Characters / Yu-Gi-Oh! HEROes

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Just a few of the dozens of members

HERO is an archetype consisting of a diverse array of monsters inspired by superheroes of all genres, ranging from American comic books to Japanese sentai shows. Their playstyle is fairly diverse, due in large part to being divided into the distinct categories shown below, but they tend to share an emphasis on Fusion Summoning. They are also one of the largest single archetypes of cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! by a fairly wide margin, with only the Number archetype surpassing them.

Elemental HERO

By the elements combined!

Elemental HEROes are a HERO sub-archetype comprised mostly of Warrior-Type monsters who focus heavily on Fusion Summoning. Most of their primary members can be fused with one another, allowing for an enormous amount of flexibility in a dedicated deck. They were designed by Kazuki Takahashi, themed after comic book superheroes in the anime and the natural elements in the manga.

This archetype is famous for being used by Judai/Jaden Yuki, who uses two different Elemental HERO decks in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime and manga, respectively. In the anime he fuses specific monsters to create a Fusion Monster, while in the manga he fuses an Elemental HERO with another monster with a specific Attribute. Elemental HERO decks are also used by Edo/Aster Phoenix and Koyo Hibiki in the GX anime and manga, respectively.

Elemental HEROes might be just only a sub-archetype, but they are also a core element of the other HERO sub-archetypes (excluding Destiny HEROes).

For Elemental HERO Neos, see the folder "Neos / Neo-Spacians / Chrysalis". For Elemental HERO Terra Firma's relation with the Legendary Planets, see the folder "Legendary Planets". For information on their role in the anime, see Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime And Manga Cards.

