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

Volcanics: Axels lost talent

Well, Volcanics are these fire monsters that are stereotyped under the long lost burn category. there are some monsters and their signature spell: blaze accelerator that are actually able to ravage an opponent in seconds! Volcanic rocket, the CRAZIEST looking volcanic ever, that is a level 4 beat stick that is a +1 when summoned. you then get a blaze accelerator. Play said accelerator. Scattershot, shell, and counter will take care of your opponents monsters and your monsters will take care of the rest! They are truly awesome, you can make volcanic monarchs, and with oppressions and magic planter you can make a whole plethora of badassitude. I would suggest looking at General Zorpa's articles at pojo for ideas. Anyway: here are the pros and cons:

pros:

Rocket is an instant +1 at summoning

They can be fast if used right

combine well with monarchs and royal oppression

look damn awesome

cons:

make a terrible theme deck

I was never one for burn tactics

have no draw spell

Doomfire, their ace monster is a huge pest getting out

Little kids who idolize axel are using them wrong too -.-

Archetype Profile: Crystal Beasts

The Crystal Beasts have and always will be my favorite archetype. With the ability to manifest themselves in the form of crystals after death, a well-played Crystal Beast deck can really control the flow of a duel, allowing you to maintain card presence whilst using those cards to further expand upon your control of the game.

Best used as: Control Deck

Notable cards: Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus, Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle, Crystal Abundance, Crystal Tree, Rare Value, Crystal Blessing, Crystal Beacon, Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins, Crystal Release

Cards with good synergy: Card Destruction, Foolish Burial, Beast Soul Swap, Rescue Cat, Magical Merchant, Kuraz the Light Monarch

Strengths:
One of the best control decks out there
Almost impossible to lose advantage through battle
Has some amazing milling capabilities
Can easily maintain field presence
Ruby Carbuncle and Crystal Abundance both provide amazing OTK possibilities
Can put up a great defense with Ruby Carbuncle
When given time to set up, can be almost unstoppable

Weaknesses:
Low attack points
Takes some time to set up properly
Crystals can clog up your spell/trap zone if you aren't careful
Any form of consistent spell negation will tear this deck apart

Personal Outlook: The strategy I favor using with this deck is controlling the flow of the duel and playing defensively early on in the game, then pulling out Crystal Blessings and finishing the opponent with Crystal Abundance. I prefer to dump dead draw Crystal Beasts with cards like Hand Destruction or Card Destruction and revive them as crystals with Crystal Blessing. Because of this, the spell/trap to monster ratio in my deck is slightly larger than an average deck.
I haven't really had a look at Crystal Counter, but it seems like a decent card to use with Crystal Abundance. However, it is stopped with ease by Waboku/Threatening Roar, both of which are pretty popular nowadays.

The Crystal Beasts are often overlooked in the competitive metagame as second-tier, due to the amount of spell/trap destruction going around these days. However, I believe this shortcoming can be overcome with the help of Crystal Blessing. In fact, a crystal beast deck wielding this strategy has come close to a Day 2. So with some careful tweaking, Crystal Beasts do have the ability to reach tier 1.

Duel with Honor!
~Geno