Last updated: 23.03.2021
Not all archetypes stay weak or strong over their lifespan in the game of Yugioh. While certain groups of cards gain more popularity and power by getting new support, being able to use new rules or having some insane synergy with other cards that get released into the game, for some archetypes quite the opposite is true. Which brings us to “Flamvell”, the topic of this Archetype Analysis. “Flamvell” were released around the time when the first Synchro monsters were introduced into the game and quickly became a very playable deck that was fairly flexible in terms of combining multiple archetypes as one deck. “Flamvells” had their time with “Lightsworns”, just to name an example, but the game became faster, older Synchro monsters took a hit due to better cards being released constantly while also needing to keep up with new summoning mechanics such as Xyz, Pendulum or Links. The “Flamvells” therefore drifted into relative obscurity, with most people saying that anyone who wants to play the “Flamvells” could better build a “Laval” deck due to their similar strategies. But while “Laval” is certainly something that I will write about in the future, for now we are going to take a look at the “Flamvell” archetypes and see what they are still able to do in 2020.
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.
“Flamvell” is a Fire Attribute archetype which spawned around the time Duel Terminal/Hidden Arsenal came out. They try to go for a beatdown and burn strategy, but like many archetypes back in the day, they do not have any focus or overarching strategy. Furthermore, I already mentioned that they brought some of the first Synchro Monsters into the game (which means that a sizeable amount of their game plan is summoning Synchros), but nowadays the speed of the game makes modern Yu-Gi-Oh a rather toxic environment for those Synchro monsters and “Flamvell” in general. “Flamvell” was actually revisited by the design team, which spawned the sub-archetype of “Neo Flamvell”, who in addition to the beatdown strategy also banish cards from the opponents graveyard. While that functions more as a control mechanic than something a beatdown deck would do, they do still stay true to the Synchro aggro play style. But let us take a look at some actual cardboard to understand the “(Neo-)Flamvells” better:
Archetype:
Name: “Rekindling“
Type: Normal Spell
Special Summon from your GY as many FIRE monsters as possible with 200 DEF, but banish them during the End Phase of this turn.
This is another one of those archetypes that needs a certain card introduced before talking about any of the other cards to actually make sense of it all in the long run. In this case, the number one Spell card in “Flamvell” (and the only one to be released with them in mind) is “Rekindling”. “Rekindling” is not only the most important Spell for “Flamvell” though: Almost any other FIRE archetype in the game can make use of the fact that they have 200 DEF and are therefore summonable via this card. With some graveyard setup, this card will revive up to five monsters from your Graveyard, with the only drawback being that they are banished during the End Phase. Play “Rekindling”, go crazy with Link or Synchro Summoning or simply attack the opponent with the army of monsters you just created. “Rekindling” is your main play-enabler and finisher and should therefore be played at three copies, period.
Recommended copies: 3
Original “Flamvell” monsters:
Name: “Flamvell Guard“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 100/2000
Attribute/Type: Fire Dragon
A Flamvell guardian who commands fire with his will. His magma-hot barrier protects his troops from intruders.
Before we go over the monsters in the archetype that actually sport an effect, we interrupt this analysis for the single Normal Monster of the “Flamvell” archetype: “Flamvell Guard”. Aside from being FIRE Attribute, it does not really work with the archetype in the slightest due to being a Dragon-Type and having 2000 DEF, and therefore 1800 DEF more than desired in this archetype. “Flamvell Guard” has its uses, for example being a Level 1 Tuner and therefore searchable by “One for One” in an archetype that can make the most out of the discarded card, while the Dragon-typing makes “Cards of Consonence” a potential candidate to play, but the fact remains that “Flamvell Guard” probably does more in other decks than it does in “Flamvell”. Therefore, I would play zero.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Flamvell Baby“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 800/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
You can send this card from your hand to the GY, then target 1 FIRE monster you control; that target gains 400 ATK.
The other Level 1 Tuner of the “Flamvell” archetype is “Flamvell Baby”. The ATK stat of “Flamvell Baby” can be straight up ignored, but its defense is actually noteworthy: “Flamvell Baby” works with every card and strategy of the “Flamvell” archetype, being a FIRE Pyro monster and having exactly 200 DEF; not that that is saying much. It can be discarded for a miniscule (but permanent) ATK boost, but the overall usage of “Rekindling” in the deck makes the discarding part of the effect the actually beneficial part of using this card. Since “Flamvell Baby” is a Tuner, you can technically summon Level 2 – 5 Synchro Monsters if necessary, but getting the card out via Normal Summon while still playing an additional monster and still being able to attack is already reasonably difficult for “Flamvell”. It is pretty useful level-wise for the summon of “Formula Synchron“, but the overall problem of not being able to spam (aside from using “Rekindling“) stays the same. In my opinion, “Flamvell Baby’s” place in a “Flamvell” deck is somewhat complicated. On one hand, the setup for “Rekindling” revives is good and helpful. On the other hand, the Levels you can go into Synchro Summon-wise are rather bad for what I normally want to summon and the effect when discarded is almost non-existent. I would suggest running this one by preference.