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• Action Girl: Burstinatrix's original flavor text stated that she was the only female member of the Elemental HEROes and managed to secure her spot on the team due to her pyrokinetic skills being a powerful tool to vanquish villainy. The introduction of fellow heroines Lady Heat, Knospe, Poison Rose, Shadow Mist and Rampart Blaster served as a retcon, so her new description states that she was the first female monster to join the team.
• Armor-Piercing Attack: Bladedge can inflict Piercing Damage.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Mariner wields two arm-sized anchor kunais with chains on his wrist.
• Captain Ersatz:
  • Many of the Elemental HEROes (particularly the non-Fusions) are based loosely on American comic book characters. Avian is Hawkman, Burstinatrix is Firestar, Bubbleman is Batman, Sparkman is Black Lightning, Clayman is The Thing, Necroshade is Spawn, Bladedge is Iron Man, Wildheart is Ka-Zar the Apeman...
  • Some of their Fusion Monsters are also this. Wildedge is Cyborg, Mariner is Sub-Mariner, Core is Heroman, and Great Tornado is Red Tornado.
• Dark Is Not Evil: The DARK Elemental HERO monsters are not evil.
• Dub Name Change: Many names were changed. Some examples:
  • Featherman —> Avian.
  • Burst Lady —> Burstinatrix.
  • Necro Darkman —> Necroshade.
  • Phoenix Guy —> Phoenix Enforcer.
  • The Earth —> Terra Firma.
  • The Heat —> Heat.
  • Lady of Fire —> Lady Heat.
  • Flame Blast —> Inferno.
  • Frost Blade —> Ice Edge.
  • Airman —> Stratos.
• Evolutionary Levels: Knospe evolves into Poison Rose through the Rose Bud spell card.
• Extra-ore-dinary: Bladedge and Captain Gold represent the metal element.
• Five-Man Band: The initial five Elemental HEROes in the anime: Avian is The Leader, who also has the most fusions; Sparkman is The Lancer, who has less fusions than the others and is clearly stronger than the other four; Clayman is The Big Guy, who has 2000 DEF points; Bubbleman is The Smart Guy, who is mostly used strategically; and Burstinatrix is The Smurfette Principle, who is the female member.
• Fusion Dance: The archetype is Fusion-oriented to the point where they have more Fusion Monsters than you can fit into a single Extra Deck. They are all of The Composite kind.
  • Avian + Burstinatrix = Flame Wingman or Phoenix Enforcer.
  • Clayman + Sparkman = Thunder Giant.
  • Clayman + Burstinatrix = Rampart Blaster.
  • Clayman + Bubbleman = Mudballman.
  • Wildheart + Bladedge = Wildedge.
  • Bubbleman + Burstinatrix = Steam Healer.
  • Wildheart + Necroshade = Necroid Shaman.
  • Wildheart + Avian = Wild Wingman.
  • Avian + Bubbleman = Mariner.
  • Sparkman + Bladedge = Plasma Vice.
  • Sparkman + Necroshade = Darkbright.
  • Avian + Bubbleman + Sparkman = Tempest.
  • Flame Wingman + Sparkman = Shining Flare Wingman.
  • Phoenix Enforcer + Sparkman = Shining Phoenix Enforcer.
  • Avian + Burstinatrix + Clayman + Bubbleman = Electrum.
  • Ocean + Woodsman = Terra Firma.
  • Heat + Lady Heat = Inferno.
• An Ice Person: Absolute Zero and Ice Edge represent the ice element.
• I Know Madden Kombat: Clay Guardian is modeled after a football player.
• Light Is Good: The LIGHT Elemental HEROes are all benevolent, and their leader Neos is the signature card of the anime protagonist.
• Ms. Fanservice: Burstinatrix's choice of clothing is an extremely tight body suit, the original version of which barely covers anything on one side of her body.
• Nerf:
  • In the anime, Bubbleman allowed the owner to draw two cards on summon as long as it was the only card on the field. In the game, the owner also has to have no cards in their hand.
