Infernity
"Infernity" (インフェルニティ Inferuniti) is an archetype of DARK monsters used by Kalin Kessler in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime and manga. They consist of monsters whose effects activate when a player has no cards in hand. In episodes 33 - 35 in the dub of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, the archetype was referred to as "Infernalty".
| Infernity | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||
| Japanese |
| ||||||||||||
| English |
| ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese |
| ||||||||||||
| French |
| ||||||||||||
| German |
| ||||||||||||
| Italian |
| ||||||||||||
| Korean |
| ||||||||||||
| Portuguese |
| ||||||||||||
| Spanish |
| ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Anime appearances | |||||||||||||
| Manga appearances | |||||||||||||
| Lists | |||||||||||||
Contents
AppearanceEdit
"Infernity" has two primary themes within their artworks; members originating from the anime have a more Wild West-inspired aesthetic, as seen with "Infernity Avenger" and "Infernity Randomizer" for cowboys and the likes of "Infernity Archfiend" and "Infernity Mirage" for Native Americans. Meanwhile, the manga members much more closely resemble chess pieces akin to the early "Archfiend" monsters, namely "Infernity Patriarch" and "Infernity Knight". Fire is also a commonality shared by members of the archetype and as their name implies, are generally demonic in appearance.
EtymologyEdit
"Infernity" is a portmanteau of the words "Infernal/Inferno" and "Infinity".
Playing styleEdit
"Infernity" is a combo Deck reliant on the player having an empty hand, with many in-archetype ways of doing so. Notably, the original cards of the archetype do not have a hard once per turn clause, allowing them to be re-used multiple times per turn.
Infernity LoopEdit
One major part of "Infernity" is the 'loop' generated by "Archfiend", "Necromancer", "Mirage", "Launcher", which are all not hard once per turn:
- "Archfiend" can search any "Infernity" card on Special Summon.
- "Necromancer" can Summon an "Infernity" monster from the GY.
- "Mirage" can Tribute itself to Summon 2 "Infernity" monsters, but can't be Summoned from the GY.
- "Launcher" can Summon 2 "Infernity" monsters from the GY. It can also be used to get rid of an "Infernity" monster in hand.
The goal is to repeatedly Summon and use the effect of "Archfiend", generating massive field advantage. After all copies of "Launcher" are searched, "Archfiend" can be used to search in-archetype Traps - "Break" and "Barrier". The monsters on field would be used for Extra Deck plays.
Before the introduction of Xyz/Link Monsters, it was necessary to run Tuners like "Beetle" and "Avenger" so that the board could be cleared (and the loop repeated).
The in-archetype Extra Deck options are all Synchros: "Infernity Doom Dragon" can target and destroy a monster and deal burn damage (but can't attack that turn), while the more recently released card "Infernity Doom Archfiend" can negate and destroy as an Ignition effect. In addition, "Void Ogre Dragon" and "Hundred Eyes Dragon" - both Synchros used by Kalin in the manga/anime, respectively - have effects that indirectly support the archetype.
SupportEdit
More recent support cards (2017 onwards) are largely restricted to being hard once per turn, but support the archetype's GY-centric swarming strategy:
- "Sage", if sent from Deck to GY, sends another "Infernity" monster to the GY. It can also empty your hand if on field.
- "Conjurer" can Special Summon itself from the GY (but is banished when leaving the field).
- "Wildcat" can Summon from hand itself by sending another "Infernity" monster from hand to GY, and is a Tuner that can change its Level.
- "Paranoia" is a Spell that Tributes a DARK Monster to Summon a negated "Infernity" monster of the same Level (but different name). If the first effect wasn't used this turn, it banish itself from the GY to can add an "Infernity" monster from GY to hand.
- "Suppression" is a Trap that can negate monster effects, and can be used the turn it was Set.
