Sacred Beast

The Sacred Beasts are 3 powerful monsters released in the Shadow of Infinity booster set, then in the Dark Revelation Volume 4 booster set and finally released in the Collector Tin Series Promos:
 * Uria, Lord of Searing Flames
 * Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder
 * Raviel, Lord of Phantasms

These were the main plot of Season 1 of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and they are the legally "Redone" versions of the Egyptian God Cards.

While the Egyptian God cards have a fusion form named The Creator God of Light, Horakhty (Anime and Manga only), the Sacred Beasts have a combined form Armityle the Chaos Phantom, a fusion of the three, which has been referred to as "The Ultimate Sacred Beast".

In gameplay, the Sacred Beasts have similarities with the Egyptian God cards. For example, in order to summon one, the player must sacrifice three cards depending upon which monster the player plans to summon.

Design
The designs of the Sacred Beasts, Uria, Hamon and Raviel were overseen by Kenichi Hara. Each of them resembles one of the three Egyptian God Cards; Uria, Lord of Searing Flames finds a counterpart in Slifer the Sky Dragon, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder in The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms in Obelisk the Tormentor. Unlike the God Cards, however, they possess certain visual cues that make them distinct from their predecessors, including translucent wings and more pronounced claws and skeletal features.

The three Sacred Beasts are named after characters in Judeo-Christianity. Uria's name is an alternate spelling of the name of Uriah, a man who was unjustly murdered. Uria may also be a reference to the archangel, Urial. Hamon's name originates from the Book of Esther (Hamon is considered an alternate spelling of Haman, a villain who tried to depose the King of Persia. Also the word Hamon means blade pattern, referring to the wave like patterns found on Japan's iconic weapon). Finally, Raviel's name is an alternate spelling of the name of Raziel. Armityle, the fusion of all three Sacred Beasts, is named after Amitiel, an angel of truth in Judeo-Christianity, who some consider to be an archangel.

Anime History
In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, the Sacred Beasts are legendary creatures whose cards were sealed by Kagemaru underneath Duel Academy behind the Spirit Gate, which requires seven Spirit Keys to open, as he could not unlock their power at the time. Should they ever be set free from their stronghold, chaos and darkness will envelop the world, destroying everything.

The Shadow Riders sought to acquire the Spirit Keys and revive the Sacred Beasts. In order to open the gate, a strong dueling presence is required; if the keys are stolen and placed in the gate, (as attempted by Don Zaloog) for example, nothing will occur. To meet the challenge of the Shadow Riders, seven of Duel Academy's finest duelists were selected, these duelists were Jaden Yuki, Zane Truesdale, Chazz Princeton, Alexis Rhodes, Bastion Misawa, Lyman Banner and Vellian Crowler, and although the Shadow Riders were defeated, Kagemaru managed to awaken the Sacred Beasts because of the dueling energy released from the duels. In exchange for freeing them from imprisonment, the Sacred Beasts slowly returned Kagemaru to a youthful state, empowering him with the energy sapped from Duel Monster spirits, but Jaden Yuki's interference resulted in the man's downfall. They were thus locked away once more.

After Duel Academy is transported to an alternate dimension in the third season, a Yubel-possessed Marcel retrieves the Sacred Beasts and builds a deck around them, which boosts the summoning speed of the Sacred Beasts and also supports the summoning of their combined form, Armityle the Chaos Phantom.

When Jesse Anderson was possessed by Yubel he reappears after having been missing for episode 131 to 147, he uses them in a Deck based around quickly summoning the Beasts and Armityle.

Although Yubel didn't use them in her final Duel with Jaden, Raviel was shown to be in her deck. What happened to them after Yubel merged with Jaden is currently unknown, although it is likely that Jaden returned them to their resting place. Alternatively, Marcel may have kept them, as their support card "Dimension Fusion Destruction," is stated to be his favorite card.

Playing Style
A Sacred Beast Deck focuses on summoning the Sacred Beasts. This Deck may include "Crystal Beasts" as a source of Continuous Spells for Hamon, while "DNA Surgery" can provide both Uria and Raviel summoning support. If low-level Normal Monsters are used in place of the Crystal Beasts, "Human-Wave Tactics" and Continuous stalling cards are helpful to aide the summoning of the three Sacred Beasts.

Hamon Based Deck
A Hamon Deck is based around summoning "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder" using Continuous Spell Cards. This type of Deck is best used with "Crystal Beasts", as, when they're destroyed, they're able to go to the Spell and Trap Card Zone, and are treated as Continuous Spell Cards. It can also be used with stalling Continuous Spell Cards like "Messenger of Peace", "Level Limit - Area B" and "Stumbling".

Monsters

 * Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder
 * Gravi-Crush Dragon
 * Magna-Slash Dragon
 * Dweller in the Depths
 * Nubian Guard
 * Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle
 * Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat
 * Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise
 * Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger
 * Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth
 * Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle
 * Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus
 * Rainbow Dragon
 * Dark Rainbow Dragon
 * Breaker the Magical Warrior

Spells

 * Magical Stone Excavation
 * Giant Trunade
 * Messenger of Peace
 * Stumbling
 * Mage Power
 * Level Limit - Area B
 * Crystal Beacon
 * Rare Value
 * Crystal Blessing
 * Crystal Abundance
 * Crystal Promise
 * Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins
 * Makiu, the Magical Mist

Traps

 * Last Resort
 * Crystal Raigeki
 * Gem Flash Energy
 * Magic Cylinder
 * Rainbow Path
 * Rainbow Gravity
 * Judgment of Thunder

Uria Based Deck
A Uria Deck focuses on summoning "Uria, Lord of Searing Flames". This Deck utilizes many Continuous Trap Cards like "Gravity Bind", "Embodiment of Apophis", "Curse of Darkness" and "Solemn Wishes". If you plan on using a hybrid Uria/Fire Deck, "Backfire" can be used to burn your opponent until you summon Uria.

