Blackwing

The Blackwing, known as Black Feather in the Japanese version, is an Archetype of DARK Winged Beast-Type monsters making their debut in "Crimson Crisis". In the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime, they are used by Crow. Most of these monsters are somewhat humanoid and have either a tengu or bird-like appearance. (Compare to other humanoid Winged-Beasts to a greater or lesser effect) All Blackwing monsters feature black in their design, usually on their wing feathering. Most are named after types of wind and air currents. They are currently a meta deck with swarming and speed capabilities. When Crimson Crisis was released, this Archetype was very unsupported - only 5 cards of Blackwing were released: Gale the Whirlwind, Sirocco the Dawn, Bora the Spear, Armor Master and "Raptor Wing Strike". Later on, with the release of Raging Battle and Ancient Prophecy the set grew into a highly swarming and powerful deck. The speed it gives with its swarming, along with its additional Synchro Summoning capabilities landed this deck a place on the Shonen Jump Circuit. Three new Blackwing monsters are to be released into the next OCG set, The Shining Darkness.

Playing Style
The Blackwing's effects are focused around Swarming and changing the ATK or the DEF of monsters on the field. Because of that, they have an aggressive playing style. Also, because of their Swarming capabilities, they are good for using Synchro Summon (Note that their trump cards are Synchro Monsters). Their support cards rely on their swarm abilities such as Delta Crow - Anti Reverse which can be activated from the hand when you control exactly 3 Blackwing Monsters. Some of them take an advantage from Blackwing's swarming abilities and support it such as Black Whirlwind. Some of them rely on your opponent such as Fake Feather or Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North which needs a monster in the Graveyard to Special Summon.

Also, since all Blackwing monsters are DARK Winged Beast monsters, you can add Allure of Darkness for drawing power and Icarus Attack for extra card destruction, if you can't get Delta Crow - Anti Reverse. Dark Eruption would also be a good support as it helps you to get back Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow and Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind  from your Graveyard. It`s also possible to play Mystic Plasma Zone to boost their ATK only, although these cards are weak and give your opponent advantages as well, so it's better to play Solidarity for your ATK boosting needs. Their DARK Attribute also qualifies them for DARK support cards from the booster pack Phantom Darkness, and since a few of the Blackwing monsters require another Blackwing monster for their effects, you can use Phantom of Chaos to copy both the name and the effects. Alongside that, many Blackwing decks also run Dark Armed Dragon or The Dark Creator (both are considered DARK-deck staples but aren't needed) for their ability to be Special Summoned through DARK monsters in the graveyard. Dark Armed Dragon sees higher use in Blackwing decks because of his easier summoning requirements and destructive effect - it works well with the Blackwings' aggressive tactics. You can also run Dark Nephthys because it's both Winged Beast and DARK and will work with other cards included in a blackwing deck..

Vayu Turbo
The deck is based on getting Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor and getting other high-level Blackwing monsters into the graveyard and then Special Summoning (Vayu only special summons Blackwing Synchros) (because Vayu special summons synchro monsters instead of synchro summoning them, the requirements on the card do not apply, and as per Vayu's effect, the effect is also negated) Synchro monsters followed by swarming the field with other Blackwing monsters. Recycling Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor with Burial from a Different Dimension to perform another Special Summon is a recommended tactic. This also allows you to return Necro Gardna and anything else you might remove with Dark Armed Dragon or Allure of Darkness to your graveyard. To go along with Burial from a Different Dimension, you can add Return from the Different Dimension to summon the same cards to your side of the field to attempt an OTK. Cards that send other cards from your deck to your grave are recommended, as many cards must be in the graveyard to work, such as Vayu, and as removal fodder for Dark Armed Dragon. Another possible strategy is to Special Summon Vayu through Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame's ability and special summon Ally of Justice Catastor. Or use Double Summon to summon vayu and a 4-6 star blackwing out and use Forbidden Chalice to negate Vayu's effect to sync.

Monsters

 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Dark Grepher
 * Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor
 * Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn
 * Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind
 * Blackwing - Bora the Spear
 * Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame

Spells

 * Allure of Darkness
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Foolish Burial
 * Reinforcement of the Army

Traps

 * Icarus Attack
 * Torrential Tribute

Extra Deck

 * Dark End Dragon
 * Colossal Fighter
 * Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
 * Goyo Guardian
 * Ally of Justice Catastor
 * Blackfeather Dragon

Steelwings
The basic strategy of this deck is to assemble 3 Blackwings (along with Sirocco and Blackwing - Fane the Steel Chain) and use Sirocco's effect to put all of the ATK onto Fane and attack directly with Fane. The easiest way to pull this off is to have a set Ultimate Offering or a Double Summon in your hand, and if your opponent has a Monster, normal summon Sirroco, then use Ultimate Offering (or Double Summon) to summon Fane, then Special Summon 1 Bora and 1 Gale using their effects. Then, put all the ATK onto Fane and attack directly past your opponents monsters. 500+2000+1700+1300= 5500. Then use Swallow's Nest by Tribute 1 Sirocco on your side of the field to Special Summon 1 another Sirocco from the Deck. Then use effect of new Sirocco at once. 5500+2000+1700+1300=10900. Another alternative to this strategy is to have multiple Siroccos on the field with Fane to give Fane more attack bonuses making a possible +18500 ATK and an OTK.

