I remember Steelswarms. They were used in the anime by a nameless duelist in a duel against Brave Max in which notably they both bricked (since they both played tribute summon decks).
I remember Steelswarms for their designs and that they confused me by neither being machine type (Steel) or insect type (swarm), but instead being dark fiends 😅
I remember Steelswarms. They're part of Duel Terminal lore and are the reason the -lswarm virus went full Duel Terminal Pandemic. They were the first proper threatening bad guys, really, since the worms just aren't. I can't tell you what any of the cards DO (except Roach, but who summons Roach with Steelswarm material), but I definitely remember them.
Why is it that so many DT archetypes were so.... Bad in the metagame. Yeah, sometimes a monster had a spotlight (outside of it's archetype, of course). And a Gishki loop. And a fabled ftk. And Garnet may had coined a term in the actual game. And dragunity being meta in duel links. You know what? I can't really complain.
@@nexidal9656 The Yagan/Xex Worm engine paired with W Nebula is really underrated imo. It's probably shit in modern play, but it wasn't half bad during the time they were new.
I think many people remember Steelswarms, though admittedly some of that is in part due to their relation to Evilswarms. Still, hardly what I'd call that obscure
That's the way I always remembered Steelswarms, as a tribute summon focused version of Evilswarms; this alone made me uninterested in playing them. Because of this, while I was aware of their existence, I never actually paid them any mind because they just didn't seem that good to me
This is another one of those archetypes that I really wanted to play when I first saw them. I think they were a really cool concept but they just weren't very good. Konami is really good at doing that sometimes. Sometimes they come up with really cool archetype ideas but just either forgets about them or doesn't make them good enough for competitive play.
Most of those when you think about it comes from duel terminal. Vylons, constellars, steelswarm, evilswarm, Ghiski, Gusto and a few more all were incredibly well designed, but weren't very competitive... wich sucks
That's because the original monarch cards only needed one tribute to bring out and didn't need you to combo them with specific other cards in order to get their effects, which made them much easier to use if you wanted a deck that made use of tribute summoning. Steelswarms, by contrast, seem a lot more restrictive, which hurts them more than it helps, especially since the deck looks to be sorely lacking in ways to consistently get tribute fodder onto the field
@@matthewkuscienko4616 it's not restrictive,just the work better with there archetype and yes you can make them one tribute,cause they have a monster to make them one tribute,also some of the monarch spells and traps can be used with them to make it a little easier,what they needed was better support that make them consistent and work better
I played Steelswarms back when everyone called them Verz. I remember them fondly because they were one of the first villains of the Duel Terminal saga.
If they just made the special summon restriction be “can’t special summon monsters except steelswarm monsters”, it would fix so much. It still wouldn’t be GOOD, but would be way better
I played a reasonably casual but somewhat effective version of Steelswarms back before Links, and it was basically just Moth/Girastag turbo with the bouncy spell/traps and Infestation Infection. It was... Fine. Like, no one was going to be impressed by it, but it was actually pretty consistent for being a Steelswarm deck. Solid 6-7/10 =P
Personally, even to this day, I still love tribute summoning above most other summoning mechanics, simply because there's something satisfying about doing it, even if I can't put it in words.
I just conceptualize a tribute summon as your “normal” summon in many decks. We can special summon so many things nowadays that you could think of a big tribute monster as your once per turn normal. Not saying this is a great competitive mindset, but if the tribute monster is good enough (like vanitys fiend) you can forgo normal summoning a level 4 or lower.
I remember in the Yu Gi Oh World Championship 2011 game on the Nintendo DS you had to summon Steelswarm Hercules to unlock a tag duel opponent. Even though I was attempting it against the easiest opponent in the game, it still took me several attempts to summon that monster and was very frustrating.
I mostly remember Steelswarms since one of the characters in Tag Force 5 played them. If she got the Scout loop going and drew into multiple Moths she could get a lot of big hits in. Half the time though she would just brick. That's why I remember them. Their unpolished nature left an impression.
Dzeeff: "Why nobody remembers Steelswarms." Me, a bottom-tier casual: *_"HOW DARE YOU!?"_* Jokes aside, I really wish Konami would give Steelswarms some proper legacy support.
I mean just replace "steelswarm" with "lswarm" in their text improves the deck drastically as they coyld make use of the free tribute fodder evilswarms provide.
If this archetype got more support, I bet it would get more easy tribute fodder and better spell/traps. I think most of the high level steelswarms are fine for the most part (even though they're outdated by todays standards)
My knowledge of "lswarm" stemmed from a friend playing them as they came out. He started with the Steelswarm, optimizing them as good as he could (Moth, Girastag, and Hercules were most used tribute Steelswarm). Then he became pretty committed to Evilswarm at their peak, trying to keep up against Dragon Rulers and Prophecy around their height. Best I could muster was a budget Constellar deck.
@@runningoncylinders3829 the funny part is that technically Inzektors should be warriors because they are based on Kamen Rider Characters, I think there's a top 10 of cards with weird types considering their design.
