Why Nobody Remembers Iron Chains | Yu-Gi-Oh!

[@Dzeeff]

Quick update: this was a "Why Nobody Plays" video but I have decided to change it to a "Why Nobody Remembers video." The truth is that when I was planning, recording, and uploading this discussion I never could quite decide which series it belonged to better (I even made multiple thumbnails with the different titles). Originally I had planned for this to be a "Why Nobody Remembers" video but I saw so many requests to talk about Iron Chains that I thought maybe more people remembered them than I anticipated. However, I think Iron Chains don't exactly fit in with the other "Why Nobody Plays" videos so I changed it back after seeing feedback from a few commenters.

[@thiccupcake]

Commenters dont understand youtube titles

[@TheFrlncr]

Iron Chain is having a 14 year mid-life identity crisis.

[@xenoexe4954]

The 5D's Boomers remember and think it was a top tier lock down Strat

[@Jay0Do]

That story reminded me of a kid another kid tricked me out of my video game exchange promo.

[@kevinthe2nd73]

One of the few decks with only one set of support

[@Raminator243]

Iron Chains are so bad that they lost to Yusei’s hodgepodge of a deck built from the assorted cards prisoners were able to sneak into the Domino City jail in 5ds. Gosh that was such a great duel.

[@IIOver9000]

Greninja best pokemon 🤘🏼

[@Youboremenow]

You joke... but I actually really like that episode :)

[@cherrychocolate1434]

AND the guy using them was cheating with the help of security cameras and the guards watching Yusei's hand to tell him how to counter everything Yusei did. On top of giving Yusei an electric shock every time he took damage while making sure HE didn't take any shocks in return by rigging his chain. And he STILL lost. That's easily one of my fave duels in 5D's.

[@pokebot451gonbow5]

@@cherrychocolate1434 yeah but Armstrong probably isn't a Duel Legacy duelist its been awhile I played since those video games

[@Lyrog]

The episode was so good, I remember laughing my ass of when prisoners started giving their hidden favorite cards, one dude straight up pulled a call of the haunted from his afro hair like he was waiting his entire life for that moment

[@PhobiaSoft]

The fact that Iron Chains were part of the same generation as Blackwings still blows my mind to this day

[@Jirachibi25]

Reminder that in the anime this deck lost to literally 40 random cards thrown together with no cohesion. Also something ya didn't mention is how bad milling is in Yugioh. Even when these came out there were so many revival cards and GY effects like Dandylion, Necro Gardna, Malicious, Quillbolt, Mezuki, etc.

[@crestfallenwarrior5719]

N E C R O V A L L E Y

[@griffgoldsteinreference]

They’d need effects that prevents cards milled from the hand or deck from activating in the graveyard (Closest thing is Necrovalley right now)

[@OverSpark65]

Necrovalley is OP, just sayin 😏👌

[@blahmaster6k]

I really want to see a deck come out that's focused on banishing the opponent's deck. Make mill great again, please Konami.

[@sirkillalot9892]

@@blahmaster6k Basically Inferno Tempest but don't need massive damage on yourself

[@tyranitararmaldo]

I do remember using Repairman and Coil in an earth-centric deck once. He was actually really good, as you could use Scrap Recycler to dump coil after special summoning Junk Forward and then making a rank 3. Then search Repairman with RotA and summon it for a quick level 7 Synchro Summon, going into more unique stuff at the time like Naturia Landoise. It was a decent deck, did well at casual events.

[@ETRHeydrich]

Making a one card landoise is pretty fucking good for casual even today its sad that you have to set it up dumping coil which is a vanilla tuner with bad stats, i mean basically everything overclasses it but a negate is a negate and i have some nostalgia for naturias.

[@tyranitararmaldo]

@@ETRHeydrich you should have seen my Naturia-Traptrix deck I made when Naturia Sacred Tree came out. It was all about summoning Bamboo Shoot and lining my backrow full of traps.

[@ETRHeydrich]

@@tyranitararmaldo i remember bamboo shoot decks yeah, going back to landoise i remenber making it with psychic commander and a silent psychic magician but monster effects weren't to good yet and the pitching a spell definitely hurt so it was awful. Nowadays i think it can kinda shine its all monster effects now.

[@spectre9065]

You can easily end Turn 1 with Dracossack and Naturia Landoise with 3 spell cards in hand for effect negation. Sure it can't recover from a field wipe but its a consistent deck that counters effect monsters. Don't play bad cards like Iron Chain Snake or Blaster, you use the best cards in the archetype and mix in other cards that synergize with them.

[@stoatadmiral3367]

I don’t know what you’re talking about. I vividly remember iron chains. I’m what you call a “Chain Snake Jake”. I built a reputation at my local tables as the OG Iron Ronny. Last time I hit the locals, I had the new blood flipping tables and shouting slurs, like “Iron Ronny”. When I snake around to your table, you won’t have to ask what deck I play. I’ve got a misprinted Black Garden with the art of Iron Chain Snake blending with its foil hanging on a real iron chain around my neck. I’m what you call an “Iron Chain Danny”. My results at the last locals? I’m what you call an “Iron Chain John”. Do you know what that means? Maybe not, but you will if you ever see me snaking around at your locals. Some people call me the “Iron Chain Dragon” of the streets. I’m the OG Chain Poison prisoner. When you see my ride, you’ll know what I play. I drive an “Iron Chain” Toyota Camry. They call me the “Chain Snake Shaker”. That means I play iron chains in a twenty year old children’s card game. My ride has “Iron Chain Dragon” decals on the license plate. My ride? I’m what you call an “Iron Chain Dale”. Some people try to splash Iron Chains with other snakes. Amateurs. Some people ask me what my deal is- why I’m still playing with the chains. Then I ask, And is that question chain link two? I’m what you call a “Chain Snake Johnny.” I’m dependent on multiple extraneous sources of endorphins. One of those is the riding duel, and the other is playing Iron Chains. My setup? Hop in. Bring your deck. I’m gonna take you for spin. They call me the “Iron Chain Snake”. That’s because I have an extensive criminal record. I’m an alcoholic.

