Beginner's Guide To Masked Heroes
Masked Heroes are a relatively linear deck that focuses on summoning and protecting Masked Hero Dark Law, an anti-meta like card that can stop your opponent dead in their tracks. While its primary focus is on Dark Law, the deck is able to summon strong Masked Hero Fusions like Masked Hero Acid and Masked Hero Anki, as well as summon powerful Rank 4 Exceed monsters.
While Masked Heroes exist in the TCG, they are much stronger in the OCG thanks to the unbanning of Elemental Hero Stratos, Monster Reborn, Solemn Judgment, and Shock Master. Take a look at the TCG version of Masked Heroes here.
Let's take a look at the Masked Hero monsters used first.
The Masked Hero deck revolves around Mask Change, which allows you to go into powerful Masked Hero monsters like
Dark Law, Acid, and Anki.
While it cost can be extremely hefty, its undoubtedly worth it. A Hero Lives single-handedly sets up your deck by Special Summoning Shadow Mist, which in turn adds a Mask Change to your hand. The Mask Change can be activated on your
opponent's turn, effectively adding Stratos to your hand for you to use on your next turn.
An amazing card that searches any Hero monster, Stratos adds so much for this deck. It can be Special Summoned
through A Hero Lives to Search for Shadow Mist to be Special Summoned through Goblindbergh or Tin Goldfish and
can be searched through Shadow Mist's effect. Its second effect is also relevant in that it can be used to clear any
problem Spell or Trap cards your opponent may have.
It can also use its first effect to add Bubbleman to your hand for a quick Rank 4 play.
Acid is brought out with Mask Change and Bubbleman. His effect to destroy all Spell and Trap Cards your opponent
controls is extremely useful against Pendulum decks and other Trap heavy decks.
Masked Hero Acid
Level 8 WATER Warrior Fusion
ATK: 2600
DEF: 2100
(1) Must be Special Summoned with "Mask Change" and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways.
(2) When this card is Special Summoned: Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards your opponent controls, and if you do,
all monsters they control lose 300 ATK.
Anki is brought out with Mask Change and either Shadow Mist or Dark Law. He is primarily brought out with Mask
Change and Dark Law in order to attack your opponent for game however his third effect is very useful as well. Anki
is also brought out often when your opponent would try to destroy or get rid of Dark Law through cards like
Bottomless Trap Hole or Compulsory Evacuation Device, in which you can chain Mask Change to Special Summon
Anki and render the opponent's Trap useless.
Masked Hero Anki
Level 8 DARK Warrior Fusion
ATK: 2800
DEF: 1200
(1) Must be Special Summoned with "Mask Change" and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways.
(2) This card can attack your opponent directly, but when it does so using this effect, the battle damage inflicted
to your opponent is halved.
(3) When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: You can add 1 "Change"
Quick-Play Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Masked Hero Anki" once per turn.
Dark Law is brought out with Mask Change and Shadow Mist. Dark Law's second and third effect hinder every
top deck in the OCG. While not all decks may be reliant on their Graveyard, all top decks add cards from their
Deck to their hand, and that is where Dark Law shines. Dark Law can effectively force your opponent to end their
turn if you banish a crucial card from their hand.
The Masked Heroes
Masked Hero Dark Law
Level 6 DARK Warrior Fusion
ATK: 2400
DEF: 1800
(1) Must be Special Summoned with "Mask Change" and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways.
(2) Any card sent to your opponent's Graveyard is banished instead.
(3) Once per turn, if your opponent adds a card(s) from their Deck to their hand (except during the Draw Phase
or the Damage Step): You can banish 1 random card from your opponent's hand.
The Main Deck Monsters:
Elemental Hero Stratos
Level 4 WIND Warrior
ATK: 1800
DEF: 300
When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can activate 1 of these effects;
(1) You can destroy Spell/Trap Cards on the field, up to the number of other "Hero" monsters you control.
(2) Add 1 "Hero" monster from your Deck to your hand.
Elemental Hero Shadow Mist
Level 4 DARK Warrior
ATK: 1000
DEF: 1500
(1) If this card is Special summoned: You can add 1 "Change" Quick-Play Spell Card from your Deck to your hand.
(2) If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can add 1 "Hero" monster from your Deck to your hand, except
"Elemental Hero Shadow Mist".
(3) You can only use 1 "Elemental Hero Shadow Mist" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Shadow Mist is the reason why this deck exists, as she adds Mask Change to your hand to facilitate going into
Masked Hero Dark Law. Her first effect is used to add Mask Change to hand, while her second effect will be used
to add either Stratos or Elemental Hero Bubbleman to your hand.
Note: in order to get the most value out of Shadow Mist, don't activate the added Mask Change on Shadow Mist
the turn you Special Summon Shadow Mist. Instead, wait until your opponents turn and chain Mask Change to
your opponent's searching card effect in order to not only Banish a card with Dark Law, but also add a Hero
monster to your hand with Shadow Mist's second effect.
Elemental Hero Bubbleman
Level 4 WATER Warrior
ATK: 800
DEF: 1200
(1) If this is the only card in your hand, you can Special Summon it (from your hand).
(2) When this card is Special Summoned: You can draw 2 cards. You must control no cards in your hand to
activate and to resolve this effect.
While it's very unlikely that you will ever get his second effect off, Bubbleman is great at facilitating Rank 4 plays.
Being a WATER-Type allows him to go into Masked Hero Acid with Mask Change to blow up all of your opponent's
Spells and Traps on the field.
Goblindbergh
Level 4 EARTH Warrior
ATK: 1400
DEF: 0
(1) When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your had, then
change this card to Defense Position if you had activated this effect.
Tin Goldfish plays the same role as Goblindbergh in Special Summoning Shadow Mist from the hand in order to add Mask Change from the Deck to hand. However Tin Goldfish is not a Warrior, meaning that there is no way for this deck to search it.
The Spells
Mask Change
Target 1 face-up "Hero" monster you control; send it to the Graveyard. Then Special Summon 1 "Masked Hero" monster from the Extra Deck with the same Attribute.
Goblindbergh is used to Special Summon Shadow Mist from your hand in order to get her effect to add a Mask Change
from your Deck to hand. He is a Warrior, meaning that he can be searched with Reinforcement Of The Army.
Tin Goldfish
Level 4 WATER Machine
ATK: 800
DEF: 2000
(1) When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 monster from your hand.
A Hero Lives
When you control no face-up monsters: Pay half your Life Points; Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Elemental Hero"
monster from your Deck.
E - Emergency Call
Add 1 "Elemental Hero" monster from your Deck to your hand.
Emergency Call allows you to add any Hero monster from your Deck to your hand and is often used to search Shadow Mist
when you have a Goblindbergh or Tin Goldfish in your hand.
Extra Deck
Besides the Masked Hero Fusion monsters listed below, Masked Heroes utilize a standard Rank 4 Extra Deck.
Tips And Plays
Masked Heroes are very linear and as such there are not many combos involved in this deck. The deck focuses on bringing out Dark Law, Shock Master, or Cyber Dragon Infinity by turn one.
Elemental Hero Stratos + Reinforcement Of The Army/ E - Emergency Call = 3 Material Rank 4 Exceed Monster
If you have no other monsters in your hand, summon Stratos and add Bubbleman to your hand. Set all your Spells and Trap cards. Special Summon Bubbleman from your hand. Activate your set Reinforcement Of The Army/ E - Emergency Call to add Bubbleman from your Deck. Special Summon Bubbleman and then Exceed into a 3 Material Rank 4 Exceed Monster.
Remember that Stratos's second effect can act as a Mystical Space Typhoon/ Harpie's Feather Duster and is often a good target for Call Of The Haunted during your opponent's End Phase, or in response to them placing a Pendulum card into their Pendulum Zone.
In order to get the most value out of Shadow Mist, do not Special Summon her and activate Mask Change on her during the same turn. Instead, activate the Mask Change during your opponent's turn in order to get the sent to Graveyard search effect of Shadow Mist.