Iron Chain...retrains

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Plague von Karma
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Iron Chain...retrains

Post #1 by Plague von Karma » Sat Jan 22, 2022 1:42 am

Hi, if you’re reading this, you now know I am a degenerate. This is my attempt to expand upon the strange, disjointed combination of milling, burning, and attack gain of Iron Chains, while introducing new concepts that can make the deck distinguish itself in modern Yu-Gi-Oh. What I've made is probably broken and silly but I suppose that's par for the course with custom cards. I wanted to make something usable, and that was that: the means and the like wasn't really on my mind. Never done this before, but hey, it was pretty fun.

Custom Cards: https://www.duelingbook.com/deck?id=9958169
Haphazardly-made Decklist (CW: Burn): https://www.duelingbook.com/deck?id=9958176

The main idea I came up with is taking the Iron Chain concept literally: add Chain Link-centric effects and make the deck teach players how missing the timing works. Nobody likes learning either of these mechanics, and nobody likes burn and mill either, so this is a deck for those of a truly refined palette.

So let’s go into the wonderful unification of these ideas. The cards in this deck have optional “when” effects, which means they can situationally miss timing. However, they also have conditional Chain Link 2+ effects they can use to get past missing timing and, by extension, negation effects. From then-on, the rest of the archetype can quickly build long chains and gain advantage from it. Thus, the more you try to bring the deck down, the more aggressive it becomes, making it a catch-22 situation that provides interesting, meaningful interactions.

The main combo enabler is Iron Chain Cannon, which acts as a Lonefire Blossom. It can tribute itself to summon Iron Chain Tesla, which has a “when” effect to add an Iron Chain card, such as Iron Chain Factory, or if there's an attempt to negate it, it can chain a different effect to dump a card. This is one such example of the deck’s interactivity, which will goad you into different combo routes depending on the opponent’s hand traps. I have also taken inspiration from some existing Chain Link-reliant Traps when producing this support, such as Vanity's Call and Chain Detonation, which could be pretty neat and maybe I could expand on it further.

Every card except Repairman has been retrained because this archetype is garbage. However, the cards produced are designed to be compatible with the old ones. Iron Chain Repairman is integral to the new deck’s combo potential, as it doesn’t have a HOPT attached to it, and loops are funny and cool. You can technically use Iron Chain Snake, as I’ve maintained its compatibility with the few equip-based cards, but whether it would be viable is another ballgame. Jank enthusiasts will love it, anyway. Iron Chain Dragon is also technically usable and remains the sole Level 6 Synchro, and I’ve included your run-of-the-mill mediocre Equip Spell to stack with it plus easier access routes, but it probably isn’t very good.

Despite needing to throw all the garbage out, milling the opponent’s cards and burning their LP on the side have been preserved, with many cards having side-effects to mill. This works alongside the new field spell, Iron Chain Factory, which burns the opponent for each card milled. This brings them ever-closer to kill range at the hands of the Synchro Monsters, while also providing multiple ways to build the deck and succeed. Additionally, careful timing of mill effects alongside the new Level 5 Synchro, Iron Chain Drake, allows you to effectively D. D. Crow one of the milled cards to minimise counterplay.

Overall, this deck has been revamped into something that is quite complicated, but probably one of the best outcomes it could receive if it were to receive modern support. I hold a soft spot for this decrepit, pack-filler archetype, and would love to see it get something new. Oh, and I made sure to follow Problem Solving Card Text here to make these cards perfectly playable for anyone who wanted to take these ideas further. I had to dig quite a bit to figure out how some of these are meant to be written, though.

Monster Cards
For the main deck, I decided to produce retrains of all the old Iron Chain monsters, with the exception of Repairman, which is perfectly viable thanks to the lack of a HOPT. These cards are a bit generic effect-wise, but the Chain Link quirks make them interesting, which is what matters.

