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"Nordic", known as "Polar Star" ( (きょく) (せい) Kyokusei) in the OCG, is an archetype introduced in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's used by Team Ragnarok. It contains 4 sub-archetypes; "Nordic Alfar", "Nordic Ascendant", "Nordic Beast" and "Nordic Relic". They work alongside the 3 "Aesir" monsters and are based on Norse Mythology.

Sub-archetypes[]

Nordic Beasts[]

The "Nordic Beast" (Polar Star Beasts in the OCG and the Japanese anime) is the sub-archetype used by Dragan and connected to the Norse God Thor. The two Tokens Summoned by "Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts" are actually the goats that pull Thor's chariot, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr. Garmr, the guardian of the Underworld, is a dog associated with Ragnarök, while Gullfaxi is a sacred horse that was a gift from Thor to his son, Magni, as a reward for helping him fight against the Giants.

The Nordic Beast is a fast, powerful sub-archetype focused on starting Duels strong and Synchro Summoning "Thor, Lord of the Aesir".

The Nordic Beasts have 1 Tuner monster: "Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts" (a Level 4 monster which can Special Summon itself from the hand while the opponent controls a face-up Synchro Monster). "Garmr of the Nordic Beasts" is a Level 4 monster that can return Level 4 or lower monster cards from the field to the hand whenever it battles. "Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts" is a Level 3 monster that can Special Summon 2 Level 3 Nordic Beast Tokens if it is destroyed by battle. "Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts" is a Level 3 monster that can Special Summon itself from the hand when a monster is destroyed by battle and Special Summon other "Nordic Beast" monsters from the Deck when it is changed from Defense Position to Attack Position.

Nordic Alfar[]

The "Nordic Alfar" (Polar Star Spirits in the OCG and Japanese Anime) is the "Nordic" sub-archetype used by Brodor and connected to the Norse God Loki. Ljósálfr is a combination of the words "Light" and "Álfr" (Elf). The Light Elves are divine beings who dwell in the heavens of Álfheimr (Elfland). The Japanese name of "Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar", Dökkálfr, is the opposite of Ljósálfr: It's a combination of the words "Dökkr" (Dark) and "Álfr" (Elf). Unlike the Light Elves who live in the heavens, the Dark Elves dwell down below the Earth.

The Nordic Alfar are a sub-archetype focused on Normal Summoning monsters, recycling monsters and Trap Cards in the Graveyard and Synchro Summoning "Loki, Lord of the Aesir".

The Nordic Alfar have 2 Tuner monsters: "Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar" (a Level 5 monster that can recycle "Nordic" monsters when Normal Summoned) and "Mara of the Nordic Alfar" (a Level 2 monster possessing Instant Synchro Summon capabilities). "Dverg of the Nordic Alfar" is a Level 1 monster which allows an additional Normal Summon of a "Nordic" monster when it is Normal Summoned. "Ljosalf of the Nordic Alfar" is a Level 4 monster which can Special Summon a Nordic monster from the hand with Level equal to or less than another monster you control.

While you control a Level 5 or higher monster (generally "Cyber Dragon" or an "Aesir" monster), you can Normal Summon "Dverg of the Nordic Alfar", activating its effect to Normal Summon "Ljosalf of the Nordic Alfar", which can Special Summon "Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar" by selecting "Cyber Dragon" or the "Aesir" monster. "Dverg of the Nordic Alfar", "Ljosalf of the Nordic Alfar" and "Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar" can be used to Synchro Summon "Loki, Lord of the Aesir".

"Mara of the Nordic Alfar" is a flexible Tuner monster, being able to send "Garmr of the Nordic Beasts", "Ljosalf of the Nordic Alfar" and/or "Tyr of the Nordic Champions" from the Hand to Synchro Summon "Loki, Lord of the Aesir". You could also send "Garmr", "Ljosalf" or "Tyr" with "Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts" or "Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts" to Synchro Summon a Level 9 like "Mist Wurm".

Nordic Ascendant[]

The "Nordic Ascendant" (Polar Star Angels in the OCG and the Japanese Anime) is the "Nordic" sub-archetype used by Halldor and connected to the Norse God called Odin. Mimir, another Norse God renowned for his wisdom and knowledge, is the guard of the Well of Wisdom and Insight, where one of the Roots of the Yggdrasil Tree concludes. Odin cast his own eye into Mimir's well to gain knowledge of the future. The Valkyries are a host of female figures who serve under Odin, and decide who will die in battle. They are also responsible for bringing dead warriors to the afterlife and into the Halls of Valhalla (where they become Einherjars).

The Nordic Ascendants are a sub-archetype focused on Synchro Summon preparation and Synchro Summoning "Odin, Father of the Aesir".

