Danger! Is an archetype of dark monsters in Yu-Gi-Oh! based off of cryptids, creatures of urban legend from around the world. Cryptozoologists believe that some cryptids like Bigfoot or Mothman may exist somewhere in the wild, however cryptids are hardly recognized by science. Cryptozoology is a psuedoscience which primarily looks at stories and claims rejected by the science community.
Danger! Playstyle
Every Danger! Monster In Yu-Gi-Oh, a player can special summoned the player’s hand during their turn by simply revealing the monster in question. The opponent then picks a random card from your hand to discard. If the card the opponent picks is not the monster you revealed, special summon it. The drawback of losing a random card in your hand is substantial, however Danger! monsters can activate an effect from the GY if discarded. Danger! decks take this weakness and uses it as a strength, discarding cards being apart of your strategy. It isn’t difficult to special summon several Danger! monsters in a turn letting players easily overwhelm opponents. A Danger! playstyle is not without it’s weaknesses however. Since you’ll be activating card effects from the GY, common cards such as “Abyss Dweller” that can stop card effects in the GY will easily counter your deck.
Danger! Monsters
Danger! Bigfoot!- Bigfoot is one of the most well-known cryptids, a large hairy ape-like monster spotted across North America. Out of all Danger! monsters Bigfoot has the highest attack points at 3000, same as Blue-Eyes-White-Dragon. If Bigfoot is discarded the player can destroy one face-up card the opponent controls, a powerful removal effect. Whether you’re attacking directly or need to get rid of a card your opponent controls, Bigfoot is a staple of this archetype.
Danger! Thunderbird!- The thunderbird is a legendary creature of North american indigenous peoples’ history and culture. The thunderbird is said to create thunder by flapping it’s wings and lightning by flashing it’s eyes. In Yu-Gi-Oh! the thunderbird has 200 less attack power than Bigfoot, however it has 2400 defense. Thunderbird’s effect when discarded is similair to Bigfoot, destroying a card your opponent controls. However, while Bigfoot can only destroy face-up cards, Thunderbird can only destroy set (face-down) cards.
Danger! Ogopogo!– In canadian folklore the ogopogo is a lake monster said to inhabit okanagan lake in British Columbia, Canada. With 1200 attack and 3000 defense, the Ogopogo can act as a powerful defense monster. When discarded you can choose and send one Danger! card from your Deck to the GY (besides Ogopogo.) This is useful to activate various discard effects in your deck.
Danger! Chupacabra!- The chupacabra (spanish for goat-sucker) is a legendary creature in folklore across the americas. The chupacabra is said to drink the blood of livestock, including goats. As a 4 star monster with 1500 attack and 400 defense, the chupacabra is a fairly average monster. However when discarded to the GY, you can target 1 Cmonster in your GY and special summon it.
Danger! Monsters (cont)
Danger! Nessie!- The Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie, is a cryptid from scottish folklore. While The Loch Ness Monster is commonly regarded as a hoak, it’s reported sightings and history are extensive. With 2800 defense and 1600 attack Nessie is a fairly well balanced monster able to perform decently as a wall or attacker. When discarded to the GY the player is able to add one Danger! card to their hand, spell, trap, or monster. Being able to choose which card to add to your deck can offer a lot of value to any Danger! player.
Danger! Mothman!- Mothman is a humanoid creature from West Virginian folklore, and was later popularized by John Keel in his 1975 book ‘The Mothman Prophecies’. Here Mothman is a level four insect monster with fairly mediocore stats. However when Mothman is discarded from the hand both players draw 1 card, then both players discard 1 card. This can be useful for when you have a bad hand, although this effect benefits both players.
Danger! Dogman!- This card depicts a humanoid wolf-like cryptid that resembles a werewolf in appearance. However unlike Werewolf they do not shapeshift under the full moon, and have been spotted across Wisconsin and Michigan. This is a level 7 beast-warrior monster with a decent attack of 2400, and an alright defense of 1000. When Dogman is discarded from the hand, all face-up monsters the opponent controls lose 1000 atk until the turn’s end. This effect is useful when your opponent’s board overpowers yours.
Danger Monsters (cont)
Danger!? Jackalope?- The jackalope is a mystical animal that came about as the result of a taxidermied jackrabbit adorned with antelope horns. This 3 star monster has very low attack with a decent defense. When Jackalope is discarded from the hand, you can special summon 1 Danger monster from your deck in defense position. This effect can be useful in summoning a defensive wall or a neccesary tribute, hand-picked from the deck.
Danger!? Tsuchinoko?- In Japanese folklore the Tsuchinoko is a snake-like yokai, a type of demon or fairy. As a 3 star monster with low attack, Tsuchinoko inherently provides little value. When you discard Tsuchinoko from your hand, you can special summon it to the board. This makes Tsuchinoko the perfect sacrifice, as discarding it from the hand carries the same value as a normal summon. Aside from Master Duel, Tsuchinoko and Jackalope are currently limited in the original TGC.
Danger! Spells
Danger! Disturbance! Disorder!- This is a field spell card in which as long as it’s on the field, any time a Danger! monster is destroyed in battle, the attacking monster is also destroyed. As a secondary effect of this card you can banish 3 Danger! spells with different names from your GY, this destroys all monsters on the field and you can not special summon any non-Danger! monsters for the rest of the turn.
Danger! Feets of Strength!– Yes you read that right, feets of strength. This is an equip-spell card which you can equip to any Danger! monster. The equipped monster gains 800 ATK/Def and can make up to 2 attacks on monsters during each battle phase. This is a fairly simple spell card to make any of your summoned cryptids more of an immediate threat.
Danger! Excitement! Mystery!- At the cost of discarding 1 level 5 or higher “Danger” monster, the player can add one Level 4 or lower “Danger” monster from their deck to the hand. This trade-off can prove to be quite useful for when you need a specific card in your hand. However the cost of discarding a high level Danger monster is not inherently always a negative.
Danger! Response Team- When this spell is played the player chooses one Danger monster they control and one of the opponent’s monsters, returning both to the hand. If this card is in the graveyard the player can discard 1 “Danger” monster then draw 1 card. This card is placed on the bottom of the deck after it’s graveyard effect is activated. This strategy can be particularly advantageous, especially when the opponent plays a monster that cannot be Normal Summoned.
Danger! Traps
Danger! Zone- When this trap is activated the player draws 3 cards, discards 2 cards including at least one Danger card. If you have no Danger cards you show your entire hand and shuffle it into the deck. This can be a useful extender to draw more combos, however it’s downside can be heavy.
You’re In Danger!- When this trap card is activated the player reveals 3 Danger! monsters with different names from their deck. The opponent then picks one card for you to special summon, and the remaining cards are shuffled back into your deck. During the end phase you destroy the special summoned monster. This trap card can be useful for catching the opponent off-guard during an assault.
In conclusion, the Danger! deck can prove to be a fearsome deck. However in 2023’s meta you’ll need to know how your deck works to make the best use out of it. However, Cryptid monsters are not to be underestimated. For all things gaming check out The Esports Cave!