Monsters

 * Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North
 * Blackwing - Bora the Spear x3
 * Blackwing - Elphin the Raven
 * Blackwing - Fane the Steel Chain x3
 * Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow x3
 * Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame
 * Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn x3
 * Dark Armed Dragon

Spells

 * Lightning Vortex
 * Dark Eruption
 * Swallow's Nest
 * Double Summon
 * United We Stand
 * Allure of Darkness

Traps

 * Icarus Attack(Choose Able)
 * Delta Crow - Anti Reverse
 * Torrential Tribute
 * Bottomless Trap Hole
 * Mirror Force
 * Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
 * Call of the Haunted

Extra Deck

 * Blackwing Armor Master
 * Blackwing Armed Wing
 * Ally of Justice Catastor
 * Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
 * Goyo Guardian
 * Stardust Dragon
 * Black Rose Dragon
 * Red Dragon Archfiend

Synchro Summoning
Several of the Blackwings, as well as some of their support cards, make Synchro Summoning fairly easy.
 * "Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind": Can be Special Summoned from your hand if you control another "Blackwing" monster besides it.
 * "Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North": Can automatically summon a Level 4 or lower Blackwing monster from your Graveyard upon being summoned.
 * "Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame": This should be one of the trump cards in any Blackwing Deck. It is recommended to summon this card early in the game, because upon destroying a monster in battle, you can summon a "Blackwing" monster with 1500 ATK or weaker from your Deck while negating its effects.  This is especially useful for summoning "Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor", which cannot be used for a Synchro Summon while on the field.
 * "Black Whirlwind": Another trump card, as when a "Blackwing" is summoned under your control, you can add a "Blackwing" monster from your Deck to your hand, if it is weaker than the summoned monster.

Because of their potential to create Level 7 Synchro Monsters with such ease, Blackwing Armor Master, Dark Strike Fighter (banned from in Advance Format as of September 2009), and Black Rose Dragon are among the top choices. "Black Rose Dragon" is an excellent choice to clear the field, if the field becomes crowded, or to evade a Trap Card(s) that could ruin your strategy.

Level 8 Synchro Monsters are somewhat harder to Synchro Summon than Level 7 Synchro Monsters if you are using Blackwings, but it is recommended to summon "Stardust Dragon", as it can offer the protection from effects that destroy cards. It is usually best to summon "Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn" and then follow up by Special Summoning "Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind". Even if you do not have "Gale" in your hand, it can easily be searched out with "Black Whirlwind" after Normal Summoning "Sirocco". This can be the easiest way to Synchro Summon a Level 8 monster in a Blackwing Deck.

Due to the requirements of its Synchro Summon, "Blackwing - Silverwind the Ascendant" (released in Stardust Overdrive) has been widely dismissed by many Blackwing duelists. However, once Synchro Summoned, "Blackwing - Silverwind the Ascendant" provides much support to the other Blackwings by granting them an effect akin to that of "Dark Resonator" and the clearing of your opponent's side of the field. If your strategy includes Synchro Summoning this card, you may want to include cards like "Quillbolt Hedgehog", "Level Retuner", and "Star Blast" in your Deck.

Draw Power
Blackwings have a lot of available draw power and deck manipulation. Because of their DARK attribute, they can use Allure of Darkness and Veil of Darkness to run through the deck faster. Reckless Greed can also be used to run through the deck as well. Because the Blackwings can be sent to the Graveyard quickly, by effects such as Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow(who discards himself to the Graveyard) and Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind (who can be used in a Synchro Summon, putting himself and another Blackwing in the Graveyard), Pot of Avarice is a great card to use. To go through monsters even faster, you can use Magical Merchant to send monsters from the top of the deck to the graveyard until you draw a spell or trap card. With the use of Allure of Darkness and Pot of Avarice, Reckless Greeds can be used to increase draw power of the deck so you will almost constantly be drawing new cards. Even though Pot of Avarice thickens the deck, you can prevent this by returning destroyed Synchro Monsters; also, cards such as Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame and Black Whirlwind to thin the deck out very quickly. And now with the new Blackwing spell Blackwing Treasure coming out in The Shining Darkness they will have even more draw power.

Weaknesses
Blackwings have some problems mantaining Hand and Field Advantage due to the overwhelming speed with which Blackwings are summoned, a player can (and often will) find his/her hand depleting quickly, thus lacking resources in case his/her plans goes wrong (such as in the case the opponent counters a massive Swarming with a mass-destruction card like Torrential Tribute or Lightning Vortex). Also, although the deck is capable in itself of winning with a simple Beatdown strategy, its most impressive Monsters are Synchro Monsters, meaning anti-Special Summoning strategies will often work to cripple a Blackwing player's strategy. Blackwings can also fall to Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror as it will negate many of their effects, for example Gale's effect to halve ATK and DEF. Blackwing's swarming can be stopped by Summon Limit. Also, in the OCG, there is a new anti-dark card, Consecrated Light. Royal Oppression can also negate the Synchro summoning of the Blackwings unless you are playing the popular OppressionWings.