Hello, everyone! Welcome to the lesson. I apologize for not being able to update a new lesson. I had to undergo an operation of my left eye. So, it was really difficult for me to update sooner. Anyway, This lesson is one on spirit monsters and some strategies you can use with them. I hope you enjoy it!

Introduction:

Now, as almost all of you know by now, Spirit monsters  are a subtype of Effect Monsters, characterized by having an effect that returns them to their owner's hand during the End Phase of turns they are Normal Summoned or flipped face-up (whether by Flip Summon, surviving battle, or any other method). This would seem to symbolize the monster being "spiritual", in that its physical body on the field is temporary.

Usual effect text (using Problem-Solving Card Text):
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card is Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand.
So far, the only exception for this rule is "Yamato-no-Kami", that can (and must) be Special Summoned.

Spirit monsters often have effects that activate when they were Summoned, or had combat-based effects but would be vulnerable due to low ATK, making the returning to hand ability a boon. Examples of the former include "Rasetsu" and "Maharaghi", and examples of the latter include "Fushi No Tori" and "Inaba White Rabbit".

Play-Style and strategies:

Now, as for an introduction to this section, as all of you know (I hope!) that the main difficulty in using spirits is the fact that they return to the hand during the end phase, thus their controllers run into a major problem of maintaining field presence, but many Spirit monsters have devastating special effects to make up for this deficiency. "Mirror of Yata" and "Izanagi" keep the spirits on the field permanently or until they are removed, making these cards a must for any Spirit deck. "Spiritual Energy Settle Machine" also does this, but it costs a discard per turn. Other ways to make up for the returning to hand is to make your opponent's monsters return to their hand whenever a Spirit does, such as with "Spirit's Invitation", or to gain Life Points whenever this happens, such as with "Spring of Rebirth".

Now, of the things, I find interesting in this deck is the fact that, it has, in fact a loop hole in it. This loophole with Spirit monsters  lets them stay on the field regardless of their self-bounce effect. The exact text on Spirit monster cards states they must return to their owner's hand "during the End Phase of the turn [they are] Normal Summoned or flipped face-up". Therefore, if you can get them to stay on the field past the End Phase, you don't have to worry about them returning to your hand. Also, if you flip "Yamato-No-Kami" face-down and flip it face-up, during the turn it is Special Summoned, it will not return to your hand, since it only returns during the End Phase of the turn it was Special Summoned, but the second Summon, a Flip Summon, will prevail. For instance, if a "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi" equipped with "Mirror of Yata" has its Equip destroyed (e.g. "Mystical Space Typhoon"), it will stay on the field the subsequent turns.

They are also perfect to counter "Light and Darkness Dragon": to avoid its negating effect, simply Normal or Flip Summon a Spirit monster, then end your turn. During the End Phase, "Light and Darkness Dragon" will negate the effect that would return the Spirit monster to the hand, but it will keep on activating until it returns and the ATK of "Light and Darkness Dragon" becomes too low.

A commonly used card with Spirits is "Mausoleum of the Emperor", which allows users to pay a Life Point cost to get high-level Spirit monsters out without tribute. Trap Monsters are also often used either as tributes or as a method of maintaining a field defense when the Spirits leave the field. "Kaiser Colosseum" is another decent card to maintain field advantage when "Izanagi" or a Spirit Monster equipped with "Mirror of Yata" is on the field. Another way of easing the Normal Summon of a high-level Spirit monster is by using "Star Blast" or monsters like "Totem Dragon" and "Flame Ruler". Though, most people now reply on Nikitama and good Xyz summoning to counter the problem of return it to the hand. This not only gives you the effect of the spirits, but also a good Xyz.

Some non-Spirit Monsters that may help a Spirit Deck include "Cyber Valley" and "Neo-Spacian Grand Mole" or "Gorz the Emissary of Darkness", "Tragoedia", "Kuriboh" and "Battle Fader", once, due to the Spirit Monsters returning to the hand, the player might be open for a Direct Attack. You can use "Battle Fader" or the "Emissary of Darkness Token" to Tribute Summon a Spirit Monster and use "Tragoedia" to take control of a opponent's Monster by discarding a Spirit (that can be later retrieved by "Izanami", or that can be banished to Special Summon "Yamato-no-Kami"). Another remarkable Hand trap is "D.D. Crow", that can be a sad surprise to a card like "Pot of Dichotomy", "Call of the Haunted", etc, and, like the others Level 1 monsters cited here, can be later revived by "Kinka-Byo" for a quick Xyz Summon.

"Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning" can be a great beatstick, and can be Summoned by banishing, for example, "Nikitama", "Otohime", "Asura Priest" or "Effect Veiler" and "Yamato-no-Kami", "Aratama", "Kuriboh", "Great Long Nose" etc, giving the fallen Spirit monsters a last utility.

Now, as for the extra deck, synchros are useful. Tuner monster that can fit in the Deck is "T.G. Striker", to quickly Synchro Summon some problem-solving monsters, such as "Orient Dragon", "HTS Psyhemuth" etc.

Now, some extra-deck options to mention include:

1) "Slacker Magician"
Can be Summoned by the effect of "Kinka-Byo", if you had used a monster like "Effect Veiler", "Kuriboh" or "D.D. Sprite"

2) "Daigusto Emeral"
To recycle Spirit Monsters, once they are virtually useless in the Graveyard;

3) "Constellar Ptolemy M7"
To retrieve fallen Spirit monsters or to bounce an opponent's monster and open up him/her for a direct attack from "Yamata Dragon" or "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi";

And of course, other level 4's like Exciton Knight and such are staples. This deck has a lot of potential if used correctly.

An important note. It is not possible for me to enlist every spirit monster and their effects here. Therefore, I would be highly pleased if you would take the time to run through the effects of the various spirit monsters and get yourselves familiar with each of them. Those who don't know, will be surprised about their effects!

Weakness:

The main weaknesses of the Spirit Monster are the fact that they can't stay on the Field for long and can't be Special Summoned (except "Yamato-No-Kami"), which make them having no swarming capabilities. Once most of the times the player cannot maintain Field Advantage, this Deck is susceptible to Direct Attacks, so Beatdown and Aggro Decks, like "Six Samurai", "Dark World", "Madolche", "Noble Knight", "Spellbook", etc are good against this Deck.


Stall decks are the main threat to this deck, since it is already slow due to the inability of swarming the Field and to the Spirits return to the hand during the End Phase, therefore summoning and attacking with monsters like "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi" or "Yamata Dragon" are actions that cannot be wasted; cards like "Vengeful Bog Spirit", "Level Limit - Area B", "Threatening Roar", "Gravity Bind", "Chain Energy" and even "Skill Drain" can mean trouble.

Another cards that can damage this deck include cards like "D.D. Designator" and "Mind Crush", since the player's hand will be exposed due to the bouncing effects of the Spirit Monsters.
"Rivalry of Warlords" and "Gozen Match" can slow this deck down, since there are Spirit Monsters of different Types and all Attributes. .

So, guys be careful while using them!



Conclusion and overview:

Their effects range from beatdown, direct attack and even field control, making a dedicated Spirit Deck very flexible regardless of what the opponent has. However, due to their habit of returning to the hand, cards that make you discard will be a serious hamper, as Spirit monsters in general are rather useless in the Graveyard. Cards that recover discarded cards are thus suggested, but not recommended as Spirit monsters do not have much in the way of deck thinning (except for "Aratama"). Once the problem of field presence is resolved, Spirit Monsters can be quite annoying as well as devastating, since it is hard for the opponent to destroy them, and even with cards that forces discards, it is hard to target a particular Spirit Monster (unless something like "Card Destruction" is used). Also, once a pure Spirit deck does not relies on only one Type, Atributte or main Spirit monster, being precisely the variety of monsters and effects the ace feature of the build, your opponent will probably don't have a focused strategy to stop the whole deck.

Guys, let me tell you, the Spirits are awesome! And with the release of Spirit-like cards with the introduction of Hermit Yokai, I am sure, the subtype will gain more recognition than before! So, GO out there and build yourself a good Spirit deck and try it out. I am pretty sure almost all of you have already dueled with them or against them, but once more wouldn't hurt right?
Enjoy and see you at the next lesson!