Archetype Analysis: Chemicritter

Last updated: 28.07.2021

Various “Chemicritter” monsters … reacting to/with each other in the artwork of “Catalyst Field“.

I have mentioned before that I like weird, old and somewhat weak archetypes. Anyone can look up the most meta build for the newest archetype and simply run that and you can be sure that I will do the same when talking about meta-relevant decks; at least to gain a level of understanding to work with. However, with the older and more dysfunctional archetypes you really have to think about what you want to do to make them work. Which segways me into the theme of this article: “Chemicritters”. I personally like the archetype, but the fact that they are riddled with the worst summoning method in existence, meaning Gemini, makes them a rather hard deck to work with. Nonetheless, I will share my findings with you and maybe you will like those chemical monsters enough to give them a spin in a Casual round.

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.

“Chemicritter” is an archetype with only Level 2 and Level 8 Main Deck monsters (in addition to a Rank 8 boss monster). All of those Main Deck monsters are Gemini monsters, meaning they start as Normal monsters when summoned and then need to be Normal Summoned again to give them their effects. During times of Link spamming and other monster swarming businesses, having to summon one single monster twice is a rather odd choice in design (granted, “Chemicritters” were a thing before the Link era) and it shows. Nonetheless, there are some card choices that make the deck fairly interesting and sometimes even allows them to be solid in-game. Let’s take a look at their members:

Archetype:

Name: “Chemicritter Carbo Crab“
Level/Rank: 2
ATK/DEF: 700/1400
Attribute/Type: Fire Aqua

This card is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. While this card is a Normal Monster on the field, you can Normal Summon it to have it become an Effect Monster with this effect.
- During your Main Phase: You can send 1 Gemini monster from your Deck to the Graveyard, then add 1 Gemini monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Chemicritter Carbo Crab" once per turn.

“Chemicritter Carbo Crab” is the first monster to talk about. It already shows multiple themes the archetype sticks to: The sum of both ATK and DEF is always 2100 for the Level 2 monster, which in “Carbo Crab’s” case means a rather bad spread of 700 ATK and 1400 DEF, and the monster always sport weird Attribute/Type combinations, which in this case means that “Carbo Crab” is a Fire Aqua monster. The most important thing about this card (like with many others) is its effect: It obviously enters the field as a Normal monster, so you better have something prepared to make it gain its effect, which allows you to “Foolish Burial” a Gemini monster from your deck to then search a Gemini monster to add to your hand. You guessed it, “Carbo Crab” is rather good, since it gives both setup and search effects in one go. There are various ways to give “Carbo Crab” its effect and I will name all of them later in this article, but for now just keep in mind that it normally gets its effect of and is therefore pretty amazing for “Chemicritters”.

Recommended copies: 2-3
“Chemicritter Carbo Crab” is probably the optimal first turn play in “Chemicritters”, which is not as terrible as it sounds. You can go all out and play three copies of “Chemicritter Carbo Crab”, but since other Gemini cards can help you with the graveyard setup and “Dimer Synthesis” is being able to search “Carbo Crab”, I normally decide to go with two copies.

Name: “Chemicritter Hydron Hawk“
Level/Rank: 2
ATK/DEF: 1400/700
Attribute/Type: Water Winged Beast

This card is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. While this card is a Normal Monster on the field, you can Normal Summon it to have it become an Effect Monster with this effect.
- You can discard 1 card, then target 1 Gemini monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it in Defense Position. You can only use this effect of "Chemicritter Hydron Hawk" once per turn.

Next up is “Chemicritter Hydron Hawk”, which sports 1400 ATK and is therefore the biggest Level 2 monster you have at your disposal while being a Water Winged Beast monster. Again, it is a Gemini monster and will therefore be summoned as a Normal monster first, but if you manage to give it its effect, it will do the following: Once per turn, you can discard one card, then target a Gemini monster in your graveyard, which you then revive in defense position. “Hydron Hawk” seems rather nice, simply trading one card for another and therefore having an effect at +0 in card economy terms, but it needs the most setup while actually doing not that much most of the time. I can remember a sizeable number of games in which “Hydron Hawk” would have better been another card, since the effect was near worthless in the given situation and reviving in defense position does not really give me the opportunity of pushing some sneaky damage through.

