Cloudian

The Cloudians are a series of monsters introduced by Adrian Gecko in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime during season 3. They are all WATER-Attribute Fairy-Types, with the exceptions of Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon, Cloudian - Poison Cloud, and Cloudian - Ghost Fog; Eye of the Typhoon is a WIND-Attribute Aqua-Type, while Cloudian - Poison Cloud and Cloudian - Ghost Fog are Fiend-Types. They were introduced in Gladiator's Assault with further support in Light of Destruction.

Many of these monsters can't be destroyed in battle while in Attack Position, but if they are in Defense Position they are destroyed by their own effect. "Spirit Barrier" or "The Sanctuary in the Sky" protect your Life Points while you have a face-up Cloudian monster in Attack Position, especially if it's a Cloudian that cannot be destroyed in battle. Many also have low ATK scores, but this means that a majority are searchable by "Salvage" and Sangan. Cloudians have their effects activated with Fog Counters.

Play Style
Cloudians require an advanced degree of skill to use properly, because their usefulness depends on how many Fog Counters there are on the field. Most Cloudians cannot be destroyed by battle, but their low ATK leaves their controller open to taking damage unless "Spirit Barrier" or "The Sanctuary in the Sky" are used. Or, otherwise, you could just use Equip Cards to boost their ATK so that the damage is lessened. Once your support cards are in play, the opponent will find it frustratingly difficult to get past a Cloudian Deck's defenses. While the opponent is being stalled, the Cloudian user can then generate enough Fog Counters to whittle down the opponent's defenses, eventually leaving them with nothing to protect themselves from the otherwise "weak" monsters.

Strategy
Cloudians, because they are WATER Attribute Fairy-Type monsters, are very versatile with a lot of support cards, both Cloudian and non-Cloudian. A Cloudian Deck can focus on swarming the field, on destroying the opponent's cards, on inflicting Burn Damage with "Natural Disaster", on a Stall Victory, on raw Beatdown power with Cloudian - Nimbusman, or any combination of the above. Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon can also provide some field control by messing with the battle positions of opposing monsters. The seemingly weak monsters in the Deck such as Cloudian - Altus, Cloudian - Cirrostratus and Cloudian - Acid Cloud become surprisingly useful with enough Fog Counters on the field. Through cards like "Cloudian Squall" and "Fog Control," anyone facing these three puff-balls will quickly find themselves with no monsters, no back row, no hand and no options. Hence the name: "Cloud Control".

Fog Counters
These are the main power source for Cloudian monsters. They are essential for the victory of a Cloudian Deck. These counters should be placed mainly on the Cloudian-player's monsters but certain Cloudian cards can take advantage of Fog Counters anywhere on the field (e.g. Cloudian - Nimbusman, "Diamond-Dust Cyclone").

Cloudians generally gain Fog Counters when they are Normal Summoned. Cards like "Ultimate Offering" help generate huge masses of Fog Counters on several monsters in no time at all, allowing for immediate use of their appropriate effects. Since Fog Counters can only be placed on face-up monsters, "Light of Intervention" is a good card to use in a Cloudian Deck. A good way to gradually strengthen your monsters is to have "Cloudian Squall" out and stalling tools to buy turns for accumulating Fog Counters.

Cloudian Deck
Cloudians are generally WATER-Attribute and Fairy-Type, giving the user the chance to play support cards from both themes. The most basic decks rely on The Sanctuary in the Sky and/or Spirit Barrier to prevent Battle Damage, and Salvage, which allows them to return 2 fallen monsters back to their hands, essentially making a +1. Most of the Cloudians have low ATK Points, making it possible to search them out with Sangan, Mother Grizzly, or even Damage Condenser. Also, since most Cloudians are Fairy-type, a good card to add is Athena, who can use her effect to Special Summon powerful Cloudians from the Graveyard by sacrificing smaller Cloudians like Cloudian - Smoke Ball. While the Special Summoning is generally a good idea, bear in mind that most Cloudians gain their Fog Counters when they are Normal Summoned.

Cloudians are equally versatile on offense, working well with many different support cards, both Cloudian and non-Cloudian. A Cloudian Deck can focus on swarming the field, on destroying the opponent's cards, on inflicting Burn Damage with "Natural Disaster", on a Stall Victory, on raw Beatdown power with Cloudian - Nimbusman, or any combination of the above. Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon can also provide some field control, changing the battle positions of your opponent's monsters.

The Cloudian effects work when they have enough Fog Counters to pay for them. The number of Fog Counters they get depends on the number of Cloudians on the field when each Cloudian is Normal Summoned. Since they have many cards to quickly Summon Cloudians like Cloudian - Sheep Cloud and Cloudian - Turbulence, they can quickly swarm the field. The Cloudians' strength lies in their ability to destroy cards using the Fog Counters, limiting the opponent's ability to respond.