[@jonaderjona5805]

I am disgusted yet curious.

[@Celticassassin23]

I feel like this is an accurate representation of the type of people who main iron chains

[@cyberend1863]

I actually used to run Iron Chain Dragon in a cyberdark/dragunity combo deck back in 5ds, but that was just because it was an easily accessible level 6 dragon synchro that also had decent attack.

[@soupdawhoop]

I always liked iron chains too! Their aesthetic is really cool. However, they would need god tier levels of support to become even playable

[@iistonton]

Without a once per turn on snake you can, in theory, equip 3 of them to a level 12 your opponent controls, destroy it, then pass turn and win.

[@zaknelthepony7124]

You can also theoretically open your turn with all five exodia cards in hand.

[@marc-andreleysaht910]

Legacy Support needs to give them them a way to turn their mill effects into “Banish from the top of the deck”. Milling your oppent’s deck was probably only helping your opponent even back then. Also: Bonus Points for Dragon needing to attack while Poison Chain needs you to NOT attack

[@VoicesOfChaos]

Finally someone else that loves Iron Chains as much as me! They are one of my absolute favorite bad archetypes. I love the idea of an archetype that does both burn and mill where if your primary strategy goes bad you have the other as a backup, that feels like fun gameplay. I have wanted them to get legacy support forever! At least a level-7 synchro, a level-2 tuner, and like an overpowered spell/trap.

[@KimFareseed]

I fear these cards. Whole deck milled every time I faced them. Started to collect the Madolche cards just because they could return to the deck. Then again, at the time, not owning any cards for back row removal, any level 4 with more then 1900 atk, any summonable extra deck cards (no sycros, xyz or polys for fusions) in the XYZ era, or any effect negation or spot removal, I never stod a chance.

[@kyleanderson449]

I have a deck built to empty the opponents deck so much better. Including banishing cards.

[@heartlessnobody1143]

THAT is the epidemy of background duelist from the start of the tournament

[@ShiningJudgment666]

Milling is a bad strategy unless you can F/OTK your opponent with it. Most decks want cards in the GY. And even at the time Iron Chain cards were released, TeleDAD, Lightsworn and Gladiator Beasts existed and they all had one thing in common. The latter one not as much but to an extent since it still had GY interactions. Also, Iron Chain Dragon was only good for Debris Dragon decks since it was a generic Level 6 Dragon Synchro (and the only one at the time which gave it a use for its own merits at the time) which came later on and because Debris Dragon like most Level 4 tuners at the time had limitations and was good despite them because cards like Black Rose Dragon and even Iron Chain Dragon existed and it was one of if not the only way to 1-card Synchro Summon at the time. There were several other generic Level 6's you would've used before you'd use Iron Chain Dragon (Goyo who was at 3 at the time and godly, Gaia Knight who was level 6 with 2600 ATK so it could actually run over Stardust rather than have to crash into it and then later came Brionac).

[@kyleanderson449]

@@ShiningJudgment666 how about banished. And your deck will be losing at least 5 cards at a time. As well as your hands. Apparently my opponents find it hard to perform a single combo do to me suddenly taking out over half their options.

[@purin6792]

8:43 Brionac is a sea serpent because the Japanese name for that type is sea dragon

[@Dzeeff]

Oh wtf

[@cynicalswordmage4591]

I think the words for like serpent/snake/dragon are very similar in Japanese,

[@JMT124357689]

Man I miss the days of resolving Repairman 3-5 times in a turn to extra link or 6 material rhongo. The only hint at playability this deck had died with MX Saber Invoker's ban

[@snowboundwhale6860]

