Crystal Beast

"Crystal Beast", known as "Gem Beast" or "Jewel Beast" ( Hōgyokujū) in Japan, is an archetype of Monster Cards that all share the effect of becoming Continuous Spell Cards upon their destruction. Although weak in terms of actual strength, their aforementioned effects allow them to have great staying power. In addition, they are supplemented by many support cards which utilizes them in their Continuous Spell Card form. One of their support cards, "Rainbow Dragon" serves as the archetype's trump card. It can be Summoned quite easily as it can be only be played when there are the seven different "Crystal Beasts" on the field and/or in the Graveyard The card can also be Summoned with the effect of "Rainbow Gravity". This archetype also contains one of the most powerful OTK setups with "Crystal Abundance", making them sturdy even against overpowering opponents.

The "Crystal Beasts" made their first appearance in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime, used by Jesse Anderson. In the English dub, each one of the "Crystal Beasts" monsters, except "Ruby Carbuncle", imitates the voice of a real life movie celebrity. Upgraded forms, the "Advanced Crystal Beasts" would later be used.

Play style
"Crystal Beast" Decks tend to have a wide variety of searching options for putting "Crystal Beasts" cards on the field, either Summoned as monsters or placed in the Spell & Trap Card Zone, and they have a couple of extra drawing options to speed up the use of the Deck. Because of these effects working together, "Crystal Beasts" users can wind up many cards ahead of their opponent, and the various searching options facilitate the Summoning of "Rainbow Dragon" far quicker than would otherwise be possible. The archetype also supports come-from-behind wins quite easily due to the double whammy of "Crystal Abundance", which wipes out everything on the field and then swarms the field with monsters from the Graveyard, and the Field Spell Card of the set, "Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins", gains a new effect for every Continuous Spell Card "Crystal Beasts" you control. The archetype is also somewhat resistant to opponents who use Spell and Trap destruction effects, as a couple of cards can quickly put the "Crystal Beasts" in Spell form back onto the back row from the Graveyard, and the Field Spell Card resists being destroyed itself.

If a "Crystal Beasts" monster is destroyed while a card like "Macro Cosmos", "Banisher of the Radiance", "Banisher of the Light", or "Dimensional Fissure" is face up on the field, the player controlling the "Crystal Beasts" is given the usual choice. In this situation, the "Crystal Beasts" can either become a Continuous Spell card or be removed from play. The effect of the "Crystal Beasts" monster still works.

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
 * Rainbow Dragon
 * Anteatereatingant
 * Desert Protector
 * Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude
 * Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings
 * Dweller in the Depths
 * Gravi-Crush Dragon
 * Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder
 * Kuraz the Light Monarch
 * Magical Merchant
 * Magna-Slash Dragon
 * Malefic Rainbow Dragon
 * Mei-Kou, Master of Barriers
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Seismic Crasher
 * Snipe Hunter
 * Summoner Monk
 * Super-Nimble Mega Hamster
 * Tragoedia

Spells

 * Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins
 * Forbidden Lance
 * Unicorn Beacon
 * Mage Power
 * Terraforming
 * Emergency Provisions
 * Rare Value
 * Crystal Release
 * Burden of the Mighty
 * Pot of Duality
 * Crystal Promise
 * Hand Destruction
 * Crystal Blessing

Traps

 * Rainbow Gravity
 * Rainbow Path
 * Last Resort
 * Triggered Summon
 * Full House
 * Magical Hats

Hamon Beatdown
One of the most aggressive crystal beast decks. Generally this Deck does not contain a "Rainbow Dragon" simply due to the fact that the games do not tend to last long enough for him to hit the field. This Deck uses "Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus", and "Crystal Tree" to fill the back row with Crystal Beasts, then tributing them for "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder". Once you figure out the way you wish to build this Deck, you can OTK regularly. With the release of Absolute Powerforce, you can use "Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings" to add more swarm capabilities to the Deck along with "Hand Destruction" if you cannot pull off the Abundance OTK. In addition to "Crystal Blessing", another good recommendation is "Crystal Counter" for those situations when you draw too many "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder" while not having enough Crystal Beasts in your back row to summon them. Also, you can add "Emergency Provisions" to tribute extra Crystal Beasts for life points. If you don't have Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder or Gold Sarcophagus in your hand to search for him, you can use the effect of "Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter" to destroy a troublesome card and thin the Deck. "Crystal Blessing" can recover any Crystal Beasts lost by this method and improve card presence. Also use "Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle" effect to recycle "Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus" back to the top of the Deck to easily summon "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder".

