Nekroz

"Nekroz" ( Nekurosu) is an archetype of WATER monsters that debuted in Booster SP: Tribe Force with further support in Secrets of Eternity.

Lore
They're a clan that perfected magical rituals to weave the power of legendary monsters into armors via a magical mirror, and clad themselves into them. This power allows them to even control the power of the "Ice Barrier Dragons".

"The Nekroz of Clausolas", "Brionac", and "Trishula" all appear to be "Schritt, Caster of the Nekroz" at some point in time and are majoritively "Ice Barrier" monsters. Also, their levels are 3, 6, and 9 respectively, all being multiples of the Level of "Shrit".

"The Necloth of Unicore" and "Valkyrus" both appear to be younger versions of "Archmage of the Necloth", and are both "Fabled" monsters. Their levels of 4 and 8 are both multiples of "Sorcerer's" Level 4.

"The Necloth of Catastor" and "Decisive Arms" both depict "Exa, Warrior of the Necloth" wearing them as armor, and were both originally "Ally of Justice" cards. Their levels are 5 and 10; both multiples of "Exa's" Level 5.

The fact that each Effect Monster version can add their Ritual Monster verison to their hand after being used as a tribute furthers their connections.

The only exception to the Level rule is "The Necloth of Gungnir", being a prime number of 7, and appears to depict "Gishki Emilia" wearing the armor.

Appearance
The archetype is based on Ritual Summoning humanoids that are wearing armor modeled after deceased monsters. The "Nekroz" monsters are based on monsters from Duel Terminal archetypes, such as "Ice Barrier", "Gishki", "Mist Valley", "Ally of Justice", and "Fabled", and have similar effects; also, the Ritual Monsters are counterparts of existing Synchro monsters from the aforementioned archetypes whose Levels range from 3 to 10.

Etymology
"Nekroz" is a portmanteau of "necro" and "cloth/cross" ("Kurosu" can be translated to both words, both which fit the archetype's theme).

Playing style
"Nekroz" is an archetype that relies on Ritual Summoning. Its Ritual Monsters are counterparts of existing Synchro Monsters and feature similar effects. The Effect Monsters serve as conventional ritual support, either fulfilling tribute requirements or fetching key cards to maintain consistency.

Primarily, the "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters bear high ATK or DEF and a strong effect similar to that of their Synchro counterparts. The effects of those ones with Level from 3 to 6 are used to suppress monsters Summoned from the Extra Deck, while the effects of those ones whose Levels range from 7 to 10 give to the player more card advantage, either by destroying and/or banishing other cards or letting the player draw cards. In addition, all of them feature a second ability that can be activated by discarding them; these effects range from protecting and empowering your "Necloth" monsters to reviving them and searching for Spell/Trap Cards. This remarkable property alleviates the recurring problem with Ritual monsters becoming dead draws when the player does not have means of Ritual Summoning them. Also, the monsters (with the exception of "Unicore" and "Clausolas") have restrictions on the materials that can be used for their Ritual Summons.

Their Ritual Spell Cards also have additional effects that help to achieve the requirements of Ritual Summoning: "Nekroz Exomirror" can banish fallen "Necloth" monsters as part of the Tributes needed for the Ritual Summon, while "Nekroz Kaleidomirror" can send, from the Extra Deck, a monster whose Level is the same as the intended Ritual Monster; this versatility helps to maintain card advantage by keeping the monsters on your Field and/or hand intact. Each of them also have a second effect that lets you banish it and a "Nekroz" monster from your Graveyard in order to search for a "Nekroz" Spell Card.

There are also other cards that can give more consistency to the Deck, such as:


 * "Djinn of Rituals" monsters: if tributed for a Ritual Summon, they give that Ritual monster additional effects, such as immunity against Trap Cards or effects that target it.


 * "Necroface": in a mid-game, if you used the second effect of the "Nekroz" Ritual Spell Cards several times, there will probably be many banished cards; use this monster to retrieve them while it also can be used as a tribute fodder for a Ritual Summon.


 * "Gishki Chain": its effect lets you fetch a Ritual Monster/Spell Card from your deck to your hand upon its Normal Summon, provided it is among the first 3 cards revealed.
 * "Gishki Vision"/"Shadow": can be used as the entire tribute for a Ritual Summon of a WATER monster.


 * "Pot of Dichotomy": you can use it to simply fill your Deck with "Nekroz" monsters and draw 2 cards, but also can be used sagaciously to send Synchro/Fusion monsters back to the Extra Deck tributed by the effect of "Nekroz Kaleidomirror", while giving you 2 free cards.

Weaknesses

 * Despite its versatility, all "Nekroz" Ritual Monsters are primarily vulnerable to effects that shut down on-hand effects, such as "Mind Drain", "Debunk", etc. "Imperial Iron Wall" can lock your Graveyard from the effect of the Ritual Spell Cards and the effects of "The Necloth of Valkyrus", "Trishula" and "Decisive Armor". The variety of Types also makes them vulnerable to floodgate cards like "Rivalry of Warlords". Because all "Nekroz" Monsters are WATER, the archetype is vulnerable to effects that specifically target single Attributes, such as that of "Vylon Disigma".