Recommended copies: 0-1
“Chemicritter Hydron Hawk” is fine as it is, but is not really necessary at high numbers. You can run two if you desperately want to, but I personally would run one copy if you even run the card at all.

Name: “Chemicritter Oxy Ox“
Level/Rank: 2
ATK/DEF: 0/2100
Attribute/Type: Wind Beast

This card is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. While this card is a Normal Monster on the field, you can Normal Summon it to have it become an Effect Monster with this effect.
- During your Main Phase: You can Special Summon 1 Gemini monster from your hand, and if you do, all Gemini monsters you currently control become that monster's original Level until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of "Chemicritter Oxy Ox" once per turn.

“Chemicritter Oxy Ox” is the last Level 2 monster, your low-level defense wall with 2100 DEF and the monster with the best name in this archetype. It seems that Wind Beast is rarely a combination one encounters, but it does not strike me as nearly as odd as Fire Aqua. It is a Normal monster when summoned, yada yada, but the effect is really nice: During you Main Phase, you can simply Special Summon one Gemini monster from your hand and all Gemini monsters you control become that monsters level until the End Phase. This normally means that you summon one of your Level 8 monsters for free, make “Oxy Ox” a Level 8 monster in the process and then overlay them into your boss monster, but there are various other plays possible with this effect.

Recommended copies: 3
“Chemicritter Oxy Ox” is the monster that allows you to go into the big ones in “Chemicritters”. It is a pretty nice card with lots of potential for Xyz plays and should be played at three copies.

Name: “Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre” 
Level/Rank: 8
ATK/DEF: 2800/200
Attribute/Type: Dark Fiend

This card is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. While this card is a Normal Monster on the field, you can Normal Summon it to have it become an Effect Monster with these effects.
- The Normal Summon of a Gemini monster cannot be negated.
- Once per turn: You can banish 1 Gemini monster from your Graveyard, then target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it.

We continue with the big monsters, who ditched the weird Attribute/Type combinations, but still have a stat total they share (although the value is now 3000 instead of 2100). “Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre” is a Level 8 Dark Fiend Gemini monster and will, exactly like the rest of the archetype, enter the field as a Normal monster. Upon being Normal Summoned again or having its effect activated, it gains the effect of making the Normal Summons of Gemini monsters unnegatable, also you can banish a Gemini monster from your graveyard once per turn to target and destroy one card the opponent controls. “Dioxogre” is the main damage dealer in “Chemicritters”: He gets rid of any pesky card that blocks the way, but most of the time, it will simply be a 2800 ATK body. Since it is a Gemini monster, there are multiple ways to easily revive it and the Level of 8 makes it perfect for “Trade-In“, just do not get too hyped about what “Dioxogre” will do since it is normally rather unimpressive combo-wise.

Recommended copies: 2-3
“Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre” is a solid beater for the deck and should be either played at two or three copies, depending on whether or not you are working with “Trade-In” and how many other beaters are in the deck.

Name: “Poly-Chemicritter Hydragon“
Level/Rank: 8
ATK/DEF: 200/2800
Attribute/Type: Water Dragon

This card is treated as a Normal Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. While this card is a Normal Monster on the field, you can Normal Summon it to have it become an Effect Monster with these effects.
- When another Gemini monster is Normal Summoned: You can make that monster gain 500 ATK and DEF.
- If a Gemini monster(s) you control would be destroyed by a card effect, you can destroy 1 other card you control instead.

