Archfiend " Archfiend " , known as " Daemon " ( Japanese : デーモン " Dēmon " ) in the " OCG " , is one of the very first archetype s . Members appear in a myriad of sets due to the string required for inclusion being a simple word in Japanese . While many Duelist s use " Archfiend " cards in the anime and manga as a result , only Titan runs a dedicated " Archfiend " Deck . The majority of the monsters in this archetype are DARK Fiend monsters , but there are many monsters of other Attribute s and Type s . The " Red Dragon Archfiend " archetype is a sub - archetype of the " Archfiend " archetype . Naming . According to the Upper Deck Entertainment website , " " Archfiends are a special category of card . Most " Archfiend " cards can be easily identified by their name . Any card with " Archfiend " in the card name is an " Archfiend . " " This category was officially introduced with the release of " Dark Crisis " , as a way to standardize the English translation of " OCG " card names containing " Daemon " 「 デーモン 」 . Some non - " Archfiend " cards have it spelled " Demon " ; for example , the Japanese name of " Regenerating Rose " , 「 スプリット ・ ・ ローズ 」 translates to " Split Demon Rose " , but " Demon " is spelled 「 デモン 」 , so it is not an " Archfiend " card . Some monsters have Japanese names with " Demon " as a possible translation . Arguably , this was the first attempt by the creators of " Yu - Gi - Oh ! " to establish an archetype , and set a standard by which archetypes would be defined thereafter . Since some Japanese cards with names containing " Daemon " 「 デーモン 」 had already been released in the " TCG " , they were retroactively classified as " Archfiend " cards , although their official names were left unchanged . These are : Starting with " Axe of Despair " in " " , later prints of these cards in the " TCG " now use archetype condition s in their card text to classify them as " Archfiend " cards . With the release of " " , all of these cards have archetype conditions classifying them as " Archfiend " cards . In Portuguese , " Archfiend Soldier " also has an archetype condition classifying it as an " Archfiend " card , although this wasn ' t added until it was reprinted in " 2 - Player Starter Deck Yuya & Declan " . " A Deal with Dark Ruler " was not included on the original list of " Archfiend " cards that do not have " Archfiend " in their English names on the Upper Deck Entertainment website , as it had virtually no mechanical impact at the time . However , due to later " Archfiend " support it became mechanically significant , so it was given the archetype condition along with the other cards . Themes . The first members introduced after " Archfiend " became an archetype ( except for " Archfiend Soldier " ) are chess - themed , all being named after chess pieces and featuring a chessboard pattern as the background of their artwork . Since then , other " Archfiends " have been released which lack the chess motifs . In general , they possess demonic and gruesome features , some even going so far as to have physiques featuring bones and sinew reminiscent of their original representative , " Summoned Skull " . Since " Archfiends " have seen many years of release , the archetype has varying appearance themes which change over time . The original unorganized " Archfiends " were generally bony and " horror " themed ( " Summoned Skull " , " Axe of Despair " , " Lesser Fiend " , etc . ) . At this point in time , they were not related other than sharing a word in their Japanese names . Since archetypes were not yet officially part of the game , these early cards were not initially translated as members of a group . The first archetype - oriented " Archfiends " appeared in " Dark Crisis " and were chess - themed , each featuring a dice roll - conditional negation of effects that target them ( " Terrorking Archfiend " , " Vilepawn Archfiend " , etc . ) . These " Archfiends " all had appearances that very closely resembled contortions or variations on " Summoned Skull " . This series was the longest - lasting period for the " Archfiends " , and provided them with most of their Spell / Trap support , including their first Field Spell , " Pandemonium " , and ended with the release of " Imprisoned Queen Archfiend " . The next wave of " Archfiends " appeared in the 5D ' s period , and had a sports theme ( " Archfiend Interceptor " , " Lancer Archfiend " , " Mad Archfiend " ) , and for the first time since " B . Skull Dragon " and " Fiend Skull Dragon " , featured a Dragon - Type member : " Red Dragon Archfiend " . This series had no general effect theme or visual appearance ( though skulls featured prominently in several of their artworks ) , but represented a move away from the " bone and sinew " style of the chess " Archfiends " . The most recent series of " Archfiends " began in the " TCG " in " Starstrike Blast " , beginning with the North American release of " Archfiend Empress " . These