by There are TONS of archetypes in Yuigioh! with endless themes and styles. From dragons to aliens to trains to computer viruses to ships literally made from sushi, Yugioh! has it all! The average size of an archetype sits at about 12 to 30 cards, including Main and Extra Deck cards. Some archetypes have grown into massive piles, like HERO, Photon, Stardust, Rose, Number, and more. and even still, there are “archetypes” that consist of only 3 or four cards. Let’s take a look at some of the smallest archetypes in Yugioh!
What is an Archetype?
Let’s start with, what is an archetype. When talking about Yugioh!, an archetype is any group of cards that are linked together by a common name or term. An archetype is a collection of cards that often share a common playstyle and aesthetic theme. Cards that share a common name, like Ancient Gear Soldier, Ancient Gear Ballista, and Ancient Gear Fortress all belong to a unified group of cards that work together to form a cohesive deck. Sometimes, one-off cards can be turned into archetypes, like Penguins, but often, entire archetypes are released all together. Most of the time, though, an existing archetypes is given extra support over time, like Lunalight. But, some archetypes remained buried and forgotten.
Micro Archetypes
Speaking of buried and forgotten, there are some very small archetypes that have become all but lost. Now, not all small archetypes are bad, and not all of them are forgotten. Windwitch is a small archetype that has seen some reliable play, and it is only made up of 9 cards total. Or the sons of Horus, which is only 5 cards. But, there are a few that have practically fallen into obscurity. Partially because they are so small, partially because they are poorly designed or have aged poorly, and some just don’t really work well mixed into other archetypes.
Penguins were mentioned above. This is an archetype that started off as just a few cards that had “penguin” in their name, like Penguin Soldier and Penguin Knight. But, it has evolved into a full-blown, unified archetype. But, there is actually another penguin that belongs to one of the smallest Yugioh! archetypes: Glacial Beast. Glacial Beast is made up of only 3 cards: Glacial Beast Polar Penguin, Glacial Beast Blizzard Wolf, and Glacial Beast Iceberg Narwhal.
Another micro archetype is the Bounzer group. Just like our Polar Penguin, there is a Bounzer monster that is actually also linked to another, larger archetype: Photon Strike Bounzer. While part of the huge Photon archetype this Xyz Monster is also a Bounzer. The other Bounzer cards are Bounzer Guard, Blade Bounzer, Hammer Bounzer, and Phantom Bounzer. Perhaps one of the silliest micro archetypes is the Malicevorous trio. These guys are literally tiny Fiends that use flatware as weapons.
Level Up!
Another form of micro archetype is the Level or Lv. groups. These cards all feature a “Lv.” and work off of each other to “level-up” These archetypes usually start with a small monsters that brings out a medium monster that then brings our a big monsters. They also make use of the Level Up spell. The most popular and well-known of these Lv. archetypes is Silent Magician and Silent Swordsman, which has become unified over time and even coexists in the Shining Sarcophagus archetype. But, did you know the Silent cards are not the only Lv. cards? Allure Queen is a Lv. archetype of 5 cards. There is also Armed Dragon Lv monsters, Winged Kuriboh, Horus, Ultimate Insect, Mystic Swordsman, Dark Mimic, and Dark Lucius.