Since Konami made support for ice barriers, dragunity, costellars and other duel terminal archetypes, it is possible that future support for steelswarm and evilswarm is coming. Only time will tell
Idk if they’ll support steelswarm specifically, they’re probably more likely to make an evil swarm card, but then the effect will say “lswarm” so steelswarm will get lumped in with it
Girastag and Moth were the main beaters, Scout was more like a backup plan because it's restriction. You can use Stygian Street Patrol to SS Caller and trigger the search. Recurring Nightmare adds Cell and a beater back to hand to inmeditialy summon
I remember the steelswarms. They're one of my favorite fiend type archetypes that operate very similarly to frog monarch deck with caucastag working similarly to raigeki or heavy storm and hercules operating like demise, king of armageddon. They can be pretty effective if you have cards that can special summon genome or if you can send scout from your deck to the graveyard.
I remember steelswarm from when they came out in duel links I made a deck with them! They looked cool and weren't too bad I think. But these days tribute decks are bad.... Not good in duel links anymore either
steelswarm origin seemed so crazy to me when it was first revealed because if you would raigeki an opponents full board, you could just summon 5 monsters from your deck. Or 4 since this will likely point to an opponents monster.
I was the Steelswarm guy! Girastag was better at the time, due to a large Dracossack being in the meta, and being level seven meant an instant Star Eater with Masked Chameleon.
Feels like most people remember steelswarms from either duel terminal lore or just the other iswarm good suff That being said beyond roach I couldn't tell you a single steelswarm name/effect off the top of my mind
It's always pained me that Steelswarms are just bad monarchs. I had built a Steelswarm deck years ago and always felt like the design philosophy was so scattershot. There are two decent tribute fodder monsters, and whilst one is an in-archetype treeborn frog, it also stops your other necessary tribute fodder monsters from being special summoned and belongs to an archetype that craves protection effects from backrow since none of the monsters can protect themselves. And then the rest of tribute fodder require extra normal summons. Their tribute monsters' effects, which only activate if you summon them by tributing Steelswarms, have mostly mediocre-to-decent effects that demand you pay lifepoints to activate them (barring Girastag). Gatekeeper is not only bad but is also the only Steelswarm that can't be returned to hand with recurring nightmare (not that you would anyway, it sucks). They have an in-archetype call of the haunted that asks you to pay lifepoints to use it. Why. I'm not running 6 call of the haunted. If I did I'd never get scout on board. To be honest, I think the cards were designed for pre-master rule gameplay. I've often thought about how much better longhorn and Hercules (hell, the whole archetype) would be if they were playable in Edison format, which of course they aren't because they were released in HA05 and onward. Infestation pandemic tries it's best to save Steelswarms but it doesn't matter because all your opponent needs to do is run over them. Also, well done for avoiding demonitisation and/or getting clipped, Dzeef. I really was hoping you'd try to pronounce Caucastag though.
I feel like an interesting way to breathe new life into Steelswarms would be to lean into the infestation idea and get support cards that treated your opponents cards as Steelswarms for tributes and let you use them as such, kinda like a Kaiju where you get rid of their thing AND end up with the Kaiju afterwards. Their tribute summons aren't terrible; they just need solid ways to reliably bring them out repeatedly.
Name: "Steelswarm Ant" Attribute: Dark Type: Fiend/Effect Level: 4 ATK/DEF: 1000/0 Effect: This card can be treated as 2 Tributes for the Tribute Summon of an "lswarm" monster. You can only use each of the following effects of "Steelswarm Ant" once per turn. If this card is in your hand: You can Special Summon this card, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except "lswarm" monsters. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "lswarm" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Steelswarm Ant". Name: "Steelswarm Ironclad" Attribute: Dark Type: Fiend/Effect Level: 8 ATK/DEF: 2800/0 Effect: Cannot be Special Summoned. If this card is Tribute Summoned by Tributing an "lswarm" monster: You can destroy all Spells & Traps your opponent controls. "lswarm" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects. When a Spell/Trap Card or effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can pay 1000 LP; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card. You can only use this effect of "Steelswarm Ironclad" once per turn.
name steelswarm legionnaire attribute dark atk 1500 def 1830 fiend/effect If you control no cards, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. If you Tribute Summon a Fiend-Type Monster by Tributing this monster, it gains 800 Atk/Def Special Summon 1 "Steelswarm" “lswarm” from your Deck. Then shuffle your Deck name Lswarm trooper attribute dark atk 1400 def 2180 fiend/Effect This card can be treated as 2 Tributes for the Tribute Summon of a Fiend-Type monster. a steelswarm/lswarm monster summoned with this effect gains 1000 ATK After this card is Special Summoned to your side of the field, you can Normal Summon 1 "Steelswarm " monster during your Main Phase this turn, in addition to your Normal Summon/Set.
