Greetings, fellow Earthlings!

This is your friendly neighbourhood cowboy here, with a new article that nobody gives a rat's bare a type of deck that I am very surprised hasn't been discussed by many people.

So, I'm going to seize about two minutes of your time and talk a bit about a deck that I personally believe has a lot of potential (despite the fact that Machines and Dark World out class it by a good bit), the Aliens.


First of all, you may ask, "What exactly are the Aliens all about, anyway?"
Well, just like Gravekeepers, Toons and Dark World monsters, Aliens are another monster genre in Yu-Gi-Oh! that revolve around a particular theme. Toons, for example, focus on direct attacks on your opponent's LP. Gravekeepers, focus on swarming and keeping your opponent's mitts off of his Graveyard. So, what do Aliens have, exactly?

Quite a few things, actually, but, most of all, the A-Counters.

Now, for those of you that don't know what these are, A-Counters basically drop your opponent's monster's ATK and DEF by 300 when an Alien monster battles with it after Damage Calculation. In other words, get enough on a monster and beat them down with a fully powered Alien, while their attack drops like a stone.
However, A-Counters have other nifty effects as well, namely:


- Allows Alien Hunter to attack again once he destroys said monster. Think Black Luster Soldier, here. It's always a good thing to have a next attack handy, especially where it would matter the most.

-Allows Alien Mother to pummel and seize A-Counter infected monsters. Jinzo? Mine. Moby? Mine. Cyber Dragon? Got 5 of them already, but I always have room for one more.....YOURS. Mwee, hee, hee.

-Allows Brainwashing Beam to act as a Snatch Steal, at least for a turn.

-Negates infected Monster Card effects when used as a combo with Alien Mars (NO, not a foreign candy bar, you morons.)

-Spirit Reaper, meet thine doom! (A-Counters target, nyah, nyah, nyah.)



Nifty, eh?
Now, you're probably wondering, "Well, gorsh golly GEE! Where can I gets me some of them thar fancy-shmancy Alien counter thingamabobs?"


Well, first off, I'd most likely pistol whip you for talking like that. But I digress.
Secondly, you can get Alien counters from the effects of several different cards that run with the theme, (Alien Warrior, Alien Grey and Corruption Cell "A", just to name a few.)

Thirdly, if you're talking about actual, real-life counters, I'd suggest you'd do what I did and fish out your old Pokemon Gift Box and use the Damage Counters they include. Otherwise, you can use what you can come up with....bottle caps, paper bits, severed fingers....whatever.


So, ready to delve into the world of the Aliens?
Here's your personal hitch-hiking guide to the galaxy as to what you should (and probably should not) look at when going Alien hunting:


CARDS THAT YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY LOOK AT:

Alien Warrior- Definitely a staple for this deck. Not only does it have a pretty decent 1800 ATK, but it also plants 2 A-Counters on whatever beats it down in battle, which practically sets it up for another Alien Warrior or an Alien Hunter to slap the taste from its mouth. On top of that, it combos well with Crop Circles should it be targeted, or you want to extend the beatdown (I'll explain more on this card further down.) Include 3 in your deck, it's a MUST-HAVE.

Alien Grey - Draw power, tosses an A-Counter on a hapless monster when flipped, and fodder for cards like Orbital Bombardment and Crop Circles (when used in tandem with another Level 4 monster in the case of the latter, that is.) Sure, there is the downside that you have to flip it AND send it to the Graveyard as a result of battle to draw, but that can happen quite a few times, if not often. Run 3, since you will need worthwhile Aliens to serve as bait for Orbital Bombardment.

Cosmic Horror Gangi'el - The big boss of the deck, boasting a very decent 2600 ATK, and the ability to plant A-Counters each turn on the fly (Spirit Reaper, I'm looking at you.) What really makes this card awesome is the fact that if you use an opponent's monster on your side of the field (just a heads up for those of you wanting to go "SOUL EXCHANGE MWA HA HAAAAAA!!!", it doesn't work that way.), you only need ONE tribute. Or, you can go one better, and just dump it in the Graveyard to play Premature Burial on it. Either way, this card works well with the theme, despite the fact that it's not really an Alien (No 'Alien' in its name.) Run 2, or 1, depending on how many Tributes you want running amuck in your deck.

