Last updated: 16.10.2021
Ritual Summoning was frowned at for quite a while in Yugioh’s history. It was available pretty much from the start in the realms of the TCG, but summoning effect-less monsters for questionable amounts of resources only really served as cards to fill the trading folder with. The mechanic got upgraded over time, with “Gishki” introducing hand-melting summon loops and “Nekroz” being strong enough to actually become the deck to beat during its time. The next step was taken in 2020 with “Drytron”, an archetype that re-invented some of the rules in Ritual Summoning and then slowly growing into the competitively viable force we know the deck as today. They also happen to be the subject of this Archetype Analysis, so strap in for some space dragons.
Disclaimer: None of the information given by me is set in stone. Having an open mind in deck building and including creative ideas is always helpful, if only to further understand the playstyle and strategy of the deck you are about to build. There are probably choices that I list which can be labled as debatable, but no platform I know of gives a broad overview over both the archetypes and all the card choices, so I aimed to do just that. I will try to keep this page (as well as the other ones, once they are made) up-to-date, so if any reader feels like I skipped some amazing tech choice or a crucial card, just drop me a note and I will add the missing information if necessary. Furthermore, I use a number of sources for ideas and information, so a list with links that I deem useful is attached to the end of the page and credit is given whenever I can point to a source to do so.
“Drytron” is a fairly unconventional archetype using Ritual Summoning. The archetypal monsters are all Light Machine monsters, with the non-Ritual monsters all being Level 1 and the Ritual monsters being Level 12. Now, if you have any idea how Ritual Summoning works, you will now ask yourself how you are ever getting those Level 12 monsters onto the board, since the tribute cannot be paid regardless of your board. This is where the curveball comes into play: They Ritual Summon with a focus on ATK stats, not levels, meaning that you have to match certain stats to make the summon possible. Other than that, they are highly consistent and search-heavy to allow your Ritual-based plays in various scenarios without being completely starved of resources after one summon. There is more to “Drytron”, but I think it is best if we look at the cards in detail.
Small reminder: As with every combo deck that I list in “Archetype Analysis”, please be aware that there are a myriad of little details, combo routes, play and search options, and techs to be considered in playing “Drytron”. I will not be able to list every single thing simply due to not playing this deck full-time and this article’s word count growing way above the number it is already at. However, if you think I missed some incredibly useful or crucial tech, feel free to leave a comment and help both me and other readers gaining a more complete picture.
Archetype:
Name: “Drytron Alpha Thuban“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 2000/0
Attribute/Type: Light Machine
We start our journey into weird Ritual schenanigans with “Drytron Alpha Thuban”, a Level 1 Light Machine monster with 2000/0 as its stats. In fact, every Main Deck non-Ritual “Drytron” monster has exactly this combination of Attribute, Typing, and stats; and trust me when I say that most of that info will become relevant over the course of this Archetype Analysis. “Alpha Thuban” cannot be Normal Summoned or Set at all, and must be Special Summoned with the effect of a “Drytron” card. However, you can tribute one other “Drytron” monster, or one Ritual monster, from your hand or field to Special Summon “Drytron Alpha Thuban” from your hand or graveyard, and then add one Ritual monster from your deck to your hand. However, you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of the turn, except for monsters that cannot be Normal Summoned or Set; also, you can only use this last effect of “Drytron Alpha Thuban” once per turn. To be honest, at first reading if you have no idea what the rest of the archetype looks like, this set of effects seems weird. Yes, the revival allows you to tribute from hand, which is bound to be used for silly stuff, and a generic Ritual monster search does not sound that bad, but only being able to be summoned via “Drytron” cards seems … prohibitive. Let me tell you straightaway that this is not going to be a problem, since the archetype not only has a very powerful “Unexpected Dai“-esque card in “Drytron Nova“, but you also find that tribute effect on every Main Deck non-Ritual “Drytron” monster, allowing them to start their plays with literally any combination of two of the “Drytron” monsters as well as one “Drytron” and a tributable Ritual monster. As for “Alpha Thuban” specifically, the Ritual monster search makes it a valuable tool both for gaining card advantage as well as setting things up for other plays down the road, giving you options like searching “Cyber Angel Benten” for further searches or “Herald of Ultimateness” for negation and therefore making it an excellent card to play.
Recommended copies: 3
“Drytron Alpha Thuban” provides everything you need in “Drytron”, being an easy monster to summon as well as having a very good search on top. Run three copies.
Name: “Drytron Beta Rastaban“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 2000/0
Attribute/Type: Light Machine
Next up is “Drytron Beta Rastaban”, the next monster that has the “Drytron” profile of being Light Attribute, Machine Type, Level 1, and having 2000 ATK. Just as “Drytron Alpha Thuban“, “Drytron Beta Rastaban” cannot be Normal Summoned or Set, and must be Special Summoned with the effect of a “Drytron” card. Furthermore, you can tribute one other “Dryton” monster or one Ritual monster from your hand or field to Special Summon “Drytron Beta Rastaban” from either your hand or your graveyard in defense position, and then you can return one of your banished “Drytron” monster to the graveyard. However, “Drytron Beta Rastaban” also comes with the same drawback of disallowing you to Special Summon monsters during the turn you activate this effect, except for monsters that cannot be Normal Summoned or Set, and you can only use the Special Summon effect of “Drytron Beta Rastaban”. “Beta Rastaban” has its own little niche in “Drytron”, mainly that it can recover “Drytron” monsters for resummons from the graveyard after they were either banished by the opponent due to the effect of “Dimension Shifter” and others, or because you used the effect of “Drytron Meteonis Draconids” to send opposing cards to the graveyard. However, this niche is certainly small, since there is no way this card does anything turn one, has to compete with various better effects in the archetype, and the “Drytrons” not even featuring enough banishing to make this effect somewhat relevant. True, it can probably still serve as a tech option in certain matchups, but normally has to make way for its brethren.
Recommended copies: 0
With “Drytron” non-Ritual Main Deck monsters being so similar, it really comes down to the effect on summon; and sadly, “Drytron Beta Rastaban” does not provide an effect that makes it worthwhile. I would skip the card in deckbuilding.
Name: “Drytron Delta Altais“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 2000/0
Attribute/Type: Light Machine
Moving on, we have “Drytron Delta Altais” to talk about. “Delta Altais” has the usual “Drytron” profile, cannot be Normal Summoned or Set, and must be Special Summon with the effect of a “Drytron” card. It also comes with the usual summoning effect, which allows you to tribute one other “Drytron” monster or one Ritual monster from your hand or field in order to Special Summon “Drytron Delta Altais” from your hand or graveyard in defense position; also, you can then reveal either one Ritual monster or Ritual Spell card in your hand, and if you do you draw one card. However, the usual restrictions also take place, meaning that you cannot Special Summon monsters during the turn you activated the Special Summon effect, unless that monster cannot be Normal Summoned or Set; also, you can only use that effect of “Drytron Delta Altais” once per turn. Not nearly as good as “Drytron Alpha Thuban” due to less consistency, but better than “Drytron Beta Rastaban” due to being universally more useful, “Delta Altais” finds itself in the middle ground of playability of the “Drytron” archetype. It can certainly provide more cards in hand and therefore card advantage, but due to being less controlable it will probably be the first card to drop if you need extra deck space.