These clash with Scout, which is quite good on the grind. An other approach would be: Name: "Steelswarm Ant" Attribute: Dark Type: Fiend/Effect Level: 4 ATK/DEF: 1850/0 Effect: You can only use each effect of "Steelswarm Ant" once per turn, also you cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate either of this card's effects, except "lswarm" monsters. [1] If this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can reveal this card in your hand and send 1 Level 4 or lower "lswarm" monster from your Deck to the GY, except "Steelswarm Ant"; Immediately after this effect resolves, Normal Summon 1 "lswarm" monster. [2] If this card is in your GY (Quick Effect): You can return 1 Tribute Summoned "lswarm" monster you control to your hand; Special Summon from the GY, as many monster(s) as possible that were used for its Tribute Summon, and if you do, Tribute Summon 1 "lswarm" monster. Name: "Steelswarm Trooper" Attribute: Dark Type: Fiend/Effect Level: 4 ATK/DEF: 1750/0 Effect: You can only use each effect of "Steelswarm Trooper" once per turn, also you cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate either of this card's effects, except "lswarm" monsters. [1] If an "lswarm" monster is Tribute Summoned: You can Special Summon this card from your GY (if it was there when you Tributed) or hand (even if not). [2] An 'lswarm" monster Tribute Summoned face-up by tributing this card gains these effects: ● Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to your "lswarm" monsters' effect activations. ● (Quick Effect): You can add 1 "lswarm" monster from your Deck or GY to your hand, then immediately after this effect resolves you can Tribute Summon 1 "lswarm" monster. Name: "Infestation Apocalypse" Normal Trap Card Effect: You can only activate 1 "Infestation Apocalypse" per turn [1] Send 2 "lswarm" monsters or "Infestation" Spell/Trap cards from your hand and/or field to the GY, and if you do, Special Summon 2 "lswarm" monsters with different names from your Deck in Defense Position. You can activate this card the turn it is set, but if you do apply this effect. ● Until the end of the next turn, you can only activate 1 card or effect per turn, not counting the effect of "lswarm" monsters. [2] You can banish this card from your GY and discard 1 "lswarm" monster from your hand; add 1 "lswarm" monster from your Deck or GY to your hand. Name: "Steelswarm Ironclad" Attribute: Dark Type: Fiend/Effect Level: 11 ATK/DEF: 3400/0 Effect: Cannot be Special Summoned. Requires 3 "Steelswarm" Tributes to Normal Summon (cannot be Normal Set). [1] Unaffected by the activated effects of Special Summoned monsters. [2] Once per chain, when a card or effect is activated while you control this Tribute Summoned monster (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 "Steelswarm" monster, with a Level from 5 to 10, from your hand, Deck or GY; immediately after this Chain resolves, activate 1 of these effects, also for the rest of this turn, you cannot banish monsters with that same name to activate this effect of "Steelswarm Ironclad". ● that monster's effect that activates when it's tribute summoned. ● that monster's effect that requires you to pay LP to activate.
I like how anti-special summoning was actually a steelswarm mechanic but they just never actually put it on a usable monster until roach, who became an all-star on its own
I tried really hard to make this archetype work when it was new. It was so bad. I would be really happy to see Konami fix up all the bad duel terminal/hidden arsenal decks
they were popular on duel links when they were introduced, and was the first deck that showcased the power of Neos Fusion on DL. But the deck didnt even need a banlist to die.
You know, maybe some archetypes could have more of a presence if yugioh had tiers of competetive like pokemon. So you basically turn the current meta into a forbidden/limited list to give less prominent cards a chance then when that format's meta is determined you do the same to that for the next tier down.
Steelswarm Moth and Caucastag could be really strong if they had a way to tribute summon during the opponent's turn, like a low level steelswarm that could special summon itself from hand during the opponent's turn and then immediately allow a tribute summon. Wouldn't fix all of their issues but would be a start
I remember playing these in duel links in their first outing (they were not good) but it was the first "monarch" archetype the game probably had and I really liked the aesthetic of it
My buddies & I have a term for opening with nothing but high tribute bricks. We called it Steelswarm’d because they always bricked with their Steelswarm deck. So glad we got Evilswarm later to help the overall-lswarm theme out.
I remember back when roach first released it was like 50€. My brother and i both got a tin back then and we traded some of the packs since he wanted to play six sams (so we traded storm of ragnarok and extreme victory). I ended up pulling 2 Roaches, one from the pack he traded me. I don't remember how many extreme victory packs were in the tins tho.
This actually funny I tried to make them work a few years ago basically use Monarch cards the monarch card that lets you Tribute on your Opponents turn was like the only Interruption
I thought I remembered Steelswarms, but while watching this video I realized I was just remembering generic "lswarm" and "Evilswarm" monsters, but not necessarily Steelswarm.
I remember steelswarms because they’re the reason why some cards have effects regarding “lswarm” monsters. This refers to both steelswarm and evilswarm.
I still have hope that one day we'll get proper Steelswarm support, I wouldn't mind if Konami one day decides to give Steelswarm support in the from of retrains of anime girls cosplaying as them tbh
A continuous spell/fieldspell that searched an lswarm monster and let you normal, tribute or xyz summon as a quick effect during either players turn. As long as you control an lswarm monster would be a good way to hell the archtypes
i played Steelswarm. Moth, Girastag and Longhorn were the only relevant tribute monsters because of the challenges you mentioned. You could get out Longhorn through Scout -> Castor or Keryk -> Longhorn, since Longhorn only needs one of its two tributes to be Steelswarm. Infection is great, but being a continuous trap shuts down Scout, so has to be built around specifically to be used.
