Infernity

Infernity (インフェルニティ Inferuniti), a portmanteau of the words "Infernal" and "Infinity", are all DARK monster cards whose effects activate when a player has no cards in the hand. This archetype's artwork owes much to stereotypical depictions of the "wild west," with cards such as "Infernity Archfiend", "Infernity Necromancer", and "Infernity Mirage" alluding to the native Americans, while cards like "Infernity Avenger", "Infernity Randomizer", and "Infernity Launcher" (whose original Japanese name was "Infernity Gun") relate to the cowboys. However, more recent "Infernity" monsters like "Infernity Knight," "Infernity General," and "Infernity Archer" bear strong medieval overtones. This archetype was used by Kalin Kessler in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. In episodes 33, 34, and 35 in the English version of ''Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's'', the archetype was referred to as Infernalty.

The first "Infernity" cards were released as promotional cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Stardust Accelerator: "Infernity Archfiend", "Infernity Dwarf", and "Infernity Guardian". "Infernity Destroyer" was released in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Stardust Accelerator - World Championship 2009 Game Guide in Japan.

The first "Infernity" card released in a booster pack was "Infernity Beast" in Ancient Prophecy. Two additional "Infernity" cards soon followed with the release of Stardust Overdrive: "Infernity Necromancer" and the first "Infernity" Trap Card "Infernity Force". With the release of The Shining Darkness, fifteen more cards were added to the "Infernity" archetype for further support. The Shining Darkness also included the "Infernity" Synchro Monster "Infernity Doom Dragon," and Photon Shockwave introduced "Infernity Knight".

Recently, the "Infernity" Deck has gotten some big boosts. The first is "Leviair the Sea Dragon", which can be made with two "Infernity Necromancer"s. "Hundred-Eyes Dragon" can banish "Infernity Mirage" with its effect, and "Leviair the Sea Dragon" can then revive the "Infernity Mirage," as its Special Summon restriction only applies to the Graveyard, to Synchro Summon another monster and get an "Infernity Archfiend" search.

Another handy Xyz monster is "Lavalval Chain", generally made with "Summoner Monk". Its effect can place "Infernity Archfiend" on top of your deck, which immediately Special Summons it on the following turn if your hand is otherwise empty. While it is on the weaker side in terms of ATK and DEF, if "Lavalval Chain" manages to survive into a second turn turn, it can use its other effect to set up your Graveyard with whatever "Infernity Archfiend" searched out.

Lastly, "Void Ogre Dragon" is a welcome addition to the "Infernity" arsenal of Level 8 Synchro monsters, having great synergy with the deck and able to fend off threats such as "Dark Hole" and "Heavy Storm."

Playing style
Immediately apparent is this deck's reliance on an empty hand. Using discarding effects like those of "Raigeki Break" and "Phoenix Wing Wind Blast" which also generate advantage is the fastest way to empty your hand while setting up your Graveyard for cards like "Infernity Archfiend" and "Infernity Avenger".

Choice "Fabled" cards can be added to an "Infernity" Deck; most notably, "Fabled Raven," a Level 2, 1300 ATK Tuner monster which lets you discard any number of cards to increase its Level by 1 and its ATK by 400 per card. "Fabled Soulkius" is a Level 6, 2200 ATK monster that can revive itself at the cost of 2 discards, which is hardly a cost to an "Infernity" Deck. As an added perk, the "Fabled" are all LIGHT monsters, while the "Infernity" cards are all DARK, allowing room for a Chaos-oriented variant.

With the release of The Shining Darkness, the "Infernity" archetype focused on Graveyard tactics. Because the most common way of emptying the hand is through discarding effects, the Graveyard should load up very quickly with "Infernities" to Special Summon with the effects of "Infernity Mirage" and "Infernity Launcher." As a bonus, "Infernity Avenger" can Special Summon itself from the Graveyard in response to the destruction of an "Infernity," maintaining field advantage while also potentially returning as a level 5+ Tuner.

