Forum:Deck Guide/Wind-Up/1

Former version by BF2

Updated by Gadjiltron Under construction

Intro
Here's a little drinking game: Flip through a bunch of Yu-Gi-Oh! Effect Monsters, and take a sip each time you see the phrase "Once per turn" anywhere.

Why are these three words important? It prevents already powerful effects from being spammed multiple times per turn. Looking at how often game-winning loops use the same few effects over and over again, it's easy to see why the "once per turn" or even the "once per Duel" phrase appears so often. Several cards which are currently Forbidden also lack those restricting phrases.

Then comes this one archetype that takes the "once per turn" phrase to a slightly higher level. Almost every one of the archetype's base monster effects can only be used once while they're on the field. They still could make it to the tournament scene, proving that sometimes, just one single activation is enough to win games.

Mechanics
Wind-Ups are an Xyz-centric Deck, where a good number of card effects involve Special Summoning a bunch of monsters in one turn (yes, within allowance of the rules), and another few effects involving Level modification. This means that a usual Wind-Up Deck will have an Extra Deck sporting a mix of Rank 3, 4, and 5 monsters for multiple situations, along with the stray Xyz support to keep their game-winners where they want them. A good deal of their support also relies on their monster effects activate, which complicates things when we get to their gimmick.

The thing about the base Wind-Up monsters is that their effects can only be triggered once while they're face-up on the field. This means that if you want to reuse their effects, you'll need the means to temporarily remove their face-up status so that the "count" resets. Alternatively, because they like swarming and Level modification, the moment you use their effects would also mean that you're going to Xyz Summon soon to relieve yourself of a powerless monster.

All Wind-Up cards can be fond between GENF and ORCS, ignoring any reprints.

Strengths

 * Amazing swarm capability - To the point where as of March 2013, their two main Special Summoners were hit hardest by the banlist.
 * Flexible Extra Deck - You have Ranks 3, 4, and 5 at your disposal when fiddling with Wind-Ups. Most other Decks would only restrict their Xyz options to 2 specific Ranks, giving you an edge in the number of options to utilize.

Weaknesses

 * Dependent on Monster Effects - Known nemeses of Wind-Ups include Effect Veiler, Skill Drain, and even Photon Strike Bounzer. The last of the three can put the Wind-Ups in a deadlock position, since its ATK is just enough to overpower most of the Wind-Ups' options (that require only 2 monsters to make).
 * Weak base monsters - Since they depend on making Xyz Monsters, if you somehow exhaust or lock out their Extra Deck, the typical Wind-Up player is left with the base monsters which usually don't have very good stats to their name. Deck Devastation Virus is as effective against this Deck as it is against Quickdraw Synchro.
 * Tendency to overextend - Time a Torrential Tribute or Needle Ceiling right before they Xyz Summon, and they are left with nothing to use.

