Elemental HERO

"Elemental HERO" ( Erementaru Hīrō) is a "HERO" sub-archetype of mostly Warrior-Type monsters, used mainly by Jaden Yuki in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime and in its manga adaptation. Aster Phoenix and Koyo Hibiki have also used them in the anime and manga, respectively. They were designed by Kazuki Takahashi, and are themed after comic-book superheroes. "Elemental HERO" Decks focus heavily on Fusion Summoning. Most of the primary "Elemental HERO" monsters can be fused with one another, allowing for an enormous amount of flexibility in a dedicated Deck.

The "Elemental HERO" archetype is one of the most supported in the OCG and TCG. They have ready support in common Warrior-themed cards like "Reinforcement of the Army," and most non-Fusion "Elemental HERO" monsters have at least one support card specific to it. They are further supplemented by a variety of Spell and Trap Cards, allowing for myriad strategies among and within "Elemental HERO" Decks. Fusion Substitute Monsters and searching options are also vital.

The most well-supported single "Elemental HERO" monster is "Elemental HERO Neos." It is the only monster in the game to be a Fusion Material Monster for thirteen different Fusion Monsters. However, the majority of those happen to be with "Neo-Spacians," a related archetype that is not nearly as well-supported as traditional "Elemental HERO" monsters.

This archetype has had the longest run of any archetype from the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, from The Lost Millennium (Release Date: June 1, 2005) ongoing into the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Manga Promotional Cards: Series 9 (Release Date: August 7,2012). If that manga features the last release of an Elemental HERO monster, the archetype will have made a total run of 7 years, 2 months, and 6 days.

Playing Style
"Elemental HERO" Decks focus on Fusion Summoning, in order to quickly overwhelm the opponent with powerful monsters and effects. "Polymerization" is essential to this end. "King of the Swamp," "Elemental HERO Woodsman," "Elemental HERO Stratos," "Elemental HERO Ocean," and "E - Emergency Call" are all viable means of retrieving "Polymerization" and Fusion Material Monsters, and in the case of "King of the Swamp," also doubles as material itself.

To further swarm the field, "Miracle Fusion" after "Polymerization" can pull another Fusion out of spent materials. "Elemental HERO" monsters can be revived through several in-theme cards, including "Skyscraper 2 - Hero City," "O - Oversoul," and "Elemental HERO Ocean," as well as more generic support like "Monster Reborn" or "Call of the Haunted." "Future Fusion" or "Fusion Gate" can accelerate the Fusion process still further.

Setting aside their obvious prowess in Fusion Summoning, several "Elemental HERO" monsters have useful standalone effects that can tip the scales in a player's favor at relatively little cost. These include:

[Tip: Use "Stratos" and "Skyscraper 2 - Hero City" in tandem when your opponent has one or two strong monsters on the field. Every turn after "Stratos" is destroyed by battle, he can be Special Summoned by "Skyscraper 2," allowing for repeated use of one of his effects, depending on the players judgment of the duel.]
 * "Elemental HERO Stratos" - This card can be used to either fetch a "HERO" monster from the Deck, or as a mini-"Typhoon." It is a Staple for any "HERO" Deck, whether "Elemental," "Destiny," or "Evil."
 * "Elemental HERO Ocean" - This card can recycle Fusion Material Monsters or "Stratos" to search for missing material. Having a "Reinforcement of the Army" and "E - Emergency Call" can facilitate this combo.
 * "Elemental HERO Woodsman" - This card can pull "Polymerization" from the Deck once every Standby Phase or recycle it from the Graveyard.
 * "Elemental HERO Prisma" - This card function as a Fusion Substitute Monster while simultaneously loading the Graveyard with potential fuel for "Miracle Fusion" and providing decent muscle at 1700 ATK. Like "Stratos," it has become a Staple in "Elemental HERO" Decks.
 * "Elemental HERO Voltic" - Voltic can be use to return monsters banished by "Miracle Fusion" or "Fusion Gate," as well as "HEROs" banished by an opponent's card. It can initiate swarming tactics and recycle fusion material.