Alien Skull - To be perfectly honest, at first, I didn't like this card. I couldn't really see past the fact that the effect is pretty much near to useless, because, at most, the only Level 3 monsters that would be consistent in most decks are Sangan and Spirit Reaper, and by giving up your Summon for the turn, you'd only make matters worse (because, not only have you just given a much stronger monster to your opponent, but, in the case of Sangan, you just gave your opponent a free card.

However, some play testing with this card has made me realise that he does have his uses. His 1600/1800 stats make him pretty decent, the DEF in particular, as it is just enough to stop most attacks in today's metagame from making it through. Not, by any means, a Gear Golem the Moving Fortress, mind you, but the DEF should buy you some time, as well as more fodder for Crop Circles and Orbital Bombardment.

Run about 2 of these. To me, it's always a good thing to have Aliens on standby in the event one is about to go down and you need to Crop Circle his ass out of there.

Alien Mother- Anything she kills with an A-Counter becomes yours at the end of the Battle Phase. Basically, a big Red Moon Baby. Use this effect wisely, though, because once she's gone, her captives FLEE. I'd suggest you run just one, to make room for a Monarch or a Jinzo. 2300's not going to survive long against either.

Crop Circles- YES. Staple, and then some for this deck. The card basically allows you to dump any number of monsters from your side of the field to the Graveyard, and summon any Alien with the same number of Level Stars as the total number of Level Stars you threw out. To make things simple, if I throw out a Lvl 3 monster and a Lvl 1 monster (Lily and Treeborn for those of you who want me to be more specific,) I get to summon an Lvl 4 Alien monster, since 1+3=4. Simple maths. By this logic, you can practically swap a Lvl 4 for another Lvl 4, also, which is where the combo potential comes in. To get down to the nitty gritty, Crop Circles:

1) Encourages deck thinning, perfect fuel for cards like Pot of Avarice.

2) Prevents target effects from getting off. Brain Control my Breaker? Crop Circles, and substitute for an Alien Warrior. Since you targeted Breaker, all you get is NOTHING. Nobleman of Crossout on my Alien Grey? Crop Circles and substitute it for another. Once again, you get NOTHING. As long as you have Aliens in your deck, and this on the field, your opponent will be wasting those cards, because he clearly expected to wipe your defenses out with those moves.

3) Combo potential. Let's say that I attack with a face-up Alien Hunter and Alien Warrior directly. What's this? You're not stopping it? Say I've run out of monsters to attack? Fine, fine..... Crop Circles. I'll toss that Alien Hunter that just chopped 1600 LP off of you, and summon Alien Warrior (the first of which shaved 1800 earlier). Since I haven't ended my Battle Phase, he can attack you just fine. Take 1800. What, what, what? You say, "FAH, I've seen worse. Yuh end?", and I will say "Balderdash, old bean!" and play Crop Circles, tossing the Alien Warrior that just attacked you and summoning another yet AGAIN. "HAVE AT YOU!", I will say, as he probes you for another 1800. Now, I see you're getting rather annoyed. Oh, my friend. You haven't SEEN annoyance YET. I'll play my last Crop Circles, switch out the very first Alien Warrior I put on the field, and summon my next Alien Hunter, and strike you for 1600! For those of you keeping score at home, that's 1800+1600+1800+1800+1600=8600 damage! I take a solemn bow for a game well played, and then....oh, my. Extending your finger like that at me is certainly not gentlemanly behaviour, my good man. Oh well. =P

However, that's really wishful thinking on my part, but that's to show you the pure damage potential this card can do. At most, however, you can eke out about 3600 LP worth of damage with this combo in mind when you have a clear shot at your opponent, which is a little below half, and more damage than a Lily could inflict in one turn (sans the cost. Yowch.) Also, if you attack and get hit by a Magic Cylinder, just swap the monster for an Alien in your deck, and you can carry on, because Magic Cylinder's target is gone, hence, no damage done to you.

I personally run 2, but you are free to run 3 if you want. Excellent card, for many reasons.