I remember using Snake in my Venom deck because I just wanted more reptiles that actually had effects I could use and it's Shadow Spell on legs. Sorry for the long post following this, there's just a lot to say here. The TL;DR is essentially "The archetype was designed to fill a specific narrative role for it's 1 anime appearance and this is the cause of almost all their problems bar the syncro/ tuner situation, and they never got expanded beyond that, nor did any effects get adjusted to be better when the cards got printed; This extends to even relatively minor things like the burn effects being designed for a 4000LP duel not being adjusted for the 8000LP used in real life." Everything below is more expanding on specifics that go into this conclusion. People are pointing out that in the anime this deck lost to a 40 card throw-together of random cards the prisoners were able to slip past security, all while the Warden had additional advantages, such as using security camera to spy on Yusei's hand and a set-up so Yusei would be electrocuted whenever he took damage (which was also supposed to happen to him but was rigged in the first half until a brief powercut reset that). I'd like to point out that this was something required to happen by the show's narrative, and the individual cards of the archetype were likely designed after it'd been decided that Iron Chains would be the deck the warden would use & lose with, binding chains being a good aesthetic for the theme of a prison warden's deck of choice, and thus would've been designed around that specific duel and it's accessories. Also worth noting is "gameplay as a metaphor" gets thrown around a fair amount in the anime/ manga in every series of Yugioh, with the preferred playstyles of a duellist often being representative of their character, personal philosophies, and ambitions. Even in just 5ds we can see this between the characters of Yusei, Jack, Akiza, and Crow, along with their respective decks. The fact they were designed to not just lose to such a deck, but while under these various advantages, and had to serve a narratively antagonistic role while doing it explains most of their jank and lack of cohesion: Yusei's deck is 40 random cards that can't be expected to have any internal cohesion? Then these Iron Chains can't be too cohesive themselves or they'll blow him out the water. Rather than focusing the deck to do 1 thing well, let's give it a few different things it _can_ do, like at all. This way Iron Chains can fight on a few fronts when it comes to types of effect, so that no matter what Yusei tries the warden can "have an answer" that allows him to push back, keeping Yusei from finding a line of play that just snowballs into victory too early. But they can't be too powerful at any of the things they can do because Yusei still needs to win in the end, and we can't have him losing in the first 5 turns like he probably would if we gave the warden Jack or Crow's decks. Yusei gets a powerful monster on the field at some point, but it's too early for him to just win? Well THIS Iron Chain card can lower that monster's ATK, and THIS one raises the ATK of another Iron Chain! This way they have ways to handle a sudden stronger monster that Yusei might put out, while still having lower original ATK/DEF values so as to be not too far from something a 40 card random pile of generally weak cards might be expected to have so that Yusei has a chance in the first place, but still be at a disadvantage until he can use a combo/ equip spell to reach 2k. Furthermore, the fact it's divided into one monster which weakens and another which buffs means they can maintain relative balance against a gradient of ATK values. Yusei gets a modest boost? The buff is only +300, not lots but possibly enough to offset Yusei's advantage without making him so much weaker as to compromise his ability to survive to next turn. Yusei gets more than that? Well that's probably not something a -800 debuff can't counteract, and if it is then both together should be enough until it's time for the warden to lose. Since Yusei's deck can't be expected to have reliable combo potential or ability to play off his own graveyard that much, mill becomes a hypothetically viable strategy while also doubling as a way to stack Yusei's GY if we the writers decide we want to do something with that in the latter half of the duel, while doing so in a way that's presented as being disadvantageous to Yusei until he finds a way to make it work for him. It also removes cards from his deck, thus having a chance with each card off the top to remove a brick, which given the assembly of Yusei's deck at the time he almost certainly had plenty of, while also deck thinning giving narrative justification for him not drawing terribly all duel. Poison Chain give the warden a way to "attack" Yusei even when he's not in a position to declare any attacks, by attacking Yusei's deck and bringing him closer to a deck out. This means LP are not the only thing Yusei has to be concerned about which gives the feeling of added danger for Yusei & the viewer even though splitting a deck between mill, burn, and battle isn't actually that viable from a user standpoint; The mill effects simply being present at all means even when Yusei's "safe" behind battle protection or even damage negation he's still "under threat" of being drawn closer to losing by running out of cards. It also plays into the narrative theme of unfairness and oppressiveness in that duel, depleting the opponents deck being a metaphor for removing choices and opportunities, while also being specifically upsetting to the prisoners who were watching it play out as those cards were all given by them to Yusei and were considered their favourite card(s) or cards that were generally important to them, hence why THOSE cards in particular were the ones they made sure to sneak in with them. With that context, the warden (who knows about all this) using a deck destruction strategy is a direct antagonism to not just Yusei but the audience who gave him the cards in that deck. Yusei's getting electrocuted every time he loses life points? Time to add burn effects into the deck! Anime duels these days they only start with 4000LP, and we can't have the burn be too small or it'll be perceived as unimportant to the viewers, but they can't be too strong of course since as a narrative device they're effectively there to add tension and stakes, not to actually win the duel. So 300 damage? That's within the go-to range (200-500) for mostly negligible burn effects that're considered a big deal in the show, and it's equivalent to 600 damage irl. Of course, Poison Chain + Paralysing Chain is going to be a way for the warden to hurt Yusei each turn even when he can't attack, turning that mill threat into additional burn damage. And each time Yusei loses LP he's literally electrocuted so it's "real damage" without shadow magic, which plays up the cruelty of the warden. But, we can't have Yusei actually taking too much damage each turn or he'll hit 0? But since we're correlating the deck destruction to the burn that presents a problem because we need to mill multiple cards, preferably at least 3 cards each turn or else the mill will lack narrative weight and fail to present a feeling of tension. So it's "300 damage each time milled" rather than "300 damage per card milled"; That way the burn won't drastically outpace the mill. This "Burn effects are a moral evil" is even consistent with their slightly inconsistent characterization in previous series, where such effects are generally antagonistic unless our heroes are the ones using them. In the case of Battle City, they're outright illegal under Kaiba's rules, he just lets the Rare Hunters get away with using them anyway because he wants the God Cards they have. Often when used by a character who we aren't supposed to side with they're represented as being cheap and sadistic means of attack*, which pairs well with those who also find a way to make the damage cause real pain like in Shadow Duels or with the warden here. *See Flamewingman's representation in the first couple episodes of GX: When Judai/ Jaden uses it in the exam duel it's triumphant, the finishing blow dealt by a powerful hero and winning the battle! But when Manjome/ Chazz takes control of Flamewingman & attacks Judai/ Jaden with itin their first duel? The framing presents it as malicious and cruel. Similarly, when Chazz inflicts effect damage with Chthonian Soldier when it's destroyed it's a spiteful and vindictive retaliation, but Bastion's Oxygeddon exploding is a cleverly calculated risk.