  • One of Inferno's abilities in the manga was to add a Spell Card from the grave to the hand when destroyed by battle. An incredibly useful ability that was not carried over.
• Next Tier Power-Up:
  • Judai's Flame Wingman turns into Shining Flare Wingman after fusing with Sparkman.
  • Edo's Phoenix Enforcer turns into Shining Phoenix Enforcer after fusing with Sparkman.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: Phoenix Enforcer and Shining Phoenix Enforcer cannot be destroyed in battle.
• The Power of Friendship: The Fusions represent the bond and the friendship of the weak Elemental HERO monsters, who become strong heroes when they combine their power. This is also a strong contrast to the Destiny HERO monsters, who do not rely on fusions (until ARC-V anyway).
• Punny Name: Ice Edge is pronounced like Ice Age.
• Shock and Awe: Sparkman, Thunder Giant, Plasma Vice, Darkbright and Voltic represent the lightning element.
• The Smurfette Principle: Burstinatrix was originally the only female hero, as said on her card. Later on, it would be said that she was the first female Elemental Hero.
• Something Person: The OCG Heroes include the likes of Clayman, Sparkman and Flame Wingman.
• Stone Wall:
  • Clayman and Mudballman are not strong nor have any effects, but have very high DEF (2000 and 3000 respectively).
  • Rampart Blaster has 2500 DEF and 2000 ATK.
  • Wild Wingman has 2300 DEF and 1900 DEF.
  • Gaia has 2600 DEF and 2200 ATK.
• Theme Naming: In the OCG, most of the Elemental HEROes have "man" in their name. Phoenix Guy and Shining Phoenix Guy are notable exceptions, who follow the theme naming of the Destiny HEROes.
• This Is a Drill: Grand Neos's weapon of choice is a gigantic drill attached to his right hand.
• Top-Heavy Guy: Mudballman, Thunder Giant, and Inferno all have impressive, large upper bodies, but comparatively thin legs.
• Toyless Toyline Character: Clay Guardian was featured in the anime, but has not received an official card. Likely due to its anime effect requiring Metamorphosis, a card that has been on the Forbidden list since 2007. Without Metamorphosis, Clay Guardian's summoning condition would have to be reworked to avoid being nearly impossible to summon, which is what happened to Elemental HERO Neo Bubbleman, another card that requires Metamorphosis to summon.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Mudballman virtually has no effect whatsoever among the Fusion Elemental HEROes, but has 3000 DEF.
• Useless Useful Spell: Rampart Blaster's original effect implied that she could attack directly when in Defense position, albeit with half her original ATK. The card would later receive an errata so this effect only applied if the opponent had no monsters in play... in which case you're better off just putting Rampart Blaster in Attack position and direct attacking the old fashioned way. This errata would later be reverted, though.
• Winged Humanoid: Avian, true to his name, has a pair of wings on his back that allow him to fly, and most of his Fusions have wings as well. Sparkman also has a pair of protrusions on his back that resemble wings, but aren't used as such; however, they do become full-fledged wings in a number of his Fusions.
• Wolverine Claws: Avian sports talon-shaped blades on his right wrist.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Chaos is a DARK monster that can be treated as a LIGHT monster as well. He's also a monster that isn't an Elemental HERO, but has an archetype condition stating he is always treated as one.

