Lesson 9: Understanding amazons and how they work.

When Labyrinth of Nightmare was released in 2003, Duelists got their first glimpse at Amazoness cards with the release of Amazoness Archer (originally named Amazon Archer). Later that year, a bunch of new Amazoness cards were released in Magician’s Force, including Amazoness Paladin, Amazoness Fighter, Amazoness Swords Woman, Amazoness Blowpiper, and Amazoness Tiger. Two Amazoness-themed Trap Cards, Amazoness Archers and Dramatic Rescue, were also released alongside them.

More than two years later, Amazoness Chain Master was released at the Sneak Peek for The Lost Millennium. All of the Amazoness monsters are EARTH monsters. They’re also all Warrior-Type monsters, except for Amazoness Tiger, which is a Beast-Type monster. Now, all 9 of these Amazoness cards are available together for the first time in Gold Series 3, so you can build anAmazoness Deck more easily than ever before!

Amazoness Archer was the first ever Amazoness to be released. It was originally named Amazon Archer in Labyrinth of Nightmare, but had its name changed when it was reprinted in Gold Series 3 to make it clear that its part of the Amazoness family. Amazoness Archer has 1400 ATK and lets you Tribute 2 monsters to inflict 1200 points of damage to your opponent. An Amazoness so old, it wasn't even an Amazoness!

The other 8 Amazoness Cards in Gold Series 3 are used by Mai Valentine in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series or Tania in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

During Battle City, Mai Valentine uses Amazoness Swords Woman, Amazoness Fighter, and Amazoness Chain Master. She also plays the Trap Cards Amazoness Archers and Dramatic Rescue.

Amazoness Swords Woman is a 1500 ATK monster with a unique power that could end the Duel if the opponent isn’t careful. Whenever your Swords Woman battles, your opponent takes all of the damage you would have taken from that battle. Years ago, Duelists used to ram their Swords Woman into powerful monsters like Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning to deal a game-ending 1500 damage to the opponent!

As Kinetic Soldier gained popularity, Amazoness Swords Woman became even better. Duelists could use their Swords Woman to attack a Defense Position Kinetic Soldier. Since Amazoness Swords Woman is a Warrior and Kinetic Soldier gets boosted to 3800 DEF while battling Warriors, this would inflict 2300 points of damage to the Swords Woman’s opponent, while leaving the Duelist with the Amazoness unharmed. The Swords Woman wouldn’t bedestroyed either, since it battled a Defense Position monster leaving it around for more mayhem next turn.

Amazoness Fighter is similar to Amazoness Swords Woman, but lacks the game-ending ability. Instead of redirecting all damage done to the controller of Amazoness Fighter in a battle involving her, Amazoness Fighter reduces that damage to 0. That makes Amazoness Fighter a safe card to use when you’re low on Life Points.

Amazoness Chain Master was one of the most competitively used Amazoness cards due to its unique power. When your Amazoness Chain Master is destroyed in battle, you can pay 1500 Life Points to take a look at your opponent’s hand. Then, you can choose any monster your opponent is holding and add it to your own hand! Very few cards allow you to take cards from your opponent’s hand, but Amazoness Chain Master is one of them. Players can use Amazoness Chain Master to steal an opponent’s most powerful monster.

In the original Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series, Mai Valentine uses her Chain Master’s effect to take the Egyptian God Card, The Winged Dragon of Ra, from Marik’s hand. Then she Summons it herself! You can use Amazoness Chain Master against Frog Monarch Decks to steal your opponent’s Obelisk the Tormentor, or even use it against X-Saber Decks to take away your opponent’s precious Rescue Cat!
These 3 Amazoness monsters are all used by Mai Valentine in Battle City.

These 3 Amazoness monsters are all used by Mai Valentine in Battle City.

Amazoness Archers and Dramatic Rescue are two Amazoness-themed Trap Cards that were also used by Mai in Battle City.

Amazoness Archers can only be activated when your opponent declares an attack while you have an “Amazoness” monster face-up on the field. It decreases the strength of all of your opponent’s monsters by 500 ATK and forces every single one of your opponent’s monsters to attack that turn.

Dramatic Rescue can be activated when your opponent targets a face-up Amazoness on the field with any card effect. It lets you return the targeted Amazoness to its owner’s hand and Special Summon any other monster you’re holding. That means if your Amazoness Chain Master is targeted by the effect of an opponent’s Caius the Shadow Monarch, you can use Dramatic Rescue to save your Chain Master and Special Summon the strongest monster in your hand. Use it to sneak powerful monsters like Jinzo into play without having to Tribute!

Amazoness Archers is one of the nastiest Trap Cards in history.

The remaining 3 Amazoness Cards in Gold Series 3 are used by Tania in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. In addition to Amazoness Swords Woman, Amazoness Archers, and Dramatic Rescue, Tania plays Amazoness Paladin, Amazoness Blowpiper, and Amazoness Tiger in her Deck.

Amazoness Paladin is a Level 4 monster with 1700 ATK, but she gains an additional 100 ATK for each Amazoness on the field, including herself. That means she starts off with a solid 1800 ATK.

Amazoness Blowpiper is a Level 3 monster that can reduce the power of an opponent’s monster by 500 ATK during each of your opponent’s Standby Phases. Her stats are low, but you can keep her on the field with some help from Amazoness Tiger.

Amazoness Tiger starts off with 1100 ATK and gains an additional 400 ATK for each Amazoness you control, including itself. It also protects your weaker Amazoness monsters, like Amazoness Blowpiper, by preventing your opponent from attacking them.

Tiger draws attacks away from the rest of your monsters. Play Amazoness Archers while you have it and another Amazoness on the field to force your opponent to send their monsters to the tiger's den.

The classic Amazoness cards fill veteran Duelists like myself with a sense of nostalgia. But soon, a new batch of Amazoness monsters will enter the mix. The Duelist Revolution will introduce several new Amazoness cards to Duelists everywhere, enabling them to construct Amazoness Decks that are stronger than ever before!