Malefic Stardust Dragon (3x) - A must in any Malefic strategy, it’s one of the few ones that doesn’t force you to play Garnets in order to be summoned; it can be splashed into decks with a field spell skill for an easy 2500 ATK body, but its attack restriction often makes it a nuisance more than a help

Malefic Paradox Gear (2-3x) - Combos with Malefic Territory and/or Field Spell Skills, allows you to reduce the number of Garnets played but forces to play Malefic Parallel Gear

Ancient Pixie Dragon (0-1) - Trash

Miscellaneousaurus (3x) - Very important and versatile Dinosaur, his best targets are currently Jurrac Aeolo and Babycerasaurus

Dark Dust Spirit (0-2x) - Poor man’s Chaos Dragon Levianeer for Thunder Dragons, but still, it can be Tribute Set for a surprise nuke

D/D/D Flame King Genghis (1-2x) - Key D/D combo piece

D/D Swirl Slime (3x) - D/D’s main Starter

Degrade Buster (0-2x) - Cyberse is unplayable rn

Justi-Break (0x) - Super-situational Mirror Forces are overrated

D/D/D Gust High King Alexander (1x)

Dinowrestler Capoeiraptor (0-3x) - The current “boss monster” of the Deck

Dark Contract with the Gate (3x) - Obvious 3x for D/D/D decks.

Crystal Conclave (2-3x) - Floating and interruption in one card, one of the few defensive tools of Crystal Beasts

Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3x) - See Below

Guardragon Andrake (0-2x) - meme card

Rainbow Bridge (3x) - Not Once Per Turn, searches both Crystal Conclave and Crystal Bond

Acid Trap Hole (0x) - We’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel of “generic staples”

Malefic Rainbow Dragon (1x)

Malefic Territory (3x) - The most important card in pure Malefics, and the only (however feeble) hope of not losing to Cosmic Cyclone if drawn or searched in the 1st Turn.

Dark Contract with the Swamp King (1-3x) - Currently needed in triples, but will be heavily cut in the future.

Shinjo

No doubt this might be the most disappointing box we’ve ever had even for a Main Box. Nothing in this box could even shake the meta up by the looks of it. However we can see some plays with Ancient Pixie Dragon on Blackwings and possibly Blue-Eyes together with Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon. For Malefic Stardust Dragon, he maybe used as a possible generic Synchro material in some Synchro decks but we’ll see.

As for the rest of the Malefic cards, well it could see some fun and only fun plays with its spell ability to have a Terraforming-like effect with Malefic Territory is nice as well since it activates Malefic World from the deck and protects it too. But I think the deck will rely on Synchro plays to win. Basically they’re all Synchro fodder.

D/D/D - basically an even worse OTK deck than Blackwings and can very easily be disrupted cause of no protection from backrow or monster effects. good that it has D/D Swirl Slime but no D/D Necro Slime or D/D Lamia is kinda sad. this deck relies more on Synchro spam but they lack their actual good big bois to do it.

Dinowrestlers and Miscellaneousaurus - First off Dino support yay! Second, Dinowrestlers and sadly not the good ones too. Even having Invoked in the mix wouldn’t save the archtype. However Miscellaneousaurus has really really good future potential. Dino enthusiasts knows that. This card is the ONLY ONE that is worth digging for.

The new archtype for both Duel Links and tcg which is Cyberse but sadly this archtype relies more on Link Summoning. I shouldn’t base it on my experience with the TCG, but for now they’re absolutely terrible, no good plays for it and they actually haven’t given that much of the Cyberse archtype either.

Overall I rate this box 2/10 for competitive play cause of bad cards and no good staples comes with it (maybe except for Dark Dust Spirit but ehh). 8/10 for fun shenanigans.

Acier

Initial impressions of this box scream “disappointment”: Whilst Miscellaneousaurus is a genuinely good card in this box, without a Souleating Oviraptor to search it, it will likely fail to impact Dinos in any significant way.

