Archetype: Chess

[BawmeELO]

Okay, so basically I got bored at college a couple of days ago and my brain went:

"[i]Hey, you know what you should do, kid?[/i]"
"What?"
"[i]Make a new Yu-Gi-Oh! archetype.[/i]"
"Hm, okay. But what should I base it on?"
"[i]How about chess?[/i]"
"Sounds good."

And then these happened:

[i]General information:[/i] The archetype is based on the pieces and moves on a chess board. As such, archetypal Monsters are fairly thin on the ground. However, there are plenty of support spells and traps, and several staples work well with this deck. The deck revolves around Synchro summoning and getting (and keeping) out the Field Spell in order to increase the versatility and effectiveness of your cards.

[i]Graphical information:[/i] If portrayed in the style of the anime, the monsters would appear as white. When their ATK and DEF are switched (by Chess Board, Black Gambit or another effect), they would change to black and their styling would be tweaked to accommodate their new stats. In terms of style, the monsters would be depicted as medieval-style warriors in armour of the appropriate colour. Alternatively, they could be depicted as humanoid creatures with porcelain-style carapaces, entirely white/black. Chess Board would appear as an expansive field of black-and-white checks with features such as forests or mountains in the distance away from the duel.

[b]MONSTERS[/b]
[quote]
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[b]Chess Pawn[/b]
Level 2
Earth/Warrior/Tuner
500 ATK/800 DEF

If this card is sent to the Graveyard as a result of being used for a Synchro summon, you may return one 'Chess' monster from the Graveyard to the Deck, excluding 'Chess Pawn', then shuffle your Deck.
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[b]Chess Rook[/b]
Level 4
Earth/Rock/Effect
500 ATK/1900 DEF

If this monster is used as a material for a Synchro summon, it is treated as a level 5. If it is used as a material for the Synchro summon of a 'Chess' monster, it is treated as a level 6. If this card is in the Graveyard, you may remove it from play in order to add 1 'Chess Board' from your Deck to your Hand.
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[b]Chess Knight[/b]
Level 4
Earth/Beast-Warrior/Effect
1400 ATK/600 DEF

If 'Chess Board' is active, this monster can attack your opponent directly.
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[b]Chess Bishop[/b]
Level 4
Light/Spellcaster/Effect
900 ATK/1100 DEF

Once per turn, you may reduce the level of this monster by 1 until the End Phase in order to send 1 Spell or Trap card on the Field to the Graveyard.
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[/quote]
[b]EXTRA DECK [/b](Note: These effects are not finalised, aside from the King's auto-win condition. They are very much a work-in-progress, even more so than the rest of the archetype.)
[quote]
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[b]Chess Queen[/b]
Level 5
Earth/Warrior/Synchro/Effect
2800 ATK/1700 DEF
1 'Chess' Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

While this card is face-up on the Field, during the Standby Phase, you can discard your hand (minimum 1 card) to send all of your opponent's monsters on the Field to the Graveyard. If this card would be destroyed by battle, you can send 1 face-up 'Chess' monster on the Field to the Graveyard instead. This card loses 800 ATK when attacking a face-down monster.
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[b]Chess King[/b]
Level 8
Earth/Warrior/Synchro/Effect
1600 ATK/3200 DEF
1 'Chess' Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

When this card is Synchro Summoned, it must be in face-up Attack Position. This card cannot be destroyed by card effects. If this face-up Attack Position would be destroyed by battle, it is not, and is changed to face-up Defence Position after damage calculation. If there is a 'Chess Queen' face-up on your side of the Field, this card cannot be targeted. During your Standby Phase, add 1 'Subject Token' to this card. If this card has 6 'Subject Token's on it at any time, you win the duel.
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[/quote]
[b]SPELLS[/b]
[quote]
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[b]Chess Board[/b]
Field Spell

Each turn during your Standby Phase, you can select one or more 'Chess' monsters on your side of the Field, and switch the ATK and DEF of the selected card(s).
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[b]Castling[/b]
Normal Spell

Remove from play one 'Chess Pawn' and one 'Chess Rook' from the Graveyard. Special Summon one 'Chess King' from your Extra Deck or Graveyard.
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[b]Expendable Pieces[/b]
Normal Spell

Activate only when you have one or more face-up 'Chess' monsters on your side of the Field. Destroy and remove from play any number of face-up 'Chess' monsters on your side of the Field, then target and destroy one card on your opponent's side of the field for every two 'Chess' monsters you targeted. If 'Chess Board' is active, you must target and destroy one card on your opponent's side of the Field for every one 'Chess' Monster you targeted.
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[/quote]
[b]TRAPS[/b]
[quote]
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[b]Black Gambit[/b]
Normal Trap