Recommended copies: 0-3
Name: “Flamvell Poun“
Level/Rank: 1
ATK/DEF: 200/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: You can add 1 monster with 200 DEF from your Deck to your hand.
We continue with “Flamvell Poun”, the searcher of the “Flamvell” archetype. As a Level 1 monster with 200/200, it has quite a number of cards it can potentially interact with (“One for One“, “Where Arf Thou?“, “Rekindling“, “Flamvell Firedog” and so on), but the important question is if you really want to. The search effect allows you to search any monster with 200 DEF from your deck, which is massive since “Flamvell Poun” it does not care about Attribute or Type, just about the DEF stat. In a “Flamvell” deck, the search is probably used to fetch Tuners or a copy of “Flamvell Firedog“. However, this search only triggers when “Flamvell Poun” is destroyed by battle, which opens up a number of problems: Any form of effect removal blocks the search, but the most pressing issue is summoning “Flamvell Poun” in the first place, since it does not have any sort of Special Summoning condition and just Normal Summoning it in this day and age can lead to an easy OTK for the opponent. Lastly, “Flamvell Poun” puts the searched card into the player’s hand instead of summoning it right to the field, so any “Mystic Tomato“-esque shenanigans are impossible. Pray for your life when setting this guy, run into the opponent’s monster yourself with “Flamvell Poun” or simply don’t run it at all. If you ask me, I would recommend playing zero copies.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Flamvell Dragnov“
Level/Rank: 2
ATK/DEF: 1100/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Dragon
If this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent. You can banish this card from your GY and 1 face-up FIRE monster you control; add 1 "Flamvell Dragnov" from your Deck to your hand.
“Flamvell Dragnov” is next in line. With a level of 2 and 1100/200 as stats, it is not going to be to biggest damage dealer in your deck straightaway. This is also reflected in its effect: When “Flamvell Dragnov” is destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, it inflicts 500 damage to the opponent. Furthermore, you can banish “Flamvell Dragnov” from your graveyard together with another Fire Attribute monster on your side of the field to search your deck for another copy of “Flamvell Dragnov” and add it to your hand. The card just straight bad: It is small stat-wise and even the fact the it has 200 DEF for revival via “Rekindling” does not help since “Flamvell Dragnov” is not really a good monster to run or revive in the first place. It burns the opponent only if it is destroyed in battle and then only if it hits the graveyard, so any “Macro Cosmos” or “Dimensional Fissure” will straight-up nullify this effect. And in the graveyard it can then banished itself and one of your monsters on the field (which has to be FIRE and therefore allows for no “D.D. Scout Plane” or similar monsters) to fetch another “Flamvell Dragnov” and only adds it to the HAND. The burn is laughable, the search is terrible and both effects combined already exist as a better version in “Giant Germ“, which is not run in any deck either. Thus, “Flamvell Dragnov” is an all around terrible card and should be skipped at all costs.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Flamvell Archer“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 1000/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
Once per turn, you can Tribute 1 face-up Pyro-Type monster you control to have all "Flamvell" monsters on the field gain 800 ATK until the End Phase.
This brings us to “Flamvell Archer”. This card is a relatively useful Level 3 Tuner (useful in comparison to the other “Flamvell” monsters, not in general) and fits the archetype perfectly by being both Pyro-Type and having 200 DEF which makes it summonable via “Rekindling“. Its effect allows you to, once per turn, tribute one face-up Pyro-Type monster you control and boost all “Flamvell” monsters by 800 ATK for the rest of the turn. The effect is rather subpar, but can obviously be used when “Rekindling” summons a massive amount of monsters onto the field. While the effect only buffs “Flamvells”, you can tribute any Pyro-Type monster you might play. Furthermore, due to being a Pyro-Type itself, “Flamvell Archer” can also sacrifice himself for his effect to trigger and buff whatever “Flamvells” are still on the field. In short, “Flamvell Archer” combines being a Tuner monster with a mediocre ATK boost effect, and works as a situational one-off in my opinion.
Recommended copies: 1
Name: “Flamvell Firedog“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1900/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Beast
When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 FIRE monster with 200 or less DEF from your Deck, except "Flamvell Firedog".
“Flamvell Firedog” is not only the next monster to talk about but also unquestionably THE monster to go for in “Flamvell”. Its effect needs it to destroy something in battle, which certainly is a drawback when compared to what other archetypes can do nowadays, but summoning almost the entire archetype plus a wide array of FIRE monsters is a welcome addition to any “Flamvell” deck, which are normally devoid of Special Summoning (aside from the much-mentioned “Rekindling“). It also widens to search pool to any Fire Attribute monster with 200 or less DEF instead of only exactly 200 DEF. All of this is combined in a monster with 1900 ATK, which is nothing special nowadays anymore, but was a sizeable amount of ATK on a monster of its caliber back in the day. Additionally, it can be summoned via “Red Resonator” and instantly used to make monsters like “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier” to remove threads from the board and to stack up the graveyard for further “Rekindling” plays. With “Red Resonator” and “Flamvell Firedog” you are also presented with one of the ways to go up to Level 10 Synchro Summoning in “Flamvell”. Simply kick something with “Flamvell Firedog” and get another monster, then use all of them for a Synchro Summon in Main Phase 2. This would allow the player to go for cards like “Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier“, or “Baronne de Fleur” if you have money to spend. With the help of “Flamvell Archer“, a summon via “Rekindling” can turn it into a 2700 ATK beater and fetch you another monster to attack with in the Battle Phase while your entire board is powered up. Lets sum it all up: “Flamvell Firedog” is probably the best monster card the “Flamvell” archetype has to offer. It is therefore a must-have in any “Flamvell” deck and should always be played at three copies, despite the fact that it heavily relies on battle to do anything.
