Darklord

"Darklord", known as "Fallen Angel" ( Datenshi) in the Japanese version, is an archetype comprised primarily of DARK Fairy-Type monsters used by Midori Hibiki in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga. Many of their effects are focused on sending "Darklord" monsters to the Graveyard and then Special Summoning them. Much of this archetype have been released as V Jump promotional cards.

Though members have existed since 2008, this archetype had no support until the release of Booster SP: Destiny Soldiers in the OCG and Destiny Soldiers in the TCG, both in 2016.

Playing style
A "Darklord" Deck focuses on sending DARK Fairy-Type monsters to the Graveyard and then reviving them; however, bringing back a monster- especially a "Darklord"- requires a more permanent solution rather than relying on one time use cards such as "Monster Reborn", "Call of the Haunted", "Ribbon of Rebirth", etc. It is recommended to run multiple copies of "Athena", "The Dark Creator" or "Sephylon, the Ultimate Timelord". The downside of using the effect of "The Dark Creator" is that a clear field is needed. One can send one "The Dark Creator" to the Graveyard, then summon "Phantom of Chaos" to copy its effect, though this is a solution that cannot be used for more than one turn. "Sephylon" is extremely powerful but requires having at least 10 monsters in the Graveyard to summon him. For these reasons, "Athena" is the most reliable and best option. "Athena" also works well with "Darklord Zerato", whose effect would cause it to destroy itself at the end of turn. Using the effect of "Athena" you can send "Zerato" to the Graveyard and then revive it, thus resetting "Zerato" and preventing it from being destroyed.

While Special Summoning from the Graveyard is a major theme of this archetype, a swarm play style is unsuitable, due to many of the archetype's members being limited by the condition "You can only Special Summon "CARD NAME" once per turn." This also makes it difficult to Xyz Summon with this archetype (except for Rank 8). However, this can be mitigated by the use of "Soul Charge", as it is possible to Special Summon multiple copies of the same card in one turn as long as they are Summoned at the same time, allowing for Xyz plays with high Level monsters.

Disruption is readily available to the archetype due to the effect "During either player's turn: You can pay 1000 LP, then target 1 "Darklord" Spell/Trap Card in your Graveyard; this effect becomes that target's effect when that card is activated, then shuffle that target into the Deck." being common in many of the archetype's cards. This works in conjunction with the archetype's two Trap Cards ("Darklord Enchantment" and "Darklord Rebellion") to disrupt opponent plays, allowing time to setup for an "Athena"-"Darklord Superbia" loop or similar win conditions.

This Deck can have many ways of discarding cards to the Graveyard. You can use monster effects such as those of "Armageddon Knight" or "Dark Grepher", or the effects of "Darklord Asmodeus" and "Darklord Zerato", in order to discard cards to the Graveyard. Additionally, you can use "Trade-In" (you run many Level 8 monsters) and "Hand Destruction" in order to combine both discarding and drawing power. This deck, due to the large accumulation of DARK monsters, can also run DARK monster Deck support cards such as "Dark Illusion" or "Allure of Darkness".

Darklord OTK
In order to perform this OTK you need to have plenty of DARK attribute monsters in your Graveyard plus at least one "Athena".

How to:

Play "Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen" and then Special Summon "Darklord Asmodeus". Use the effect of "Asmodeus" to fill your Graveyard with DARK Fairy-type Monsters. Eventually your opponent will have to get rid of him to prevent him/her from the monster's 3000 ATK Points threat. When they do, you will need some way to remove the Tokens "Asmodeus" Summons. Once again use the effect of "Valhalla" so as to Special Summon "Athena", or tribute the Tokens Summoned by "Asmodeus" to Summon "Athena", or you can Special Summon "The Dark Creator", then Special Summon "Darklord Superbia" and use the effect of "Darklord Superbia" to Special Summon "Athena". Afterward, either Summon a Fairy-type monster or send "Darklord Superbia" to the Graveyard in order to Special Summon another "Darklord Superbia" and use its effect to Special Summon another Darklord such as "Darklord Zerato". Use the effect of "Zerato" to clear the field and then head for a Direct Attack, performing an OTK.

You can also perform the combo with "Darklord Contact", though this method is slightly slower as it must Summon the target in Defense Position. Special Summon "Darklord Superbia" and after summoning "Athena", then replay the above instructions. You may play "Phantom of Chaos" by Banishing "The Dark Creator" or "Athena", and use the Banished card's effect, followed by the usage of "Miraculous Descent" or "Escape from the Dark Dimension". Running the above cards may enable you to Special Summon a "Darklord Asmodeus" that was sent to Graveyard previously, but you must first Banish "Asmodeus" as it cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard. This OTK focuses on the Special Summoning of (especially Dark) Fairy-Type Monsters.

Some cards used are: "Darklord Superbia", "Darklord Asmodeus", "Darklord Zerato", "Dark Creator", "Athena", "Hecatrice", "Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen", and any card that Special Summons the above cards from the Graveyard or may emulate any of these cards, like "Phantom of Chaos". "Darklord Ixchel" is also a good card to use as she can discard herself and any "Darklord" card to draw 2 cards, speeding the deck up while also helping to fill the Graveyard with more "Darklord" cards to Summon with the effect of "Athena". "Tethys, Goddess of Light" is also a card that can speed the deck up, but is less reliable than "Darklord Ixchel" for the overall purpose of the deck.