Recommended copies: 1
“Drytron Delta Altais” is an okayish card for the archetype it is part of. I would suggest running one copy to have the option, search and/or summon it if necessary, and having another “Drytron” name in the deck if all other “Drytron” effects are already triggered. But ultimately, you decide how valuable you deem the card draw option of the “Drytron” archetype.
Name: “Drytron Gamma Eltanin“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 2000/0
Attribute/Type: Light Machine
Number four of the “Drytron” non-Ritual Main Deck monster is “Drytron Gamma Eltanin”. It also comes with the usual “Drytron” profile, cannot be Normal Summoned or Set, and must be Special Summoned with the effect of a “Drytron” card. As usual, you can tribute one other “Drytron” monster or one Ritual monster from your hand or field to Special Summon “Drytron Gamma Eltanin” from your hand or graveyard in defense position, and then you can Special Summon one “Drytron” monster with 2000 ATK from your graveyard, except for “Drytron Gamma Eltanin”. Also, you cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate this effect, unless those monsters cannot be Normal Summoned or Set; and you can only use this effect of “Drytron Gamma Eltanin” once per turn. “Gamma Eltanin” is another really good “Drytron” monster: It provides the material for the archetypal Xyz monster “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” pretty much on its own, it can give monsters that you already used the Special Summon effect of during that turn another spin, and it sets up various Ritual Summons perfectly since “Meteonis Drytron” only looks for statlines and all non-Ritual Main Deck “Drytrons” come with 2000 ATK, which can give you a lot of nasty Ritual options. Finally, if nothing else, it simply provides another Link material to go for bigger Control options like “Underworld Goddess of the Closed World“.
Recommended copies: 3
“Drytron Gamma Eltanin” is one of the better “Drytrons” and can kickstart and amplify a huge number of plays by not only providing easy summoning for itself, but also bringing other friends to the party. I would suggest running a full package, so three copies.
Name: “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 2000/0
Attribute/Type: Light Machine
The last non-Ritual Main Deck “Drytron” monster is “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah”. Just like all the other “Drytron” monsters we have seen so far, it comes with the “Drytron” profile, cannot be Normal Summoned or Set, and must be Special Summoned with the effect of a “Drytron” card. You can also tribute one other “Drytron” monster or one Ritual monster from your hand or field to Special Summon “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah” from either your hand or your graveyard in defense position, and then search your deck for a Ritual Spell card and add it to your hand. However, you cannot Special Summon monsters during the turn you activate this effect, except for monsters that cannot be Normal Summoned or Set; also, you can only use the summoning effect of “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah” once per turn. Attentive readers will notice that this is basically “Drytron Alpha Thuban” but for Ritual Spell instead of Ritual monsters; nonetheless, this is still a fantastic effect to have. There is really not that much to say other than Ritual decks requiring Ritual Spells to work at full capacity, the searchable Ritual Spell in form of “Meteonis Drytron” being absolutely amazing, and “Zeta Aldhibah” therefore increasing the deck’s consistency by quite some margin.
Recommended copies: 3
“Drytron Zeta Aldhibah” is definitely a three-off for pretty much the same reasons why “Drytron Alpha Thuban” is in the deck at three. Searching specific cards means more consistency and also thins the deck by a little, and that on top of the solid summoning effect that the “Drytrons” come with is enough reason to go with the maximum number possible.
Name: “Meteonis Drytron“
Type: Ritual Spell
Normally when talking about Ritual archetype, it makes sense to talk about the Ritual Spell(s) as the first card(s) in the analysis since a lot of cards make little sense without the knowledge; however, “Drytron” is a little bit different, which is why I needed to talk about the Main Deck monsters first. So, here is “Meteonis Drytron”, the only “Drytron” Ritual Spell in existence at the moment. “Meteonis Drytron” can be used to Ritual Summon any Ritual monster from your hand or graveyard, but you must also tribute Machine monster from your hand or field whose total ATK equal or exceed the ATK of the Ritual monster you want to Ritual Summon. Furthermore, if “Meteonis Drytron” is in your graveyard, you can target one “Drytron” monster you control, it loses exactly 1000 ATK until the end of the opposing turn, and if it does, you can add “Meteonis Drytron” back to your hand; but you can only use this effect of “Meteonis Drytron” once per turn. The restriction regarding only being able to use Machine Type monsters hardly matters, since the bulk of your monsters will be “Drytrons” anyway, and since they come with rather high ATK values you can easily summon a number of helpful options for little cost, for example “Herald of Ultimateness” which only requires one “Drytron” as tribute since it has exactly 2000 ATK. Reducing the ATK of your monsters is almost no cost at all, since you will have various monsters available in defense position or even simply reduce their ATK knowing that they will become Link material, Xyz material or Ritual tribute fodder down the line, making this a non-issue in most cases but one hell of a consistency tool to have in a Ritual-based deck.
Recommended copies: 2-3
“Meteonis Drytron” is a very good Ritual Spell. I listed that one could play three copies, but in all honesty two are probably enough since you can search it as well as recycle it via its own effect.
Name: “Drytron Meteonis Draconids“
Level/Rank: 12
ATK/DEF: 4000/4000
Attribute/Type: Light Machine
So, after we now know what the Ritual Spell does, what exactly can we summon with it? Well, since the effect allows us to pretty much summon anything that does not specifically say otherwise there is a number of options, but in “Drytron” one choice could be “Drytron Meteonis Draconids”, a Level 12 Light Machine monster with 4000/4000. “Drytron Meteonis Draconids” states that is can be Ritual Summoned with “Meteonis Drytron“, and has no further restrictions. The opponent cannot target “Drytron Meteonis Draconids” with monster effects, and if the total level of monsters used for the Ritual Summon of this monster are 2 or less, it can attack all Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls once each. Furthermore, during your opponent’s turn, as a Quick Effect, you can banish monster from your graveyard whose combined ATK equals exactly either 2000 or 4000, then target one face-up card your opponent controls for every 2000 ATK and send that/those card(s) to the graveyard. You can only use that last effect of “Drytron Meteonis Draconids” once per turn. So, this is one huge beatstick with various effects. The banish effect is rather nice since it not only gets rid of problem cards on reaction due to being a Quick Effect, but also only sends cards to the graveyard which does not trigger destruction effects. Furthermore, due to the Quick Effect only listing the ATK values, you can not only use your “Drytron” Main Deck monsters for the effect, which you probably want to reuse in future turns, but can also resort to pay with cards like “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir“, another copy of “Drytron Meteonis Draconids” or “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids“, or even cards like “Herald of Ultimateness“. Since the finished board of the currently played “Drytron” decks goes more into a Control direction, you rarely even need to go into “Drytron Meteonis Draconids” since it costs two tributes and is therefore somewhat costly, but there is nothing wrong with the card per se since it is a solid boss monster with helpful effects against various different strategies.
