Mist Valley " Mist Valley " ( " Misuto Barē " ) is an archetype of WIND monsters whose effects involve returning cards to their owner ' s hand . Many of them have their own effect ( s ) triggered when they are returned to the hand themselves , or involve returning one ' s own cards to the hand as a cost for triggering their effects . They were released to the " TCG " through " Hidden Arsenal " . Duel Terminal Storyline . " Mist Valley " is one of the four most influential tribes of the Duel Terminal alongside " Ice Barrier " , " X - Saber " , and " Flamvell " . During the " Worm " invasion , the four tribes created the Ally of Justice to repel off the Worms attacks . Later , the other three tribes started to change their vision , from destroying the Worms to capturing them and using them as a power source to empower the Ally of Justice armies . Disagreeing with this , the Mist Valley tribe left the other tribes and started to fight with their own power . Unfortunately , the Worms got the upper hand from the standing - alone Mist Valley tribe , which lacked the army and power to face the Worms . They later aligned themselves with the legendary Dragunity tribe who inhabited the ravine next to them . Both tribes started working together to repel the Worms . The Mist Valley tribe later vanished due to the rampaging Trishula , Dragon of the Ice Barrier who was desperately released by the Ice Barrier tribe as a last resort to end the chaos in the Duel Terminal World , however , their descendants emerges and inhabit the Mist Valley region , while defending the land from various intruders . Playing style . In particular , the only " Mist Valley " Synchro Monster , " Mist Valley Thunder Lord " , is a very powerful and versatile monster in terms of its ATK and effect . By returning one card on your field to your hand , this monster ' s ATK increases by 500 to 3100 , the highest ATK among common Synchro Monsters . Cards best to return include activated Continuous Spell or Trap cards like " Call of the Haunted " , as well as used Effect Monsters . Also when combined with the " Blackwing " archetype , " Dark Simorgh " becomes very playable , not to mention the addition of the Draw cards ; " Allure of Darkness " and " Hand Destruction " become more available . This archetype also has swarm capacity thanks to cards like " Divine Wind of Mist Valley " ( Limited ) , " Reborn Tengu " ( Semi - Limited ) and " Genex Ally Birdman " ( Limited ) . " Harpie Dancer " can also be a big support to this Archetype . Valley Synchro . This type of the deck relies on swarming speed via the combination of " Divine Wind of Mist Valley " and " Mist Valley Thunderbird " . This is done through the effect of " Thunderbird " who is automatically summoned after bounced to hand , followed by the summon of " Mist Condor " or " Genex Ally Birdman " from the hand . This will trigger the field effect while keeping " Thunderbird " due to its effect . Via the Field Spell ' s effect it ' s easy to search a " Reborn Tengu " from the Deck to perform a Synchro or Xyz Summon , Summoning another " Tengu " while keeping your hand size stable . In order to quickly set up your combos , some cards like Flying Kamakiri # 1 or Swallow ' s Nest can be used to deploy Thunderbird to your field quickly . Hand modifiers , such as " Magical Mallet " , " Terraforming " , or " Reload " are highly recommended , with the first and last examples also being useful for returning cards that are less useful when they ' re in your hand ( such as " Reborn Tengu " ) . You can also use " Pot of Duality " , with the risk of delaying one turn for your combo to run . Mist Valley Falcon and Mist Valley Soldier are other great cards that can help stalling until you get the cards that you need . With the release of Gusto archetype in , this type of deck can be more consistent as the Gustos can provide some sturdy defensive line in case the combo doesn ' t run smoothly . With the January 2014 banlist , this build has lost alot of speed with " Divine Wind of Mist Valley " limited , " Genex Ally Birdman " Limited and " Reborn Tengu " Semi - Limited Avian Lock Down . This deck focuses on using the Lockdown effect of " Mist Valley Apex Avian " with the effect of " Mist Valley Thunderbird " , which Special Summons itself when returned to the hand . Apex Avian is the harder - to - summon monster , but the deck can employ cards such as " Tribute Doll " , " Cost Down " , or monsters that Special Summon themselves , such as " Genex Ally Birdman " or " Cyber Dragon " . You can also Special Summon Apex Avian with cards like " Monster Reborn " . The only way for an opponent to stop the Lockdown would either be to destroy either monster by battle , use Counter Trap Cards , or use multiple effects on a chain : if the targeted Mist Valley monster is no longer on the field when Apex Avian ' s effect resolves , the opponent ' s card will not be negated , and thus running out of Mist Valley cards during the Chain will result in the loss of Apex Avian ' s effect . To protect your monsters from being destroyed by