Infernoid

"Infernoid" (インフェルノイド, Inferunoido) is an archetype of FIRE Fiend-Type monsters that debuted in Secrets of Eternity. This was the first archetype whose monsters were all Special Summon Monsters, until the release of "Infernoid Dekatron" in Clash of Rebellions. They are supported by the "Void" archetype of Spell and Trap Cards.

Lore
" The messengers of the Inferno who burn everything in their path!!

In times immemorial, these messengers of the inferno were sealed away inside the Sacred Tree of the Naturia along with the "Qli". Their forms are said to be based on those of ancient monsters who were seized and captured. "

(The Infernoids seem to have been activated due to a program run by the Qliphorts, as referenced in the lore of "Qliphort Scout" and "Qliphort Monolith":)

''Booting in Replica Mode… An error has occurred when executing C:\sophia\zefra.exe Unknown publisher. Allow C:\tierra\qliphort.exe ? …[Y] Booting in Autonomy Mode…''

''Unhandled exception at 0x1i-666 in qliphort.exe: Access violation writing location 0x00-000 Continue, ignoring this error? ...[ ] Xlmgzxg drgs gsv Hzxivw Givv rh uliyrwwvm. Gsv hxlfitv szh yvvm fmovzhsvw.''

"Contact with the Sacred Tree is forbidden. The Scourge has been unleashed."

Appearance
The revealed "Infernoid" monsters look like mechanical demons. Their designs incorporate vintage computer components (such as the dekatron) and the descriptions of their corresponding demons (such as Adrammalech ["Attondel"] having the tail of a peacock). The armor on their bodies is also decorated with the thick, latticework lines, similar to those that also adorn the "Qli" monsters, from which the Infernoids emanate. In general, each "Infernoid" has a number of canisters (as seen in "Void Seer") on their body equal to their Level, and are colored according to the spheres of their corresponding "Qli" Monster.

Etymology
The name of the archetype is a combination of the words Inferno/Infernal and Android.

In the OCG — Each of the revealed Level 7 and lower "Infernoid" monsters' names are corruptions of the names of Biblical/Kabbalistic demons, such as "Lucifuge" and "Beelzebub". The revealed high-Level monsters, such as "Nehemoth" and "Adramelech", use non-corrupted versions. Their Spell and Trap Cards are named after the Purgatory.

In the TCG — Presumably to avoid references to the occult or demonic entities, each Infernoid monster is named after an ordinal number in a different language that corresponds to its own Level ("Antra", for example, means "second" in Lithuanian, while "Onuncu" is Turkish/Azerbaijani for "tenth"). Their Spell/Trap support is termed Void.

Breakdown
The "Infernoid" monsters cannot be Normal Summoned/Set, and must be Special Summoned by banishing other "Infernoids" from the hand and/or Graveyard while the combined Levels or Ranks of all Effect Monsters you control is 8 or less. The Level 4 and lower "Infernoids" all require one to be banished, Levels 5 to 8 require the player to banish two "Infernoids", and the Level 9 and 10 require three "Infernoids" to be banished. All of them have either 0 ATK and/or 0 DEF, except for the Level 9 and 10, that have equal ATK/DEF.

The Level 4 and lower "Infernoid" monsters can only be Special Summoned from the hand, and have effects that deal with removing individual cards on the field, by simply destroying them or by returning them to the hand or Deck. Also, during the opponent's turn, they can Tribute a monster in order to banish any card in the opponent's Graveyard.

The Level 5 to 8 "Infernoid" monsters can be Special Summoned from either the hand or Graveyard and have offensive effects that activate when they battle a monster, allowing them to attack a second time in a row, disrupt the opponent's hand or banish any card on the Field or from the opponent's Extra Deck. Like the smaller "Infernoids", their secondary effects also allow the player to banish any one card from the opponent's Graveyard at the cost of Tributing a monster, but can be activated during either player's turn. During your turn, this can be used defensively to dodge effects or strategically to lower the combined Levels of monsters you control, allowing you to continue summoning more "Infernoids".

Lastly, "Infernoid Devyaty" and "Infernoid Onuncu" (Level 9 and 10 respectively), can also be Special Summoned from the Graveyard and have mass-removal effects that trigger upon their Special Summon. "Devyaty" destroys all Spell/Traps on the field, except "Void" Spell/Trap cards, while "Onuncu" wipes out all other monsters on the field. Their secondary effects each negate the activation of an effect, and banish the negated card, at the cost of a tribute. "Devyaty" negates Monster effects, and "Onuncu" negate Spell/Trap effects.

The archetype's first Normal Summon Monster, "Infernoid Dekatron", is a Tuner monster that can send an "Infernoid" monster from your Deck to your Graveyard upon its summon to gain the sent monster's Level, and change its own name and effects to those of the sent monster. This allows great flexibility in that the effects of all other Main Deck "Infernoid" monsters are now easily accessible via "Dekatron", without any need to Special Summon those monsters themselves. Sending "Infernoid" monsters to the Graveyard with "Dekatron's" effect allows them to be banished for the Special Summon of other "Infernoid" monsters or retrieved with "Void Purification". "Dekatron's" Level changing effect and Tuner status also enables the deck to more-efficiently Synchro and Xyz Summon.

