Sacred Beast

The Sacred Beasts, known in Japan as the Three Phantom Demons are three powerful monsters released in the Shadow of Infinity booster set, then in the Dark Revelation Volume 4 booster set and finally released in the Collector Tin Series Promos:
 * Uria, Lord of Searing Flames
 * Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder
 * Raviel, Lord of Phantasms

The plot in the second half the first season of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX was based on preventing their revival.

While the Egyptian God cards have a fusion form named The Creator God of Light, Horakhty that appeared in the anime and manga, the Sacred Beasts have a combined form "Armityle the Chaos Phantom", a fusion of the three, which has been referred to as "The Ultimate Sacred Beast".

In gameplay, the Sacred Beasts have similarities with the Egyptian God cards. For example, in order to Summon one, the player must send three cards of a certain type to the Graveyard depending upon which monster the player plans to Summon. Nevertheless, they don't have the immunity to Spell, Trap, and Monster Effects that make the Egyptian Gods superior.

Design
The designs of the Sacred Beasts, "Uria", "Hamon" and "Raviel" were overseen by Kenichi Hara. Each of them resembles one of the three Egyptian God Cards; "Uria, Lord of Searing Flames" finds a counterpart in "Slifer the Sky Dragon", "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder" in "The Winged Dragon of Ra", and "Raviel, Lord of Phantasms" in "Obelisk the Tormentor". Unlike the God Cards, however, they possess certain visual cues that make them distinct from their predecessors, including translucent wings and more pronounced claws and skeletal features.

The three Sacred Beasts are named after characters in Judeo-Christianity. Uria's name is an alternate spelling of the name of Uriah, a man who was murdered by King David because David had an affair with Uriah's wife. Uria may also be a reference to the archangel, Urial. Hamon's name originates from the Book of Esther (Hamon is considered an alternate spelling of Haman, a villain who tried to depose the King of Persia and kill all the Jews in Persia. Also the word Hamon means blade pattern, referring to the wave like patterns found on Japan's iconic weapon). Finally, Raviel's name is an alternate spelling of the name of Raziel. Armityle, the fusion of all three Sacred Beasts, is named after Amitiel, an angel of truth in Judeo-Christianity, who some consider to be an archangel.

Anime history
In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, the Sacred Beasts are legendary creatures whose cards were sealed by Kagemaru underneath Duel Academy behind the Spirit Gates, which requires seven Spirit Keys to open, as he could not unlock their power at the time. Should they ever be set free from their stronghold, chaos and darkness will envelop the world, destroying everything.

The Shadow Riders sought to acquire the Spirit Keys and revive the Sacred Beasts. In order to open the gate, a strong dueling presence is required; if the keys are stolen and placed in the gate, (as attempted by Don Zaloog) for example, nothing will occur. To meet the challenge of the Shadow Riders, seven of Duel Academy's finest duelists were selected, these duelists were Jaden Yuki, Zane Truesdale, Chazz Princeton, Alexis Rhodes, Bastion Misawa, Lyman Banner (the only Shadow Rider to get his key by default, due to the fact his true identity was unknown at the time) and Vellian Crowler, and although the Shadow Riders were defeated, Kagemaru managed to awaken the Sacred Beasts because of the dueling energy released from the duels. In exchange for freeing them from imprisonment, the Sacred Beasts slowly returned Kagemaru to a youthful state, empowering him with the energy sapped from Duel Monster spirits, but Jaden Yuki's interference resulted in the man's downfall. They were thus locked away once more.

After Duel Academy is transported to an alternate dimension in the third season, a Yubel-possessed Marcel Bonaparte retrieves the Sacred Beasts and builds a Deck around them, which boosts the Summoning speed of the Sacred Beasts and also supports the Summoning of their combined form, "Armityle the Chaos Phantom".