Monsters
First, the monsters that go into the main Deck.
 * Wind-Up Bat - At Level 1 and stats of 300/350, this card's not going to see much combat. Its one-use effect lets you switch it to Defense Position and add any Wind-Up monster in your Graveyard to your hand. But normally you'd want that monster immediately on the field, so this cripples Bat's useability, especially when compared to Rat (explained further down the page). At least you can recycle Wind-Up Xyz monsters with it.
 * Wind-Up Dog - 1200/900 for a Level 3 seems more or less par. However, Dog has the capability of boosting its ATK by 600 and its Level by 2 for the turn, allowing you a choice between making a Rank 3 or Rank 5 Xyz Summon. Unfortunately, we've got a better Level tweaker elsewhere.
 * Wind-Up Honeybee - Much like Bat, Bee has feeble stats of 100/300 and is Level 1. Fortunately, it wants to be destroyed in battle, because if it does, you get to Special Summon a LV4 or lower Wind-Up from your Deck. Seeing that we don't have any monsters with a base Level higher than 4, that pretty much allows searching of any monster you'll need for the next turn.
 * Wind-Up Hunter - Easily one of the most expensive base monsters because of its devastating effect in its prime and ideal Level. 1600/500 for Level 3 is pretty good, as X-Saber Airbellum has demonstrated. Its one-use effect lets you Tribute another Wind-Up monster to randomly send a card from your opponent's hand, circumventing the Dark Worlds' effects. However, prior to Sep 2012, it was part of a loop that constantly brought Hunter back and forth from the field and Graveyard, allowing its effect to be used up to a maximum of 5 times. Players executing the loop at its best efficiency on the very first turn practically left the opponent helpless for the rest of the Duel. Or what would remain of it.
 * Wind-Up Juggler - As one of the stronger Wind-Ups, Juggler stands at a respectable 1700/1000 for a LV4. Its one-use effect lets it destroy anything that survived a battle with it, provided that Juggler itself is also still alive after damage calculation. This restricts Juggler's use to destroying battle-immune walls. Still, it doesn't prevent Juggler from being a decent Rank 4 Xyz candidate.
 * Wind-Up Kitten - At Level 2 with abysmal stats of 800/500, Kitten won't be seeing much battle like a good deal of the family. Its one-use effect lets it bounce a monster your opponent controls, letting it take care of any Nomis or Extra Deck monsters. Despite this, it's generally better to use Compulsory Evacuation Device which serves the same purpose and is chainable. I'm not even sure why it got made an Ultra Rare in the TCG. Maybe some Decks use Junk Synchron afterwards to make Level 5 Synchros, but that's a niche use.
 * Wind-Up Knight - A great beatstick with stats of 1800/1200, Wind-Up Knight even has the ability to block off one attack targeting a Wind-Up monster, including itself. Too bad this effect is one-use, so if your opponent is launching an assault on you despite Knight's presence, they've got a plan around the one-use attack negation. Fortunately, it still can buy you a turn early in the game when monster attacks per turn are few.
 * Wind-Up Magician - Perhaps the centrepiece to the Wind-Up monsters' swarming capability. Its one-use effect triggers after a different Wind-Up monster's effect activates, and it Special Summons a LV4 or lower Wind-Up monster from the Deck, letting you easily make your Xyz Monsters when combined with the other Wind-Ups whose effects you can activate at will. Stats of 600/1800 means if you're Normal Summoning it, you're going to want to use its effect almost immediately. As of March 2013, Magician has been Limited to check the Wind-Up's swarm.
 * Wind-Up Rabbit - Perhaps the only Wind-Up monster with a Quick Effect. Rabbit has acceptable stats of 1400/600, and its "one-use" effect lets it banish any Wind-Up monster, including itself, until your next Standby Phase. The immediate idea is to use Rabbit's effect on itself, circumventing its "once only" phrase, while constantly setting off support cards and dodging removal in combat or effect.
 * Wind-Up Rat - Considered an improved version of Bat, Rat has an ideal Level of 3, which allows it to make some decent Rank 3 Xyz monsters. The best part comes from Rat's effect: Once only, just by switching it to Defense Position, you can Special Summon a LV4 or lower Wind-Up from your Graveyard. Ideally, you'd want to target something that's LV3 (or can make its Level 3) so that you can immediately Xyz Summon. Pack 3 of them, the revival is extremely valuable.
 * Wind-Up Shark - A very, very powerful boon to the Wind-Up Deck which the TCG introduced in ORCS. Shark has 2 effects, neither of them being "one-use". The first triggers when a Wind-Up monster is Normal or Special Summoned, and Shark Special Summons itself from the hand. Since this counts as an effect activation, you can Normal Summon Magician, Special Summon Shark using that effect, and then immediately use Magician's effect, granting 3 monsters on the field at once. The second effect is also useful, as it can either bump itself to LV5 or shrink to LV3, effectively making Shark critical for Xyz Summoning. You'll definitely want 3 of them.
 * Wind-Up Snail - With a staggering 2000 DEF, Snail pretty much screams "wall". Unfortunately, being LV2, you can't exactly use it with most of the other Wind-Ups for Xyz easily. Snail's one-use effect lets you bounce a Set card on the field, letting you temporarily clear off S/Ts or suspected Spies or Rykos for an attack. Perhaps you can combine with Kitten to bounce 2 cards before making Gantetsu, but that's also a niche use.
 * Wind-Up Soldier - The strongest of the base monsters. Soldier stands at an already decent 1800/1200, but its one-use effect lets it, for the turn, become LV5 and get a 400 ATK boost. You're most likely only using his effect to make Rank 5 monsters, but he'll also be able to take down almost anything around his (original) Level.
 * Wind-Up Warrior - Don't mix him up with Soldier. Warrior has the reversed stats of Soldier: 1200/1800. Unlike Soldier, Warrior's one-use effect lets him boost any other Wind-Up monster you control, giving an extra Level and 600 ATK. Generally, Soldier is considered better due to his better base ATK, but Warrior can combo with Rat to instantly make a Rank 4 if needed.