Pretty much to opposite of “Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre” can be found in “Poly-Chemicritter Hydragon”. It is a Level 8 Water Dragon Gemini monster with pitiful 200 ATK but 2800 DEF, will also be summoned as a Normal monster first due to being a Gemini, but gains the following effects upon activation or resummoning: When another Gemini monster is Normal Summoned, you can make it gain 500 bonus ATK and DEF (keep in mind that you can summon Gemini monsters twice, leading to a 1000 ATK/DEF bonus at maximum) and if a Gemini monster you control would be destroyed by a card effect, you can choose another card you control and destroy that one instead. “Hydragon” is nice, but normally not the first choice to make when summoning or reviving due to its pathetic ATK stat. Also, since it is Normal Summoned and not Special Summoned via “Catalyst Field“, keep in mind that you cannot summon it in face-up Defense Position and therefore have to put it in Attack Position; I have already done that mistake for all of us. “Hydragon” should be in defense and is therefore better when Special Summoned from your graveyard. However, if you can get it activated and make something out of the setup, “Hydragon” is a awesome beast to have on the field.

Recommended copies: 1-2
“Poly-Chemicritter Hydragon” takes a more defensive approach and is therefore not as useful as “Dioxogre“. I would still recommend playing the card, but not at more than two copies.

Name: “Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco” 
Level/Rank: 8
ATK/DEF: 3000/3000
Attribute/Type: Fire Beast-Warrior

2 Level 8 Gemini monsters

When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can target 1 Gemini monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it. While this card has Xyz Material, monsters your opponent controls cannot target Gemini monsters you control for attacks, also your opponent cannot target Gemini monsters you control with card effects. When a Gemini monster is Normal Summoned: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; make your opponent send 1 card from their hand or field to the Graveyard (their choice).

This brings us neatly to the archetypal boss monster: “Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco”. It is a Level 8 Fire Beast-Warrior monster with a solid stat-line of 3000/3000, but specifically asks for the material to be Gemini monsters. For that, you can target one Gemini monster in your graveyard when “Methydraco” is summoned and revive it for no extra cost. As another passive effect, as long as “Methydraco” has Xyz material, monsters your opponent controls cannot target Gemini monsters for attacks or card effects, meaning they have to start dealing with “Methydraco” first. And lastly, whenever a Gemini monster is Normal Summoned, you can detach one material and make the opponent send one card from either their field or their hand to the graveyard. All in all, “Methydraco” is a solid package, with the revive effect upon a 3000 ATK body clearly being the best fact about it and the rest falling under the category of “nice to have”. With “Dioxogre” in your graveyard, this monster can threaten the opponent for 5800 damage when summoned, so it can work as a decent game ending option while also keeping certain decks in check that use targeting effects.

Recommended copies: 1-2
“Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco” is a solid boss monster and should be run at up to two copies.

Name: “Catalyst Field“
Type: Field Spell

Each turn, 1 Level 5 or higher Gemini monster you Normal Summon can be Summoned without Tributing. During your Main Phase, you can Normal Summon 1 Gemini monster in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. (You can only gain this effect once per turn.) Once per turn: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; banish 1 Gemini monster you control, that is treated as an Effect Monster and has gained its effects, until your opponent's End Phase, and if you do, destroy that card.

And then there was “Catalyst Field”. It is fine if you never heard of this card before as it is Gemini support and therefore rather niche by design, but boy is it a card you want to play. “Catalyst Field” has three effects in total: Number one allows you to Normal Summon one Level 5 or higher Gemini monster per turn without tributing anything for it, which means that you can regularly put 2800 ATK beaters on the field without any further cost or necessary interaction with the opponent. Effect number two then allows you to Normal Summon one additional Gemini monster per turn, which has multiple interactions with the first effect. This means that you can either Normal Summon two Gemini monsters (like two Level 2 “Chemicritters” for a Rank 2 Xyz Summon), one Level 5 or higher Gemini and one smaller Gemini monsters (allowing for Link Summons and to send certain high-level monsters to the graveyard), one of the “Chemicritters” with its effects activated (giving you major setup via “Carbo Crab” or an easy Rank 5-8 via “Oxy Ox“) or one Level 5 or higher Gemini monster with its effects activated (giving you various effects from setup via “Hydragon“, spot removal via “Dioxogre” to a “Heavy Storm” via “Darkstorm Dragon“, just to name a few). The third effect allows you to banish a Gemini monster with its effects activated until the opponent’s End Phase (that monster will obviously lose the effects when re-entering the field) to target one card the opponent controls and destroy it. The third effect will be the one that is least used but makes use of the rare occurance of having a Level 2 “Chemicritter” activated on the field but nothing helpful to do with it. Nonetheless, “Catalyst Field” boosts your plays and gives the deck a surprising amount of fire power (considering we are still talking about Gemini monsters here).

