Shaddoll

Shaddoll
シャドール (Shadōru)
Shaddoll
Other names
French	Marionnette de l'Ombre Translation: Shadow Marionette
German	Schattenpuppe Translation: Shadow Doll
Italian	Bambolaombra Translation: Dollshadow
Korean	섀도르 Syaedoreu (romanized) Translation: Shador
Portuguese	Sombraneco
Spanish	Sombrañeca
Sets
Sets	Duelist Alliance The New Challengers Secrets of Eternity Crossed Souls Raging Tempest Rise of the Duelist
Sets	Duelist Alliance The New Challengers Secrets of Eternity Crossed Souls Raging Tempest Rise of the Duelist
TCG Sets	Duelist Alliance: Deluxe Edition Astral Pack Six The New Challengers Super Edition Secrets of Eternity Super Edition 2015 Mega-Tin Mega Pack 2017 Mega-Tin Mega Pack Flames of Destruction Shadows in Valhalla Battles of Legend: Hero's Revenge Structure Deck: Shaddoll Showdown OTS Tournament Pack 15 Ghosts From the Past 2021 Tin of Ancient Battles 25th Anniversary Rarity Collection Quarter Century Stampede
TCG Sets	Duelist Alliance: Deluxe Edition Astral Pack Six The New Challengers Super Edition Secrets of Eternity Super Edition 2015 Mega-Tin Mega Pack 2017 Mega-Tin Mega Pack Flames of Destruction Shadows in Valhalla Battles of Legend: Hero's Revenge Structure Deck: Shaddoll Showdown OTS Tournament Pack 15 Ghosts From the Past 2021 Tin of Ancient Battles 25th Anniversary Rarity Collection Quarter Century Stampede
OCG Sets	LINK VRAINS Pack 20th Anniversary Pack 2nd Wave Special Pack 20th Anniversary Edition Vol.2 Structure Deck: Rebirth of Shaddoll Structure Deck: Rebirth of Shaddoll Deck Enhancement Pack Selection 10 Rarity Collection Quarter Century Edition Quarter Century Art Collection
OCG Sets	LINK VRAINS Pack 20th Anniversary Pack 2nd Wave Special Pack 20th Anniversary Edition Vol.2 Structure Deck: Rebirth of Shaddoll Structure Deck: Rebirth of Shaddoll Deck Enhancement Pack Selection 10 Rarity Collection Quarter Century Edition Quarter Century Art Collection
Korea-Only Sets	Advanced Event Pack 2014 Vol.4 Advanced Event Pack 2015 Vol.1 Advanced Event Pack 2015 Vol.2
Korea-Only Sets	Advanced Event Pack 2014 Vol.4 Advanced Event Pack 2015 Vol.1 Advanced Event Pack 2015 Vol.2
Lists
Members Support
Members Support

"Shaddoll" (シャドール Shadōru) is an archetype comprised primarily of DARK monsters that debuted in Duelist Alliance. Their focus is the Fusion Summon of the more powerful "El Shaddoll" monsters, which restrict or punish Special Summons. The Main Deck "Shaddoll" monsters all have Flip effects that focus on searching and field advantage, as well as secondary effects that focus on regaining advantage whenever they are sent to the Graveyard by a card effect.

Design

Appearance

The "Shaddoll" cards appear to be darker puppet versions of cards from other archetypes in the Duel Terminal world, with their threads coming from the back of "El Shaddoll Construct". Each card also takes reference from a form of ancient Jewish mysticism known as "Kabbalah".

Monsters released in later support are derived from other "Zefra"-related archetypes such as "Qli", "Infernoid" and "Ritual Beast".