Neos / Neo-Spacian / Chrysalis

Elemental HERO Neos, Jaden Yuki's ace monster and the centerpiece of the archetype.

Neos is an archetype highlighted by Elemental HERO Neos. He performs Contact Fusions with Neo-Spacian monsters to summon powerful Fusion Monsters that return to the Extra Deck after one turn. The Neo-Spacians have also pre-evolutions called Chrysalis (Cocoon in the OCG). In the anime, they are the signature cards of Judai/Jaden Yuki, who created them.

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• All Your Powers Combined: Elemental HERO Neos is often described as having his true power unlocked by fusion. This could mean that Elemental HERO Divine Neos is the true power dwelling within Neos. This is further reinforced in the anime by the fact that this card is created by the Contact Fusion of Elemental HERO Neos and all other six Neo-Spacians.
• Anti-Magic: The effect of Storm Neos is essentially Heavy Storm.
• Badass Cape: Dark Panther wears one, which is even more impressive, since he goes on all four legs.
• Bat Signal: N-Signal; when one of your monsters you control is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, N-Signal can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Neo-Spacian monster from your deck or hand. Even though the Level of the Main Deck Neo-Spacians is 3.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: While other Neos cards received multiple reprints over time, Air Neos is the only card that was never reprinted from the original booster pack. In fact, the card's existence have seemingly been erased by the company for unknown reasons; it's not available in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links or Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, despite being a card used by one of the former's protagonists and the latter having added almost every other card in the pool. Even the artwork of Instant Contact, which is a shot-for-shot remake of the original opening that featured Air Neos, had the latter edited out, only being seen in the background with white wings.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Pantail, Dark Panther, Dark Neos and Chaos Neos are heroic DARK monsters.
• Drill Mole: Grand Mole wears an armor with drills.
• Energy Beings: Pinny, Glow Moss and Twilight Moss are humanoidly-shaped energy slimes.
• Evolutionary Levels: The Chrysalis, known as Cocoon in the OCG, is a sub-archetype that contains a small group of effect monsters shielded in cocoons. They generally have low ATK and DEF values. The cocooned monsters can be released by a number of methods. Commonly, each chrysalis can be Tributed when the Field Spell Neo Space is on the Field to Special Summon a specified Neo-Spacian from either your hand or your Deck. There are 6 Chrysalis monsters with 6 different Attributes. The appearances of Chrysalis monsters look like small and cuter versions of the Neo-Spacian monsters. Two of the Neo-Spacians can evolve though NEX.
  • Dolphin —> Aqua Dolphin —> Marine Dolphin.
  • Chicky —> Air Hummingbird.
  • Larva —> Flare Scarab.
  • Mole —> Grand Mole.
  • Pantail —> Dark Panther.
  • Pinny —> Glow Moss —> Twinkle Moss.
• Fashionable Asymmetry:
  • Two of the Triple Contact Fusion Monsters have asymmetric hands, with each hand representing one of the two Neo-Spacians. Storm Neos is the exception.
  • Grand Neos, who has a drill equipped to his right arm.
• Fusion Dance: Contact Fusion, a unique method of fusing not needing a Fusion card to initiate. You get these Contact Fusion Monsters by fusing Elemental HERO Neos and a Neo-Spacian monster. There are a few Neos fusions that need to be Fusion Summoned with Fusion Spell Cards.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin = Elemental HERO Aqua Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird = Elemental HERO Air Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab = Elemental HERO Flare Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Grand Mole = Elemental HERO Grand Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Dark Panther = Elemental HERO Dark Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Glow Moss = Elemental HERO Glow Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Marine Dolphin = Elemental HERO Marine Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin + Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird = Elemental HERO Storm Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab + Neo-Spacian Grand Mole = Elemental HERO Magma Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Dark Panther + Neo-Spacian Glow Moss = Elemental HERO Chaos Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Neo-Spacian Dark Panther + Neo-Spacian Grand Mole = Elemental HERO Nebula Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Rainbow Dragon = Rainbow Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + a Warrior monster (Power Booster type)= Elemental HERO Neos Knight.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + a Level 4 or lower monster (Power Booster type) = Elemental HERO Brave Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + 3 Neo-Spacian monsters with different Attributes = Elemental HERO Cosmo Neos.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + Yubel = Elemental HERO Neos Kluger.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + a Wingman Fusion Monster = Elemental HERO Shining Neos Wingman. Appearance-wise, it looks to be a fusion of Neos and Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman.