Monsters

 * Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus
 * Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder
 * Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings
 * Anteatereatingant (optional)
 * Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle

Spells

 * Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins
 * Crystal Tree
 * Emergency Provisions
 * Crystal Blessing
 * Dimensional Fissure (Used for anti-meta purposes, and can be tributed for Hamon)

Traps

 * Crystal Counter
 * Last Resort
 * Crystal Raigeki

Crystal Abundance OTK
The OTK is more competitive friendly. It utilizes the effect of "Crystal Abundance" to work, so a few copies of the card is essential to have in the Deck, as well as a way to search it out ("Different Dimension Capsule" or "Gold Sarcophagus" work nicely). There must be four Crystal Beasts in the Spell & Trap Zone, plus an open slot to activate "Crystal Abundance". Wait until you have five Crystal Beasts on the field or in your Graveyard with ATK of 1600 or more to activate the card. Upon activating "Crystal Abundance", if your opponent had at least five cards on his/her field, all five of your monsters can be Special Summoned. "Crystal Abundance" leaves your opponent open to a direct attack. Another way to achieve this outcome is by the use of the Destiny Heroes. With the combination of the various normal spells and "Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude", it can make a speedy Deck. A great way to speed up the process for "Crystal Abundance" is to play "Crystal Tree" because you just need to play it and ensure that two "Crystal Beast" are destroyed and become "Crystals" and then use "Crystal Tree" to finish the other required half for "Crystal Abundance.

The three Crystal Beasts you will most likely use in this build would be "Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus", "Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth", and "Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger" since they are the strongest and will make for an easy win. Another way to make the effect of "Crystal Abundance" work quickly is with "Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle" and "Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus" together. It's possible to combine this with Synchros for example a "Stardust Dragon", to eliminate threats to activating "Crystal Abundance". However, there is no concern when "Stardust Dragon" is used against you because "Crystal Abundance" 'sends' cards to the Graveyard where the effect of "Stardust Dragon" stops cards that 'destroy'.

Monsters

 * Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus
 * Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger
 * Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle
 * Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (Optional)

Spells

 * Crystal Abundance
 * Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins
 * Crystal Tree
 * Lightning Vortex
 * Smashing Ground
 * Emergency Provisions

Beast Type OTK
With this type of Crystal Beast Deck you'll need the usual, except for "Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle" or "Crystal Beast Emerald Turtle" who are not Beast-Type like the other Crystal Beasts (aside from  "Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle"). The main combo is to swarm the field with "Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus" and Special Summon "Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle" to get your field filled with Beasts. With your field filled with Crystal Beasts you can then use the key card "The Big March of Animals" to give your Beasts a 200 ATK boost for each Beast on your side of the field. This will give the power to OTK your opponent and win the duel in no time. And if you don't win in one attack, you can add "Beast Soul Swap" for sure that you can use your Beast type attack again, also you can add "Behemoth the King of All Animals" and Normal Summon it with it's effect then when you want to you use "Beast Soul Swap" you can take "Behemoth the King of All Animals" back to your hand and Special Summon it again so that turn you can inflict at least 5400 damage.

Recommended Cards
(Important cards only)

Monster

 * Behemoth the King of All Animals

Spell

 * The Big March of Animals

Trap

 * Beast Soul Swap

Synchro-Crystal Beasts
Basically, there are 3 types of Crystal Beasts Synchro. The first is the one that uses Psychic tuners like "Krebons" and "Psychic Commander", and "Emergency Teleport" to speed it up (the 'universal engine'). Then with the release of "X-Saber Airbellum" in the Starter Deck 2009, you can add a mini Synchro Cat engine to it, by adding "Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat". Because "Emergency Teleport" is semi-limited. Another option is "Jutte Fighter" or "Torapart" with "Reinforce Truth" which can help you to get out Synchro monsters faster.

You can also use "Flamvell Firedog" to easily search for "Flamvell Magician". You can also use "Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings" with "Krebons" to Synchro for a Level 8 Synchro Monster, and if you have any Crystal Beast in your Spell & Trap Card Zone, you can bring back "Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings" on the next turn. You can mainly abuse the powers of rescue cat in Synchro summoning for this Deck. Mainly use Level 2 and 3 Tuner monsters and Level 5-7 Synchro monsters.

The introduction of "Key Mouse" in "The Shining Darkness" expansion adds another Beast-Type Tuner monster along side "X-Saber Airbellum" and can allow for the Synchro Summon of lower Level Synchro monsters such as "Armory Arm" and "Ally of Justice Catastor". Searching for "Key Mouse" with "Rescue Cat" also makes it easier to find, and the effect Key Mouse can find either "X-Saber Airbellum" or "Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat". The Duelist Revolution pack introduces "Lock Cat", allowing for easy summoning of 4 star Synchro monsters in conjunction with "Key Mouse".

