The Agent

The Agents are LIGHT Fairy-Type Monsters that were introduced in Ancient Sanctuary, and were reprinted in Dark Revelation Volume 2. They made a return in the new Lost Sanctuary Structure Deck. These monsters are especially designed for Decks containing the card "The Sanctuary in the Sky". They are all named "The Agent of - <planet".

Playing style
Similar to Psychic-Type and "Archfiend" Monsters, the first of "The Agents" focused on Life Points: "The Agent of Force - Mars's" ATK is increased when the controller's Life Points are higher than the opponent's. "The Agent of Judgment - Saturn" can inflict damage to opponent equal to the difference in player's Life Points. Their rather weak effects saw them almost totally ignored at the time in favor of more powerful cards (such as "Zaborg the Thunder Monarch" which was released around the same time).

With their new coming in the Lost Sanctuary, the "Agents" now focus on Banishing: "The Agent of Miracles - Jupiter" can banish any "Agent" monster in the Graveyard to increase a LIGHT Fairy-Type monster's ATK by 800. Also, when "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is on the field it then lets the player Special Summon 1 Banished LIGHT Fairy-Type monster by discarding a Fairy-Type monster.

More importantly, "Master Hyperion" can be Special Summoned by Banishing an "Agent" from your hand, field or Graveyard. Also, by Banishing another LIGHT Fairy-Type monster, you can select and destroy any card on the field. If you have "The Sanctuary in the Sky" on the field you may use this effect twice per turn.

"The Agent of Mystery - Earth" lets the player add any "Agent" monster or "Master Hyperion" (if "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is on the field) to the hand from the Deck and is also a Tuner monster (giving Synchro potential to "Agents").

With the use of "The Agent of Creation - Venus" "The Agents" have become a force to be feared in the current format. It remains to be seen if the lure of the deck shall pull players away from more common decks such as "Tengu Plant" etc.

Since these are LIGHT Fairy-Type monsters, they can be used with "Honest", "Athena", "Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen", etc although of these usually only "Honest" sees much play.

Strategies and Tips
A common strategy is to use "The Agent of Creation - Venus" to Special Summon 1-3 "Mystical Shine Balls" by paying 500-1500 Life Points (respectively) in order to set up the Graveyard for either the summon of an "Archlord Kristya" or "Master Hyperion" - as soon as the very next turn. If the opponent tries to avoid such a fate by not attacking the "Mystical Shine Balls" then s/he still runs the risk of a summoned "The Agent of Mystery - Earth" being tuned in to almost any 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 star Synchro (in addition to the Fairy-Type player gaining a free card with "The Agent of Mystery - Earth" effect). Also with the new XYZ monsters "Venus" makes it very easy to summon a Rank 2 monster and thus protect his future plays or simply stall. "The Agent of Mystery - Earth", can search for any "Agent" and "Master Hyperion" (provided "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is on the field) when it is Normal Summoned. You can also use "Genex Ally Birdman" to return "Venus" to your hand and Special Summon it in order to Synchro Summon "Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier".

Other monsters in the deck commonly include "Dimensional Alchemist" or "Herald of Orange Light" and (depending on the version) may also run the "Herald of Perfection" as well as related "Ritual" cards such as "Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands."

"Mars" and "The Agent of Judgment - Saturn" seldom see play in a competitive "Agent" deck. In fact, even the signature Fairy Field Spell Card "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is a rare card to see played. This is perhaps owing to the rather weak effect the field magic bestows.

"Agent" decks, being almost fully comprised of LIGHT Fairy-Type monsters always use "Honest" and sometimes main deck one or two copies of "Gozen Match" in order to shut down non-single attribute decks in the format ("Six Samurai", "Tengu Plant", "Gladiator Beast"). Combined with their often main decked copies of the "Herald of Orange Light" this deck certainly has potential to lay waste. Also, "Agent" decks can be considered as recommended for budget players, since most needed cards for the deck appear on the Lost Sanctuary structure deck, and other cards that make the deck run smoothly aside from "Archlord Kristya" and "Pot of Duality" (which will be reprinted in tins) aren't really expensive, making this deck quite accessible to most players. In addition, the deck is shown to be quite powerful, as it managed to top the 2011 World Championships.

Shine Ball Turbo
This Deck uses "Genex Ally Birdman" to Synchro Summon Level 9 Synchro Monsters. The player uses "The Agent of Mystery - Earth" to to search for "The Agent of Creation - Venus". The next turn the player plays "Venus" and uses her effect to Special Summon 3 "Mystical Shine Balls". Then, "Genex Ally Birdman's" effect returns a "Mystical Shine Ball" to your hand and you pay 500 Life Points to Special Summon it again. If "Earth" is still on the field you have the ability to Synchro Summon twice.

Valhalla Beat-Stick
This deck build focuses on Level 8 Fairy-Type monsters, "Tethys, Goddess of Light", and "Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen". A common strategy for this deck is to use "Hecatrice" and "Zeradias, Herald of Heaven" to get cards into your Graveyard to play "Kristya" and use "Trade-In" as draw power and targets for "Master Hyperion", and use ether "Miraculous Descent" or "D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation" to Special Summon them. "Archlord Kristya's" effect works well with "Tethys's" ability so you are guaranteed an extra draw without letting anyone know your hand.