Orbital Bombardment- Combos just like Crop Circles to a lesser extent, but you get to nuke one Spell or Trap card on the field at the cost of your Alien. To me, it's like this....once your opponent decides to play sassy and tribute your Alien for Mobius, just do like Rayden and go "ALI BAH BAH YAY!!" and sacrifice your Alien to nuke one of his Traps. No Tribute for your opponent, and one of his resources on the field is gone.

However, despite this, I'd advise you only run 1. Why? After some serious play testing, you'd begin to realise that Tributing that 1 Alien might be harder than you thought. It's a -1, and you might want to actually retain the Alien you're tributing (Alien Grey for its Draw effect, and Alien Warrior for its beatdown capabilities, for example.) On top of that, it's a pretty horrid topdeck that you definitely do NOT want to draw in a pinch, as you might need to squander resources to use it.


INTERESTING CARDS THAT DIDN'T REALLY MAKE THE CUT....

Alien Mars- Basically, a Skill Drain on any A-Counter infected monster, in monster form. Could be useful for killing a Sangan or a D.D. Warrior Lady that's been bothering you. To me knowledge, though, the most dangerous monsters are those that are face down. Still, pretty interesting...if it had a higher attack, I might have considered it.

Brainwashing Beam - Yeah, yeah, I know. Uses A-Counters, acts like a Snatch Steal....why don't I consider it? Because of several things. The biggest achilles heel of this card is the fact that it's a continuous Trap Card. Not only does it nerf Treeborn Frog when you might really, REALLY need it, but it's WAY too vulnerable to Jinzo/Mobius/MST/Breaker. On top of that, you'll have to remove A-Counters after each turn the monster is yours, and, knowing how this game runs, you'd most likely have just 1. However, in its defense, I will say that it's a very good surprise Snatch Steal on your opponent's turn. Definitely not going to expect that, is he? Still....

Flying Saucer Muusik'i - And, just what are aliens without a spaceship, eh? Though, to be honest, this batch might just be better off. True, it does come with a Freed-like effect of fetching Aliens, but that stats for this card are really bad for a level 5. 1000 ATK and 2000 DEF doesn't warrant you summoning this card face-up, and by the time you get around to putting it face-up, it's probably not going to be around long enough for you to get true advantage out of this card. If only, ONLY it was a level 4. As is, I really don't recommend it.

Alien Hunter- After some deliberation and even more playtesting, I realise that Alien Hunter's just not going to cut it anymore. Without any A-Counters to work with, it's a mediocre beatdown monster at best that will easily fall against an unused Breaker or a D.D. Assailant. True, the effect does have some interesting outcomes, but, as a topdeck, you're better off topdecking either something with decent ATK (Alien Warrior) or DEF (Alien Skull). Run 1 if you want, but, if I were you, I'd be better off running Alien Skull instead.

CARDS TO AVOID LIKE RABID FACEHUGGERS:


Alien Infiltrator- Interesting card, yes, but way too technical for my liking. It involves your opponent having a blank monster card space and an adjacent Spell/Trap card space behind it, and you moving the monster to that spot opposite it to.....attack directly. You know, that would be dandy if it was about 1600 ATK at least, but 800? Why don't I just use a Rainbow Flower instead? >=(

Alien Skull- Ick, NO. Chances are, that Lvl 3 you'll be Tributing is either Spirit Reaper or Sangan. Either way, you'll only make things worse, because you'll be giving up your summon for the turn AND giving them a monster. I think there are better ways to put A-Counters on monsters, don't you? Run ZEROOOO.

Corruption Cell "A" - If this was a Quick-Play Spell Card, it could work with Aliens since you're dropping attacks on the fly, but as is, way too slow to be effective. PASS.


CARDS I'D SUGGEST YOU RUN WITH THIS DECK, ABOVE ANYTHING ELSE:

Brain Control: For Cosmic Horror Gangi'el, you can't go wrong with just 1 Tribute.

Pot of Avarice: With all of the dumping you'll be doing with this deck, this can be easily pulled off, and net you back some resources.

Last Will: If you don't know why this is here, go play Pac-Man or something. Did you forget Crop Circles and Orbital Bombardment? HEL-LOOOOO, Staple?



So, for now, that's it.
I'll put up a deck later, but if you've ever decided to venture into the unknown reaches of the galaxy, then you have a first hand guide to some good old Alien hunting!
Happy trails, folks.