Cyberdark

"Cyberdark", spelled "Cyber Dark" (鎧黒竜－サイバー・ダーク Saibā Dāku) in Japan, is a series of cards that are part of the "Cyber" archetype. These cards were first introduced in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime in a forbidden "Underworld Deck", used exclusively by Zane Truesdale following his "rebirth".

In the anime, The Deck's unquenchable thirst for battle and improvement forces its owner to go past his/her limit, slowly damaging the user's body over time. Because of this drawback, only Duelists with strong wills and dreams of progression can use this Deck for long periods of time. Depending on how strong-willed the Duelist is, the Duelist using this Deck will experience heart trauma, which may lead to death, as displayed by Zane Truesdale after using this Deck for so long. Even Syrus Truesdale experienced some cardiovascular pain when he decided to take over Zane's Duel against Makoto Inotsume. However, Syrus was able to overcome this problem by respecting the Deck, something that Zane had not done.

As a supporting theme, these cards can be inserted into many Dragon Decks, given there are enough Level 3 and lower Dragons for support (such as "Masked Dragon", "Armed Dragon LV3", "Hunter Dragon", some of the "Dragunity" cards, etc). You can also build a Deck based on those cards, by using some three copies of "Hunter Dragon", some other Dragons and cards that sends them to the Graveyard. Apart from being 2000 - 2500 ATK beatsticks, "Cyberdarks" also works very well with all three Virus Cards - "Eradicator Epidemic Virus", "Deck Devastation Virus", and after the equipped Dragon is destroyed, "Crush Card Virus". Note that since they only get to equip monsters when they are Normal Summoned, returning them to the hand with "Compulsory Evacuation Device" or "Relieve Monster" when their Equip Card is destroyed is a good idea. In addition, returning them to the Deck with "Pot of Avarice" or to the hand with "Monster Reincarnation" might also be a good idea. In the latter case, you can even discard a Dragon for the Cyberdark to equip. An even better support card is the card "Dark Eruption", which can add all the "Cyberdark" monsters to your hand without the discard cost. If there is two or more DARK monsters in the graveyard you are willing to banish, you could search your deck for a Level 4 Dark monster like the "Cyberdarks" with Creeping Darkness.

Playing style
A "Cyberdark" Deck is a varied Deck spanning Beatdown, Burn, and Control Deck methods. The Deck uses Machine-Type monsters primarily and Dragon-Type monsters secondarily as support.

Each "Cyberdark" monster has a different offense-based effect. The four monsters are all DARK Machine-Type and each has two Trigger Effects and a Continuous Effect. Each of the Level 4 "Cyberdark" monsters can equip themselves with a Level 3 or lower Dragon from the Graveyard when they are Normal Summoned and they have their ATK increased by the equipped Dragon, which can be destroyed in place of the "Cyberdark" if they would be destroyed by battle. The equipping and "destroyed in place of" Trigger Effects could be manipulated to start a Chain and utilize cards like Chain Strike and Chain Summoning. Their fusion, "Cyberdark Dragon" can do the same when it is Special Summoned, but with a Dragon of any Level.

"Cyberdark Horn", "Cyberdark Edge", and "Cyberdark Keel" in addition to having equipping effects each have a unique addition damage ability that punishes defensive play by an opponent. "Cyberdark Horn", "Cyberdark Edge", and "Cyberdark Keel" deliver piercing, direct, and Burn damage respectively, while "Cyberdark Dragon" gains 100 ATK for each monster in your Graveyard. The potency of the Deck lies with its ability to quickly Normal Summon "Cyberdark" monsters with comparably higher ATK than your opponent could possibly muster.

Using a lower amount of "Cyberdarks" will require a recycling technique to maintain them in your hand to change the flow of the game by going aggressive. "Monster Reincarnation" has more span and can discard a card (preferably a Dragon) but cost -1 hand advantage. "Dark Eruption" will do this with no cost, thus it has a plus 0 hand advantage, but will only target the "Cyberdarks".

Equip options

 * Delta Flyer
 * Hunter Dragon (the most powerful Equip for the basic "Cyberdarks")
 * Twin-Headed Behemoth
 * Masked Dragon
 * Magna Drago
 * Exploder Dragon (to destroy powerful monsters without Battle Damage)
 * Dweller in the Depths
 * Gray Wing
 * Armed Dragon LV3
 * Infernal Dragon ("Cyberdark Dragon" only, as "Infernal Dragon" is Level 4)
 * Dread Dragon (deck searcher for lv 3 Dragons to be added to hand)
 * Dragunity Aklys (When a "Cyberdark Dragon" would be destroyed, destroys a card your opponent controls)
 * Dragunity Brandistock
 * Dragunity Corsesca (Searches for more "Cyberdarks")
 * Dragunity Partisan (for Synchro support)
 * Dragunity Phalanx (to Synchro Summon faster)
 * Dragunity Pilum (for Direct Damage; best used with Cyberdark Keel and Cyberdark Horn)

"Hunter Dragon" is probably the most effective Level 3 or lower Dragon-Type monster because it is able to raise ATK by 1700, thus resulting in 2500 ATK which makes the "Cyberdarks" strong enough to deal with most Level 4 or lower monsters, a good amount of Level 5 and 6 monsters (including all "Monarchs"), and few lower ATK Level 7 or higher monsters. "Twin-Headed Behemoth", "Dweller in the Depths" and "Delta Flyer" are second to "Hunter Dragon" in terms of ATK increase (They all have 1500 ATK which would raise ATK to 2300), but they also have effects. "Masked Dragon" is a searcher who can search a majority of eligible targets for the "Cyberdarks", except "Hunter Dragon". "Armed Dragon LV3" can be Tributed for "Armed Dragon LV5", making it available for the "Cyberdarks". "Magna Drago", a Tuner monster, can be used for Synchros which makes it available for "Cyberdarks". "Exploder Dragon" is would increase the ATK of a "Cyberdark" to 1800 but has a destruction effect useful in pinches. "Dread Dragon" when destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard can be used to add one Level 3 or lower Dragon-Type monsters from your deck to your hand for discard cost strategies, and raise the ATK to 1900 when equipped. "Dread Dragon" can also act as a Level 2 Tuner if you prefer searching strategies over the power "Magna Drago" could provide.

Despite the low ATK range, the "Dragunity" archetype is suitable for "Cyberdark" Decks as they are tuner monsters that posses abilities that activate only while equipped, providing "Cyberdarks" with interchangeable abilities for attacking, searching for Level 4 DARK Machine-Type monster, or Synchro Summoning more efficiently. Use "Dragon Mastery" to place multiple "Dragunity" onto one "Cyberdark". Level 4 Dragon-Type monsters such as "Infernal Dragon", "Blizzard Dragon", and "Spear Dragon" are usually kept at a minimum, if not at all, but are useful for their effects and to serve as targets for "Cyberdark Dragon".

High Level Dragons

 * Light and Darkness Dragon
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Rainbow Dark Dragon
 * Vice Dragon (for Tribute or Synchro Material Monsters)
 * Armed Dragon ("LV5", "LV7" and "LV10")
 * Blue-Eyes
 * Dragunity Arma
 * Red-Eyes (Dragon-type monsters, specifically "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon")
 * Darkflare Dragon (helps discard dragons from hand and deck)
 * Lightpulsar Dragon (most useful as Red-Eyes and Darkflare support in Chaos Decks)
 * The Malefic archetype (except "Malefic Cyber End Dragon")

High level Dragon-Type monsters are usually kept to a minimum, since the only monster they can be equipped to is "Cyberdark Dragon". "Cyberdarks" are DARK monsters, thus "Dark Armed Dragon" can be used effectively here. Same goes for "Allure of Darkness" in respects to draw power. "Light and Darkness Dragon" can be added to the Graveyard and clears out your field, which is usually a bad thing, but can serve to an advantage because it makes many cards available to be equipped. "Cyberdarks" may mix well with "Armed Dragon" Decks because of the high ATK beatsticks and because their tribute fodder effects make them easy targets for the equip effect of the "Cyberdarks". The "Malefic" archetype can be very useful to "Cyberdark Dragon", as they are fairly easy to summon, have high ATK, and they send themselves to the graveyard if there isn't a Field Spell Card like "Dragon Ravine", easily setting them up to power-up "Cyberdark Dragon". "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon" can be Special Summoned and is useful as a help for the beatdown strategy as it allows you to swarm with Dragon-Type monsters for a Xyz or Synchro Summon.

Recommended Fusion Monsters

 * Cyberdark Dragon
 * Cyber Twin Dragon
 * Cyber End Dragon
 * Chimeratech Overdragon
 * Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
 * Five-Headed Dragon

Recommended Fusion Spells

 * Future Fusion
 * Cyberdark Impact!
 * Overload Fusion
 * Dragon's Mirror
 * Power Bond

Fusion Monsters are used as auxiliary backup; being Summoned with "Cyberdark Impact!", "Overload Fusion", and "Dragon's Mirror" they require that there be proper material monsters in the Graveyard and/or on the field or hand, making the use of them late game only, unless used in conjunction with "Future Fusion". "Cyber Dragon" could be included in this Deck for its high ATK and Special Summoning effect and because it gives access to "Chimeratech Overdragon" and "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon".

"Future Fusion" can also be used to Summon "Five-Headed Dragon". If drawn early to set the game and mill the Deck or to make available targets for the "Cyberdarks" and "Dark Armed Dragon", if used. The effect of "Future Fusion" can also be used to self-mill more than once with return calls such as "Giant Trunade", which can also act as a Spell and Trap removal card and to put "Five-Headed Dragon" in the Graveyard for "Cyberdark Dragon.