Monsters

 * Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus
 * Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger
 * Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth
 * Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat
 * Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle
 * Krebons
 * Psychic Commander
 * X-Saber Airbellum
 * Summoner Monk
 * Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise
 * Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle
 * Rainbow Dragon

Spells

 * Emergency Teleport
 * Synchro Blast Wave
 * Rare Value

Traps

 * Starlight Road

Extra Deck

 * Stardust Dragon
 * Red Dragon Archfiend
 * Ally of Justice Catastor
 * Armory Arm
 * Naturia Leodrake

Synchro-Crystal Beasts featuring Equip Spells
A well timed "Power Tool Dragon" can be a crucial Synchro target for Crystal Beast Decks utilizing "Mage Power" and possibly "United We Stand". With most Crystal Beast Decks already utilizing "Crystal Release" it is very hard not to have 3 Equip Spells to use with "Power Tool Dragon". A full Spell/Trap card zone and "Power Tool Dragon" with just one "Mage Power" will equal a whopping 5300 ATK. However, for this style of Deck, "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder" is not a good card because its Special Summon cost will be very counter-productive towards using "Mage Power" effectively. "Flamvell Uruquizas" can also be very effective with multiple "Mage Powers" and "United We Stands" for a quick victory.

Synchro-Crystal Beasts featuring Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
If you have an active "Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins" with 4 or more Crystal Beast Spells you can draw 1 card per turn, however, that 'once per turn' will no longer apply if "Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins" is removed from the field. Discard 1 card to activate the effect of "Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" then activate "Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins" and activate it's fourth ability to draw another card. Repeat this as many times as you like. This loop is useful with "Exodia the Forbidden One". For maximum results just send all powerful monsters to the Graveyard, save a "Crystal Abundance" (assuming you have four Crystal Beasts as Continuous Spells). Also until you have a "Mage Power". Use "Crystal Abundance" then Special Summon your Beasts (works well if opponent has a minimum of 4 cards), mainly "Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus" for an automatic three Crystal Beast Spells and a 2000 ATK boost to a monster. Attack and enjoy your victory.

Crystal Lock
This deck uses "Gravi-Crush Dragon", "Magna-Slash Dragon", and "Patrician of Darkness" to form a small lockdown. Can be combined with "Rainbow Dragon" and Synchro Crystal Beasts.

Recommended General Cards

 * Rainbow Neos

Monsters

 * Rainbow Dragon
 * Elemental Hero Neos
 * Gravi-Crush Dragon
 * Magna-Slash Dragon
 * Patrician of Darkness
 * White Night Dragon

Spells

 * Lightning Vortex

Light Spectrum
This Deck is based upon getting "Rainbow Dragon" with ease with the help of Lightsworn monsters, "Charge of the Light Brigade" and "Solar Recharge"s. The milling helps to accumulate the seven Crystal Beasts in the Graveyard, making for the easy summoning of "Rainbow Dragon". It will require 3 "Rainbow Gravity"s and 3 "Monster Reincarnation"s. The choice of your Lightsworn monsters are completely up to you.

This deck may be ineffective due to the March 2010 banlist because "Charge of the Light Brigade" was limited to one.

Monsters

 * Jain, Lightsworn Paladin
 * Ehren, Lightsworn Monk
 * Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
 * Rainbow Dragon
 * Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus

Spells

 * Charge of the Light Brigade
 * Solar Recharge
 * Monster Reincarnation

Traps

 * Rainbow Gravity
 * Crystal Counter (Only if using Crystal Abundance)

Xyz Crystals
This deck utilizes Rank 3 and Rank four Xyz Monsters to support the crystal beasts. It especially focuses on Number 39: Utopia and Number C39: Utopia Ray. You can also overlay Crystal Beast: Ruby Carbuncle and Crystal Beast: Amethyst Cat to Xyz summon Number 17: Leviathan Dragon.

Monsters

 * Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus
 * Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle
 * Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth
 * Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger
 * Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat
 * Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle
 * Summoner Monk

Spells

 * Crystal Beacon
 * Rare Value
 * Crystal Blessing
 * Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins
 * Crystal Promise
 * Xyz Energy
 * Xyz Gift

Traps

 * Crystal Pair
 * Xyz Effect
 * Xyz Veil

Extra Deck

 * Number C39: Utopia Ray
 * Number 39: Utopia
 * Grenosaurus
 * Steelswarm Roach
 * Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
 * Number 34: Terror-Byte
 * Leviair the Sea Dragon
 * Number 10: Illumiknight