And now, the ones that go into the Extra Deck.
 * Wind-Up Arsenal Zenmaioh - The strongest of the Wind-Up Xyz Monsters. Zenmaioh has great stats of 2600/1700, letting it punch through anything up to a Stardust Dragon. Its effect allows it to target any 2 Set cards and destroy them at the cost of an Xyz Material. Note that it has to be exactly 2 Set cards, and it can target both sides of the field, and doesn't discriminate between Monsters or S/Ts. If your opponent has only one Set card and you want that gone, set any S/T to fill the requirement. Just be wary of Starlight Road though.
 * Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity - When it was introduced alongside Rat in ORCS, Zenmaity shot the Wind-Ups' capability through the roof. While it has meager stats of 1500/1500, as a Rank 3, it means Rat can easily make it. Its effect is the main reason for running Zenmaity: detach an Xyz Material, and Special Summon a LV4 or lower Wind-Up monster from your Deck or hand. Naturally, Rat is the prime target to make another Zenmaity and repeat the process. Then you factor Hunter into the combo. Revive Hunter with Rat, Tribute Zenmaity to pick off a card, Xyz another Zenmaity, detach Hunter to Special Summon Rat, and repeat as often as needed to wipe the opponent's hand. This has proven to be so strong that Zenmaity eventually got banned as of March 2013 after at least 6 months of being Limited.
 * Wind-Up Zenmaines - Another Rank 3 Xyz monster that joins Gantetsu in the party of "annoying walls that take 3 destruction attempts to remove". Zenmaines has a permissible ATK of 1500 and a great DEF of 2100, and each time it would get destroyed, you can detach an Xyz Material from it. Once during the End Phase, if you used said destruction negation effect and Zenmaines still remains on the field, you must destroy a card on the field. This means that to surmount it without bouncing or banishing, they must expend all 3 destruction attempts at once to avoid losing cards on the field, or intentionally wipe their own field to trick Zenmaines' compulsory destruction into destroying something you own. Still, it doesn't prevent Zenmaines from being a good splashable Rank 3.
 * Wind-Up Zenmaister - The Rank 4 Xyz and pioneer of the family. Zenmaister has initially terrible-looking stats of 1900/1500, but fortunately gains an additional 300 ATK for each Xyz Material attached to it. This makes it 2500 ATK at first, on par with Number 39: Utopia. It's intended to reset expended Wind-Up monsters, with its effect letting it detach an Xyz Material to flip down a monster you control. That monster then flips back into Attack Position during your End Phase. As Wind-Up monsters tend not to stay on the field very long after using their effects due to turning into Xyz Material, Zenmaister is better off being used in a Flip Effect-heavy Deck, like Empty Jar or Worms.