Iron Chain Tesla
EARTH
Level 3
Machine / Tuner / Effect
1100 ATK / 1600 DEF
If a card is sent from your opponent’s Deck to the GY by a card effect: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand). When this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 “Iron Chain” card, or 1 card that specifically lists “Iron Chain” in its text, from your Deck to your hand. Activate as Chain Link 2 or higher (Quick Effect): You can send 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your Deck to the GY. You can only use each effect of “Iron Chain Tesla” once per turn.

This is a retrain of Iron Chain Coil, with “Tesla” being a reference to Tesla Coils. The “when” effect searches all Iron Chain cards, making it the archetype’s first Poison Chain searcher. Generally, this card should only ever be Special Summoned, which does make it bricky, but if you're funny, you can use Chain Summoning...

Iron Chain Cobra
EARTH
Level 2
Reptile / Tuner / Effect
600 ATK / 1000 DEF
During the Main Phase (Quick Effect): You can equip this card to 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. That monster loses ATK/DEF equal to its Level/Rank x 300. If this equipped monster is destroyed and sent to the GY, its controller sends cards equal to its Level or Rank from the top of their Deck to the GY. Activate only as Chain Link 2 or higher (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 “Iron Chain Cobra” from your Deck. You can only use this effect of “Iron Chain Cobra” once per turn.

This is a retrain of Iron Chain Snake, with “Cobra” being a common name for snakes of the Naja genus. This aims to preserve the equip concept Snake held while making it more reliable, consistent, and flexible. It’s a lower level and a Tuner monster to make Iron Chain Dragon summonable from a legacy perspective. Works well alongside Iron Chain Factory. It also makes Reptilliane Melusine accessible if you’re on crack.

Iron Chain Cannon
EARTH
Level 4
Warrior / Effect
1900 ATK / 0 DEF
You can Tribute 1 “Iron Chain” monster; Special Summon 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your hand or Deck. Activate as Chain Link 2 or higher (Quick Effect): You can add 1 “Iron Chain” card, or 1 card that specifically lists “Iron Chain” in its text, from your Deck to your hand, then send 1 card from the top of your opponent’s Deck to the GY. You can only use each effect of “Iron Chain Cannon'' once per turn.

This is a retrain of Iron Chain Blaster and would be the main playmaker for the deck. It’s a Lonefire Blossom, with the primary target being Tesla, as it can special summon itself after Cannon’s effect resolves. It then keeps the tributing concept of Blaster, but instead uses it to special summon a different Iron Chain. This can be the Tesla summoned, then summoning Iron Chain Repairman to revive it and make a Level 11 Synchro.

Iron Chain Connector
EARTH
Level 1
Machine / Tuner / Effect
0 ATK / 0 DEF
You can only use each of the following effects of “Iron Chain Connector” once per turn, and cannot Special Summon any monsters during the turn you activate either effect, except “Iron Chain” monsters. If you control an “Iron Chain” monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If you control an “Iron Chain” monster, except “Iron Chain Connector”: Activate only as Chain Link 2 or higher (Quick Effect): Immediately after this effect resolves, Synchro Summon using this card you control.

A little chain link roller connector sort of monster, design-wise. It’s a Synchro-Tuner-but-not-really card because I couldn’t think of anything else to give it and it seems good enough for a 5Ds-era archetype. Has a Floowandereeze-style restriction as an appropriate balancing measure, it’s pretty powerful.

Extra Deck Monster Cards
Iron Chainlink
EARTH
Meme Arrows: Down-Left, Down-Right
Machine / Link / Effect
500 ATK | Link-2
2 Effect Monsters, including an “Iron Chain” monster
When this card is Link Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your Deck. “Iron Chain” monsters this card points to cannot be destroyed by card effects. Activate only as Chain Link 2 or higher (Quick Effect): You can add 1 “Iron Chain Factory” from your Deck to your hand, then send the top card of your opponent’s Deck to the GY.

Sort of like Salamangreat Balelynx in searching the new Field Spell I added prior to writing this effect up, only it has to be as a Chain Link 2+. The opponent has to interact for this to happen, but the summon effect gives you access to Repairman, who can then revive what’s likely a Tuner and let you continue climbing. Keep in mind, Chainlink is a Machine, so you can go for Auroradon plays…or, you can use a Tuner Repairman revives for Halqifibrax. Whatever happens, the routes are there. Anyway, it also provides the deck with some much-needed protection, giving much merit to keeping it there, while also having low stats to ensure it doesn’t get out of hand. This is your bridge into the cool stuff, first and foremost, though.