Recommended copies: 3
“Catalyst Field” is an amazing Field Spell and I would be lying if I said that you are not depending on it in “Chemicritters”. Run three plus searchers at all times.

Name: “Dimer Synthesis“
Type: Normal Spell

Activate 1 of these effects;
- Add 1 "Catalyst Field" from your Deck to your hand.
- Add 1 "Burnout", and 1 "Chemicritter" monster, from your Deck to your hand.
You can banish this card from your GY, then target 2 face-up monsters you control, including a Gemini monster that is treated as an Effect Monster and has gained its effects; until the end of this turn, make 1 of those monster's ATK 0, and if you do, the second monster gains ATK equal to the first monster's original ATK. You can only use each effect of "Dimer Synthesis" once per turn.

Gemini fans waited for quite some time, but for the first time ever “Chemicritter” receives a new support card. In Dawn of Majesty, Konami gave a sliver of attention to the chemical critters and gave them “Dimer Synthesis”. Upon activation, you can either choose to search your deck for one copy of “Catalyst Field” and add it to your hand, or to search your deck for one copy of “Burnout” and one “Chemicritter” monster and add those cards to your hand. Furthermore, if “Dimer Synthesis” is in your graveyard, you can banish it, then target two monsters you control of which one has to be a Gemini monster with its effect activated, to make the ATK of one of the targets 0 and give ATK points equal to the original ATK of the monster that was changed to 0 ATK to the other target until the end of the turn. “Dimer Synthesis” is actually brilliant support in my opinion, for the reason of searching the incredibly useful Field Spell “Catalyst Field” alone. The fact that it can also be used to go +1 by adding any “Chemicritter” monster and the single Trap card of the archetype in form of “Burnout” when necessary or if “Catalyst Field” is already available is a definite boost in consistency; and my god do they need that boost. The graveyard effect is … fine, I guess. It certainly helps that you can potentially boost one of your monsters over 5000 ATK, but this will rarely be a factor for reasons of simply being able to attack with the monsters individually for damage or due to simply not having enough monsters on the field to even use the effect. “Dimer Synthesis” is a band-aid to fix some of the issues of “Chemicritters” with one card, but I am not complaining since it does its job well.

Recommended copies: 3
“Dimer Synthesis” is a very powerful search option for “Chemicritters” and definitely worth three deck slots.

Name: “Burnout“
Type: Normal Trap

Banish 1 face-up "Chemicritter" monster you control; Special Summon 2 "Chemicritter" monsters from your Deck, with different names from each other. When your opponent declares a direct attack, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 of your banished Gemini monsters; Special Summon it, and if you do, it becomes an Effect Monster and gains its effects. You can only activate 1 "Burnout" per turn.

The last card and the only Trap in the “Chemicritter” archetype is “Burnout”. “Burnout” has two effects: First, you can banish one face-up “Chemicritter” monster you control to summon two differently named “Chemicritter” monster from your deck. This normally means that you take one of your Level 2 “Chemicritters” and summon “Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre” in attack position and “Poly-Chemicritter Hydragon” in Defense Position, with the main problem normally lying in the fact that the Trap speed disallows direct usage in the turn it was played and two Normal monsters even with 2800 in their respective stats do not stop that much from running you over. The second effect requires you to banish “Burnout” from your graveyard (and cannot be triggered in the same turn the card was sent to the graveyard) to target one of your banished Gemini monsters, Special Summon it and activate it as an Effect monster. The second effect is really nice, especially since it does not limit the “Chemicritter” player to an archetypal monster, making various other Gemini monsters viable targets.

Recommended copies: 1-2
“Burnout” is a fine card, but you normally want the second effect more than the first while it is normally not important enough to play “Foolish Burial Goods” for it to trigger. I would suggest one or two copies.