I remember! I played them in Duel Links for a while. It was actually a pretty good deck, but this was in like 2019 or early 2020. Definitely not good anymore
it's still okay it doesn't come up too often but if you don't have a great card to replace it with it's a fine way to just win the few matches it's effect matters in especially in a harpie deck were 9 times out of ten you only summon harpie slash so your other slots don't matter too much
This guys need support so baddly, they have sick ass designs, you can use trade in-allure for some draw power, march pf the monarchs for protection, and you can pretty much bite the opponent with rival arrival a retrain of their older tiny guys and the big boys could help them in some way
They did benefit from the zero defense dark support. I liked using magical merchant to get the one that grabbed two from the graveyard which let you set up for mantis and chaos shenanigans.
I was like I built this deck I remember them, then instantly realized, I run Evilswarms, haha steel swarm are a rough deck to cover. I like clunky old archetypes, they are usually cheap to pick up second hand and great for pick up games. Awesome video covering them.
In my opinion, it was better to special summon a cell and then tribute summon Girastag, send what may have been the only monster on the opponent's field to the GY, get a 1,000 LP cushion, and then swing for more damage than you were able to with Mantis. Not every deck was completely combo oriented back then, and, for me, I would rather get a LP gain and send the one single monster to the GY than pay 1,000 to bounce 2. Now, I still play Evilswarm to this day, and I use Steelswarm Origin in that ED. I mean, the combo of using it with Exciton Knight is just awesome; blowing up your opponent's field and being able to actually swarm the field with Lswarms... just awesome!! Anyways, I just wanted to say that anyone that has ever played either Lswarm archetype or, like me, still play one if not both of them to this day will always remember both Steelswarm and Evilswarm. KONAMI-- WHEN WILL WE GET UPDATED LSWARM SUPPORT??!!!
![Superheavy Samurai Explained in 52 Minutes [Yu-Gi-Oh! Archetype Analysis]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vf1E4_HNVSY/mqdefault.jpg)
I remember Steelswarms. They were used in the anime by a nameless duelist in a duel against Brave Max in which notably they both bricked (since they both played tribute summon decks).
I had no idea bricks were possible in the anime
@@KozmicHand The protagonist Yuga also bricks once in Sevens
@@KozmicHand They usually aren't, that was a joke character with a terrible deck
In which KOH lost by being attacked by Cyberse Wizard
@@KozmicHand I think Joey bricked once against Ziegfried.
I remember Steelswarms for their designs and that they confused me by neither being machine type (Steel) or insect type (swarm), but instead being dark fiends 😅
the fiend type was explained in the duel terminal lore as them being ancient demons that two magicians attempted to summon to fight the fabled
I'm still sad Steelswarm is bad, they just look so fucking cool .
@@hero5900 aren't they related to the evilswarms ?
I remember Steelswarms. They're part of Duel Terminal lore and are the reason the -lswarm virus went full Duel Terminal Pandemic. They were the first proper threatening bad guys, really, since the worms just aren't.
I can't tell you what any of the cards DO (except Roach, but who summons Roach with Steelswarm material), but I definitely remember them.
Ah, a fellow man of culture.
Roach.... God I love dropping roach on people
Is ironic because roach is by lore an anti-steelswarm monster
Why is it that so many DT archetypes were so.... Bad in the metagame.
Yeah, sometimes a monster had a spotlight (outside of it's archetype, of course).
And a Gishki loop.
And a fabled ftk.
And Garnet may had coined a term in the actual game.
And dragunity being meta in duel links.
You know what? I can't really complain.
@@nexidal9656 The Yagan/Xex Worm engine paired with W Nebula is really underrated imo. It's probably shit in modern play, but it wasn't half bad during the time they were new.
I think many people remember Steelswarms, though admittedly some of that is in part due to their relation to Evilswarms.
Still, hardly what I'd call that obscure
I think for a lot of players they remembered they exist but like vylons, we don’t really remember what they were about.
I remember that they sucked.
That's the way I always remembered Steelswarms, as a tribute summon focused version of Evilswarms; this alone made me uninterested in playing them. Because of this, while I was aware of their existence, I never actually paid them any mind because they just didn't seem that good to me
This is another one of those archetypes that I really wanted to play when I first saw them. I think they were a really cool concept but they just weren't very good. Konami is really good at doing that sometimes. Sometimes they come up with really cool archetype ideas but just either forgets about them or doesn't make them good enough for competitive play.
Indeed and those archetypes have a back story
Cries in magic key
Or both(making not good and not giving them support)
Same! i liked them when i was younger and playing the ds games. Their visual design is just really cool, i wish they were better
Most of those when you think about it comes from duel terminal.
Vylons, constellars, steelswarm, evilswarm, Ghiski, Gusto and a few more all were incredibly well designed, but weren't very competitive... wich sucks
The archetype has similarities to monarchs, but even before monarchs got their archetypal support they were better than steelswarm.
