Archetype Profile: Koa'ki Meiru

The Koa'ki Meiru cards were first introduced in Raging Battle, and their line has continued in through into Ancient Prophecy and Stardust Overdrive, which have yet to be released in the TCG. What makes the Koa'ki Meiru unique is their reliance on Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru. Unless one is discarded at the end of each turn, the Koa'ki Meiru will die.
The other way of ensuring that the Koa'ki Meiru survive is to reveal a monster of the same type in your hand. This makes many of the Koa'ki Meiru splashable, and their powerful effects can be used in a variety of decks. Their effects often deal with special summons and light and/or dark monsters, making them very effective counters to the Metagame.

Best used as: An anti-meta deck. However, they are also very splashable, and individual monsters can fit into many different decks.

Notable Cards: Iron Core of the Koa'ki Meiru, Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak*, Koa'ki Meiru Drago, Koa'ki Meiru Doom, Koa'ki Meiru Guardian, Koa'ki Meiru Ice, Koa'ki Meiru Powerhand, Koa'ki Meiru Rooklord*, Automatic Laser, Iron Core Immediate Disposal, Radiance of the Steel Core, Reckoned Power

Cards with good synergy: Foolish Burial

Strengths: The Koa'ki Meiru have very powerful anti-meta tools. They're particularly effective at countering Light and Dark monsters and negating their effects. They also have very high stats for level four or lower monsters. They also work well in different decks, including (but not limited to) dragon, fiend and warrior decks.

Weaknesses: If you can't find Iron Core of the Koa'ki Meiru early on in the game, you're pretty much doomed, since the entire archetype essentially revolves around it. Even if you do manage to get it, you'll occasionally find it difficult to maintain card presence, since you'll often be discarding and retrieving the Core.

Personal Outlook: The Koa'ki Meiru have a lot going for them. Use Foolish Burial and Iron Core Immediate Disposal to get the core into the graveyard as soon as possible so you can retrieve it. Then use Koa'ki Meiru Speed to continue drawing during the draw phase. For those of you who don't want to make a full-blown Koa'ki Meiru deck, consider adding some of the members to your theme decks. Koa'ki Meiru Guardian, for example, would be a great addition to any rock deck. These cards were designed to counter the metagame, so consider adding a few to your sidedeck.

Duel with Honor!
~Geno

*These cards have yet to be released in the TCG