Dragunity

Dragunity is an Archetype released via the Duel Terminal, its name coming from a contraction of the words Dragon and Unity. Their effects mainly revolve around equipping any level 3 or lower Dragon-Type monsters in your Graveyard to your Winged Beast-Type monsters in play (in the sense of the Dragon-types transforming into weapons, or the Winged-Beast Dragunity monsters "uniting" with their Dragon "steeds" as "Dragunity Knights"). Because of their heavy focus on sending monsters to the Spell & Trap Card Zones, the Dragunity archetype is often compared to the Crystal Beast and Cyberdarks archetypes. They also utilize powerful Dragon-Type Synchro Monsters, although they require Dragon-Type Tuner Monsters as well as Winged Beast-Type non-Tuners. All of the Dragunity monsters that have been released so far are WIND monsters, so "Flying Kamakiri 1" can be useful along with some other WIND supports; and because many of them are Winged Beasts, the Deck can run "Icarus Attack". The Dragon-Type monsters in this Archetype so far all have armor which either covers most of their body ("Dragunity Phalanx"), or they have a piece of armor that resembles, and is named after, a weapon (i.e. "Dragunity Darkspear"). By contrast, the Winged Beast-Type monsters seem to be named after historical warriors.

The main win condition for "Dragunity" appears to be a combination of Swarming and an Instant Synchro Deck, summoning Synchro Monsters or using the Effects of their non-Synchro monsters to clear the Field, then attacking.

Play Style
The main purpose of Dragunity decks is to have versatile and easy synchro summons. Dragunity Phalanx is key here - it's a level 2 tuner that special summons when it is equipped to a monster. Thanks to the effects of "Dragunity Dux" and "Dragunity Legionnaire", you can easily summon level 5 or 6 synchro monsters - however, if you decide to synchro summon "Dragunity Knight - Vajuranda" with Dux and Phalanx, you can use one of the deck's most powerful combos. Vajuranda is a level 6 monster that can also equip a Dragunity Dragon monster from the graveyard. Because the "once per turn" effect of Phalanx resets when it is sent to the graveyard, if you equip Phalanx, it can special summon, and you can synchro summon a level 8 monster - effectively turning one card in your hand into a level 8 monster from your extra deck. A similar combo can be pulled out using Aklys and Dragunity Militum. Normal summon Aklys and use its effect to special summon Militum from your hand. Then use Militum's effect to special summon Aklys back then synchro summon a level 6 Synchro Monster.

This combo only requires Dux or Legionnaire in the hand and Phalanx in the graveyard, and it is incredibly simple to set up with the help of the Dragunity field spell card "Dragon Canyon". With it, once per turn you can discard a card to either add a Dragunity monster from your deck to your hand or send any dragon from your deck to the graveyard - essentially turning any card in your hand into either a Dragunity version of "Reinforcement of the Army" or "Foolish Burial", which makes combos easy.

However, the "Dragunity" monsters have many alternate strategies. Even without Synchro Monsters, the archetype can hold its own in battle: "Dragunity Dux" can power up for every "Dragunity" card you control, including those in the equip zones. Summoning it and equipping it with a "Dragunity" monster will give a 1900-ATK beatstick. "Dragunity Brandistock" allows the equipped monster to double-attack. "Dragunity Corsesca" allows you to search your deck when the equipped monster destroys a card by battle, which is particularly useful with Dux. "Dragunity Pilum" bypasses monsters to attack directly. Meanwhile, "Dragunity Legionnaire" takes out tough monsters with its effect - you can send an equipped Dragon to the graveyard to destroy one of your opponent's face-up monsters. This is especially useful with "Dragunity Aklys", as when it is equipped and sent to the graveyard, one card on the field is destroyed. Effectively, you can summon Legionnaire, equip Aklys from the graveyard, and send it to the graveyard to destroy one your opponent's face-up monster and another one of his/her cards, in a devastating one-two punch that costs you nothing. This also works with the second effect of "Dragunity Knight - Vajuranda", which can send a card equipped to itself to the graveyard to double its own ATK value. If you equip and then send Aklys to the graveyard, you will end up with a 3800 ATK monster that turn while destroying one of your opponent's cards, allowing for big finishes.