That's because the original monarch cards only needed one tribute to bring out and didn't need you to combo them with specific other cards in order to get their effects, which made them much easier to use if you wanted a deck that made use of tribute summoning. Steelswarms, by contrast, seem a lot more restrictive, which hurts them more than it helps, especially since the deck looks to be sorely lacking in ways to consistently get tribute fodder onto the field
@@matthewkuscienko4616 it's not restrictive,just the work better with there archetype and yes you can make them one tribute,cause they have a monster to make them one tribute,also some of the monarch spells and traps can be used with them to make it a little easier,what they needed was better support that make them consistent and work better
I played Steelswarms back when everyone called them Verz. I remember them fondly because they were one of the first villains of the Duel Terminal saga.
If they just made the special summon restriction be “can’t special summon monsters except steelswarm monsters”, it would fix so much. It still wouldn’t be GOOD, but would be way better
I played a reasonably casual but somewhat effective version of Steelswarms back before Links, and it was basically just Moth/Girastag turbo with the bouncy spell/traps and Infestation Infection. It was... Fine. Like, no one was going to be impressed by it, but it was actually pretty consistent for being a Steelswarm deck. Solid 6-7/10 =P
I still remember Steelswarm… only because of Evilswarm
Personally, even to this day, I still love tribute summoning above most other summoning mechanics, simply because there's something satisfying about doing it, even if I can't put it in words.
I just conceptualize a tribute summon as your “normal” summon in many decks. We can special summon so many things nowadays that you could think of a big tribute monster as your once per turn normal. Not saying this is a great competitive mindset, but if the tribute monster is good enough (like vanitys fiend) you can forgo normal summoning a level 4 or lower.
Finally, fellow tribute enjoyers. I think because it's badass.
@@Kawaiisikkusu playing flundereez really makes playing yugioh fun, it's so old school and effective
I remember in the Yu Gi Oh World Championship 2011 game on the Nintendo DS you had to summon Steelswarm Hercules to unlock a tag duel opponent. Even though I was attempting it against the easiest opponent in the game, it still took me several attempts to summon that monster and was very frustrating.
I mostly remember Steelswarms since one of the characters in Tag Force 5 played them. If she got the Scout loop going and drew into multiple Moths she could get a lot of big hits in. Half the time though she would just brick. That's why I remember them. Their unpolished nature left an impression.
Dzeeff: "Why nobody remembers Steelswarms."
Me, a bottom-tier casual: *_"HOW DARE YOU!?"_*
Jokes aside, I really wish Konami would give Steelswarms some proper legacy support.
I mean just replace "steelswarm" with "lswarm" in their text improves the deck drastically as they coyld make use of the free tribute fodder evilswarms provide.
Didnt even know kerykeion had an effect to lower tribute cost
If this archetype got more support, I bet it would get more easy tribute fodder and better spell/traps. I think most of the high level steelswarms are fine for the most part (even though they're outdated by todays standards)
Hercules is still awesome, I just wish they had more good stuff, cause the link is legit awesome
My knowledge of "lswarm" stemmed from a friend playing them as they came out. He started with the Steelswarm, optimizing them as good as he could (Moth, Girastag, and Hercules were most used tribute Steelswarm). Then he became pretty committed to Evilswarm at their peak, trying to keep up against Dragon Rulers and Prophecy around their height. Best I could muster was a budget Constellar deck.
Steelwarms are based on insects.
Konami: so, we should make all of them Fiend-Type.
Oh, well maybe Inzektor is more your fancy.
@@runningoncylinders3829 the funny part is that technically Inzektors should be warriors because they are based on Kamen Rider Characters, I think there's a top 10 of cards with weird types considering their design.
Steelswarm Roach probably has to be one of the most playable card in Duel Links
Negating synchros and such helps, but it's playability should die down quite a bit pretty soon
@@nunocarvalho6671 Yeah
not really, unless you know which deck you're playing against. Like blue eyes, roach wont do anything but if TD then you're in luck
When they first added Pendulums I'd summon Roach on the fools that had the audacity to pend high level monsters in front of it.
it's barely playable
Since Konami made support for ice barriers, dragunity, costellars and other duel terminal archetypes, it is possible that future support for steelswarm and evilswarm is coming. Only time will tell
Idk if they’ll support steelswarm specifically, they’re probably more likely to make an evil swarm card, but then the effect will say “lswarm” so steelswarm will get lumped in with it
@@jackofaces107 it is most likely.
They are quite important to the story, so I hope they are next to the production lines
Girastag and Moth were the main beaters, Scout was more like a backup plan because it's restriction. You can use Stygian Street Patrol to SS Caller and trigger the search. Recurring Nightmare adds Cell and a beater back to hand to inmeditialy summon
I remember the steelswarms. They're one of my favorite fiend type archetypes that operate very similarly to frog monarch deck with caucastag working similarly to raigeki or heavy storm and hercules operating like demise, king of armageddon. They can be pretty effective if you have cards that can special summon genome or if you can send scout from your deck to the graveyard.
I remember steelswarm from when they came out in duel links I made a deck with them! They looked cool and weren't too bad I think. But these days tribute decks are bad.... Not good in duel links anymore either
It's sad how a ton of older decks like this can be very easily defeated by modern decks because of not very good effects/having slow combos
This isn't just a case of the deck being bad because it's old. This deck was awful when it was released.