  • Elemental HERO Neos + an Armed Dragon monster = Armed Neos. Visually, it appears to be a fusion of Neos and Armed Dragon Thunder LV10.
  • Elemental HERO Divine Neos = any five Neos, Neo Space, Neo-Spacian, or HERO monsters, including at least one Neos or Neo Space monster, one Neo-Spacian monster, and one HERO monster.
  • You must tribute Elemental HERO Neos and Yubel to Special Summon Neos Wiseman, an Effect Monster. This monster was a Fusion Monster in the anime.
• Heroes Fight Barehanded: Elemental HERO Neos, although he does use his blade on his arm at occasions. But the blade is part of his body.
• Homage: The anime Elemental HERO designs were mostly based on American Super Heroes. In the case of Neos, Neos Alius, and Neo Space Pathfinder they appear to resemble Superman from the DC comics as they have mighty strength and are from space. They also slightly resembles characters from the Ultra Series. Neos and Neos Alius even sharing their names with one. Elemental HERO Neos also looks like a Guyver from the remade anime Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor. The most similar parts are the elbows and head.
• Hour of Power: Each of Neos's Contact Fusion forms will shuffle themselves into the Extra Deck at the End Phase, leaving your field wide open if you do not have any other monster on the field. This is the biggest weakness of the Neos archetype, that's why cards like Neo Space and Instant Neo Space are needed to avoid this problem.
• Magma Man: Elemental HERO Magma Neos, the fusion of Neos, Flare Scarab (FIRE) and Grand Mole (EARTH). He throws meteor-like magma balls with his left arm.
• Mythology Gag: Elemental HERO Honesty Neos is a reference to the time Judai Yuki used Honest's effect on Neos during the duel against Trueman and the artwork for Honesty Neos is a reference to the depiction of Neos in the fourth opening of GX as well as the boxart for GX Tag Force 3.
• Panthera Awesome: Dark Panther is a black panther with a cape that can copy the name (which includes the appearance) and effects of an opposing monster until the End Phase.
• Power Gives You Wings: Honesty Neos is Elemental HERO Neos powered up by the effect of Honest who is also given wings as a result to that.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: The Neos archetype and the Neo-Spacians took a lot of screentime from the Elemental HERO monsters, and Neos effectively took over Elemental HERO Flame Wingman's role as Judai's signature card. Even though Flame Wingman is still Judai's favorite monster, he uses Neos a lot more than Flame Wingman.
• Swiss-Army Hero: Neos has no less than nineteen different forms it can fuse into. Twenty if you count Neos Wiseman as a different form too, which means he has twenty-one different forms if you count his base form.
• This Is a Drill: Grand Mole and Grand Neos have those.
• Ultraman Copy: The Neos monsters are heavily inspired on the Ultras with their head crest, red/white coloration (with some blue), arm blades and being a race of space humanoids. Also similarly to the Ultras bonding with humans and merging with them, Elemental Hero Neos can fuse with other cards through Contact Fusion.
• Winged Humanoid: Air Hummingbird, Flare Scarab, Honesty Neos, Air Neos, Flare Neos, Dark Neos, Storm Neos, Magma Neos, Chaos Neos, Rainbow Neos, Divine Neos and Neos Wiseman have wings.
• Wolverine Claws: Dark Neos and Storm Neos have those.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Chaos Neos, the Fusion of Neos, Dark Panther and Glow Moss.

Destiny HERO

Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same.

Destiny HEROes are a HERO sub-archetype of mostly DARK Warrior-Type monsters. Unlike most other HERO sub-archetypes, they do not rely on Fusion Summoning and instead revolve around taking defensive action and stalling while increasing the user's card advantage and field presence. This is necessary to summon Destiny HERO - Dogma and Destiny HERO - Plasma, both of which are extremely powerful monsters that require three Tributes to be Special Summoned from the hand.

