Executive Summary

The "Jinzo" archetype is built around a collection of DARK and LIGHT Machine monsters, all designed to support the iconic boss monster, Jinzo. The strategy revolves around summoning this key figure to establish a powerful, field-wide negation of Trap cards, enabling an aggressive, uninterrupted offensive. Nearly every card in the archetype is designed to either search, summon, protect, or enhance this specific monster, making it the central pillar of the deck's strategy.

The Core "Jinzo" Lineup

Boss Monsters

Jinzo
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Jinzo

The cornerstone. A Level 6 DARK Machine whose continuous effect negates all Trap cards and their effects on the field, forcing a proactive, aggressive game plan.

Jinzo the Machine Menace
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Jinzo the Machine Menace

A modern powerhouse. It Special Summons itself easily and provides recursion and disruption by tributing itself to summon another "Jinzo" from the hand or Graveyard.

Jinzo - Layered
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Jinzo - Layered

The Rank 6 Xyz boss. It provides non-destruction removal by temporarily stealing an opponent's monster and offers targeted destruction under specific conditions.

Starters & Extenders

Psychic Bounder
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Psychic Bounder

The superior starter. On summon, it adds "Jinzo" or a Spell/Trap that lists "Jinzo" in its text, making it a versatile one-card combo initiator.

Jinzo - Jector
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Jinzo - Jector

A key searcher. It can be Tributed to add any "Jinzo" monster from the Deck to the hand and has a conditional Special Summon effect based on the opponent's set Traps.

Jinzo - Returner
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Jinzo - Returner

A graveyard extender. When sent to the GY, it revives a "Jinzo" monster, enabling powerful recovery and combo plays from the Graveyard.

The Psychic Arsenal: Spells & Traps

Consistency & Searching

  • Law of the Cosmos: A potent starter that forces the opponent to either let you summon Jinzo from the deck or give you a search.
  • Psychic Wave: A Quick-Play Spell that sets up the Graveyard and has a powerful recovery effect when banished from there.

Disruption & Protection

  • Cyber Energy Shock: A "win-more" card that destroys a card on the field while you control Jinzo.
  • Psychic Shockwave: A situational but powerful Trap that summons Jinzo from the deck in response to an opponent's Trap activation.
  • Everlasting Alloy: Provides crucial protection, making your Machine monsters indestructible by card effects for a turn.

Core Combo: Psychic Bounder One-Card Starter

Unverified AI Content
This combo line is AI-generated and may contain errors or illegal plays (e.g., banned cards).
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This walkthrough demonstrates the deck's most direct and powerful opening play, turning a single Normal Summon into the primary win condition.

Psychic Bounder
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1

Normal Summon

Normal Summon Psychic Bounder. Its on-summon effect activates.

Law of the Cosmos
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2

Search and Activate

Add Law of the Cosmos from your Deck to your hand, then activate it.

Jinzo
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3

Opponent's Choice

Your opponent must choose: either they set a Trap, allowing you to Special Summon Jinzo from your Deck, or they don't, and you search for a key monster like Jinzo the Machine Menace.

Defining the "Jinzo" Endboard

Unlike decks that build multiple omni-negates, the ideal Jinzo endboard focuses on a specific, targeted form of control. The primary goal is always to have Jinzo on the field to establish the anti-trap floodgate. The strongest board the archetype can make on its own consists of Jinzo and Jinzo - Layered, providing trap negation, non-destruction monster removal, and potential targeted destruction. In modern competitive play, however, a small Jinzo package is often used as a supplementary engine within more resilient frameworks like Horus or Fiendsmith, creating a multi-layered board with Jinzo as one of several disruption points. This strategy of creating a layered board with multiple threats, some of which function as self-contained engines, is a core part of the archetype's history and lore.

Competitive Analysis

Strengths

  • Anti-Meta Powerhouse: Devastating against Trap-reliant strategies like Labrynth or Traptrix, where Jinzo acts as a "silver bullet."
  • Proactive Control: Establishes a powerful floodgate that forces opponents off their primary defensive options, enabling aggressive pushes.
  • Potent Engine Potential: Its best cards can be integrated into stronger shells, serving as a high-impact, targeted strategy to win specific matchups.

Weaknesses

  • Narrow Application: Highly matchup-dependent. Struggles immensely against modern combo decks that rely on monster effects.
  • Vulnerable Board: Jinzo itself has no built-in protection, making it easy to remove with common monster or spell-based effects.
  • Inconsistent Pure Build: The standalone "pure" version lacks the resilience and consistency of modern archetypes.

Synergies & Engines

  • Horus Engine: Provides a stream of free high-ATK bodies, offering recursion and a powerful alternative win condition.
  • Fiendsmith Engine: A competitive framework that can incorporate a small Jinzo package as a targeted tech choice.
  • Orcust Engine: Offers a highly efficient one-card starter in Girsu to search and enable Jinzo the Machine Menace.

Banlist Impact

Fully Unrestricted

As of the current TCG format, the Jinzo archetype is entirely unrestricted, allowing it to operate at full capacity.

Maximum Consistency

Play any card at your preferred ratio without restrictions

Full Strength Plays

Access to all archetype synergies without limitations

Strategic Freedom

No banlist constraints holding back your strategy

Banlist Status Summary

analyzed • 0 restrictions found • All cards legal at 3 copies