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Ehric, the Grand Illusionist Archetype


LinktotheFuture

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So, I've had this idea about an Archetype that summons monsters from the Extra Deck during your opponent's turn, and found a neat way to tie it all together.  I did my best to find art for the entire archetype, but some are not all that great. In my description for some of the cards I describe what I wanted the arts to be.

Here is a link to all the cards at once: https://www.duelingbook.com/deck?id=12469437
Below is the descriptions for each card individually.

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3724510

If it is not clear enough, this monster is based on Harry Houdini, who was famous for all kinds of illusions.  Illusions equals Psychic type.  His birthday was March 24, which explains his stat line.  He was president of the Society of American Magicians, which was founded on May 10, hence the Pendulum scale of 10. Ehrich the Prince of Air is what he called himself at 9 years old, hence the name and Attribute.

 

Now for the Spell/Traps, which reference many of his escape tricks.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3724517

This is in reference to his Chinese water torture cell escape trick.  Water=blue=Ritual Monster.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3724522

This is in reference to his escape from a milk can.  Milk=white=Synchro Monster.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3724542

This is in reference to his multiple escapes from multiple prisons.  Dark cell=Black=XYZ Monster.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3724529

This is in reference to his suspended in the air straitjacket escape.  Swinging in the air=Pendulum Monster.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3724533

This is in reference to the ridiculous number of handcuffs he could escape from.  He could look at pretty much any pair of handcuffs and know exactly what method was needed to unlock it.  One of his stage names was Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini.  Many types of handcuffs=many types of Special Summoning.

 

All of the artwork for the Spell and Traps would involve 'Ehric' performing each respective stunt, where the monster disappears and is replaced by a monster from the extra deck.  This ties into his famous Metamorphose trick where he would swap places with his wife, Bess.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3724538

This card is based on the Hippodrome in New York City, where he famously made an elephant disappear onstage.  The artwork would be a colorized take on the real life location's interior, with spotlights focused on Ehric on-stage with his arms spread wide.  It is all about Ehric setting up his equipment on the stage to perform a stunt, or making his grand entrance right before he performs.  Even if Ehric's stage would be destroyed he would still continue with his performance.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3734893

This card is based on the trunk that Houdini used to perform the Metamorphose trick, like I mentioned previously.  I was inspired to give Ehric an essentially better version of "Mystic Box", as it seemed too appropriate that Ehric would never be outdone when it comes to escape tricks. He is essentially commandeering the old box and upgrading its capabilities. :) 

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3738117

This is based on Houdini's canvas sack he carried some of his props in. Once a prop is taken out of Ehric's bag, it can then be used to essentially 'catch' an attack to protect the player.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3744548

This card represents Ehric having a successful performance. The art would be of a crowd applauding towards the stage. Three different results can occur: 1. A monster is stunned speechless by his act. 2. The summoned card is blessed by a lucky attack boost. 3. The opponent gives up one of their own tricks to the turn player.  The first effect represents Ehric's annoyance at someone booing by causing a mini explosion in their direction.  :x

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3749471

Obviously, this card represents the straitjacket Houdini wore in so many of his stunts.  I wanted to give players even more options on what they can get from the Extra Deck.  No matter what, the jacket will attach to someone. >:)

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3760382

This card is based on Theodore Hardeen, the younger brother of Harry Houdini.  Theodore inherited all of Harry's magic after his death.  Dash was Harry's nickname for him.  (Both brothers changed their given name, Harry's was Erich Weisz and Theodore's was Ferenc Weisz).   His birthday was March 24, 1876, which explains his stat line.  He died in 1945, hence level 5.   He keeps the same type, Attribute, and Pendulum scale as Ehric.  I tried to make him have some advantages compared to Ehric.  This would be as if he was improving on the techniques passed on to him, but that he couldn't fully master all that he learned.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3761530

This card is based on the giant cabinet that the elephant was placed in when Houdini made it disappear onstage.  This is why the Amphitheater needs to be set up.  The card is taking a giant creature into itself and making it disappear for a time.  The beast might then be found sometime later hidden away.  I say might since not all cards can be summoned back.  >:)  Some monsters can only be Special Summoned in specific ways and Link monsters can't even be in Defense position.  XYZ monsters would also lose their materials.  The Graveyard effect is roughly both players 'paying' a card to see the show.  The player is Ehric's guest, so he gets a discount. :)