Recommended Engines:

“Red-Eyes”:
“Red-Eyes” is a perfect fit for the “Chemicritters” and I do not even necessarily means the more busted of the cards. A sizeable number of the “Red-Eyes” archetype is made up of Gemini monsters and they work well with the overall strategy. “Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon” not only allows you to use Rank 7 Xyz Monsters via “Chemicritter Oxy Ox” (for example “Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon“) but it can also cause a sizeable amount of burn damage aswell. “Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning” is a walking “Raigeki” against anything with less DEF than the 2500 ATK “Archfiend of Lightning” has at its disposal. With “Red-Eyes Insight“, you can not only put a revivable monster into the graveyard, but you can also search for the single copy of “Red-Eyes Fusion“, which in turn gives you more stuff in the graveyard to work with and can summon “Meteor Black Comet Dragon” turn one for an impressive beater with an in-built burn effect and a revive effect when it leaves the field, switching places with one of the various monsters you filled the graveyard with.

“Tenyi”:
A rather unlikely ally can also be found in the “Tenyi” archetype. Lots of the “Tenyi” cards either asks you to control no Effect monsters or have a non-Effect monster on the field; “Chemicritters” can provide both with relative ease. The main cards you should think about playing are “Tenyi Spirit – Vishuda“, who is easily summonable, has pretty solid defense to keep some monsters at bay and, most importantly, can be banished from the graveyard to bounce an opposing card. “Fists of the Unrivaled Tenyi” is a useful Counter Trap which blocks Spells, Traps and monster effects if you control a face-up non-effect monster. It also has the effect of summoning a non-effect monster from your Extra Deck, which is why a single copy of “Berserker of the Tenyi” can also be pretty helpful. You could go for something bigger, like “Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon“, but “Berserker of the Tenyi” has to bonus of being summonable by the normal method as well as being a target for “Fists of the Unrivaled Tenyi“.

Further useful cards:

Main Deck monsters:

“Darkstorm Dragon“:
“Darkstorm Dragon” is really all you could ask for in “Chemicritter”: With 2700 ATK, it can put out a surprising amount of hurt, it is Level 8 which makes it a prime target for “Trade-In” and the effect of clearing the entire backrow is banned for a reason. Granted, the card is not as fast or consistent as “Heavy Storm“, but popping your own Field Spell (or even a face-down “Burnout” for further use later on) turn one and then clearing the backrow is a fairly dangerous combination.

“Mana Dragon Zirnitron“:
Since the opponent is going to target your “Catalyst Field” on a regular basis, why not profit from it? If the opponent destroys it, summon “Mana Dragon Zirnitron”, get one Spell or Trap for free (for example “Supervise“, which not only activates the Gemini monsters but also gives you another revive). “Mana Dragon Zirnitron” also works as material for “Red-Eyes Fusion” and can then revive itself from the graveyard if your opponent goes in with the backrow removal. “Mana Dragon Zirnitron” also works nicely in combination with “Fists of the Unrivaled Tenyi“, since you will gain two monsters out of the destruction of the Trap card.

“Phoenix Gearfried“:
Another boss monster contender. “Phoenix Gearfried” is a Level 8 monster and can therefore be used with “Trade-In“. With his effect, he can revive your ditched monsters as well as bringing disruption against backrow.

Spell cards:

“Dark Factory of Mass Production“:
A handy retrieval tool for the deck. Since Gemini monsters are treated as Normal monsters while in the graveyard, you can pretty much return whatever you have in the graveyard to your hand and go +1 while doing so.

“Dragon’s Mirror“:
A very handy summoning tool for the “Chemicritters”. There are two monsters that you can, and actually want to summon via “Dragon’s Mirror”, one being “Superalloy Beast Raptinus” who turns all your Geminis into their effect versions as long as it is on the field, and the other being “First of the Dragons“, who asks for two Normal monsters and in return is a sizeable beater with quite a lot of power against Effect monsters. “Dragon’s Mirror” can simply recycle some of the ditched Dragon monsters you will eventually have in your graveyard and therefore makes a fine addition to help some board and/or to turn the tide of the game.