[@rainbowdragon168]

Maybe one way to improve the deck slightly is to make a level 2 Iron Chain monster so that it can be used with the level 4 Iron Chain monster to Synchro summon the Iron Chain Dragon. (I know there’s other ways to summon Iron Chain Dragon but I just wanted to mention a possible tuner that could slightly improve Iron Chains).

[@MsMiDC]

There has to be a LOT more than only a level 2 tuner to make the deck even the slightest bit relevant, even in casual play. It needs: removal, backrow, spells, maybe a negate, any interaction for the opponents turn, raw power, special summons, anything. Just giving a level 2 tuner doesnt improve the deck at all.

[@rainbowdragon168]

@@MsMiDC It slightly improve the deck a bit is what I meant to say

[@nunocarvalho6671]

If they give the deck a lv up of it's boss, and some better cards to help it swarm the field, and maybe a good effect when you mill the cards, it good get playable

[@MsMiDC]

@@rainbowdragon168 also it would need so much support that the old cards would be irrelevant instantly.

[@rainbowdragon168]

@@MsMiDC Ok

[@otterfire4712]

Better title would be "Why Nobody Remembers Iron Chains." They got nothing in terms of support, the character that played the deck was a one off villain. Iron Chain's straightforward deck destruction is an uncommon win condition and one that Konami seems to just estrange as a potential playstyle. It'd be great if they used an obscure type for a new archetype for deck destruction, I don't know maybe Pyros "burning" your opponent's deck. They could print Iron Chain support though the problem is, the character who used the deck was a one off villain who acted as an obstacle to Yusei in season 1 of Yugioh 5Ds.

[@kyleanderson449]

I have a deck for milling my opponents deck. But it doesn't use an arch type.

[@Dzeeff]

Yeah, I agree. The title is now changed and I left a pinned comment explaining the situation :)

[@otterfire4712]

@@kyleanderson449 I know that the playstyle of deck destruction exists. But there's no real deck destruction archetype.

[@otterfire4712]

@@polocatfan It wasn't originally, funny enough.

[@kyleanderson449]

@@otterfire4712 exactly but there should be. My deck simply specializes in removing as many of your options as fast as possible from the game. While preventing what little you can pull off from actually working.

[@babysinclairfan]

Man, I loved the 5ds episode these are from. Every Yugioh series had at least one villain who existed solely so the main character could flex on him. For 5ds, it was the guy who used iron chains.

[@hazabuzku]

Future support or custom card idea. Field spell: Once per chain, you can activate one appropriate effect: *When your opponent loses LP by the effect of an "Chain" card , your opponent sends 3 cards from the top of their deck to the GY *When your opponent sends card(s) from their deck to the GY by the effect of an "Chain" card, your opponent loses 300 LP

[@freyathedragon899]

Hopefully tbe field spell doesn't count as a 'Chain' card, otherwise this is pretty cool

[@SirSirington]

@@freyathedragon899 Rewording it to "by the effect of another "Chain" card you control" would probably fix it to prevent loops.

[@StarWagi]

I remember that way back when they first came out and my brother and I got a few of the iron chain cards. I remember that I played iron chain snake in all of my decks for a long time after that.

[@freyathedragon899]

I remember back when Chains were first introduced in Duel Links, they were relevant for just a tiny bit. They were a fun rogue deck, and I stacked them with Bakura's mill skill from back in the day and stuff like Wall of Disruption or the Reptilliane equip card (it was a simpler time,) and then smacking my opponent for a mountain of mill. Skull Invitation was also fun as a one-off.

[@mattr791]

As far as archetypes used by a minor 1off villian in an early episode of the anime iron chain didn't do too badly Also obligatory shout out to the guy awhile back abusing mx saber invoker+repairman soft opt to build some actually competent boards

[@johanandersson8252]

Iron Chain Coil would have been a level 2 with the effect were ”if this card is used for the Syncro summon for a Iron Chain monster, your opponent puts cards from the top their deck into the GY equal to the level of the Syncro monster.

[@asianbois522]

Iron chain repair man looks like Wario

[@ghostlycreations6]

I feel like poison chain wouldn't even be that broken if it had its anime effect where it milled equal to the total level of all the iron chain monsters you control since that probably will still be around five cards anyway.

[@The_VanDal]

here is what i would change on each of those cards: - Snake: it can be equipped not only from the field but also from your hand - Buster: it inflicts 800 damage to your opponent whenever a "Iron Chain" monster on your side of the field is sent to the graveyard. Change its level to 3 - Coil: change its level to 2. You can discard it so that "Iron Chain" monsters you control gain 300 ATK and DEF until the end of the turn - Repairman: it can attack after activating its second effect - Dragon: you can choose any number of "Iron Chain" monsters to banish from your graveyard, instead of banishing all of them - Poison Chain: when the card is activated: you can special summon a level 4 or lower "Iron Chain" monster from your hand or graveyard. Make its actual effect once per turn instead of end phase only, and you can still attack - Paralyzing Chain: it inflicts 300 damage for each card, also it triggers only if the cards are sent by "Iron Chain" cards and cards that mention "Iron Chain" in its text, except itself. That way the card is treated as an actual "Iron Chain" for a potential spell/trap searcher, and it can't be abused outside of its archetype, you never know

[@kylefreeburg9353]

I'd like it if they retrained the iron chains and the lock chain key animals to be a cohesive mill synchro deck. The beasts can even be used to make lightning bicorn, which is a mill card! It works well!