Recommended copies: 0-1
“Drytron Meteonis Draconids” is an impressive monster in its own right, but not particularly necessary in every “Drytron” build. The finished “Drytron” board can work absolutely fine without this monster around, but since it is easily searchable and quite powerful in a number of scenarios you can opt to play one copy.
Name: “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids“
Level/Rank: 12
ATK/DEF: 4000/4000
Attribute/Type: Light Machine
Ritual boss monster number two comes in form of “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids”, yet another Level 12 Light Machine monster with 4000/4000. Like “Drytron Meteonis Draconids“, you can Ritual Summon “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids” by using “Meteonis Drytron” with no further restrictions attached. “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids” cannot be targeted by the opposing Spell/Trap cards and effects. If the total levels of monsters used to Ritual Summon this card were 2 or less, you can destroy all Spells and Traps the opponent controls. Furthermore, if a Ritual Summoned “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids” is destroyed, you can Special Summon “Drytron” monster from your graveyard, except other copies of “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids”, whose combined ATK equals 4000; but both the backrow removal as well as the floating effect of “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids” are only usable once per turn. “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids” is undoubtably worse than its cousin, with monster effects currently being much more relevant than effects of Spell/Trap cards that could target. I like the idea of a “Harpie’s Feather Duster” as an effect, but actually the Quick Effect of “Drytron Meteonis Draconids” can still take care of problematic backrow, while being preferable in almost any other situation, and splitting itself into two “Drytron” Main Deck monsters is cute, but does not do that much during the opposing turn unless you build your board with exactly that thought in mind and therefore being reliant on the opponent and certainly telegraphing some of your plays. Overall, “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids” is still a solid card, but not necessarily one that “Drytron” needs.
Recommended copies: 0
“Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids” is still a monster card that various other archetypes would kill for, but in “Drytron” there are better options to play and various other cards that can support the “go first”-Control playstyle better. You can run one copy if you desperately want, but I would opt to skip this card.
Name: “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 2000/0
Attribute/Type: Light Machine
The only Extra Deck monster the “Drytron” archetype currently has on offer is “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir”, a Rank 1 Xyz monster. To summon it, you need to overlay two or more Level 1 monsters, which do not have to be “Drytron” monsters by the way. “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir’s” effects are as follows: When you Ritual Summon, you can detach a material from this card as monster(s) required for the Ritual Summon. If “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” is Xyz Summoned, you can send one “Drytron” card from your deck to the graveyard. Furthermore, when your opponent activates a Spell or Trap card, while you control a Machine Ritial monster, as a Quick Effect, you can detach one material from “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir”, negate the activation of that card, and if you do destroy it. Lastly, both the “Foolish Burial“/”Foolish Burial Goods” effect and the negation of “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” are only usable once per turn. So, there is quite a lot going on here: Ditching any “Drytron” card allows you to setup any of the “Drytron” Main Deck monsters for Special Summoning, while also giving you the option of throwing “Meteonis Drytron” into the graveyard and retrieve it via its own effect. The effect that allows you to pay the Ritual Summon tribute with Xyz materials is not mind-blowing, but it allows you to gain any overall plus in card economy due to having more space on the board to work with, still having the two monsters you used for the Xyz Summon as tribute and therefore leaving your Summon capabilities unchanged, while still gaining another body on the field after detaching both materials which also provided further setup and the possibility of negating opposing card. Said effect is slightly restrictive since the need for a Ritual Machine monster means that you need to go into “Drytron Meteonis Draconids” to even use the effect, but the option is still there. Overall, a solid tool to help you build a board with.
Recommended copies: 1
“Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” provides a number of quality-of-life improvements for your board building process, and is therefore a fine card to play at one copy.
Name: “Drytron Asterism“
Type: Quick Spell
The first “Drytron” Spell card to look at is “Drytron Asterism”. This Quick Spell can be activated during the Main Phase, and targets both one “Drytron” or Ritual monster you control and one face-up monster the opponent controls. Your targeted monster loses exactly 1000 ATK until the end of the opponent’s turn, and if it does destroy the targeted monster on the opposing side. You can only activate one “Drytron Asterism” per turn. Straightaway, I have not seen any lists using this card, which is due to the destruction effect needing another card instead of being provided by something you can play into during your combo. Now, that does not mean that “Drytron Asterism” is bad, it is simply not necessary for the more competitively-oriented “Drytron” decks. It is still a searchable disruption effect with the low cost of lowering the ATK of one of your monsters, which makes it potentially playable.
Recommended copies: 0
“Drytron Asterism” is okay for what it does. Currently, the “Drytron” builds with Control focus do not really need this card, which is why you do not see it in builds; and I would also opt for zero copies for that reason. However, if you want to play the card, go ahead since there is definitely use for searchable disruption in destruction form.
Name: “Drytron Eclipse“
Type: Normal Spell
Reading through the next card, “Drytron Eclipse”, made two things blatantly clear: First, it is a card that thematically follows the effects that “Drytrons” work with; and secondly, why no one plays this card. But let us start at the beginning: “Drytron Eclipse” allows you to target one “Drytron” monster in your graveyard and add it to your hand. Furthermore, during your Main Phase, except during the turn this card was sent to the graveyard, you can banish “Drytron Eclipse” from your graveyard, target one “Drytron” monster you control, and make it gain 2000 ATK until the end of the opponent’s turn. Also you can only use each effect of “Drytron Eclipse” once per turn. I am aware of the fact that you can recycle the “Drytron” Ritual monsters “Drytron Meteonis Draconids” and “Drytron Meteonis Quadrantids” as well as returning “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” from your graveyard to the Extra Deck with the first effect, but that is normally not a scenario you should really bother with in “Drytron”. On top of that, the five non-Ritual Main Deck “Drytron” monsters are absolutely fine in the graveyard since you can Special Summon them from there, which technically means that the only thing “Drytron Eclipse” provides for them is returning them to the hand in order to use them a tribute for another one, nothing more. There is also the stat gain, but while the delay is already quite a blow to the playability of this card, and running “Foolish Burial Goods” is out of question due to little payoff and also forcing the delay, you do not even need the extra 2000 ATK in most cases.