"Void" Support
Because "Infernoids" need a steady supply of their brethren to banish for their summoning requirements, their themed support generally gravitates toward keeping the Graveyard stocked with "Infernoids". Other than that, the "Void" cards have various disruptive and defensive effects that allow for a Control playing style.
 * "Eye of the Void" can Special Summon an "Infernoid" monster from the hand, ignoring its Summoning condition. This is sometimes useful for defense (against direct attacks, for example).
 * "Void Imagination" lowers the levels of all "Infernoids" for further summoning, and can send itself and other "Infernoids" to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon "Infernoid Tierra". It can also fill the Graveyard quickly, provided your opponent controls an Extra Deck Monster.
 * "Void Expansion" is another card that aids in the Summoning process, as it allows "Infernoids" to be banished from the field and it produces fodder in the form of "Infernoid Tokens" during each of its owner's Standby Phases. It also protects your "Infernoids" from being targeted for attacks and/or effects, except the highest level "Infernoid" you control.
 * "Void Launch" is useful, as it sends 2 "Infernoids" from the Deck to the Graveyard during its owner's Standby Phases.
 * "Void Purification" allows you to recycle resources during each Standby Phase. During your opponent's: add 1 "Infernoid" from your deck to your hand. During yours: return 1 banished "Infernoid" to your Graveyard.
 * "Void Seer" is like a themed "Forbidden" Quick-Play Spell Card can be chained to protect 1 "Infernoid" from any opponent's effects during that turn; in addition, it prevent an "Infernoid" monster from be destroyed by a card effect, by banishing itself from the Graveyard. NOTE: This secondary effect can be used even during the turn it is sent to the Graveyard.
 * "Void Vanishment" adds any "Void" card from the deck to the hand by discarding one card. Also, when any "Infernoid" battles an opponent's monster, you can banish both battling monsters. This provides a controlled removal option similar to "D.D. Warrior" that can really help out in tough situations.

Additional Support

 * "Reasoning", "Monster Gate", "Needlebug Nest", etc.: used to fill the Graveyard with "Infernoids", setting up future "Infernoid" summons, and in the case of "Reasoning" and "Monster Gate", grabbing additional Monsters from the Deck to your side of the field.


 * "Burial from a Different Dimension" and "Miracle Dig": can be used to recycle banished "Infernoid" monsters back to the Graveyard, setting up future "Infernoid" summons.


 * Graveyard Support: Cards such as "Peropero Cerperus", "Galaxy Cyclone", "Breakthrough Skill", etc.: due to the likelihood of cards being randomly milled to the graveyard by other support, cards that have effects that activate from the Graveyard can really help out.


 * Non-Effect Monsters: Since only the Levels/Ranks of Effect monsters count towards the Special Summon condition of the "Infernoids", it may be possible to fit non-Effect monsters on the Deck, such as "Gem-Knight Pearl", "Scrap Archfiend", "Gaia Knight, the Force of the Earth", etc.

Strengths
"Infernoids" are potentially a very fast and offensive deck. They are usually able to set up quickly with few cards and can unleash a barrage of powerful attackers, in a way similar to Dragon Rulers. The veritable boss-monsters of the deck feature mass-removal effects, strong stats, and the ability to negate card effects. And although their summoning costs and conditions seem steep at first, when played skillfully, their utility can usually overcome the loss in card advantage. "Infernoids" can even on rare occasions perform OTKs by summoning certain monsters in sequence.

In addition to strong, easily-summoned attackers, they can put constant pressure on the opponent when set up. By using removal effects, defensive effects, and by constantly summoning monsters, the opponent is forced to lose or consume their resources from the field and hand. The "Infernoids" must suffer losses in order to work effectively, but the opponent will usually suffer even greater ones.

To reinforce this strength, "Infernoids" can also tribute monsters to banish cards from the opponent's Graveyard. This ability gives them a way to escape effects, strategize, and to cut the opponent off from resources at a crucial moment. Coupled with cards like "Void Vanishment", this allows "Infernoids" to control the game in a way akin to Anti-Meta decks.

With the addition of the searchable "Void Imagination", the archetype also has a card that can singularly inhibit the opponent—sometimes psyching them out into playing more slowly by not summoning Extra Deck monsters. Even if the opponent isn't intimidated by the presence of the card and summons anyway, then the card can allow for swarming. This can in turn facilitate the deck's own Extra Deck summoning capability.

Weaknesses
The biggest way to counter "Infernoids" to to cut them off from banishing resources. They must banish cards from their Hand or Graveyard in order to Special Summon themselves; cards that prevent banishing such as "Imperial Iron Wall", "Chaos Hunter", "Necrovalley", etc. can prevent "Infernoid" players from being able to banish cards, effectively preventing them from being able to Summon at all. This also cuts them off from additional support such as "Peropero Cerperus", "Galaxy Cyclone" and "Breakthrough Skill".

Cards that banish outright or that punish milling are also effective, such as "Masked HERO - Dark Law", "Macro Cosmos", or "Earthshattering Event".

Cutting them off from Special Summoning by means of the "Djinn Lock", "Vanity's Emptiness", or "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" can also shut down "Infernoids", since they cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This forces "Infernoids" to rely on the very few monsters in their Deck they can Normal Summon or Set until they can get rid of the floodgate, forcing them to play slower and more defensively until they can remove it from the field.

Due to the low Trap Card count and occasional reliance on Spell Cards, cards that negate Spells can also slow down an "Infernoid" player.