This archetype is famous for being Edo/Aster Phoenix's main archetype, who later focuses entirely on the Destiny HEROes while phasing out his few Elemental HEROes entirely. They are also used by Edo's alternate universe counterpart in the ARC-V anime, with their more recent members focusing on burn damage and aggression with more support on Fusion Summoning.

For information on their role in the anime, see Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime And Manga Cards.

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• The Ace:
  • Plasma and Dogma are the most powerful Destiny HEROes.
  • Dystopia is Edo's ace card in ARC-V.
• Adaptational Badass: The playable D-Force card not only searches for Destiny Hero Plasma, protects its controllers cards from being targeted while Plasma is in play, and increases said monster's attack points, it also makes its user immune to losing to conventional mill strategies as it prohibits the Draw Phase from a Spell & Trap Zone rather than from the top of the deck.
• Anti-Hero: The Destiny HEROes are much darker than the Elemental HEROes, reflecting Edo's anti-heroic character. They also resemble British (and a few American and Japanese) anti-heroes.
• The Assimilator: Plasma can absorb an enemy monster and equip himself with it.
• Back from the Dead:
  • Decider can revive himself once per Duel.
  • Captain Tenacious can resurrect a Destiny HERO that was destroyed by battle during your next Standby Phase.
• Bowdlerise: Bloo-D, Devil Guy, Diabolic Guy and Divine Guy, as you can see below.
• Byronic Hero: Their theme is combining this trope with the aesthetic of American superheroes. In the anime they're run by Edo Phoenix, who himself embodies a Lighter and Softer variation of the trope.
• Chained by Fashion: Dreadmaster wears chain shackles on his limbs.
• Dark Is Not Evil: The Destiny HEROes are still heroes, even if they look like villains.
• Dub Name Change: Most names are changed from the OCG to TCG. Some examples:
  • Bloo-D —> Plasma.
  • Dash Guy —> Dasher.
  • Doom Guy —> Fear Monger.
  • Dagger Guy —> Blade Master.
  • Disk Guy —> Disk Commander.
  • Die Hard Guy —> Captain Tenacious.
  • Devil Guy —> Doom Lord.
  • Diabolic Guy —> Malicious.
  • Divine Guy —> Celestial.
• Fusion Dance:
  • Plasma + Dogma = Destiny End Dragoon.
  • Destiny HERO – Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer. This is meant to be Phoenix Enforcer after fusing with Plasma.
• Homage: The Destiny HEROes and their support cards have several references to British culture.
• Letter Motif: D for "destiny". In the OCG, all of their names start with that letter, except Bloo-D, whose name ends with it. This is Lost in Translation, as the need to censor some of their names or make them flow better in English completely eradicates the theme, though the theme was restored with their later cards which all have names starting with "D".
• Mythical Motifs: Some of them are themed after various figures from European folklore and mythology. Decider is the Loch Ness Monster, Double Dude is Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Dreadmaster is the Man in the Iron Mask, Plasma is Dracula etc.
• Not the Intended Use: Destiny HEROes were originally designed with the mindset to stall and buy time with great drawing power and rapid revival. However, they've found great use primarily as an Exodia deck engine. In fact, in the early days of the game, if an engine wasn't Lightsworn, it was Destiny HERO. Diamond Dude on his own spawned a popular deck known as "Diamond Dude Turbo", as his ability actually removes the cost of any Spell Card activated with his effect, letting players activate otherwise costly Spells like Mega Ton Magical Cannon or Bonding - H2O for free. Destiny HERO Malicious was also a very popular card during the Synchro era, as his effect allowed for easy Level 8 Synchro Summons (meaning things like Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend) alongside the dirt-common Tuner Krebons. In the ARC-V era, they've gained more Fusion Monsters to allow them to fight better directly.
• Odd Name Out:
  • The only Destiny HERO monsters who don't have "Guy" in their OCG names are Bloo-D/Plasma, Dark Angel and Dread Servant.
  • In the TCG the only Destiny HEROes whose names don't start with the letter D are Captain Tenacious, Celestial, Fear Monger, Malicious, and Plasma.
• Our Angels Are Different: Destiny HERO - Dark Angel is a Warrior-Type monster who looks like a sinister angel with white wings.
• Power Nullifier: Plasma's Continuous Effect negates the effects of all enemy monsters on the field.
• Stealth Pun: Captain Tenacious is an odd Dub Name Change, but it's actually one that continues the theme naming... by being a reference to Tenacious D. It is not the first nor the last joke about Destiny HEROes and said band to be made by the dub translators.
• Stone Wall: Defender is a Level 4 monster with 2700 DEF, one of the highest among non-Tribute monsters, but a measly 100 ATK.
• Taking You with Me: Dynatag can negate the damage from one attack and instead inflict 1000 damage to both players. If both are at low LP, this can force a Draw, as Edo demonstrated in the anime.
• Theme Naming: In the OCG, almost every Destiny HERO has "guy" in his name and starts with the letter D.
• This Is a Drill: Destiny HERO - Drilldark has a big drill in place of his right hand, his fingers on his left finger are drills, and he has drills on his hips, knees and hair.
• Weak, but Skilled: The majority of their members have low ATK and are poor offensively, but often have great utility for maintaining field presence and forms of card advantage over the opponent. In the card game they are best known for being part of a notorious draw engine.

