Hello everyone! And Welcome to the first official lesson in JDA. Today I am going to discuss in depth about the Archetype Hermit Yokai, which has finally been released on Dueling Network not too long ago. I hope that after this lesson all of you, who have read it will get inspired to make this deck and also those who have already made it will get a few ideas to improve it.

Introduction/About the Archetype:

"Hermit Yokai"  is an archetype of WIND monsters that debuted in Booster SP: Tribe Force. This archetype, like almost all the others which debuted in Tribe Force, this archetype is also a homage or tribute to another similar archetype and its tactics, the "Mist Valley" Archetype. This Archetype comprises of beast-warrior type, beast type and rock type monsters.

Now this archetype is based off of elements of Japanese Mythology and Folklore– especially Yōkai with WIND-based powers. Several of the members are based on the Kamaitachi. In folklore these were weasel-like creatures that rode on whirlwinds, looking to cut unsuspecting passers-by with sickles and nails.

The Pendulum Monsters of the archetype lean more into the realm of Shinto symbolism than Folklore. "Urenjinchuu" and "Sarenjinchuu" represent halves of a Torii Gate, which are used to mark a boundary between the realms of the profane and sacred with "Daibakaze the Malevolent Hermit Yokai" representing an enshrined Kami in a state of destructive anger. Interestingly, "Daibakaze" draws inspiration from both the "Kamaitachi" Yokai and the notion of "Divine Wind" or "Kamikaze."

Monsters and their effects:

Provided below are the Hermit Yokai monsters and their various effects. This is to help the readers to instantly recognize and formulate the various strategies that they can without unnecessary Internet Search.

Effect Monsters:

1) Kamaitachi of the Hermit Yokai:

Beast-warrior/Effect
Atk/1600; Def/500.
Level 4

Effect: If this card is Normal Summoned, you can: Immediately after this effect resolves, Normal Summon 1 "Hermit Yokai" monster from your hand, except "Kamaitachi of the Hermit Yokai". If you control another "Hermit Yokai" monster: You can target 1 face-up card your opponent controls; return it to the hand. You can only use this effect once while this card is face-up on the field. During the End Phase, if this card was Normal Summoned this turn: Return it to the hand.

2) Kamamitachi of the Hermit Yokai:

Beast-Warrior/Effect
ATK/1500; DEF/800
Level 4

Effect: If this card is Normal Summoned, you can: Immediately after this effect resolves, Normal Summon 1 "Hermit Yokai" monster from your hand, except "Kamamitachi of the Hermit Yokai". When another "Hermit Yokai" monster you control inflicts battle damage to your opponent: You can add 1 "Hermit Yokai" card from your Deck to your hand, except "Kamamitachi of the Hermit Yokai". You can only use this effect of "Kamamitachi of the Hermit Yokai" once per turn. During the End Phase, if this card was Normal Summoned this turn: Return it to the hand.

3) Kamanitachi of the Hermit Yokai:

Beast-warrior/Effect
ATK/1800; DEF/200
Level 4

Effect: If this card is Normal Summoned, you can: Immediately after this effect resolves, Normal Summon 1 "Hermit Yokai" monster from your hand, except "Kamanitachi of the Hermit Yokai". This card can attack your opponent directly, but when it does so using this effect, any battle damage it inflicts to your opponent is halved. During the End Phase, if this card was Normal Summoned this turn: Return it to the hand.

4) Yamamisaki of the Hermit Yokai:

Beast/Effect
ATK/2300; DEF/200.
Level 6

Effect: At the start of the Damage Step, if this card battles a non-WIND monster: You can destroy that monster. When this card is Pendulum Summoned: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it. During the End Phase, if this card was Special Summoned this turn: Return it to the hand.

Pendulum monsters:

1) Daibakaze the Malevolent Hermit Yokai:

Beast/Pendulum/Effect
ATK/3000;DEF/300.
Level 10.
Pendulum Scale: 7

Pendulum Effect:

When a "Hermit Yokai" monster you control declares an attack: You can have that attacking monster gain 300 ATK until the end of the Battle Phase.

Monster effect:

Cannot be Special Summoned, except by Pendulum Summon. This card's Pendulum Summon cannot be negated. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 or 2 cards on the field; return them to the hand. During the End Phase, if this card was Special Summoned this turn: Return it to the hand.

2) Sarenjinchu, Torii of the Hermit Yokai:

Rock/Pendulum/Effect
ATK/0; DEF/2100.
Level 4.
Pendulum scale: 3

Pendulum effect:  

If a "Hermit Yokai" monster(s) you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can destroy this card instead.

Monster effect:


If this card is Normal Summoned: Change it to Defense Position. Your opponent cannot target other "Hermit Yokai" monsters you control with card effects.

3)Urenjinchu, Torii of the Hermit:

Rock/Pendulum/Effect.
ATK/0;DEF/2100.
Level 4.
Pendulum Scale: 5(If there is another Hermit Yokai card in the other Pendulum Zone, this card's scale can become 11 till the end of the turn).