Recommended copies: 3
Name: “Flamvell Grunika“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1700/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Dragon
If this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the GY: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the original Level of the destroyed monster x 200.
“Flamvell Grunika” is next and serves as one of the beaters of the “Flamvell” archetype. With a Level of 4 and a statline of 1700/200, it does resemble “Flamvell Firedog“, only being a Dragon-Type instead of a Beast-Type (and obviously missing 200 ATK). Sadly, “Flamvell Grunika” doesn’t really pack enough of a punch to be of relevance in the deck: The effect states that whenever “Flamvell Grunika” destroys a monster in battle, it inflicts damage equal to 200 times the destroyed monster’s level. With its ATK stat in mind, this means that it will probably never get more than 800 burn damage done and any strategy to increase its effectiveness will take away more cards than its worth. “Flamvell Grunika” is a way to do some extra damage when going all in with “Rekindling“, but there is really not much more going for the card. Long story short, “Flamvell Grunika” is not a terrible card in “Flamvell”, but it is certainly worse than other options like “Flamvell Firedog“. Run the card by preference if you want to, however I would skip it entirely.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Flamvell Magician“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1400/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Spellcaster
Gains 400 ATK while you control an "Ally of Justice" monster.
After this comes “Flamvell Magician”, and oh boy am I conflicted when talking about this card. As a Level 4 monster, it is kind of useful for certain Xyz plays and has a nice level for Synchro Summons, while the fact that he is a Tuner is also pretty nice. The effect of “Flamvell Magician”, however, is something else: It gains a bonus 400 ATK as long as you control an “Ally of Justice” monster, which is absolutely bonkers since there is zero reason to even play those in “Flamvell”; or in general to be entire honest. The means that “Flamvell Magician” is technically a Normal Monster that is banned from using useful Normal Monster-based cards like for example “Unexpected Dai“. But despite the fact that “Flamvell Magician” seems to be absolutely useless, it is one of only 3 Level 4 Fire Tuner monsters in the entire game, making it a reasonable option if you want to go into Level 8 Synchros via “Flamvell Firedog“. Granted, “Flamvell Magician” is pretty useless in any other regard and I personally dread drawing into this guy, but if you like to work with a Level 4 Tuner that has the right Attribute, this is pretty much the choice to go for. Its a silly card that I would recommend running one of, since drawing into it is terrible but more likely to happen at higher copy counts.
Recommended copies: 0-1
Name: “Flamvell Fiend“
Level/Rank: 5
ATK/DEF: 2100/1200
Attribute/Type: Fire Fiend
When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each Pyro-Type monster in your Graveyard.
We continue our journey through the “Flamvell” archetype with “Flamvell Fiend”. “Flamvell Fiend” needs a tribute to enter the field normally due to being Level 5, which is already hard to come by in “Flamvell” and then only sports 2100 ATK. Paradoxically, it cannot be searched by anything in the archetype, because “Flamvell Fiend” liked to have six times the necessary DEF value with 1200 DEF. Effect-wise, it deals 200 damage for every Pyro-Type monster in your graveyard when it deals battle damage to the opponent, which is already unlikely since it needs to run into an Attack Position monster unimpeded and then only burns for Pyro-Types instead of FIRE monsters, which would still be bad if it checked for the Attribute but would make a lot more sense since not all “Flamvell” monsters are Pyros. Lastly, to add insult to injury, “Flamvell Fiend” itself does not even support its own effect: “Flamvell Fiend” is apparently so fiendish that it is a Fiend-Type monster instead of Pyro-Type, which means that any additional copies of it in the graveyard have no effect on the burn effect whatsoever. An absolutely horrible card that deserves zero deck slots.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Flamvell Commando“
Level/Rank: 6
ATK/DEF: 2200/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
This card cannot be Special Summoned. This card can only be Normal Summoned by Tributing 1 "Flamvell" monster you control. Once per turn, you can remove from play 1 monster in your Graveyard with 200 DEF to inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK.
We increase the level by one to reach “Flamvell Commando”. This Level 6 Pyro-Type monster with 2200/200 as its stats has potentially the biggest burn damage available in the “Flamvell” archetype. Once per turn, you can banish one monster with 200 DEF from your graveyard to inflict burn damage to your opponent equal to the banished monster’s ATK. By banishing cards like “Ancient Flamvell Deity“, you can inflict an easy 2500 damage, which is a lot even at today’s standard. Unfortunately, due to the fact that “Flamvell Commando” can be enormously helpful with the burn strategy the “Flamvells” can potentially use, Konami decided to limit its overall usefulness immensely. “Flamvell Commando” cannot be Special Summoned, so even though the card has 200 DEF, it cannot be summoned via “Rekindling” or by “Flamvell Firedog“, the two main play-enablers of the archetype. Furthermore, it can only be Normal Summoned by tributing a “Flamvell” monster, effectively disallowing the card from being splashed into anything or being able to use any of the non-“Flamvell” cards you might run as tribute. This is a massive blow to the playability of “Flamvell Commando” and pretty much transforms him into a brick at all times. Just play zero.
