Shaddoll " Shaddoll " ( シャドール " Shadōru " ) is an archetype comprised primarily of DARK monsters that debuted in " Duelist Alliance " . Their focus is the Fusion Summon of the more powerful " El Shaddoll " monsters , which restrict or punish Special Summons . The Main Deck " Shaddoll " monsters all have Flip Effect s that focus on searching and field advantage , as well as secondary effects that focus on regaining advantage whenever they are sent to the Graveyard by a card effect . Design . Appearance . The " Shaddoll " cards appear to be darker puppet versions of cards from other archetypes in the " Duel Terminal " world , with their threads coming from the back of " El Shaddoll Construct " . Etymology . " Shaddoll " is a portmanteau of the words " " shadow " " and " " doll " " . " El Shaddoll " is a play on " " " " , one of the Judaic names of God . Story . In the abyss of this world , there is a certain something called the " Shaddoll Core " ( The Primordial " Core " of Shadow - Possession ) which gives birth to shadows that absorb light , the " Shaddoll " . " El Shaddoll Construct " uses these shadow strings to control the manifested shadows , and with this to extend its influence and power . . . Playing style . For the " Shaddoll " Effect Monsters activating their Graveyard effects is the quickest way of gaining advantage , especially " Shaddoll Beast " who is usually the first to be sent off of " Shaddoll Fusion " or " Sinister Shadow Games " ; with " Shaddoll Falco " soon to follow . And lastly , " Shaddoll Squamata " and " Shaddoll Hedgehog " are best for searching the other two or left be until they are Drawn as the 1st basically acts as any " Shaddoll " when sent and the second usually searches the other of the first two . A quick but important note on the effect of " Squamata " is it can be used to send even " Shaddoll " Spell and Trap cards , this is only important for " Shaddoll Core " who will recover another " Shaddoll " Spell or Trap from the Graveyard . Previously " Shaddoll " Monsters were run with a LIGHT engine ( notable cards in Recommended ) . Nowadays " Shaddolls " can be run as support with the " Railway " series with " Shekhinaga " ( usually with " Kaiju " ) , " Prediction Princess " for Flip Effect support or the newer " Invoked " Fusion archetype Although the main focus of this archetype is Fusion Summoning of " El Shaddoll Winda " , " Shekhinaga " ( with " Mathematician " ) and " Construct " ( til it was banned ) , the Level 4 " Shaddoll " monsters are the most disruptive on the Field , namely " Shaddoll Dragon " , who bounces cards when flipped face - up and " Shaddoll Squamata " , who destroy s a monster . At this archetype ' s unrestricted phase it also had " Super Polymerization " and " Soul Charge " Spell Cards at 3 and ran " Arcanite Magician " ( " Winda " + " Falco " ) and " Leo , the Keeper of the Sacred Tree " ( " Construct " + " Falco " ) as the Lion was hard for some archetypes to get over . All " Shaddoll " Main Deck monsters monsters can only use one of their effects per turn , and only once that turn , so players are advised discretion and to plan ahead . The Flip effect of " Shaddoll Falco " is ideally activated at the End Phase of the opposing turn by " Sinister Shadow Games " or for reuse by the effect of " Purushaddoll Aeon " to avoid negation . Lastly , " El Shaddoll Fusion " has some similar timings to the two Trap cards as well . One can also take profit of their effects by using them as Fusion Material for the ace cards of the Deck : the " El Shaddoll " Fusion monsters . Since using " Shaddoll Fusion " or " El Shaddoll Fusion " involves sending " Shaddoll " monsters to the Graveyard " by a card effect " , their effects can be activated as soon as one attempts to Fusion Summon them , creating even more advantage . One can also use " Curse of the Shadow Prison " to not only weaken the opponent ' s monsters but also use their monsters as Fusion Materials . The " Shaddoll " Link Monster , " Shaddoll Construct " , is primarily intended to be Summoned to the Main Monster Zone via its revival effect . Its first effect can free up the Extra Monster Zone via using itself as Fusion Material , while its revival effect can trigger the effects of other " Shaddoll " monsters ( though its Link Summon will not ) , and frees up to three zones for Extra Deck Summons . The aforementioned " El Shaddoll " monsters rely on anti - supporting Special Summons , either by restricting them , negating them , destroying Special Summoned monsters in battle or destroying those ones who dare to activate their effects ; also , some of them send 1 " Shaddoll " card from your hand to the Graveyard at their effect ' s resolution , which can trigger the effect of the sent monster . Finally , they can recycle the " Shaddoll " Spell / Trap cards as long as they are sent to the Graveyard , so even if they are destroyed during or after their Summoning they can still re - add cards like " Shaddoll Fusion " to set up a Fusion Summon the next turn . The " El Shaddoll " monsters follow a pattern of requiring " " 1 " Shaddoll " monster + 1 [ corresponding Attribute ] monster " " as Fusion Materials , and their effects become more aggressive as their Levels increase : Due to the requirements for the Fusion Summons , cards like " Shaddoll Core " and " Nephe Shaddoll Fusion " , can be used to either substitute any Attribute or to turn a " Shaddoll " monster into one declared Attribute . One can also use cards like " Curse of the Shadow Prison " in order to use opposing monsters to Fusion Summon them . Recommended cards . Lightsworn . A powerful " Shaddoll " variant that uses " Reinforcement of the Army " to recruit " Raiden , Hand of the Lightsworn " monster to mill a few " Shaddoll " cards or " Elemental HERO Blazeman " to search for " Polymerization " . Weaknesses . Since the Deck basically relies on sending the " Shaddoll " monsters to the Graveyard in order to trigger their effects , or flipping them face - up , cards like " Soul Drain " , " Royal Command " , " Abyss Dweller " , " Armades , Keeper of Boundaries " , " Majesty ' s Fiend " , " Archfiend Black Skull Dragon " , and " Gem - Knight Citrine " can be simple and effective . Additionally , one can also use cards that banish or return the Fusion Monsters to the Extra Deck to avoid the retriever effect . Due to cards like " El Shaddoll Winda " , cards that can do this without the need to special summon , such as " Compulsory Evacuation Device " , " Phoenix Wing Wind Blast , " and " Karma Cut , " are recommended . The variety of Type s and Attributes also makes the Fusion Monsters vulnerable to floodgate cards like " Rivalry of Warlords " and " Gozen Match " . " Skill Drain " is also a viable solution as it counters the anti - Special Summoning effects of the " Shaddoll " Fusion Monsters . This makes certain Decks that can use " Skill Drain " able to effectively bypass the " Shaddoll " Deck ' s threats . Examples of such Decks include " Qli " , " Malefic " , " Dark World " , " Scrap " , " Archfiend " , " Yang Zing " and " Zombie " . As the archetype is primarily comprised of DARK Attribute monsters , " Shadow - Imprisoning Mirror " and " Stellarknight Constellar Diamond " can stop them from activating their Flip and Graveyard effects .