Traptrix

"Traptrix" ( Kowakuma) is an archetype of Level 4 EARTH monsters that debuted in Judgment of the Light.

Design
The ATK and DEF of each monster totals up to 2800. They have the appearance of young girls in their own artworks, but the artwork of "Traptrix Trap Hole Nightmare" suggests the girls are either vicious creatures in disguise or bait to lure prey for their pets.

The pets of the "Traptrix" girls are all creatures known for using holes to trap their prey:


 * Nepenthes' pitcher plant lures insects into a chamber with unclimbable walls filled with digestive fluids.


 * Myrmeleo's antlion simply waits at the bottom of a pit dug in sand until something falls in. This pit is cone-shaped and the floor is made of loose sand that is also unclimbable.


 * Atrax's funnel-web spider sits at the bottom of its tubular web and grabs anything that disturbs one of its tripwires with its strong and highly venomous fangs.


 * Dionaea, a venus flytrap, is the exception to this pattern. Flytraps have hair-like trigger trichomes on the inner surface of their leaf lobes that, when tripped, close the lobes in about 1/10th of a second.


 * Their Xyz Monster is named after the flower rafflesia.

"Traptrix Trap Hole Nightmare" is not a "Traptrix" card because its does not have 「」 in its Japanese name.

Playing style
The archetype is centered around using "Trap Hole" and "Hole" cards to activate various effects. Each Traptrix is immune to Trap Hole cards themselves, while also adding support by tutoring Trap Holes or each other. With these traits, a Traptrix deck will usually have good opening moves, since they can react quickly against virtually any monster your opponent may Summon.

Note that "Traptrix Atrax" also extends her anti-negation protection to other Normal Traps, so the Deck can also run "Mirror Force", "Dimensional Prison", and even make a temporary one-sided anti-Trap lock using "Trap Stun".

Further useful yet indirect support exists for the archetype through the use of their types. Insect and Plant support cards may be sufficient to satisfy the deck's hunger for competitiveness. An example to this is "Gigaplant", "Beetron" and "Lonefire Blossom". Also the fact that they are all EARTH monsters are useful since "Grandsoil the Elemental Lord", "Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders" or "Gigantes" can fit in to support them further.

Due to the small number of members within the archetype, in addition to their reliance on numerous Trap Cards, Traptrix is most suitable as an Anti-Meta strategy, by controlling the field using Traps and slowly gaining resource via either "Traptrix Myrmeleo" or "Traptrix Nepenthes", while at the same time grinding out your opponent's resources. "Traptrix Myrmeleo" can also be splashed in other decks, along with "Traptrix Trap Hole Nightmare" and other Trap Hole cards for covering the deck's weaknesses and giving a little defense boost. "Traptrix Dionaea" can special summon a Traptrix monster from your graveyard when it is normal summoned while seting a Hole normal trap card from your graveyard when it is special summoned, reusing Hole normal trap cards (although it will be banished during your next turn's end phase).

H.A.T.
The acronym stands for "Hands Artifact Traptrix". Depending on whom you inquire, it may be seen as a Meta or anti-Meta deck. The idea is to utilize "Fire Hand" and "Ice Hand"; "Artifact Scythe" and/or "Artifact Moralltach" alongside "Artifact Sanctum"; and "Traptrix Dionaea" and/or "Traptrix Myrmeleo" alongside "Bottomless Trap Hole", "Traptrix Trap Hole Nightmare", "Space-Time Trap Hole", and/or "Void Trap Hole". The Hands provide floaters and spot removal; the Artifacts provide disruption; and the Traptrix provide backrow support and the occasional Xyz Summon via Dionaea.

Weaknesses
Due to their heavy dependence on "Hole" Trap Cards, en masse Spell/Trap removal will easily bump off these Decks. Similarly "Royal Decree", "Jinzo", "Jinzo - Lord", "Forced Ceasefire", "Dark Simorgh" and similar "anti-trap" cards can severely hinder the Deck unless you control a face-up "Traptrix Atrax", who prevents the activation AND effects of your Trap Cards from being negated. Also, any Decks that running "Forbidden Lance" (or Decks that runs any "unaffected by trap" monsters such as "Troposphere") can evade their Traps easily and still destroy their monsters, making them quite a nuisance.

Since most of the "Hole" cards can only be activated upon a monster's Summon, "Traptrix"-based Decks may have difficulties against decks that designed to have a large set-up quickly (this is more apparent if you go second), such as against "Karakuri", "Dragunity" and "Six Samurai" Decks. To remedy this, mass-removal cards such as "Mirror Force" are highly recommended. You may also want to fit a few Counter Trap Cards (or even "Breakthrough Skill") to handle a monster with anti-destruction ability, such as "Stardust Dragon" (in case you cannot have "Traptrix Atrax" quickly).

Finally, "Traptrix" monsters alone have rather lousy ATK/DEF and without the proper "Hole" cards backing them up, they can easily be dispatched by well constructed Beatdown Decks and most Meta Xyz and Synchro Monsters.