As previously touched upon, "Elemental HERO" Decks can afford a player myriad strategies among and within the Deck. Several variants exist, utilizing more or less numbers of "HEROs" depending on the build and style.

Shining Hero
The idea of this deck is to remove as many Heroes as you can for when you Fusion Summon Elemental HERO The Shining. The maximum that I've got it to is 8000 ATK, but ideally it could go to 12000 and beyond. Fusion Gate is great in this deck, so you can remove heroes to summon Shining, so it should start at about 3400. A good combo is summoning Zero, then fusing it to trigger its effect, and clean your opponents field of monsters. Nova Master can help with draw power, and clearing the path for Shining. You could sneak in a Voltic which may weaken Shining, but get something back like Stratos, then you can recycle it and abuse its effect. Focus on having 3 attributes in this deck: Light, Water and Fire.

Evil HERO
This version has fewer "Elemental HERO" monsters than typical variants. It does not use "Polymerization" as often as others, opting instead for "Dark Fusion" and "Dark Calling." Powerful DARK monsters such as "Gorz the Emissary of Darkness," "Caius the Shadow Monarch," and the native "Evil HERO Malicious Edge are often included over more traditional "HEROes." The Deck further mixes DARK support such as "Mystic Tomato" or "Armageddon Knight" into itself, in order to quickly place "The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion" in the Graveyard, and "Elemental HERO Prisma" to put "HERO" monsters there, as well. The Graveyard thus becomes a pool of resources for this Deck. "Evil HERO Infernal Gainer" allows "Evil HERO" monsters to attack twice at the cost of temporary banishment. Cards like "Burial from a Different Dimension" and "Return from the Different Dimension" that return removed monsters back to the field/Graveyard are necessary in order to restock Fusion material and push for game. However, this Deck has lost face since the banning of "Dimension Fusion" and the limitation of "Return from the Different Dimension."

Storm HERO
This central focus of this Deck is the Fusion Summoning of "Elemental HERO The Shining," "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero," "Elemental HERO Great Tornado," and "Rainbow Neos." This deck is designed to fuse monsters quickly and take down monsters fast. Key "HEROs," apart from the Fusions, are "Elemental HERO Voltic," "Ocean," "Avian", "Stratos" and "Elemental HERO Neos." Support usually comes in the form of "Thunder King Rai-Oh," "D.D. Warrior Lady," "Cyber Dragon," and less commonly, "The Creator" (for LIGHT)," Snowman Eater" (for WATER), and "Reborn Tengu," "Harpie Lady 3," and "Tornado Bird" for WIND. The "Boss" Monster is "Rainbow Neos," usually brought out with "Future Fusion" or "Fusion Gate." "Elemental HERO Neos" is searched by "E - Emergency Call"; "Rainbow Dragon" is search with "Gold Sarcophagus. Alternatively, "Elemental HERO Prisma" can send "Elemental HERO Necroshade" to the Graveyard to Summon "Elemental HERO Neos" when he is drawn. "Elemental HERO Neos Knight" can be added to the Extra Deck for raw power. "Chain Material" can sometimes be included.