To power up "Uria, Lord of Searing Flames", cards like "Morphing Jar", "Card Destruction", "Reasoning" and "Heavy Storm" can destroy or discard Continuous Trap Cards.

The drawback to this Deck is that it relies heavily on Traps, so "Jinzo" or "Royal Decree" will completely cripple the Deck. However note that "Royal Decree", unlike "Jinzo", does not negate the activation of your continuous traps, so they will stay on the field, thus allowing you to still summon "Uria, Lord of Searing Flames". Should "Heavy Storm" be used, "Mask of Darkness" can help return any lost Traps.

This deck type is much more playable in the OCG due to the fact that they have many more traps that turn into monsters, maintaining field presence despite having an unbalanced deck.

Monsters

 * Uria, Lord of Searing Flames
 * Mask of Darkness
 * Makyura the Destructor
 * Phantom of Chaos
 * Morphing Jar
 * A Cat of Ill Omen
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Spirit Reaper
 * Ancient Gear Beast

Spells

 * Reasoning
 * Monster Gate
 * Giant Trunade
 * Emergency Provisions
 * Twister
 * Card Destruction
 * Offerings to the Doomed
 * Tribute to the Doomed
 * Magic Planter

Traps

 * Cloak and Dagger
 * Blind Destruction
 * Spellbinding Circle
 * Gravity Bind
 * Blast with Chain
 * Embodiment of Apophis
 * Ordeal of a Traveler
 * Mirror Wall
 * Begone, Knave!
 * Solemn Wishes
 * Curse of Darkness
 * Robbin' Goblin
 * Robbin' Zombie
 * Royal Oppression
 * Ominous Fortunetelling
 * Wall of Revealing Light
 * Nightmare Wheel
 * Imperial Custom
 * Metal Reflect Slime
 * Zoma the Spirit
 * Full Salvo

Raviel Based Deck
A Raviel Deck focuses on summoning "Raviel, Lord of Phantasms". Due to Raviel's summoning cost, the Deck has many Fiend-type monsters. It can also afford monsters like "Giant Orc" to give Raviel a huge ATK boost once summoned.

Raviel also does very well in a Dark World Deck, considering the Dark World cards can be Special Summoned easily.

A good combo is to get Raviel, "Dark Ruler Ha Des" and "Doom Shaman" on the field at one time. "Doom Shaman" can special summon powerful monsters from your hand to be tributed to boost Raviel's ATK, and "Dark Ruler Ha Des" negates the effects of cards destroyed by Fiends.

Monsters

 * Raviel, Lord of Phantasms
 * Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World
 * Sillva, Warlord of Dark World
 * Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World
 * Phantom Skyblaster
 * Grinder Golem
 * Grave Squirmer
 * Sangan
 * Metabo Globster
 * Caius the Shadow Monarch
 * Kuriboh
 * Doomcaliber Knight
 * Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
 * Doom Shaman
 * Giant Orc
 * Morphing Jar
 * Dark Ruler Ha Des
 * Skyblaster Token
 * Giant Germ (easy summoning of 2 Fiend's)
 * Tragoedia (quick summon, like Gorz the Emissary of Darkness)
 * Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World (Good Defense)
 * Emperor Sem (Good Defense and with all the sacrifices for Doom Shaman, Caius the Shadow Monarch, and Dark Ruler Ha Des, it makes for excellent returns
 * Puppet Master (good for summoning raviel with its effect)
 * Wall of Illusion (good defense)
 * Slate Warrior (good offense)

Spells

 * Card Destruction
 * Dark World Lightning
 * Gateway to Dark World
 * Dark World Dealings
 * Multiply
 * Detonate
 * Fires of Doomsday
 * Swords of Revealing Light

Traps

 * Ojama Trio
 * The Forces of Darkness
 * Dark Deal
 * Light of Intervention

Armityle Based Deck
This deck type is a hybrid of the three previous cards and is focused on summoning the three Sacred Beasts and their fusion, "Armityle the Chaos Phantom". This deck follows a strict format of the cards listed below.

If you have trouble drawing what you need, cards like "Marshmallon", "Spirit Reaper" and "Chaos Burst" stall your opponent. Another strategy is to use cards like "Mad Reloader", "Hand Destruction" and "Foolish Burial" to send the Sacred Beasts from your hand or Deck to the graveyard, allowing you to use the effect of "Phantom of Chaos" to remove the Sacred Beasts from play and summon "Armityle". "Elemental Hero Prisma" is also useful in this respect: he is able to discard a Sacred Beast and be treated as that monster.

Monsters

 * Mad Reloader
 * Mystic Tomato
 * Elemental Hero Prisma
 * Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
 * Puppet Master
 * Snipe Hunter
 * Mask of Darkness
 * Gellenduo
 * Marshmallon
 * Phantom of Chaos
 * Sangan
 * Spirit Reaper
 * Morphing Jar
 * Elemental Hero Neos
 * Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle
 * Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat
 * Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise
 * Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger
 * Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth
 * Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle
 * Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus
 * Rainbow Dragon

Spells

 * Foolish Burial
 * Hand Destruction
 * Fires of Doomsday
 * Crystal Blessing
 * Crystal Promise
 * Crystal Beacon
 * Polymerization
 * De-Fusion

Traps

 * Chaos Burst
 * Reckless Greed
 * Spirit Barrier
 * Labyrinth of Nightmare
 * Rainbow Gravity

Other Possible Cards

 * Darkness Neosphere
 * Cathedral of Nobles
 * Rainbow Neos