Forum:Deck Guide/Inca

by Gadjiltron

Introduction
The Inca archetype is a relatively small archetype used by Rex Goodwin during the final duel of 5D's Dark Signer Arc. Wielding the powers of both the Signers and Dark Signers, Goodwin demonstrates in his very first turn (and with a hand one would consider hax) the complete mechanics of the archetype by Synchro Summoning and Dark Synchro Summoning its two ace monsters. Representing the sun and moon and their eternal cycle across the skies, Rex used these monsters (as well as his enormous LP count) to keep a frustrating pressure on our three protagonists.

Mechanics
Inca Decks are designed to Synchro Summon its ace monsters, Sun Dragon Inti and Moon Dragon Quilla. Since Dark Synchro doesn't exist in the real game, Quilla has been converted into a normal Synchro monster with just enough restrictions that it can work within the archetype but not outside it.

Inti and Quilla are capable of summoning each other from the Graveyard when they are destroyed, giving the opponent a lot of frustration once the loop is set up as the only way to break it is by bouncing or banishing either half. The Deck can also safely exploit mass destruction cards like Dark Hole and Torrential Tribute with no net loss in field advantage because of this.

Strengths

 * Tenacity - Set up the loop, and you're almost always guaranteed a monster on the field. Inti and Quilla's secondary effects also take care of monsters that threaten to overrun both of them in combat, and replenish LP from the beatings you take.
 * Searchability - While their search power is not as strong as, say, HERO or Gadget Decks, the Inca archetype's base monsters can bring each other out from the Graveyard when destroyed, ensuring the Deck isn't always a sitting duck. Not to mention that there are plenty of cycle/mill cards at your disposal to get what you want into the Graveyard.

Weaknesses

 * Royal Prison - The Deck Special Summons from the Graveyard a lot. Normally, any card that blocks Special Summons will already cripple the Deck, but Royal Prison takes the cake for having such a pinpointed sealing effect.
 * Graveyard-reliant - Break the Inti/Quilla loop by banishing or bouncing either half. Alternatively, crush the entire Deck by banishing all their critical cards.

The Basics
There isn't much to the Inca archetype, since they only lasted one pack. Doesn't keep them from being decent.


 * Oracle of the Sun - Like its close cousins Cyber Dragon and Vice Dragon, Oracle is a LV5 monster that can Special Summon itself from the hand if you have no monsters and your opponent has at least one. With stats of 1000/2000, you won't want to attack with it either. Other than being an easy 5 stars for either of the Dragons, Oracle lets you search your Deck for Fire Ant Ascator or Supay and add them to your hand when it's destroyed in battle, making sure you still get something out of it if Summoned in a pinch.
 * Fire Ant Ascator - A LV3 Tuner used for Summoning Inti. As Inti's LV8 we'll need an additional 5 stars, and that's where Oracle ideally comes in handy. When destroyed in battle, Ascator can Special Summon a LV5 monster from your Graveyard (effects negated), but said monster is also sent back to the Graveyard at the end of the turn. Good targets for that effect include Oracle (to use its search ability), or big pseudo-vanilla beaters like Cyber Dragon or The Tricky.
 * Supay - A LV1 Tuner used for Summoning Quilla. As Quilla's LV6, we'll need an additional 5 stars. Yup, that's where Oracle comes in again. When Quilla is destroyed by a card effect, you get to Special Summon Oracle of the Sun from your Deck with double its ATK, but that card is returned to your hand at the End Phase if it's still surviving by then. Well, one would also want the Oracle to be in the hand so they can quickly make either of the Dragons.
 * Apocatequil - A LV4 monster with decent stats of 1800/1200 so that you can beat face with it. If you control a Tuner, Apocatequil becomes LV5, allowing you easy access to either of the two Dragons. And if it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard in any way, you get to Special Summon Oracle from the Graveyard to take another hit or ensure a LV5 monster at your disposal.
 * Weeping Idol - An odd LV2 non-Tuner that can Special Summon itself from your hand by banishing a Tuner from your Graveyard. While this was key in Dark Synchro Summoning Quilla in the anime, it's pretty much useless in real life since it doesn't contribute to the Deck's general strategy.
 * Sun Dragon Inti - One of the key cards in the archetype. The Dragon of the Sun Deity (not that sun god) stands at a ferocious 3000/2800, allowing it to take out many other monsters which prefer to sit at 2800 ATK. If it does get trumped in battle, it has another trick up its sleeve: It destroys the offending monster and does burn damage equal to half that monster's ATK. Finally, when destroyed by any means, during the next Standby Phase, it summons Quilla from the Graveyard. This short lapse before Quilla's summon becomes vital to the opponent as it's their only window for a direct attack before Quilla rises to intercept.
 * Moon Dragon Quilla - The next key card in the archetype. The Dragon of the Moon Deity holds a respectable 2500/2000 for LV6. When Quilla gets attacked, you gain LP equal to half the ATK of the attacking monster, allowing you to weather out assaults spanning multiple turns. When Quilla is destroyed by any means, it immediately Special Summons Inti from the Graveyard, halting any further attacks from smaller monsters.
 * Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca - Representing the condor and one of the most important Inca deities, Wiraqocha Rasca is only included in this archetype for flavour. As the archetype has no inherent Field Spell, playing Wiraqocha Rasca is strongly discouraged. Not to mention its effect is far too cumbersome to use properly.
 * Temple of the Sun - A general-purpose Continuous Spell that grants a 300 ATK boost to all of your monsters that were Special Summoned from the Graveyard. Since the Deck revives like crazy, most of the monsters involved will be affected by this card. Unfortunately, this ATK boost is often too small to matter, since Deck's monsters are either too weak or too strong to make good use of the boost.
 * Call of the Reaper - A Trap that lets you Special Summon Ascator or Supay from the Graveyard if another monster is Special Summoned from the Graveyard. However, it suffers from the same kind of fine print limitations found in Rise of the Snake Deity, in that it cannot be activated during the Damage Step. This means that you can't use it after Ascator or Apocatequil gets destroyed in battle. What a bummer.

