Nekroz

"Nekroz" ( Nekurosu) is an archetype comprised primarily of WATER monsters that debuted in Booster SP: Tribe Force with further support in Secrets of Eternity.

Lore
''They're a clan that perfected magical rituals to weave the power of legendary monsters into armors via a magical mirror, and clad themselves into them. This power allows them to even control the power of the "Ice Barrier Dragons".''

Background
Presumably, after the end of war against Sophia and the ascension of Sombre and Kerykeion, Avance (who has grown into Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz) and Emilia (who has grown into Dance Princess of the Nekroz) have formed a family and given birth to a child named Shurit. They are also joined by a Dragon warrior called Exa.

Appearance
The archetype is based on Ritual Summoning humanoids that are wearing armor modeled after deceased monsters. The "Nekroz" monsters are based on monsters from Duel Terminal archetypes, such as "Ice Barrier", "Gishki", "Mist Valley", "Ally of Justice", and "Fabled", and have similar effects; also, the Ritual Monsters are counterparts of existing Synchro monsters (with the exception with "Nekroz of Sophia", who is the counterpart of the Effect Monster "Sophia, Goddess of Rebirth") from the aforementioned archetypes whose Levels range from 3 to 11.

Etymology
"Nekroz" is a portmanteau of "necro" and "cloth/cross" ("Kurosu" can be translated to both words, both which fit the archetype's theme).

Playing style
"Nekroz" is an archetype that relies on Ritual Summoning. Its Ritual Monsters are counterparts of existing Synchro Monsters and feature similar effects. The non-Ritual Monsters serve as conventional ritual support, fulfilling tribute requirements and/or fetching key cards to maintain consistency.

Primarily, the "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters ATK or DEF stats are the same as their Synchro counterparts (except "Nekroz of Clausolas"), while also having the same Level. The effects of those ones with Level from 3 to 6 are used to suppress monsters Summoned from the Extra Deck, while the effects of those ones whose Levels range from 7 to 11 give to the player more card/field advantage, mainly by destroying and/or banishing other cards. In addition, all of them feature a second ability that can be activated by discarding them; these effects range from protecting and empowering your "Nekroz" monsters to reviving them and searching for resources. This remarkable property alleviates the recurring problem with Ritual monsters becoming dead draws when the player does not have means of Ritual Summoning them. In addition, the discard-based effects of those ones with Level from 3 to 6 are Spell Speed 1, while the ones with Level 7 and above can be activated during either player's turn.

It should be noted that the archetype's Ritual Monsters are all Nomi monsters that can only be Special Summoned by Ritual Summon. Additionally, all of them (with the exception of "Clausolas" and "Unicore") have restrictions regarding the requirements that can be used for their Ritual Summons. "Catastor" and "Brionac" prohibit the usage of other copies of themselves as Tributes in their Ritual Summons, while you cannot Tribute monsters that share the same Levels as "Gungnir", "Valkyrus", "Trishula", and "Decisive Armor" to Ritual Summon them. "Sophia" can only be Ritual Summoned from your hand using 3 monsters with different Types as Tributes.

Their Ritual Spell Cards are very flexible and have additional effects and conditions that help to achieve the requirements of the Ritual Summons:
 * "Nekroz Mirror" can banish "Nekroz" monsters from your Graveyard as part of the Tributes needed for the Ritual Summon;


 * "Nekroz Kaleidoscope" is a unique Ritual Spell Card, that can be used to Ritual Summon any number of "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters, and can send, from the Extra Deck, a monster whose Level is the same as the total Levels of the intended Ritual Monsters; this versatility helps to maintain card advantage by keeping the monsters on your field and/or hand intact;

Each of them also have a second effect that lets you banish it and a "Nekroz" monster from your Graveyard in order to search for any "Nekroz" Spell Card, provided you control no monsters.
 * "Nekroz Cycle" can Ritual Summon a "Nekroz" monster from your Graveyard, and is the first Ritual Spell that can do so.

There are also other cards that can give more options to the Deck, such as:


 * "Djinn of Rituals" monsters: if used for a Ritual Summon, they give that Ritual monster additional effects, such as immunity against Trap Cards, effects that target it, or even preventing any Special Summon your opponent may attempts.


 * "Necroface": in a mid-game, if you used the second effect of the "Nekroz" Ritual Spell Cards several times, there will probably be many banished cards; use this monster to retrieve them while it also can be used as a tribute fodder for a Ritual Summon.


 * "Gishki Chain": its effect lets you fetch a Ritual Monster/Spell Card from your deck to your hand upon its Normal Summon, provided it is among the first 3 cards revealed.
 * "Gishki Vision"/"Shadow": can be used as the entire tribute for a Ritual Summon of a WATER monster.


 * "Pot of Dichotomy": you can use it to simply fill your Deck with "Nekroz" monsters and draw 2 cards, but also can be used sagaciously to send Synchro/Fusion monsters back to the Extra Deck tributed by the effect of "Nekroz Kaleidoscope", while giving you 2 free cards.


 * "Mermail Abysspike": discard any WATER monster to add "Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz" or "Nekroz of Clausolas". For example, discard "Nekroz of Trishula", add "Nekroz of Clausolas" and discard Clausolas for a "Nekroz Cycle" and Ritual summon Trishula from the Graveyard.

Weaknesses

 * The main threat to the "Nekroz" strategy are cards that lock its owner's Deck from searching effects, such as "Thunder King Rai-Oh" and mainly "Mistake"; this counter-strategy is particularly threatening because it can single-handedly shut down "Clausolas", "Brionac", "Shurit", "Reinforcement of the Army", "Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands", "Senju of the Thousand Hands", "Preparation of Rites", along with the second effect of their Ritual Spells.
 * One can also use "Shared Ride" to take profit of their many searcher effects.
 * "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters are also vulnerable to effects that shut down on-hand effects, such as "Mind Drain", "Debunk", etc. "Imperial Iron Wall" can lock your Graveyard from the effect of the Ritual Spell Cards and the effects of "Nekroz of Valkyrus", "Trishula" and "Decisive Armor".
 * Also, "Nekroz" archetypes rely entirely on Special Summoning, so "Vanity's Emptiness", "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo", or even their own "Djinn Releaser of Rituals" (in mirror matches) can detain the deck for a while.
 * "Masked HERO Dark Law" is also very powerful, once it will banish any fodder for the Ritual Summons while also will banishing the Ritual Spell Cards themselves after their resolve, making the Deck run out of resources on the long run; it also banishes a random card from the hand at the time a searching effect resolves, potentially crippling the "Nekroz" strategy.
 * Any decks that can utilize "Number 80: Rhapsody in Berserk" can use it to banish their in-grave Ritual Spells, preventing their recovery attempts.
 * Cards that negate the effects of Spell Card, like "Naturia Beast" and "Spell Canceller", are also a major threat to this deck as they stop the deck from Special Summoning any of its Ritual Monsters.

Trivia

 * "Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz", "Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz", and "Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz" are all featured in the artworks of "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters whose Levels are divisible by their own Levels: 3, 4, and 5, respectively. "Dance Princess of the Nekroz" on the other hand, appears in the artworks of "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters whose Levels are prime numbers.
 * It seems that the "Nekroz" armors have innate ability to affect its wearer's age; the higher their Level, the older they becomes.
 * "Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz" and "Dance Princess of the Nekroz" seems to be excluded from this phenomenon for some unknown reason.