Note, it's best to avoid cards like "Full Salvo", "Fine", and "Rope of Life", because although they empty the hand, they typically don't generate more than a meager advantage.

A well-built "Infernity" Deck can churn out several high-level Synchro Monsters per turn, provided the right cards exist on the field or in the hand. "Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" used to be a popular pick, but "Mist Wurm" has proven to be the go-to alternative since Trishula's banning. "Infernity Launcher," whether in the hand or on the field, will allow the player to summon a second "Wurm" via "Infernity Necromancer", "Infernity Archfiend", "Infernity Beetle" and another copy of "Infernity Launcher" to clear the opponent's field. "Infernity Mirage" can Tribute itself to Special Summon two more "Infernity" monsters from the Graveyard, for yet another Synchro Monster, or an Xyz, if need be. Another good Synchro Monster is "Hundred-Eyes Dragon": it's effect-copying ability makes it an extra copy of virtually any "Infernity" card, provided it exists in the Graveyard. However, "Infernity" monsters typically serve better in the Graveyard, making its banishing requirement somewhat of a double-edged sword (with the exception of "Infernity Mirage", which is used with "Hundred-Eyes Dragon" to gain advantage).

Strengths
The most noticeable strength of an "Infernity" Deck is its easy Synchro Summoning capabilities. The archetype also boasts its own Counter Trap Card in the form of "Infernity Barrier", a card that can Negate virtually anything. "Infernity" decks create a long chain of Synchro Summons, which concludes with three primed "Infernity Barriers" backing a field of powerful Synchro Monsters. This set up is nigh invincible if left uninterrupted.

Decks with a focus on hand control tend to find themselves in a "lose-lose" situation with "Infernity" Decks, as they facilitate the deck's strategy and are overwhelmed by Synchro Monsters.

Weaknesses
"Infernities", despite their enormous Synchro Summoning ability, have a number of crucial weaknesses. Cards that banish or negate effects, like "Macro Cosmos," "Dimensional Fissure," and "Skill Drain," are major threats. These shortcomings can be combated with side-decked copies of "Imperial Iron Wall", "Chaos Hunter" or "Burial from a Different Dimension", and "Mystical Space Typhoon" can deal with "Skill Drain". Cards like "Effect Veiler", "D.D. Crow" and "Battle Fader" that can be activated from the hand can also pose problems, and are trickier to avoid, although a well-timed "Infernity Barrier" or "Debunk" can remedy the situation.

Without a strong Extra Deck, "Infernities" are a fairly weak archetype, with their most powerful non-Synchro card being "Infernity General," bearing a 2700 ATK. Furthermore, the deck's dependency on an empty hand is a weakness in itself. Field-wipers like "Judgment Dragon" or "Black Rose Dragon" can seriously cripple the deck if a player decides to set his or her entire hand in order to gain access to "Infernity" effects. "Infernity Guardian" could be a life-saver in such a situation.

Post-September 2010
After the September 2010 Forbidden list's restriction on "Infernity Launcher", the "Infernity" Deck began to lean in a more control-oriented direction. "Infernity Avenger" replaced "Infernity Beetle" as the deck's primary Tuner. It allows "Infernities" to Summon level 8 Synchro monsters with relative ease, which, without the OTK potential offered by a full play-set of "Infernity Launcher", is necessary for the deck's continued viability.

Having said that, "Hundred-Eyes Dragon" is arguably the most important Synchro monster in the "Infernity" arsenal. As touched upon, it can banish "Infernity Mirage," copy its effect, and then Special Summon "Infernity Archfiend" and "Infernity Necromancer". This triggers a search out of "Infernity Archfiend", usually for "Infernity Barrier", "Infernity Launcher", or "Infernity Mirage". Then, "Infernity Necromancer" Special Summons "Infernity Avenger", which is used to Synchro Summon for another Level 8 Synchro monster. Note that this monster could be another "Hundred-Eyes Dragon", which would restart this cycle with the very welcome addition of a set "Infernity Barrier." These loops are best finished with "Infernity Doom Dragon": not only a 3000 ATK beatstick equipped with a Burn and destruction effect, but more importantly, an "Infernity" monster with which to activate "Barrier."

