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"Unchained" ( () (かい) Hakai) is an archetype of Fiend monsters introduced in "Chaos Impact". It also has a sub-archetype called "Unchained Soul".

Etymology[]

"Hakai" (romanization) literally means "Destroy", which is a key component in the archetype's playing style. The archetype's Japanese name is complex, multi-layered wordplay. First, it is an homophone to both 「破壊」("destroy"; fitting to their playstyle to say the least) and 「破戒」("breaking a religious commandment"; in reference to the theme's visual design being somewhat reminding of 'tortured heretics'). In addition, the 「械」kai kanji is part of 「機械」kikai ("machine"), but also takes the meaning of "fetter" or "shackles if written separately (in which case it reads as kase), alluding to the many restraining devices on the monsters' bodies. "Unchained" instead references the archetype's design, being prisoned oni who are unchaining themselves from their shackles.

Lore[]

Only One Thought Remains, "Destroy Everything"

Once, there was a practitioner who mastered all the arts of the Taoist immortals. But the awe of the people at his incredible power changed into fear, and they were shackled by those who shunned their might, sealed over and over again by various means. Countless years passed, and before long, the soul of the master was stained with evil, as they became driven by their resentment to the world and all who lived in it. Little by little, their power began to leak from their seals, and the magical master created two duplicates of their original form, using them to manifest their former shikigami and break their seals one-by-one.

The Shikigami Transformed Into An Evil Being

The Twins, who destroyed the devices sealing their master away, ended up calling forth a humongous shikigami that lusted for further power. This shikigami, that was once used by the magical master, had been transformed into a wicked beast as a result of the current shape of the soul of its master. It absorbed the Twins, transforming it into one gigantic being. The shikigami became even stronger, marching to the place where its master was sealed, destroying everything around it. When the magical master's seals are finally broken, the world will surely be destroyed and covered in endless darkness.[1]

Abominable Chamber of the Unchained

An underground space dominated by darkness. A sealed coffin, large enough for one person and approximately 2~3 meters tall, hangs suspended in the air. The coffin is bound by chains reaching out in every direction, allowing one to see how secure the entire thing is.

Unchained Twins - Rakea

A copy of the sealed sorcerer, created by their leaking spiritual energy. Its mind hasn't fully matured due to having been just manifested into existence, making them both as innocent yet cruel as a child.[2]

Unchained Twins - Aruha

Like "Rakea", they were born from the spiritual power of the sorcerer. When they first manifested, their eyes were blindfolded and their limbs were restrained with magical sealing devices.[3]

Abomination's Prison

A shikigami summoned from the other world by the Twins. Its limbs were wrapped in chains, which have been torn apart by incredible power. Unlike in the past, when it served the great sorcerer, it now carries a sinister aura.

Unchained Abomination

The magical beast has transformed into a diabolical appearance absorbing "Aruha" and "Rakea". On its forehead are taijitu-esque magatamas made of "Aruha" and "Rakea", after being merged into its body. Its very surrondings are destroyed by the power it gained.

Playing style[]

The archetype focuses on breaking their opponent's board, albeit through a limited number of ways. It heavily relies on interaction during the enemy's turn, in order to disrupt plays through utilizing their opponent's own Monster cards for its main gimmick, which is climbing a set of Link Monsters from -2 to -4.

Their main strategy revolves around destroying their own cards with the ultimate goal to summon Unchained Soul of Disaster, as the core gameplay condition.

"Unchained Soul" is a sub-archetype which focuses on Link Summoning using the opponent's monsters, as its main strategy. This allows them to climb into its powerful Link -4 monster, Unchained Abomination, while having preserved its own resources and simultaneously clearing the enemy's board bit by bit.

Despite "Abomination" not being a win condition by itself, reaching it opens the door to a plethora of destruction effects that can easily rid the opponent of their entire board.
"Abomination's" key weakness is a lack of self-protection or floating effect, like the rest of the deck has. That makes it necessary to reduce the enemy's resources low enough during the turn "Abomination" is summoned, so that the deck can leverage its lead and establish enough recovery options or extenders.

As prior to reaching "Abomination" the deck has no more than single removal effects, it should usually be aided by cards which can utilize more destruction and disruption.
Coupling the deck with more flexible archetypes is also a good idea to make up for Unchained's core weakness, which is protection for either destruction itself or, even worse, targetability.


References[]

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