Gem - Knight " Gem - Knight " ( ジェムナイト " Jemunaito " ) is an archetype that was released in " Duel Terminal - Vylon Descends ! ! " . They are used by Julia Krystal in the " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ARC - V " anime . Their team symbol is a jewel droplet adorned with gold trim and two small , arced points . Its color varies according to the monster or object to which it is attached . All " Gem - Knights " are EARTH , whereas their Type varies between Pyro , Thunder , Aqua , or Rock ( with one Fairy as an exception ) , in keeping with the cardinal elements : fire , wind , water and earth , respectively . " Gem - Knights " are further subdivided into trios : each Type includes a Normal member , a Gemini member , and a Fusion member . All members of this archetype are named after different minerals . Aesthetically , they appear to be a synthesis of Jesse Anderson ' s " Crystal Beast s " and Jaden Yuki ' s " Elemental HERO " cards , possibly as an homage to their friendship in the anime . This is evidenced in cards such as " Gem - Knight Fusion " , whose artwork is clearly a merging of " Crystal Release " and " Miracle Fusion " . While the four " Gem - Knight " Normal Monsters are shown to be unarmed , the ten Fusion Monsters wield weapons befitting their stats and effects ( or lack thereof ) : " Gem - Knight Aquamarine " uses a bladed shield ; " Gem - Knight Ruby " uses a polearm ; " Gem - Knight Topaz " uses twin - bladed tonfa ; " Gem - Knight Amethyst " carries a shield and what is either a wand or a slim blade ; " Gem - Knight Citrine " uses a fire sword , and " Gem - Knight Prismaura " wields a lance and shield . " Gem - Knight Zirconia , " on the other hand , is equipped with gigantic fists seemingly to compensate for its lack of effect , " Gem - Knight Seraphinite " uses a saber , and " Gem - Knight Master Diamond " uses a broadsword embedded with gems . " Gem - Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli " , which deals effect damage , is depicted without any weapon . " Gem - Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond " uses a simple sword . " Gem - Knight " is the first and , so far , only archetype to boast six " Polymerization " - styled cards : " Gem - Knight Fusion " , " Particle Fusion " , " Pyroxene Fusion " , " Fragment Fusion " , " Absorb Fusion " , and " Brilliant Fusion " . Regardless , " Gem Knights " are capable of rapidly Summoning Fusion Monsters with a mere " Gem - Knight Fusion " as its ability grants the user to repeatedly return itself to the owner ' s hand at the cost of banishing 1 " Gem - Knight " Monster , and with the assistance of " Gem - Knight Obsidian " and " Gem - Knight Lazuli " the user is allowed to recycle " Gem - Knight " Normal Monsters . As a result , the player can Fusion Summon several times from their Extra Deck during the same turn . Story . A group of warriors endowed with the power of minerals , the " Gem - Knights " value honor above all else and disapprove of battle for the sake of battle . At the provocation of the barbaric " Laval " , however , they are forced to take up arms and protect the clans from their wanton destruction . However , the " Steelswarm " begin to invade the surface land , intending to take over . The Gem - Knights join up with the other clans in a temporary union spearheaded by the " Vylon s " . Along the way , they obtain new powers with which to resist the " Steelswarm " . Although the " Steelswarm " are quickly dispatched , conflict is far from over . The " Vylons " decide to exterminate the clans in order to prevent future wars . The clans once more band together in order to halt the " Vylon " , but it is the collaboration between the " Gem - Knights " and " Gishki " to whom credit for their eventual victory goes : " Gem - Knight Pearl " is the downfall of the " Vylon " . After the " Vylons " are driven back , the alliances between clans once again dissolve . The " Gishki " immediately resume their invasion of " Mist Valley " , which had been their main objective pre - " Steelswarm " . In order to obtain resources from the Valley , the " Gishki " enact a genocide on the " Gusto " . The Gem - Knights intervene to rescue the remaining " Gusto " . When the " lswarm " virus begins to spread across the Duel Terminal world , the Gem - Knights join the " Gusto " in a prayer for the " Constellar , " a legendary band of divine warriors , to aid them . The " Constellar " may not be strong enough to resist the " lswarm " army alone , as the " Gishki " clan falls to the virus . Knowing this , the " Gem - Knights " fuse into the most powerful Gem - Knight . " Cairngorgon , Antiluminescent Knight " appears to be a corrupted combination ( probably by the " lswarm " virus ) of " Gem - Knight Crystal " , with parts of " Gem - Knight Zirconia " ( right arm and left leg ) , " Gem - Knight Master Diamond " ( left arm and right leg ) , and " Gem - Knight Prismaura " ( damaged head ) . Playing style . The " Gem - Knight " employs rapid Fusion Beatdown strategy ( similar to " Elemental HERO " monsters ) , accomplished with the use the archetype ' s six Fusion Spells / Traps and a wide array of recycling effects . The " Gem - Knight " Normal Monsters benefit from most Normal Monster support cards , as well as " Gem - Merchant " , whose effect resembles that of " Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow " . " Gem - Knight Alexandrite " and " Gem - Armadillo " provide excellent search power to facilitate this strategy . The archetype ' s key card is " Gem - Knight Fusion " , which , apart from granting access to its vast arsenal of powerful Fusions , can return itself to the hand at the price of a " Gem - Knight " banished from the Graveyard . Discard effects can come in handy : cards such as " Phoenix Wing Wind Blast " can remove threats from the field , while also loading the Graveyard to pay this cost . " D . D . R . - Different Dimension Reincarnation " and " Chaos Zone " can re - Summon the " Gem - Knights " banished via " Gem - Knight Fusion " , essentially rendering the cost moot and restocking the hand with materials for another Fusion Summon . Since you can Fusion Summon Gem - Knights using other Gem - Knight Fusion monsters , a Gem - Knight deck can use the effects of Amethyst and Aquamarine to eliminate troublesome Trap Cards and return monsters to the hand , making the field safer for cards like Gem - Knight Prismaura , Gem - Knight Citrine , and Gem - Knight Ruby . Pairing " Gem - Knight Master Diamond " with the Field Spell " Catapult Zone " is also a good tactic . As the effect of " Master Diamond " allows it to gain 100 ATK with every " Gem - Knight " in the Graveyard , it ' s prevented from getting destroyed by battle once per turn and send one Rock - Type from the Deck to the Graveyard instead . By feeding in cards such as " Gem - Knight Lazuli " , it ' s ATK will steadily rise over 3000 , which causes it to become less vulnerable and it can come in handy when dealing with cards such as " Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis " . The release of both Xyz Monster s and " Rescue Rabbit " give " Gem - Knights " another welcome boost . " Rescue Rabbit " can bring out the materials for any " Gem - Knight " Fusion Monsters ( or even Xyz Summoning " Gem - Knight Pearl " ) , and the effect of " Gem - Knight Amber " can return a banished " Rabbit " to the hand for further usage . Weaknesses . Despite its speed and flexibility , " Gem - Knights " are not without weaknesses . Like the " Evil HERO " series , which relies on " Dark Fusion " and " Dark Calling " , the " Gem - Knights " depends upon their " Gem - Knight Fusion " for their usual repeated Fusion Summons ( unless other Fusion Spell / Traps like " Pyroxene Fusion " also included ) . One of the most effective ways to cripple it is to activate a card like " Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell " or " Armageddon Designator " ( the latter if your opponent also just so happens to be using " Gem - Knights " too ) , which can render it unusable for the rest of the Duel . " Non - Fusion Area " can also damage its play - style , blocking all attempts at Fusion Summoning , leaving the Deck at a severe disadvantage ( plus " Anti - Fusion Device " and " Steelswarm Sting " can expunge Fusions on the field ) . " Torrential Tribute " and " Needle Ceiling " , if activated at the right time , can also knock the " Gem - Knight " player off balance . Fortunately , " Seven Tools of the Bandit " or " Royal Decree " can be reliable answers for those threats but not for cards like " Dark Hole " , " Lightning Vortex " or even " 4 - Starred Ladybug of Doom " ( all non - Fusion " Gem - Knights " and some of their support are Level 4 , ) which will involve varying stratagems to counteract against ( i . e . " Dark Bribe " and " Royal Command " ) . It is also for this reason that " Monarch " decks can easily defeat " Gem - Knights " ; by locking down their Extra Deck with " Domain of the True Monarchs " , " Gem - Knights " effectively lose , being robbed of their most powerful cards . A more typical concern would be anti - Special Summoning cards such as " Archlord Kristya " , which are not as easily dealt with once on the field . Due to the Gemini Monster portion of the archetype , however , support like " Gemini Spark " can be used to handle threats of this nature . The same applies for cards like " Macro Cosmos " or " Dimensional Fissure , " so that they will not disrupt the stream of Fusions . Cards such as " Mist Wurm " , " Byser Shock " , " Guardian Sphinx " " Compulsory Evacuation Device " , " Compulsory Escape Device " and " Neo - Spacian Grand Mole " can also get rid of your " Gem - Knights " Fusion Monsters ( especially useful for dispatching " Gem - Knight Aquamarine " and " Gem - Knight Amethyst " ) . " Effect Veiler " or " Divine Wrath " are readily available responses . Occasionally , a " Gem - Knight " player ' s hand may clog up with Normal Monsters in a moment where " Gem - Knight Fusion " is nowhere to be found . This condition can be even worse if " Rescue Rabbit " also included in the mix , since " Rabbit " can only Special Summon those Normal Monsters from the Deck . " Gem - Turtle " can sometimes provide a remedy , as it retrieves a copy from the Deck and places it in the hand , but some players consider it dangerously slow in a fast - paced meta . Unfortunately , there is no guaranteed alternative available yet to solve this problem ( " Pot of Duality " can be used , but not only will it suspend Fusion Summoning for a turn , but it also may not work as intended ) . Proper Deck Thinning cards can be used to increase the odds of drawing the correct cards ; " Thunder Dragon " and " Volcanic Shell " are prime candidates for this role . If one or both are utilized , consider focusing the Deck around " Gem - Knight Prismaura " and " Gem - Knight Citrine , " since " Thunder Dragon " and " Volcanic Shell " are Thunder - Type and Pyro - Type , listed as materials on the above - mentioned cards , respectively . Another strategy in this vein is using " Lavalval Chain " to put " Gem - Knight Fusion " in the Graveyard . " Summoner Monk " can quickly put " Lavalval Chain " on the field at the cost of a Spell Card , but be warned : it is susceptible to cards such as " Effect Veiler " , " Bottomless Trap Hole " and " Solemn Warning . " Most " Gem - Knight " Decks that utilize either " Gem - Knight Alexandrite " or " Rescue Rabbit " are also susceptible to " Mirror of Oaths " , resulting a possibly loss of momentum . " Skill Drain " can also dangerous , since it will disable most in - field " Gem - Knight " Fusion Monster ' s effect such as " Citrine " , " Prismaura " or " Gem - Knight Seraphinite " . Cards like " Naturia Beast " , " Naturia Exterio " and " Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 " also pose a serious threat , since they can stop " Gem - Knight Fusion " from working no matter how many times it is returned to the hand . Finally , " Gem - Knights " alone have no way of bouncing back into play once they ' re banish ed , making " Macro " Decks a mismatch for them . The introduction of the Extra Monster Zone severely weakens the Deck ' s ability to Fusion Summon multiple " Gem - Knights " at once , though the introduction of Gem - Knight Phantom Quartz does somewhat mitigate this .