[@nitemarestlk]

I played this deck on release. Was super casual while in my senior year of highschool and loved the theme

[@ryann6875]

Iron chain dragon was our budget Brionac at locals for the longest time. Take me back to a simpler time 😅

[@GuardianGrarl]

But on the bright side, we got to see the chill-inducing scene of Rubble King raising his hand and commanding a storm of rocks to bombard Mr. Pull Your No... oh sorry, Bad Breath.

[@jeremiahkivi4256]

Mill-burn could be a cool strategy for Iron Chains and would be unique to the entire game afaik, but they definitely need a pretty decent buff to pull it off. Only problem I could see would be a new card that wouldn't have the right text on it, getting abused by either this deck or other decks and then leaving Iron Chains right where they started once that card is banned.

[@GlalGamingPanda]

I'll admit there is something kinda interesting about a Tuner with an effect that is only active while it's on the field. But it's gotta be something more substantial than a 300/300 boost to actually make it worth keeping around rather than syncing it away

[@ConductorElcrest]

So Iron Chains gave Dzeeff Yu-Gi-Oh PTSD?

[@Deadhead-kq4hr]

Feel like archtype was mostly a way to mill your opponents deck instead of the extra stuff they added in maybe added level 2 Turner and level 7 synchro and spells and traps that focus on milling your opponents deck

[@mikeheath4916]

In my opinion, they should've been more focused like Snake was. Snake "locks up" the foe's monster, like a chain, which would've been a cool thing to base an archetype on imo, even if it would've been bad. An archetype focused around equipping themselves to your foe's monsters to inflict heavy negative effects.

[@GodOfReality]

I get a laugh because Iron Chain came out when Upper Deck was still in charge of the game. Techncially speaking, until UDE gave out rulings for the set, it was kind of up in the air as to how the cards worked. Obviously all the Iron Chain "once per turn" effects are Ignition Effects, but until we got the rulings I played with them as though they were Quick Effects. Was funny to use CoSR and summon things on either turn. Still lost to the meta decks but put up a hilarious fight. I actually searched up "Iron Chain" in Master Duel and was sad to see no new support for them. Neat to see this video lol.

[@RatchVision]

"And then I dropped Iron Chain Coil, boosted 300 atk, and ran over his monster for game." - Literally No One Ever

[@aaronwilbers3049]

I feel like this archetype would be more cohesive as a stall+mill archetype with an emphasis on equipping your Iron Chain monsters to your opponents' monsters. It might not be fun for the opposing player, but can't make everyone happy.

[@wartortlerulestheworld]

@Dzeeff thanks for making a Why Nobody Plays/Remembers Video.

[@dominiccassell1266]

I think the iron chain monsters were supposed to be a not used together deck but a take specific ones to add them to specific decks like certain monsters that were meant for burning would go into burning type decks while the ones that were meant for mill we're going to mill type decks and the one tuner monster that gives buffs we go into a buffing deck I think I'm pretty sure the chains weren't meant to be a deck they were meant to be added to other decks to compliment the style that you like to go to with your decks hence why the effects for these monsters in the chains section are a hodgepodge of different things they were never meant to go together they are meant to assist other deck types but that's my opinion on why they are like this

[@covershopkid]

Iron chain dragon artwork is actually insanely well made. I wish it was a level 7 with 2700. Also, iron chains, all effects don’t actually work great with each other as you said.

[@Merik2013]

This is also the archytype that for whatever reason Konami decided the tuner should be level 3 instead of level 4 like it was in the anime. This shifted the non-tuner target for Iron Chain Dragon from Iron Chain Blaster to Iron Chain Snake, the card you slap onto your opponent's monsters. You'd think if you were going to change the level of the tuner to match up with a card that's more likely to see play you'd just make him level 2 so you can synch up with Iron Chain Repairman. You know, a combo that makes sense.

[@darkwiser2663]

How I would try fix iron chains- 1- New lvl7 boss synchro able to mill and “chain” any cards milled by a chain card (think necrovally + soul drain to the affected cards) 2- new lvl3 tuner with a mill when used as material effect and can special self from hand 3- A “chain” searcher that also protects iron chain 4- focus on milling

[@dylanbuchanan6511]

Well, if you want iron chains to get support, just bribe rank10 to make a video about them. Remember to include non once per turn disruption on their boss monster and main deck monsters that can ss themselves from the hand.

[@xekon14]

I love to use iron chain dragon in duel links as I currently don't have any better options for a rank 6. It's not the strongest option but a 2500 beatstick with a mill effect is pretty fun to bully ai with.

[@nick-playercharacter8583]

That story in the opening is utterly heartbreaking.

[@szczoteczka2233]

Director: did you playtest the newest archetype before release? Card designer: did I what?

[@LunarWingCloud]

When I was too poor to afford some of the better level 6 Synchros that were legal at the time, Iron Chain Dragon was the savior of my Junk Doppel deck, giving me access to a level 6 Extra Deck monster

[@kiucel4701]

Here have a Taco 🌮

[@SheruMuko]

How did you know what I just ate for dinner?

[@legendslayer6558]

thanks bro

[@danilolopez9203]

It would be cool to see the ironchain archetype milling the opponent deck with efect chains

[@nosfonader8792]

Iron Chain Dragon became my favorite Synchro in Duel Links. I love it's potential to deck out your opponent. I also like at how pretty easy it is to summon.

