"Chaos" and "Black Luster Soldier"[Notes 1] (カオス Kaosu) are an archetype of monsters that thematically combine LIGHT and DARK. Originally a series, the release of "Chaos Form" cemented its status as an archetype. As a result of their Japanese names, this archetype also contains the sub-archetypes "Black Luster Soldier", "CXyz" and "Number C", as well as older cards like "Kamionwizard" and "Morphing Jar #2". However, since TCG and OCG support for this archetype is limited to Ritual Monsters and Synchro Monsters, this has not been an issue.
History[]
The most recognized cards in the archetype include:
- "Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End"
- "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning"
- "Chaos Sorcerer"
"Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End" was the first of this trio to be sent to the Forbidden list, in September 2004, known as one of, if not the most broken card of all time. The card was particularly infamous for its role in the Yata-Garasu Lockdown, a very deadly and broken Deck with the power to use just two cards to absolutely lockdown the opponent, making it impossible for them to play or even see a single one of their cards for the rest of the Duel.
"Chaos" still continued to dominate the metagame for the next 12 months. The year 2005 saw a "Chaos Phoenix" Deck using "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" and "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys" which proceeded to win the 2005 World Championship, showing that "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning", even if Limited to 1, was still far too powerful to be allowed in the Advanced Format. In September 2005, "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" was Forbidden (and would remain so for six more years).
The next 12 months saw the emergence of the strongest "Chaos" Metagame since Invasion of Chaos. This style of "Chaos" revolved around "Chaos Sorcerer", which was still Unlimited, combined with the flexibility and power of the "Monarchs". "Chaos Sorcerer" was eventually Forbidden in September 2006.
The "Chaos" ideal was left untouched until the release of Force of the Breaker, where the "Chaos" era was reborn with the "Sky Scourges", two monsters whose effects were based on "Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End" and "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning", with a third that was able to "choose" between the effects of "Jinzo" or "Spell Canceller". Neither of the new "Chaos" replacements made much of an impact, and have long since been condemned to the unused card pool on account of their Summoning Conditions being unworkable and situational. More recently, a Deck based around "Sky Scourge Norleras" and "Phantom of Chaos" has been seeing more play after it topped a regional (September).
"Chaos" saw a return with "Chaos Sorcerer" being Semi-Limited in the OCG's September 2009 Lists and the use of "Dark Armed Dragon" and "Judgment Dragon". However, "Chaos Sorcerer" was back to being Limited in the OCG's March 2010 Lists. In the September 2010 Lists, "Chaos Sorcerer" was back again to Semi-Limited.
With the OCG changing the rules of Ignition Effect Priority in March 2011, it will become the process of unbanning or limiting the Chaos due to their use being more limited. Cards effects like Bottomless Trap Hole can now resolve first without the Chaos monsters using their effect in response, thus avoiding a quick +1 effect or a costly counter like Solemn Judgment or Solemn Warning. "Chaos Sorcerer" has been Unlimited in the March 2011 Lists. However, it was back to Limited again in the September 2012 Lists. In the following September 2011 Lists, "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" was Limited after 6 years of being Forbidden.
In 2015, Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End" was unbanned. However, its effect was now changed for the worse. The Life Point damage done to your opponent only affects the number of cards your opponent has instead of a combination of cards both you and your opponent have. Additionally, you cannot activate other cards or effects during the turn you activate this card's effect, making the effect of this very difficult to use.
A new Synchro Monster, "Chaos Goddess", was released in The Shining Darkness. It is capable of Summoning Level 5 or higher DARK monsters to the field by discarding a LIGHT monster from the hand. However, the fact that it requires a LIGHT Tuner and two non-Tuner DARK monsters makes it tricky to get out.
A museum scene in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL anime features an exhibit including the card "Chaos End Ruler - Ruler of the Beginning and the End", whose effect partially merges and upgrades that of both "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" and "Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End". Needless to say, its effect is significantly more powerful and broken than any other card. Given that the card was not even played in the anime and only displayed, it is not expected to ever be released and was likely intended as merely a cameo or reference.
With the release of "Chaos Form", Chaos monsters gained an archetype status with focus on Ritual Summoning. It include new versions of the classic monsters "Black Luster Soldier", "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and "Dark Magician", in the form of "Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier", "Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon" and "Magician of Chaos", respectively.
Chaos counterpart[]
Playing style[]
Anti-Meta Chaos[]
This deck is basically a Chaos deck with Anti-Meta cards which can disrupt your opponent's strategies, such as "Thunder King Rai-Oh" and "Doomcaliber Knight" to force your opponent into an artificial late-game state. You can take advantage of the large amounts of LIGHT and DARK monsters in your graveyard with cards like "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning", "Chaos Sorcerer", and "Dark Armed Dragon".
Unlike an normal Anti-Meta deck, Chaos allows your strategy to be played going second. Meaning cards like "Cyber Dragon" can Contact Fusion away your opponent's monster(s) while putting a LIGHT Monster in your Graveyard and a large DARK monster on your side of the field. Going second also gives you the opportunity to play your Chaos Monsters ruthlessly against an opponent's established board.
This deck can push major battle damage with a single battle phase unlike normal Anti-Meta, putting pressure on your opponent to play more recklessly against your stun.
Because of the use of LIGHT and DARK "Hand Traps" in the deck, this allows you to stun your opponent without putting too may cards in your Spell/Trap Card that will be destroyed, and this allows your to play Chaos Monsters even easier.
