Wind - Up " Wind - Up " ( ゼンマイ " Zenmai " ) is an archetype of wind - up toy - like monsters that premiered in " Generation Force " and received further support in " Photon Shockwave " and " Order of Chaos " . There are monsters of all Attribute s , though EARTH is the most prominent , and 4 Xyz Monster s . The effects of known " Wind - Up " monsters ranging from Special Summon and swarm tactics to Level and ATK manipulation to obtain benefits . Each non - Xyz " Wind - Up " monster can only use its effect once while face - up on the field ( " Wind - Up Shark " and " Wind - Up Honeybee " are the only exceptions so far ) . Many cards that support them revolve around flipping down or otherwise recycling . Playing style . A " Wind - Up " Deck uses a variety of single - use monster effects to control the field while " Wind - Up Factory " generates hand advantage . You can use " Tour Guide From the Underworld " to Xyz Summon " Wind - Up Carrier Zenmaity " ( Traditional Format only ) and proceed to Summon whatever you need from your Deck . " Wind - Up Soldier " can change its Level to 5 , allowing you to use " Cyber Dragon " or " Instant Fusion " to produce Rank 5 Xyz Monster s . " Wind - Up Kitten " works with " Junk Synchron " for Level 5 Synchro Summon s . " Wind - Up " is an excellent Deck for Xyz Summons , taking advantage of easily increasing their Levels with " Soldier " , " Wind - Up Warrior " , " Wind - Up Dog " and " Wind - Up Shark " . Summoning any of the first three and then Summoning " Shark " allows for an easy Rank 5 Xyz Summon , using cards like " Wind - Up Arsenal Zenmaioh " to break Set monsters and Spell and Traps , " " and " Adreus , Keeper of Armageddon " to destroy any opponent ' s face - up monster ( and , in the case of " Volcasaurus " , deal massive damage ) which you couldn ' t beat with ATK alone , or provide a monster which can survive a surprise " Mirror Force " , in the form of " Tiras , Keeper of Genesis " . If dominating , " Digvorzhak , King of Heavy Industry " is also an option , allowing destruction of up to 3 cards , but due to it needing quite some material , most Rank 5 Xyz Monsters outclass it , due to the amount of effort lost when it meets cards like " Bottomless Trap Hole " . " Shark Fortress " can provide both protection to more vulnerable low - ATK Xyz Monsters such as " Carrier Zenmaity " or " " and increased OTK potential through its double attack effect . Any Rank 4 Xyz Monster can also easily be Summoned by the combo of " Shark " with any of the Level 4 monsters , and due to the speed , allows 3 material monsters like " Vylon Disigma " , and " Number s " " " , " 16 " , " " and " " to be Summoned without loss in card advantage . " Wind - Up Rat " , " Carrier Zenmaity " and " Wind - Up Hunter " can produce a loop that can result in your opponent sending from 2 - 6 cards from their hand to Graveyard . First , you must have " Hunter " in your Graveyard . Then , you must have " Carrier Zenmaity " on the field , and activate its effect to Special Summon a " Rat " . Then activate the effect of " Rat " to Special Summon " Hunter " from the Graveyard . Use the effect of " Hunter " to Tribute " Carrier Zenmaity " and make your opponent send a random card from their hand to the Graveyard . Then use " Rat " and " Hunter " as Xyz Materials to get another " Carrier Zenmaity " , and then repeat the loop twice by sending " Hunter " to the Graveyard to Special Summon another " Rat " . However , due to limitation of " Carrier Zenmaity " in September 2012 Lists , most " Wind - Up " Decks have switched goals from depleting an opponent ' s hand to Xyz Summoning numerous Xyz Monster ( mostly Rank 3 and 5 ' s ) in just one turn using cards like " Wind - Up Magician " and " Shark " , bolstered with " Wind - Up Factory " to finish off the opponent ( possibly in that same turn ) or deny them options through cards like " Shock Master " . The incredible swarming power of the Magician - Shark combo allows the " Wind - Up " player to swarm the field with many different combinations of Xyz Monsters to answer any threat , often ending the game right then and there . This tactic is no longer possible with " Carrier Zenmaity " banned and " Magician " limited in the March 2013 Lists . " Wind - Up Factory " , " Carrier Zenmaity " and " Honeybee " can provide you with single - use monsters to address any situation . You can toolbox " Soldier " to kill low - Level beatsticks , " Juggler " to break walls , " Kitten " to deal with Extra Deck monsters and defuse Flip Effect s , " Rat " to produce Rank 3 Xyzs , " Rabbit " for reuse and deflection , or " Knight " for defense . This is no longer possible in March 2013 Lists , as " Carrier Zenmaity " is banned . With " Carrier Zenmaity " banned and " Magician " limited in March 2013 Lists , there is another way to OTK is by using " Zenmairch " alongside " Zenmailstrom " , and utilizing " Soldier " and " Knight " . Having both " Soldier " and " Knight " on the field , along with activatable " Zenmairch " and " Zenmailstrom " on the field is needed , together with either another " Knight " or " Soldier " in the hand . The combination lands for at least 9000 damage , but 9400 with an activated " Soldier " . Weaknesses . While a very strong Deck theme as of the September 2012 ban list , it is not invulnerable and can be slowed or temporarily interrupted long enough to be defeated . For " Wind - Up " Swarm players , cards that counteract field swarming or effects like " Torrential Tribute " , " Maxx " C " " , " Effect Veiler " , " Needle Ceiling " and even " Summon Limit " and " Summon Breaker " can stop the swarming chains if activated at the right time before they become too devastating . And due to most " Wind - Up " Decks being composed of different Types and Attributes ( much like " Gladiator Beast s " ) , both " Rivalry of Warlords " , " Gozen Match " and " Battle of the Elements " can stop this Deck effectively . In more specialized Decks both " King Tiger Wanghu " and " Skill Drain " can also hinder the " Wind - Up " Deck synergy very well , either by stopping many of the weak " Wind - Up " monsters from staying on the field long enough to activate their effects ( including " Wind - Up Rabbit " , which is destroyed before it can save itself upon being Summoned ) or by just outright stopping all effects from resolving on the field ( but " Rabbit " can still be activated however as it resolves in the Banished Zone ) . " Prohibition " and " Psi - Blocker " can also slow down a " Wind - Up " Deck if you correctly call " Wind - Up Magician " , " Wind - Up Rat " or " Wind - Up Shark " proactively at the right time to hinder your opponent ' s Deck options . In an opposing Deck with a high number of WIND - attribute cards , " Mystic Fairy Elfuria " is also very effective at stopping almost all of the preferred Xyz Summon ing options available to a Wind - Up Deck if Rank 3 , 4 and 5 Summoning is blocked . " Light of Intervention " can be a peculiar choice against " Wind - Up " s as it can halt them from being flipped face - down ( i . e . via " Wind - Up Zenmaister " , " Legendary Wind - Up Key " and " Book of Moon " ) in the hopes of re - using their effects . Finally " Chain Disappearance " is an excellent way to remove the threats of " Magician " and " Rat " from being recycled repeatedly by your opponent .