Recommended copies: 0
“Neo Flamvell” monsters:
Name: “Neo Flamvell Origin“
Level/Rank: 2
ATK/DEF: 500/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
If you control a "Flamvell" monster, except "Neo Flamvell Origin", and your opponent has 3 or less cards in their GY, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand).
Next up is the first monster of the “Neo-Flamvell” sub-archetype, “Neo Flamvell Origin”. It is a Level 2 Tuner and one of the archetype’s early game play-enablers. “Neo Flamvell Origin” is revivable via “Rekindling” since it has the necessary 200 DEF and has the effect that if you control a face-up “Flamvell” monster (except another copy of “Neo Flamvell Origin”) and your opponent has at most three cards in their graveyard, you can Special Summon “Neo Flamvell Origin” from your hand. This is not a good effect in comparison to what gets printed nowadays, but it gives an archetype without many swarming effects something to work with. Simply Normal Summon any “Flamvell” monster and just follow-up with “Neo Flamvell Origin” for a Link Summon or a Synchro Summon of Level 3 to Level 6. “Neo Flamvell Origin” is probably going to lose its Special Summon ability after the first turn of your opponent, since filling the graveyard is not only easier in modern Yugioh due to increased game speed but also something certain decks actively do in order to make their plays. The “Neo Flamvell” strategy actually resolves around clearing the opposing graveyard, but it is too slow and clunky to actually make that happen consistently, making “Neo Flamvell Origin” only really useful when going first, which is also why I would suggest running this one by preference.
Recommended copies: 0-3
Name: “Neo Flamvell Garuda“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 1200/1800
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
Once per turn, during your End Phase, if you control another "Flamvell" monster: Target 1 card in your opponent's GY; banish it.
“Neo Flamvell Garuda” is next in line to prove the worth of the “Neo” strategy. Sadly, “Ne Flamvell Garuda” has not gotten the memo saying which archetype it belongs to, which resulted in it being a massive 1800 DEF (while only having 1200 ATK, which is unfortunate in a beatdown strategy), and is therefore absolutely unsearchable for any “Flamvell” card and not revivable via “Rekindling“. It does stay true to the “Neo Flamvell” playstyle though with its effect banishing one card from the opposing graveyard during the End Phase if you control another “Flamvell” monster, but I am struggling to see this effect as being beneficial to anything you want to do. “Neo Flamvell Garuda’s” effect being set to only activate during the End Phase means that you are most likely not able to interrupt any opposing plays regarding the graveyard and the fact that an effect as weak as this one even has another restriction by only being useable when another “Flamvell” monster is present is almost insulting. Just skip this card when building a “Flamvell” deck, it will be better that way.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Neo Flamvell Hedgehog“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 800/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
If this card is destroyed by battle: Target 1 card in your opponent's GY; banish it. If this card on the field is destroyed by card effect: Target 1 FIRE monster with 200 or less DEF in your GY, except "Neo Flamvell Hedgehog"; add that target to your hand.
The “Neo-Flamvell” line-up greets us with its first Tuner in form of “Neo-Flamvell Hedgehog”. It is a Level 3 Tuner and is sadly much worse than “Flamvell Archer” on the Aggro front due to its inability to boost ATK at all. Instead, it has two other effects: Upon being destroyed in battle, “Neo Flamvell Hedgehog” banishes one card from the opposing graveyard, which is pretty much useless since it only imitates a “D.D. Crow” but without the right timing to be a serious contender for graveyard control. The second effect is a little bit better, since it fetches you a 200 DEF Fire Attribute monster if “Neo Flamvell Hedgehog” is destroyed via a card effect. This second effect does not even need to be triggered by your opponent, allowing for plays with cards that destroy a cost akin to “Zoodiac Barrage” or “True Draco” cards; however, those would probably only further decrease the playability of the deck if you still want to run a noticeable “Flamvell” core or transform the deck into whatever you splash into it in the long run since the engine will be noticeably better than the “Flamvells”. “Neo Flamvell Hedgehog” is a subpar recovery tool at best, which means you should not waste deck space on it.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Neo Flamvell Shaman“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 1700/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, and you have 3 or more "Flamvell" monsters in your GY: Target 1 card in your opponent's GY; banish it, then if your opponent had no Spells in their GY when this effect was activated, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.
