Yang Zing

"Yang Zing", known as "Cosmic Dragon" ( Ryūsei) in the OCG, is an archetype of monsters that debuted in Duelist Alliance. They resemble Dragon-like creatures, but with a slight appearance of Beasts, either by having a mane and/or tiger stripes, as well as Beast-like paws and claws; also, they have a bead inside a triangle on their chest and 3 others on their horns. So far, all the monsters of this archetype are Wyrm-Type, which is a new monster Type that also debuted in Duelist Alliance.

Story
A group of Wyrms who dwell inside the "Stars" of the Heavens and Earth. They are incarnations of elements found on the planet and the power of the bright stars in the sky brought forth by "Constellar Sombre", who has the same amount of power as God. It's said that when the "Yang Zing" come together, a shining radiance will consume everything.

Playing style
The Main Deck monsters focus on maintaining field presence by Special Summoning one another when they are destroyed. In addition, each of the non-Tuners is capable of Synchro Summoning during your opponent's Main Phase or Battle Phase, like "Urgent Tuning" or "T.G. Wonder Magician", and give extra abilities to the Synchro Monster that they were used to Summon, as follows:

The Tuner monsters of the archetype, "Chiwen, Cosmic Dragon of Light" and "Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing" are LIGHT and DARK-Attributed, respectively, and their effects tend to speed-up Synchro Summons even more: the first one follows the trend of many Tuner monsters, such as "Plaguespreader Zombie", "Scrap Mind Reader" and "Soaring Eagle Above the Searing Land", by Special Summoning itself from the Graveyard in order to assist a Synchro Summon and being banished when it leaves the Field, if Special Summoned by its own effect; this effect can be triggered when a "Yang Zing" monster you control is destroyed. The second one can instantly set up a Synchro Summon, by Special Summoning 2 "Yang Zings" from your Deck by the cost of 2 "Yang Zing" cards in your hand: you can use its effect to Special Summon, for example, "Bixi, Cosmic Dragon of Water" alongside with "Suanni, Cosmic Dragon of Fire", for a quick Synchro Summon of "Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing", or alongside with "Bian, Cosmic Dragon of Earth" to quickly bring "Yazi, Wickedness of the Yang Zing" out.

The aforementioned monsters are the two "Yang Zing" Synchro monsters released thus far; the former can shuffle cards from the Field into the deck, up to the number of original Attributes of Wyrm-Type monsters used for its Synchro Summon; its second effect lets it destroy 1 card you control in order to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from your Graveyard, setting up more Synchro Summons by not only bringing back a possible "Yang Zing" but also by destroying a "Yang Zing" and triggering its effect. The latter cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects and can act like a "Yang Zing" version of "Scrap Dragon", destroying 1 of those monsters you control and 1 of your opponent's cards; it moreover can Special Summon, not only a "Yang Zing" monster, but any Wyrm-Type monster from your Deck when it is destroyed.

Another feature is the diversity of Attributes, that is emphasized in cards like "Cosmic Dragon Leyline" and one of the aforementioned Synchro Monsters; you can use this to you advantage by using cards like "Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan".

Among general cards that can help the Deck, are highlighted "Imperial Iron Wall" and "Supply Unit". The former prevents "Chiwen" from being banished every time it is Special Summoned by its own effect, while also protects "Yang Zing" monsters from cards that would prevent their searcher effect from being triggered, such as "Bottomless Trap Hole", "Dimensional Prison" and "Macro Cosmos", and the latter makes you draw a card every time a "Yang Zing" monster is destroyed. You can also use "Solidarity" and "Masked Chameleon" in order to increase their ATK and set up more Synchro Summons, respectively.

The Deck as a whole can be used to perform any Synchro Summon, so you can use the Quick Effect of the non-Tuner "Yang Zing" monsters to perform Synchro Summons during your opponent's turn, choosing to Summon the monster that is more appropriate depending on your opponent's move.

In this Deck, generic Synchro Monsters can be even more powerful than they are normally, as they will gain additional bonuses when Summoned by using the "Yang Zing" monsters as Synchro Materials; the Tuner monster in these scenarios is always "Chiwen":


 * "Star Eater" - If Summoned by using "Pulao", "Bixi", "Suanni" and "Bian", its immunity against Spell and Trap Cards will not be reduced to the Battle Phase only, as well as it will not be destroyed by battle and will have 3700 ATK.


 * "Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree" - With "Suanni", "Bian" and "Pulao", it will have 3600 ATK and immunity against battle destruction and Spell Cards that would destroy it, such as "Dark Hole".


 * "Drascension the Supreme Sky Dragon" - Due to the above-average Draw power of this Deck, because of "Supply Unit" and "Cosmic Dragon Comet Trail", this monster can have a huge ATK boost when Summoned; in addition, if somehow it be destroyed by your opponent, you will also recover all "Yang Zing" used for its Synchro Summon. The fact they effects will be negated will not be a drawback, unless you are intending to use their Quick Effect, during your opponent's turn.


 * "Giganticastle" - If Summoned by using, for example, 2 "Suannis", it will have a smashing 4300 ATK and 4200 DEF; if you substitute one of the "Suannis" by 2 "Pulao" and 1 "Bixi", it will have 4200 ATK, 4100 DEF and will gain immunity against Spell and Trap Cards.


 * "Moonlight Rose Dragon" - If unexpectedly Summoned during your opponent's turn, it can act like a "Compulsory Evacuation Device", surprising your opponent by returning a strong monster they control to the hand.

Weaknesses
Since their effects rely on swarming the field, mainly when combined with "Cosmic Dragon Incarnation", cards like "El Shaddoll Midrash", "El Shaddoll Egrystal", and "Summon Breaker" can slow down the Deck. Cards that purely prevent Special Summons, such as "Vanity's Emptiness" and "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" are also good counters against them; one can also use "Macro Cosmos" or "Dimensional Fissure" to banish them when they are destroyed. "Soul Drain" and "Deck Lockdown" can prevent them from Special Summoning one another from the Deck when destroyed and, once they main focus is on Synchro Summoning, "Grisaille Prison" and "Discord" can also be used. The variety of Attributes also makes them vulnerable to "Gozen Match" and "Battle of the Elements". The dependability on Synchros, makes the deck vulnerable to "Evilswarm Ophion". A monster that can attack all monster your opponent controls such as "Bujintei Susanowo" or "Number 39: Utopia" equipped with "ZW - Asura Strike" can be surprisingly effective against this deck, since it will keep on attacking every "Yang Zing" monster summoned by the one previously destroyed.

Trivia

 * The Yang Zing are based on the Nine Offspring of the Dragon, characters of the Chinese Mythology. "Zing" is a mispelling of "xing", which means "star" in Chinese. "Yang Zing" may be derived from "阳性" (yáng xìng), which means "masculine" or "positive".


 * Their Japanese name, "竜星", is a pun on "流星" (ryūsei "meteor") and "竜生九子" (Ryūsei Kyūshi "Nine Offspring of the Dragon").


 * According to Sheng'an waiji by Yang Shen, the "9 sons of the dragon" are listed as the following order: