Mermail " Mermail " ( " Māmeiru " ) is an archetype of WATER Aqua , Fish and Sea Serpent monsters , used by Brooke Walker in the past , introduced in the " Abyss Rising " . These monsters are based on outfitted with armor , hence " mail " . They are intimately related to the " Abyss - " archetype , as they all belong to the archetype . Level 3 " Mermail " monsters are all female Aqua monsters , Level 4 " Mermail " monsters are all male Fish monsters and Level 7 " Mermail " monsters are all Sea Serpent monsters , except for the Aqua " Mermail Abyssbalaen " and " Mermail Abyssteus " . Each " Mermail " monster is based on a real life aquatic animal . The original three female " Mermail " monsters released in " Abyss Rising " , " Mermail Abysslinde " , " Mermail Abyssgunde " , and " Mermail Abysshilde " have names coming from the Rhinemaidens ( Woglinde , Wellgunde , Flosshilde ) in the German opera " ( The Ring of the Nibelung ) " by . The Level 7 " Mermail " monsters ( excluding " Mermail Abyssbalaen ) " , " Mermail Abyssmegalo " , " Mermail Abyssleed " and " Mermail Abyssteus " take inspiration from . The Xyz Monsters , " Mermail Abyssgaios " and " Mermail Abysstrite " take inspiration from . Playing style . Level 3 " Mermail " monsters all share a similar effect when they get sent to the Graveyard - they Special Summon another " Mermail " , letting them swarm the field . The Level 4 " Mermail " monsters can activate their effects when they are Normal or Special Summoned by discarding a WATER monster from your Hand , which will trigger the effect of the previous monster ' s effect , and the Level 4 monsters help to either search the Deck or Graveyard for a Level 3 WATER monster . The higher - Level " Mermails " can Special Summon themselves with relative - ease by sending other " Mermails " to the Graveyard , which will also trigger their effects . The " boss " monster of the archetype , " Mermail Abyssgaios " , is a powerful control card , with 2 effects that forces your opponent into a corner , either by preventing their most powerful monsters from attacking and / or by negating their weaker monsters ' effects . They have a small relation to the " Umi " series since one of their support cards , " Abyss - strom " , uses " Umi " for its effect . This is also evident in the new Field Spell introduced in their debut set of " Abyss Rising " ( which , name wise , partially refers to them as well ) whose effect treats it as " Umi . " The Field Spell , " Lemuria , the Forgotten City " , helps them Xyz for a higher Rank Xyz Monsters , and partially supports the Summoning of " Abyssgaios " . Combining the original " Umi " cards with these newer cards is not a good option since there are much better options available for this task which outclass the " Umi " cards . The " Umi " cards only have 1 connection in which they function properly , and their effects are generally weaker than those of the " Mermail " . Another possibility for a field spell is " Clear World " . It causes the user of a water monster to discard at the end of their phase , facilitating their effects while possibly hindering the other player . Swarming and Xyz Summon are thus their main style of play , and with all the recent support for WATER - attribute monsters , can do a decent job of Summoning Xyz Monsters . By utilizing support they can reach from Rank 3 ( " " and " Black Ray Lancer " ) to Rank 9 ( " " ) . With 2 " Mermail Abyssmegalo " and " Lemuria " they can make Rank 9 fairly easily . Rank 4 is accessible with just the Level 4 monsters themselves . Rank 5 is created with " Lemuria " and 2 Level 3 monsters , while 6 is reached with 2 Level 4 monsters and Lemuria . Rank 7 is reached plainly by 2 " Abyssmegalo " without help from " Lemuria " . Rank 8 is impossible without 3 Level 5 monsters , 4 Level 4 monsters or 5 Level 3 Monsters , all of which seem like a waste of cards to spend on what ' s currently available at this Rank . Another strategy is to lock the attacks and effects of strong opponent monsters with " Abyssgaios " , using his effect to negate the effect of face - up enemy monsters , as his effect can be activated in any player ' s turn . To Summon him , one can Special Summon " Abyssmegalo ' s " effect , and then adding " Abyss - sphere " to your hand , letting you Summon another " Abyssmegalo " in your next turn . This can also be done with " Mermail Abysslinde ' s " effect to Summon " Abyssmegalo " from your Deck . Using the effect of " Lemuria " and the swarming power of " Mermails " can help as well , needing 3 face - up Level 4 " Mermails " or 4 face - up Level 3 " Mermails " . " Abysslinde " is one of the Deck ' s most important Summoning cards . It acts as a " Mother Grizzly " for " Mermails " that also works upon being destroyed by card effects . " Mermails " also go hand - in - hand with the " Atlantean " archetype since their effects are activated when sent to the graveyard to activate a WATER monsters effect . By discarding " Atlantean Heavy Infantry " , " Atlantean Marksman " or " Atlantean Dragoons " , to activate the " Mermails " effects you can destroy a card on the field ( " Heavy Infantry " and " Marksman " ) or search your Deck for any Sea Serpent monster ( " Dragoons " ) , such as " Abyssmegalo " , while also gaining the " Mermail ' s " effects . Story . The " Mermails " used to peacefully live in their underwater city , " Lemuria " , and albeit good in the arts of fighting , they would rarely use this ability . However , sudden changes in the earth ' s crust made " Lemuria " rise above the ocean , leaving the " Mermails " homeless . In that moment , the Emperor of the " Atlantean " army , " Poseidra " , choose to let the " Mermails " live under his protection , but they would have to obey his orders . Using the great treasure of the " Mermails " , the Golden Ring , to control the weather , " Poseidra " ordered an all - out attack against their archenemies , the " Fire King s " . Unfortunately , “ Poseidra ’ s ” body was taken over by the king residing in the Ring . The king eliminated the “ Atlantean ” army with ease . It appears that “ Abysstrite ” sealed the Ring away because the advent of the king required a sacrifice . Weaknesses . " Thunder King Rai - Oh " and " Mistake " severely slows down this Deck theme as it halts all of the searching effects of " Mermail " monsters while also being a higher ATK than most of them as well . " Deck Lockdown " also works and stops Special Summoning from the Main Deck too , but can be more easily countered so it is more useful as an early disruption tactic and for Tribute - themed and / or Synchro / XYZ monster focused Decks that have no need to Special Summon from the Main Deck at all . " Debunk " , " Forbidden Graveyard " , " Necrovalley " , " The End of Anubis " and " Soul Drain " also halts many of the key monster effects of a " Mermail " Deck as well to slow it down , but it does not affect the Xyz Summon options available unlike " Thunder King Rai - Oh " . " Skill Drain " also affects the speed of this Deck and can assist in slowing it down too , but without " Debunk " or " Soul Drain " ( or other similar Graveyard negation effect cards ) their Graveyard activating effects are not affected and can result in its destruction . Banish effect cards can cause havoc on " Mermail " and " Mermail " / " Abyss - " Decks because they lose their Graveyard activating effects , so " Macro Cosmos " and " Dimensional Fissure " are worth consideration . It also can prevent " Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord " from being Summoned through a lack of WATER monsters in the Graveyard . " Bottomless Trap Hole " is also a good option for removing dangerous support , such as " Moulinglacia " , " Mermail Abyssmegalo " and " Mermail Abysslinde " . And while " King Tiger Wanghu " can disrupt a " Mermail " or " Mermail " / " Abyss - " Deck , its continuous destruction effect will trigger their own effects normally , so cautious use is required : " Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo " the " Vanity ' s " monsters , " Vanity ' s Emptiness " and " Jowgen the Spiritualist " may be a more effective option in countering " Mermails " . One major problem a " Mermail " user might face is " over - extending " . Because so many " Mermail " effects rely on discarding or being discarded , a Duelist using the archetype might spend all but a couple of cards in their hand on swarming the field with monsters . Despite the many searchers of the archetype , a player might exhaust all of the options they built with a large hand and fall victim to a well - timed " Gorz the Emissary of Darkness " .