Whilst Malefics are receiving their more recent TCG support in Malefic Territory and Malefic Selector, both genuinely good cards that add consistency to the deck’s ability to play Malefic World and draw its beaters, it does nothing to fix their inherit problem, beaters are all Malefics have, and while the 4k Malefic Paradox Dragon and the 5k Malefic Truth Dragon are very VERY big beaters, their summoning conditions are too troublesome and their lack of protection makes them flimsy outside their stats.

D/D/D’s are an interesting one; as it stands they have the potential to be an OTK machine that, if it fails to kill the opponent before the end of the turn, kills itself, with their only inherit LP recovery being attached to an otherwise awful fusion monster and a slow trap that costs all of your resources - there have been potential whisperings of using Where Arf Thou? to potentially add consistency to D/D Swirl Slime, but as it stands the deck seems to be worse Blackwings, missing critical cards that rely on summoning mechanics we don’t have yet in Duel Links, and with the widespread usage of Sphere Kuriboh and Kiteroid, their dangerous strategy will more often than not backfire spectacularly.

Justi-Break… Maybe? Could see some use as a tech card Blue Eyes or Dark Magician as non-semi limited alternative to Treacherous Trap Hole, but otherwise would only likely see play in meme Paleozoic decks.

OstrichChild

Archetypes:

Malefic: The Malefic archetype is a very gimmicky archetype that relies on getting out its field spell, Malefic World. Malefic Territory does a great job at this, as it plays it from your deck, and prevents it from being targeted by card effects like Cosmic Cyclone or Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower, though Malefic Territory itself does lose to targeting cards Malefic Territory also allows you to have multiple Malefic Monsters with different names on the field at the same time, and allows all of your monsters to attack during the battle phase. Malefic Paradox Gear is a fantastic card, that allows for Synchro plays and deck-thinning. With this card acting as an extra copy of any Malefic monster, it really boosts the deck’s consistency, but even it isn’t quite good enough to make the deck powerful enough. This rogue at best archetype could, like many decks, use the Lightsworn engine to be able to consistently summon Chaos Dragon Levianeer and make Synchro plays with Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn. With that being said, a more realistic version of the deck is likely Malefic Stardust Dragon and Necrovalley control with a hefty amount of backrow. Unfortunately, I don’t think that this deck is going to make an impact on the current meta and is an overall disappointing addition to the meta.

D/D: The D/D archetype is an archetype based on summoning monsters from the extra deck. This comes with a cost however, as the archetypal “Contract” spells force you to pay Life Points during the standby phase. With consistency from Dark Contract with the Gate, which can search any D/D monster from your deck, this deck feels like a powerful, combo oriented deck that relies on keeping big monsters on the field and out resourcing the opponent, while also having the ability to OTK. This deck has amazing recovery capability, as Dark Contract with the Swamp King can banish monsters from the graveyard in order to special summon D/D/D Flame King Genghis, which can summon a D/D monster from your graveyard allowing for more synchro plays. Being able to use D/D Swirl Slime to summon D/D/D Flame King Genghis and then banishing D/D Swirl Slime to summon another monster and then use D/D/D Flame King Genghis to special summon the other monster you used with D/D Swirl Slime is very powerful. This is probably the best deck to come out of this box and I would highly recommend investing in this deck, definitely in sales, because there is no doubt in my mind that D/D/D will one day be a force to be reckoned with.

Crystal Beast: Crystal Beast got support in the forms of Rainbow Bridge and Crystal Conclave. Rainbow Bridge is one of the best support cards in Duel Links, as it isn’t a hard once per turn, and you can search both spells and traps. Rainbow Bridge is very powerful and will most certainly be played at 3 in any Crystal Beast deck. Crystal Conclave turns all of your Crystal Beast monsters into floaters, and acts as an excellent form of removal for the archetype. Crystal Conclave can be searched off of Rainbow Bridge, and is definitely another staple for the Crystal Beast archetype. The deck is still nowhere near competitive viability, but it got a much needed boost from these two cards.

