Lesson 2: Necloth (The new Rituals!)

Introduction:

Hello, everyone and welcome to another lesson from me. I hope you enjoyed the previous one about DDD? Because, I had great fun writing it. Today,  I am going to discuss about the new Archetype that has been released on Dueling Network: Necloth. Now, as you may be aware of, Necloth is a new archetype of Water attribute monsters(and spells) that debuted in Tribe Force. Now, for a basic introduction, this archetype is based on Ritual summoning. The 'Necloth' monsters are based off monsters from archetypes such as 'Ice barrier', 'Gishki', 'Ally of Justice', 'Fabled', and have similar effects associated with them. As can be duly noted that the Ritual monsters are based of Synchro monsters from the aforementioned Archetypes. To show how the relation is between the Ritual and Synchros, I am setting a table below:

Original card                                                     "Necloth"counterpart

Gishki Advance                                                          Archmage of Necloth    
The Fabled Unicorn                                                    Necloth of Unicorn
Ally of Justice Catastor                                               Necloth of Catastor    
Brionac, Dragon of Ice Barrier                                     Necloth of Brionac
Gungnir, Dragon of Ice Barrier                                    Necloth of Gungnir

As you all can see, The Rituals and Synchros are quite similar, not only in name but also in effect as well.

Basic Strategy:

Onto the basic Strategy  used in this Archetype, as stated before, "Necloth" is an archetype that relies on Ritual Summoning. Its Ritual Monsters are counterparts of existing Synchro Monsters and feature similar effects. The Effect Monsters serve as conventional ritual support, either fulfilling tribute requirements or fetching key cards to maintain consistency in the deck. Primarily, the "Necloth" Ritual Monsters bear high ATK or DEF and a strong effect similar to that of their Synchro counterparts. The effects of those ones with Level from 3 to 6 are used to suppress monsters Summoned from the Extra Deck, while the effects of those ones whose Levels range from 7 to 10 give to the player more card advantage, either by destroying and/or banishing other cards or letting the player draw cards. Now, special to this archtype is a very useful effect, which, I believe, has never been seen in any ritual summoning deck before!  You see, In addition, all of them feature a second ability that can be activated by discarding them; these effects range from protecting and empowering your "Necloth" monsters to reviving them and searching for Spell/Trap Cards. This remarkable property alleviates the recurring problem with Ritual monsters becoming dead draws when the player does not have means of Ritual Summoning them. Which, of course, means that this Archetype is even more flexible than your average Ritual summoning decks like Gishki or even Herald. Though, also special to this Archetype is the fact that, the monsters (with the exception of "Unicore" and "Clausolas") have restrictions on the materials that can be used for their Ritual Summons.

Spell Support:

As with other Ritual summoning Archetypes, these Necloth monsters are special summoned by using Ritual Spells. Till now, two ritual summoning spell cards are there: "Necloth Exomirror"  and "Necloth Kaleidomirror". Their Ritual Spell Cards also have additional effects that help to achieve the requirements of Ritual Summoning: "Necloth Exomirror" can banish fallen "Necloth" monsters as part of the Tributes needed for the Ritual Summon, while "Necloth Kaleidomirror" can send, from the Extra Deck, a monster whose Level is the same as the intended Ritual Monster; this versatility helps to maintain card advantage by keeping the monsters on your Field and/or hand intact. Each of them also have a second effect that lets you banish it and a "Necloth" monster from your Graveyard in order to search for a "Necloth" Spell Card.  

Monsters and effects sections:    

I am giving a list of Necloth monsters with their respective effects so that the student can easily relate to each, which may help him/her to build a deck effectively and quickly.

Effect monsters:    

Archmage of the Necloth:  If this card is Tributed by a card effect: You can add 1 Spellcaster-Type "Necloth" Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand. If this card is banished: You can send 1 "Necloth" monster from your Deck to the Graveyard, except "Archmage of the Necloth". You can only use 1 "Archmage of the Necloth" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

Exa, Warrior of the Necloth:    If this card is Tributed by a card effect: You can add 1 Dragon-Type "Necloth" Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand. If this card is banished: You can target 1 of your banished "Necloth" monsters, except this card; Special Summon it. You can only use 1 "Exa, Warrior of the Necloth" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

Shrit, Caster of the Necloth:   If you Ritual Summon exactly 1 "Necloth" Ritual Monster, this card can be used as the entire Tribute. If this card is Tributed by a card effect: You can add 1 Warrior-Type "Necloth" Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Shrit, Caster of the Necloth" once per turn.  

