Burning Abyss

"Burning Abyss", known as "Afterlife" ( Higan) in Japan, is one of two TCG exclusive archetypes that debuted in Duelist Alliance, alongside the "U.A." archetype.

Design
The archetype is based on Inferno, the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy.

Malebranche
The "Malebranche of the Burning Abyss" are named after the Malebranche, the demons who guard the fifth Bolgia of Malebolge (the Eighth Circle of Hell), known for their ruthless cruelty and responsible for the punishment of corrupt politicians by holding them under a boiling lake of pitch. Their English names are truncations of the original Italian names of the Malebranche. Their Japanese names are the English names of the Malebranche used in Dorothy L. Sayers' translation of Inferno. They are all Level 3 DARK Fiend-Type Effect Monsters.

"Malacoda, Netherlord of the Burning Abyss", as the leader of the "Malebranche", instead uses the title "Netherlord of the Burning Abyss" (he is still a member of the "Malebranche" in the source material). In English, unlike the "Malebranche of the Burning Abyss", "Malacoda's" name exactly matches its original Italian name. In Japanese, its name is Sayers' English name for the Malebranche as a whole, "Hellraker" (Sayers translates "Malacoda" as "Belzecue", which is not used in the card's name). It is a Level 6 DARK Fiend-Type Ritual Monster.

Playing style
So far, all Main Deck "Burning Abyss" monsters, with the exception of the Level 6 Ritual Monster "Malacoda", are Level 3 DARK Fiend-Type monsters, and share three effects: they are destroyed if the player controls a monster other than a "Burning Abyss" monster, can be Special Summoned from the hand if the player controls no Spell/Trap Cards, and have a unique effect that is activated when it is sent to the Graveyard (except "Rubic, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss", which instead is a Tuner monster ).

Use "Tour Guide From the Underworld" to search out any "Burning Abyss" monster or use "Crane Crane" to Summon them from the Graveyard. Their effects will be negated so they won't be destroyed by their own effect. This ensures that you can overlay into Rank 3 monsters like "Dante".

The archetype's swarming abilities make it a potent Rank 3 Xyz Deck. They can perform Rank 3 Xyz Summons quickly while maintaining the player's hand advantage.

Similar to "Lightsworns", this Deck type is all about getting monsters in the Graveyard for its effects, but its milling is far more controllable than with "Lightsworns". This actually makes it potent with "Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force" as you would mill it easily. With the constant hand advantage, losing a draw doesn't hurt and it gives you access to toolbox cards.

Weaknesses

 * Being an archetype of primarily DARK monsters, they are susceptible to "Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror".


 * Since they all have effects that activate in the Graveyard, cards like "Macro Cosmos", "Abyss Dweller", "Dimensional Fissure", "Soul Drain", "Masked HERO Dark Law" and "Debunk" are potential threats.


 * The Level 3 "Burning Abyss" monsters destroy themselves if their controller controls a non-"Burning Abyss" monster, so your opponent might disrupt you with cards/effects that give you monsters, such as "Ojama Trio", "Santa Claws", "Creature Swap", "Flying "C"", etc., although "Libic" and "Farfa" can help maneuver around such strategies.
 * Since face-down monsters are not treated as "Burning Abyss" monsters, "Quaking Mirror Force" can make it very difficult for "Burning Abyss" Decks, since any "Malebranche of the Burning Abyss" Summoned while there is a face-down monster will destroy itself.