Nekroz " Nekroz " ( " Nekurosu " ) is a Ritual Summon - based archetype comprised primarily of WATER monsters that debuted in " " with further support in " Secrets of Eternity " . Lore . " They ' re a clan that perfected magical rituals to weave the power of legendary monsters into armors via a magical mirror , and clad themselves into them . This power allows them to even control the power of the " Ice Barrier Dragon s " . " Background . Presumably , after the end of war against Sophia and the ascension of Sombre and Kerykeion , Avance ( who has grown into Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz ) and Emilia ( who has grown into Dance Princess of the Nekroz ) have formed a family and given birth to a child named Shurit . They are also joined by a Dragon warrior called Exa . Design . Appearance . The archetype is based on Ritual Summoning humanoids that are wearing armor modeled after deceased monsters . The " Nekroz " monsters are based on monsters from " Duel Terminal " archetypes , such as " Ice Barrier " , " Gishki " , " Mist Valley " , " Ally of Justice " , and " Fabled " , and have similar effects ; also , the Ritual Monsters are counterparts of existing Synchro Monsters ( with the exception with " Nekroz of Sophia " , who is the counterpart of the Effect Monster " Sophia , Goddess of Rebirth " ) from the aforementioned archetypes whose Levels range from 3 to 11 . Etymology . " Nekroz " is a portmanteau of " necro " and " cloth / cross " ( " Kurosu " can be translated to both words , both which fit the archetype ' s theme ) refering to the armors ( cloth / cross ) based on legendary monsters ( necro ) . Playing style . The " Nekroz " Ritual Monsters are counterparts of existing Synchro Monsters ( with the exception of " Nekroz of Sophia " ) and feature similar effects . The non - Ritual Monsters serve as conventional ritual support , fulfilling tribute requirements and / or fetching key cards to maintain consistency . Primarily , the " Nekroz " Ritual Monsters ATK or DEF stats are the same as their Synchro counterparts , while also having the same Level . The effects of those ones with Level from 3 to 6 are used to suppress monsters Summoned from the Extra Deck , while the effects of those ones whose Levels range from 7 to 11 give to the player more card advantage , mainly by destroying and / or banishing other cards . In addition , all of them feature a second ability that can be activated by discarding them ; these effects range from protecting and empowering on - field " Nekroz " monsters to reviving them and searching for resources . This remarkable property alleviates the recurring problem with Ritual monsters becoming dead draw s when the player does not have means of Ritual Summoning them . In addition , the discard - based effects of those ones with Level from 3 to 6 are Spell Speed 1 , while the ones with Level 7 and above can be activated during either player ' s turn . The archetype ' s Ritual Monsters are all Nomi monsters that can only be Special Summoned by Ritual Summon . Additionally , all of them ( with the exception of " Clausolas " and " Unicore " ) have restrictions regarding the requirements that can be used for their Ritual Summons . " Catastor " and " Brionac " prohibit the usage of other copies of themselves as Tributes in their Ritual Summons , while one cannot Tribute monsters that share the same Levels as " Gungnir " , " Valkyrus " , " Trishula " , and " Decisive Armor " to Ritual Summon them . " Sophia " can only be Ritual Summoned from the hand Tributing 3 monsters on the field with different Types . Their Ritual Spell Cards are very flexible and have additional effects and conditions that help to achieve the requirements of the Ritual Summons : Each of them also have a second effect that lets the player banish it and a " Nekroz " monster from the Graveyard in order to search for any " Nekroz " Spell Card , provided its owner controls no monsters . There are also other cards that can give more options to the Deck , such as :