Dinowrestler: Dinowrestlers at the moment are in a rough spot. Without their best monster Dinowrestler Pankratops, the deck is lacking both a win condition and the disruption it needs to be viable. The deck doesn’t do much at the moment, but that could change if Dinowrestler Pankratops ever gets added.

Cyberse: At the moment the deck doesn’t have a very consistent strategy, other than to try and turbo out Degrade Buster, which can banish an opponent’s monster until the end phase once per turn, during either turn, as long as that monster has more attack than the Degrade Buster. There are some gems for the archetype such as Cyberse Beacon, Launcher Commander, and even the Ritual Set of Paladin of Storm Dragon and Cynet Ritual look like somewhat playeable strategies for the deck. At the moment it seems like an inconsistent mess, but it will remain to be seen the best way to play the Cyberse deck, and there is no doubt that this deck will also get support in the future.

Individual Cards

Miscellaneousaurus: This is a staple in the Dinosaur deck, but without Souleating Oviraptor to search it, or any good Dinosaur monsters for it to use either of its effects, it will remain mostly unused. However, when a good Dinosaur archetype/boss monster is released, this card will start seeing more and more play. This is definitely the chase card of the set, and it really is unfortunate it had to be in such a disappointing box.

Ancient Pixie Dragon: One of the better cards in the box, Ancient Pixie Dragon has 2 very powerful effects if you play a field-spell oriented deck. Being able to draw 1 card is very powerful in Yu-Gi-Oh!, so the fact it has another very powerful effect is somewhat surprising. Ancient Pixie Dragon is also able to destroy an Attack position monster, provided that there is a field spell on either field. While Ancient Pixie Dragon isn’t an extra deck staple for every deck, it is a great addition to decks based around field spells like Gravekeepers with Necrovalley and Fairy Tale with Golden Castle of Stromberg. The card is very powerful in these two decks, and will slightly increase competitive viability in them. It can also be a meta call for Elementsaber Invoked, as if they have Palace of the Elemental Lords on the field you can destroy any attack position monster on the field. It’s an interesting tech, and it remains to be seen if it will be used.

Dark Dust Spirit: This card is incredibly powerful if it is able to resolve. If you want to play a deck built around this card, Gilasaurus and Dynatherium are good options to special summon, to immediately tribute summon this card. Of course, this card is most likely not competitively viable at the moment, but you could tech it into the Thunder Dragon deck to go for board wipes into OTKs or Synchro plays.

Justi-Break: This card is just a meme, however it could be used in Blue-Eyes or Dark Magician as a tech, though there are better options then battle traps. This can also be a farm card for a Level 4 Vanilla Beatdown deck. Overall it seems Konami is adding more and more Mirror Force-like cards, so be on the lookout for similar cards in future boxes.

Guardragon Andrake: Paired with Super Team Buddy Force Unite!, Guardragon Andrake is a probably the most gimmicky card in the entire box. If summoned from the hand or deck, it becomes a 4000 ATK beatstick until the end of the next turn, and if summoned from the graveyard or banish pile, you can target and destroy an opponent’s monster.

Final Thoughts

The D/D/D archetype is the best archetype in the Truth Universe main box, and I feel people are too quick to judge its competitive viability. I believe that the deck will top events, and it most certainly will with more support. On another note, this is one of the worst main boxes we have ever gotten in Duel Links. Malefics are gimmicky, Dinowrestlers don’t have a Win-Condition, and the newest “Trap Hole” card is one of the worst “Trap Hole” cards we have gotten. D/D/D and Miscellaneousaurus are the only things saving the box, and we will see if the meta even shifts on release of this overall, disappointing Truth Universe main box, though, unfortunately, it will likely not.

