User:GoldenDragonRider/Sandbox

"Malefic", known as "Sin" ( Shin) in the OCG, is an archetype of cards which were introduced in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time movie. They are used by Paradox, and are almost exclusively corrupted versions of existing monsters.

Appearance
Many "Malefic" monsters have mechanical-looking pieces of their body which are made of a mix of white, grey and black metal, including wings and face-plates (and, in the case of "Malefic Stardust Dragon", knee and torso plates). Their faces have masks similar to that of Paradox, with the right side black, the left side white and line patterns that cover the eyes ("Malefic Cyber End Dragon" also has its far right head black and far left white). "Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and "Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon" are the only "Malefic" monsters whose right eye is not covered by their masks.

Origin
Most of the monsters in this archetype are corrupted versions of other monsters (most of which are counterparts of well-known Dragon-Types). The remaining three monsters look similar, but have no known non-Malefic counterparts.

Etymology
The Japanese name for this archetype, "Sin", is meant as a pun on the words for "truth" ("shin") and "sin" ("tsumi"), alluding to the truth of human nature as seen by Paradox (humanity's errors have led to the world's destruction). The English name "Malefic" means "having or asserting a negative influence", referring to how these cards are corrupted versions of existing cards.

Overview
The basic, underlying playstyle of a "Malefic" Deck is an Aggro Beatdown Deck that focuses on constant Special Summoning of high Level DARK monster with high ATK. Most "Malefic" monsters are Special Summoned by banishing their original counterpart from the hand, Deck or Extra Deck (varies by monster) while a Field Spell Card is active.

"Malefic World" is the Deck's primary Field Spell Card acting as a method to search "Malefic" cards, at the cost of the Normal draw, allowing the "Malefic" player to avoid dead draws of monsters that need to be banished for the Summoning conditions of their "Malefic" monsters as well as setting up "Malefic Truth Dragon" to act as a hand trap.

Due to the Deck's reliance on constantly controlling a Field Spell "The Seal of Orichalcos", "Magical Citadel of Endymion", "Dragon Ravine" and/or "Geartown" can be used. "The Seal of Orichalcos" and "Magical Citadel" both have self-protection. "Dragon Ravine" allows sending "Truth Dragon" to the Graveyard. While "Geartown" allows you to maintain field presence even if your Field Spell is destroyed by Summoning "Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon", who can be discarded using "Trade-In" to add consistency to the Deck.

"Malefic Stardust Dragon" offers support to the archetype by protecting Field Spells from destruction by card effects as well as being very easy to Summon as "Stardust Dragon" is banished from the Extra Deck. While "Malefic Rainbow Dragon" and "Malefic Cyber End Dragon" act as the Decks main and easiest to Summon beatsticks. "Malefic Parallel Gear" is the archetypal Tuner, which uses a monster from the hand as the non-tuner for the Synchro Summon of a monster but the other Synchro Material must be a "Malefic" monster. By using "Parallel Gear", "Malefic Paradox Dragon" can be easily Sycnhro Summoned or another Level 10 Synchro Monster such as "Dragocytos Corrupted Nethersoul Dragon".

"Cyber Dragon" also works well to help maintain field should all Field Spells leave the field. If using "Cyber Dragon", "Instant Fusion", "Panzer Dragon" and "Cyber Dragon Nova" and "Infinity" can be used to protect your Field Spell. Should "Nova" be sent to the Graveyard by an opponent's effect, "Nova" can Special Summon a "Cyber End Dragon" from the Extra Deck.

"Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon" can be used to revive "Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon", "Malefic Red-Eyes B. Dragon" and "Malefic Paradox Dragon". If a Field Spell, except "Malefic World" is on the field "Paradox Dragon" will be destroyed, thus allowing the usage of "Malefic Truth Dragon" repeatedly. Cards such that prevent setting like "Dark Simorgh" can be used as well to take full advantage of the high ATK of "Truth Dragon".

By using a combination of "Ojama Trio"/"Nightmare Archfiends" and "Battle Mania"/"All-Out Attacks" "Malefics" can easilly achieve an OTK.

Other Strategies
Anti-meta (OCG-only) "Malefics" can potentially function well as an anti-meta Deck, revolving primarily around the cards "Necrovalley" and "Skill Drain".
 * Monsters such as "Beast King Barbaros" and "Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast" can be Summoned under "Skill Drain" with their full attack. "Beast King Barbaros" is Level 8, and therefore compatible with "Trade-In", while "Fusilier" is DARK, and therefore compatible with "Allure of Darkness", "Deck Devastation Virus" and "Eradicator Epidemic Virus".
 * "Necrovalley", aside being a Field Spell, is a potent Floodgate that will prevent your opponent from summoning or banishing monsters from their Graveyard.