The Nordic Ascendants have 2 Tuner monsters: "Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant" (A Level 2 monster that can banish 2 "Nordic" monsters in your hand to Special Summon two Level 4 "Einherjar Tokens") and "Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant" (A Level 4 monster that can be used as a substitute for any "Nordic" Tuner monster). "Mimir of the Nordic Ascendant" is a Level 2 monster which can Special Summon itself from the Graveyard during the Standby Phase of a Turn by sending 1 Spell Card from the hand to the Graveyard while a player controls a face-up "Nordic" monster.

"Valkyrie" is rarely used, since using its effect requires you to control no cards while your opponent controls a monster. "Vanadis" can send useful "Nordic" monsters to your Graveyard, and can be used to Synchro Summon "Loki, Lord of the Aesir" and "Thor, Lord of the Aesir" without a "Nordic Alfar" or "Nordic Beast" Tuner monster.

Nordic Relics[]

The Nordic Relics (Polar Star Treasure in the OCG and the Japanese Anime) are a sub-archetype of Spell and Trap Cards that supports the Nordic and Aesir archetypes.

Playing style[]

Nordic decks thrive on Summoning the three Nordic Gods Loki, Thor, and Odin. Loki, Lord of the Aesir tends to be the easiest to Summon because of Mara's ability to do an easy quick-Synchro with two Level-4 Nordic monsters (Usually with Tyr, Garmr, Ljosalf). Odin can also be Summoned quickly through Valkryie of the Nordic Ascendant's effect to Summon tokens for a quick 10-star Synchro Summon. If you draw Valkryie on your first turn and you have the other requirements met, wait another turn until your opponent Summons a monster so you can still Summon Odin. Remember Valkryie's effect requires 2 Nordic monsters and that you have no cards on your side of the field.

Nordics are also powerful for their ability to Synchro Summon in general. Dverg and Guldfaxe can lead for a quick Summon of either Ally of Justice Catastor or T.G. Hyper Librarian. Tanngnjostr's flip effect can special Guldfaxe for a level 7 Synchro (Probably Black Rose Dragon). Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant is a unique tuner monster due to its effect to alter its Level. Having it out along with a card such as Ljosalf will make it able to potentially Summon a 5,6,7,8, or 9 star Synchro.

Though the Gods can easily protect themselves from being destroyed, they are very vulnerable to Macro Cosmos Decks because they can only bring themselves back through being sent to the Graveyard, however, with the september 2013 list limiting "Macro Cosmos" and "Dimensional Fissure", Macro Decks won't be as much of a threat anymore. You can run "Burial from a Different Dimension" to ensure you can bring back not only the Nordic Gods, but the tuners that let them bring themselves back. "Forbidden Lance" is another useful card since it protects the Gods from spell/trap cards and still leaves them good attack power (Especially with Odin). "Forbidden Dress" can be an alternate to "Forbidden Lance" because it protects your Aesirs from destruction and from being targeted by effects (especially monster effects); also it reduces a monster's attack by 600 points instead of 800. With the release of "Rebound" from Return of the Duelist and with the banning of "Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" in the September 2012 banned List, the Nordic Gods can be stronger because they would have more counters on their side to prevent them from being bounced back to the Extra Deck.

A notable part of the Nordics is the Nordic Relics. Nordic Relic Mengingjord is effective when your opponent is attacking a face up Nordic/Aesir since it can not only lead to the destruction of the attacking monster, but deal a potentially large amount of damage. This is especially effective when an opponent is trying to use Honest to destroy one of your Nordic Gods in battle. Laevateinn is also effective due to the fact that your opponent usually attacks set cards with their strongest monster, and Laevateinn is a surefire way to destroy that monster. Relics aren't huge in competitive play, but Mengingjord and Laevateinn are strong supporting trap cards for a Nordic deck.

Another card that can help this deck is "Maxx "C"". This card can provide strong draw power to this deck. Due to the current Meta of monsters Special Summoning themselves and combos which involves Special Summoning lots of monsters, you can add copies of this card to support draw power to this deck and bring out combos for nordics to help Summon the Aesirs faster. You can also use "Effect Veiler" to help prevent your opponent's combos from unleashing and you can use it for a Synchro Summon.

A good card that can help Nordics is "Mecha Phantom Beast Hamstrat". Hamstrat can produce 2 Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens when flipped faced up, similar how Tanngrisnir can produce 2 tokens when destroyed by battle, however, this card can be better than tanngrisnir since its effect triggers when its flipped up and also can revive other mecha phantom beast like another Hamstrat or "Mecha Phantom Beast Stealthray", which Stealthray has the ability to destroy spell/trap cards and produce tokens when it inflicts damage. you can also try using "Mecha Phantom Beast Tetherwolf" and/or "Mecha Phantom Beast Blackfalcon" since they can produce tokens easily.