So far, the track record for the “Neo Flamvells” does not look too good, so lets see if “Neo Flamvell Shaman” can change that. “Neo Flamvell Shaman” fits perfectly into archetype with a Fire Attribute, Pyro-typing and 1700/200 as stats but the effect it comes with is actually abysmal: “Neo Flamvell Shaman” needs to destroy a monster in battle, then you need to have at least three “Flamvells” in your graveyard, and only then can you banish one card in the opponent’s graveyard. Should your opponent have no Spell cards in the graveyard when this effect activates, they also take a bonus 500 burn damage. So, let me get this straight: You need to destroy a monster in battle, which is already relying on the opponent to even have a monster available that is small enough to be destroyed by 1700 ATK. Then, you already have played enough cards to have three or more “Flamvells” in the graveyard while still having “Neo Flamvell Shaman” on the field. Then “Neo Flamvell Shaman” banishes one card from the graveyard, which is probably a pointless gesture most of the time and then the extra burn only applies when there are no Spell Cards in the opponent’s Graveyard upon activation of this effect; completely ignoring the fact that 500 burn damage is a pretty insignificant amount. “Neo Flamvell Shaman”, while doing the things its archetype wants to do, really functions like a Normal Monster most of the time, which is simply not good enough and therefore does make it a card to play zero copies of.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Neo Flamvell Lady“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1600/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
(Quick Effect): You can send 1 FIRE monster from your hand to the GY, then target 1 card in your opponent's GY; banish that card. If a card is banished from your opponent's GY, while you control this monster (except during the Damage Step): You can send 1 FIRE monster with 200 or less DEF from your Deck to the GY, except "Neo Flamvell Lady". You can only use each effect of "Neo Flamvell Lady" once per turn.
“Neo Flamvell Lady” is the newest “Flamvell” support card from Dark Neostorm; which has been some time at this point. She fits neatly into all themes she is required to be part of: Being a Fire Pyro monster is pretty much mandatory, Level 4 means she is useful as Xyz and Synchro material, with 1600 ATK she can potentially fight opposing monsters and creates a nice foundation to receive a “Flamvell Archer” attack boost, while her 200 DEF allow her to be part of any “Flamvell Firedog” and “Rekindling” schenanigans you plan over the course of the game. In addition to that, she does pretty much any setup for “Flamvell” and “Neo Flamvell” you could want via her effects: As a Quick Effect, you can send one Fire Attribute monster from your hand to the graveyard to then target one card in the opposing graveyard which then is banished. Furthermore, if a card in the opposing graveyard is banished while you control “Neo Flamvell Lady”, you can send one monster with 200 DEF from your deck to the graveyard (except another copy of “Neo Flamvell Lady”). Both effects of “Neo Flamvell Lady” are only usable once per turn. But despite being “once per turn”-effects, she does a lot of good things for the archetype: Graveyard manipulation on both sides of the field is pretty solid, with your graveyard slowly being filled for “Rekindling” plays while the opposing plays can actually be disrupted since her effect is a Quick Effect and enable her to react on time. She is good monster card, which could grow to be quite insane if Konami decides to give “Flamvell” ways to use the setup “Neo Flamvell Lady” creates. Play three of her.
Recommended copies: 3
Name: “Neo Flamvell Sabre“
Level/Rank: 4
ATK/DEF: 1500/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
While your opponent has 4 or less cards in their GY, this card gains 600 ATK. While your opponent has 8 or more cards in their GY, this card loses 300 ATK.
“Neo Flamvell Sabre”, unlike other cards like “Neo Flamvell Garuda“, does understand what archetype it belongs to. With a Fire Attribute, Pyro-Typing, 1500 ATK with a boosting effect and 200 DEF for all the other things “Flamvell” tries to do (like “Rekindling” plays). Unfortunately, “Neo Flamvell Sabre” will lose its edge very soon after starting the game, since his ATK stat is completely reliant on how many cards your opponent has in their graveyard: With four or less cards “Neo Flamvell Sabre” has a nice 2100 ATK to work with, with five to seven cards he falls back to his normal attack stat of 1500 ATK and as soon as there are eight or more cards in the opposing graveyard he shrinks to a pitiful 1200 ATK. Putting 4 cards into the graveyard in one turn is not really unrealistic and there are decks like “Lightsworn” which will easily unlocks the low ATK stat, making “Neo Flamvell Sabre” dead on arrival against those archetypes. Again, the “Neo Flamvell” cards try to empty the opposing graveyard, but are not nearly fast or consistent enough to work against this barrage of cards in the Graveyard while doing their work in other zones of the field. And while cards like “Macro Cosmos” or “Dimensional Fissure” exist, they also countering your deck since they kill “Rekindling“. Therefore, “Neo Flamvell Sabre” is simply not worth it.
Recommended copies: 0
Extra Deck monsters:
Name: “Flamvell Uruquizas“
Level/Rank: 6
ATK/DEF: 2100/400
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage. If this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: It gains 300 ATK.
“Flamvell Uruquizas” is the first boss monster the “Flamvell” archetype has to offer. This one is rather generic and works more like an old “Elemental Hero” monster than anything “Flamvell” did so far, meaning it basically deals piercing damage and boosts his ATK whenever it deals battle damage to a player. “Flamvell Uruquizas” cannot be revived via “Rekindling” because it liked the idea of having two times as much of the needed DEF value, which leaves it at an insane DEF stat of 400 and therefore makes him incompatible with his own archetype. The fact that it only starts with 2100 ATK as a monster that can only attack and does nothing for the board state in general is the final nail in the coffin for “Flamvell Uruquizas”. It is not worth to run this card, play some other Synchro or Link options instead.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Ancient Flamvell Deity“
Level/Rank: 7
ATK/DEF: 2500/200
Attribute/Type: Fire Pyro
1 FIRE Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner Pyro monsters If this card is Synchro Summoned: Banish cards from your opponent's GY, up to the number of cards in their hand, and if you do, this card gains 200 ATK for each card banished by this effect.