@@AusVtuber yea that sucks because it's a cool idea
B-but I remember them 🥺
That means you are a nobody! 😜
@@James_D. 🙃
Their boss monsters artwork is so good
I remember seeing this archetype around 2012 & audibly asking "Does Konami play their game?"
steelswarm origin seemed so crazy to me when it was first revealed because if you would raigeki an opponents full board, you could just summon 5 monsters from your deck. Or 4 since this will likely point to an opponents monster.
I was the Steelswarm guy!
Girastag was better at the time, due to a large Dracossack being in the meta, and being level seven meant an instant Star Eater with Masked Chameleon.
Feels like most people remember steelswarms from either duel terminal lore or just the other iswarm good suff
That being said beyond roach I couldn't tell you a single steelswarm name/effect off the top of my mind
It's always pained me that Steelswarms are just bad monarchs. I had built a Steelswarm deck years ago and always felt like the design philosophy was so scattershot.
There are two decent tribute fodder monsters, and whilst one is an in-archetype treeborn frog, it also stops your other necessary tribute fodder monsters from being special summoned and belongs to an archetype that craves protection effects from backrow since none of the monsters can protect themselves. And then the rest of tribute fodder require extra normal summons.
Their tribute monsters' effects, which only activate if you summon them by tributing Steelswarms, have mostly mediocre-to-decent effects that demand you pay lifepoints to activate them (barring Girastag).
Gatekeeper is not only bad but is also the only Steelswarm that can't be returned to hand with recurring nightmare (not that you would anyway, it sucks).
They have an in-archetype call of the haunted that asks you to pay lifepoints to use it. Why. I'm not running 6 call of the haunted. If I did I'd never get scout on board.
To be honest, I think the cards were designed for pre-master rule gameplay. I've often thought about how much better longhorn and Hercules (hell, the whole archetype) would be if they were playable in Edison format, which of course they aren't because they were released in HA05 and onward.
Infestation pandemic tries it's best to save Steelswarms but it doesn't matter because all your opponent needs to do is run over them.
Also, well done for avoiding demonitisation and/or getting clipped, Dzeef. I really was hoping you'd try to pronounce Caucastag though.
I feel like an interesting way to breathe new life into Steelswarms would be to lean into the infestation idea and get support cards that treated your opponents cards as Steelswarms for tributes and let you use them as such, kinda like a Kaiju where you get rid of their thing AND end up with the Kaiju afterwards. Their tribute summons aren't terrible; they just need solid ways to reliably bring them out repeatedly.
really liked this archetype as a kid, hope it gets more support!
Name: "Steelswarm Ant"
Attribute: Dark
Type: Fiend/Effect
Level: 4
ATK/DEF: 1000/0
Effect: This card can be treated as 2 Tributes for the Tribute Summon of an "lswarm" monster. You can only use each of the following effects of "Steelswarm Ant" once per turn. If this card is in your hand: You can Special Summon this card, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except "lswarm" monsters. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "lswarm" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Steelswarm Ant".
Name: "Steelswarm Ironclad"
Attribute: Dark
Type: Fiend/Effect
Level: 8
ATK/DEF: 2800/0
Effect: Cannot be Special Summoned. If this card is Tribute Summoned by Tributing an "lswarm" monster: You can destroy all Spells & Traps your opponent controls. "lswarm" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects. When a Spell/Trap Card or effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can pay 1000 LP; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card. You can only use this effect of "Steelswarm Ironclad" once per turn.
name steelswarm legionnaire
attribute dark
atk 1500 def 1830
fiend/effect
If you control no cards, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.
If you Tribute Summon a Fiend-Type Monster by Tributing this monster, it gains 800 Atk/Def
Special Summon 1 "Steelswarm" “lswarm” from your Deck. Then shuffle your Deck
name Lswarm trooper
attribute dark
atk 1400 def 2180
fiend/Effect
This card can be treated as 2 Tributes for the Tribute Summon of a Fiend-Type monster.
a steelswarm/lswarm monster summoned with this effect gains 1000 ATK
After this card is Special Summoned to your side of the field, you can Normal Summon 1 "Steelswarm " monster during your Main Phase this turn, in addition to your Normal Summon/Set.
These clash with Scout, which is quite good on the grind. An other approach would be:
Name: "Steelswarm Ant"
Attribute: Dark
Type: Fiend/Effect
Level: 4
ATK/DEF: 1850/0
Effect:
You can only use each effect of "Steelswarm Ant" once per turn, also you cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate either of this card's effects, except "lswarm" monsters.
[1] If this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can reveal this card in your hand and send 1 Level 4 or lower "lswarm" monster from your Deck to the GY, except "Steelswarm Ant"; Immediately after this effect resolves, Normal Summon 1 "lswarm" monster.
[2] If this card is in your GY (Quick Effect): You can return 1 Tribute Summoned "lswarm" monster you control to your hand; Special Summon from the GY, as many monster(s) as possible that were used for its Tribute Summon, and if you do, Tribute Summon 1 "lswarm" monster.
Name: "Steelswarm Trooper"
Attribute: Dark
Type: Fiend/Effect
Level: 4
ATK/DEF: 1750/0
Effect:
You can only use each effect of "Steelswarm Trooper" once per turn, also you cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate either of this card's effects, except "lswarm" monsters.