This archetype benefits heavily from DARK / Fiend support, such as "Dark Grepher", "Armageddon Knight", "Stygian Street Patrol", and "Cherubini, Ebon Angel of the Burning Abyss". It can also benefit from archetypes / engines that can empty the hand, such as "Dark World", Danger!", "Horus", and "Millennium"
Recommended cardsEdit
- Infernity Archfiend
- Infernity Beast
- Infernity Conjurer
- Infernity Destroyer
- Infernity Doom Slinger
- Infernity General
- Infernity Guardian
- Infernity Knight
- Infernity Mirage
- Infernity Necromancer
- Infernity Patriarch
- Infernity Pawn
- Infernity Queen
- Archfiend Heiress
- Danger! Mothman!
- Dark Crusader
- Dark Grepher
- Earthbound Prisoner Stone Sweeper
- Fiend Piece Golem
- Fiendish Rhino Warrior
- Luna the Dark Spirit
- Metalzoa X
- Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss
- Stygian Street Patrol
- Tour Guide From the Underworld
- Zalamander Catalyzer
- Infernity Paranoia
- Contract with the Void
- This Creepy Little Punk
- ZERO-MAX
- Allure of Darkness
- Charge Into a Dark World
- Foolish Burial
- Incoming Machine!
- Into the Void
- Mutiny in the Sky
- One for One
- Over Tuning
- Recurring Nightmare
- Ready Fusion
- Synchro Creed
- Synchro Rumble
- Infernity Launcher
- Wave-Motion Inferno
- Void Apocalypse
- Crimson Gaia (with "Vision Resonator")
- Interdimensional Matter Forwarder
- Luce the Dusk's Dark
- The Duke of Demise
- Barox/Soul Hunter (as targets for "Ready Fusion")
Official DeckEdit
WeaknessesEdit
- Many weaknesses stem from the "no cards in hand" gimmick:
- It can be prone to bricking, as if the hand cannot be emptied (e.g., too many monsters in hand), the archetype cannot function.
- The Deck relies on an explosive start and finishing the opponent quickly, as, with no cards in hand, the archetype has a poor grind game.
- The archetype can't run most handtraps.
- The Deck is weak against handtraps, such as "Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring" and "Effect Veiler", since the archetype is relatively poor at extending. Shutting down "Archfiend" can be a death sentence.
- Due to its heavy reliance on summoning from the GY, anti-GY floodgates like "Dimensional Fissure" and "Dimension Shifter" can work well against the Deck.
TriviaEdit
- The Deck has great symbolism with its user in the anime, Kalin Kessler's mindset. Kalin believes he must pay for his wrongdoings, and "fate" determines whether or not he will win. He largely determines his win or loss off his topdecks, as he must have no cards in his hand when dueling. This can be well said about the play-style of "Infernity", as it is an almost guaranteed win if you draw a good hand, but you will likely lose very quickly if you draw a bad hand and are unable to empty it fast enough, unless you topdeck an extremely lucky card such as "Infernity Archfiend".
- In the manga, Kalin sometimes refers to his monsters as "Purgatory" monsters rather than "Infernity".
- The handless effect of the "Infernity" archetype is identical to the "Hellbent" effect of the "Rakdos" related cards from Magic: The Gathering.
- Additionally, the "Rakdos" cards use Red/Fire and Black/Darkness mana, while "Infernity" monsters are DARK monsters and their artwork generally depicts them in some fiery location or using fire.
- "Infernity" is notorious for its ability to take huge advantage of new Summoning types and mechanics.
- While initially doing little of note, the archetype quickly made great use of "Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier" pre-errata.
- During the Xyz era, the Deck was able to abuse both "Leviair the Sea Dragon" and "Lavalval Chain" to easily keep "Hundred Eyes Dragon" in a deadly state, even copying the effects of "Mirage" to keep the game in their favor.
- During the Pendulum era the archetype favored using a combination of "Performapal Skullcrobat Joker", "Monekyboard" and "Lizardaw" to easily abuse Pendulum Summoning, short-lived as it was.
- When Link Monsters were introduced, "Infernity" was almost immediately using a combination of "Firewall Dragon", "Summon Sorceress" and "Knightmare Goblin" to rise up once again prior to the cards in question being banned.