And boss monster number two of the “Flamvell” archetype is “Ancient Flamvell Deity”. This Level 7 Synchro Monster puts a check into all the boxes that are required by the “Flamvell” archetype: It is a 2500 ATK beater with an added ATK boosting effect, it has 200 DEF so it can be revived via “Rekindling” if it was summoned correctly the first time and in support of the “Neo Flamvell” archetype it even banishes cards from the opposing graveyard. It also is relatively easy to summon via combos like “Flamvell Firedog” fetching a “Flamvell Archer” with its effect. The effect of “Ancient Flamvell Deity” allows you to banish cards from the opponent’s graveyard up to the number of cards they have in hand and for every banished card “Ancient Flamvell Deity” gains a bonus of 200 ATK. The monster, sadly, has a tendency to be competely irrelevant: It is very much possible that “Ancient Flamvell Deity” has no effect at all when summoned due to the opponent not having any cards in hand and manipulating the opponent’s handsize is not only something that “Flamvell” do not really work with but is also potentially loading the gun that points at you. But even if it gets to banish four cards, it is still only a 3100 ATK monster with no further effect or protection. The card is simply past its prime. You can play one to use it as a Link material and then revive it directly afterward with “Rekindling” for a more impressive board, but the monster itself will rarely turn the game around.
Recommended copies: 0-1
Name: “Flamvell Counter“
Type: Counter Trap
When a Spell/Trap Card is activated: Banish 1 FIRE monster with 200 DEF from your Graveyard; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it.
Which brings us to the only backrow card that actually has the “Flamvell” moniker in its name: “Flamvell Counter”. It is a Counter Trap that you can activate when a Spell of Trap card is activated. As an additional cost, you need to banish a monster with 200 DEF from your graveyard and then you can negate the activated card and destroy it. “Flamvell Counter” certainly works with anything the archetype does and the effect is overall okay for a Counter Trap, but the main question you have to ask yourself is if you really need a single Counter Trap in a beatdown-focussed deck. I would say that you can run by preference, depending on how the rest of the deck is looking.
Recommended copies: 0-3
Recommended Engines:
While “Laval” is probably the first thing that comes into mind when talking about combining “Flamvells” with something, I do see problems with a “Laval” engine and a “Flamvell” core: The “Flamvells” are fairly generic and inclusive in their effects, unlike the “Laval” cards which need “Lavals” to actually work. As soon as I make the “Laval” article I will talk further about the combination, but if you mainly want to play “Flamvell” they make for a bad choice. However, there are other archetypes to consider:
“Resonator”/”Red Dragon Archfiend”:
“Red Resonator” is one of your main playmakers in “Flamvell”, since it basically plays like a specifically made “Flamvell” support card; three copies of that little guy are definitely needed. Weirdly enough, you will heal quite a solid amount with “Red Resonator” and “Rekindling“, giving “Flamvell” a defensive option that was unheard of in a pure “Flamvell” or a “Lightsworn”/”Flamvell” combination. To make the entire “Resonator” idea that much more tempting, they also bring their own searcher in form of “Resonator Call“. But the boss monsters are also not too bad: The classic “Red Dragon Archfiend” works well as a Level 8 option and can be opted for after a successful “Rekindling” play. If that is too much to ask for though, you can also go into “Red Rising Dragon“, who works as a convenient stepping stone into the bigger members of the archetype while having exactly the necessary level to be summoned via the “Red Resonator” plus “Flamvell Firedog“/”Neo Flamvell Lady” combo.
Further useful cards:
Main Deck monsters:
“Cataclysmic Scorching Sunburner“:
A solid support card for the “Flamvell” playstyle in my opinion. The card triggers upon you losing monsters, which happens quite frequently, has 2600 ATK which is a sizeable number and even burns for some amount of damage which is in the spirit of the overall “Flamvell” playstyle. But most importantly, “Cataclysmic Scorching Sunburner” has 200 DEF, allowing you to revive it for the usual “Rekindling” shenanigans.
“Guerilla Kite“:
I know that this option might seem confusing, but hear me out. “Flamvell Magician” was all the rage back in the day due to him being a Level 4 Fire Tuner, something that is incredibly rage even nowadays. “Guerilla Kite” fills exactly the spot that “Flamvell Magician” used to have, being a Level 4 Fire Tuner, but with an small burn effect that you can actually trigger instead of some stupid stat-boost if you also run “Ally of Justice” and 200 ATK more. “Guerilla Kite” is certainly not the strongest card, but if you plan to go into Level 8 Synchro monsters with only two materials, you might as well play it.
“Volcanic Shell“:
This is mostly discard fodder, since it allows you to search another copy for the low price of 500 LP. “Neo Flamvell Lady” can discard those guys as well as setting the search up by putting a copy straight into the graveyard.