Archfiends bore little resemblance to the original chess Archfiends , having generally purple color schemes , a metallic appearance , and an imperial theme , similar to the " Fabled " monsters . " Judgement of the Light " introduced the archetype ' s second Field Spell , " Archfiend Palabyrinth " , and the 3000 ATK " Archfiend Emperor , the First Lord of Horror " . This support continued in the North American release of " Shadow Specters " with the release of " Archfiend Giant " which continued with the global release of " Archfiend Eccentrick " in " Clash of Rebellions " along side the first " Archfiend " Gemini monster " Red - Eyes Archfiend of Lightning " and the retrained version of their first ever fusion " Archfiend Black Skull Dragon " . Deck . Building a Deck around the " Chess Archfiends " is tricky since they require your Life Points as payment and paying is not optional . As a result , your Life Points will be drained very quickly , especially since you must worry about further Life Point drain through battle damage from your opponent . Most " Archfiends " do not have enough attack power to hold their ground . Their most useful ability is negating an opponent ' s effect that targets them by a roll of the dice . However , this is not a reliable defense , and only two of the cards have a 50 % chance of negation ( although one of them , " Darkbishop Archfiend " , works for any of your Archfiends , including the ones that have their own protection ) , whereas most have a 16 . 5 % chance , and a couple have a 33 % chance . A Deck built around these cards is difficult to play and does not ensure victory . " Archfiend " Decks rely on heavy support , so try to activate " Pandemonium " as soon as possible , including " Terraforming " and / or " Archfiend General " in the Deck to get it out faster . To help an " Archfiend " Deck run smoothly , it is often advisable to use " Dark Necrofear " or " Plaguespreader Zombie " to get a quick defense if you ' re in a tight spot . It is highly advisable to make good use of " Archfiends " that don ' t sap your Life Points but still offer good attack or defense , like " Archfiend Soldier " and " Archfiend of Gilfer " . If trying to go for " Chess Archfiend " Deck for novelty ' s sake , then it is advantageous to make it general Fiend - themed Deck , adding Fiend support card like " Goblin King " . Take advantage of the high ATK of most " Archfiends " , namely " Shadowknight Archfiend " , " Archfiend Soldier " and " Terrorking Archfiend " . " Archfiends " are one of the few archetypes with an abundance of high ATK non - tributers in the game ; " Stygian Street Patrol " is an excellent card and can help avoid the Summoning problems usually related to " Terrorking Archfiend " . " Summoned Skull " and its retrained counterpart can provide late - game power , as well as receive a considerable boost when used in conjunction with " Axe of Despair " or " United We Stand " . If you can weather the Life Point payments , you may be able to destroy your opponent under a barrage of massive attacks . Piercing cards such as " Big Bang Shot " and " Fairy Meteor Crush " can further the punishment , while the " Archfiend ' s " own innate immunities can provide some defense . One potential strategy is to use " Foolish Burial s " and " Armageddon Knight s " to put at least two " Imprisoned Queen Archfiend s " in the Graveyard to give " Terrorking Archfiend " 4000 ATK , then banish an " Evil Hero Infernal Gainer " so " Terrorking Archfiend " can attack twice , then play " Checkmate " to allow it to attack directly for a OTK . " Masked Chameleon " can also be used with " Archfiend Heiress " , " Archfiend Cavalry " or " Mist Archfiend " to go into a Level 7 , Level 8 or Level 9 Synchro Monster , respectively . " Masked Chameleon " can also be used with " Archfiend Cavalry " for a Rank 4 Xyz Monster . " Archfiends " are Beatdown Decks that don ' t rely on Special Summoning , so cards like " Vanity ' s Fiend " and " Barrier Statue of the Abyss " are great compliments to fend - off Synchros and higher - level monsters . On the other hand , it is very possible to go to the opposite and abuse Special Summoning , both from the Graveyard and the Deck , with cards such as " Archfiend ' s Roar " , " Stygian Street Patrol " , and " Call of the Haunted " , along with Synchro Summoning higher level Archfiends or fiends to weather down the opponent , such as " Thought Ruler Archfiend " , " Chaos King Archfiend " , or even " Stygian Sergeants " , and very strong monsters that fit with the general Archfiend theme such as " Darkness Neosphere " . As an added bonus , the Synchro Archfiends do not require Life Point payment and in case of destruction , " Pandemonium " allows to search the Deck for virtually any other " Archfiend " to take to the hand . You can also use the " Resonator s " to incorporate Synchros and " Power Tool Dragon " as a means of searching " Falling Down " .