"Dragunity Arms Laevatein", the new ace "Dragunity" monster, comes into being in Structure Deck 19: Dragunity Drive. This monster can be special summoned with ease from your hand or Graveyard by removing from play 1 face-up monster you control equipped with a "Dragunity" card. In addition, when this card is Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, you can select 1 Dragon-Type monster in your Graveyard other than "Dragunity Arms Laevatein", and equip it to this card as an Equip Card. If there are 3 Laevateins and 1 Aklys in your Graveyard, you can exploit its effect to destroy up to 3 cards your opponent controls in a row. What you have to do is normal summon a monster like Dux and Legionnaire, and activate its effect to equip Aklys to it. After that, you can special summon Laevatein A from your Graveyard by removing from play the monster you have already summoned, sending Aklys to your Graveyard with its effect triggered, which allows you to destroy a card your opponent controls and equip Aklys to Laevatein A. Through repeating such steps, you end up with Laevatein C on your field, equipped with Aklys or another "Dragunity" Tuner such as Dragunity Phalanx, provided they are already in your Graveyard. If and when you equip Phalanx to Laevatein, you can special summon it to your field and Synchro Summon "Trident Dragion" with the Phalanx and Laevatein to finish off your opponent. To make sure all the Laevateins are sent to your Graveyard swiftly and efficiently, "Future Fusion" and "Dragon Canyon" are recommended.

What's more, when "Dragunity Arms Laevatein" would be sent to the Graveyard by an opponent's card effect, you can Special Summon 1 monster treated as an Equip Card that is equipped to this card. This effect actually has great synergy with "Light and Darkness Dragon" because when a Laevatein equipped with "Light and Darkness Dragon" is sent to the Graveyard by battle or otherwise, the "Light and Darkness Dragon" so equipped shall also be destroyed by rule, with its effect triggered. By this effect, the said Laevatein can be special summoned from your Graveyard again and thus equipped with the Light and Darkness Dragon that special summoned it. Once this combo operates successfully, there is hardly any solution left for your opponent to break it down other than means like removing from play, bounce and effect negation which remain the trickiest challenges facing most main-stream decks. Without prejudice to deck stability, you may also adopt cards like "Dark Coffin" and "Wild Tornado" to make fuller utilization of the field-clearing effect of Light and Darkness Dragon.

It is possible for this Deck to run "Debris Dragon" and "Shield Wing", as they are both WIND, a Dragon Tuner and a Winged Beast non-Tuner, respectively. Both are also good defensively - Shield Wing must be attacked three times to destroy it, and Debris Dragon has 2000 DEF. "Delta Fly" can also be useful as it is a level three Dragon Tuner with a very techable effect, as is the effect of "Spirit Ryu" as it allows you to dump your Dragon equippers into the Grave to be Special Summoned later.

Alternate Play Styles
Another group of monsters many players have worked with alongside the "Dragunity" monsters are the "Cyberdark" Archetype. Since all of the Tuners in this archetype are level 1-3 Dragon-type monsters, they can all be equipped to "Cyberdark Horn", "Cyberdark Edge", and "Cyberdark Keel" for their effects, while simultaneously providing their own effects as well. "Phalanx", "Pilum", and "Partisan" work especially well here, giving "Cyberdarks" access to a highly versatile Synchro mechanic, be it by "Phalanx" de-equipping itself to give them instant access to level 6 Synchro monsters like "Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" or "Goyo Guardian" or "Partisan" turning the "Cyberdarks" into 2000-ATK level 4 Tuners for easy access to "Stardust Dragon", "Colossal Fighter", and the like. "Pilum" grants access to cards like "Black Rose Dragon" while also giving an equipped "Cyberdark" monster 2200 ATK, the highest a "Dragunity" monster can give them and the 3rd-highest any Dragon-type monster can. Late in the game, these high-powered Dragon Synchros can be utilized with the "Cyberdark's" ace Fusion Monster, "Cyberdark Dragon".

"Mist Valley Falcon" (included inside Structure Deck 19: Dragunity Drive) is also a useful monster that offers another play style for the Dragunity series. It's effect can be used to bounce back used "Dragon Canyon", "Dragunity Legionnaire", "Dragunity Dux", as well as various continuous spell or trap cards, such as "Fiendish Chain", "Royal Oppression", and "Limit Reverse". Moreover, "Mist Valley Falcon" can also be special summoned from the graveyard by "Dragunity Darkspear", which in turn can be special summoned by the aforementioned Limit Reverse. When the "Dragunity Darkspear" so summoned is sent back again to the graveyard as material for synchro summon or released to special summon a Winged Beast-Type monster in the graveyard, the Limit Reverse will remain on the field instead of being destroyed, thus providing opportunities for reuse through the bounce effect of "Mist Valley Falcon".

The weaker "Dragunity" Tuners can also be utilized, such as "Corsesca" giving 1 "Cyberdark" the ability to search out the other 2 or anything of 1000 ATK or less being used with "Cards of Consonance" for added draw power (while also putting them right where the "Cyberdarks" can get them).