As the Deck does not make use of the Graveyard, cards such as "Macro Cosmos" are excellent side-Deck choices.

Stalling/Alternative Win Condition An alternative strategy for "Malefics" is to use their high ATK for stalling instead of attacking, and using "Final Countdown" or "Wave Motion Cannon" and cards that can prevent your cards from being destroyed (like "Magic Reflector", "Imperial Custom" and "Safe Zone", etc.) to stall until your win condition is met.
 * "Cost Down" can reduce "Malefic Stardust Dragon"'s level in your hand, which can let you use "Malefic Parallel Gear" to Synchro Summon "Stardust Dragon".

Weaknesses
Special Summon Reliance
 * Anti-Special Summon cards such as "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" and "Thunder King Rai-Oh" are very dangerous to a "Malefic" Deck, since almost none of the "Malefic" monsters can be Normal Summoned. Other options include "Koa'ki Meiru Drago", "Consecrated Light" and the "Barrier Statue" monsters. "Thunder King Rai-Oh" is especially dangerous as it negates the effect of "Malefic World" and "Terraforming".
 * "Skill Drain" is a good counter these monster effects, as well as having a lot of synergy with the "Malefic" Deck.
 * "Grave of the Super Ancient Organism" is a useful Floodgate against "Malefic" Decks.
 * "Imperial Iron Wall" prevents both player's from banishing cards, making almost all "Malefic" monsters impossible to Summon.
 * Can be countered with common Spell/Trap removal cards such as "Mystical Space Typhoon".
 * Since several "Malefic" monsters need their original forms to be in the Deck or Extra Deck, Deck Destruction cards (such as "Needle Worm", "Gravekeeper's Servant", and "Doom Dozer") as well as cards that remove cards from your opponent's Extra Deck (such as "Dragunity Knight - Trident" or "Extra Gate") can potentially be useful.

Field Spell Reliance
 * Since most "Malefic" monsters are destroyed if there is no Field Spell on the field, having good access to Spell/Trap removal severely limits the "Malefic" player's ability to maintain field presence.
 * Synchro Decks can use "Ancient Fairy Dragon" to destroy the "Malefic" player's Field Spell, thus destroying any "Malefic" monsters, while also gaining 1000 LP.
 * A face-up "Field Barrier" while there are no Field Spells on the field will lock-out all Field Spells from being activated, thus prevent Summoning of most "Malefic" monsters and also increase the likelihood of dead draws.

Other Weaknesses
 * "Malefic" monsters (with the exception of "Malefic Paradox Dragon" and "Malefic Parallel Gear") have a restriction to there only being one "Malefic" monster on the field, thus making Mirror Matchs and cards that change control of monsters, such as "Creature Swap" dangerous.

Media Appearances
Paradox, the antagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time, plays a "Malefic" Deck. He claims that they are the most powerful cards in history, due to the fact that they aren't bound to Normal Summoning rules.

In the movie, "Malefic" monsters were much more flexible than their OCG/TCG cards; multiple "Malefic" monsters could exist on the field at once, they did not impose attack restrictions on their controller and the original monsters were sent to the Graveyard (instead of being banished), thus allowing Paradox to easily and constantly swarm the field with his powerful monsters.

Trivia

 * The masks worn by the "Malefic" monsters are based on those of their user Paradox, which in turn are based on features of his face; the black half has lines based off his red eyebrow, and the left based on the monocle he wore in life.
 * In the trailers shown before every episode are nine face-down cards. The first 5 are the "Malefic" monsters that were corrupted versions of original Dragons. The sixth is "Elemental HERO Neos Knight", the seventh is "Junk Gardna", the eighth is "Malefic Parallel Gear", and the ninth is "Malefic Paradox Dragon". All of these cards featured prominently in the movie. The "Malefic" monsters have also appeared in alternate versions of the FREEDOM and -OZONE- animations that used footage from the film.
 * All seven "Malefic" Spell/Trap Cards in Japanese have their names printed in English.
 * "Malefic" monsters share some traits with two other 5Ds Era archetypes used by antagonists; "Earthbound Immortals" and "Meklord Emperors".
 * "Earthbound Immortal": Both archetypes consist of DARK Attribute monsters, they are (for "Malefic" most are) Field-Unique and destroy themselves if a Field Spell Card is not present.
 * "Meklord Emperor": They share an effect which prevents other monsters you control from attacking.