“Monster Reborn“:
The classic revive Spell card. “Chemicritters” have a few revives at their disposal with “Supervise” and “Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco“, but the original version is still very welcome.

“Reasoning“:
In a normal “Chemicritter” deck, you have Level 2 and 8, which is normally not what the opponent calls when playing against an unknown deck. But with the added support cards, you will add Level 6 and 7 to the mix, making “Reasoning” a valid choice for the deck, since it appreciates both graveyard setup and easy Special Summons. This also allows you to re-Normal Summon any Gemini monsters that fit the field, making them even more useful.

“Scapegoat“:
“Scapegoat” is a pretty useful card in “Chemicritters”, since they can make use of multiple facets of the card. The fact that the summoned monsters are Normal monsters still allows for any “Tenyi” cards to activatable, while “Defender of the Labyrinth“, a fairly useful Link monster for the archetype, specifically asks for two Normal monsters. This means that you can simply set the card, activate it during the opposing End Phase and have four tokens to work with during your turn. The card obviously also still allows you to summon some chump blockers (pardon my “Magic the Gathering” slang) and still triggers “Mana Dragon Zirnitron” should it be destroyed prematurely, only to be returned with “Mana Dragon Zirnitron’s” effect.

“Supervise“:
The number one Spell card in any Gemini deck (together with “Catalyst Field“). Equipping a monster to make it gain its effects is really useful and the in-built revive effect makes the card that much more useful. Being an Equip Spell also has the added bonus of interacting with “Phoenix Gearfried” and some other Gemini monster that can use Equips.

“Terraforming“:
The deck needs “Catalyst Field“, which you can search via “Terraforming”. The card is as useful for this deck as it is for any other deck that works with Field Spells; however, keep in mind that you also have “Dimer Synthesis” at your disposal, which is basically an extremely improved version of “Terraforming” in “Chemicritter”.

“Trade-In“:
Discarding a Level 8 monster to draw two cards is pretty nice in a deck that has plenty of stuff to discard and can then revive the discarded monsters later on.

Trap cards:

“Gemini Ablation“:
Actual new Gemini support which came out in the OCG in form of a Fire Warrior Gemini monster deck, while we in the TCG just got the cards in a set. Does not matter how we got it though, since being able to ditch a card from your hand to Special Summon whatever Gemini monster you want with its effects activated is pretty good, even with Trap speed. The second effect can also be triggered if you run “Phoenix Gearfried” and gives the deck another option to destroy card on the field.

“Metaverse“:
You really need that “Catalyst Field” to stop your deck from bricking and to get a nice amount of tempo, so even with nothing to do with the Field Spell in the opposing turn, you can play “Metaverse”. However, since there is also “Dimer Synthesis“, you might not necessarily need “Metaverse” to fetch “Catalyst Field“.

Extra Deck monsters:

“Barricadeborg Blocker“:
This card can be your savior when “Catalyst Field” is getting destroyed and you have no other way to search a copy. “Barricadeborg Blocker” is normally quite hard to get out in “Chemicritter” without the help of “Catalyst Field” (which you are trying to retrieve since it was destroyed), but cards like “Supervise“, “Monster Reborn” or an activated “Chemicritter Oxy Ox” might still be able to accrue the necessary materials.

“Defender of the Labyrinth“:
Pretty much out of nowhere came this excellent support in Link form. “Defender of the Labyrinth” lowers the opposing board while potentially buffing yours and functions as a “Monster Reborn” for non-effect monster when he leaves the field, which is something that can target most of your monsters in the graveyard normally.

“First of the Dragons“:
A summonable monster via “Dragon’s Mirror” (or any generic Fusion Spell actually, if you add them to the deck). With protection against monster effects and battle immunity, certain decks can have trouble dealing with this card; and for exactly those situations should one copy be available in your Extra Deck.

“Number 11: Big Eye“:
Your opponent has some annoying monsters on the field that you cannot get past? Simply steal them with “Number 11: Big Eye”. The need for two Level 7 monsters might seem harsh at first, but can be easily provided for by “Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon” and “Chemicritter Oxy Ox“.

“Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy“:
A Rank 8 monster, which aside from its rather sizeable stats also blocks the usage of Spell cards. The summoning work similarly to that of “Big Eye“: Simply play some of your multiple Level 8 options via “Catalyst Field“, “Monster Reborn” or “Supervise” or use “Chemicritter Oxy Ox” as an easy way to go into Rank 8.

“Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon“:
If “Number 38” is the more Control-oriented option, then this guy is all Aggro. Effect blocking, ATK boosting and multiple attacks on a 3000 ATK beater can cause quite some pain and the summoning process is very much the same as for “Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy“.

“Superalloy Beast Raptinus“:
Another option that you can summon via “Dragon’s Mirror” or by adding some Fusion support. “Raptinus” automatically turns all Gemini monsters into their effect versions, which can be very helpful when combined with “Catalyst Field“. I rarely go into this one to be honest, but in the right situation this card can have quite some impact.

“The Phantom Knights of Cursed Javelin“:
This is more of a tech option than anything, but to have a decent monster to go into with two of your Level 2 monsters can help sometimes. And “The Phantom Knights of Cursed Javelin” is quite good, since it can negate the effect of one monster, set its ATK to 0 and then potentially beat over it with its solid 1600 ATK for a Rank 2 monster.

“Thunder End Dragon“:
“Thunder End Dragon” has some steep costs by asking for two Level 8 Normal monsters specifically, but with some “Catalyst Field” and “Supervise” schenanigans, you can actually get the required materials on the field. And in certain situations having a 3000 ATK beater with an in-built “Raigeki“-effect is probably going to help, making this card a solid one-off.

Playstyle/Combos:

Since you play a Gemini deck, your goal in the game is to Normal Summon monsters; multiple times actually, since you want them to gain their effects. The listed support helps with getting your monsters up to speed, with “Catalyst Field” bringing the big monster on board, while “Supervise” oftentimes targets your Level 2 monsters and is played with its revival effect in mind. Your game start really depends on what options you have drawn into. “Carbo Crab” is solid setup by both searching a monster and putting on into the graveyard (which you can summon when “Supervise” leaves the field). “Oxy Ox” provides no setup, but is the straight way into Xyz monsters when its effect is live. If you have both a Level 2 “Chemicritter” monster and “Burnout” available, you can take the risk of putting it on the field in attack position and doing nothing with it, since it will net you two bigger monsters in the opposing turn; if the opponent does not intervene in some way. Fortunately, both using “Catalyst Field” to make some impressive monster(s) as well as the “Summon Level 2 “Chemicritter”, Set “Burnout“, Pass”-variant are supported by the newest member of the archetype and helpful searcher “Dimer Synthesis“.

If you run the “Red-Eyes” engine, you potentially start the turn with either “Red-Eyes Insight” or “Red-Eyes Fusion” in your hand. You can then fill your graveyard with “Red-Eyes” monsters and summon “Meteor Black Comet Dragon” for an impressive stat block, some burn damage and a revive should it leave the field. The monsters you send to the graveyard can then be used for various options in form of either revival (“Monster Reborn“, “Chemicritter Hydron Hawk“, “Supervise“, “Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco“) or use them as Fusion material for “Dragon’s Mirror“. But no matter what you actually decide to summon, you normally want the effects of the Gemini monsters to be activated. True, there are some cards like the “Fists of the Unrivaled Tenyi” or “Defender of the Labyrinth” who cannot work with effect monsters, but having better monsters is worth more in the long run. “Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre” can turn into a solid removal tool, while “Catalyst Field” can make use of activated Gemini monsters, both clearing the field while many other cards can make use of whatever you put into the graveyard. Simply keep in mind that “Chemicritters” take action themselves rather than waiting for their turn to react to things, which is well illustrated in their playstyle.