All necessary cards in the archetype can be found in the ABPF Booster Pack.

Supplementary Cards
Of course, you'll definitely need more cards from outside the archetype to make the Deck playable.
 * Cyber Dragon and The Tricky - As you would have noticed by now, the Deck loves LV5 monsters. These two have the ability to Special Summon themselves from your hand. Cyber Dragon has the virtue of 2100 ATK for beating face and, if needed, forming Chimeratech Fortress Dragon against Machine Decks. The Tricky doesn't need you to be monsterless at first and can discard cards you want in the Graveyard for its Summon cost.
 * Salvage Warrior - Hailing from EXVC, Salvage Warrior seems like crap at first, with substandard ATK and an effect that triggers when Tribute Summoned. However, its status as a LV5 monster and the ability to Special Summon a Tuner from hand or Graveyard makes it vital to the Inca Deck. This means you can make Inti or Quilla with ease without worrying about whether the Tuners are in your hand or Graveyard.
 * Level Eater - This little bug is good for adjusting the Levels of your monsters for other kinds of Synchro Summons. It also serves as a good Tribute fodder engine, especially for Tribute Summoning Salvage Warrior.
 * One for One - Okay, usually the only monster you'd be spitting out is Supay. Still, the discard helps get cards into the Graveyard where you want them to be.
 * Foolish Burial - Most of the time you want Oracle in the Graveyard so that Ascator and Apocatequil have something to do if they're destroyed in battle.
 * Instant Fusion - Special Summon a LV5 Fusion monster from your Deck so that you can Synchro Summon right away. Since that's considered a Fusion Summon, that Fusion monster can also be revived by Ascator's effect if necessary.
 * Limit Reverse - Oracle, Supay, and Ascator all have 1000 or less ATK, making them prime candidates for this card.

Sun and Moon
A pure Inca Deck that focuses on making and maintaining the loop. Example Deck is as follows:

Eclipse Planter
This variant uses a large variety of Continuous Traps to hold the line and assemble the loop, with Magic Planter thrown in as a draw engine.

Kings and Deities

 * See also: Monarch Guide

This variant uses Level Eater for Tribute fodder. While it's normally to summon Salvage Warrior to instantly make either of the celestial bodies, it can also serve to summon any of the Monarchs. Level Eater transforms said Monarchs into LV5 monsters to be used for summoning the Dragons.

Other Tips
There're a few cards that can help support the archetype.
 * Giant Rat - Lets you search out the Tuners of the archetype.
 * Shining Angel - Lets you search out Oracle. You also get to search for a Tuner of the archetype if the resulting Oracle also ends up absorbing an attack.
 * Ghost Ship - A LV5 Semi-Nomi that must first be Special Summoned by banishing a LIGHT monster from your Graveyard. Common targets include other Oracle copies, Cyber Dragons or used Apocatequils.
 * Ancient Forest - Forces annoying walls into a more vulnerable position, and penalizes attacks by destroying attacking monsters. Not that you'd be affected by that much. In fact, if you get Quilla destroyed by this card's effect, you instantly get Inti and one more attack!
 * Des Counterblow - Less potent than Ancient Forest, but still useable with the Planter draw engine. Both players lose monsters that attack directly, but if you already have the Inti/Quilla loop set up, you'll almost always have a monster around.
 * Imperial Iron Wall - Prevents banishing of all forms, letting your monsters stay in the Graveyard. The only remaining problem will then be bouncing, but at least you have one majore frustration point solved.
 * Skill Drain - Rescue Warrior and Apocatequil aside, the rest of the Deck usually has monster effects that resolve outside of the field. Use this to suppress the opponent's strategy to make it more difficult to dismantle your setup.