Evil HERO

They're back in black.

Evil HEROes are a HERO sub-archetype of Fiend-Type monsters. The majority of them are twisted versions of the Elemental HEROes whose Fusion Monsters can only be summoned with Dark Fusion, but have effects that are stronger than their Elemental HERO counterparts. In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, they are used by Judai/Jaden Yuki's Superpowered Evil Side, Haou/the Supreme King. But since they only appear for a short time in the anime, there are only a few of them.

They eventually received new support in the Legendary Duelists: Immortal Destiny booster pack (twelve years after their initial debut), allowing for Evil HEROes to be played more efficiently with a playstyle that focuses on obliterating the opponent's field with effects and massive power boosts.

For information on their role in the anime, see Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime And Manga Cards.

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• Anti-Magic: Wild Cyclone prevents the opponent from activating Spells or Traps until the end of the Damage Step when he attacks and destroys all face-down Spells and Traps they control if he inflicts battle damage.
• Armor-Piercing Attack: Malicious Edge and Inferno Wing can inflict piercing damage.
• Damage Over Time: Infernal Sniper can inflict 1000 damage to your opponent each standby phase as long as she remains in Defense Position.
• Dark Action Girl: Inferno Wing and Infernal Sniper are both female.
• Dark Is Evil: Definitely applies in the anime, where the Evil HEROes are the signature cards of Haou/the Supreme King. Design-wise, they appear to be largely inspired by various supervillains and anti-heroes.
• Distaff Counterpart: Inferno Wing is an evil female version of Elemental HERO Flame Wingman.
• Draw Aggro: Malicious Fiend forces your opponent's monsters to attack him, if able.
• Dub Name Change:
  • Aduster Gold —> Adusted Gold.
  • Hell Brat —> Infernal Prodigy.
  • Hell Gainer —> Infernal Gainer.
  • Hell Sniper —> Infernal Sniper.
  • Malicious Devil —> Malicious Fiend.
• Evil Counterpart: Several of their members lore-wise are corrupted versions of the Elemental HEROes, with many of the Evil HERO Fusions even having the same Fusion Materials as their Elemental counterparts.
  • Inferno Wing to Flame Wingman.
  • Lightning Golem to Thunder Giant.
  • Infernal Sniper to Rampart Blaster.
  • Wild Cyclone to Wild Wingman.
  • Malicious Edge to Bladedge.
  • Infernal Prodigy is one to Hero Kid who isn't an Elemental HERO, but is connected to them through a Trap card.
  • Adusted Gold to Captain Gold.
  • Sinister Necrom to Necroshade.
  • Malicious Fiend is considered by some to be this to Wildedge, due to one of his Fusion Materials being the Evil HERO counterpart of Bladedge. They also have contrasting effects: Wildedge can attack all of the opponent's monsters, while Malicious Fiend forces all of the opponent's monsters to attack him.
  • Dark Calling is this to Miracle Fusion.
  • Supreme King's Castle can be considered this to Skyscraper, as both allow their respective HERO monsters to receive ATK boosts when attacking.
• Fusion Dance: Evil HEROes don't have many Fusion Monsters, but most of them require the same Fusion Materials as their Elemental counterparts. However, they can only be Fusion Summoned using Dark Fusion or Dark Calling unless you have Supreme King's Castle in play, then you can use any Fusion-related card or effect like Polymerization as it will be treated as a Fusion Summon with Dark Fusion.
  • Burstinatrix + Avian = Inferno Wing.
  • Sparkman + Clayman = Lightning Golem.
  • Burstinatrix + Clayman = Infernal Sniper.
  • Avian + Wildheart = Wild Cyclone.
  • Malicious Edge + a Level 6 or higher Fiend-Type monster = Malicious Fiend. In the anime, he's a fusion of Malicious Edge and the Evil Token summoned by the effect of Vicious Claw.
  • A Fiend-Type monster + a Rock-Type monster = Dark Gaia. In the anime, he's a fusion of Infernal Gainer and Gaia Plate the Earth Giant.
  • An Evil HERO monster + a Level 5 or higher monster = Malicious Bane. Appearance-wise, he appears to be a fusion of Malicious Edge and Infernal Gainer.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Super Polymerization was used in the anime to summon Dark Gaia and Malicious Fiend despite both only being able to be summoned using Dark Fusion or Dark Calling in the TCG. This problem was remedied years later with the release of Supreme King’s Castle, a Field Spell that basically allows Evil HERO Fusion Monsters to be summoned using any Fusion-related card or effect, including Super Polymerization.
• Herd-Hitting Attack: During your Main Phase, Malicious Bane can destroy all monsters your opponent controls with ATK less than or equal to his, gaining 200 ATK for each monster destroyed this way. However, you cannot declare an attack for the rest of the turn, except with HERO monsters.
• The Juggernaut: Malicious Bane has 3000 ATK and DEF, can't be destroyed by battle or card effects, and can destroy all monsters your opponent controls with ATK less than or equal to his and gains 200 ATK for each one, making him difficult to deal with. He can become even more of one if equipped with Favorite Hero, giving him an additional 3000 ATK and immunity to opposing card effects.
• More Deadly Than the Male: Inferno Wing is a Distaff Counterpart of Flame Wingman who wields a much more powerful version of his effect and can inflict piercing damage.
• Mythology Gag: A few of the more recent cards reference elements of the latter half of GX.
  • The artwork of Adusted Gold features the comet that appeared in season 3 of GX with said comet depicted as having a blue glow just like it did when the Supreme King was present.
  • Supreme King's Castle is, as its name suggests, the castle of the Supreme King. The card even allows the player to use, among others, Super Polymerization in order to fusion summon the Evil HERO Fusions just like the aforementioned character did.
  • Evil Mind's artwork references a scene from episode 146 of GX with Inferno Wing having the same pose in both.
• Nigh-Invulnerable: Malicious Bane cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects.
• No-Sell: Infernal Sniper cannot be destroyed by Spell Cards.
• Satanic Archetype: The archetype in general has shades of this, with the Japanese names of some of their members (as well as their attacks and effects in the anime) referencing Hell in some way. Taken to its logical conclusion with Dark Gaia, who is the most outright demonic-looking and has a background resembling a burning hellscape.
• Status Buff:
  • Malicious Bane gains 200 ATK for every monster destroyed by his primary effect.
  • Supreme King's Castle provides this for all your Evil HEROes when they battle.
• Superpowered Evil Side: What they embody as the Evil Counterparts of the Elemental HEROes. In contrast, Evil HEROes don't have as many Fusion possibilities in addition to having less flexibility in how to actually summon them, with Dark Fusion and Dark Calling being the only ways to do so unless you have Supreme King's Castle in play. In exchange, they have much more powerful effects compared to their Elemental counterparts.

Masked HERO

Masked HEROes are a HERO sub-archetype of Warrior-Type Fusion Monsters used by Judai/Jaden Yuki in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga. They are unique among Fusion Monsters as they do not need any Fusion Materials, instead being Special Summoned by "transforming" a HERO monster with Mask Change, which is unofficially called "Transformation Summoning". The only exception so far is Contrast HERO Chaos, which can be Fusion Summoned using two Masked HEROes.