Recommended copies: 0
“Drytron Eclipse” is clearly a card that works with the effects and overall strategy given by the “Drytron” archetype, but it provides no bonus that would justify playing it in my opinion. I would skip this one.
Name: “Drytron Fafnir“
Type: Equip Spell
Let us talk about the “Drytron” Field Spell, “Drytron Fafnir”. Upon activation, you can add one “Drytron” Spell/Trap card from your deck to your hand, except for another copy of “Drytron Fafnir”. The activation and the activated effects of Ritual Spell cards cannot be negated. Furthermore, once per turn, if a monster is Normal or Special Summoned face-up while you control a “Drytron” monster (except during the Damage Step), you can reduce that monster’s level by 1 per 1000 of its current ATK, but minimum Level 1, for the rest of the turn. You can only activate one “Drytron Fafnir” per turn. Now, that is quite a package: The search effect not only means that playing this card is a straight +1, but also normally fetches cards that create further card advantage such as “Drytron Nova” or sets up your Ritual plays by searching “Meteonis Drytron“. In fact, many people simply treat a single copy of “Drytron Fafnir” as a fourth “Drytron Nova“, since it searches that Spell card upon activation. This makes it similar to, for example, the “Fur Hire” scenario of searching “Beat, Bladesman Fur Hire” with the single copy of “Reinforcement of the Army“. Moving on, the Ritual Summon and effect protection is pretty much the Ritual version of the second effect of “Magical Meltdown“, and therefore a situational but certainly handy effect. The level manipulation is interesting, since Xyz- and Synchro-oriented decks can be blocked by using this at the right moment, but again, this is a rather situational effect that might not even be applicable in that many games. In conclusion, “Drytron Fafnir” is an interesting card that opens up a lot of fringe options in-game; but the main reason to play it is still the search effect.
Recommended copies: 1
“Drytron Fafnir” is without a question a versatile card, but you would not want to see it in your hand that badly. It therefore mostly serves as an alternate way to get “Drytron Nova” into your hand, which is why “Drytron” decks normally play one copy of “Drytron Fafnir”.
Name: “Drytron Nova“
Type: Normal Spell
After a number of rather situational Spell cards, here is the pièce de résistance in “Drytron”: “Drytron Nova”. This Normal Spell allows you to Special Summon one “Drytron” monster from your deck, but it is destroyed during the End Phase, you cannot Special Summon monster the turn you activate this card, unless those monsters cannot be Normal Summoned or Set, and you can only activate one “Drytron Nova” per turn. The “Drytron” version of “Emergency Teleport” is an absolute must-have in any deck working with the archetype for various reasons. First of all, you get to summon a monster straight from the deck, which is incredibly powerful. It can get a Level 1 “Drytron” monster started without using its own Special Summon effect, meaning you can still use that effect later down the line. It serves as setup due to fetching whatever “Drytron” monster you need and therefore giving you control over what you can search later on. It can serve as an alternate playstarter if the opponent actually manages to banish your first “Drytron” due to some effect. And the drawback also never matters, since your summoned “Drytron” monster will serve as tribute, Xyz material for “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir“, or simply leave the field due to some other reason and reappearing via its own summoning effect. No wonder this card is expensive since it does provide that extra layer of consistency and swarming for pretty much nothing.
Recommended copies: 3
“Drytron Nova” is a crazy summoning tool and should be played at three copies, period.
Name: “Ursarctic Drytron“
Type: Normal Spell
Before we go into the Trap section, there is one rather “Down the Rabbit Hole”-esque scenario that I need to address. See, “Drytron” is a perfectly functional archetype on its own, but sometimes Konami combines certain archetypes with one another due to lore reasons or similar playstyles; and weirdly enough, “Drytron” is one of the archetypes to be paired with another, at least in theory. The lucky partner? “Ursarctic”. Yep, I do not know either, but here is the card to celebrate that weird combination named “Ursarctic Drytron“. Fasten your seatbelts, because this is going to be a wild ride: “Ursarctic Drytron” allows you to banish both a copy of “Ursarctic Big Dipper” as well as a copy of “Drytron Fafnir” from your hand and/or your field, even if those cards are face-down, to then Special Summon one “Ursatron, the Celestial Polar Illuminaship” from your Extra Deck. If either “Ursarctic Polari” or “Drytron Alpha Thuban” are one the field, you can instead banish one of the Field Spells from your deck. Furthermore, if you would tribute a monster for the effect of an “Ursarctic” or a “Drytron” monster, you can instead banish this card from the graveyard. Also, you can only activate one copy of “Ursarctic Drytron” per turn. Now, looking at this card alone does not help us at all, so I will go straight into the monster that results from this Field Spell Fusion.
“Ursatron, the Celestial Polar Illuminaship” is a Level 7 Water Machine monster with 2000/700 as its stats and comes with the following effects. First off, this card is always treated as both an “Ursarctic” card as well as a “Drytron” card. There went some beneficial design into this card to help both archetypes, but the main thing to get from the base info is that “Ursatron” can be easily used as tribute for “Drytron” effects since it comes with 2000 ATK. “Ursatron, the Celestial Polar Illuminaship” must be Special Summoned with “Ursarctic Drytron”. Once per turn, if another effect monster(s) is Special Summoned to your field, except during the Damage Step, you can add one “Ursarctic” or “Drytron” monster from your deck to your hand. Furthermore, once per turn, you can target one of your banished “Ursarctic” or “Drytron” monsters, and add it to your hand. Now, regardless of how complicated this thing is to summon (I will come to that in a moment), it certainly provides more resources. Yes, you need to Special Summon another effect monster to trigger the search, but that is easily done in “Drytron”, especially if you ditched some “Drytron” monster for the summon of “Drytron Alpha Thuban” before. The banishment effect is not as powerful in “Drytron”, but since it is a small step up from “Drytron Beta Rastaban“, there might still be some usage to get out of it.
So, the main question is what you need to invest to make this card combo run. At the current moment, you need to run at least one copy of “Ursarctic Big Dipper“, one copy of “Drytron Fafnir“, one copy of “Ursarctic Drytron”, and one copy of “Ursatron, the Celestial Polar Illuminaship”. “Ursarctic Big Dipper” has absolutely no effect for “Drytrons”, so you run at least one Garnet no matter what; unless you decide to run some additional “Ursarctics” in the deck, which I would not recommend. The card combo does hint towards playing “Ursarctic Polari“, but to summon that little guy you would need to have monsters with exactly one level difference, which is not the case with “Drytrons” alone due to the policy of sticking to Level 1 and Level 2, and only breaks you board in thousand pieces if you use a Level 1 “Drytron” with the Level 2 “Diviner of the Herald“. The easiest way as far as I am informed is using “Drytron Alpha Thuban“, which could look as follows: Summon “Drytron Alpha Thuban“, play “Drytron Fafnir” which allows you to search for “Ursarctic Drytron”, play “Ursarctic Drytron” using the “Drytron Fafnir” on your field and, due to “Drytron Alpha Thuban” being available, the “Ursarctic Big Dipper” from your deck to summon “Ursatron, the Celestial Polar Illuminaship”. This will give you one additional search when Special Summoning a monster, which you should be able to do since you probably Special Summoned “Drytron Alpha Thuban” via its effect by tributing another “Drytron” monster in your hand; and you do not even have to have another tribute available for the “Drytron” monster in the graveyard, since you can banish “Ursarctic Drytron” from your graveyard to pay for the tribute cost. Are all the effects of “Ursatron” and the other cards of the engine worth playing over the cards that you would normally go with in “Drytron”? That is for smarter and more competitive-savvy people to decide than me. However, the option exists, and while it might have it shortcomings it is definitely a creative idea in card design.
