Yugioh Blog

Recently, I was looking at the finalists for the 2012 World Championships and a majority of those duelists used a particular archetype: Wind-Up. I had heard of Wind-Up monsters, notably the powerful Wind-Up Zenmaines, but had never seen them in action. After researching the archetype, I have come to realize that Wind-Up monsters are one-of-a-kind. They are not focused on a specific strategy; Wind-Up monsters utilize all-around tactics, from swarming to stat manipulation. They seem like an incredibly powerful archetype, but the question is, can they be called Tier 1? 

The great thing about Wind-Up monsters is that they are not one trick ponies. They have a lot of aspects to their game and, like I mentioned earlier, have some powerful monsters. One of these monsters is Wind-Up Zenmaines, an Xyz that has become a staple for many decks. Zenmaines has a decent stat line with 1500 attack and 2100 defense, but it is Zenmaines’ effect that makes it a killer.

Ultimately, they are still an archetype in growth and I do not think they are tier 1 caliber yet. However, as they get more support, I would not be surprised to see Wind-Up monsters become more used in tournaments. Despite being a relatively new archetype, they are already being played in high level matches, so I see a good future for Wind-Up monsters.