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3766368

This card is based on Houdini's vehement opposition to mediums, spiritualists, and the like.  This wasn't about magician's trying to read people's minds or some such.  He was firmly against those who claimed they could contact the deceased.  He was appalled by scammers who would take advantage of other people's grief concerning their lost loved ones.  He exposed over 1000 fraudulent mediums in his lifetime.  He even tried to have a bill passed in Congress to make these kinds of professions illegal.  Hence, you can see why this card hates the Graveyard so much.  The art would be of Ehric exposing sinister frauds for all to see.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3780571
This is based on the time when the brothers were performing at Coney Island as "The Brothers Houdini", before Harry made it big. It was on Coney Island that he met his future wife, Bess. Ehric and Dash's only trick at this point in time is getting on the field easily, but they stand in the shadow of all your other monsters.

 



https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3780587
This is based on Houdini’s automatic flowering rosebush. I was surprised to learn that Houdini was quite the inventor, and this was one of his contraptions. Houdini placed a pot on an elaborate metal table. Next, he planted a small red flower in the pot, and covered everything with a gauzy cloth. The flower grew, slowly and visibly, eventually developing into a full-size rose bush.  Houdini then removed the plant in its pot from the tabletop and presented it to the audience. For Ehric and Dash, they are giving an accessory to the monster summoned. 

 



https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3780653
This is based on the top hat Houdini frequently wore. Interestingly, Houdini never wore a top hat on stage (or even used a wand). He only used one in regular life. The hat is an accessory for 1 of your monsters to wear. (tying in with the previous card).

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3783737
This is based on another of Houdini's inventions. This time it's a diving suit that could be taken off underwater. The real life suit was constructed in such a way that you could take off the top and bottom halves with ease. Ehric or Dash are essentially diving into the deck and bringing up two cards, representing the two halves of the suit.  The art would be of Ehric or Dash putting on the gear and diving into the water, which represents this deck dive.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3787540

This card is based on Houdini's jumps from high places while wearing a straitjacket.  These were usually bridges above water, but he also jumped from low flying planes.  This one is in reference to one of his jumps for a charity event, from 50 ft in the air.  This card is about our star illusionist making his big entrance into the venue.  It just takes a bit of time for him to reach the stage (50 ft jump=pay 500 LP).

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3787569

This is based on Houdini's walking through a solid wall trick.  The wall was even built onstage beforehand!  For the archetype, the wall is blocking all your other monsters from attacks, except the ones who appeared through the other performances.

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3790730
This is a trick that is unique to Theodore Hardeen. It involved him being locked and shackled into a cage in the shape of chair. He got out in 11 minutes!  Dash is strapping in an opponent's monster and appearing onto the field. I just could not find any kind of art that properly illustrated what I wanted, so I just grabbed a photo of the real thing. Sorry about that. :(

 

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3796624
This card is based on the London Hippodrome, where Houdini took on the Daily Mirror challenge. He had been challenged to many different types of handcuff escapes, but this was probably his hardest one ever. The “Mirror Handcuffs” apparently took five years to make, and it took 70 minutes for him to escape them. There is doubt whether the challenge was staged or not, but who knows? I just had to make another Field Spell since it was based on a second Theater named Hippodrome. This Theater locks out the 3 Summoning conditions that are not welcome (Tribute, Fusion, and Link) because this Theater is grander than the first, and is therefore more particular with its guests. 

 


https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3804487
This card is based on Houdini's East Indian Needle Trick. He would appear to swallow needles and a piece of thread, and then pull them all out of his mouth with the needles now along the thread!  That's painful to even think about! Ehric's needles are piercing through any Spells or Traps your opponent tries to activate, and then pulling out one of his own personal cards from the Deck. 

 


https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3825046
These are based on the stagehands that moved the large cabinet used in the Vanishing Elephant trick. They also had no idea how Houdini did it!  These guys are all about working in the background, i.e. player's hands, GY's, and banished zone.