Spell cards:
“Card Destruction“:
An easy option to fill the graveyard with cards. “Card Destruction” has its drawbacks, namely being a -1 in card economy since you do not get anything back for playing the card and only refresh the hand; it allows gives free graveyard setup to your opponent, which can be unfortunate. Nonetheless, “Card Destruction” can be the start to some of your better plays in “Flamvell” and is therefore worth playing.
“Harpie’s Feather Duster“:
Destroying all of the opposing Spell and Trap cards is quite a powerful option and allows the “Flamvells” to run through without worrying about potentially lethal Trap cards or other shenanigans.
“Monster Reborn“:
Reviving a monster from your graveyard means that you have one more monster to do Synchro and Link summons with, and in the case of “Flamvell Firedog” and “Cataclysmic Scorching Sunburner“, you can just decide to keep a solid beater to work with.
“Raigeki“:
“Flamvell” is, at least if everything works correctly, a go-second deck. Clearing the opposing board with a “Raigeki” can allow you to snatch a fast victory if you can combine the removal with some fast setup and “Rekindling” play.
“Reasoning“:
In an archetype that struggles putting multiple monsters on the field in one turn like “Flamvell” does, “Reasoning” can be a helpful option. You either get a monster, which is nice and can be used for both attacking or Extra Deck summons, or you put cards into the graveyard, of which one will be a monster that you can potentially work with again.
“Slash Draw“:
First off, you will never get the secondary effect of this card in the TCG, since “Slash Draw” is limited for exactly that reason. However, the card still is worth playing in decks that want specific card types in the graveyard: You discard a card, which is normally a 200 DEF monster or “Volcanic Shell“, already setting you up for further plays. Then, you proceed to send cards to the graveyard until you reach the number of cards that your opponent controls, after which you shuffle all Spell cards you can manage back into the deck, leaving your graveyard rammed with monsters for “Rekindling” while also increasing your chance of drawing into Spell card further into the game. “Slash Draw” is a pretty nifty option in my opinion and definitely helps the “Flamvells” perform better.
“Twin Twisters“:
Backrow removal is pretty useful, albeit normally being shunned by combo players for not having any immediate positive effect during some gargantuan summon chain. If you struggle against “Mystic Mine” or other backrow cards, you can run “Twin Twisters” to simply destroy the card(s), while potentially also getting a revivable monster into the graveyard.
Trap cards:
“Lost Wind“:
One of my favorites whenever I have to give an older archetype a slight boost in playability. Granted, “Lost Wind” sees little play in the more popular decks at the moment, but the fact that you can use the card twice, stop opposing monsters from using effects and therefore have negate options in your deck while also lowering the opposing monsters attack is a solid combination for decks that have little to no options themselves, still have a beatdown style in mind and also do not mind to play at a slower tempo.
Extra Deck monsters:
“Black Rose Dragon“:
If you go second and your opponent assembled an impressive board that you cannot get past easily, you can simply try to use the nuclear option, summon “Black Rose Dragon” and still lose less resources than your opponent.
“Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier“:
Very useful Extra Deck option that you can summon directly with the combination of “Red Resonator” and “Flamvell Firedog“/”Neo Flamvell Lady“. The effect is pricey if used multiple times, but you get to bounce opposing Extra Deck monsters while also setting your graveyard up, which can make “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier” a solid option to go into.
“Duelittle Chimera“:
The Fire Attribute booster. Since you will try to win a sizeable number of for games via beatdown, this monster is a very useful option to go into. Depending on your starting hand, you can even setup summoning multiples, which is exactly the reason why I would suggest at least running two of this card.
“Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze“:
Less useful in “Flamvell” than “Duelittle Chimera“, but only needs one Fire monster and can therefore make use of monster you have gotten for whatever reason (like tokens via “Lost World“) and has a solid set of effects to work as a one-off.
“Salamangreat Heatleo“:
Another option that the deck can go into if you either do not have “Knightmare Phoenix” available anymore or if you know that the opponent can get further mileage out of the destroyed Spell/Trap card. “Salamangreat Heatleo” does not simply destroy backrow, it works like a “Castel” for Spell and Trap cards and shuffles them into the deck instead.
Playstyle/Combos:
“Flamvells”, as one might have seen in their effects, try to do two things: Smash and burn. The archetype supports an aggresive playstyle which tries to assemble a board to attack with while having support cards that finish a weakened opponent via burn effects. Or at least, that was their idea when they came out back in the day. The archetype is too slow nowadays to keep up with the tempo of the game and struggles to do more than simply filling the graveyard with monsters and then reviving whatever you can find with “Rekindling” for multiple Synchro summons or to simply ramp into the opposing board and/or life points. They do need quite a generic cards to get up to scratch and are prone to burning through their hand cards, which puts them at the mercy of the next draw. They can be shaped into a decent Fire Attribute deck though: “Rekindling“, while not always available, is still a solid playstarter and can surprise an unexpecting opponent. The “Red Resonator“/”Flamvell Firedog” combo is not necessarily consistent, but gives you a solid amount of monsters to work with, which will later on linger in the graveyard after being used for an Extra Deck summon and are therefore ready for “Rekindling“. The main idea always stays the same though: Either swarm with “Rekindling” and work from there, or play the deck more slowly and try to deal with the opposing threats whenever they come up.