Pendulum effect:

Once per turn, if you control a "Hermit Yokai" card in your other Pendulum Zone: You can make this card's Pendulum Scale 11 until the end of this turn. If you activated this effect, you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except "Hermit Yokai" monsters.

Monster effect:

If this card is Normal Summoned: Change it to Defense Position. Your opponent cannot target "Hermit Yokai" monsters for attacks, except this one.

Spell and Trap support for this Archetype:

So far, only one spell support and one trap support have been released for this Archetype. One is the Yokai Shrine of Trials (Spell) and the second is the Secret Technique of the Hermit Yokai (Trap). Both these two are extremely helpful in speeding up the deck, as The spell support has two effects depending on the number of Hermit Yokai Counters that you can remove! These two are:

1) 1 Counter: All "Hermit Yokai" monsters you currently control gain 300 ATK until the end of this turn.

2) 3 Counters: Add 1 "Hermit Yokai" card from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand.

As for the trap, The Secret Technique of the Hermit Yokai, it negates the activation of a spell/trap or even a monster effect as long as you control a Hermit Yokai monster! So, running three, the chances f you running into your opponent traps is lessened drastically!

Though, any other spell/trap support has not been released it, but cards like Divine wind of Mist Valley, Quill Pen of Guldos and of course, Fire formation- Tenki for adding those Beast-warrior type Yokai monsters to the hand, are most useful in this deck.

Plays/Strategies:

From reading the above monster's effects, as you may have guessed, their main focus is on Swarming the field through rapid Normal and Pendulum Summons. The members of the archetype share a Spirit-esque effect that causes them to return themselves to the hand at the end of the turn when Normal Summoned, with the exceptions of "Daibakaze the Malevolent Hermit Yokai" and "Yamamisaki of the Hermit Yokai"– which return when Special Summoned– and "Sarenjinchu, Torii of the Hermit Yokai" and "Urenjinchu, Torii of the Hermit Yokai" which lack the effect altogether. The offensively-based members of the archetype also share effects that allow them to return other cards from the field to the hand.

As far as the pendulums goes, The monsters of the archetype are designed to take advantage of a limited range of Levels for Pendulum Summoning. All the monsters are either Level 4, 6, or 10, with available Pendulum Scales of 3, 5, 7, and 11, all while staying within the archetype. With any combination of "Hermit Yokai" Pendulum Monsters in the Pendulum Zones, it is possible to access at least one Level/category of monster.

Now, so far I have given you the basics of the deck and now it is time for the strategies that I think this deck is capable of. First of all, this deck has two potential lock downs possible, by taking advantage of the monster effects of "Sarenjinchuu" and "Urenjinchuu." The monsters, respectively, prevent the opponent from targeting other "Hermit Yokai" monsters with Attacks and Effects. Controling two copies of either monster will prevent the opponent from attacking "Hermit Yokai" monsters or using any effect which targets "Hermit Yokai" monsters altogether. Using 2 "Sarenjinchuu" in this way can be an effective method of stalling for time until one can take the offensive.

I have been experimenting with this deck for quite some time. One of the best  Extra deck choice for this would be Lightning Chidori, which can be summoned very, very easily with almost no effort and can mess up your opponent's plays quite well. One of the combinations that I like to do if I get the chance to is, by summoning out lightning chidori, send a set card to the bottom of the deck. Then, use Chidori's effect to send a face up monster to the top to hinder the opponent. And if I have Quill Pen of Guldos, I immediately use to to return another card my opponent controls to the hand while taking two Hermit Yokai back to the deck. Leaving an almost clear field for attack. I have also experimented with synchros in this deck, with my obvious choice being black rose Dragon, which can be easily summoned by using Genex Ally Birdman. One of the instances this had come in handy was when one of my opponents had used Fiendish Chain on my Chidori just before I could use its effect, and he had a packed back row to back it up. So, in such situations, using Black rose to nuke the field so that future plays could be possible is one of the possible strategies that can be used here. Other choices like Castel, Exciton Knight and such are quite obvious.

Conclusion:

So far, this lesson has been long i know. But, I hope some of you have at least enjoyed it! Believe me, if used right, this deck is broken! With a 3000 ATK beater and possible lock down scenarios and also crazy special and normal summoning effects, Hermit Yokai are going to take the meta by storm. I am sure there will be new cards that will be released with new spell/trap support. So, those of you who have already built this deck, I am sure you know  what I mean, and for those who haven't, what are you waiting for?! This fast paced deck is something that should be tried out by all!

At the end of this lecture(Which is very long, and boring, maybe! ), I just hope that the readers will get a bit excited and build a Hermit Yokai deck and possibly improve their existing build! I hope you all learned at at least something here? So, go ahead and make a deck and duel and have fun with this awesome Archetype!

That's all for now. See ya at the next lesson.

Nice lesson

i need to know something:does this deck has xyz,synchro,fusion etc.?

something that can help the deck that i wonder

sharon, this deck, as of now, doesn't have separate extra deck support. It has only main deck effect and pendulum monsters.

nice leson men

Nice lesson! Keep up the good work!

Nice lesson !

valley and this deck could pair up to destroy my opponent!