Activate only when an opponent's monster attacks you directly and you have no monsters on your side of the field. Special Summon one level 4 or lower 'Chess' Monster to your side of the Field from the Hand or Graveyard. Its ATK and DEF are switched.
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[b]Cross the Board[/b]
Normal Trap

Activate when the only face-up monster(s) you control are 'Chess' monsters and one or more 'Chess Pawn'(s) you control is selected as a target. Return the selected 'Chess Pawn'(s) to your Deck, then Special Summon the topmost 'Chess' monsters from your Deck equal to the number of 'Chess Pawn's returned. The card that targeted the 'Chess Pawn'(s) is negated and destroyed.
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[s][b]Checkmate[/b][/s][b] Bluff[/b]
Counter-Trap

Choose one Fusion, Synchro or XYZ Monster your opponent controls. Return to the Deck any number of Normal or Effect Monsters in your Graveyard with a combined Level equal to the Level/Rank of the selected monster, then destroy and remove from play the selected monster. Both players then draw a card. The effect of this card can only be resolved if 'Chess Board' is active.
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[b]Stalemate[/b]
Continuous Trap

Activate this card only when there are two or more face-up 'Chess' monsters on the Field. Monsters with 1500 or more natural ATK cannot declare an attack. Monsters with 1500 or more natural DEF suffer piercing damage from all battles. If there are no face-up 'Chess' monsters on the Field at any time this card is active, send this card to the Graveyard. The effect of this card is only active if 'Chess Board' is also active.
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[/quote]
[b]IDEOLOGY[/b]

[i]Pawn[/i]: Kind of an obvious choice for a Tuner monster, as they have little use other than cannon fodder in real chess. The effect is a reference to getting a pawn to the other side of the board and exchanging it for another, more powerful piece.

[i]Rook[/i]: A defensive wall, more relating to a real castle than the chess piece. The Synchro link to the King is a reference to a move in chess known as Castling, where your Rook and King move in tandem to defend the latter.

[i]Knight[/i]: The effect is a pretty obvious link to the Knight's ability to jump over other pieces on the board.

[i]King[/i]: The one set-in-stone effect, the win timer, is a reference to the King being a vital piece on the chess board; if it is taken, you lose. I made the reverse true: if you can keep him out long enough, you win.

[i]Chess Board[/i]: The effect is a reference to how players often have to switch from offensive to defensive play (or vice-versa) at the drop of a hat if their opponent manages to diddle them.

[i]Castling[/i]: See Rook.

[i]Cross the Board[/i]: See Pawn.

[s][i]Checkmate[/i]: The end of a chess game, where the player cannot make a move to protect his King and has therefore lost. The card is a reference to taking (usually) the most important piece on the board/field, usually sacrificing some of your own pieces to get there.[/s]

[i]Bluff[/i]: An attempt to deceive your opponent so that they believe your intentions are different to what they really are, or to make them fail to see what you're really planning.

[i]Stalemate[/i]: The other, much less common, end to a chess game where a player is not in check but has no legal moves. It's also used as a term for when both players seem to be evenly matched and neither will gain the upper hand for a long time. The trap's effect is meant to represent the inability to attack a stalemate brings, other than with less significant pieces, and that a single slip-up in this situation can have heavy implications.

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[b]BUILD[/b]

In a build of this deck, I imagine you would want three of every monster and most of the spells and traps, the biggest exceptions being Castling, which is just asking for dead draws, and possibly Cross the Board and Checkmate, which are a little situational.

A lot of staples would work well with these cards. In terms of monsters, Sangan can search for any Chess monster, while Malefic Stardust Dragon is helpful for keeping your Chess Board out while also serving as a decent beatstick. Spellwise, Monster Reborn and Monster Reincarnation help balance out the low monster count, while Pot of Duality adds some much-needed draw power. Pot of Avarice, while a quite likely dead draw, could be a useful side, again to balance out the lack of monsters. Swords of Revealing Light can help your survivability if things don't go your way as well as buying you some turns if you're going for the win via King's effect, and Field Barrier is another Chess Board saver. On the topic of traps, Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute are decent back-row cards that will further put off your opponent from attacking or swarming. Waboku can buy your King some turns, and Starlight Road can keep your field alive, or you can trigger it yourself and get an easy Stardust Dragon.

