Last time, we talked about Ally of Justice, an archetype that suffers from lackluster cards all around. However, that is not the only reason why an archetype can be cast aside. Sometimes cards cannot live up to the hype they received post release or cards in the archetype got banned which caused the strategy as a whole to take a blow. Or, you simply use the slowest method to summon monsters currently existing in Yu-Gi-Oh!, like with Chemicritter.
Chemicritter is an archetype that consists of eight cards that chose Gemini summoning as their gimmick to work with. If you have never heard of Gemini summoning before it is because this archetype was Konami's idea of revitalizing a rather lackluster summoning method. Basically Gemini monsters are Effect monsters that count as Normal monsters in the graveyard and sometimes on the field. You can Normal Summon them again while they are on the field to make their effect go live, which is painfully slow in modern Yu-Gi-Oh!. While that might sound quite terrible overall, the Chemicritter archetype actually takes a fun approach to the entire Gemini strategy.
The Archetype
The Chemicritter archetype comes from the set Invasion: Vengeance, which also introduced archetypes like Predaplant or Crystron to the TCG. That set was also the only time they got any cards. The first wave of eight cards in total and nothing else afterwards. The monsters of the archetype all feature chemical elements or a combination of those, which is supposed to show that they combine themselves into the bigger monsters. However, this idea does not translate well into the actual game; for example, the smaller monsters are not required to "form" a bigger one, despite Catalyst Field showing exactly that scenario.
That is just fluff though, here is the more crunchy subject of archetypal facts:
- Attribute: Various (Dark, Fire, Water, Wind)
- Type: Various (Aqua, Beast, Beast-Warrior, Dragon, Fiend, Winged Beast)
- Levels: 2 and 8
- Extra Deck usage: Xyz
As you can see, there is no common Type or Attribute, which makes the use of anything Type- or Attribute-specific rather complicated. In addition to that, they only use Level 2 and Level 8 monsters, which locks them from using the Rank 4 toolbox unless various other monsters are included into the deck. Lastly, I mentioned that they use Xyz monsters, but the archetype only has one monster in the Extra Deck, meaning there is plenty space for many other cards to include.
The Members of Chemicritter
The Zeroes
- None.
The Flexibles
- Chemicritter Hydron Hawk: The biggest Level 2 monster Chemicritters have access to ATK-wise and capable of reviving monsters when Gemini summoned.
- Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre: The biggest Main Deck beater Chemicritters have to offer. Also makes Gemini monster summon un-negatable and works as a removal tool when Gemini summoned.
- Poly-Chemicritter Hydragon: The defense wall of the archetype. Boosts Geminis when they are summoned and redirects destruction effects against Geminis when Gemini summoned.
- Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco: The archetypal boss monster. Revives Gemini monsters, draws aggro and has a hand/field removal effect.
- Burnout: Special Summons Chemicritter monsters in two different ways.
The Must-Haves
- Chemicritter Carbo Crab: Becomes the combination of a searcher and a Foolish Burial when Gemini summoned and is one of your best starters.
- Chemicritter Oxy Ox: Helps filling the board and becomes a versatile Xyz summoning tool when Gemini summoned.
- Catalyst Field: THE Field Spell for Geminis. It is so important that it even has its own section further down in this article.
Yes, despite the fact that all signs so far pointed towards them being rather lackluster you actually want to run quite a substancial amount of the Chemicritter cards. While they do have a chance to brick, they are actually still the best choice for a deck skeleton to work with. Let us continue with some deckbuilding ideas for them:
Chemicritter Tech Choices
Chemical Love
The two Main Deck monsters that deserve special attention from the bunch are Chemicritter Carbo Crab and Chemicritter Oxy Ox. Carbo Crab seems weak at first, but you will use the graveyard quite often, making the Foolish Burial effect helpful. It also searches a Gemini monster while doing so, which is the kind of consistency that is very much appreciated. His friend Oxy Ox might have no ATK to speak of whatsoever but shines in terms of versatility. Not only does it provide some swarming, but it also becomes almost facile to Xyz summon with it. The Ranks Chemicritters are able to summon are 2 and 8, but nothing is stopping you from putting some other monsters into the deck for more variety with Levels like 4 and 7 being easily accessable.
The Catalyst
To make the aforementioned monsters perform at their best, we have to talk about Catalyst Field. This card is absolutely crazy support that you should always aim to get onto the field. Being able to Normal Summon a Level 5 or higher means you can put 2800 ATK on board without any problems. Additionally, being able to Normal Summon another Gemini monster per turn means that you can give them their effects right away, or set yourself up with two monsters on the field. This gives you either one Gemini monster with its effects activated or two monsters for Link summons and the like. The third effect provides costly removal, but it's nice to have and helps in certain situations. Regardless of what you try to do with Chemicritters Catalyst Field should join you on that journey; and running both Terraforming and Metaverse is definitely required.
What's Normal Anyway?
One important fact with Geminis is that they are Normal monsters in certain situations. This allows you to use a number of Normal monster support cards to spice the build up. While Unexpected Dai or Link Spider both do not work in this scenario, there are other options to be considered. Tri-Wight can be extremely helpful if you run plenty of the Level 2 Chemicritters. Dark Factory of Mass Production can help you regain resources from the graveyard. The Level 8 monsters in your deck can stack into Thunder End Dragon for a summonable Raigeki-esque effect. Furthermore, Defender of the Labyrinth needs only two Normal monsters and is more than happy to even the odds against opposing monsters by (de-)buffing stats while also reviving Normal monsters upon destruction. Those are only some Normal monster support cards, but there is definitely some room for creativity.
