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 with new support 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 graveyard are suggested such as Card Trooper or to a lesser extent Veil of Darkness. 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 Level 4-6 Blackwing out and use Forbidden Chalice to negate Vayu's effect to Synchro Summon.

Monsters

 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * The Dark Creator
 * Dark Grepher (Or to a lesser extent, Armageddon Knight)
 * Plaguespreader Zombie

Spells

 * Allure of Darkness
 * Burial from a Different Dimension
 * Foolish Burial

Traps

 * Icarus Attack
 * Return from the Different Dimension
 * Royal Oppression
 * Fake Feather
 * Ultimate Offering

Extra Deck

 * Colossal Fighter
 * Stardust Dragon
 * 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 another Sirocco from the Deck. Then use effect of new Sirocco at once. 5500+2000+1700+1300=10500. 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

 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Dark Nephthys
 * The Dark Creator

Spells

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

Traps

 * Icarus Attack
 * Phoenix Wing Wind Blast

Extra Deck

 * Ally of Justice Catastor
 * Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
 * Goyo Guardian
 * Ancient Fairy Dragon

Synchro Summoning
Several of the Blackwings, as well as 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 another Gale.
 * "Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North": Upon being Normal Summoned, can Special Summon from your Graveyard a Level 4 or lower "Blackwing" monster.
 * "Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor": Can Special Summon "Blackwing" Synchro monsters by utilizing "Blackwing" monster as materials from the Graveyard instead of the field. Keep in mind that the effects of these Synchro monsters will be negated as long as they are face-up on the field (Book of Moon is one of the cards that can remedy this problem) and this form of Summoning disallows them from being Special Summoned from the Graveyard or Remove from Play.
 * "Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame": Although not a "Blackwing" Tuner Monster, this monster can Special Summon from your Deck a "Blackwing" monster with 1500 or less ATK after it has destroyed an opponent's monster during Damage Step. Because the searched monster's effect is negated, Vayu will be able to Synchro Summon while on the field if summoned in this way (which is normally unable to).
 * "Black Whirlwind": The trump card of any Blackwing Deck. When a "Blackwing" monster is Normal Summoned, you can add a "Blackwing" monster from your Deck to your hand if its ATK is weaker than the summoned monster.
 * "Blackwing - Breeze the Gentle Wind": Being release in The Shining Darkness. Breeze will be another viable "Blackwing" monster as it can be Special Summoned by its own effect after grabbing it from the deck using Black Whirlwind. Since it's attack is 1100, it can be searched using all Blackwing staples (Sirocco, Shura, Bora, Kalut, Gale, Blizzard). It is also a good alternate to Gale as "Synchro material" since its recent limit to 1 and its necessity in emergencies. The only drawback is its inability of Synchro Summoning monsters outside of Blackwing Synchros (an effect that can be negated by Shura). Another combo to instantly summon it although on your opponent's turn is to search it via Sangan as it meets the requirements for it to be searched.

Because of their potential to create Level 6 and 7 Synchro Monsters with such ease, Blackwing Armed Wing, Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, and Goyo Guardian are among the top choices for Level 6, while Blackwing Armor Master, Dark Strike Fighter (banned from in Advance Format as of September 2009), and Black Rose Dragon are among the top choices for Level 7. "Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" is a great choice to create OTK opportunities as it can clear the opponent's backfield while tossing Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honors to the Graveyard so they can Special Summon Synchro Monsters from the Extra Deck. "Black Rose Dragon" is a good choice to clear the field, if the field becomes crowded, to evade a Trap Card(s) that could ruin your strategy, or create card advantage.

Level 8 Synchro Monsters are somewhat harder to Synchro Summon than Level 6 or 7 Synchro Monsters. The most common way to perform a Level 8 Synchro Summon is to Normal Summon "Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn" and then Special Summon "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". Among the top choices for the Synchro Summon is "Stardust Dragon", as it can offer protection from effects that destroy cards and Colossal Fighter, as it can consistently revive itself after it has fallen in battle.

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. The more popular choice is to Special Summon (not Synchro Summon) it using Vayu's effect, sacrificing Silverwind's effect and utilizing it as a beatstick. But the best way to summon this monster is to have Fane on the field, a a level 4 Blackwing in the Grave, summon Blizzard and then bring back the Blackwing in the grave for Synchro Summoning Lone Silver Wind.

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 help put Vayu in the graveyard, throw your opponent's game off, and restore a most likely depleted hand you can use Morphing Jar (not suggested against Zombie decks). 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 (albeit very punishing).

Weaknesses
Blackwings have some problems maintaining 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 powerful effects such as Gale's effect to halve ATK and DEF. Blackwing's swarming can be stopped by Summon Limit. Also, in the OCG and now in the TCG, there is a new anti-dark card, Consecrated Light. Royal Oppression can also negate the Synchro summoning of the Blackwings (however, it is unable to negate Shura's effect because it activates during Damage Step and it cannot prevent Synchro monsters that are Special Summoned using Vayu's effect since Vayu does not involve paying a cost). Most Blackwing Support cards require a Blackwing monster to be on the field (Icarus Attack being among the top choices). A well played Trap Stun or Royal Decree can shut down these traps and place the opponent at a disadvantage. Summon negation counter traps like Forced Back can prevent Blackwings from hitting the field and utilizing their Spell and Traps that require Blackwing field presence like Icarus Attack, Delta Crow - Anti Reverse, Black Whirlwind or Swallow's Nest.

Blackwings require the initial normal summon to the field to start field presence negating that summon or immediately destroying that monster with a Trap Hole or similar card will prevent swarming for that turn.