"Shaddoll" card	Original monster/card
El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis	"El Shaddoll Construct" having stolen the powers of "Nekroz of Trishula" and fused with "Infernoid Devyaty"
El Shaddoll Apkallone	"Evigishki Mind Augus"
El Shaddoll Construct/Shaddoll Construct	"Gem-Knight Lapis"
El Shaddoll Grysta/Helshaddoll Hollow/Shaddoll Zefracore	"Gem-Knight Crystal"/"Shaddoll Core"/"Cairngorgon, Antiluminescent Knight"/"Infernoid Devyaty"
El Shaddoll Shekhinaga	"El Shaddoll Construct" and "Apoqliphort Towers"
El Shaddoll Wendigo	"Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin"
El Shaddoll Winda	"Winda, Priestess of Gusto" and "Pulao, Wind of the Yang Zing"
Reeshaddoll Wendi	"Ritual Beast Tamer Wen"
Naelshaddoll Ariel	"Gishki Ariel"
Qadshaddoll Keios/Shaddoll Zefranaga	"Evilswarm Kerykeion"
Shaddoll Beast	"Naturia Beast"
Shaddoll Core	Head of "Cairngorgon, Antiluminescent Knight"
Shaddoll Dragon	"Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing"
Shaddoll Falco	"Gusto Falco"
Shaddoll Fusion	"Gem-Knight Fusion"
Shaddoll Hedgehog	"Neo Flamvell Hedgehog"
Shaddoll Hound	Armor of "Satellarknight Sirius"
Shaddoll Squamata/Nehshaddoll Genius	Armor of "Satellarknight Unukalhai", as well as "Qliphort Genius"

"Curse of the Shadow Prison" has "Satellerknight Unukalhai" with the staff from "Constellar Rasalhague", which is the card "Evilswarm Kerykeion" is based off of.

Etymology

"Shaddoll" is a portmanteau of the words "shadow" and "doll". "El Shaddoll" is a play on "El Shaddai", one of the Judaic names of God.

Story

In the abyss of this world, there is a certain something called the "Shaddoll Core" (The Primordial "Core" of Shadow-Possession) which gives birth to shadows that absorb light, the "Shaddoll". "El Shaddoll Construct" uses these shadow strings to control the manifested shadows, and with this to extend its influence and power...

Playing style

For the "Shaddoll" Effect Monsters activating their Graveyard effects is the quickest way of gaining advantage, especially "Shaddoll Beast" who is usually the first to be sent off of "Shaddoll Fusion" or "Sinister Shadow Games"; with "Shaddoll Falco" soon to follow. And lastly, "Shaddoll Squamata" and "Shaddoll Hedgehog" are best for searching the other two or left be until they are Drawn as the 1st basically acts as any "Shaddoll" when sent and the second usually searches the other of the first two. A quick but important note on the effect of "Squamata" is it can be used to send even "Shaddoll" Spell and Trap cards, this is only important for "Shaddoll Core" who will recover another "Shaddoll" Spell or Trap from the Graveyard.

Previously "Shaddoll" Monsters were run with a LIGHT engine (notable cards in Recommended). Nowadays "Shaddolls" can be run as support with the "Railway" series with "Shekhinaga" (usually with "Kaiju"), "Prediction Princess" for Flip Effect support or the newer "Invoked" Fusion archetype

Although the main focus of this archetype is Fusion Summoning of "El Shaddoll Winda", "Shekhinaga" (with "Mathematician") and "Construct" (until it was banned; OCG lifted the ban on El Shaddoll Construct in October and more recently, in November 2019, the TCG also removed it from the ban list), the Level 4 "Shaddoll" monsters are the most disruptive on the Field, namely "Shaddoll Dragon", who bounces cards when flipped face-up and "Shaddoll Squamata", who destroys a monster. At this archetype's unrestricted phase it also had "Super Polymerization" and "Soul Charge" Spell Cards at 3 and ran "Arcanite Magician" ("Winda" + "Falco") and "Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree" ("Construct" + "Falco") as the Lion was hard for some archetypes to get over.

All "Shaddoll" Main Deck monsters monsters can only use one of their effects per turn, and only once that turn, so players are advised discretion and to plan ahead. The Flip effect of "Shaddoll Falco" is ideally activated at the End Phase of the opposing turn by "Sinister Shadow Games" or for reuse by the effect of "Purushaddoll Aeon" to avoid negation. Lastly, "El Shaddoll Fusion" has some similar timings to the two Trap cards as well.