When Jesse Anderson was possessed by Yubel he reappears after having been missing for episode 131 to 147, he uses them in a Deck based around quickly Summoning the Beasts and "Armityle". Although Yubel didn't use them in her final Duel with Jaden, "Raviel" was shown to be in her Deck. What happened to them after Yubel merged with Jaden is currently unknown, although it is likely that Jaden returned them to their resting place.

Playing Style
This Deck may include "Crystal Beasts" as a source of Continuous Spells for "Hamon", while "DNA Surgery" can provide both "Uria" and "Raviel" Summoning support. If low-level Normal Monsters are used in place of the "Crystal Beasts", "Human-Wave Tactics" and Continuous stalling cards are helpful to aid the Summoning of the three Sacred Beasts.

Hamon-based Deck
A Hamon Deck is based around Summoning "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder" using Continuous Spell Cards. This type of Deck is best used with "Crystal Beasts", as, when they're destroyed, they're able to go to the Spell & Trap Card Zone, and are treated as Continuous Spell Cards. It can also be used with stalling Continuous Spell Cards like "Messenger of Peace", "Level Limit - Area B" and "Stumbling".

Monsters

 * Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth
 * Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat
 * Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle
 * Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise
 * Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle
 * Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus
 * Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger
 * Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings
 * Dweller in the Depths
 * Gravi-Crush Dragon
 * Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder
 * Magna-Slash Dragon
 * Nubian Guard
 * Rainbow Dragon

Spells

 * Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins
 * Archfiend's Oath
 * Burden of the Mighty
 * Convulsion of Nature
 * Crystal Abundance
 * Crystal Beacon
 * Crystal Blessing
 * Crystal Promise
 * Crystal Tree
 * Deck Lockdown
 * Kaiser Colosseum
 * Level Limit - Area B
 * Makiu, the Magical Mist
 * Mage Power
 * Magical Stone Excavation
 * Messenger of Peace
 * Rare Value
 * Summoning Curse
 * Stumbling

Traps

 * Crystal Counter
 * Crystal Raigeki
 * Gem Flash Energy
 * Judgment of Thunder
 * Last Resort
 * Magic Cylinder
 * Rainbow Gravity
 * Rainbow Path
 * Royal Decree

Uria-based Deck
A Uria Deck focuses on Summoning "Uria, Lord of Searing Flames". This Deck utilizes many Continuous Trap Cards like "Gravity Bind", "Embodiment of Apophis", "Curse of Darkness" and "Solemn Wishes". If you plan on using a hybrid Uria/Fire Deck, "Backfire" can be used to burn your opponent until you Summon Uria.

To power up "Uria, Lord of Searing Flames", cards like "Morphing Jar", "Card Destruction", "Reasoning"/"Monster Gate", "Emergency Provisions"/"Gryphon's Feather Duster" and "Heavy Storm" can destroy or discard Continuous Trap Cards.

This Deck is useful with Anti-Spell Fragrance due the effect of "Uria" that can destroy set spell/trap card once per turn. "Anti-Spell Fragrance" will force the opponent to Set spell cards

The drawback to this Deck is that it relies heavily on Traps, so "Jinzo" or "Royal Decree" will completely cripple it. However note that "Royal Decree", unlike "Jinzo", does not negate the activation of your continuous traps, so they will stay on the field, thus allowing you to still Summon "Uria". Should "Heavy Storm" be used, "Mask of Darkness" can help return any lost Traps.

Monsters

 * A Cat of Ill Omen
 * Ancient Gear Beast
 * Ancient Gear Golem
 * Morphing Jar
 * Mask of Darkness
 * Phantom of Chaos
 * Pyramid Turtle
 * Snipe Hunter
 * Spirit Reaper
 * Uria, Lord of Searing Flames

Spells

 * Emergency Provisions/Gryphon's Feather Duster
 * Magic Planter
 * Monster Gate
 * Reasoning
 * Twister

Traps

 * Anti-Spell Fragrance
 * Embodiment of Apophis
 * Grave of the Super Ancient Organism
 * Imperial Custom
 * Metal Reflect Slime
 * Mirror Wall
 * Royal Oppression
 * Skill Drain
 * Tiki Curse
 * Tiki Soul
 * Ultimate Offering
 * Wall of Revealing Light
 * Zoma the Spirit

Raviel-based Deck
A Raviel Deck focuses on Summoning "Raviel, Lord of Phantasms". Due to the effect of "Raviel" and its Summoning cost, the Deck has many Fiend-Type monsters. It can also afford monsters like "Giant Orc" to give Raviel a huge ATK boost once Summoned.