Ritual monsters:  

The Necloth of Brionac:    You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Necloth" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned by using monsters other than "The Necloth of Brionac", and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can discard this card; add 1 "Necloth" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "The Necloth of Brionac". You can target 1 or 2 monsters on the field that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck; shuffle them into the Deck. You can only use each effect of "The Necloth of Brionac" once per turn.

The Necloth of Catastor:    You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Necloth" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned by using monsters other than "The Necloth of Catastor", and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can discard this card, then target 1 "Necloth" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target. You can only use this effect of "The Necloth of Catastor" once per turn. At the start of the Damage Step, if a "Necloth" monster you control battles a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck: Destroy that monster.

The Necloth of Clausolas:   You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Necloth" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can discard this card; add 1 "Necloth" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck to your hand. During either player's turn: You can target 1 monster on the field that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck; its ATK becomes 0, and if it does, its effects are negated. These changes last until the end of this turn. You can only use each effect of "The Necloth of Clausolas" once per turn.

The Necloth of Decisive Armor:      You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Necloth" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned by using monsters other than Level 10 monsters, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. During either player's turn: You can discard this card, then target 1 "Necloth" monster you control; it gains 1000 ATK and DEF until the end of this turn. You can target 1 Set card your opponent controls; destroy it, and if you do, banish it. You can only use each effect of "The Necloth of Decisive Armor" once per turn.

The Necloth of Trishula:     You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Necloth" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned by using monsters other than Level 9 monsters, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. During either player's turn, when a "Necloth" monster(s) you control is targeted by a card or effect: You can discard this card; negate the activation. When this card is Ritual Summoned: You can banish 1 card from your opponent's side of the field, hand (at random) and Graveyard. You can only use each effect of "The Necloth of Trishula" once per turn.

The Necloth of Unicorn:     You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Necloth" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can discard this card, then target 1 "Necloth" card in your Graveyard, except "The Necloth of Unicore"; add it to your hand. You can only use this effect of "The Necloth of Unicore" once per turn. Negate the effects of all face-up monsters on the field that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck.  

The Necloth of Valkyrus:  You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Necloth" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned by using monsters other than Level 8 monsters, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. When an opponent's monster declares an attack: You can banish 1 "Necloth" card from your Graveyard, then discard this card; negate that attack, then end the Battle Phase. You can Tribute 1 or 2 monsters from your hand and/or your side of the field, and if you do, draw 1 card for each card Tributed. You can only use each effect of "The Necloth of Valkyrus" once per turn.

Note:    I have provided the names of the required monsters above so that those who read it can understand the basic effects of the monsters right here and now and don't have to search up unnecessarily on the Net. I hope you will like it.

Now, I know, guys that reading such a long lesson is boring right? But, I can assure you that Necloth is, according to my opinion, one of the best Archetypes that has come out and the best out of the Ritual summoning ones. I mean, cards that not only maintain field and hand advantage but also suppresses your opponents Extra deck monsters and recovers field presence, who wouldn't want that?

Even though, this deck is pretty much great on its own, there are a few cards i have in mind that can improve this deck's performance greatly!

1) "Djinn of Rituals" monsters: if tributed for a Ritual Summon, they give that Ritual monster additional effects, such as immunity against Trap Cards or effects that target it.        

2) "Gishki Chain": its effect lets you fetch a Ritual Monster/Spell Card from your deck to your hand upon its Normal Summon, provided it is among the first 3 cards revealed.

3) "Gishki Vision"/"Shadow": can be used as the entire tribute for a Ritual Summon of a WATER monster.
and such other cards too. I am sure great duelists like you can think of some other cards too.

Now, while saying all the good things about this deck, I would also like to point out some weaknesses of it. First, despite its versatility, all "Necloth" Ritual Monsters are primarily vulnerable to effects that shut down on-hand effects, such as "Mind Drain", "Debunk", etc. "Imperial Iron Wall" can lock your Graveyard from the effect of the Ritual Spell Cards and the effects of "The Necloth of Valkyrus", "Trishula" and "Decisive Armor". The variety of Types also makes them vulnerable to floodgate cards like "Rivalry of Warlords".  So, those wh are thinking of build this deck, be careful. You never know what your opponent has in store for you!                  


As a conclusion to this lesson, let me say that I have built one Necloth deck and so far it works great! And After reading this long (and maybe boring!) lesson, I am sure a few of you would be excited to build one as well. Believe me, guys, Necloth is Ritual monsters at its best! So, go try it out and let me know how it goes. That's all for now. See you at the next lesson!