[1] If an "lswarm" monster is Tribute Summoned: You can Special Summon this card from your GY (if it was there when you Tributed) or hand (even if not).
[2] An 'lswarm" monster Tribute Summoned face-up by tributing this card gains these effects:
● Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to your "lswarm" monsters' effect activations.
● (Quick Effect): You can add 1 "lswarm" monster from your Deck or GY to your hand, then immediately after this effect resolves you can Tribute Summon 1 "lswarm" monster.
Name: "Infestation Apocalypse"
Normal Trap Card
Effect:
You can only activate 1 "Infestation Apocalypse" per turn
[1] Send 2 "lswarm" monsters or "Infestation" Spell/Trap cards from your hand and/or field to the GY, and if you do, Special Summon 2 "lswarm" monsters with different names from your Deck in Defense Position. You can activate this card the turn it is set, but if you do apply this effect.
● Until the end of the next turn, you can only activate 1 card or effect per turn, not counting the effect of "lswarm" monsters.
[2] You can banish this card from your GY and discard 1 "lswarm" monster from your hand; add 1 "lswarm" monster from your Deck or GY to your hand.
Name: "Steelswarm Ironclad"
Attribute: Dark
Type: Fiend/Effect
Level: 11
ATK/DEF: 3400/0
Effect:
Cannot be Special Summoned. Requires 3 "Steelswarm" Tributes to Normal Summon (cannot be Normal Set).
[1] Unaffected by the activated effects of Special Summoned monsters.
[2] Once per chain, when a card or effect is activated while you control this Tribute Summoned monster (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 "Steelswarm" monster, with a Level from 5 to 10, from your hand, Deck or GY; immediately after this Chain resolves, activate 1 of these effects, also for the rest of this turn, you cannot banish monsters with that same name to activate this effect of "Steelswarm Ironclad".
● that monster's effect that activates when it's tribute summoned.
● that monster's effect that requires you to pay LP to activate.
So their ultimate boss monster is an objectively worse Judgement Dragon?
I like how anti-special summoning was actually a steelswarm mechanic but they just never actually put it on a usable monster until roach, who became an all-star on its own
Because Tribute Summon was starting to become a Relic of the Past.
Steelswarms putting the L in the "lswarm" archetype
They took the L and gave the L
These damn fiend bugs made me so confused cuz I always wondered why they weren't insects
I’m sure many of us remember the time we found out it was “lswarm” and not “iswarm”.
Poor Steelswarms, in the anime they lost to a single Cyberse Wizard (literally no other cards used)
Ah, "Why Nobody Remembers", to scratch that "Archetype Archive" itch while Rata is on one of his constant hiatuses.
“If pandemic and infestation were released at the same time” monkaS
Diet Monarchs except they're bugs except they're Fiends.
An archetype that not only ignores, but also prevents use of the extra deck is going to be dead on arrival.
I remember being suprised that Steelswarm Roach was attached to an archtype
I still have their IRL deck.
Some people remember them due to Gishki Zielgigas.
I tried really hard to make this archetype work when it was new. It was so bad. I would be really happy to see Konami fix up all the bad duel terminal/hidden arsenal decks
Steelswarm is one of my favorite archetypes and used them in many of the tag force games where the cards were avaliable
they were popular on duel links when they were introduced, and was the first deck that showcased the power of Neos Fusion on DL. But the deck didnt even need a banlist to die.
Keep this series up, you’re kickin ass.
"Everyone who isn't me has dementia." - Doug
Would be nice to get a low level Steelswarm card and another infection spell that does something
You know, maybe some archetypes could have more of a presence if yugioh had tiers of competetive like pokemon. So you basically turn the current meta into a forbidden/limited list to give less prominent cards a chance then when that format's meta is determined you do the same to that for the next tier down.
Steelswarm Moth and Caucastag could be really strong if they had a way to tribute summon during the opponent's turn, like a low level steelswarm that could special summon itself from hand during the opponent's turn and then immediately allow a tribute summon. Wouldn't fix all of their issues but would be a start
There's this monarch permanent trap card that all allows you to tribute summon during your opponents turn
Imagine how much better Gatekeeper would have been if it was a discard for a double-summon and not being on the field.
I remember playing these in duel links in their first outing (they were not good) but it was the first "monarch" archetype the game probably had and I really liked the aesthetic of it
I remember them because I love their design and have even tried to make them work without the deck being "Evilswarm with just a bit of steelswarm"
Wait, the Steelswarm aren’t insects? That’s weird.
My buddies & I have a term for opening with nothing but high tribute bricks. We called it Steelswarm’d because they always bricked with their Steelswarm deck.
So glad we got Evilswarm later to help the overall-lswarm theme out.
I remember back when roach first released it was like 50€. My brother and i both got a tin back then and we traded some of the packs since he wanted to play six sams (so we traded storm of ragnarok and extreme victory). I ended up pulling 2 Roaches, one from the pack he traded me. I don't remember how many extreme victory packs were in the tins tho.
Dude, I love Steelswarms.
I mainly use them.
I lose a lot, but they I just love them for some reason.
Steelswarm Neos was a very strong deck for the time. In Duel Links. But still.
In the era of Neos Fusion, that engine could make anything work.