Omni HERO
Omni HERO is an unofficial fan term used to describe the set of "Elemental HERO" Fusion Monsters whose Fusion Material Monsters must be of a specific Attribute. So far, there are six such "Elemental HERO" monsters: "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero" (WATER), "Elemental HERO Gaia" (EARTH), "Elemental HERO Great Tornado" (WIND), "Elemental HERO The Shining" (LIGHT), "Elemental HERO Nova Master" (FIRE), and "Elemental HERO Escuridao" (DARK). The Deck's strength lies in its ability to use opposing monsters as material with the card "Super Polymerization." Omni HERO Decks are commonly based around either "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero" or "Elemental HERO The Shining," due to the former's field-clearing effect and the latter's often substantial ATK boost. A HERO Deck based around "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero" uses many WATER-Attribute monsters such as "Snowman Eater" and "King of the Swamp." Both of these monster can be used to Fusion Summon "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero", or alternatively, to Synchro Summon "Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" or "Black Rose Dragon" with the effect of "Debris Dragon." A powerful Omni HERO variant is the Miracle Gemini Deck, which revolves around "Elemental HERO The Shining." It is a "little brother" to the Light Gemini Beatdown Deck; its goal is to Summon "Elemental HERO The Shining" with "Miracle Fusion" for maximum ATK.

HERO Beatdown
This Deck focuses on four "Elemental HERO" monsters: "Wildheart," "Bladedge," "Sparkman," "Necroshade," and the Fusions between these monsters: "Elemental HERO Necroid Shaman," "Elemental HERO Darkbright," "Elemental HERO Plasma Vice," "Elemental HERO Wildedge," "Elemental HERO The Shining," "Elemental HERO Gaia," and "Elemental HERO Escuridao." Some variants place "Necroshade" in the Graveyard to ease "Bladedge's" Summon, but the goal is ultimately to bring one or both of their Fusions to the field, one of which is equipped with Piercing, and another which can attack multiple times per battle. This is the most straightforward "brute force" "Elemental HERO" Decks, and is relatively easy to use because of the synergy between these four material monsters. Although there may be some concern over its flexibility and reaction time to immediate threats, cards like "Elemental HERO Stratos" and "Elemental HERO Prisma" can maintain Hand advantage, and can become useful as fusion material for "Elemental HERO The Shining" and "Elemental HERO Great Tornado." "King of the Swamp" is vital, as it functions as both a means of "Polymerization" retrieval and as a Fusion Substitute for "Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman"/"Elemental HERO Shining Phoenix Enforcer," "Elemental HERO Wild Wingman," "Elemental HERO Thunder Giant," and "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero."

HERO Flash Attack
This variant is recommended for beginning Duelists as an introduction to the "Elemental HERO" archetype. It focuses on the effect of "Hero Flash!!," which Special Summons 1 "Elemental HERO" Normal Monster (like "Elemental HERO Neos") and allows all "Elemental HERO" Normal Monsters to attack directly for one turn. "Hero Flash!!" can only work by Banishing "H - Heated Heart," "E - Emergency Call," "R - Righteous Justice," and "O - Oversoul," and thus is rather slow.

Elemental Recycle/Elemental Destruction
The main focus of this Deck is to continuously recycle fusion material, mainly through "Elemental HERO Stratos," "Elemental HERO Ocean," and "Elemental HERO Woodsman." "Freed the Matchless General" is a useful inclusion, as he can fetch Fusion Material Monsters from the Deck at the cost of a Draw Phase. However, complications arise in protecting "Woodsman" and "Ocean," who tend to become weaker plays as the Duel progresses. "Mirror Force," "Pot of Avarice," and "Hero Spirit" are recommended. "Branch!" can easily recycle "Elemental HEROes" used in a Fusion Summon," and when paired with "Skyscraper 2 - Hero City," can potentially lead to two or more Fusions per turn. The most useful Fusions in this variant include: "Elemental HERO Darkbright," "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero," and "Elemental HERO Wildedge." "Elemental HERO Terra Firma" is recommended in combination with "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero," which wipes the opponent's field of monsters to open up an opportunity for 5000 points of damage. If "Elemental HERO Tempest" is Summoned, its effect can make itself and two other "Elemental HEROes" invulnerable to attacks. You can send "HERO" monsters and copies of "Polymerization" to the Graveyard for its effect, and then recover them with "Elemental HERO Ocean" and "Elemental HERO Woodsman."