Cloudian Decks can be used in a Burn Deck by using cards like Natural Disaster or Updraft, or in a Beatdown Deck as they can dismantle the opponent's defenses. Some Cloudian players choose to use their ability to stay on the field as Tribute fodder for Monarch-hybrid Decks. The initially strongest Cloudian is Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon at 3000, but Cloudian - Nimbusman is considered one of the best Cloudians because its ATK can grow to incredible heights if there are 2 or more copies of Cloudian Squall on the field.

Recommended Cards
Though Cloudians are not destroyed by battle, damage calculation is applied normally. That can be prevented by "Spirit Barrier" or "The Sanctuary in the Sky."

Athena works well with Cloudian - Turbulence, using Smoke Balls to inflict damage and as fuel for monster revival.

Victoria can prevent Fairy-Type monsters from being targeted by attacks.

Cloudian Decks are often underestimated because, while most of the Cloudians cannot be destroyed in battle while in Attack Position, if they are in Defense Position they are destroyed by their own effects. The weakness of most Cloudian monsters is that your opponent can activate "Stumbling" and stop your whole strategy, so it is always good to put in a couple of other non-Cloudian monsters or a couple of "Mystical Space Typhoons" to stop it (easier now that it has been Semi-Limited). Also, many Cloudians are Level 4, so watch out for "Level Limit - Area B", as that will completely crush the Cloudian strategy. To prevent these effects,it may be necessary to include "Final Attack Orders". You can sometimes take advantage of these cards by using "Raging Cloudian", which will produce a Fog Counter and prevent further position changes. You can keep your Cloudians in Attack Mode with "Level Limit - Area A" alongside "A Legendary Ocean," which will also allow you to Normal Summon Cloudian - Nimbusman without Tribute.

If you feel like launching attacks, "Mage Power" will seldom add less than 1500 ATK. "Rainbow Veil" can eliminate the effects of threatening Effect Monsters. "Rocket Pilder" can weaken enemy monsters enough to make an attack from Altus fatal.

Some Cloudian Decks use The Wicked Avatar because Cloudians tend to stick around long enough to Tribute.

Sometimes, a Cloudian Deck can use Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder by taking advantage of the fact that "Cloudian Squall" is a Continuous Spell Card. Three of these and/or "Summon Cloud" would increase the chances of this monster being Summoned. This would only be necessary when your opponent is unprotected and you want major firepower, or to absorb attacks while you accumulate Fog Counters.

It wouldn't hurt to add a "Gozen Match" or "Rivalry of Warlords" in the Side Deck as nearly all the monsters are one Type and most of them are one Attribute. If you know what type of Deck your opponent uses, you could slip in one (or both) of the above cards to limit your opponent's Summoning abilities while leaving yours almost untouched.

Monster Cards

 * Archlord Kristya
 * Splendid Venus
 * Victoria
 * Zeradias, Herald of Heaven

Spell Cards

 * "A Legendary Ocean"
 * "Moray of Greed"
 * "Creature Swap"
 * "Salvage"
 * "The Sanctuary in the Sky"

Trap Cards

 * "Limit Reverse"
 * "Natural Disaster"
 * "Needle Ceiling"
 * "Rain Storm"
 * "Aegis of the Ocean Dragon Lord"
 * "Royal Oppression"
 * "Spirit Barrier"
 * "Imperial Custom" (to protect "Royal Oppression" and "Spirit Barrier")
 * "Spiritual Water Art - Aoi"
 * "Updraft"
 * "Starlight Road" and/or "My Body as a Shield"

Cloudian OTK
An OTK deck has recently shown up, involving summoning a whole bunch of Synchro Monsters and attacking for over 8000 damage, using Cloudians. The combo uses Cloudian - Turbulence, a method to add at least 3 Fog Counters to it (preferably using Cloudian - Storm Dragon or Fog Control), and having Fishborg Blaster in the Graveyard. Once you get Turbulence out, you can spam Cloudian - Smoke Balls while repeatedly reviving Fishborg Blaster to make up to 3 Formula Synchrons. The draw from Formula Synchron will replenish the card you just discarded to revive Fishborg. Once you have your Formula Synchrons on the field, you can use Turbulence, Storm Dragon, and occasionally Destiny Hero - Malicious for Synchro Summoning. It should be fairly easy to build up 8000 damage for an OTK. You can also summon Shooting Star Dragon by using 3 Formulas and Turbulence.

Monsters

 * "Archlord Kristya" (It should be pretty easy to get exactly 4 Fairies in your Graveyard)
 * "Morphing Jar"
 * "Skreech" (This gets Fishborg Blaster into the Graveyard, and can easily search components for the OTK with Salvage)
 * "Genex Undine" (Optional engine if you don't want to use Skreech)
 * "Genex Controller" (If you're using Genex Undine)

Spells

 * "Pot of Avarice"
 * "White Elephant's Gift"
 * "Salvage"
 * "One for One"
 * "Foolish Burial"
 * "Fog Control"
 * "Creature Swap" (If you want to easily run over Skreech)

Traps

 * "Royal Decree" (It's recommended that this deck should be a decree build, to assure your combo from getting interrupted by traps)