Iron Chain Welder
EARTH
Level 11
Warrior / Synchro / Effect
3400 ATK / 2600 DEF
1 “Iron Chain” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can banish the top 3 cards of your opponent’s Deck face-down. Cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. Once per turn: You can Special Summon 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your GY. You can only activate this effect of “Iron Chain Welder” once per turn. Activate only as Chain Link 4 or higher (Quick Effect): You can destroy 1 card you control and 1 card on the field.

A souped-up Repairman! It can be summoned through comboing off with Iron Chain Cannon’s Chain Link 2 effect; summon Repairman and Tesla. The protection allows the Chain Link-centric on this bad boy effect to be one-sided, but I also like the idea of using it to destroy your own equipped Cobras or Spell/Trap cards which banish themselves, which is why it’s there at all. I dunno, it seemed kind of neat. Maybe you could chuck this in with Scraps.

Example 2-card combo; requires Iron Chain Factory and Iron Chain Cannon:
[*]Normal Summon Iron Chain Cannon
[*]Activate Iron Chain Factory, use effect
[*]Chain Cannon’s second effect, add Iron Chain Tesla, then resolve Factory by adding a card (this can be anything)
[*]Activate Cannon’s tribute effect to tribute itself, chain Tesla and Factory
[*]Resolve with Factory milling a card, Tesla summoning itself, and Cannon bringing out Iron Chain Repairman
[*]Repairman effect, summon Cannon from GY
[*]Synchro for 11 with all 3 summoned cards
There are many ways to set this up!

Iron Chain Taipan
EARTH
Level 7
Reptile / Synchro / Effect
2800 ATK / 1600 DEF
1 “Iron Chain” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can add 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your Deck to your hand. Once per Chain, when a monster effect is activated: You can banish 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your GY; negate that activation and send the top 3 cards of your opponent’s Deck to the GY. Activate only as Chain Link 4 or higher (Quick Effect): You can destroy 1 card on your opponent’s side of the field.

Taipans are among the deadliest snakes in the world, think of this as Iron Chain Snake’s big daddy. Has a negate since this kind of archetype is in dire need of one to have any board presence, and it also builds chain links to allow for better effects later. Mills 3 as a callback to Iron Chain Dragon. This can be easily accessed with Iron Chain Repairman + a Level 3 Iron Chain Tuner, including Coil or the new (and way, way better) Tesla!

Iron Chain Drake
EARTH
Level 5
Dragon / Synchro / Effect
2200 ATK / 1000 DEF
1 “Iron Chain” Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can add 1 Spell/Trap card that lists “Iron Chain” in its text from your Deck to your hand. Once per Chain, when a card or effect is activated: You can send 1 “Iron Chain” card from your Deck to the GY. Activate only as Chain Link 4 or higher (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 card from your opponent’s GY.

Drakes are wingless dragons. An S/T counterpart to Taipan, which also comes with GY setup and sneaky banishing, the latter of which synergises well with the mill-centric playstyle, being a D. D. Crow effect. However, it may not be powerful enough, even if it isn’t Once per Turn. If you time the chaining of Iron Chain Factory or Venom Chain well, you should get some super cool interactions off. This can be easily accessed with the new Iron Chain Connector + Iron Chain Cannon or Iron Chain Repairman.

Spell Cards
Iron Chain Factory
Field Spell Card
If this card is activated: You can add 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of “Iron Chain Factory” once per turn. Cards equipped with “Iron Chain” monsters cannot activate their effects. Once per Chain: You can target 1 “Iron Chain” monster you control; it gains 300 ATK/DEF, then send the top card of their opponent’s Deck to the GY. If a card(s) is sent from the top of your opponent’s Deck to the GY by a card effect: for each card sent this way, inflict 200 damage to your opponent.

