Eldlich

"Eldlich" (エルドリッチ Erudoritchi) is an archetype that debuted in Deck-Build Pack: Secret Slayers with further support in Blazing Vortex.

Lore[edit]

Etymology[edit]

"Eldlich" is a portmanteau of "Eldritch" and "lich", and also a play on the name of the mythical city of gold El Dorado.

Playing style[edit]

The archetype is centered on the monster "Eldlich the Golden Lord", who is supported by the "Eldlixir" and "Golden Land" Spell/Trap archetypes. The deck's playstyle is control-focused, with a game plan based on summoning "Eldlich" as quickly as possible (either through his own effect or the "Eldlixir" cards), controlling the field using "Golden Land" cards, and using the GY effects of these cards to recover card advantage and out-grind the opponent.

• "Eldlich the Golden Lord", the deck's central Main Deck monster, has a non-destruction removal effect and a GY self-recovery effect, both of which have a cost of sending 1 Spell/Trap to the GY.
• The "Eldlixir" cards are Spell/Trap cards that can Special Summon Zombie monsters directly from the hand, Deck, and/or GY, but must summon "Eldlich" if he isn't on the field.
• "Golden Land" cards are power Spell/Traps with disruptive or destructive effects, including 3 Trap Monsters, whose effects require "Eldlich" to be on the field to take full effect.

Central to the deck's function are the GY effects of the "Eldlixir" cards and the "Golden Land" trap monsters: they can banish themselves from the GY to set a card from the opposite archetype onto the field. They therefore provide a continuous source of advantage over several turns, supplying the costs for "Eldlich" to revive itself and giving the deck an extremely impressive grind game.

Non-"Eldlixir" and "Golden Land" cards that support "Eldlich" include "Cursed Eldland", an important search card for "Eldlich" and "Golden Land" cards, and "El Dorado Adelantado", a last resort field nuke/life equalizer that also recycles "Eldlixir" or "Golden Land" cards. Additionally, introduced in Blazing Vortex, "Eldlich the Mad Golden Lord" is an extra Fusion Boss Monster for the archetype that can be summoned through the effect of "Fallen Angel of the Golden Land", or made using "Seven Cities of the Golden Land" and fusing "Eldlich" with a "Golden Land" trap monster, who is treated as the original Golden Lord, has high protection, and can take control of the opponent's monsters.

Commonly, the deck is played as a pure control deck, with its core engine complemented with staple Spell/Trap power cards and floodgates to suppress the opponent and feed the costs for "Eldlich". However, due to the sheer compactness and efficiency of the "Eldlich" core engine, the deck is also commonly built as a half-control half-combo deck, with another compact combo engine (e.g.: 1-card "Crystron Halqifibrax" combo engines) complementing the "Eldlich" core. The deck notably has great synergy with combo engines that require discards (e.g.: "Jet Synchron" 1-card "Halqifibrax"), as the GY effects of "Eldlixir" cards and "Golden Land" Trap Monsters can easily recover the discard disadvantage.

As a Continuous Trap / Trap Monster heavy archetype, "Eldlich" has good synergy with the Temple of the Kings series of cards.