"Fusion Guard" can protect you from effect damage and send a high-ATK Dragon fusion such as "Five-Headed Dragon" to the Graveyard to give "Cyberdark Dragon" and ATK boost.

Tuners

 * Black Salvo
 * Magna Drago
 * Dread Dragon
 * Delta Flyer
 * The White Stone of Legend (Best if used with the rest of the "Blue-Eyes" series)
 * Dragunity Phalanx

"Black Salvo" works well with "Cyberdarks" as they are all Level 4 and DARK, thus allowing you to Special Summon a Level 7 monster. "Magna Drago" and "Delta Flyer" are useful because they can be searched by "Masked Dragon" and be used by the "Cyberdarks". "Dread Dragon" has the capacity to search for any Level 3 or lower Dragon-Type monster for discarding purposes. Equipping "Dragunity Phalanx" allows for the summon of a Level 6 Synchro Monster through "Phalanx's" effect (this could also allow for Level 8 Synchro Monsters if "Phalanx" is tuned with the Level 6 Synchro Monster). "The White Stone of Legend" is good for bringing out low Level Synchro Monsters. It is also good and because it can add a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" to your hand when sent to the graveyard which could be useful while Chained with Cyberdark's ability to send equipped dragons to the graveyard instead of being destroyed in battle. This Light Tuner could be also be used to fuel strategies that involve Chaos Deck type cards like Darkflare Dragon and Lightpulsar Dragon.

Synchro Monsters

 * Ally of Justice Catastor
 * Iron Chain Dragon
 * Black Rose Dragon
 * Stardust Dragon
 * Scrap Dragon
 * Dark End Dragon
 * Dark Strike Fighter (Traditional Format)

Most Dragon Synchros have are powerful in terms of ATK and effects, thus making them useful overall and when equipped to "Cyberdark Dragon". "Ally of Justice Catastor" is useful because of its destruction effect as is "Dark Strike Fighter's" Burn effect, which requires a tribute that can place a "Cyberdark" target in the Graveyard.

Virus Control

 * Crush Card Virus (Traditional Format only)
 * Deck Devastation Virus
 * Eradicator Epidemic Virus

"Virus" cards can be used for addition advantage because "Cyberdark" monsters span the spectrum of their requirements all being DARK, "Crush Card Virus" ATK <1000 ATK, "Deck Devastation Virus" > 2000 ATK, and "Eradicator Epidemic Virus" > 2500 ATK, but only while "Hunter Dragon" is equipped.

Monsters

 * Cyberdark Horn
 * Cyberdark Edge
 * Cyberdark Keel
 * Delta Flyer
 * Exploder Dragon
 * Hunter Dragon
 * Masked Dragon
 * Twin-Headed Behemoth
 * Dark Armed Dragon
 * Light and Darkness Dragon
 * Darkflare Dragon
 * Armageddon Knight (to send "Hunter Dragon" or a "Cyberdark" to your Graveyard)
 * Dark Grepher
 * The Dark Creator
 * Black Salvo
 * Dragunity Aklys
 * Dragunity Brandistock
 * Dragunity Phalanx
 * Dragunity Pilum
 * Dragunity Corsesca

Spells

 * Future Fusion (for "Five-Headed Dragon" or "Cyberdark Dragon" and set up the Graveyard)
 * Dragon Ravine (To send Dragon-Type monsters from your Deck to your Graveyard)
 * Dragon Mastery (To add 500 ATK for each "Dragunity" equipped)
 * Dark Eruption
 * Foolish Burial
 * Cyberdark Impact!
 * Overload Fusion
 * Allure of Darkness
 * Dragon's Mirror
 * Limiter Removal
 * Pot of Avarice
 * Creeping Darkness (add one Level 4 DARK monster to hand from Deck like "Dark General Freed")
 * Chain Summoning (Activate a card effect as 2nd Chain after a Cyberdark equips or unequips a Dragon)

Traps

 * Deck Devastation Virus
 * Eradicator Epidemic Virus
 * Compulsory Evacuation Device
 * Darklight
 * Ultimate Offering

Extra Deck

 * Cyberdark Dragon
 * Five-Headed Dragon
 * Iron Chain Dragon
 * Orient Dragon
 * Black Rose Dragon
 * Stardust Dragon
 * Scrap Dragon
 * Dark End Dragon
 * Number 39: Utopia
 * Steelswarm Roach
 * Thunder End Dragon (Only if you use "Blue-Eyes White Dragons" or Geminis like Darkstorm Dragon )
 * Dragon Devil - Queen Dragoon (For Thunder-End Dragon summoning support)