Batteryman

The Batterymen are the first (and up until the release of the Elecs), only Thunder archetype. They consist of using swarm tactics and support cards to destroy your opponent's Spell, Trap, and Monster cards.

The older Batteryman builds (before Light of Destruction) were Batteryman OTK decks. Summon three Batteryman AA, each with 3000 ATK, and finish off your opponent with 3 direct attacks. Short Circuit is now a key card allowing you to clear the field once you obtain your three Batterymen. Other important support cards include Batteryman D's to protect your Batteryman AAs from attack, and a combo of Inferno Reckless Summon and Battery Charger (Battery Charger allowing you to special summon a Batteryman AA to activate Inferno Reckless Summon). There was also some support for Batteryman in Cybernetic Revolution and Power of the Duelist.

Playing Style
A Batteryman Deck is a deck that normally focuses around two different strategies. The first and the most common is normally revolves around swarming with the field with three Batteryman AA's for three monsters with 3,000 attack points and finishing with a Short Circuit to open your opponents field for a one turn kill. A second method is using the powerful effects of Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon to have a 3,400 beat stick or a 2,400 creature who is immune from targeting spell/trap cards. Both play styles are heavily dependent on bringing out certain Batterymen quickly, which can be accomplished with the assistants of Batteryman support cards. Batteryman Micro-Cell allows the owner to special summon a Batteryman level four or lower, Portable Battery Pack and Battery Charger can special summon Batteryman monsters from your graveyard and Quick Charger can return two level four or lower Batteryman from your graveyard to your hand. These cards ensures the user will have a constant supply of the low level Batteryman AA and Batteryman D to tribute or attack with. If all else fails, both set ups have ace back ups - Batteryman Charger can special summon one Batteryman monster to the field, powering its 1,800 attack up to 2,400 for one tribute. Batteryman Industrial Strength once special summoned can destroy one monster and one spell/trap card on your opponents field by removing from play one thunder monster from your graveyard, possibly opening your opponent for a direct 2,600 attack.

With the release of The Shining Darkness, two new cards are added to the Batteryman arsenal: "Batteryman AAA" and "Fuel Cell Batteryman". When AAA is normal summoned, it can special summon another copy of itself from your hand or graveyard. With 0 ATK, it may not seem very useful; however, it combos perfectly with the other Batteryman card, Fuel Cell, and opens up options for Level 8 Synchro Summons when used with Lightwave Tuning. Fuel Cell Batteryman has a Faultroll-like effect, special summoning itself from your hand when you control a Batteryman. It can still be summoned any other way, though, so "Battery Charger", "Batteryman Charger", and "Portable Battery Pack" are all fair game. It has only 2100 ATK at level 6, but by tributing a Batteryman monster, once per turn, it allows you to bounce one of your opponent's cards. This is particularly useful against synchro monsters and anything with more than 2100 ATK, thus giving a control element to the Batteryman archetype. Also, in The Shining Darkness is Elekirin, a thunder-type monster with 1200 ATK that can attack your opponent directly and stop them from using spell and trap cards, like mirror force, until the end of the battle phase that might disrupt your OTK.

A ruthless combo with the Batterymen, as well as a potential OTK, is to on your first turn set a Batteryman Micro-Cell. Asssuming it survives (which you can make sure by using disruptive cards like Book of Moon and Phoenix Wing Wind Blast), you will proceed to flipping it, and summoning a Batteryman AA in attack position. Afterwards, you will tribute your Batteryman Micro-Cell to summon a Batteryman Charger, which will then summon another Batteryman AA from your deck. Then you wipe your opponents field with Short Circuit (though this has become harder after Stardust Dragons rise to fame), and attack with a massive 6,700 attack ponts. With this base, there are several ways to make this an OTK, with examples like summoning Fuel Cell Batteryman, or using Foolish Burial on a random Batteryman, and summon Batteryman Industrial Strength, to kill a card and attack your opponent.

Another ruthless combo is by setting a Batteryman Micro-Cell and setting Inferno Reckless Summon and Judgement of Anubis or Magic Jammer (Magic Jammer is recommended) and set final attack orders. Have your opponent Set a monster, then activate Final Attack Orders and force him to flip it and your Micro-Cell. Then Special Summon Batteryman AA and Inferno Reckless Summon to bring out 2 more. Then on your next turn activate Short Circuit for a major beat down.

Monsters

 * Batteryman AA
 * Batteryman C (not recommended unless using it for Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon due to the fact that his effect only applies to machine and all batteryman monsters are thunder)
 * Batteryman D
 * Batteryman Micro-Cell
 * Batteryman Charger
 * Batteryman Industrial Strength
 * Batteryman AAA
 * Fuel Cell Batteryman
 * Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon
 * Honest
 * Card Trooper (Recommended to make milling and use Batteryman Industrial Strength )
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Sangan
 * Guardian of Order

Spells

 * Short Circuit
 * Battery Charger
 * Quick Charger
 * Inferno Reckless Summon
 * Double Summon
 * Makiu, the Magical Mist

Traps

 * Judgement of Thunder
 * Portable Battery Pack