Recommended copies: 0-1 “Ursarctic Drytron”/”Ursatron, the Celestial Polar Illuminaship”
The combination of “Ursarctic Drytron” and “Ursatron, the Celestial Polar Illuminaship” is certainly interesting and provides both ups and downs for further deckbuilding discussion. At the current moment, I would say that you either skip the package or run the bare minimum necessary, but that could very well change when the cards arrive in the TCG.
Name: “Drytron Meteor Shower“
Type: Counter Trap
For the only Trap card in “Drytron” and final card in the archetype overall, we have “Drytron Meteor Shower”. This Counter Trap can be activated when your opponent either Normal or Special Summons one or more monsters while you control a Ritual monster, in which case you negate the summon, and if you do shuffle that monster into the deck. You can only activate one copy of “Drytron Meteor Shower” per turn. “Drytron Meteor Shower” is another one of those cards that is not bad per se, but simply not necessary if you think about the board you are going to end with in “Drytron” currently. As such, it might become a solid option for some other more casual-oriented Ritual decks, since the card does not specify “Drytron” anywhere in the card text, but the archetype itself does not really need to make space for it.
Recommended copies: 0
“Drytron Meteor Shower” is a solid Counter Trap that simply does not provide enough to be picked over various other cards in the deck. As such, “Drytron” decks run zero copies of it.
Recommended Engines:
“Cyber Angel”:
The “Cyber Angel” archetype has found popularity in newer Ritual decks due to one card specifically: “Cyber Angel Benten“. Whether it is “Nekroz” or “Drytron”, chances are that you are going to tribute monsters, and have enough searchers to gain access to “Cyber Angel Benten“. This in turn allows you to search whatever Fairy monster you might want to have, whether it is “Diviner of the Herald“, “Herald of Ultimateness“, “Eva“, “Vanity’s Ruler“, other “Cyber Angel” monsters like “Cyber Angel Natasha“, or even options like “Herald of Orange Light“. If there is a Fairy monster you want to have access to in your deck, chances are that you can fetch it easily by using “Cyber Angel Benten“. However, since I already mentioned another “Cyber Angel” monster, let us take a look at other options aswell. The aforementioned “Cyber Angel Natasha” can still be Ritual Summoned with one tribute by “Meteonis Drytron” due to only having 1000 ATK and can break certain boards by simply stealing one of the opposing monsters after hitting the graveyard; which is easy to achieve since the “Drytrons” can use her as tribute from the hand. “Cyber Angel Idaten” can also serve as yet another Ritual Spell searcher (or retriever, if you want to copy of the Ritual Spell from the graveyard), with one major drawback and one helpful detail: The unfortunate fact is that she only searches the Ritual Spell upon being Ritual Summoned, which requires one Ritual Spell before you can search the next; however, due to a Level 6 monster, she can serve as one Xyz material for “Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal” and therefore has further usage down the line.
“Megalith”:
You can summon the “Megalith” monster using “Meteonis Drytron“, so why not include a small engine to gain more cards to work with? “Megalith Phul” can recycle Ritual monsters in your graveyard, with cards like “Cyber Angel Benten” being a thankful candidate. Also, the Ritual Summon effect from “Megalith Phul” allows you to Ritual Summon “Megalith Ophiel” straight from the deck, which will allow you to add another “Megalith Phul” to the hand for more recycling shenanigans.
Further useful cards:
Main Deck monsters:
“Diviner of the Herald“:
Basically the better version of “Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands“. Since you can ditch a Fairy monster straight from the Main Deck or Extra Deck, there are various options you can pick, but the most prominent two cards to use this way are “Herald of the Arc Light“, which will allow you to search for a Ritual monster or Ritual Spell, or “Elder Entity N’tss” for the destruction effect. She is also necessary for the Xyz Summon of “Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal“, since she will change her level to 6 via her effect. Lastly, she could still be used as tribute fodder for a very desperate summon of two “Herald of Orange Light” into a Link Summon, although that is hardly ever going to come up.
“Eva“:
The number one method to fetch negate fodder for “Herald of Ultimateness“. You fill the graveyard with plenty Fairy monsters anyway and every option that finds its way into your hand will work for the effect of “Herald of Ultimateness” and therefore provide an omni-negate. There is a reason why this card is limited after all.
“Herald of Ultimateness“:
Negates pretty much anything for the cost of sending Fairy monsters from your hand to the graveyard. On top of that, “Herald of Ultimateness” is fairly easy to search in “Drytron” and easily summonable by “Meteonis Drytron” due to only needing one tribute to match its 2000 ATK.
“Vanity’s Ruler“:
The previous contender for the Normal Summon. “Vanity’s Ruler” was a good option to end your board on since it prohibited the opponent from Special Summoning monsters while you were able to build the entire board. With “Diviner of the Herald“, you really have better things to spend your Normal Summon on, but the option is still valid and searchable via “Cyber Angel Benten“, etc.
“White Knight of Dogmatika“:
It might be a stretch saying that “White Knight of Dogmatika” is another solid option, but I personally like the idea. Now, the Extra Deck blocking means that you should play this card after every Extra Deck play was done, but for that you gain a monster that can ditch “Elder Entity N’tss” on reaction when the opponent does basically anything, which might be worth considering for the finished board.
Spell cards:
“Cyber Emergency“:
“Cyber Emergency” provides a solid searcher for the “Drytron” monsters in your deck that is not even affected by negation that much since you can reuse it pretty much immediately due to its effect. What do you want to hear? More searching means more consistency, and since you can start pretty much any play with two “Drytron” Level 1 monsters this is a solid option to run.
“Foolish Burial“:
Since all of your Level 1 “Drytron” monster happily get summoned from the graveyard as well as the hand, it does not really matter in which zone they end up. Therefore, “Foolish Burial” can work as a playstarter in “Drytron”, ditching one “Drytron” monster that did not have its effect activated early during the turn and then go crazy with that, giving you another way into your combos.