MarkyMark

I feel this box is very underwhelming maybe due to one of the longest waits we’ve ever had for a main box. The Dinowrestlers don’t have a enough cards to support a decent core. Malefics I feel are a bit memeish aside from Malefic Stardust Dragon and Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Now the D/D archetype is very interesting but I don’t see a core where this deck could be consistent on a competitive level unless we get more support cards that have yet to be released. Overall I’m disappointed with this box for the amount of time we’ve been waiting. I was expecting something more meta changing. There’s still a glimmer of hope that someone will find a way to optimize the D/D archetype to add a tiered deck to the competitive scene. 4/10

Texas

Very weak box, only chase card is Miscellaneousaurus due to future potential. D/D/D’s are a complete bust of a release, they rely on summoning mechanics that don’t exist yet and in the current climate the only thing they can do is swarm with big bodies, no value elsewhere. Malefics could see play on a rogue level perhaps with a Lightsworn engine as they have the draw power and searchers to be consistent, but they have a similar issue of not doing anything except being huge bodies. Of course when your best bodies are 4k and 5k that makes a difference. The Cyberse releases will see no play, but Justi-Break might as a tech option in Gladiator Beasts (Gladiator Beast Andal) or What Grows in the Graveyard (Angel Trumpeter) decks. Sleeper pick is Guardragon Andrake, an actual good effect but difficult to see a deck that can summon it without Link support. Overall, not a box worth investing money into but still one necessary to pull from to dig for Miscellaneousaurus.

One Lunch Man

Individual Cards

Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon: Like the other Malefics, this will see little if no play as it was intended to be played. However, this card has potential with decks that utilize Chaos Dragon Levianeer, in particular, Blue-eyes, Lightsworn, and Thunder dragons due to its ability to be searched alongside Levianeer through The Melody of Awakening Dragon. One potential combo in Blue Eyes is summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue, use Sage with Eyes of Blue’s effect to target her and bring out 2 Blue-Eyes White Dragon, then using Melody of Awakening Dragon to add a Malefic Blue-Eyes and a Levianeer to your hand. By activating Malefic Blue-Eyes, you can summon it, and have it immediately destroy itself with its own effect, setting up your graveyard for a Turn 2 Levianeer to destroy 2 cards on your opponents side of the field. In particular, this combo does not need Alternative Evolution to enable an OTK, and if it can be optimized to be consistent, can allow Blue-Eyes to utilize other skills. Other than enabling Levianeer, I see no competitive potential for the Malefics. One downside is in order to use this, you need to have 1 Blue-Eyes in the deck or it is a dead card, that said, I think this is a solid 1-of in Blue-Eyes that hope to compete again against the Top Decks.

Malefic Stardust Dragon: Thunder Dragon’s extra deck space is highly competitive so there might not be room to fit this card in, but Blue-Eyes and Lightsworn could see use of this card. While it is not searchable by The Melody of Awakening Dragon, Malefic Stardust Dragon can simply summon itself by banishing Stardust Dragon from the extra deck, and immediately destroy itself intentionally, giving decks such as Lightsworn and Blue-Eyes an easy way to get dark monsters into the graveyard to set up for a Chaos Dragon Levianeer play without hurting their engine by clogging the main deck. While it is not searchable like Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon, it is not dependent on anything in the main deck, it will never be a dead card if utilized as a one-of.

Final Thoughts

Malefics have no potential as an archetype, while its recent support was added, it doesn’t fix their basic issues in its disruptability. That said, they are all DARK monsters that can easily be sent to the graveyard one way or another to enable Chaos Dragon Levianeer and in some decks, that could give them the boost they need to become more relevant. D/D/D is by far the best archetype in the box given that Dinowrestlers were not given their boss monster. There are some individual cards that are diamonds in the rough, Malefic Stardust Dragon and Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon both have potential to enable decks such as Lightsworn and Blue-Eyes to bring out Levianeer full potential with far greater consistency and speed. Dino players in particular know the value Miscellaneousaurus brings, but it alone can not bring Dinos up to par with the rest of the meta. For players interested in Chaos Dragon, this box is worth going through once for getting a copy of Malefic Blue-Eyes or Stardust, but no more than that.

If we ever get Malefic Cyber End Dragon, it will be able to summon itself, then destroy itself, to activate Desperado Barrel Dragon’s effect, as far as an example of Malefics in the future that could come to Duel Links