NEXUS

Lore Archive

"The Fiendsmith is a demon hunter who forces the fiends he defeats into contracts and binds them in his coffin, Requiem. Through Requiem, Lacrima, and Sequence, the Fiendsmith chain produces a cascade of Link and Fusion monsters that generate advantage while sending key cards to the Graveyard. Their craft is dark, but their efficiency is divine."

In a world overrun by demons, one man hunted them all, for bounties or simply because they crossed his path, and fought so brutally that the demons themselves called him a Demon: the Fiendsmith. This is the tale of that man, and of a quirky demon who cried crimson tears.

Fiendsmith Engraver
The Fiendsmith

  1. A lone-wolf demon hunter, the Fiendsmith defeats demons and forces them into contracts, making their power his own. His weapon, a transforming coffin, came from a demonic contract of his own.

    Facing Mephisto, the most evil demon of all and the cause of the Day of the Devil that ended the world as everyone knew it, he was in dire trouble when Lacrima popped out and offered a contract. He hesitated, then accepted: «Gimme every last drop of ya, girl...» Their true contract made him Rextremende, her tears turned into bullets that pierce anything in their way.

  2. Requiem, the enormous coffin he carries. He force-feeds it the demons he defeats to bind them by contract; to unleash one, he feeds it a dog tag inscribed with that demon's true name. Used tags go to his Sanct familiars.

    In its summoning form, Sequence, it forces devoured demons onto the battlefield whether they like it or not. In another mode, a demon he is strongly bound to possesses him, and Requiem becomes the weapon that suits it.

    In Agnumday, Requiem itself becomes a demon. Out of control in this form, it looks like the Devil himself.

  3. Rumors warned people away from a woman with crimson tears in the abandoned luxury buildings. The Fiendsmith didn't care, until he broke into an old hotel to sleep, found her there, and said «Let's make the contract already.» Lacrima blushed and nodded: she had taken "contract" for a marriage proposal. She gave him her body and soul without asking anything in return, but to unleash all of her power, he needs words of love.

    She supports him by astral projection instead of being fully sealed in his weapon: in Fiendsmith's Lacrima, her ghostly image hovers above him as he fights.

Executive Summary

The Fiendsmith archetype is a hyper-efficient, recursive engine centered around LIGHT Fiend monsters. Its power is derived from a meticulously designed interplay between the Main Deck, Extra Deck, and the Graveyard. Each card is a cog in a larger machine, designed to search, extend, and recur resources with remarkable consistency. The strategy revolves around using the Graveyard as a secondary resource pool, with its Link Monsters uniquely transforming into Equip Cards to forge a path to victory by fueling its core monsters' effects.

The Forgemaster's Arsenal

The Fiendsmith engine is built upon a small core of powerful Main Deck monsters and a toolbox of Extra Deck monsters that enable its unique equip-and-destroy strategy.

The Initiators

Fiendsmith Engraver

The premier one-card starter. Discards to search a "Fiendsmith" Spell/Trap and revives itself from the GY to extend combos.

Lacrima the Crimson Tears

A key extender and archetypal "Foolish Burial" that sends any "Fiendsmith" card from Deck to GY.

Fiendsmith's Tract

The primary search target. Adds a LIGHT Fiend and then discards, enabling extenders like Fabled Lurrie.

The Extra Deck Toolkit

Fiendsmith's Requiem (Link-1)

The central combo hub. Tributes itself to summon a "Fiendsmith" from the Deck and equips from the GY to fuel other effects.

Fiendsmith's Sequence (Link-2)

Facilitates Fusion Summons from the GY and equips to provide crucial targeting protection to your boss monsters.

The Payoffs

Fiendsmith's Desirae

The primary end board piece. Provides multiple negations by sending its "Fiendsmith" Equip Cards to the GY.

Fiendsmith's Rextremende

The ultimate boss monster. While equipped, it is completely unaffected by your opponent's card effects, a true "towers".

Core Combo: The Engraver One-Card Starter

Combo Guide
These combos may contain errors or use banned cards. If you spot an issue, submit a replay to help keep this guide accurate.
Know a better line? Submit a Replay

This walkthrough demonstrates how a single Fiendsmith Engraver initiates the entire engine.

Fiendsmith Engraver
Missing: 60764609
1

Initiate Search

Discard Engraver to search Fiendsmith's Tract. Activate Tract to search Fabled Lurrie and discard it.

Fiendsmith's Requiem
2

Summon the Hub

Fabled Lurrie summons itself. Link it away for Fiendsmith's Requiem. Tribute Requiem to summon Lacrima the Crimson Tears from Deck.

Fiendsmith's Sequence
3

Recur and Climb

Use Lacrima to send a second Engraver to GY. Revive the first Engraver by shuffling Requiem back. Now you can Link climb into Fiendsmith's Sequence.

Final Endboards: The Forgemaster's Craft

The Generic Boss Route

D/D/D Wave High King Caesar
  • Rank 6 Xyz: The combo easily makes two Level 6 Engravers.
  • Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal (currently banned): Can send any card from Deck to GY, bridging into other engines like Yubel or Snake-Eye.
  • D/D/D Wave High King Caesar: Provides a powerful, on-demand omni-negate.

The In-Archetype Double Negate

Fiendsmith's Desirae
  • Fiendsmith's Desirae: The main in-archetype boss monster.
  • Multiple Negations: Uses equipped "Fiendsmith" Link monsters from the GY as fuel to negate monster effects or Spells/Traps.
  • Targeting Protection: Fiendsmith's Sequence can equip itself from GY to make Desirae untargetable.

Competitive Analysis

Strengths

  • Hyper Consistent: Multiple one-card starters and can be accessed with any two monsters.
  • Recursive Grind Game: The engine constantly recycles its own resources, making it very difficult to outlast.
  • Highly Splashable: A small main deck footprint makes it an easy and powerful addition to many top-tier strategies.

Weaknesses

  • Key Choke Points: Highly vulnerable to Ash Blossom on Tract or Droll & Lock Bird after the first search.
  • Graveyard Hate: Cards like Bystials or D.D. Crow can banish Engraver to break the loop.
  • Attribute-Locking: Relies entirely on LIGHT monsters, making it susceptible to cards like Dimension Shifter.

Meta-Defining Synergies

  • Yubel: The premier hybrid. Fiendsmith provides a direct route to the Yubel engine's GY setup via Beatrice.
  • Snake-Eye: Provides a powerful alternative combo line if the main Snake-Eye play is disrupted.
  • Unchained: A natural fit due to shared Fiend typing and a focus on destruction/GY effects.

Banlist Impact

LOW IMPACT: The Fiendsmith archetype has been moderately restricted by the TCG banlist, with Fiendsmith's Lacrima limited.

Archetype Cards

Limited

  • • Fiendsmith's Lacrima

Synergistic Cards

Forbidden

  • • Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal

Semi-Limited

  • • Droll & Lock Bird

Banlist Status Summary

+ analyzed • 3 total restrictions found • 1 archetype card • 2 synergistic cards