Smoke and Mirrors
Of course generic Gemini-related cards are something to take a look at as well. Supervise is almost as important to the deck as Catalyst Field since it provides a Gemini monster with its effects without the need for another Normal summon. Blazewing Butterfly can pretty much trade itself against any Gemini monster in your graveyard while also activating their effects. Darkstorm Dragon is one of my personal favorites, bringing solid stats on a Level 8 monster that can use Heavy Storm at will. Even Superalloy Beast Raptinus can find a space in the Extra Deck. Run a few copies of Dragon's Mirror and simply summon it or cards like First of the Dragons by simply using resources from your graveyard. Cards to provide the graveyard with the necessary materials is will follow shortly further down this article.
It's getting hot in here
Most surprisingly, Geminis actually received support in 2019 in form of the Structure Deck R: Warriors' Strike. While we never received the actual structure deck in the TCG, we do still have all the cards; and there are some useful pieces of cardboard in between them. Gemini Ablation allows the player to fetch Geminis with their effect activated right from the deck. It is a Trap and therefore has a delay, but still helps the Chemicritter's overall consistency massively. The Fire Warriors can help form a solid strategy using Equip cards. Cards like Supermagic Sword of Raptinus can be used alongside Supervise to fuel the effects of Evocator Chevalier or Phoenix Gearfried; which trigger Supervise's revive effect in return. Lastly, Evocator Eveque works like an improved version of Hydron Hawk with higher stats and more synergy with the deck.
Firestarter
I occasionally mentioned monster revival effects in this article. And for good reason, since this deck works a lot with the cards in the graveyard. However, simply hoping to get enough graveyard setup is a bad idea; and only one copy of Foolish Burial and the three Carbo Crabs do also not suffice. Cue Red-Eyes: The dedicated Red-Eyes Black Dragon archetype ditches cards from the deck to the graveyard and they even have Gemini monsters. Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon allows the usage of Rank 7 monsters together with Oxy Ox with added (situation) burn damage. The Level 6 Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning brings solid monster removal against anything with a mediocre DEF stat and serves as a Raigeki in certain matchups. Moreover, both of them can be ditched with cards like Red-Eyes Insight or Red-Eyes Fusion.
Molten Universe
Since I mentioned Red-Eyes Fusion: Yes, there is the possibility to summon Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon. If you have it and want to run it, feel free to do so. However, in this instance we can also go with Meteor Black Comet Dragon. It provides solid stats, more graveyard setup, monster reviving when leaving the field and additional burn damage to the opponent. To have something for the still missing level 6 Dragon monster, you can run Mana Dragon Zirnitron. Zirnitron provides presence on the field, recovers Spell/Trap cards and serves as a check to players that destroy Catalyst Field. The ability to use Rank 7 monsters also find application in form of Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon which racks up a lot of hurt against certain decks while also providing another revive effect for Normal monsters.
Go with the Flow
Another ally in the quest to normalcy is Tenyi; and there is a lot to gain from this archetype aswell. Tenyi Spirit - Adhara is Special Summonable and allows the inclusion of Synchro monsters into the mix. Both Tenyi Spirit - Vishuda and Tenyi Spirit - Ashuna are also Special Summonable and give the deck further Level 7 monster options. They also both happen to have useful effects when in the graveyard. Together, these options allow you to run Level 8 Synchro monsters, for example the beatstick Draco Berserker of the Tenyi. You should be able to activate Fists of the Unrivaled Tenyi quite easily since you often have a Normal monster around. It can even fetch Berserker of the Tenyi (or Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon) when destroyed by the opponent; not a particularly powerful effect, but still nice to have.
The Deck Section
This is how a Chemicritter deck could look like. I included enough Chemicritters for their overall gimmick to work, while also running some of the aforementioned archetypes: The Red-Eyes are for graveyard setup, more beaters and access to powerful Extra Deck options. The small Tenyi engine allows for more Special Summons and adds some bounce/negates. Overall, the deck tries to stay true to the Gemini summoning mechanic and uses it pretty much all the time. However, with the Normal monster interaction you still have something to do when you are not able to Gemini summon your monsters.
Chemicritter is a not a very reaction-heavy deck and rather slow by nature. They pretty much just destroy and revive at their leisure and simply see what the opponent can do against it. To give at least some reaction to the deck I added Lost Wind alongside the Fists of the Unrivaled Tenyi to give the deck at least some interruption. I also included Heavy Storm Duster as the backrow removal tool of choice since you cannot afford discarding cards that much (and already discard for Gemini Ablation). But this is really just an idea of how a non-competitive Chemicritter deck could look like.
The Conclusion
Chemicritter is not the worst archetype in Yu-Gi-Oh!, as there are various others who can claim that title. However, the fact that they use Gemini summoning makes them slow and bricky from the start. Obviously, you cannot use Chemicritters in anything even remotely competitive in their current state and I doubt that further support would elevate them to rogue level. However, I have to admit that I like the deck, its interactions and the fact that one uses so many cards that normally never seen play. Chemicritter is therefore not necessarily a strong archetype, but it certainly is a unique one.
There are various other cards you can try to make work: White Elephant's Gift or a Bamboo Sword engine for more card draw, Dragon Shrine for setup or simply combining them with Hieratic for completely different builds. Using Normal and Gemini monsters opens up various interesting routes for deckbuilding with can be great fun for more casual-minded games. And the fact that Konami still prints Gemini monsters in the modern game shows that they are not completely done with the mechanic; and therefore also indirectly support Chemicritters. So, if I managed to pique your interest with this chemical concoction, just build your own version of a Chemicritter deck.