In the Extra Deck, three Queens are an obvious choice. I imagine King would become limited fairly quickly if he were released, so just one of him. Triple Stardust Dragon is a good choice if you're running Malefic Stardust Dragon and Starlight Road, despite 8 being a tricky Synchro number for this archetype (excluding the Pawn-Rook combo for King). Staples are staples, so one each of Red Dragon Archfiend, Black Rose Dragon and Ancient Fairy Dragon, and Number 39: Utopia and Iron Chain Dragon are comparatively easy to get out and utilise.

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Well, there you have it. The Chess archetype and my thoughts and ideas. Now i'd like yours.

[VictorSempra]

Funny, cause I started this same concept about a week ago, funny how we're on the same wavelength. Anyways, people aren't really big on SYnchro plays anymore, and they are really generic Synchro stuff at that. Not to say they're bad, just need tuning (ba dum psh). Also, I don't know if the King's win condition will ever pop off.

[BawmeELO]

@Maxxion: I'm aware that the Synchros aren't particularly original or exciting at the moment, and it's the part that still needs a lot of work, even compared to the rest of the cards. I gave the King's win condition quite a long time as a precaution, as anything that introduces another way to win will generally be judged pretty harshly. Plus, King isn't exactly easy to kill or remove, especially with a Queen by his side (although flip effects like Book of Moon reset the timer and removing him from play pretty much takes him out for the rest of the duel). I was thinking about possibly reducing the turn count to make it a little more feasible?

[VictorSempra]

Let's take Destiny Leo for example. 3 level 's, a fairly simple feat for any deck. His win condition is only 3 turns....assuming he lasts that long. Win conditions simply don't work anymore

[BawmeELO]

I see your point, but the difference between Number 88 there and Chess King is that Leo has very little way of defending itself (aside from its 3200 ATK stat). In fact, you have to actively make sure you lack any sort of Spell/Trap support in order to work towards its win condition, plus anything that can remove a material without activating its effect can make it little more than a beatstick. Obviously it depends on the Deck, but still.

Chess King, meanwhile, is based primarily on keeping it alive long enough to allow you the automatic win. With a Chess Queen by his side, it becomes very difficult to even reset his effect (by flipping him face-down, for example) without first dealing with her. Even on his own, he can be tricky to take down, as he has a DEF stat on par with Leo's ATK, and if attacked in ATK position, will remain on the field and switch to DEF. Obviously there are ways around this, such as the effect of Double Tool C&D, but every archetype needs its strengths and weaknesses.

Still, I appreciate your input. Constructive criticism is exactly what i'm after here, so yeah. I see your point, and thanks, but the win condition stays.

Anyway, some minor edits. I realised I hadn't specified where Black Gambit Special Summons from, so i've added that (Hand or Graveyard). I've also specified in Queen's effect that it needs to be a face-up 'Chess monster that is sentto the Graveyard to keep her on the Field, and i've reduced King's win effect to 6 turns. Might make it a counter thing similar to Leo's, actually, something like, 'During your Standby Phase, add one Subject Counter to this card. When this card has six Subject Counters on it, you win the duel'. I dunno, maybe? Oh, also some minor wording changes on the effects of Rook and Knight.

EDIT: I made a whole lot more edits, including the token thing for King. I can't remember what exactly I changed, so I can't list them. Sorry!

[BawmeELO]

Right, added a new card, a continuous trap called 'Stalemate'. Also fixed some minor formatting issues, but yeah. Any feedback is appreciated, as always.

EDIT: Don't want to bump this thread unnecessarily, but specifically i'm thinking that Knight is at a bit of a loose end. Any recommendations for an additional effect that could balance him out in terms of usefulness?

[Theodorus]

Nice Archetype! "Checkmate" already exists, so just change its name to differ the two cards. And about the Knight... Its effect is very useless. Make it something like: "If Chess Board is face-up, this card can attack your opponent directly.". It would raise Chess Board's usefulness and balance the Knight.

[BishopBlade]

Nice cards! If you want I can make these into cards with images(with full credit to you of course).

[BawmeELO]

@Theodorus, thanks for the heads-up! 'Checkmate' is now called 'Bluff', and i've changed Knight's effect as you suggested. I knew there was a simple solution somewhere!

@BishopBlade, thanks much for the offer. Is any of your work on a website so that I can check out your style?

Also, the newly renamed Bluff's effect has been edited so that it concerns Level/Rank instead of ATK, and returns from the Graveyard rather than from the Field, and i've strengthened Cross the Board somewhat so that it's less so-situational-it's-barely-usable. Thoughts?

[BishopBlade]

@BawmeELO Not right now, but I haven't tried drawing chess pieces yet. Also I just started drawing lol

[BawmeELO]

Whoops, turns out I didn't actually change Knight's effect on the page. Well, that's fixed now, plus I added a draw effect to Bluff in order to keep the game flowing.