[@signor_zuzzu]

Not only I remember this deck but I've still have it. Had fun playing it full mill as a kid. It's a shame on how Konami adapts anime archetypes terribly and forgets about them

[@pacificgrim4661]

The only thing I remembered of the Chain Archetype is that Yusei played Kickman against the Chain Monsters

[@Nshadowtail]

Proposal: "Iron Chain Net | field spell At the end of the damage step, if a monster you control destroyed an opponent's monster or dealt battle damage: send cards from the top of your opponent's deck to the graveyard equal to the number of Iron Chain monsters you control. This effect can only be activated a number of times each turn equal to the number of monsters you control at the start of the battle phase." It wouldn't be enough to make them *good*, but it's at least slightly searchable and the maximum per-turn mill is high enough to be an actual threat. 4 monsters would mill 16 in a turn, which is a solid start.

[@nicynator7569]

Hey Dzeeff, i am a reurning player and watching your videos really helped me getting back into it, so thanks. :) I only have 1 question and that´d be "where to look up tournament winners and decks" cuz you often mention that part in analysis videos. Thanks for helping me out ^^

[@gregkapler4812]

With a name like Iron Chains, they missed a golden opportunity to make an awesome stall/control archetype with the theme of iron chains binding your opponent.

[@Xaiross_]

Iron chain where my first deck... I'm nostalgic. No nibiru. No monkey aleister. Perfection.

[@Xrysis1]

Good memories during Dino Rabbit format getting into the game on a budget and using Iron Chain Dragon.

[@lordzeerus]

My question to you is, what did you do with the deck. I made an iron chain day back in the day and it wasn't bad. It was back when heavy storm was put on the ban list at zero copies. I played stall, mill burn deck. With no heavy storm in the format I was able to use a lot of continuous trap cards and spell cards and stall cards

[@rdorer408]

an archetype in need of a serious rework the last deck I've played was grave-keepers which a friend gave me, during a duel I neglected to read my opponents monster card effect which was light and darkness dragon I didn't know its attack points had changed due to its effect so I didn't attack it, several turns later my opponent told me that I had the means of attacking for game for roughly 3 turns which is how I learned that if you don't understand what is going on in a duel its best to ask

[@arkossunset6947]

So here’s my thing. I’m thinking about adding these to my runick exodia deck. It would match the milling theme I believe and give me blockers. What are your thoughts

[@Mori-man]

Card idea that might help. when your opponent sends a card from their deck to the graveyard (except by this cards effect) they take 500 damage plus 100 for each card sent. When your opponent takes effect damage (except by this cards effect) they must send the top 5 cards from their graveyard. When your opponent targets a monster in their graveyard you can change the target to any monster that fits the targeting conditions.

[@Roboshi2007]

I think it's telling that even in the anime iron chains were given to an opponent when the protagonist didn't have their main deck but instead had a grab-bag of crap other people had given them.

[@AKingofBacon]

Iron Chain was pretty good at extra linking in early MR4 with Isolde, Pheonix blade, Power Tool dragon, D.R.R., mx saber invoker, and galaxy tomahawk. It wasn't consistent enough to see any serious use, but I don't think a video about Iron Chain would be complete without mentioning it. It was a very fun deck!

[@captainmurphy4949]

I played a lot of iron chain back in the 5ds days thank you very much

[@harrisonblock]

This is just Legacy of the Worthless: Iron Chains and I am here for it.

[@ΣΙΡΟΚΟΣ]

Not only I remember them I love them even though I haven't an iron chain deck I think they are a fun deck to play

[@Ocsttiac]

What timing. I started watching 5D's recently and watched the duel involving Yusei and the guy who uses these... and even then, I was thinking "Wow, his deck sucks." even compared to Yusei's mish-mash deck.

[@lennyface8195]

Name: "Iron Chain Smith" Attribute: Earth Type: Warrior/Tuner/Effect Level: 2 ATK/DEF: 500/1000 Effect: You can discard this card; add 1 "Iron Chain" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Iron Chain Smith". If this card is sent to the GY as Synchro Material for a Dragon monster: You can send the top 5 cards of your opponent's Deck to the GY. You can only use each effect of "Iron Chain Smith" once per turn.

[@Mickey-wh4di]

Yeah, i remember feeling similar when playing dark scorpions first. Until Number 86 came out, they felt just weird. Afterwards they were playable with menae, mustering, Grog, infected mail, etc

[@six-eyes4727]

Out of all the bad pack filler archetypes, this one was one of the most memorable and the closest to something actually viable. Iron Chain Repairman just needed some better targets or the very least, Konami needed to give it just a little bit more love. Seeing the comments that talk about using Repairman for combos shows just how much potential it had. This is one I wish Konami would revisit since they're going back and trying to support older archetypes like Reptillianes, Infernity, and others.

[@chandgrit]

Maybe my casual is just extra casual but I've done ok with this deck but i have to play it defensively using repairman, coil, snake, dragon and poison chain mostly. Then i run more slow down, toll hike plus scrap iron scarecrow, dark holes, rageki, swords of revealing light and mystic mine. Finally with the extra deck i run missus radiant to return my repairman, morphing jar and one needle worm i ran for mass mill potential. Lastly since i can revive a lot with repairman i have the unchained abomination link monster as a back up win con. Also skull invitation is a better option then paralyzing chain if you do want to attempt the mill burn hybrid option.

[@jrbiff18]

I actually did play Iron Chains. They weren't great, but my gosh, they were fun. For me.

