Salamangreat

"Salamangreat", known as "Salamangrate" ( Saramangureito) in Japanese, is an archetype of FIRE Cyberse monsters used by Takeru Homura in the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime.

Appearance
The "Salamangreat" monsters are based on fiery themed animals. And while the Main Deck members appear to be based on small and average-sized animals, the Extra Deck members are based on the largest and most majestic of the animal kingdom. Much like Yusaku's animal-based Cyberse monsters, "Salamangreats" are armored with a cyberspace design. They also have a hot-red tint spread over their bodies and are constantly emitting flames.

Etymology
Salamangreat is a portmanteau of the words "Salamandra" and "Great". Their kanji (転生炎獣) translates as "Reincarnated Flame Beast", which is linked to the archetypes's style and philosophy. The Japanese name, "Salamangrate", is a portmanteau of "Salamandra" and "Transmigrate," with the same meaning as its name in kanji. The members of this archetype are named after various, likely symbolic, fiery animals.

Playing style
The "Salmangreat" monsters have various effects related to battle and GY recursion. A common theme among many of their monsters is they work best when with another monster of the same name. The most simple and powerful example is "Salamangreat Gazelle" who sends any "Salamangreat" card from the Deck to the GY, and can also Special Summon itself from the hand if a "Salamangreat" monster is sent to the GY. Many of the archetype's effects also involve shuffling cards from the GY into the Deck and discarding cards, so manipulation of the GY successfully gives the Deck a lot of potential.

A key part of the Deck's combos is "Salamangreat Sanctuary", which allows the player to use a "Salamangreat" with the same name as a monster being Link Summoned as the entire material. As with the lesser monsters, the boss monsters get stronger when Summoned using a monster with the same name, making "Sanctuary" the quickest and easiest way to open up the full potential of the Deck's Link monsters. It can be searched by "Salamangreat Balelynx" to increase consistency.

The main win condition of many builds is to set up a "Salamangreat Violet Chimera" Summoned using another copy of itself, which basically guarantees an OTK if all its effects resolve. The other Extra Deck monsters are dedicated to supporting this strategy, or for supporting the Deck's recursion/battle effects. The Deck's Ritual Monster "Salamangreat Emerald Eagle" provides a finisher/alternate attacker that can clear all the opponent's Special Summoned monsters if Ritual Summoned using an "Emerald Eagle" the player controls, and can sacrifice unneeded Link Monsters to get over tough monsters while inflicting heavy Burn damage.

As any modern Deck must, the Spell/Trap lineup of the Deck also has a heavy control element. "Salamangreat Roar" is a powerful Counter Trap Card that can negate any monster effect or Spell/Trap card while you control a "Salamangreat" Link Monster, that can Set itself from the GY when a "Salamangreat" is self-Link Summoned at the cost of banishing itself when it leaves the field. It can also be recovered by "Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf", who can also play a key role in grabbing "Fusion of Fire" or other key Spell/Trap cards. Many of these get stronger when a self-Summoned Salamangreat Link Monster is present, so maintaining and protecting a powerful monster like "Salamangreat Heatleo" can reap many rewards, even over a relatively short Duel.

Finally, a key step in setting up these plays is "Salamangreat Miragestallio", a generic Rank 3 that can Summon any "Salamangreat" from the Deck and bounce opposing cards on being used as Link Material. As such the Deck works well with generic Rank 3 engines such as "Speedroids" and "Predaplants".

Weaknesses

 * The Deck's reliance on "Sanctuary" makes it a prime target for cards like "Mystical Space Typhoon", "Twin Twisters" and "Cosmic Cyclone".
 * Since many of their most powerful effects rely on having a self-Summoned Link Monster, to stop them simply remove the first copy of any Link Monster they have with cards like "Sky Striker Mecha - Widow Anchor", "Thunder Dragon Titan", or any other Quick removal effect. Beware "Salamangreat Balelynx" though.
 * To stop being OTKed by "Salamangreat Violet Chimera", again simply remove their first copy of it or hit their second copy with any removal effect, since it has no in-built protection.
 * Counter "Salamangreat Heatleo" with any chainable Spell/Trap cards or monster effects.
 * Most devastating to this Deck is having their GY cut off by cards like "Macro Cosmos" or "Masked HERO Dark Law", rendering many of their powerful recursion/indirect search cards useless, and their self-Summon requirement a serious liability.