Laevatein Rider
You can make a loop with Dragunity Arms Laevatein and Light and Darkness Dragon. When you summon Dragunity Arms Laevatein, equip Light and Darkness Dragon to it. Whenever it or Light and Darkness Dragon is destroyed, your field will be destroyed by the effect of Light and Darkness Dragon. Then, use Light and Darkness Dragon's other effect to special summon "Laevatein" from your graveyard, re-equip Light and Darkness Dragon to it, and repeat. The only weakness in this loop is cards that can remove the two monsters from play, or send them back to the hand or deck.

Monsters

 * Dragunity Arms Laevatein
 * Dragunity Arms Misteil
 * Dragunity Dux
 * Dragunity Aklys
 * Dragunity Legionnaire
 * Dragunity Phalanx
 * Dragunity Brandistock
 * Light and Darkness Dragon
 * Mist Valley Falcon

Spells

 * Dragon Canyon
 * Cards of Consonance
 * Foolish Burial
 * My Body as a Shield
 * Terraforming
 * Advance Draw
 * Future Fusion
 * Dragon's Mirror

Traps

 * Spiritual Wind Art - Miyabi

Extra Deck

 * Five-Headed Dragon
 * Dragunity Knights

Dragunitysworns
By milling your Deck by the effects from your Lightsworns Monsters, you can easily send Dragunity Phalanx.

Monsters

 * Dragunity Arms Laevatein
 * Dragunity Arms Misteil
 * Dragunity Dux
 * Dragunity Legionnaire
 * Dragunity Phalanx
 * Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
 * Celestia, Lightsworn Angel
 * Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
 * Judgement Dragon
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Honest

Spells

 * Charge of the Light Brigade
 * Foolish Burial
 * Solar Recharge
 * Cards of Consonance

Traps

 * Beckoning Light
 * Spiritual Wind Art - Miyabi

Possible Support Cards:

 * "Cyberdarks" : This will also allow the use of Dragunity equips.


 * "Flying Kamakiri 1": This card allows the searching of all tuners in the archetype, in addition to Dragunity Dux and Dragunity Legionnaire. It can also block attacks and thin the deck.


 * "Masked Dragon": This card can search any Dragunity tuner, but not the non-tuners. However, it can special summon in defense position, which can be useful for blocking attacks.


 * "Dread Dragon": This card not only searches Dragunity tuners, but it's a Dragon tuner itself, so it can be used in synchro summons for Dragunity Knights.


 * "Sangan": This card is also a good searcher, and can search out all the tuners to the hand - as well as Dux and Legionnaire.


 * "Cards of Consonance": This card is very good in a Dragunity deck. You need to send tuner monsters to the graveyard so they can be equipped with Dux and Legionnaire, and Dragunities have more valid targets than any other deck - Aklys, Brandistock, Corsesca, Darkspear, and Phalanx.


 * "Pot of Avarice": This deck can send monsters to the graveyard very quickly thanks to its synchro summons, discards from Cards of Consonance and Dragon Canyon, and plain destruction by battle. Pot of Avarice rewards the filling of the graveyard with two new cards, as well as a chance to get another use out of used Duxes and Legionnaires.


 * "Terraforming": This card is the easiest way to search out "Dragon Canyon", so it helps to run at least one.


 * "Foolish Burial": Always the easiest way to set up a combo, using this on "Dragunity Phalanx" allows the easy setup of many of the deck's best combos.


 * "My Body as a Shield": Save your monster from a nasty destruction effect such as "Bottomless Trap Hole".


 * "Starlight Road": This protects your field from cards like Heavy Storm, Mirror Force, and Torrential Tribute - especially Heavy Storm, which can destroy Dragon Canyon and your equips.


 * "Alector, Sovereign of Birds": This card can easily be special summon. As a Level 6 Winged Beast Monster Card, it's perfect for Synchro Summoning. By combining it with an equipped Phalanx, you can get a negation and a Level 8 Synchro Monster in one turn without using your normal summon.


 * "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon": This card can be special summon by removing any face-up Dragon. Then you can swarm the field with any Dragunity or Dragunity Knight monsters easily, either by Synchro-summoned them or reviving them.


 * "Future Fusion": This card can fill the graveyard with 5 monsters and in 2 turns summon "Five-Headed Dragon".


 * "Five-Headed Dragon: Combine with "Future Fusion" to fill the grave and have a massive monster.


 * "Dragon's Mirror: Another alternative summon for "Five-Headed Dragon".