[@IIOver9000]

What did you duel against? I love the idea of dueling crappy decks against each other wit friends

[@jrbiff18]

@@IIOver9000 mainly just my friends' equally crappy, but fun, decks. I remember one particular match where my Iron Chains fought valiantly against my buddy's RoboLady/Yarou deck. Sadly, they failed. (I said they weren't great, lol)

[@IIOver9000]

@@jrbiff18 Sounds fun af to me man 🤘🏼

[@part-e7344]

I remember spamming iron chain blaster, and I kept having it sacrifice itself to burn my opponent repeatedly while milling them with Poison Chain.

[@Farfa]

Why nobody plays who???

[@Krullenkoning]

I remember my opponent activating desires, and then playing that last card vs my grass deck game 2, thinking it would mean I couldnt activate grass for 33.

[@Mage_Nichlas_]

I love Iron Chains and they were my main Synchro Deck when 5D's World came out in Duel Links. I can't say they're the best but I enjoyed trying to mill my opponent.

[@azazazazaz936]

Crosdroads of Chaos was released during TeleDAD format I think so Iron Chain Dragon could be used to keep the opponent from summoning DAD, I guess? By messing with their graveyard. That sounds terrible

[@ShiningJudgment666]

Except summoning DAD wasn't TeleDAD's main win condition. It was Synchro spamming and also having an assortment of ways to beat the opponent into submission (Pre-errata Crush Card could win you the game on its own if you pull it off, Malicious was at 3, Synchros hadn't even been touched on the ban list). It really wasn't a good card ever since it didn't do enough but on its own merits it had uses when Debris Dragon was released since it was a Generic Level 6 Dragon and 1-card Synchro Summons were a powerful strategy which even TeleDAD couldn't really do though by that time TeleDAD was TeleDead.

[@crunchg262]

If we ever do get Iron Chain support, we'd probably need a ton of cards, but I hope they take a focus on the mill aspect kinda like the anime. It'll need a ton of HOPTs likely to avoid FTKs via mill, but it's a cool archetype and Iron Chain Repairman is pretty good if you look at it in a bubble.

[@nicoofthenight8403]

Cuz they have 6 cards and barely work together Same issue with so many forgotten archtypes Yubel has 3 cards in 13 years They don't release cards

[@SheruMuko]

Edit this is my attempt at making them good. It took me around 20 minutes. Iron Chain Craftsman Level 2 Earth Warrior Attack 500 Defense 500 Tuner If you control a face up Iron Chain monster; you can special summon this card from your hand then send 3 cards from the top of your opponent’s deck to your opponent’s graveyard but their effects are negated until the end of the turn. You can discard this card from your hand to add one Iron Chain monster from your deck to your hand. You can only use each effect of Iron Chain Craftsman once per turn. Iron Chain Forge Field Spell When this card is activated; send 3 cards from the top of your opponent’s deck to your opponent’s graveyard and if 3 cards with the same original name were sent to the graveyard this way, send 15 more cards from the top of your opponent’s deck to your opponent’s graveyard. When you synchro summon an Iron Chain synchro monster; send 3 cards from the top of your opponent’s deck to your opponent’s graveyard and if you do send one Iron Chain monster from your deck to your graveyard. You can normal summon one Iron Chain monster in addition to your normal summon/set. You can only gain this effect of Iron Chain Forge once per turn. While you control an Iron Chain Synchro monster your opponent cannot activate monster effects from their graveyard. Iron Chain Wyvern Level 7 Earth Dragon Attack 2500 Defense 2000 Synchro Requires one Earth tuner and one or more non tuner Iron Chain monsters. You can banish one Iron Chain monster from your graveyard to send 3 cards from the top of your opponent’s deck to your opponent’s graveyard. During your opponent’s turn you can banish one monster from your opponent’s graveyard to tribute one monster your opponent controls then send the top card on your opponent’s deck to your opponent’s graveyard. Once per turn this card cannot be destroyed by card effects. You can only use each effect of Iron Chain Wyvern once per turn. Iron Chain Serpent Level 3 Earth Reptile Attack 800 Defense 800 Tuner During either player’s turn you can equip this card to one monster on the field. The equipped monster loses 800 attack and defense and gains the following effect. If your opponent controls an Iron Chain monster; negate this cards effects. When this card is normal summoned; target one of your banished Iron Chain monsters, special summon it. You can only use each effect of Iron Chain Serpent up to twice per turn. Iron Chain Construction Normal Spell Activate one of the following effects. Discard one card; add one Iron Chain tuner monster from your deck to your hand. Your opponent draws two cards. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to the activation and effects of Iron Chain Construction. You can only activate each effect of Iron Chain Construction once per turn. Iron Chain Thief Level 4 Earth Warrior Attack 1200 Defense 500 You can discard this card to add one Iron Chain spell card or one Poison Chain from your deck to your hand. A synchro monster that was synchro summoned using this card gains the following effects until the end of the your opponent’s next turn. Your opponent cannot special summon monsters from their graveyard while you control an Iron Chain Forge. When your opponent would take damage from an attack involving this card; you can send cards on the top of your opponent’s deck equal to the current number of Iron Chain monsters your control and in your graveyard + the current number of monsters in your opponent’s graveyard with different names. You can use each effect of Iron Chain Thief once per turn.