One can also take profit of their effects by using them as Fusion Material for the ace cards of the Deck: the "El Shaddoll" Fusion monsters. Since using "Shaddoll Fusion" or "El Shaddoll Fusion" involves sending "Shaddoll" monsters to the Graveyard by a card effect, their effects can be activated as soon as one attempts to Fusion Summon them, creating even more advantage. One can also use "Curse of the Shadow Prison" to not only weaken the opponent's monsters but also use their monsters as Fusion Materials.

The "Shaddoll" Link Monster, "Shaddoll Construct", is primarily intended to be Summoned to the Main Monster Zone via its revival effect. Its first effect can free up the Extra Monster Zone via using itself as Fusion Material, while its revival effect can trigger the effects of other "Shaddoll" monsters (though its Link Summon will not), and frees up to three zones for Extra Deck Summons.

The aforementioned "El Shaddoll" monsters rely on anti-supporting Special Summons, either by restricting them, negating them, destroying Special Summoned monsters in battle or destroying those ones who dare to activate their effects; also, some of them send 1 "Shaddoll" card from your hand to the Graveyard at their effect's resolution, which can trigger the effect of the sent monster. Finally, they can recycle the "Shaddoll" Spell/Trap cards as long as they are sent to the Graveyard, so even if they are destroyed during or after their Summoning they can still re-add cards like "Shaddoll Fusion" to set up a Fusion Summon the next turn.

The "El Shaddoll" monsters follow a pattern of requiring "1 "Shaddoll" monster + 1 [corresponding Attribute] monster" as Fusion Materials, and their effects become more aggressive as their Levels increase:

"El Shaddoll"	Attribute	Level	Special Summon-related effect
Winda	DARK	5	Allows only 1 Special Summon per turn.
Wendigo	WIND	6	Prevents one of your monsters from being destroyed by battle with an opponent's Special Summoned monster for only one turn.
Grysta	FIRE	7	Negates a Special Summon and destroys the monster.
Construct	LIGHT	8	Destroys a Special Summoned monster at the start of the Damage Step.
Anoyatyllis	WATER	9	Prevents monsters from being Special Summoned from the hand or Graveyard by the effect of Spell/Trap Cards.
Shekhinaga	EARTH	10	Negates the activation of a Special Summoned monster's effect and destroys that monster.

Due to the requirements for the Fusion Summons, cards like "Shaddoll Core" and "Nephe Shaddoll Fusion", can be used to either substitute any Attribute or to turn a "Shaddoll" monster into one declared Attribute. One can also use cards like "Curse of the Shadow Prison" in order to use opposing monsters to Fusion Summon them.

Recommended cards

Recommended cards

Monsters

Effect Monsters

• Shaddoll Beast
• Shaddoll Dragon
• Shaddoll Hedgehog
• Shaddoll Hound
• Shaddoll Squamata
• Helshaddoll Hollow
• Naelshaddoll Ariel
• Nehshaddoll Genius
• Qadshaddoll Keios
• Reeshaddoll Wendi
• Dark Armed Dragon
• Denko Sekka
• Electromagnetic Turtle
• Kuribandit
• Mathematician
• Prediction Princess Coinorma
• Performage Damage Juggler
• Performage Trick Clown
• Sephylon, the Ultimate Timelord
• Summoner Monk

Tuner monsters

• Shaddoll Falco

Extra Deck

Fusion Monsters

• El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis
• El Shaddoll Apkallone
• El Shaddoll Construct
• El Shaddoll Grysta
• El Shaddoll Shekhinaga
• El Shaddoll Wendigo
• El Shaddoll Winda
• Starving Venom Fusion Dragon
• Supreme Arcanite Magician

Synchro Monsters

• Arcanite Magician
• Armades, Keeper of Boundaries
• Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree

Link Monsters

• Shaddoll Construct
• Subterror Behemoth Fiendess

Spells & Traps

Spells

• Curse of the Shadow Prison
• El Shaddoll Fusion
• Nephe Shaddoll Fusion
• Shaddoll Fusion
• Allure of Darkness
• Battle Fusion
• Dark World Dealings
• Dragged Down into the Grave
• Foolish Burial
• Fusion Substitute
• Instant Fusion
• Polymerization

Traps

• Purushaddoll Aeon
• Shaddoll Core
• Shaddoll Schism
• Sinister Shadow Games
• Burst Rebirth
• Dark Renewal
• The First Monarch
• Junk Sleep
• Subterror Succession
• World Legacy Pawns

Lightsworn

A powerful "Shaddoll" variant that uses "Reinforcement of the Army" to recruit "Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn" monster to mill a few "Shaddoll" cards or "Elemental HERO Blazeman" to search for "Polymerization".

Recommended cards

Monsters

Effect Monsters

• Shaddoll Beast
• Shaddoll Dragon
• Shaddoll Falco
• Shaddoll Hedgehog
• Shaddoll Hound
• Reeshaddoll Wendi
• Naelshaddoll Ariel
• The Chaos Creator
• Shaddoll Squamata
• Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
• Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
• Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden
• Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn
• Black Dragon Collapserpent
• Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
• Chaos Sorcerer
• Jet Synchron
• Dark Armed Dragon
• The Dark Creator
• Denko Sekka
• Elemental HERO Blazeman
• Judgment Dragon
• Kuribandit
• Photon Thrasher
• White Dragon Wyverburster

Extra Deck

Fusion Monsters

• El Shaddoll Shekhinaga
• El Shaddoll Construct
• El Shaddoll Winda

Synchro Monsters

• Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn
• Arcanite Magician
• Drascension the Supreme Sky Dragon
• Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree
• Vulcan the Divine
• Star Eater

Xyz Monsters

• Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss
• Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand
• Downerd Magician
• Daigusto Emeral

Spells & Traps

Spells

• El Shaddoll Fusion
• Nephe Shaddoll Fusion
• Shaddoll Fusion
• Chaos Space
• Allure of Darkness
• Charge of the Light Brigade
• Dark World Dealings
• Dragged Down into the Grave
• Foolish Burial
• Instant Fusion
• Polymerization
• Reinforcement of the Army
• Solar Recharge

Traps

• Shaddoll Core
• Sinister Shadow Games

Weaknesses

Since the Deck basically relies on sending the "Shaddoll" monsters to the Graveyard in order to trigger their effects, or flipping them face-up, cards like "Soul Drain", "Royal Command", "Abyss Dweller", "Armades, Keeper of Boundaries", "Majesty's Fiend", "Archfiend Black Skull Dragon", "Gem-Knight Citrine" , and can be simple and effective.

Additionally, one can also use cards that banish or return the Fusion Monsters to the Extra Deck to avoid the retriever effect. Due to cards like "El Shaddoll Winda", cards that can do this without the need to special summon, such as "Compulsory Evacuation Device", "Phoenix Wing Wind Blast," and "Karma Cut," are recommended. The variety of Types and Attributes also makes the Fusion Monsters vulnerable to floodgate cards like "Rivalry of Warlords" and "Gozen Match". "Skill Drain" is also a viable solution as it counters the anti-Special Summoning effects of the "Shaddoll" Fusion Monsters. This makes certain Decks that can use "Skill Drain" able to effectively bypass the "Shaddoll" Deck's threats. Examples of such Decks include "Qli", "Malefic", "Dark World", "Scrap", "Archfiend", "Yang Zing" and "Zombie".

As the archetype is primarily comprised of DARK Attribute monsters, "Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror" and "Stellarknight Constellar Diamond" can stop them from activating their Flip and Graveyard effects.

Cards that banish such as "Macro Cosmos" or "Masked HERO Dark Law" will prevent "Shaddoll" monsters from being sent to the Graveyard to activate their effects.