Spells and Traps

 * Legendary Wind-Up Key - The Wind-Ups have a little symbolism going on with their gimmick. All wind-up toys in real life require to turn the key to get them moving, and they stop once the mechanism has expended itself, much like the one-use effects. Legendary Wind-Up Key turns all Wind-Up monsters you control face-down at one shot, allowing you to reuse the expended monsters once you flip them back up. But, as Zenmaister's evaluation shows, Wind-Up monsters tend to disappear from the field as Xyz Material once they have been expended, which hampers Wind-Up Key's useability. You can still use it to fend off something like Mirror Force or Lightning Vortex, tough.
 * Overwind - Somewhat similar to Limiter Removal, Overwind doubles the ATK and DEF of a Wind-Up monster you control, and returns that monster to your hand during the End Phase. Perhaps good when you're pushing for a finishing move with Zenmaioh, or to prevent Zenmaity from being run over by a beatstick while also recycling it into the Extra Deck for abuse in later turns.
 * Weights & Zenmaisures - Select 2 Wind-Up monsters with different Levels, and then your opponent decides which of those Levels both monsters become. If they pick the lower level, you also get to draw a card. One idea is to pick a LV3 and LV5 monster, and force the opponent to decide between you bringing a Zenmaity (along with drawing a card) or a Zenmaioh (or worse). But with Shark available on both sides of the Pacific, you're better off just deciding what Level each monster is yourself.
 * Wind-Up Factory - The so-called Black Whirlwind for Wind-Ups. Once per turn, when you successfully activate a Wind-Up monster's effect, you can add a LV4 or lower Wind-Up monster from your Deck to your hand. Definitely a must for the Deck, since you can then dig up what you'll need soon. Need a Shark to spit out 3 monsters at once? Or Rat to make an instant Rank 3? Factory can meet that requirement.
 * Zenmailfunction - With so many Xyz Summons, a good deal of your Wind-Ups will wind up (pardon the pun) in the Graveyard due to being detached for effects, or simply due to being beaten in battle. Zenmailfunction serves as instant unattached revival for them, but of course it comes with drawbacks. The target monster appears in Defense Position, cannot be Tributed or Synchro'ed, and has its effects negated. Note that this doesn't prevent you from attempting to use that monster's effect, so you can still set off the effects of another Magician or Factory.
 * Zenmailstrom - A slightly difficult card to use, but in the right hands, can make for a devastating combination. First, you need to Tribute Wind-Up monster with 1500 or more ATK. First things that come to mind are Soldiers, Sharks, or even expended Zenmaities. Then, you Special Summon a Wind-Up monster from your hand, followed by a Wind-Up monster from your Deck with the same ATK. This is where it gets difficult, since you'll need pairs of monsters with equal ATK barring duplicates. Ideas include Rat and Magician, or Dog and Soldier.
 * Zenmairch - Bounce a LV4 or lower Wind-Up you control, then Special Summon a Wind-Up from your hand with the same Level as that monster. Sounds a lot liek Beast Soul Swap, doesn't it? Use it to either reset effects and/or attacks, or maybe swap a monster with something stronger in its ideal position. This is a nice way of getting Magician out in Defense Position.

Example Deck
Will be added soon, once I think of a good one that functions in the March 2013 list.

Tag Duel Options
Anything that sports an Extra Deck populated with Rank 3 to 5 monsters (without specific Summon conditions) will gladly appreciate partnership with Wind-Ups. Perhaps consider a partner which uses strong base monsters so that if you're ever deprived of Xyz Summoning, the team still has a respectable offensive presence to prevent you from being overrun.

Other Tips
Still being worked on until I can find a way for Wind-Ups to function in the March 2013 list.
 * Summoner Monk - A definite must as it can search out Magician. On occasion, you could end up picking Shark or Soldier if you want to make a Rank 3 or 5 Xyz Summon as well.
 * Tragoedia - The ability to duplicate Levels is always welcome, but bear in mind that it'll have trouble making Rank 5 since none of the base monsters in Wind-Ups are LV5 without modification.

Gadjiltron (talk • contribs) 02:41, February 23, 2013 (UTC)