[@zentententen]

Two words of advice, Serpent would do nothing because when you equip your own monster it still goes to your backrow, see generic equip spells like axe of despair if attached to a opponent's monster. Secondly even in 2008 letting your opponent draw 2 off construction is unreasonably expensive, the card is a -1 in card advantage without factoring in the draw and the draw makes it a -3 which is a HUGE swing of advantage not in your favor, made worse by the fact most decks have that type of card in some way, see pendulum call as a random example off the top of my head which is neutral in advantage and still a discard, not to mention hand traps in this day and age-

[@SheruMuko]

@@zentententen You were reading the effects wrong. Serpent has an effect that is activate while it is equipped to a card and a summon effect that are separate. The draw two cards effect on Construction is just in case you need to get rid of another 2 or less cards if needed. I appreciate the advice but if you look at the context of the cards you will notice that what you read was just you misreading a card. I am sorry about the confusion that might have caused.

[@SheruMuko]

@@zentententen Construction let’s you choose an effect and the discard is the cost for only one of the effects by the way.

[@SheruMuko]

@@zentententen I also expected at least somebody to be a bit confused on Thief’s second effect.

[@SheruMuko]

@@zentententen I also did mention that it took me around 20 minutes to create those six cards. That includes the time it took for me to type the cards.

[@ducky36F]

I rememberflip flip flopping between running Iron Chain Dragon and not running Iron Chain Dragon in Disaster Dragons back in the day because I wanted to play Totem Dragon and didn't have any other options for a level 6 synchro 😂

[@tobydeanmartinevans2004]

Thanks for explaining

[@zigzagzoom369]

"Disjointed" is a really good way to put it. I always wanted to see a mill archetype work but this one just wasn't focused or cohesive at all

[@iBenjamin1000]

things this deck needs: a whole new set of cards. like...xx sabers to x sabers, or armed dragon thunder to armed dragon. heavy iron chains. molten iron chains. there's a lot of things that might make it kind of cool if you were allowed to just invent a whole new set of cards. Maybe they mill yourself to add cards, or special summon, or mill the opponent to get effects based on what card the opponent milled. I don't know if there's any way to add burn effects that would make it good in the deck. but swordsoul has a card that can just nick the opponent when it's summoned or something. another comment mentioned adding a level 2 tuner to actually make iron chain dragon. Make a retrain that like...mills cards and destroys cards based on how many iron chains you milled. or are in the gy. prevents your opponent's monsters from attacking. negates. maybe it's based on how many iron chains you control, if that does anything in the way of making it fair. special summon the original synchro when it dies. and the iron chain spellbook of judgment. Heavy Iron Chains of Judgment. add iron chain (cards? or a type of card) from deck based on how many times an iron chain milled. then add an iron chain monster with level equal or lower to number of cards you added to your hand by the previous effect. that might make it playable

[@BigZaddyYumYum]

If mill ever becomes a viable competitive deck ill be bathing in the tears of others

[@sacredcosmicsun8217]

If it ever becomes viable lightsworns are going to be a hard counter

[@BigZaddyYumYum]

@@sacredcosmicsun8217 shhh dont give then ideas

[@UwURainUwU]

I was today years old when I realized the paralyzing chain was only 300 fullstop.

[@nicklewry3854]

I dunno why, but I always really liked these guys. Tried to make something happen with them in Duel Links, but could never really do it

[@magnight767]

If iron chain blaster said once per a turn, destroy a monster equipped with an iron chain card, i could see how that could begin to be synergistic, cause even then it is still a little slow but it give flexible options and value.

[@LamesAMA]

I remember a Table 500 when MX Saber Invoker was legal that abused Repairman's soft OPT to make a kind of impressive(for Iron Chain) Firewall+Trigate negate board.

[@nosfonader8792]

I love using Iron Chain Dragon in Duel Links, it's deck out potential is there. Konami not making Iron Chain a deck out deck was a wasted opportunity I feel.

[@scraplords8497]

can you make a video about the Scrap archetype ?

[@magnight767]

Iron chain coil could be changed to, increase the level of a monster on the field by 1-3 and it would be a lot better with flexible level control. Maybe the chain deck could have been a deck that loves seeing higher level monster on your opponents field like a jailer, the jail holding a bigger monster.

[@jshtng78]

Konami should make some Iron Chain monster that can equip itself to an opposing monster (increasing its ATK by some insane amount as a drawback) and goes into the opponent's graveyard when the monster carrying it is removed from the field - then as long as this Iron Chain monster is inside the opponent's graveyard it completely prevents the activation of effects from that graveyard until it is removed by any means, which then returns it to its original owner's hand.

[@themrdeadlift]

I feel like I'm watching a pitch on sharktank before they say I'm out.

[@bradyscher7224]

Iron chain snake and a Kaiju could be nutty, crash the 2 level 10s together mill 10 off your opponent

[@bradyscher7224]

Damn it, now I gotta try and build Iron Chain

[@joshuahodson1933]

i really hope they release iron chain support, i thought it was a really cool idea for an archtype. And the prison warden in the show had a really cool deck

[@davidburke4101]

What idea did this archetype have? Nothing in the deck worked together at all. The cards may have looked cool, but there was never an idea. It was a deck for a throwaway villain that they for some reason printed.

[@mfznal-hafidz8592]

I like the way Iron chain is deck focusing to mill your opponent deck but also agressive unlike worm mill just set and hope your opponent hit it.

[@williamreinholdsson9965]

I think it would be cool if they had a continous/ field spell that allowed you to mill your opponent each time a iron Chain monster inflicts damage. That would allow a Link between the effect damage and mill instead of what they got, a spell that inflicts little damage on mill, thoughts?

[@JD-iu6rv]

These cards might not be good but the duel they were featured in the anime was just awesome