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• Anti-Magic: When Special Summoned, Acid destroys all Spell and Trap Cards of the opponent. A very popular combo is Elemental HERO Absolute Zero + Mask/Form Change, which clears the entire field.
• Bowdlerise: Kamikaze's name is translated to Divine Wind, which is correct, but you know what Kamikaze stands for in another context.
• Deader than Dead: Dark Law's effect banishes villainy.
• Henshin Hero: A variation in that rather than transforming from a normal person into a superhero, these are superheroes that transform from other superheroes.
• Knight Templar: Dark Law's name and effect implies this.
• Mask of Power: Mask Change cards transform a HERO to a Masked HERO, each of them being powerful monsters. Mask Change II works on non-HERO monsters, too, as long as the Masked HERO has a higher Level than the monster you want to transform.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: Divine Wind cannot be destroyed in battle. Furthermore, the opponent can only attack once per Battle Phase as long as Divine Wind is face-up on the field.
• Out-of-Turn Interaction: Since Mask Change, Mask Change II and Form Change are Quick-Play Spell Cards, you can use them in the opponent's turn and hit the opponent with a surprise boss monster. The two best ones for this purpose are Acid, who destroys the opponent's backrow on summon, and Dark Law, who puts out several strong floodgates when it's on the field.
• Shout-Out: Masked HEROes are a salute to Japanese Kamen Rider heroes. In addition to "Kamen" meaning "Masked", there are several similarities between the two, such the recurring "form changing" and transformations of Kamen Riders. The Double Attacks are also similar to the original Kamen Riders' (1 and 2) "Rider Double" techniques.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: As his name suggests, Contrast HERO Chaos invokes this. He's a DARK monster, but he also counts as a LIGHT monster on the field.

Vision HERO

Vision HEROes are a HERO sub-archetype of DARK Warrior-Type monsters. Their playstyle involves using their lower-Level members' abilities to be placed in the Spell & Trap Zone as Continuous Traps to swarm the field and be used to summon their boss monsters via Tribute or Fusion Summoning. They are used by Edo/Aster Phoenix in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga.

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• Anti-Magic: Witch Raider can destroy all Spell and Trap Cards your opponent controls when Normal Summoned, at the cost of you not being able to Special Summon anything other than HERO monsters for the rest of the turn.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: Trinity can attack up to three times during each Battle Phase, but cannot attack your opponent directly.
• Back from the Dead: If you take battle or effect damage while Increase, Minimum Ray, Multiply Guy or Poisoner are in your graveyard, they can be placed in your Spell/Trap Card Zones where they are then treated as face-up Continuous Traps.
• Composite Character: Vision HEROes can be seen as a combination of the Destiny HEROes and Crystal Beasts (neither of which appear in the manga). They are DARK Warrior-Type HERO monsters like the former with their gameplay mechanic working very similarly to the latter.
• Damage-Increasing Debuff:
  • If Special Summoned from the Spell/Trap Card Zone, Poisoner can halve the ATK of one face-up monster on the field.
  • Once per turn, Adoration can target one face-up monster your opponent controls and have it lose ATK and DEF equal to that of one other HERO monster you control until the end of the turn.
  • After its primary effect resolves, Apparition can halve the ATK/DEF of one monster your opponent controls.
• Status Buff:
  • If Multiply Guy is Special Summoned from the Spell/Trap Card Zone, you can have one face-up monster on your side of the field gain 800 ATK.
  • Trinity's ATK becomes double its original ATK after being Fusion Summoned until the end of your turn.

Xtra HERO

Xtra HEROes are a HERO sub-archetype of Link Monsters who mainly act as support for HERO monsters.

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• Armor-Piercing Attack: Dread Decimator can inflict piercing damage.
• Back from the Dead: When Cross Crusader is Link Summoned, you can Special Summon one Destiny HERO monster from your graveyard.
• Obvious Rule Patch: Most archetypes were given a Link monster of some sort so that they could function under Master Rule 4; these cards are that for Heroes in general.
• Status Buff:
  • Dread Decimator gives itself and any HERO monster its arrows point to 100 ATK for every HERO monster in your graveyard.
  • Infernal Devicer gives any Fiend-Type monster its arrows point to ATK equal to its Level x 100.

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