Burning Abyss

"Burning Abyss" is one of two TCG exclusive archetypes that debuted in Duelist Alliance, the other being the "U.A." archetype.

Design
The archetype is based on Inferno, the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. The current Main Deck monsters are named after members of the Malebranche who guard the Malebolge – the fifth Bolgia of the Eighth Circle of Hell. They are known for their ruthless cruelty, and are responsible for the punishment of corrupt politicians by holding them under a boiling lake of pitch.

Playing Style
So far, all Main Deck "Burning Abyss" monsters are Level 3 DARK Fiend-Types, and share three effects: they are destroyed if the player controls a monster other than a "Burning Abyss" monster, can be Special Summoned from the hand if the player controls no Spell/Trap Cards and a third effect which is triggered if it is sent to the Graveyard which can be triggered via mill effects.

Use "Tour Guide From the Underworld" to search out any "Burning Abyss" monster or use "Crane Crane" to Summon them from the Graveyard. Their effects will be negated so they won't be destroyed from their condition effect. This ensures that you can overlay into Rank 3.

The archetype's swarming abilities make it a potent Rank 3 Xyz Deck. They can perform Rank 3 Xyz Summons quickly while maintaining the player's hand advantage.

Similar to "Lightsworns", this Deck type is all about getting monsters in the Graveyard for its effects, but its milling is far more controllable that with "Lightsworns". This actually makes it potent with "Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force" as you would mill it easily. With the constant hand advantage, loosing a draw doesn't hurt and it gives you access to toolbox cards.

Weaknesses
As the Deck's core is DARK monsters, they are susceptible to "Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror". In addition, because their abilities activate in the Graveyard, cards like "Soul Drain" and "Debunk" are potential threats. Finally, because they destroy themselves if a non-"Burning Abyss" monster is on your side of the field, your opponent might disrupt you with cards such as "Ojama Trio" (or other card effects that place Tokens on your field), "Santa Claws" (or other monsters they can Special Summon to your side of the field), and "Creature Swap" (or other card effects that swap their monsters to your side of the field).