Forum:Deck Guide/Alien

=Aliens= By TwosidedDragon

Introduction and Overview
Aliens are an archtype consisted entirely of Reptile-type monsters. These monsters were first introduced in the Power of the Duelist in August of ‘06 and continued in several of the packs that followed it. They revolve around “a” counters that could be utilized in many ways... however, for a long while, they said little other than “unique.”

With the release of Crimson Crisis and Raging Battle, Aliens finally attained some of the very solid support that would help them hold their own in the competitive scene. Whilst you shouldn’t go to a tournament and expect to top with them, nor should you underestimate them.

Statistics
‘’’Speed’’’: 4/5. Aliens play very fast once they can get started. Although they may take a little push to get going, they can easily manage to summon several monsters per turn.

‘’’Power’’’: 2/5. Aliens are based around control… not attack power. The most powerful alien is Cosmic Fortress Gol’Gar with only 2600 attack. Therefore, it is wise to use cards like Solidarity to help keep them on par with other threats.

‘’’Risk’’’ 5/5: This is a primary contributor to the reason aliens aren’t top tier. It is heavily reliant on spell and trap cards that could easily be destroyed. The simple activation of a Heavy Storm could end the game for you. Aliens also have a difficult time recovering from field clearing effects. Don’t let this stop you though, as some well placed tech cards like Dark Bribe or Starlight Road can keep such threats at bay.

‘’’Meta Ranking’’’: Even with great effects and swarming power, this deck still just doesn’t seem to be able to find easy footing in today’s meta. But do not stop here, as they can still be very deadly in experienced hands.

‘’’Style’’’: Alien is an aggressive swarm/beatdown deck based around “a” counters. Many alien cards also have destruction effects so your opponent will have problems maintaining advantage against this deck.

Variants and Hybrids
Aliens don’t have many variants outside of beatdown and control.
 * Beatdown variants abuse Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar and the very capable swarming abilities of aliens to overcome the opponent.
 * Control variants involve controlling the battlefield with cards like Planet Pollutant Virus, Brainwashing Beam, Alien Telepath, and Mysterious triangle.


 * Alien hybrids are almost non-existant mostly due to the fact that they need a full deck of their own to properly support their cause (abusing A counters). Whilst there are hybrids involving Venom monsters, this guide is covering aliens, and the venom hybrid does not focus on aliens.

=Creating ‘’’“A”’’’ Deck=

Monster Choices
Rating in this deck: 5/5
 * Cosmic Fortress Gol’Gar This card is the boss of all aliens. It is easily summoned with alien ammonite, and boy does it have a killer effect. This wrecks a lot of stuff. Future fusion, call of the haunted, macrocosmos… you name it. This thing spreads A-counters like a big sneeze that covers the entire field (save the bacteria for A-counters)… however, a good supply of continuous s/t’s are necessary to fuel this… BUT WAIT, there’s more! You can remove 2 A-counters from anywhere to destroy anything on the field!

Rating in this deck: 4/5
 * Ancient Sarcred Wyvern A synchro monster easily summoned by tuning ammonite with overlord. And it’s effect can easily boost it’s attack to astronomical levels. Definitely not a waste of extra deck space.

Rating in this deck: 1/5
 * Cosmic Horror Gangi’el is probably not worth it… it takes 2 tributes (outside of it’s situational one tribute effect) and it’s effect and stats are sub-par. I don’t recommend it.

Rating in this deck: 3/5
 * Alien Mother This card is a bit hard to use, but if used correctly, it can help you greatly. It is essentially the Goyo Guardian of aliens… but a bit more situational.

Rating in this deck: 5/5
 * Alien Overlord This is a GREAT asset to any alien deck. Rapid a-counter distribution for free… and it can special summon itself. The only downside is that you can only have one on the field at a time. But this is only a minor setback.

Rating in this deck: 3/5
 * Alien Shocktrooper This is Shocktrooper’s one purpose in life: Beatstick. Sure, give it a try, but not having an effect is a bit of a letdown. It is a good target for Mysterious Triangle.

Rating in this deck: 4/5
 * Alien Warrior This is the second beatstick in the alien family, and he does his job well. But unlike his vanilla brother, he has the “reduce your opponent’s monster’s attack” effect. So with a-counters properly distributed, he can be a greater power than Shocktrooper.

Rating in this deck: 4/5
 * Alien Telepath S/T destruction! (yes it deserves a second mention). This is definitely a welcome addition to the alien family. And he even has the attack reduction effect.

Rating in this deck: 1/5
 * Alien Hypno This is like a brainwashing beam on a low attack Gemini monster… The answer is quite self-explanatory. Don’t use it.

Rating in this deck: 3/5
 * Alien Kid This card helps keep your opponent’s monsters weighed down with a-counters and has the attack reduction effect. If only it’s attack was just a little higher.