This card aims to compress the burn concept into a single card while “fixing” Paralysing Chain’s effect, as well as giving quick, consistent, easy access to higher chain links. The once per chain effect is a callback to Coil while making the mill effect only usable by what is most likely the Iron Chain player, which I quite like. It also gives some much-needed spice in the ever-so-cursed mirror match. Whether Paralysing Chain is an "Iron Chain" card is another ballgame but its aesthetic and everything seemed fine enough, and there's not much to go off when making these retrains, so let's roll with it.

Venom Chain
Quick-Play Spell Card
Activate only when you control an "Iron Chain" monster. Send cards from the top of your opponent's deck to the GY, up to the current Chain Link number of this card. You can banish this card from your GY; equip 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your hand, Deck, or GY to a monster your opponent controls. You can only use each effect of “Venom Chain” once per turn.

This card aims to do something akin to Poison Chain, but better, hopefully making it unnecessary. It’s not continuous with the aim of centering the deck around getting stupid high chain links. Additionally, it equips Iron Chain Snake or Iron Chain Cobra to opponent’s monsters as a vague callback to the card artwork of Poison Chain, playing into the equip concept and “poisonous” naming conventions.

Toxic Chain
Continuous Spell Card
If an “Iron Chain” monster is Summoned: You can target 1 “Iron Chain” monster you control; it gains 300 ATK/DEF. Once per Chain, if an “Iron Chain” monster you control is targeted by a card effect: You can send the top card of your opponent’s Deck to the GY. Activate only as Chain Link 5 or higher (Quick Effect): Special Summon 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your hand or Deck. You can only use this effect of “Toxic Chain” once per turn. You can banish this card from your GY; Add 1 “Iron Chain” monster from your Deck to your hand.

This can give you more control over the Iron Chain monster’s Chain Link effects while being a callback to Iron Chain Coil’s terribleness. I originally designed it to be one of “those cards” legacy archetypes get struck with as an insult, but instead, I made it playable with the chain effect since I didn’t think the deck profited enough from truly long chains.

Iron Chainmail
Equip Spell Card
While this card is equipped to an “Iron Chain” monster: it gains 500 ATK/DEF. If an “Iron Chain” monster equipped with this card destroys an opponent’s monster by battle or card effect: You can send the top 3 cards of your opponent’s Deck to the GY. If this card is sent to the GY: You can add 1 “Iron Chain” card, or 1 card that specifically lists “Iron Chain” in its text, from your Deck to your hand.

Mediocre bricky Equip Spell that every old archetype’s support has to get, basically makes any Iron Chain monster into an (arguably better) Iron Chain Dragon. It also stacks with Iron Chain Dragon’s effect if someone uses them together…in which case, what’s wrong with you? Anyway, I gave it utility with Foolish Burial Goods with the GY effect so it has use in the deck.

Trap Cards
Iron Chain Burn
Trap Card
Target 1 “Iron Chain” monster you control; destroy that monster, and if you do, take damage equal to its ATK, then inflict damage to your opponent, equal to the damage you took. If this card was activated as Chain Link 3 or higher, add this card to the Deck and shuffle it. You can only activate 1 “Iron Chain Burn” per turn.

A Ring of Destruction that’s been slightly reworked and specialised for the new Iron Chains, with a Chain Detonation effect for recursion. Iron Chain Factory and Toxic Chain can theoretically raise the damage inflicted by this card; it’s not that useful, though, as most Iron Chain monsters have very low ATK values, even with these effects.

Breaking the Iron Chain
Counter Trap Card
If you control an “Iron Chain” monster: Activate as Chain Link 2 or higher; negate the activation and effects of all cards in the same Chain, and destroy them. If this card was activated as Chain Link 4 or higher, add this card to the Deck and shuffle it. You can only activate 1 “Breaking the Iron Chain” per turn.

A reworked Vanity’s Call, being easier to activate and capable of recurring itself if activated at higher chains. However, it negates everything in the chain, which can be counterproductive given this deck wants to create large chains, oftentimes of its own making.
I stream VTubing things here: https://www.twitch.tv/plague_von_karma

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