battle , use cards that can prevent this in some way , such as " Book of Moon " , " Scrap - Iron Scarecrow " , " Waboku " , or " Mirror Force " , or destroy the monster before it can attack with cards like " Bottomless Trap Hole " or " Solemn Judgment " . " Royal Decree " or " Seven Tools of the Bandit : can be used to stop Counter Trap Cards , but the former will stop all of your Trap cards as well , and " Dark Simorgh " can prevent them from being Set in the first place . A variety of cards will also be needed to stop your opponent from utilizing multiple effects on a Chain , depending on which cards they use : " Divine Wrath " can stop Monster Effects like " Stardust Dragon " or " Effect Veiler " , while cards like " Dark Bribe " and " Solemn Judgment " can stop Spell or Trap Effects . With the release of Order of Chaos , this type of deck can become more competitive , since it ' s now possible to merge some Ninja cards to strengthen this deck , mainly Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo which can easily search for Ninjitsu Art of Transformation . Set the trap immediately and activate it during your opponent ' s Draw Phase , summoning Apex Avian from your deck . NOTE : Remember that Divine Wind of Mist Valley and Shrine of Mist Valley are also counted as Mist Valley cards that Apex Avian can bounce in order to activate its effect . These field cards can be searched easily with Terraforming and if your opponent tries to destroy them you can bounce them instead . It ' s now better to use those cards than Thunderbird who is vulnerable to attacks . Black Valley . Black Valley Decks combine Mist Valley and Blackwing monsters . The Deck uses " Future Visions " , " Anti - Spell Fragrance " , and " Dark Simorgh " to force your opponent into a turn by turn lockdown where they can ' t set . Also , any monsters they Normal Summon will be banished the turn they are Normal Summoned , thanks to Future Visions . Due to the fact that many Mist Valley cards return cards back to the hand , you can use this to your advantage and return " Future Visions " to your hand to keep your opponent ' s monsters from returning to their side of the field . Mist Valley and Blackwings have many good Tuners , such as " Mist Valley Soldier " and " Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind " , which makes this Deck very Synchro - friendly . Most Mist Valley and all Blackwing monsters are Winged Beast - Type monsters so " Icarus Attack " is a good support card . Another card that could help this Deck is " Begone , Knave ! " , because many Mist Valley monsters ( such as " Mist Valley Falcon " , " Mist Valley Thunder Lord " , and " Mist Valley Executor ) can avoid this effect by returning it to your hand and you can reset it during your Main Phase 2 . " Mist Valley Thunderbird " returns to your field when it is sent back to your hand can avoid it completely . " Mist Valley Apex Avian " can send another Mist Valley on your side of the field to your hand to negate its effect and keep it from returning to your hand . Many Blackwing monsters can Special Summon themselves from your hand to the field so they are not very affected either . The trump card of this Deck is " Dark Simorgh " . However , keep in mind that " Royal Oppression " can negate " Dark Simorgh ' s " Special Summon , so use the Mist Valley monsters to return cards to your hand on your turn to avoid this problem . However , this is no longer a problem in tournament play , as Royal Oppression is now banned . Weaknesses . This archetype does not have any swarming power outside of " Divine Wind of Mist Valley " ( especially now that it is limited ) , therefore anti Field Spell support such as " Mystical Space Typhoon " and " Dust Tornado " can do well against them . " Effect Veiler " is surprisingly dangerous , allowing your opponent to ruin your play at any moment , such as when using " Arcanite Magician " and " Ancient Fairy Dragon " . " Torrential Tribute " can also give the almost same result . For Apex Avian hybrid , it is important to Summon " Mist Valley Apex Avian " as soon as possible . While " Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo " can make this easier , " Thunder King Rai - Oh " can be a nuisance if you don ' t have him early enough , as Hanzo cannot search " Ninjitsu Art of Transformation " while it is present on the Field . Any monster that have more than 2700 ATK and can be Summoned instantly ( such as " Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning " ) can also problematic if you don ' t have any battle - protection for your Apex Avian . " Gravity Bind " , " Level Limit - Area B " , " Messenger of Peace " and any other attack - prevention cards can also ( partially ) hinder your strategy as " Mist Valley Falcon " cannot return cards if it is unable to attack . However , " Mist Valley Thunder Lord " can still activate its effect without attacking . While there are exceptions , several " Mist Valley " monsters have rather low ATK ; cards such as " Milus Radiant " and " Poisonous Winds " only make this more of an issue .