 


https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3825095
This little guy is based on Houdini's fox terrier, Bobby. Houdini actually taught him how to do many tricks. These included card tricks, somersaults, and even escapes from ropes, handcuffs, and straitjackets!  That's one smart dog! Houdini had him for eight years, explaining his stats.

 

https://www.duelingbook.com/card?id=3832214
This monster is based on Houdini's film career.  It may not have been all that successful, but 'The Grim Game', his first full-length movie was considered very good.  It was full of Houdini performing tricks.  It even had two biplanes colliding in mid-air!  The monster is masked because you do not know which of the 'Illusionists' is beneath the mask, Ehric or Dash.  I was considering making him a Synchro, but the black background just fits the film persona so well.

 

 

So?  What do you all think?  Did I accidentally break something?  Are there too many restrictions?  I wanted to tie in as much as I could about Harry Houdini's life, which builds some nice lore.  I tried to make more of an engine to help facilitate four different types of Special Summoning.  Fusion and Link summoning don't care about a monster's level, so that's why they were left out.  We even get what is essentially a Trap Card that facilitates a Pendulum Summon!

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  • LinktotheFuture changed the title to Ehric, the Grand Illusionist Archetype (Written)

Wanted to create a card representing Ehric performing a successful escape. I had a little trouble trying to make the wording correct. The card is meant to allow all 3 effects to occur in one turn, but no repeats. If anyone has better way to state this, or even any of the cards I've posted, let me know.  I've been doing my best with the punctuation, but sometimes I get confused if I should be using a colon, a semicolon, or a comma.

 

Edit: Whoooooa, I caught a big problem.  Had to edit the Key and Amphitheater cards to be able to access the Graveyard for a copy of Ehric.  Otherwise, XYZ strategies would be far worse since their copies would be otherwise inaccessible after 3 summons, when the whole engine is meant to be recursive for all 4 strategies.

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Found another issue.  In order for Accolade to be used more than once in a turn, I need to allow the Abscond's 1st effect to be used more than once a turn.  This is fine for Ritual, XYZ, and Pendulum, since most of these monsters don't build off each other, besides getting more monsters on the field.  However for Synchros, it is super easy to abuse this using the first Synchro to make better Synchros, especially Baronne.  Therefore, I will remove the once per turn clauses on all but Sealed in a Can.  If anyone feels it is safe to remove that restriction, let me know.  Same if releasing the restrictions on the rest breaks one of those summoning mechanics, and I'm just forgetting something.

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  • LinktotheFuture changed the title to Ehric, the Grand Illusionist Archetype

Thought of a few more. These are a bit more generic to help your other monsters.  I think having more ways to get Equip Spells without needing Isolde is nice.

 

EDIT: Added one more. Wanted to add a Deck search to help the two Main Deck types, Ritual and Pendulum. Still trying to think of a counterpart for XYZ and Synchro. When you think Synchros, a Tuner should be obvious, but Ehric and Dash are already Tuners. Maybe I'll try to think of some restricted type of token, but token generation is so easy to break. A Trap monster might also work.

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Added a new one. Wanted a hand trap for the archetype. Was trying to go for something similar to PSY-Framegear Gamma, where you needed a certain monster in the deck to be able to activate the card. I'm not sure if the card is restrictive enough, though. I couldn't state "control no Spells or Traps". I had to consider the player may have placed the Amphitheater, face-down Abscond Traps, and Pendulum Scales. I also couldn't state "control no monsters". They could already have monsters summoned by the Traps. That really just left Continuous Spells/Traps. Anyone know if it needs more restrictions?  What kinds of restrictions?

Also, is the "Can only be activated on your opponent's turn" redundant?  Dash already can't be Special Summoned on your turn, but I don't know if there is some wonky scenario where a different card in your hand could take his name.

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Added 4 new cards. Two new Illusinionst's join the act!

I'm always open to suggestions on balancing all these cards. Are all 4 Summoning mechanics benefiting equally?  Am I missing some key piece?  Are any of these cards too generic? Are there broken combos any of these cards enable?  I've been having a blast coming up with all these. :)

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