"Stygian Street Patrol" has some synergy with the deck, although it can be a bit slow if drawn as opposed to being sent straight from the Deck to the Graveyard. It acts as a Special Summon outlet for "Infernity Archfiend" if it's the last card in hand, and as a means of barraging an opponent with Synchro monsters by Special Summoning an "Infernity Mirage" searched by "Infernity Archfiend" after a spent Normal Summon.

If included, a balance between "Armageddon Knight" and "Dark Grepher" as opposed to just "Dark Grepher" is preferred, as "Infernity" Decks tend to have a lower monster-to-Spells/Traps ratio than most Decks, rendering "Dark Grepher's" discard unwieldy, at times.

This archetype can easily Summon "Red Nova Dragon". "Infernity Archfiend", "Infernity Necromancer" and "Infernity Avenger" are used to Summon "Red Dragon Archfiend", at which point "Infernity Beetle" is Summoned and Tributed for two additional copies of itself. These are then tuned with "Red Dragon Archfiend" to Special Summon "Red Nova Dragon".

Monsters

 * Infernity Archfiend
 * Infernity Necromancer
 * Infernity Avenger
 * Infernity Mirage
 * Infernity Beetle
 * Stygian Street Patrol
 * Plaguespreader Zombie
 * Tour Guide From the Underworld (Can be used with "Infernity Necromancer")
 * Armageddon Knight
 * Dark Grepher

Spells

 * Infernity Launcher
 * One for One
 * Reinforcement of the Army
 * Foolish Burial
 * Card Destruction

Traps

 * Infernity Barrier
 * Infernity Break
 * Infernity Inferno
 * Escape from the Dark Dimension
 * Raigeki Break

Extra Deck

 * Hundred-Eyes Dragon
 * Infernity Doom Dragon
 * Void Ogre Dragon
 * Stygian Sergeants
 * Dark End Dragon
 * Stardust Dragon
 * Leviair the Sea Dragon
 * Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
 * Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
 * Red Nova Dragon
 * Red Dragon Archfiend

Infernity Burn OTK
An Infernity Burn OTK Deck is built around dealing 8000 points of Burn damage to your opponent in one turn. This is done using the overwhelming Swarming capabilities of "Infernity Mirage" and "Infernity Launcher" and Tributing those monsters for "Shadowpriestess of Ohm".

Required Cards

 * Infernity Archfiend
 * Infernity Beetle
 * Infernity Mirage
 * Infernity Necromancer
 * Infernity Launcher
 * Stygian Street Patrol
 * Shadowpriestess of Ohm

Suggested Cards

 * Sangan (Tribute this card for "Shadowpriestess of Ohm's" effect then search for "Infernity Mirage")
 * Double Summon (Normal Summon "Shadowpriestess of Ohm" then Normal Summon "Infernity Mirage")
 * Foolish Burial (Use this card to send "Stygian Street Patrol" from your Deck to the Graveyard)
 * Infernity Inferno

How it works
The combo starts with a hand consisting solely of "Infernity Mirage" and a field consisting of a "Shadowpriestess of Ohm". You also need "Infernity Archfiend", "Infernity Necromancer", "Infernity Beetle" and "Stygian Street Patrol" in your Graveyard.