“Instant Fusion“:
If you want some protection against handtraps, you can use “Instant Fusion” to get “Millennium-Eyes Restrict” onto your field as the first action of your turn. Granted, I did not find that many lists with that option
“Preparation of Rites“:
“Preparation of Rites” might seem like an odd pick in an archetype that only features Level 12 Ritual monsters and therefore provides no searchable targets, but the other options are good enough to make this a pick. For example, the single copy of “Cyber Angel Benten” is definitely a card that you want to see in your hand as quickly as possible, and “Preparation of Rites” can help fetch her. Another good target is “Megalith Phul” if you run that card, since it will also kickstart a number of plays and is a legal target for the search of this Spell card.
Trap cards:
None currently.
Extra Deck monsters:
“Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal“:
“Beatrice” might seem like an odd choice to include into the deck, but the fact that you can make quite a lot out of ditching any card from your deck to the graveyard makes this a solid option to work with. It is also pretty easy to include “Beatrice” into your combo line, since you will end up with two Level 6 monsters by using “Diviner of the Herald” and “Megalith Phul” anyway.
“Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS – Sky Thunder“:
Here is the field nuke that you can currently find in a large number of competitive decks. “Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS – Sky Thunder” is a very good card and can be easily made with “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” or, if you play the card and so desire, “Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale“. Many decks also include a copy of “Downerd Magician“, since you can simply put her onto of whatever Xyz monster you have available first, then overlay in “Divine Arsenal AA_ZEUS – Sky Thunder”.
“Herald of the Arc Light“:
Your option to send to the graveyard via “Diviner of the Herald” and therefore an enabler for a very powerful search effect. You cannot actually Synchro Summon the thing, but being able to search for a Ritual monster or Ritual Spell while having another Fairy monster to banish for “Eva” is quite nice.
“Kikinagashi Fucho“:
This is basically “Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale“, but the defensive option. Instead of being able to attack directly, “Kikinagashi Fucho” is unaffected by other card’s effects, meaning you can block pretty much any progress in forms of opposing aggression for one turn by detaching two materials from this bird. Not an option you would normally go into, but this little fellow can potentially give you to breathing room to rebuild your board during the next turn.
“Linkuriboh“:
“Linkuriboh” is not really in the deck for its effect, but rather for being able to put one “Drytron” monster in the graveyard due to using it as Link material. However, it can still stop some enemy advance or be used as Link material for bigger monsters itself, so it definitely is not the worst option to have in the Extra Deck at one copy. One side info: “Relinquished Anima” can do the same job, but is more fitting for going second, which is not what most “Drytron” decks currently want.
“Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale“:
Here is a rather odd option that can still show promise in-game. “Assembled Nightingale” can use any Level 1 monsters as material, so the “Drytrons” can summon her out for some direct damage. With three materials, “Assembled Nightingale” has 600 ATK, and can attack directly three times for a total of 1800 damage, which might be enough to finish some close games. She also works as protection, since she can detach material to keep herself protected from destruction effects while preventing battle damage you would take for the rest of the turn. Oh, and in some iffy situations, you could still use her as a springboard in “Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS – Sky Thunder“.
Playstyle/Combos:
If you have read this far, you might have wondered about the fact that I referred to “Drytron” as both a Combo as well as a Control deck; and while there are probably players that have a problem with this definition, I very much stand by it: “Drytron” is a Hybrid deck. Technically, you can build “Drytron” in whichever way you like, since the deck will provide the necessary base for pretty much any build you can imagine. It is probably possible to build a “Drytron” Aggro deck, since the archetype features high ATK Machine monsters with access to a boss monster that can easily match “Ultimate Conductor Tyranno” in kicking power, while the entire archetype becomes OTK-able as soon as you play three copies of “Limiter Removal“. I am not saying that this is a build that I would suggest playing, however, it is definitely possible and still performs against a number of decks on a semi-competitive level. The deck also has access to disruption and negates, while also making certain floodgates like “Rivalry of Warlords” and “Gozen Match” playable since you only have Light Machine monsters in “Drytron”. Again, those cards are currently not listed in the “Further useful cards”-section for a reason, but they would undoubtably work. The build most players go for is a Combo deck with lots of easy and interchangable starters, malleable combo lines, and various potential end boards to go for.
“Drytron” can serve as a deck skeleton with massive consistency due to the number of playstarters that allows you to go full combo. Having one of the Level 1 “Drytron” monster in your hand alongside another Level 1 “Drytron” monster (preferably with a different name), “Drytron Nova“, “Foolish Burial“, “Drytron Fafnir“, or “Cyber Emergency“. With that many option and only two monsters needed to go into your combo, you can fill a sizeable amount of deck slots with cards that support the strategy otherwise. This can be whatever handtraps or other counter option you might fancy; or need to survive certain matchups. “Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring“, “Droll & Lock Bird“, “Artifact Lancea“, “Effect Veiler“, “Called by the Grave“, “Forbidden Droplet” and many other options can fill the space that is still left empty in your deck. Combined with Ritual goodstuff like “Cyber Angel Benten” opening a large toolbox of helpful cards to choose from or “Megalith Phul” being used as a building stone into various plays, they can make solid boards with various outcomes while also leaving room for surprises and different builds if wanted. But since this is a combo deck, I can talk until I am blue in the face about potential plays, or I list some of the possibilities with the cards in question. Therefore, here are a few combos with their sources that showcase what “Drytron” can do.
Here is one “foundation” combo for “Drytron” from a video on the MST.TV Youtube channel, which should a be a solid start both to give you an idea what “Drytron” is capable of doing while also getting used to seeing what some of the cards in the deck will do and at what place in the combo they belong. Obviously, this is just one route and Tombox mentions multiple times that there are malleable combo lines and different search options depending on what the board looks like, what you go against or what resources you already have access to. Let us take a look at it, with a starting hand of “Drytron Alpha Thuban” and “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah“:
- Start your turn by tributing “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah” to Special Summon “Drytron Alpha Thuban” from your hand via its effect.
- This will trigger the effect of “Drytron Alpha Thuban“, allowing you to add one Ritual monster from your deck to your hand. In this case, we choose “Cyber Angel Benten“.
- Tribute the “Cyber Angel Benten” in your hand via the effect of the “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah” in your graveyard, which allows you to Special Summon said “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah“.
- This will trigger the effect of “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah“, which will allow you to search for a Ritual Spell. In this case, we choose “Meteonis Drytron“.
- Furthermore, since “Cyber Angel Benten” was tributed, she will activate her last effect, allowing you to search a Fairy monster. In this case, we search “Diviner of the Herald“.
- Normal Summon the searched “Diviner of the Herald“, which will trigger her first effect and allow us to put “Herald of the Arc Light” from the Extra Deck straight into the graveyard, which will increase the level of “Diviner of the Herald” to 6.