Raviel also does very well in a Dark World Deck, considering the Dark World cards can be Special Summoned easily.

A good combo is to get "Raviel", "Dark Ruler Ha Des" and "Doom Shaman" on the field at one time. "Doom Shaman" can Special Summon powerful monsters from your hand to be Tributed to boost the ATK of "Raviel" and "Dark Ruler Ha Des" negates the effects of cards destroyed by Fiends.

Monsters

 * Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World
 * Caius the Shadow Monarch
 * Dark Ruler Ha Des
 * Doom Shaman
 * Doomcaliber Knight
 * Emperor Sem
 * Giant Germ
 * Giant Orc
 * Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World
 * Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
 * Grave Squirmer
 * Grinder Golem
 * Kuriboh
 * Metabo Globster
 * Morphing Jar
 * Phantom Skyblaster
 * Puppet Master
 * Raviel, Lord of Phantasms
 * Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World
 * Sangan
 * Sillva, Warlord of Dark World
 * Skyblaster Token
 * Slate Warrior
 * Tragoedia
 * Wall of Illusion

Spells

 * Dark World Dealings
 * Dark World Lightning
 * Detonate
 * Fires of Doomsday
 * Gateway to Dark World
 * Multiply

Traps

 * Dark Deal
 * Light of Intervention
 * Ojama Trio
 * The Forces of Darkness

Armityle-based Deck
This Deck type is a hybrid of the three previous cards and is focused on Summoning the three Sacred Beasts and their fusion, "Armityle the Chaos Phantom". This Deck also uses cards that allow the 3 Sacred Beasts to function effectively.

If you have trouble drawing what you need, cards like "Marshmallon", "Spirit Reaper" and "Chaos Burst" stall your opponent. Another strategy is to use cards like "Mad Reloader", "Hand Destruction" and "Foolish Burial" to send the Sacred Beasts from your hand or Deck to the Graveyard, allowing you to use the effect of "Phantom of Chaos" to remove the Sacred Beasts from play and Summon "Armityle". "Elemental Hero Prisma" is also useful in this respect: he is able to discard a Sacred Beast and be treated as that monster.

Monsters

 * Armityle the Chaos Phantom
 * Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat
 * Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle
 * Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise
 * Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle
 * Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus
 * Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger
 * Elemental HERO Prisma
 * Giant Germ
 * Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
 * Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder
 * Kuriboh
 * Mad Reloader
 * Morphing Jar
 * Phantom of Chaos
 * Phantom Skyblaster
 * Puppet Master
 * Raviel, Lord of Phantasms
 * Sangan
 * Snipe Hunter
 * Uria, Lord of Searing Flames

Spells

 * Archfiend's Oath
 * Burden of the Mighty
 * Convulsion of Nature
 * Crystal Blessing
 * Fires of Doomsday
 * Foolish Burial
 * Hand Destruction
 * Messenger of Peace
 * Multiply
 * Recycle
 * Phantasmal Martyrs

Traps

 * Call of the Haunted
 * DNA Surgery
 * Fairy Box
 * Imperial Custom
 * Labyrinth of Nightmare
 * Limit Reverse
 * Metal Reflect Slime
 * Nightmare Wheel
 * Ordeal of a Traveler
 * Spirit Barrier
 * Zoma the Spirit

Other possible cards

 * Dark Necrofear
 * Darkness Neosphere
 * Prohibition