 * 1) Normal Summon "Infernity Mirage".
 * 2) Tribute it to activate its effect, Special Summoning "Infernity Necromancer" and "Infernity Archfiend" from your Graveyard.
 * 3) "Infernity Archfiend's" effect activates, searching your deck for any "Infernity" card. Pick "Infernity Launcher".
 * 4) Activate "Infernity Launcher" (Note that it does nothing at the moment).
 * 5) Activate "Infernity Necromancer's" effect, Special Summoning "Infernity Beetle" from your Graveyard.
 * 6) Activate "Infernity Beetle's" effect, by Tributing itself to "Special Summon" two more "Infernity Beetles" from your Deck.
 * 7) Using the effect of "Shadowpriestess of Ohm", Tribute the 1st "Infernity Beetle", the 2nd "Infernity Beetle", "Infernity Necromancer" and "Infernity Archfiend" for a total of 3200 points of Burn Damage.
 * 8) Activate "Infernity Launcher's" effect, Special Summoning "Infernity Necromancer" and "Infernity Archfiend" from your Graveyard.
 * 9) Using "Infernity Archfiend's" Effect, add another "Infernity Mirage" to your hand.
 * 10) Activate the effect of "Stygian Street Patrol", removing itself from play to Special Summon "Infernity Mirage" from your Hand.
 * 11) Activate "Infernity Necromancer's" effect, Special Summoning "Infernity Beetle" from your Graveyard.
 * 12) Using the effect of "Shadowpriestess of Ohm", Tribute "Infernity Beetle", "Infernity Necromancer" and "Infernity Archfiend" for a total of points of 2400 Burn Damage.
 * 13) Tribute "Infernity Mirage" to activate its effect, Special Summoning "Infernity Necromancer" and "Infernity Archfiend" from your Graveyard.
 * 14) When "Infernity Archfiend" is Special Summoned, DO NOT use its effect to add an "Infernity" Card from your Deck to your Hand (unless you are adding an "Infernity" trap card to set, but since this is an OTK it hardly matters).
 * 15) Activate "Infernity Necromancer's" effect, Special Summoning "Infernity Beetle".
 * 16) Using the effect of "Shadowpriestess of Ohm", Tribute "Infernity Beetle", "Infernity Necromancer" and "Infernity Archfiend" for a total of 2400 points of Burn Damage.
 * 17) By now, you have successfully inflicted 8000 points of Burn Damage to your opponent.

Infernity Randomizer
This deck focuses on controlling the field thanks to the traps and cards like Offerings to the Doomed which let you gain vantage but don't let you you draw, you use Infernity Randomizer to draw cards.

Monsters

 * Infernity Randomizer
 * Infernity Archfiend
 * Infernity Necromancer
 * Infernity Avenger
 * Effect Veiler

Spells

 * Infernity Launcher
 * Book of Moon
 * Offerings to the Doomed

Traps

 * Solemn Judgment
 * Solemn Warning
 * Infernity Barrier
 * Reinforce Truth (To get faster Randomizer)
 * Reckless Greed (Randomizer let you draw)
 * Bottomless Trap Hole
 * Dimensional Prison (In order to protect Randomizer)

Infernity World
This deck revolves around the not having any cards in your hand as well but use the "Dark World" Swarm.

Monsters

 * Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World
 * Sillva, Warlord of Dark World
 * Stygian Street Patrol
 * Fabled Raven
 * Infernity Mirage
 * Infernity Archfiend
 * Infernity Beetle

Spells

 * Dark World Lightning
 * Dark World Dealings
 * Card Destruction

Traps

 * Infernity Inferno
 * Infernity Barrier

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's when Kalin says Infernity, you can hear him mispronouncing it Infinity.


 * In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's episode 54 and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's episode 55 the word Infernity was used instead of Infernality (ep. 33-35). For example, when Kalin played his "Infernality Fiend" in episode 33, he then later called it by its TCG name when Dueled Yusei again (ep. 54-55).


 * The new "Infernity" cards used in the manga have a Medieval theme.


 * The handless effect of the "Infernity" archetype is identical to the "Hellbent" effect of the "Rakdos" related cards from Magic: The Gathering.
 * Additionally, the "Rakdos" cards use Red/Fire and Black/Darkness mana, while "Infernity" monsters are DARK-Attribute monsters and their artwork generally depicts them in some fiery location.