Burning Abyss " Burning Abyss " , known as " Afterlife " ( " Higan " ) in Japan , is one of two " TCG " exclusive archetype s that debuted in " Duelist Alliance " , alongside the " U . A . " archetype . Design . The archetype is based on , the first part of ' s 14th - century epic poem . Malebranche . The " Malebranche of the Burning Abyss " are named after the , the demons who guard the fifth Bolgia of ( the Eighth Circle of Hell ) , known for their ruthless cruelty and responsible for the punishment of corrupt politicians by holding them under a boiling lake of pitch . Their English names are truncations of the original Italian names of the Malebranche . Most of their Japanese names are the English names of the Malebranche used in ' translation of " Inferno " , although " Alich " , " Barbar " , and " Libic " use their original Italian names instead . They are all Level 3 DARK Fiend Effect Monsters . " Malacoda , Netherlord of the Burning Abyss " , as the leader of the " Malebranche " , instead uses the title " Netherlord of the Burning Abyss " ( he is still a member of the " Malebranche " in the source material ) . In English , unlike the " Malebranche of the Burning Abyss " , " Malacoda ' s " name exactly matches its original Italian name . In Japanese , its name is Sayers ' English name for the Malebranche as a whole , " Hellraker " ( Sayers translates " Malacoda " as " Belzecue " , which is not used in the card ' s name ) . It is a Level 6 DARK Fiend Ritual Monster . Playing style . So far , all Main Deck " Burning Abyss " monsters , with the exception of the Level 6 Ritual Monster " Malacoda " , are Level 3 DARK Fiend monsters , and share three effects : they are destroy ed if the player control s a monster other than a " Burning Abyss " monster , can be Special Summon ed from the hand if the player controls no Spell / Trap Card s , and have a unique effect that is activated when it is sent to the Graveyard ( except " Rubic , Malebranche of the Burning Abyss " , which instead is a Tuner monster ) . Use " Tour Guide From the Underworld " to search out any " Burning Abyss " monster or use " Crane Crane " to Summon them from the Graveyard . Their effects will be negated so they won ' t be destroyed by their own effect . This ensures that you can overlay into Rank 3 monsters like " Dante " . The archetype ' s swarm ing abilities make it a potent Rank 3 Xyz Deck . They can perform Rank 3 Xyz Summon s quickly while maintaining the player ' s hand advantage . Similar to " Lightsworn s " , this Deck type is all about getting monsters in the Graveyard for its effects , but its milling is far more controllable than with " Lightsworns " . This actually makes it potent with " Rank - Up - Magic Astral Force " as you would mill it easily . With the constant hand advantage , losing a draw doesn ' t hurt and it gives you access to toolbox cards . With the help of Libic , Tour Guide From the Underworld , and Fiendish Rhino Warrior you can set up Link summons , however this archetype has difficulty once you summon a non - Burning Abyss monster . As such , and due to the effectiveness of its in - archetype extra deck monsters , it is usually a good idea to refrain from using Links outside of finishers . Co - link dependent Link monsters , especially , should be avoided .