monsters for an easy Rank 10 Xyz Summon. "Limiter Removal" doubles your monster's ATK and can perform an OTK. "Terraforming" adds another option to add "Switchyard" to your hand quickly. "Xyz Unit" bumps up the ATK of Extra Deck monsters and acts as a free Xyz Material.

"Urgent Schedule" is a great card for opening up a play as the two summoned monsters can be used as Link material or one of them can be used for a Rank 10 monster. Using "Ruffian Railcar" and "Speedy Express Bullet Liner" can gain even further advantage.

As for the Traps, "Skill Drain" can shut down most Effect Monsters and give you a 3000 ATK beater in the form of "Night Express Knight". "Anti-Spell Fragrance" can prevent the opponent from activating a Spell if "Revolving Switchyard" is already on the field. "Metal Reflect Slime" gives a free Level 10 monster for Xyz Summoning. "Blitzkrieg Bombardment" can be a useful way to interrupt your opponent especially if "Derricrane" is attached to "Dorra", and its second effect can easily finish off a limping opponent.

Weaknesses
"Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju" (or any "Kaiju" monster) can effectively shut down a "Railway" Deck by replacing "Number 81" or "Gustav Max" with a monster whose Level is not 10, which disrupts the main focus of the Deck: Rank 10 Xyz Monsters.

The deck is very reliant on its normal summon so cards such as "Forced Back" and "Solemn Warning" can shut the deck down. Furthermore, cards that can stop burn damage such as "Life Stream Dragon" can be somewhat problematic, as they will hinder the deck's OTK potential.

"Cyber Dragon" decks can be a hard counter. Not only can they easily remove any monsters by summoning "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon" but they can OTK the deck right back. "Cyber Dragon Nova" can also be a huge problem as the deck can rarely afford multiple effects in a turn to bait out Nova's negation.

Cards that prevent Special Summoning such as "Vanity's Fiend", "Quiet Life" or "Domain of the True Monarchs" can shut down the Deck's Special Summoning capabilities.