- Since “Herald of the Arc Light” was sent to the graveyard, it will trigger its effect and allow you to search for a Ritual monster. In this case, we choose “Megalith Phul“.
- Overlay “Drytron Alpha Thuban” and “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah” to Xyz Summon “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir“.
- Summoning “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” allows us to trigger its summon effect, which we will use to put “Drytron Gamma Eltanin” from the deck into the graveyard.
- Using the Ritual Spell “Meteonis Drytron“, we summon “Megalith Phul” from the hand; however, instead of using materials on the field, we instead simply detach one material “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” as the tribute.
- Summoning “Megalith Phul” will trigger its effect, allowing us to return “Cyber Angel Benten” from the graveyard to the hand while also increasing the Level of “Megalith Phul” to 6.
- Using the effect of “Megalith Phul“, tribute the “Cyber Angel Benten” from your hand to Ritual Summon “Megalith Ophiel” directly from your deck.
- This will create a chain in which you declare “Cyber Angel Benten” to be Chain Link 1, while “Megalith Ophiel” becomes Chain Link 2. For the effect of “Megalith Ophiel“, add a copy of “Megalith Phul” to your hand, while “Cyber Angel Benten” searches a “Herald of Ultimateness“.
- Overlay “Diviner of the Herald” with the changed level of 6 with the “Megalith Phul” which was also changed to Level 6 to Xyz Summon “Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal“.
- Detach one material, in this case “Diviner of the Herald“, from “Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal” to send “Drytron Delta Altais” from your deck to the graveyard.
- Activate the graveyard effect of “Meteonis Drytron” to reduce the ATK of “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” by 1000 to add “Meteonis Drytron” to your hand.
- Tribute the “Herald of Ultimateness” in your hand via the effect of “Drytron Gamma Eltanin” in your graveyard to Special Summon it.
- This will also trigger the revival effect of “Drytron Gamma Eltanin“, which allows us to Special Summon the “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah” from the graveyard.
- Using the effect of “Drytron Delta Altais” in the graveyard, tribute “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah” and Special Summon “Drytron Delta Altais“.
- This will trigger the effect of “Drytron Delta Altais“, allowing us to reveal the “Meteonis Drytron” in hand and draw one card.
- Link Summon “I:P Masquerena” by using “Drytron Gamma Eltanin” and “Drytron Delta Altais” as Link material.
- Ritual Summon “Herald of Ultimateness” from your graveyard by using “Meteonis Drytron” as the Ritual Spell and detaching one material, “Drytron Alpha Thuban“, from “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” as the tribute.
This is a fairly long starter combo already, and even this first example does not stay critique-free. The Youtube comments for Tombox’s video list multiple times that they would rather change the decklist and therefore combo route by using “Cyber Angel Idaten” instead of the entire “Megalith” engine to lower the amount of bricks in the deck. Another user wrongfully accuses most “Drytron” combos as “short minded” [sic!]; however, they are right in saying that “Diviner of the Herald” is a Tuner monster and could therefore open up the option for Synchro plays, since she even fixes her level to whatever you might need. The idea of “Black Rose Dragon” when going first seems stupid, while the suggested “Borreload Savage Dragon” would need an entirely different combo path to get a Link monster into the graveyard, but in essence the comment is right in saying that there is further potential in Synchros. However, I still think that the combo showcases what one has to or can work with in terms of “Drytron”.
Another combo from MST.TV (sorry for the lack of variety) comes in the rather click-baity “AUTOWIN Combo I never showed, META Drytron Post Oct 2021” video. I personally do not like terms like “autowin”, “undefeated”, “the best”, or “perfect”, since they are pretty much always lies to get you to click the video in question; however, the combo in question is interesting and therefore worth going over for a different approach. Tombox called this one the “backwards combo”, since the first action is to play the “Herald of Ultimateness“, and then building the rest of the board instead of the other way around. What I personally like about this is that he works with bluffing, since you might not even have a Fairy monster available to negate with at the start but force the opponent to believe that you do since the play order would not make sense to them otherwise. However, the combo does need fairly specific cards at the start of the combo, since you cannot simply build up your board from two “Drytrons” or the various slots that also lead to full combo. Here is how he does it with a hand of “Red-Eyes Black Dragon“, “Drytron Delta Altais“, “Drytron Alpha Thuban“, “Meteonis Drytron“, “Herald of Ultimateness“:
- Using the Ritual Spell “Meteonis Drytron” and tributing “Drytron Alpha Thuban” from the hand, Ritual Summon “Herald of Ultimateness“.
- Activate the effect of “Drytron Alpha Thuban” from the graveyard, tributing “Drytron Delta Altais” from your hand to Special Summon “Drytron Alpha Thuban” in defense position.
- This will trigger the effect of “Drytron Alpha Thuban“, allowing you to search for the single copy of “Cyber Angel Benten“.
- Activate the effect of “Meteonis Drytron” in your graveyard, lowering the ATK of “Drytron Alpha Thuban” by 1000 and adding “Meteonis Drytron” back to the hand.
- Activate the effect of “Drytron Delta Altais” in your graveyard, tributing “Cyber Angel Benten” and Special Summoning “Drytron Delta Altais” in defense position.
- This will trigger the effect of both “Drytron Delta Altais“, allowing you to draw one card, as well as the effect of “Cyber Angel Benten“, searching a “Herald of Orange Light“.
- Overlay both “Drytron Alpha Thuban” and “Drytron Delta Altais” to Xyz Summon “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir“.
- This will trigger the effect of “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir“, allowing to ditch “Drytron Gamma Eltanin” from your deck into the graveyard.
- Activate “Meteonis Drytron” to Ritual Summon “Cyber Angel Benten” from your graveyard, tributing one material from “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir“, which in this case will be “Drytron Delta Altais“.
- Activate the effect of “Drytron Gamma Eltanin” in the graveyard, tributing the “Cyber Angel Benten” on your field to Special Summon “Drytron Gamma Eltanin” in defense position.
- This will trigger the effect of both “Drytron Gamma Eltanin“, allowing you to also Special Summon “Drytron Delta Altais” from your graveyard, as well as the effect of “Cyber Angel Benten“, allowing you to search a “Diviner of the Herald“.
- Normal Summon “Diviner of the Herald“, which will allow you to send “Herald of the Arc Light” from your Extra Deck to the graveyard, which will increase the level of “Diviner of the Herald” to Level 6.
- This will trigger the effect of “Herald of the Arc Light“, allowing you to search the second “Meteonis Drytron” from the deck.
- Using “Drytron Gamma Eltanin” and “Drytron Delta Altais” as Link material, Link Summon “Predaplant Verte Anaconda“.
- Activate the searched “Meteonis Drytron” to Ritual Summon “Cyber Angel Benten” from your graveyard by using the last Xyz material in form of “Drytron Alpha Thuban” as tribute.