Knospe Beatdown
This Deck is similar to the recycle Deck, in that "Stratos", "Ocean", and "Woodsman" are used to summon any Fusion Monster. But it also takes from the Big City Deck because it uses "Skyscraper 2 - Hero City" to swarm. The focus of this Deck is to have "Elemental HERO" monsters that are hard to destroy, along with "Elemental HERO Knospe", to continually attack the opponent directly. Battle protection aside, you should also include cards that protect your monsters from effects like "Destruction Jammer". You can also combine this Deck with "Lady Heat" strategy.

Bubbleman Burn
The Bubbleman Burn Deck is a very fast version of the Burn Deck, which uses cards like "Elemental HERO Bubbleman" and "Card of Sanctity" to draw Normal or Quick-Play Spell Cards which inflict damage. These Decks are made up mostly of one-time burn cards and self-milling cards that go to the Graveyard after they are used, making "Elemental HERO Bubbleman" and "Card of Sanctity" more playable. Stall cards are not good in this deck since the drawing effect of "Bubbleman" won't trigger if there are cards on the field. The only Trap Card you should use is "Magical Explosion", often used as a finisher in this Deck. You can use "Monster Reborn" to Special Summon "Bubbleman" but it's not always the best option.

Lady Heat Burn
This Deck runs a lot like a Big City Deck. this Deck mostly revolves around getting "Elemental HERO Lady Heat" out fast and using her effect to do damage to your opponent's life points. Lady Heat can be searched out with cards like "E - Emergency Call", "Sangan", or "Elemental HERO Stratos". When she is sent to the graveyard, you can use "Skyscraper 2 - Hero City" or "Elemental HERO Ocean" to get "Elemental HERO Stratos" back. Another useful card is "HERO's Bond". The fusions are not required, but are a good option in case the whole Lady Heat strategy fails. You can also combine this Deck with the "Knopse" strategy.

Chaos HERO
With "Chaos Sorcerer", "Elemental HERO" Decks can utilize the "Twilight" build, using "Elemental HERO Prisma" to send any LIGHT material monster such as "Elemental HERO Sparkman" or "Elemental HERO Neos", and then with the help of "Armageddon Knight" you can send any DARK Fusion material such as "The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion" for any Fusion material wise, or DARK Fiend-Type, most notably "Caius the Shadow Monarch" or even "Versago the Destroyer" for "Evil HERO Dark Gaia". After you send enough material you can choose to summon using either "Dark Fusion", "Dark Calling" or "Chaos Sorcerer". You can also use "Elemental HERO Darkbright's" Fusion Materials ("Sparkman" and "Necroshade") to summon "Chaos Sorcerer". The main weakness of this Deck is when you use the Fusion material as a Chaos fodder, you tend to lose the Fusion Material for later use. To solve this problem you can use "Burial from a Different Dimension", "Miracle Dig" or "Parallel World Fusion". Another solution is using "Elemental HERO Voltic" with its ability to Special Summon Banished "Elemental HERO" monsters when it inflicts battle damage.

Neos Beatdown
This potent varient features "Wrath of Neos" to clear the field when a player runs into trouble. The Deck uses LIGHT-attribute monsters, such as: "Elemental HERO Neos"; "Elemental HERO Neos Alius" and "Elemental HERO Prisma". This means generic LIGHT support (most notably "Honest") is very effective in the Deck. The most devastating combo in the Deck is to use the effect of "Prisma" to send a copy of "Elemental HERO Neos" to the Graveyard. "Hero Mask" and "Foolish Burial" can also accomplish the same. "Prisma" can have its name be treated as "Elemental HERO Neos", and and thus it can be used with "Wrath of Neos". Afterwards, "O - Oversoul" can be played to revive the "Elemental HERO Neos" in the Graveyard, who can then attack the opponent directly. Other support cards work well in this Deck like: "Elemental HERO Stratos" and "E - Emergency Call". You can utilize 2 copies of "Supervise" on "Elemental HERO Neos Alius" combined with "Wrath of Neos" to revive 2 copies of "Elemental HERO Neos" in the Graveyard after "Wrath of Neos" has nuked the field.