Weaknesses/Counters:

While not completely stranded without it, “Chemicritters” do need “Catalyst Field” to make most of their plays and keep the consistency somewhat intact. As such, they can be crippled with backrow removal of any sort: “Mystical Space Typhoon“, “Cosmic Cyclone“, “Tornado Dragon“, “Knightmare Phoenix” and many more cards can destroy their key card. Furthermore, “Chemicritters” have to summon a lot and they often have to summon monsters twice. This allows any summon negation to trigger and, worse even, to take monsters of the field that were already on the field but just needed their effects to go live, effectively eliminating both the regular Normal Summon and the “Catalyst Field” effect by good timing. The “Chemicritter” monsters are not as prone to effect negation as other archetypes, but again, with good timing you can stops some plays when it hurts the most.

The entire archetype has a focus on the graveyard, since a lot of “Chemicritter” cards and Gemini support in general interacts with revival effects quite a lot. With cards like “Macro Cosmos” or “Dimensional Fissure“, you can severely hinder the “Chemicritter” players ability to make plays, since a large portion of the strategy has no targets to revive anymore. Mass removal can be quite damaging to the “Chemicritters”, since they have to summon monsters twice in the worst case scenario, making destruction and bounce effects rather effective. Another option to mess with them is simply flipping them face-down, since they will lose all effects in the process and have to be Normal Summoned anew.

Sample Decklist (July 2021):

If you are not sure what certain cards are or if you would like to download the deck, you can find anything necessary under this link: https://ygoprodeck.com/chemicritter-deck/.

Here is my take at a “Chemicritter” build. The deck runs three copies “Chemicritter Oxy Ox” and two copies of “Chemicritter Carbo Crab“, since you need them for your setup, while “Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre” is your main beater. You only really need one of “Poly-Chemicritter Hydragon” in my opinion, since it is relatively hard to summon safely while not really providing much power in the first place. One copy, however, is very much needed to make the most out of the copies of “Burnout“. Three copies of “Catalyst Field” are absolutely mandatory, as are three copies of “Dimer Synthesis” for obvious reasons. Aside from the “Chemicritter” core, I run the aforementioned “Red-Eyes” engine, since I often ran into the problem of having nothing good to revive in my graveyard when playing the deck pure. With cards like “Red-Eyes Insight” and “Red-Eyes Fusion“, you get so many targets that you should not be worried about “Supervise” having nothing to revive at all. The rest of the Main Deck really consists of a number of useful options such as some “Tenyi” cards, “Reasoning” for an additional monster on the field, “Dragon’s Mirror” for the Fusion options in the Extra Deck, “Monster Reborn” for further revives, “Gemini Ablation” for summons directly from the deck and “Lost Wind” to keep the opposing monsters in check. The Extra Deck consists of useful Rank 7 and Rank 8 monster (with two copies of the archetypal boss monster “Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco“), “Meteor Black Comet Dragon” for the “Red-Eyes Fusion“, “Superalloy Beast Raptinus” and “First of the Dragons” for “Dragon’s Mirror” and the four different Link monsters for various effects.

Monster (16):

2x “Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre“
1x “Darkstorm Dragon“
1x “Poly-Chemicritter Hydragon“
2x “Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon“
2x “Tenyi Spirit – Vishuda“
1x “Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning“
2x “Mana Dragon Zirnitron“
2x “Chemicritter Carbo Crab“
3x “Chemicritter Oxy Ox“

Spell/Trap (24):

1x “Red-Eyes Fusion“
1x “Reasoning“
1x “Dragon’s Mirror“
1x “Monster Reborn“
3x “Dimer Synthesis“
1x “Red-Eyes Insight“
1x “Scapegoat“
3x “Supervise“
3x “Catalyst Field“
1x “Heavy Storm Duster“
2x “Burnout“
2x “Lost Wind“
2x “Gemini Ablation“
2x “Fists of the Unrivaled Tenyi“

Extra Deck (15):

1x “First of the Dragons“
1x “Meteor Black Comet Dragon“
1x “Superalloy Beast Raptinus“
2x “Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco“
1x “Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy“
1x “Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon“
1x “Thunder End Dragon“
1x “Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon“
1x “Number 11: Big Eye“
1x “Berserker of the Tenyi“
1x “Knightmare Phoenix“
2x “Defender of the Labyrinth“
1x “Barricadeborg Blocker“