Sad thing is they have some of the best lore in the game and there is some potential here. It'd be nice for them to get some legacy support.
I had steelswarms as my on the side deck for many years. For some reason they fascinated me.
I remember when this Deck was so Hyped Up too 😭 never really came together, I never witnessed this deck even on the casual level
I think the boss monsters should have been fusion meterials instead of tribute meterials then they might have had a fighting chance
I still play a Steepswarm/EvilSwarm deck casually sometimes. I did not forget.
This actually funny I tried to make them work a few years ago basically use Monarch cards the monarch card that lets you Tribute on your Opponents turn was like the only Interruption
I thought I remembered Steelswarms, but while watching this video I realized I was just remembering generic "lswarm" and "Evilswarm" monsters, but not necessarily Steelswarm.
I remember steelswarms because they’re the reason why some cards have effects regarding “lswarm” monsters. This refers to both steelswarm and evilswarm.
I still have hope that one day we'll get proper Steelswarm support, I wouldn't mind if Konami one day decides to give Steelswarm support in the from of retrains of anime girls cosplaying as them tbh
The thing about Hercules, is it is literally a way worse JD, and JD came out way before it.
Do people remember Satellerknights? Was one of my favorites.
I wish they were good because they have my favorite design
I do, this is one of my favorite themes
I love Steelswarms and hope they get more support one day
A continuous spell/fieldspell that searched an lswarm monster and let you normal, tribute or xyz summon as a quick effect during either players turn. As long as you control an lswarm monster would be a good way to hell the archtypes
Blows my mind that Hercules was released after JUDGMENT DRAGON and they thought it would fly.
I remember Steelswarm because I played Neos Steelswarm back when it was relevant in duel links.
i played Steelswarm. Moth, Girastag and Longhorn were the only relevant tribute monsters because of the challenges you mentioned. You could get out Longhorn through Scout -> Castor or Keryk -> Longhorn, since Longhorn only needs one of its two tributes to be Steelswarm. Infection is great, but being a continuous trap shuts down Scout, so has to be built around specifically to be used.
One of my favorite decks, at the height of my Yugi-fantime. I played a lswarm deck (evil and steel). Dark type good stuff.
Damn Doug really did a Legacy of the Worthless Episode
I remember! I played them in Duel Links for a while. It was actually a pretty good deck, but this was in like 2019 or early 2020. Definitely not good anymore
it's still okay it doesn't come up too often but if you don't have a great card to replace it with it's a fine way to just win the few matches it's effect matters in especially in a harpie deck were 9 times out of ten you only summon harpie slash so your other slots don't matter too much
They were in the V Rains anime for a joke duel.
Everyone at the time remembers how bad Steelswarms were, outside of Roach.
This guys need support so baddly, they have sick ass designs, you can use trade in-allure for some draw power, march pf the monarchs for protection, and you can pretty much bite the opponent with rival arrival
a retrain of their older tiny guys and the big boys could help them in some way
(Looks at Steelswarm Roach, one ofrece the best Rank 4s available in Duel Links) "Wait, is this supposed to be used in a Monarch-like deck?"
I remember Steelswarms and Evilswarms.
The true Lswarm Archetypes.
They did benefit from the zero defense dark support. I liked using magical merchant to get the one that grabbed two from the graveyard which let you set up for mantis and chaos shenanigans.
Steelswarm was a fun meme deck for locals. Also fun to mess around with in Duel Links a year or so ago.
I remember the Steelswarms in fact I have designed custom card support for them.
I even used them in duel links.
As someone who repeatedly tried to make this deck playable at a competitive level…you’re absolutely right, this deck was rough 😅
Ladies and gentlemen, railbikes and railcars. Welcome to the Why Nobody remembers Steelswarm!
Dzeff is wrong, because I remember them when I brought two boxes of their set. It is one of my greatest financial regrets
I remember these guys, but I had no idea what they did lol. Steelswarms feel like one of those decks that will get ridiculous support in the future.
Gonna be real...
Steelswarm Moth is fucking CLEAN. That is such a *sick* design.
Steelswarm is something that I always wanted to work
That jinzo image looks menacing
I was like I built this deck I remember them, then instantly realized, I run Evilswarms, haha steel swarm are a rough deck to cover. I like clunky old archetypes, they are usually cheap to pick up second hand and great for pick up games. Awesome video covering them.
In my opinion, it was better to special summon a cell and then tribute summon Girastag, send what may have been the only monster on the opponent's field to the GY, get a 1,000 LP cushion, and then swing for more damage than you were able to with Mantis. Not every deck was completely combo oriented back then, and, for me, I would rather get a LP gain and send the one single monster to the GY than pay 1,000 to bounce 2. Now, I still play Evilswarm to this day, and I use Steelswarm Origin in that ED. I mean, the combo of using it with Exciton Knight is just awesome; blowing up your opponent's field and being able to actually swarm the field with Lswarms... just awesome!! Anyways, I just wanted to say that anyone that has ever played either Lswarm archetype or, like me, still play one if not both of them to this day will always remember both Steelswarm and Evilswarm. KONAMI-- WHEN WILL WE GET UPDATED LSWARM SUPPORT??!!!