Weaknesses/Counters:
“Flamvell” does not really have options for Special Summoning outside of “Flamvell Firedog” and “Rekindling“, forcing them to rely on outside support like “Red Resonator“. Any sort of Summon Negation will normally cripple them beyond repair. If they actually want to go into any plays that involve more than just one summon from the Extra Deck, they need to rely on “Rekindling” to flood the field with monsters. Currently, this is the only real reason to go heavy with graveyard setup and the overall age of the cards is clearly notable as back in the day, cards seldom had any relevant effects to build combos from in the Graveyard and none of the “Flamvells” really has any effects the would resemble other graveyard-heavy decks whatsoever.
There is also a number of options that will halt any “Flamvell” strategies. “Macro Cosmos” and “Dimensional Fissure” both banish cards in your graveyard and therefore stop most of the deck from working. Cards that will turn the “Flamvells” into defense position are a solid counter option against them, since most of the monster have a pitiful DEF stat of 200. Any Special Summon negate like “Archlord Kristya“, “Vanity’s Fiend” or similar options are very helpful against the more Special Summon-heavy “Flamvells”, who are not even that good in swarming in comparison to other archetypes, but will be left stranded with their single Normal Summon if you stop them from using their various outside support cards, “Flamvell Firedog” and “Rekindling“.
Sample Decklist (October 2020):
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/neo-flamvell-deck/.
And, as usual in this part of the article, here is my take at playing “Flamvell”. “Red Resonator” and “Resonator Call” are both in at three copies, since I think they are mandatory to make the deck work, giving consistency and swarming in addition to healing you for solid amounts and giving the deck more longevity. “Flamvell Firedog” and “Neo Flamvell Lady” are definitely the archetypal stars of the show, which “Firedog” opening up possibilities of more swarming and therefore more Extra Deck summons, while “Lady” has the task of setting up the graveyard and stopping opposing plays regarding their graveyard. The two “Volcanic Shells” are mostly there to thin out the deck in combination with “Neo Flamvell Lady“, who can ditch one which then allows you to search another for 500 life points, which then can be used as discard fodder. “Neo Flamvell Origin” is a potential, if very situational swarming tool and the single copy of “Flamvell Archer” can be used as a Tuner or to boost the stats of a “Rekindled” field. More generic options include “Cataclysmic Scorching Sunburner“, who is quite good in all regards I named when I talked about it in the “Further useful cards”-section while “Gizmek Kaku, the Supreme Shining Sky Stag” is surprisingly easy to summon while also sporting an insanely good monster effect (at least in comparision to what the “Flamvells” can do). The rest of the Spell cards are really either graveyard setup, card draw or removal, all to make the “Flamvells” a little more playable. The Extra Deck features a few Synchro monsters, since the deck has the Tuners to summon them, including cards such as “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier“, “Black Rose Dragon” or the very useful new(er) card “Infernity Hell Archfiend“, who can be used as removal, as a beater or even as a fairly useful Synchro material for the “Red Dragon Archfiend” line of monsters. The Link monsters consist of three “Duelittle Chimera“, since summoning them is particularly easy after you gor a “Rekindling” of, while also featuring other options such as “Linkuriboh” (easy summon onto a Level 1 monster), “Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze” (recovery tool that can steal opposing monsters from the graveyard) “Saryuja Skull Dread” (does a lot of things, but mostly serves as a draw and Special Summon option) and “Salamangreat Heatleo” (which gets rid of backrow by shuffling it into the deck and is therefore an option against decks that profit from having Spells/Traps in the graveyard to activate their effects).
Monster (22):
2x “Gizmek Kaku, the Supreme Shining Sky Stag“
2x “Cataclysmic Scorching Sunburner“
3x “Flamvell Firedog“
3x “Neo Flamvell Lady“
1x “Guerilla Kite“
1x “Flamvell Archer“
3x “Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring“
3x “Red Resonator“
2x “Neo Flamvell Origin“
2x “Volcanic Shell“
Spell/Trap (18):
1x “Performapal Popperup“
1x “Raigeki“
1x “Harpie’s Feather Duster“
3x “Resonator Call“
2x “Pot of Desires“
1x “Reasoning“
1x “Pot of Avarice“
1x “Slash Draw“
1x “Card Destruction“
3x “Rekindling“
1x “Monster Reborn“
1x “Twin Twisters“
1x “Circle of the Fire Kings“
Extra Deck (15):
1x “Hot Red Dragon Archfiend“
1x “Geomathmech Magma“
1x “Ancient Flamvell Deity“
1x “Black Rose Dragon“
1x “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier“
1x “Infernity Hell Archfiend“
1x “Red Rising Dragon“
1x “Saryuja Skull Dread“
1x “Salamangreat Heatleo“
1x “Knightmare Phoenix“
1x “Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze“
3x “Duelittle Chimera“
1x “Linkuriboh“
Cubic Creativity 
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