- Overlay the Level 6 “Diviner of the Herald” and “Cyber Angel Benten” to Xyz Summon “Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal“.
- Activate the effect of “Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal” detaching “Diviner of the Herald” from her to ditch “Eva” from your deck to the graveyard.
- This will trigger the effect of “Eva“, banishing the “Herald of the Arc Light” and the “Diviner of the Herald” from your graveyard, to add another “Diviner of the Herald” and a “Herald of Orange Light” to your hand.
- Activate the effect of “Predaplant Verte Anaconda“, paying 2000 life points, sending “Red-Eyes Fusion” from your deck to the graveyard, then sending the “Red-Eyes Black Dragon” from the hand and the single copy of “Dark Magician” from the deck to the graveyard in order to summon “Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon“.
I chose this second combo to show that “Drytron” is rather flexible in combo routes. Yes, you have to be aware of certain bottlenecks during your combos and there will be hands that you cannot work with at all, but “Drytron” combos require a certain amount knowledge in terms of how you can deviate from the normal lines, while also needing a small pinch of creativity to see routes that are not as common but might be still available to your during the game. They can produce a negate-heavy board with incredible consistency, but knowing how to work around counters and building boards with less optimal hands is a skill that is definitely required, but not something one could hope to teach via text or video; that is down to testing, playing games, and doing your own research.
Weaknesses/Counters:
“Drytron” might be very consistent and end up with negate-heavy boards, but they still can be countered by throwing a wrench into their build-up. One such proverbial wrench can be “Droll & Lock Bird“, which stops any searches from “Drytron Alpha Thuban“, “Drytron Zeta Aldhibah“, “Cyber Angel Benten“, and many other cards that make the deck so functional, leaving the “Drytron” player only with the cards in their hand for board-building. “Dimension Shifter” is also one powerful option against “Drytron”, since they like working with the graveyard for various reasons. They frequently revive “Drytron” monsters via their own effect or the summon effect of “Drytron Gamma Eltanin“. “Drytron” recycles cards like “Cyber Angel Benten“, “Meteonis Drytron“, or even “Eva” constantly, which is not possible when they hit the banishment instead of going to the graveyard. And even certain setup cards like “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir“, “Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal“, or “Foolish Burial” stop working correctly since they simply make cards unobtainable for the deck. For the same reason “Ally of Justice Cycle Reader” is a solid counter against the deck, since there are plenty of Light Attribute targets in the “Drytron” graveyard that will hurt when banished.
Effect negation can also be very helpful, but you cannot simply use any option against “Drytron”. With more and more “Drytron” decks deciding to hit “Herald of Orange Light“, you would possibly be countered when using “Effect Veiler” or other monster effects to stop their plays. However, “Infinite Impermanence” is a solid card to go with since it cannot be stopped by “Herald of Orange Light” due to being a Trap card. The Youtuber “YATA” provided the solid information that a good bottleneck to throw the negate into is when the “Drytron” player decides to Normal Summon “Diviner of the Herald“, which stops further graveyard setup, disallows her from changing her level which in turn makes it more difficult for the “Drytron” player to summon “Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal” later down the line, and also stops the Normal Summon of which the “Drytrons” have only one unlike the various “Drytron” Level 1 Main Deck monster that can technically pop up multiple times per turn. Furthermore, he also recommends “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” as a solid negation target, since this also stops graveyard setup, but more importantly turns the tribute effect off, meaning that the “Drytron” player used two of their potential tributes to make a monster that cannot provide the resources it is normally meant to.
A less straightforward and certainly more risky strategy to counter “Drytron” is to take care of their Ritual Spell “Meteonis Drytron” specifically. Yes, various cards that banish will do that job for you, but there are other cards that also allow you to hamper the deck due to the fact that there are “Drytron” players that only run one copy of the Spell since they apparently do not need to run more. “Prohibition” against “Meteonis Drytron” is certainly iffy, but stops the deck from functioning to a certain degree, while “Imperial Order” just stops the card from functioning. Those are both cards that only work when going first though, which is the turn in which “Drytron” is already significantly weaker, but both cards come with more uses due to being able to name other cards for “Prohibition” if necessary, while “Imperial Order” also takes care of “Drytron Nova“, the copy of “Drytron Fafnir” to search a “Drytron Nova“, or cards like “Cyber Emergency” or “Foolish Burial“.
Some other options that I also found in various places to counter “Drytron” were as follows: The Youtube user “Kai Lee” asked in the Youtube comments of the MST.TV video that I used as the first combo example whether “Super Polymerization” in combination with “Mudragon of the Swamp” would be a valid counter, and I would have to agree. “Super Polymerization” cannot be negated, meaning that the “Drytron” 5+ negate boards you can find so often on Youtube cannot do anything against it, while “Mudragon of the Swamp” can be summoned using two Light monsters with different Types, like a “Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir” being a Light Machine and a “Herald of Ultimateness” being Light Fairy. Also, while I cannot direct to a source with this info, I read that some “Kaijus” can help against the deck. Simply switching “Herald of Ultimateness” or whatever else causes problems against a similarly big monster stat-wise with no negate effects is definitely worth it and decreases the number of negates quite severely right from the start.
Links:
Videos:
MST.TV’s “AUTOWIN Combo I never showed, META Drytron” (October 2021):
This is the video that I referred to for the second combo I listed in the “Playstyle/Combos” section. Despite the clickbaity title, there is a decklist at the beginning of the video with short explanations for why the choices were made before featuring two combo routes for “Drytron”. In my opinion, this is a video worth watching if you want to know more about “Drytron”.
MST.TV’s “HIGH TIER DRYTRON LIOV – Combo Fundamentals Explained” (June 2021):
And here is the video for combo number one in the “Playstyle/Combos” section. No decklist at the start, but more combos and explanations to work with, making this another good watch for “Drytron” players.
Articles:
Eric Meadows’ “Drytron: Your Guide to the Ritual Monster Galaxy” (November 2020):
For anyone that wants to take a glimpse at past “Drytron”, here is an article that theorizes about the archetype before its arrival at the competitive stage in the TCG. Various cards that are named in the article actually make for interesting ideas in deck-building, despite not being the preferable way to run the deck on the competitive stage, so here is some brain fodder if you want a different angle at “Drytron” deckbuilding.
Yugipedia “Drytron” article:
As usual, the card pictures in this article come from Yugipedia. The article on their side also gives a short overview of the cards and their functions, but sadly leaves out the various combo options that are available to the deck.
Sample Decklist (October 2021):
This is my take at “Drytron”. Actually, not quite: I used quite a lot of the ideas of other people, like the aforementioned MST.TV channel to give me an idea for ratios that are not as clear as the three-offs in form of “Drytron Nova” and others. Nonetheless, if you want a start to work and tinker with, this list above could serve as a starter that you are very much invited to use if you want.