"Galaxy Worm" Summoning another copy from your deck to make "The Phantom Knights of Break Sword" can destroy an opponent's card, then you can summon "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" or "Chaos Sorcerer" to banish a monster on your opponent's field. "Tour Guide From the Underworld" summoning "Sangan" to make Break Sword can set up for "Dark Armed Dragon" instead.
"Aleister the Invoker" could work well with this playstyle of deck, as "Invoked Mechaba" is a fantastic stun choice as well as allowing you to play cards such as "Silent Magician" and "Spellbook of Knowledge". Since it is also a DARK, if you have an "Invocation" in your Graveyard with an Aleister, you can banish your Aleister for a Chaos play and return it to your hand with Invocation.
Instant Fusion works well with this deck, access to cards like "Thousand-Eyes Restrict", "Panzer Dragon" and others can give you access to a toolbox of monsters. Panzer Dragon with Cyber Dragon can also make "Cyber Dragon Infinity" with "Cyber Dragon Nova" to stun your opponent with negations.
Aggressive Decks that can push a lot of damage quickly also will pose a threat to you if you are not well established. So remember to have true defense within the deck as well as ways to make sure you can slow your opponent down.
- Banisher of the Radiance
- Battle Fader
- Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
- Breaker the Magical Warrior
- Chaos Sorcerer
- Cyber Dragon
- D.D. Crow
- D.D. Warrior Lady
- Dark Armed Dragon
- Dimensional Alchemist
- Doomcaliber Knight
- Evilswarm Thunderbird
- Galaxy Worm
- Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
- Gravekeeper's Descendant
- Gravekeeper's Spy
- Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
- Necroface
- Night Assailant
- Night Dragolich
- Sangan
- Spirit Reaper
- Thunder King Rai-Oh
- Tour Guide From the Underworld
- Tragoedia
- Vanity's Fiend
Chaos Dragon[]
Chaos End Dragon[]
Counter Chaos[]
Counter Fairies can be quite potent when combined with DARK Counter Trap support. "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" and "Chaos Sorcerer" are quite easy to Summon as a result of the discarding.
- Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
- Darknight Parshath
- Dark Voltanis
- Bountiful Artemis
- D.D. Crow
- Dimensional Alchemist
- Doomcaliber Knight
- Honest
- Genex Ally Reliever
- Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
- Herald of Green Light
- Herald of Orange Light
- Layard the Liberator
- Mask of Darkness
- Power Angel Valkyria
- Sacred Arch-Airknight Parshath
- Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord
- Tragoedia
Piper Chaos[]
Ritual Chaos[]
A Chaos Deck that focus on Ritual Summoning, using cards like "Chaos Form" and "Advanced Ritual Art" to summon powerful Chaos Ritual monsters.
- Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
- Arisen Gaia the Fierce Knight
- Armageddon Knight
- Black Dragon Collapserpent
- Charging Gaia the Fierce Knight
- Chaos Dragon Levianeer
- Djinn Disserere of Rituals
- Djinn Presider of Rituals
- Doomcaliber Knight
- Lightpulsar Dragon
- Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands
- Relinkuriboh
- Senju of the Thousand Hands
- Sphere Kuriboh
- White Dragon Wyverburster
Twilight Chaos[]
This build focuses on milling the Deck to use "Lightsworn" monsters and Summon "Judgment Dragon" while at the same time placing DARK monsters in the Graveyard in order to Summon "Dark Armed Dragon". Since the milling effect can place vital monsters in the Graveyard, the build also makes use of Graveyard control cards such as "Monster Reincarnation" and "Necro Gardna" to make sure that the required cards end up in the hand and Graveyard. With the high amounts of DARK and LIGHT monsters being sent to the Graveyard, "Chaos Sorcerer" can work very well in this Deck, as can "Chaos Necromancer" due to the number of cards that are always being dumped. "Tragoedia" is another important monster for the Deck, offering protection from OTKs, versatility as a Synchro Material Monster and the potential to become a huge beatstick, provided that the player has enough cards in their hand.
- Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
- Chaos Betrayer
- Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End
- Chaos Sorcerer
- Battle Fader
- Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite
- Card Trooper
- Celestia, Lightsworn Angel
- Dark Armed Dragon
- Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
- Judgment Dragon
- Honest
- Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
- Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
- Necro Gardna
- Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
- Thunder King Rai-Oh
- Tragoedia
- Wulf, Lightsworn Beast
Pure Synchro Chaos[]
- Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
- Chaos Betrayer
- Chaos Daedalus
- Chaos Dragon Levianeer
- Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End
- Chaos Emperor, the Dragon of Armageddon
- Chaos Grepher
- Chaos Nephthys
- Chaos Sorcerer
- Chaos Valkyria
- Chaos Witch
- Gaia, the Mid-Knight Sun
- Gaia, the Polar Knight
- Shell of Chaos
- Sphere of Chaos
- The Chaos Creator
- Zeta Reticulant
Weaknesses[]
Since many cards in this archetype rely on banishing to be summoned or activate their effects, opponent cards that prevent the player from banishing such as "Necrovalley", "Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer", and ironically "Chaos Hunter" are a significant threat to this type of deck.
Notes[]
- ↑ In the OCG, the names of the "Black Luster Soldier" archetype contain the words for "Chaos", hence this "alternative name" in the TCG.