"Skill Prisoner" in Legacy of the Valiant can be useful due to its effect of protecting a card you control from monster effects that target. This card can be a better alternative than "Forbidden Dress" because Dress cannot protect your monsters that was already targeted by a monster effect before you activated Dress and "Skill Prisoner" negates all monster effects that targets your selected monster. Also, similar to "Breakthrough Skill", this card can be used in the graveyard (during either player's turn).


T.G. Nordics[]

Tech Genus monsters can actually support the Nordic Beasts very well. You can include Nordic Ascendants, but it is best not to include Nordic Alfars. It adds to searches and opens up plays to use more DARK and EARTH monsters.


Weaknesses[]

Since a "Nordic" Deck's de facto strategem has Synchro Summons as its centrepiece, Anti-Synchro cards such as "Discord", "Synchro Control", "Tuner's Scheme", "Shiny Black "C"" and "Maxx "C"" can hurt this Deck's purpose. This archetype can also be threatened by the "Meklord"s since many work mainly against Synchro Monsters.

"Koa'ki Meiru Drago" can keep "Loki" and "Odin" off the Field as "Loki" is DARK and "Odin" as well as all the "Nordic Alfar" and "Nordic Ascendant" monsters are LIGHT. Cards like "Archlord Kristya", "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" "Jowgen the Spiritualist" and the "Vanity's" cards can be a more complete solution in crippling "Nordics", though.

Banishing cards such as "Dimensional Fissure", "Macro Cosmos", and "Banisher of the Radiance" can hurt this Deck too since "Nordic" Tuners won't be in the Graveyard anymore to revive fallen "Aesir"s--on that note, these aces in the hole can also be banished making it almost impossible to bring them back in the Duel. "Orient Dragon", "D.D. Warrior Lady", "D.D. Assailant", "Chaos Sorcerer" and other monsters that banish can also be a huge threat against the "Aesirs" due to their lack of protection against monster effects. Siding in cards like "Chaos Hunter" and "Imperial Iron Wall" can help deal with cards that banish, although Imperial Iron Wall prevents you from banishing cards too. Also you can try to use "Soul Drain" to take care of pesky monster effects that activate in the Graveyard or in the Banish area.

Cards that return monsters to the hand or Deck, such as "Penguin Soldier", "Compulsory Evacuation Device" and "Compulsory Escape Device", bypass the ability of "Aesir" monsters to revive themselves from the Graveyard.

Nordic's worst match-ups are Evilswarm, because they have access to "Evilswarm Ophion", which prevents you from Special Summoning your Aesirs or synchro monsters of level 5 or higher and "Evilswarm Bahamut". Other bad match-ups are Harpies due to them having access to "Lightning Chidori", "Number 11: Big Eye", "Number 101: Silent Honor ARK", etc , Constellars due to having access to "Constellar Pleiades", "Constellar Ptolemy M7", "Number 101: Silent Honor ARK", etc, Fire Fists for having access to "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Bear", "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Cardinal", "Number 101: Silent Honor ARK", etc, Mermails for having access to the Atlantean cards, "Mermail Abyssgaios", "Number 11: Big Eye", "Number 101: Silent Honor ARK", etc, Dragon Ruler and Hybrid builds and alot of decks that can run "Number 101" and "Abyss Dweller".

Counter Trap Cards that negate monster Summons like "Solemn Warning", "Solemn Judgment", "Horn of Heaven" and "Black Horn of Heaven" can negate the "Aesir"'s Summon or any Extra Deck Monster's Summon, making them unusable in the Graveyard. Use Counter Traps like "Dark Bribe", "Seven Tools of the Bandit", "Solemn Judgment" and "Smashing Horn" to prevent those cards from negating your Summons and cards that activate when your monsters are Summoned like "Torrential Tribute" and "Bottomless Trap Hole". You can also use "Royal Decree" and "Trap Stun" to negate trap effects to help you summon your Aesirs safely.

Finally, without any of the three "Aesir" on the Field or at the very least, the use of "Nordic Relic Brisingamen" and/or "Nordic Relic Draupnir", "Nordic" Decks lack offensive machismo (perhaps save "Guldfaxe" to a minor extent.), this can be made worse through cards like "All-Out Attacks" and "Savage Colosseum". While a lot of the "Nordic" Spell/Trap support arguably boasts lethal effects to compensate for this, if all the mentioned weaknesses are mixed and matched, along with negators like "Skill Drain", the "Jinzo"s and "Magic Deflector", "Nordic" Decks can arguably be very strenuous Decks to utilize, especially in the modern metagame.

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