Alien Deck

This is my take at building an "Alien" deck, one of the more convoluted archetypes from back during the GX-era. "Aliens" have been around for quite some time but also received support on a semi-regular basis, which the newest members of the archetype making an appearance in Dawn of Majesty. Straightaway, "Aliens" are nowhere near competitive but still manage to be an interesting and versatile archetype if you take the time to get to know their effects.

For more summoning power right from the start, I decided to run three copies of the "Alien" Normal monster "Alien Shocktrooper", which not only comes with sizeable stats but is also very helpful with the three copies of "Rescue Rabbit" to setup for Rank 4 and Link-2 options. Three copies of "Alien Ammonite" are also very helpful due to being Level 1 Tuner monsters that can revive Level 4 or lower "Alien" monsters from the graveyard when Normal Summoned, therefore allowing for the same Link-2 summon as well as giving you the option to summon your archetypal Level 5 Synchro monster. Two "Alien Dog" give the deck yet more swarming and provide the special resource of the "Alien" archetype: A-counters. Said counters can also be distributed by two copies of "Alien Stealthbuster" as well as two "Alien Overlord", the first one being often used as discard fodder or being sent to the graveyard directly from the deck, while the other one serves as a solid beater that is Special Summoned using A-counters and can also distribute them on the field. One "Alien Telepath" serves as archetypal backrow removal in the Main Deck.

I also included a small "Reptilianne" engine (shoutouts to Loukas Peterson for the original idea), which allows for more searches, swarming, removal and stat reduction. Three "Reptilianne Lamia" are fantastic monsters to work with due to summoning themselves for some life points while also lowering an opposing monster to 0 ATK, and play well into the Extra Deck in form of "Reptilianne Echidna", which searches for the number of 0 ATK monsters. One "Reptilianne Vaskii" can be used as a Reptile-type "Kaiju" option that comes with 2600 ATK and a destruction effect. The only other Reptile in the deck is "Danger!? Tsuchinoko?" due to being extremely helpful when either effect triggers.

The backrow has plenty of setup to work with: Two copies of "Mausoleum of White" might seem out of place, but give "Alien Ammonite" another option to enter the field via Normal Summon, triggering its effect. The copy of "Terraforming" searches the Field Spell for more consistency, while one copy of "Monster Reborn" and "World Legacy Succession" can recycle monsters from the graveyard for further plays. Three copies of ""A" Cell Recombination Device" serve as setup and search, while the three "Code "A" Ancient Ruins" give the deck yet more Special Summoning from the graveyard. The one "Called by the Grave" serves as protection against handtraps and the like while three copies of "Dark Ruler No More" can give you a shot at disarming the opposing board when going second. The Traps are just one copy of "Solemn Strike" and one copy of "Solemn Warning" to hinder the opponent, while two copies of "Mass Hypnosis" are certainly more questionable/situational, but absolutely hilarious if you get them off.

The Extra Deck features two copies of "Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar", the Level 5 "Alien" Synchro monster with is overall easy to summon, big stat-wise and helpful in terms of effects for multiple reasons. One "Reptilianne Hydra" is included as a situational choice, but also fairly easy to summon due to "Reptilianne Lamia" and any Level 4 "Alien" building into the monster. One copy of "King of the Feral Imps" serves as a searcher for scenarios in which Link Summoning is not available, one "Daigusto Emeral" can draw cards as well as revive "Alien Shocktrooper", and one "Abyss Dweller" is included as the usual graveyard counter. On the Link front, we have two copies of "Reptilianne Echidna" for the aforementioned reason, two copies of "Alien Shocktrooper M-Frame" as a powerful A-counter spreader and basically a Reptile "Soul Charge" on legs, two copies of "Cosmic Slicer Zer'oll" for all the amazing effects it provides, one copy each of "Knightmare Phoenix" and "Knightmare Cerberus" for removal and one copy of "Borrelsword Dragon" if you want to throw the strategy out the window and just kick with a Link-4 beater.

When I first started working with the "Alien" archetype, I was kind of annoyed by the fact that a lot of their cards do not make clear what the overall gameplan is supposed to be. However, now that I have taken the time to study them a little bit more, I have to say that they are a fun archetype that is quite unique amongst the various archetypes in the game. There are also various other versions and cards that one can use to build an "Alien" deck, for example by using the "Ogdoadics" as the backbone of the deck. Regardless of what the final build looks like, I can only recommend them to anyone searching for a deckbuilding challenge; and if you like to know more about them, feel free to visit my blog and read the "Archetype Analysis: Alien" there using this link: https://cubiccreativity.wordpress.com/2021/07/31/archetype-analysis-alien/