Rating in this deck: 2/5
 * Alien Hunter Hmm… interesting effect… but without other aliens reducing the attack of your opponent’s monsters, it is highly unlikely you will clear the field with this card. If he had just 200 more attack and the attack reduction effect, he would almost be broken… but nope…

Rating in this deck: 4.5/5
 * Alien Dog Free SS, +1 effect… YEAH, it’s good. And the fact that it is level three helps you make those weird level synchro monsters in this deck.

Rating in this deck: 2/5
 * Alien Mars This is an interesting card. Any monsters with a-counters become skill drained. This can really annoy your opponent if used right… but it is easily destroyed due to it’s low attack. I would recommend siding it, but not in the main deck.

Rating in this deck: 3.5/5
 * Alien Grey We have a flip effect monster that is level two. And it has a dekochi-like effect in addition to the single a-counter it places upon being flipped. It isn’t a bad card.

Rating in this deck: 5/5
 * Alien Ammonite Simply put, this card is amazing. Gol’gar inevitably shows it’s face seconds after this card does. But don’t stop there because there are endless possibilities with any card that has “tuner” in it’s card text. If this card isn’t necessary in any alien deck, then air isn’t necessary to breathe.

Rating in this deck 2/5
 * Alien Psychic Monsters with a-counters can’t attack. Sounds good on paper, but it doesn’t cut it. You opponent simply can summon a monster, wipe the field of this, and proceed to attack with everything else.

Rating in this deck: 4/5
 * Oshaleon I recommend oshaleon over sangan for a number of reasons. 1. It will let you use solidarity, which is a valuable asset to this deck. 2. the only extra monsters in this deck you can search with sangan that this can’t are Alien Dog and Mars… Neither of which are something you would particularly want to waste a sangan on. 3. it even has a somewhat decent 1.4 kg body and an added protection effect.

Spell Support and Additional Staples
Rating in this deck: 5/5
 * Code “A” ancient ruins Endlessly abuse this with gol’gar. Use it’s effect, return it to the hand, and then use it again… It’s great.

Rating in this deck: 5/5
 * Mysterious Triangle Absolutely the Bread and butter of this deck. Practically free destruction AND a special summon from the deck. And it’s even a  QUICK PLAY! This card is a +1. Even the destruction of the summoned monster at the end phase helps Code A. USE IT! ABUSE IT!

Rating in this deck: 3/5
 * “A” Cell Breeding Device A continuous spell is good in this deck. But it’s effect is slow, and not really worth it.

Rating in this deck: 3/5
 * “A” Cell Scatter Burst Another quick-play card that may prove usefull. Get rid of any monster that would be gyrused, celestiafied, icarused, etc… and pile on the counters.

Rating in this deck: 2/5
 * “A” cell Incubator a rather odd card… but in tandem with telepath, overlord, gol’gar, or code A, it could prove quite useful. But you probably won’t use it that much.

And they synergize with gol’gar. Rating in this deck: 4/5
 * Burden of the Mighty & Solidarity Two quite similar and very viable assets to the alien deck. Use it to keep your low attack aliens on par with some of the top threats in the attack department…

Rating in this deck: 5/5
 * Swords of Revealing Light A great card already, but you can infinitely stall your opponent (barring destruction effects) when you use this in tandem with gol’gar.

Rating in this deck: 3/5
 * Viper’s Rebirth a decent revival card, and the destruction fuels code A.

Prohibition can be a great asset in alien decks. If you feel that the card you are currently prohibiting isn’t a threat, then simply return to your hand with Gol’gar and re-activate in order to choose a different card. Already have prohibition on the field and you believe your opponent is going to pull Gorz on you? Prohibit it!

Trap Support and Additional Staples
Rating in this deck: 1.5/5
 * Brainwashing Beam Not a terrible card, but there are often many better choices. This card is somewhat a waste of deck space.

Rating in this deck: 3/5
 * Crop Circles Most experts seem to think this card is out of place in this deck. But in reality, this is a very powerful otk tool. And it can save your monsters from destruction effects… etc. Swap out aliens during the battle phase to attack for double damage.

Rating in this deck: 2/5
 * Cell explosion Virus Aliens have their own mirror force! But with a few more drawbacks… try to guess which card outclasses this.


 * Planet Pollution Virus A card that reminds us of a very powerful banned card (CCV anyone?). As if the field clearing effect wasn’t good enough, all monsters your opponent summons get a counters for the next 3 turns.

Rating in this deck: 3.5/5 (struggles a little for deck space)
 * Offering to the Snake Deity Icarus attack for reptiles… nuff said… (oh and it fuels code A)

Rating in this deck: 3/5
 * Snake Whistle It’s really straight forward. Loose an Alien, get another.

Example Deck
First of all, before we get to the example, I want to make sure this is clear… Do NOT netdeck this. I created this guide to teach you how to make your own deck rather than to have a decklist out for grabs. I would be very annoyed to find that someone simply copied this deck after I spent so much time making the guide.

Conclusion
I hope that in this guide that I have shed some light a decktype that may have been “far away” for you and thoroughly explained how it works. Now go out and conquer and destroy with it… Conquer the world!!!!! Or maybe just some local tournaments.