Railway

Railway is a series of cards introduced in Galactic Overlord. They are a series of train-themed EARTH Machine monsters, variably Levels 3, 4 or 10. They are prominently used by Anna Kaboom in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL and Allen Kozuki in Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V.

Design
Each card of this series is based on trains or railway infrastructure.

Playing style
The Deck supports the rapid Summoning of Level 10 monsters to Summon Xyz Monsters, particularly "Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max" and "Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora". To this end, the Level 10 members of the series have effects that let them be Special Summoned or Summoned without tribute, at the cost of some drawback, such as lowered stats or high costs to play them. The Level 4 members have high ATK, but again may have some sort of drawback. Several cards in the series are able to inflict large amounts of burn damage.

The series heavily relies on "Ruffian Railcar" and "Revolving Switchyard" to maintain hand and field advantage, and in tandem with "Night Express Knight", the player can create a loop - Summon "Night Express Knight", use the effect of "Revolving Switchyard" to Summon "Ruffian Railcar", overlay them for an Xyz Summon, and detach "Ruffian Railcar" for that monster's effect. This will trigger the effect of "Ruffian Railcar" at the End Phase, letting the player search out another "Night Express Knight" from their Deck to repeat the combo next turn, presuming "Revolving Switchyard" remains in play.

"Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max" should be the player's focus on Summoning, as it can instantly deal 2000 damage with its Burn effect and then attack to inflict even more damage. However, "Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora" has a self-protecting effect that offers consistency and safety over initial impact, so which is preferred can change depending on circumstances. "Superdimensional Robot Galaxy Destroyer" is an excellent third option, as the Deck will not have much difficulty getting three Level 10 monsters in play, and "Superdimensional Robot Galaxy Destroyer" has 5000 ATK and an effect to destroy the opponent's Spell and Trap cards, protecting the player from Traps that might disrupt their strategy.

As the series consists mostly of EARTH Machine-Type cards, further support cards for that Type and Attribute fits into the Deck perfectly. "Malefic Cyber End Dragon" is a good choice, providing a powerful attacker while being a Level 10 Machine, and the Deck's reliance on "Revolving Switchyard" means the player should often have a Field Spell Card in play. "Metal Reflect Slime" can support Xyz Summons or provide defense in a pinch. "Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord" is easily Special Summoned for an Xyz Summon and recycles the Graveyard, useful for the Deck's cards that search from the Deck. "Mecha Phantom Beast" monsters are an option, as their effects to raise their Levels allow the Summoning of Rank 10 Xyz Monsters.

If the player wishes to use Synchro Monsters, "Grow-Up Bulb" and "Effect Veiler" can Summon "Star Eater" with the Deck's Level 10 monsters, or an assortment of Level 5 Synchro Monsters via the Deck's Level 4 monsters.

Weaknesses
While the Deck can hit fast and hard to hit the field with strong monsters, consistency is a major problem. If the player's combo is interrupted their strategy can be ruined and the player left vulnerable, as many of the Deck's key monsters are not good for attacking on their own. Cards that can disrupt Special Summons, particularly the Summoning of Xyz Monsters, or return monsters to the hand, are all very effective at disrupting the Deck. Dead hands of high-Level cards that do not work with each other without further support is also a problem. Cards to maintain hand and field advantage are very important to counteract these failings, such as "Fiendish Chain" to stop troublesome monster effects and "Dark Bribe" to stop Spells and Traps. Note though that a reliance on Trap Cards in such a manner is counter-productive if the Deck is using "Snow Plow Hustle Rustle".