Elemental Synchro
This Deck mainly relies on a mix of "Elemental HERO" monsters and a bit of a Yusei-themed Deck with "Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste" and "Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman" (or "Elemental HERO Shining Phoenix Enforcer"). Use a strategy to discard 2-3 "Elemental HERO Necroshade's" to get "Elemental HERO Neos" and "Elemental HERO Bladedge" out to swarm your field with "Majestic Star Dragon" (or "Majestic Red Dragon" if you use "Red Dragon Archfiend"). "Rose, Warrior of Revenge" and "Torapart" are commonly used as a tuner because of it's search-ability with "Reinforcements of the Army". The main Synchro used is "Colossal Fighter". Also, you can use the effect of "Chaos End Master" to summon "Elemental HERO Necroshade" for a quick tune for "Stardust Dragon", "Red Dragon Archfiend" or "Colossal Fighter" and get "Elemental HERO Necroshade" into the graveyard to summon a potential "Elemental HERO Bladedge" the next turn. You can also use "Synchro Fusionist" to search for "Polymerization", "Super Polymerization", "Miracle Fusion", "Miracle Synchro Fusion", "Future Fusion", and "Parallel World Fusion".

Vanilla HERO
This Deck's main goal is to use "Enchanting Fitting Room" to Special Summon "Elemental HERO Avian", "Elemental HERO Burstinatrix", and other low level Normal Monsters of various attributes, including "Tune Warrior" (Which lets you use Synchro Monsters) in order to generate Fusion Material Monsters for use with "Miracle Fusion" and/or "Dark Calling", in order to easily fill your side of the field with powerful Fusion Monsters, without losing any real advantage (when compared to using "Polymerization"). Cards like "Elemental HERO Prisma" and "Magical Merchant" support this Deck well.

Chain Material HERO
This deck uses "Chain Material" to summon "omni HERO" monsters. If your opponent has strong monsters on the field, you can activate "Chain Material" and "Fusion Gate" to Banish monsters from your deck to summon "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero" to clear the field from monsters or "Elemental HERO The Shining" for a future beatstick. Use "Chain Material" to summon "Elemental HERO Absolute Zero" and "The Shining", then summon another The "Shining" using "Chain Material". Fuse together "Absolute Zero" and "The Shining" to Summon another "Absolute Zero" and the effect of "Zero" will activate and clears the field of monsters, Normal Summon "Elemental HERO Stratos" to clear the Spell and Trap cards. Fuse "Stratos" and "The Shining" together to Summon another The "Shining".

Weaknesses
"Elemental HERO" Decks, while being strong in the long run, lack the beginning strength. The effect of "Kinetic Soldier" increases its ATK by 2000 when it battles with Warrior-Type monsters, and thus is a great choice as a counter to most of these decks. Since most "Elemental HERO" Decks heavily rely on Fusions to remain in the game long enough to bring "Elemental HERO Neos" and his fusions out, a good anti-spell Deck will eliminate the activation and use of "Polymerization" and Fusion Spells. Also a Deck with the ability to destroy Fusions, before and after summoning, will also make it easy to take down an "Elemental HERO" Deck. The trap card "Non-Fusion Area," for example, is nothing short of crippling to most "Elemental HERO Decks". "Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell" is another example because it negates the activation and the effect of a Spell Card (in this case a Fusion Spell Card) and destroys it and stops the player from using the Fusion Spell Card that he/she tried to use again. "De-Fusion" will stop Fusion Monsters because the Fusion Material is in the controller's Graveyard, and the other player is able to return the Fusion Monsters without summoning the Fusion Material Monsters. Since Fusion Summons are Special Summons, cards like "Royal Oppression", which can negate the Special Summon of a monster, can cause the downfall of this Deck.